Movie-Viewing Experiences 28/10/17 - 14/11/17
A+ = Adored Masterwork A = Excellent A- = Very Good B+ = Good B = Nice Try B- = Tolerable
C = Seriously Flawed D = Pretty Awful E = Truly Dreadful: Looking Into the Void F = Vile & Repugnant: The Void
SEVEN (1995)
A+ MOVIE JUKEBOX
d: David Fincher
CAST: Morgan Freeman; Brad Pitt; Kevin Spacey; Gwyneth Paltrow
> watched this recently with a young someone who had never seen it before but knew about the "what's in the box?!?" ending...poor kid; difficult to describe the impact this film had on me at my first viewing (late November '95 Piccadilly Cinema)...truly riveting & revolting & impossible to predict where it was going & how it was going to end up; the best serial killer film ever because it does far more than unease you...it controls you physically via calculated dread; dazzling display of cinematic craftsmanship with performances that refresh hohum stereotypes (weary old cop + firebrand young cop + fretful wife at home + genius psycho); a perfect movie
Award-Worthy Performances
Morgan Freeman; Kevin Spacey
ZERO DAY (2003)
A FIRST VIEWING
d: Ben Coccio
CAST: Andre Keuck; Cal Robertson
> absolutely terrifying, especially if you're a parent; of the found-footage genre (ref. The Blair Witch Project), this film is about a High School massacre and was obviously "inspired" by the Columbine horror; we are shown the gradual build-up (the decision to carry it out made long ago by the two boys), how they have easy access to a large arsenal of firearms (this is an anti-gun-culture film above anything else), how they meticulously plan the final attack and how, in the meantime, still behave like standard 17-18 year old kids (attend family outings, deliver pizzas, go to the prom); the two actors are totally believable as "real" and all of the camera-interactions come across as fresh and on-the-spot; the clinically-narrated (by the 911 operator) shootings chill; I will probably never watch this film again, but it won't ever totally leave me
THE LAST VALLEY (1971)
A MOVIE JUKEBOX
d: James Cavell
CAST: Michael Caine; Omar Sharif; Nigel Davenport; Per Oscarsson; Arthur O'Connell
> yet another member of the I-Am-The-Only-Person-On-The-Planet-Who-Loves-This-Movie Club; I was looking forward to it being my surprise pick for Best Film of 1970, then discovered that it was actually a 1971 release...bugger...Polanski's Macbeth still beats it; set in 17th Century plague/famine/war sodden Europe, it tells the story of a band of violent mercenaries which flukes upon a village that has escaped hardship...the soldiers decide to hole up there for the winter; it has an emotionality (redemption thru weariness; the capacity to thrive despite horror; humanity as a faith) which pulls at me; I acknowledge its flaws but adore it anyway
Award-Worthy Performance
Michael Caine
SECRETARY (2002)
A- RE-EVALUATION Original Grade: B+
d: Steven Shainberg
CAST: Maggie Gyllenhaal; James Spader; Jeremy Davies; Lesley Ann Warren
> I've never understood S&M...I was with a woman once who told me to slap her mid-coitus...Mr Droopy instantly made a call...is it okay to hurt someone if they like it?...hmm...; the words "kinky" and "sexy" are most often used in critiques of this film and, while it is obviously about control, it is more about self-comprehension; on my first viewing, I thought it a (very) different twist on a classic screwball comedy like The Lady Eve, but there is more sad emotional depth to it (and some real heat); Maggie is stunning as the submissive (but not really) partner and James balances on the edge of creepy; confronting but unexpectedly touching too; great final shot
Award-Worthy Performance
Maggie Gyllenhaal
INSIGNIFICANCE (1985)
A- SECOND VIEWING
d: Nicolas Roeg
CAST: Theresa Russell; Michael Emil; Gary Busey; Tony Curtis; Will Sampson
> I enjoy "What If" stories where famous people are used as characters in a fantasy-twist on an historic event (my fave: Timothy Findley's 1981 WWII novel Famous Last Words, involving Charles Lindbergh, the Duke & Duchess of Windsor and von Ribbentrop); this film places Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, Joe DiMaggio and Joe McCarthy into one 1954 night of interaction; assuming our knowledge of the people, Director Nic flashes back to events that haunt & explain them, stirring the mix through what is a helluva lot of talking... fortunately, most of it is fascinating; for when you are in the mood for something a little different and challenging
Award-Worthy Performance
Theresa Russell
MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (1933)
B+ FIRST VIEWING
d: Michael Curtiz
CAST: Lionel Atwill; Fay Wray; Glenda Farrell; Frank McHugh
> the original version of 1953's House of Wax, this is more mystery than horror (which I prefer...Vincent Price was always difficult to take seriously); filmed in a short-lived two-colour Technicolor process, with shades of blue dropping in and out, this film bundles together a couple of features popular in 1930's movies: wisecracking reporters (in this case, a dame) and a baffling series of killings & corpse abductions (which never go out of fashion); while Lionel is the quiet psycho and Fay lets out another lot of screams (great lungs, that girl), Glenda is entertaining as the gotta-get-a-story-to-keep-my-job newspaper hound...very hard-boiled and gum-chewin'; some brutal editing ends some scenes too early and gives a jagged feel to the storyline but certainly establishes a rat-tat-tat pace...you don't lose interest
ZOO IN BUDAPEST (1933)
B+ FIRST VIEWING
d: Rowland V. Lee
CAST: Gene Raymond; Loretta Young; O.P. Heggie; Wally Albright; Paul Fix
> a cult film of sorts, spruiked by many critics as a "forgotten treasure" and therefore increasingly championed as The Word spreads...me, I thought it was fine; set in a zoo in Budapest (strangely enough), just after WWI (many of the keepers are clearly war-wounded), the story focusses on a nature boy/animal whisperer who persuades an orphan girl to run away with him...they hide out one night at the zoo to avoid capture...meanwhile, some little kid has run away and hidden there too...and then the beasts escape their cages...; starts off all gossamer & Vienna waltz (the lilt never stops) but toughens as it goes on (which improves it no end); the wild animal rampage is snappily edited and effective; less Hollywood / more trad-European in style, this warrants another viewing P.S. Australian swans are black
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011)
B SECOND VIEWING
d: Joe Johnston
CAST: Chris Evans; Tommy Lee Jones; Hugo Weaving; Sebastian Stan; Hayley Atwell
> Cap is my favourite superhero (Fantastic 4 = fave team), so I was a bit sniffy about this movie when it first came out; the biggest plus (which can only be seen via 6 years hindsight) is that the WWII setting helps to camouflage the Marvel movie formula...it comes across as something a bit different, and that is definitely a good thing; Hugo is a stronger Red Skull than I remember, the 98lb weakling SFX is quite remarkable and I love the Raiders of the Lost Ark & A Matter of Life and Death references; while I can now accept some alterations to the comicbook original (it makes sense that Bucky is not a kid + that Nick Fury is not leading the Howling Commandos), there is one which is unforgivable: THE major character-defining event in Cap's life (Bucky's "death") happens far too all-of-a-sudden and nondescriptly...and where is the crippling guilt?
HOFFA (1992)
B FIRST VIEWING
d: Danny DeVito
CAST: Jack Nicholson; Danny DeVito; J.T. Walsh; Armand Assante; John C. Reilly
> my personal politics are just a jump to the Left, but I don't tend to take sides blindly...I assume that most people seeking power begin with ideals and then, after attaining power, slowly allow the ideals to be eroded by pragmatism, ego or greed; U.S. politics interests me (well...it used to...now it either scares me or leaves me incredulous) and the story of Unionism in the USA is particularly fascinating, highlighting the worst and the very worst of people who have achieved and want to keep power, both Left and Right; this film about the rise of Trucking Union leader Jimmy Hoffa clearly worships the man, acknowledging his ties to crime whilst forgiving them with the old "a man's gotta do..." credo; the film roped me in but I think I prefer the American Experience documentary which Ken Burns will make one day
THE BLUE GARDENIA (1953)
B- FIRST VIEWING
d: Fritz Lang
CAST: Anne Baxter; Richard Conte; Ann Sothern; Raymond Burr; George Reeves
> 1953 was the year of very major Fritz (The Big Heat) and very minor Fritz (unfortunately, this one); although featuring Fritz's favourite theme (Guilt...and the Fear of Getting Caught), this time round he only manages to produce a colour-by-numbers film from it; story turns on the killing of a ladies man / wolf (now known as a "Harvey") who gets his just desserts via a fireside poker in the kisser...but who wielded it?..was it...the leading lady?; adding to the competence-without-inspiration, we have Anne Baxter, who is not much more than pretty (and she plays a lousy drunk), Richard who seems to be allergic to facial expression and Superman who appears as a cop...only Ann Sothern contributes a little brightness; the shock / twist ending can be seen coming a mile away; mere professional product...partner it with a crossword
B- SECOND VIEWING
d: James Cruze
CAST: Ben Lyon; Claudette Colbert; Ernest Torrence; Hobart Cavanaugh
> an ultimately grim film which encompasses fishing, people smuggling, unscrupulous journalism, jokey romance and apathetic murder; blighted somewhat by some ineffectual casting (Ben is not a strong enough actor to carry the load + Claudette struggles with a Barbara Stanwyck role) and flurries of comic relief which come across as poor taste (alcoholic wisecracker & sex titters); Ernest stands out as a tough old skipper who is cunning, beloved and an indifferent killer of Chinese refugees; some scenes linger (esp. the first murder...by chains + the body in the shark) and the atmosphere is suitably dank, but overall the mix stays apart
Award-Worthy Performance
Ernest Torrence
THAT DARN CAT! (1965)
C SECOND VIEWING
d: Robert Stevenson
CAST: Hayley Mills; Dean Jones; Dorothy Provine; Roddy McDowall; Neville Brand; Frank Gorshin; Elsa Lanchester; William Demarest; Ed Wynn; Grayson Hall
> my nana Ella took me to see this when I was 8 years old...and I couldn't remember any of it...blandness will do that; another in the Disney The Ugly Dachshund / The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit animal family 60's run...no better, no worse, more popular; while the appearance of comedy veterans Elsa, William and Ed gives the flick a badly needed lift, the rest of the star cast (including Hayley, who I think is attempting an American accent) is slapsticky, lightweight and dull; the criminal activity is family-unfriendly (regular discussion about murdering a hostage) and the movie is overlong for a plot that centres on following a cat; if you crave animal crime-fighting action, watch Skippy the Bush Kangaroo instead...marsupials simply ooze charisma
Got something you want to tell me?
GO RIGHT AHEAD: masted59@gmail.com
SEVEN (1995)
d: David Fincher
CAST: Morgan Freeman; Brad Pitt; Kevin Spacey; Gwyneth Paltrow
> watched this recently with a young someone who had never seen it before but knew about the "what's in the box?!?" ending...poor kid; difficult to describe the impact this film had on me at my first viewing (late November '95 Piccadilly Cinema)...truly riveting & revolting & impossible to predict where it was going & how it was going to end up; the best serial killer film ever because it does far more than unease you...it controls you physically via calculated dread; dazzling display of cinematic craftsmanship with performances that refresh hohum stereotypes (weary old cop + firebrand young cop + fretful wife at home + genius psycho); a perfect movie
Award-Worthy Performances
Morgan Freeman; Kevin Spacey
ZERO DAY (2003)
d: Ben Coccio
CAST: Andre Keuck; Cal Robertson
> absolutely terrifying, especially if you're a parent; of the found-footage genre (ref. The Blair Witch Project), this film is about a High School massacre and was obviously "inspired" by the Columbine horror; we are shown the gradual build-up (the decision to carry it out made long ago by the two boys), how they have easy access to a large arsenal of firearms (this is an anti-gun-culture film above anything else), how they meticulously plan the final attack and how, in the meantime, still behave like standard 17-18 year old kids (attend family outings, deliver pizzas, go to the prom); the two actors are totally believable as "real" and all of the camera-interactions come across as fresh and on-the-spot; the clinically-narrated (by the 911 operator) shootings chill; I will probably never watch this film again, but it won't ever totally leave me
THE LAST VALLEY (1971)
d: James Cavell
CAST: Michael Caine; Omar Sharif; Nigel Davenport; Per Oscarsson; Arthur O'Connell
> yet another member of the I-Am-The-Only-Person-On-The-Planet-Who-Loves-This-Movie Club; I was looking forward to it being my surprise pick for Best Film of 1970, then discovered that it was actually a 1971 release...bugger...Polanski's Macbeth still beats it; set in 17th Century plague/famine/war sodden Europe, it tells the story of a band of violent mercenaries which flukes upon a village that has escaped hardship...the soldiers decide to hole up there for the winter; it has an emotionality (redemption thru weariness; the capacity to thrive despite horror; humanity as a faith) which pulls at me; I acknowledge its flaws but adore it anyway
Award-Worthy Performance
Michael Caine
SECRETARY (2002)
d: Steven Shainberg
CAST: Maggie Gyllenhaal; James Spader; Jeremy Davies; Lesley Ann Warren
> I've never understood S&M...I was with a woman once who told me to slap her mid-coitus...Mr Droopy instantly made a call...is it okay to hurt someone if they like it?...hmm...; the words "kinky" and "sexy" are most often used in critiques of this film and, while it is obviously about control, it is more about self-comprehension; on my first viewing, I thought it a (very) different twist on a classic screwball comedy like The Lady Eve, but there is more sad emotional depth to it (and some real heat); Maggie is stunning as the submissive (but not really) partner and James balances on the edge of creepy; confronting but unexpectedly touching too; great final shot
Award-Worthy Performance
Maggie Gyllenhaal
INSIGNIFICANCE (1985)
d: Nicolas Roeg
CAST: Theresa Russell; Michael Emil; Gary Busey; Tony Curtis; Will Sampson
> I enjoy "What If" stories where famous people are used as characters in a fantasy-twist on an historic event (my fave: Timothy Findley's 1981 WWII novel Famous Last Words, involving Charles Lindbergh, the Duke & Duchess of Windsor and von Ribbentrop); this film places Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, Joe DiMaggio and Joe McCarthy into one 1954 night of interaction; assuming our knowledge of the people, Director Nic flashes back to events that haunt & explain them, stirring the mix through what is a helluva lot of talking... fortunately, most of it is fascinating; for when you are in the mood for something a little different and challenging
Award-Worthy Performance
Theresa Russell
MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (1933)
d: Michael Curtiz
CAST: Lionel Atwill; Fay Wray; Glenda Farrell; Frank McHugh
> the original version of 1953's House of Wax, this is more mystery than horror (which I prefer...Vincent Price was always difficult to take seriously); filmed in a short-lived two-colour Technicolor process, with shades of blue dropping in and out, this film bundles together a couple of features popular in 1930's movies: wisecracking reporters (in this case, a dame) and a baffling series of killings & corpse abductions (which never go out of fashion); while Lionel is the quiet psycho and Fay lets out another lot of screams (great lungs, that girl), Glenda is entertaining as the gotta-get-a-story-to-keep-my-job newspaper hound...very hard-boiled and gum-chewin'; some brutal editing ends some scenes too early and gives a jagged feel to the storyline but certainly establishes a rat-tat-tat pace...you don't lose interest
ZOO IN BUDAPEST (1933)
d: Rowland V. Lee
CAST: Gene Raymond; Loretta Young; O.P. Heggie; Wally Albright; Paul Fix
> a cult film of sorts, spruiked by many critics as a "forgotten treasure" and therefore increasingly championed as The Word spreads...me, I thought it was fine; set in a zoo in Budapest (strangely enough), just after WWI (many of the keepers are clearly war-wounded), the story focusses on a nature boy/animal whisperer who persuades an orphan girl to run away with him...they hide out one night at the zoo to avoid capture...meanwhile, some little kid has run away and hidden there too...and then the beasts escape their cages...; starts off all gossamer & Vienna waltz (the lilt never stops) but toughens as it goes on (which improves it no end); the wild animal rampage is snappily edited and effective; less Hollywood / more trad-European in style, this warrants another viewing P.S. Australian swans are black
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011)
d: Joe Johnston
CAST: Chris Evans; Tommy Lee Jones; Hugo Weaving; Sebastian Stan; Hayley Atwell
> Cap is my favourite superhero (Fantastic 4 = fave team), so I was a bit sniffy about this movie when it first came out; the biggest plus (which can only be seen via 6 years hindsight) is that the WWII setting helps to camouflage the Marvel movie formula...it comes across as something a bit different, and that is definitely a good thing; Hugo is a stronger Red Skull than I remember, the 98lb weakling SFX is quite remarkable and I love the Raiders of the Lost Ark & A Matter of Life and Death references; while I can now accept some alterations to the comicbook original (it makes sense that Bucky is not a kid + that Nick Fury is not leading the Howling Commandos), there is one which is unforgivable: THE major character-defining event in Cap's life (Bucky's "death") happens far too all-of-a-sudden and nondescriptly...and where is the crippling guilt?
HOFFA (1992)
d: Danny DeVito
CAST: Jack Nicholson; Danny DeVito; J.T. Walsh; Armand Assante; John C. Reilly
> my personal politics are just a jump to the Left, but I don't tend to take sides blindly...I assume that most people seeking power begin with ideals and then, after attaining power, slowly allow the ideals to be eroded by pragmatism, ego or greed; U.S. politics interests me (well...it used to...now it either scares me or leaves me incredulous) and the story of Unionism in the USA is particularly fascinating, highlighting the worst and the very worst of people who have achieved and want to keep power, both Left and Right; this film about the rise of Trucking Union leader Jimmy Hoffa clearly worships the man, acknowledging his ties to crime whilst forgiving them with the old "a man's gotta do..." credo; the film roped me in but I think I prefer the American Experience documentary which Ken Burns will make one day
THE BLUE GARDENIA (1953)
d: Fritz Lang
CAST: Anne Baxter; Richard Conte; Ann Sothern; Raymond Burr; George Reeves
> 1953 was the year of very major Fritz (The Big Heat) and very minor Fritz (unfortunately, this one); although featuring Fritz's favourite theme (Guilt...and the Fear of Getting Caught), this time round he only manages to produce a colour-by-numbers film from it; story turns on the killing of a ladies man / wolf (now known as a "Harvey") who gets his just desserts via a fireside poker in the kisser...but who wielded it?..was it...the leading lady?; adding to the competence-without-inspiration, we have Anne Baxter, who is not much more than pretty (and she plays a lousy drunk), Richard who seems to be allergic to facial expression and Superman who appears as a cop...only Ann Sothern contributes a little brightness; the shock / twist ending can be seen coming a mile away; mere professional product...partner it with a crossword
I COVER THE WATERFRONT (1933)
d: James Cruze
CAST: Ben Lyon; Claudette Colbert; Ernest Torrence; Hobart Cavanaugh
> an ultimately grim film which encompasses fishing, people smuggling, unscrupulous journalism, jokey romance and apathetic murder; blighted somewhat by some ineffectual casting (Ben is not a strong enough actor to carry the load + Claudette struggles with a Barbara Stanwyck role) and flurries of comic relief which come across as poor taste (alcoholic wisecracker & sex titters); Ernest stands out as a tough old skipper who is cunning, beloved and an indifferent killer of Chinese refugees; some scenes linger (esp. the first murder...by chains + the body in the shark) and the atmosphere is suitably dank, but overall the mix stays apart
Award-Worthy Performance
Ernest Torrence
THAT DARN CAT! (1965)
d: Robert Stevenson
CAST: Hayley Mills; Dean Jones; Dorothy Provine; Roddy McDowall; Neville Brand; Frank Gorshin; Elsa Lanchester; William Demarest; Ed Wynn; Grayson Hall
> my nana Ella took me to see this when I was 8 years old...and I couldn't remember any of it...blandness will do that; another in the Disney The Ugly Dachshund / The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit animal family 60's run...no better, no worse, more popular; while the appearance of comedy veterans Elsa, William and Ed gives the flick a badly needed lift, the rest of the star cast (including Hayley, who I think is attempting an American accent) is slapsticky, lightweight and dull; the criminal activity is family-unfriendly (regular discussion about murdering a hostage) and the movie is overlong for a plot that centres on following a cat; if you crave animal crime-fighting action, watch Skippy the Bush Kangaroo instead...marsupials simply ooze charisma
Got something you want to tell me?
GO RIGHT AHEAD: masted59@gmail.com
