Movie-Viewing Experiences 17/1/18 - 28/1/18
A+ = Adored Masterwork A = Excellent A- = Very Good B+ = Good B = Nice Try B- = Tolerable
C = Significantly Flawed D = Pretty Bad E = Truly Dreadful: Looking Into the Void F = Vile & Repugnant: The Void
THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980)
A MOVIE JUKEBOX
d: David Lynch
CAST: Anthony Hopkins; John Hurt; John Gielgud; Wendy Hiller; Anne Bancroft; Freddie Jones
> the saddest monster movie ever made, because the monsters turn out to be the human beings who surround and exploit one of God's errors; the sheer beauty of the acting (both Anthony as the doctor / friend and John as our hero have scenes where a single tear drops, perfectly on cue, as they are overwhelmed by emotion) and the lushness of the B&W cinematography (grey has never looked so rich) take control, directing us to move from gawking to pity to affection; while I find a couple of scenes difficult to watch (I get overwhelmed too), it is one of the rare movie tragedies which I choose to regularly rewatch...I revel in its human touch
Award-Worthy Performances
Anthony Hopkins; John Hurt; John Gielgud
THE SHAPE OF WATER (2017)
A- FIRST VIEWING IN-CINEMA
d: Guillermo del Toro
CAST: Sally Hawkins; Michael Shannon; Richard Jenkins; Olivia Spencer; Michael Stuhlbarg
> basically a Beauty & the Beast tale, Director & Writer Guillermo has created something quite original and beautiful; young mute woman cleans in a secret government facility...a strange amphibious creature is brought in for military research and treated cruelly...the woman decides to set it free; a lush romance with appropriately fluid imagery, I kept recalling the child wonder of E.T. and the human kindness of Turtle Diary; loved all the drop-ins of 1940's musicals and the cameo of the 1960's civil rights momentum; a wonderful cinematic experience and an ideal date movie for all you young lovers out there
Award-Worthy Performances
Sally Hawkins; Richard Jenkins
THE BIG SHORT (2015)
A- FIRST VIEWING
d: Adam McKay
CAST: Christian Bale; Steve Carell; Ryan Gosling; Brad Pitt
> now here's a neat trick: let's make a film about the 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis, and let's make it a).comprehensible b).historically accurate c).dramatically effective and d).quite funny; I have been putting off watching this, mainly due to my sheer horror of economic jargon and pie graphs, but, I must admit, it has achieved all 4 listed aims; focusing on a handful of guys who foretold and actually made money from the GFC, the film explains as it goes (using entertaining asides), throwing in character eccentricities and rapid-fire one-liners to help hold our interest as we watch arrogant rich bastards still win anyway while the lives of ordinary people go down the gurgler; one of the most complete demolitions of the American Way ever put on celluloid and uncontrollably rage-fuelling
THE DEAD ZONE (1983)
A- MOVIE JUKEBOX
d: David Cronenberg
CAST: Christopher Walken; Brooke Adams; Martin Sheen; Herbert Lom
> a classy psych-thriller where Director David proved for the first time that he was more than just a schlock'n'shock master; Christopher wakes from a 5 year coma and discovers that he has developed the ability to foresee (through touch) traumatic events in the lives of individual people; this is Christopher's most appealing performance (he keeps the idiosyncrasies to a minimum...although even when limping, he does it like nobody else); curiously, Martin overdoes the sinister politician (a West Wing irony!); the story unfolds at an almost leisurely pace, despite featuring a serial-killer, drowning kids, bloody suicides and world annihilation
Award-Worthy Performance
Christopher Walken
THE GUNFIGHTER (1950)
B+ RE-EVALUATION Original Grade: A-
d: Henry King
CAST: Gregory Peck; Millard Mitchell; Karl Malden; Helen Westcott; Jean Peters
> this is regarded as a classic Western by many astute people, and must have been an influence of sorts on Unforgiven (which I infinitely prefer); Gregory is Jimmy Ringo, one of the last tough gunmen who pulls into town to catch up with his estranged wife and son...but there's always someone meaner who wants the reputation of shooting Ringo...; while I appreciate the film's "Legend" trimmings and the tick-tock of impending death, I have difficulty with 1) Gregory, who seems to me to be miscast and only twinkles when he is allowed to be nice 2) the final scenes, which are inappropriately noble and a little hokey and 3) the entire concept of a gunslinger being looked upon with awe... hey, Ned Kelly may be lauded by many in Australia, but to me, he was just a bloody cop-killer; yes, the movie is still captivating, but I keep it at arm's length
HOLY MATRIMONY (1943)
B+ FIRST VIEWING
d: John M. Stahl
CAST: Monty Woolley; Gracie Fields; Laird Cregar; Una O'Connor; Frank Pangborn
> I spent many months trying to track down a reasonably-priced copy of this well-regarded comedy...and fine it is, but an undeniable classic of its genre it is not; Monty is an English painter who wants a low-profile life...his valet dies and Monty swaps identities to escape the public...he then meets and marries his ideal soulmate...but the truth won't be held back for long; very gentle & urbane comedy with a typical curmudgeonly performance by Monty and a rather awkward one from Britain's music hall star Gracie (she never seems quite at ease); the supporting cast brims with wonderful character actors (Una O'Connor always gives me a little flutter of joy as soon as she speaks) and the script ties the threads up neatly, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed...I expected great and what I got was merely good
FRANK (2014)
B FIRST VIEWING
d: Lenny Abrahamson
CAST: Domhnall Gleeson; Michael Fassbender; Maggie Gyllenhaal; Scoot McNairy
> impossible to review this film without using the word "quirky"...actually, only the first two-thirds are quirky...the final third is unexpected and sad, like finding out in the final chapter that Alice in Wonderland was dreamed by a little girl in a car-crash coma; young guy with musical ambitions gets roped in to play keyboards in a rather avant-garde band, led by a bloke wearing a large papier-mache head (which he never takes off)...the band does a Big Pink and lives together in a rustic hideaway, discovering their muse and recording an album...then, opportunity knocks; the film is intentionally never hilarious but it's not just another "dark comedy" either...the main characters change/grow so they are more than just bizarre clowns; too early to tell if the ending enriches or depletes what went before
THE BEGUILED (1971)
B- SECOND VIEWING
d: Don Siegel
CAST: Clint Eastwood; Geraldine Page; Elizabeth Hartman; Jo Ann Harris; Darleen Carr
> 1971 was a stellar year for Our Man Clint (Dirty Harry + Play Misty For Me...his directorial debut...+ this, a Gothic sex-horror movie); a journey into the Quirk Zone for both star & director, this is a highly-regarded Art-y flick which bombed with the public but made the critics' hearts race...I'm with the common people on this one; not much different to groovy Sixties repressed-sex captive pics such as The Collector and Three in the Attic (and 1990's Misery), this tells the tale of a wounded Civil War Yankee holing up in a young ladies school in the Deep Spanish-Moss-Covered South...he stirs the women's loins (the youngest is 12!) and they like it...a lot; add incest, sexual jealousy and orgiastic fantasy and shake; while Clint's character is intriguingly horrid, the pace is sleepy, the acting is variable and the premise is artificial
MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN (1969)
C SECOND VIEWING
d: James B. Clark
CAST: Teddy Eccles; Theodore Bikel; Tudi Wiggins
> when it comes to nature movies, I am a walking contradiction... I am a creeks 'n' rivers 'n' mountains 'n' native bushland admirer & hiker but films about wilderness bore me shitless; I saw this movie one Saturday TV matinee when my 11 year old self was keen with Scouting and the story thrilled me (kid goes out into the Canadian wild country by himself to live off the land and become one with Nature), but viewing it now as a grumpy 58 year old, I detect flaws: Teddy comes across as an arrogant little snot who may be adventurous but he sure is a drag + for an environmental guy, he hypocritically litters, steals baby birds, turns a raccoon into a cat and torches a tree + glistening water & snow and blue mountains whiskered with conifer soon become as dull as painted canvas; graded leniently for making a contribution to my childhood
ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL (2015)
C FIRST VIEWING
d: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
CAST: Jeremy Dawson; Olivia Cooke; RJ Cyler; Molly Shannon
> a High School misfit (he compares himself to a groundhog) is persuaded by his mother to visit a terminally-ill schoolfriend... they don't fall in love, but he grows up while she dies...Death being a demanding taskmaster after all; while I recognise long, tortuous cancer death (here's to you, Barb), there is nothing else in this film which seems to be from Planet Earth...particularly not the characters, who are bizarre plastic fakery rather than anything resembling flesh; personality quirks are accessorised onto both lead and side roles, and the result is a collection of animated costume jewellery...sparkle & paste; the twist in the tale is an annoying cheat and the ending is too tidily wrapped up; best bits are the classic movie title parodies: Scabface + The Prunes of Wrath + The Turd Man + Anatomy of a Burger + Death in Tennis...like that
FATTY FINN (1980)
D SECOND VIEWING
d: Maurice Murphy
CAST: Ben Oxenbould; Rebecca Rigg; Bert Newton; Noni Hazlehurst; Gerard Kennedy
> based on the 1930's Aussie comic strip of the same name, this is a fairly awful kids film, primarily due to the overripeness of the acting (the child actors are gratingly schoolplay-ish but the adult professionals should have known better...without exception, they stink); the colours are all dayglo pop which becomes nauseating after a while, the songs are rotten and the plot just seems to be a way to weave in some Keystone Kop slapstick and bum & nuddy jokes; however, I have found a redeeming feature: I am old enough to take some nostalgic pleasure from the appearance of crystal sets, smell-the-cheese punches, cursive & compositions, outside dunnies, lumpy morning porridge, lemon-squeezer Scout hats, backyard chooks, laundry mangles, shanghais and going barefoot at school...but it's nowhere near enough
FANTASTIC 4 (2015)
D FIRST VIEWING
d: Josh Trank
CAST: Miles Teller; Kate Mara; Jamie Bell; Michael B. Jordan; Toby Kebbell
> while it's not entirely the infamous disaster that nerds & real people believe, it is indisputably subpar; I am a Fantastic Four (the greatest of all comicbook superhero creations... along with Batman, of course) fan and I can tell you right now that the characters in this film may have the names, but they are definitely not Reed, Sue, Ben, Johnny and Victor; void of the originals' joy + backslap humour + stunning inventiveness + love of adventure, this mob is solemn and emotionally washed out, the people you steer clear of at parties because they are such a bring-down; there are a couple of plusses (such as seamless SFX and an admirable attempt at explaining the blatantly impossible) but the fundamental flaw is obvious: why make a film about classic, beloved characters and then deliberately change them into other people?
Got something you want to tell me?
GO RIGHT AHEAD: masted59@gmail.com
THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980)
d: David Lynch
CAST: Anthony Hopkins; John Hurt; John Gielgud; Wendy Hiller; Anne Bancroft; Freddie Jones
> the saddest monster movie ever made, because the monsters turn out to be the human beings who surround and exploit one of God's errors; the sheer beauty of the acting (both Anthony as the doctor / friend and John as our hero have scenes where a single tear drops, perfectly on cue, as they are overwhelmed by emotion) and the lushness of the B&W cinematography (grey has never looked so rich) take control, directing us to move from gawking to pity to affection; while I find a couple of scenes difficult to watch (I get overwhelmed too), it is one of the rare movie tragedies which I choose to regularly rewatch...I revel in its human touch
Award-Worthy Performances
Anthony Hopkins; John Hurt; John Gielgud
THE SHAPE OF WATER (2017)
d: Guillermo del Toro
CAST: Sally Hawkins; Michael Shannon; Richard Jenkins; Olivia Spencer; Michael Stuhlbarg
> basically a Beauty & the Beast tale, Director & Writer Guillermo has created something quite original and beautiful; young mute woman cleans in a secret government facility...a strange amphibious creature is brought in for military research and treated cruelly...the woman decides to set it free; a lush romance with appropriately fluid imagery, I kept recalling the child wonder of E.T. and the human kindness of Turtle Diary; loved all the drop-ins of 1940's musicals and the cameo of the 1960's civil rights momentum; a wonderful cinematic experience and an ideal date movie for all you young lovers out there
Award-Worthy Performances
Sally Hawkins; Richard Jenkins
THE BIG SHORT (2015)
d: Adam McKay
CAST: Christian Bale; Steve Carell; Ryan Gosling; Brad Pitt
> now here's a neat trick: let's make a film about the 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis, and let's make it a).comprehensible b).historically accurate c).dramatically effective and d).quite funny; I have been putting off watching this, mainly due to my sheer horror of economic jargon and pie graphs, but, I must admit, it has achieved all 4 listed aims; focusing on a handful of guys who foretold and actually made money from the GFC, the film explains as it goes (using entertaining asides), throwing in character eccentricities and rapid-fire one-liners to help hold our interest as we watch arrogant rich bastards still win anyway while the lives of ordinary people go down the gurgler; one of the most complete demolitions of the American Way ever put on celluloid and uncontrollably rage-fuelling
THE DEAD ZONE (1983)
d: David Cronenberg
CAST: Christopher Walken; Brooke Adams; Martin Sheen; Herbert Lom
> a classy psych-thriller where Director David proved for the first time that he was more than just a schlock'n'shock master; Christopher wakes from a 5 year coma and discovers that he has developed the ability to foresee (through touch) traumatic events in the lives of individual people; this is Christopher's most appealing performance (he keeps the idiosyncrasies to a minimum...although even when limping, he does it like nobody else); curiously, Martin overdoes the sinister politician (a West Wing irony!); the story unfolds at an almost leisurely pace, despite featuring a serial-killer, drowning kids, bloody suicides and world annihilation
Award-Worthy Performance
Christopher Walken
THE GUNFIGHTER (1950)
d: Henry King
CAST: Gregory Peck; Millard Mitchell; Karl Malden; Helen Westcott; Jean Peters
> this is regarded as a classic Western by many astute people, and must have been an influence of sorts on Unforgiven (which I infinitely prefer); Gregory is Jimmy Ringo, one of the last tough gunmen who pulls into town to catch up with his estranged wife and son...but there's always someone meaner who wants the reputation of shooting Ringo...; while I appreciate the film's "Legend" trimmings and the tick-tock of impending death, I have difficulty with 1) Gregory, who seems to me to be miscast and only twinkles when he is allowed to be nice 2) the final scenes, which are inappropriately noble and a little hokey and 3) the entire concept of a gunslinger being looked upon with awe... hey, Ned Kelly may be lauded by many in Australia, but to me, he was just a bloody cop-killer; yes, the movie is still captivating, but I keep it at arm's length
HOLY MATRIMONY (1943)
d: John M. Stahl
CAST: Monty Woolley; Gracie Fields; Laird Cregar; Una O'Connor; Frank Pangborn
> I spent many months trying to track down a reasonably-priced copy of this well-regarded comedy...and fine it is, but an undeniable classic of its genre it is not; Monty is an English painter who wants a low-profile life...his valet dies and Monty swaps identities to escape the public...he then meets and marries his ideal soulmate...but the truth won't be held back for long; very gentle & urbane comedy with a typical curmudgeonly performance by Monty and a rather awkward one from Britain's music hall star Gracie (she never seems quite at ease); the supporting cast brims with wonderful character actors (Una O'Connor always gives me a little flutter of joy as soon as she speaks) and the script ties the threads up neatly, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed...I expected great and what I got was merely good
FRANK (2014)
d: Lenny Abrahamson
CAST: Domhnall Gleeson; Michael Fassbender; Maggie Gyllenhaal; Scoot McNairy
> impossible to review this film without using the word "quirky"...actually, only the first two-thirds are quirky...the final third is unexpected and sad, like finding out in the final chapter that Alice in Wonderland was dreamed by a little girl in a car-crash coma; young guy with musical ambitions gets roped in to play keyboards in a rather avant-garde band, led by a bloke wearing a large papier-mache head (which he never takes off)...the band does a Big Pink and lives together in a rustic hideaway, discovering their muse and recording an album...then, opportunity knocks; the film is intentionally never hilarious but it's not just another "dark comedy" either...the main characters change/grow so they are more than just bizarre clowns; too early to tell if the ending enriches or depletes what went before
THE BEGUILED (1971)
d: Don Siegel
CAST: Clint Eastwood; Geraldine Page; Elizabeth Hartman; Jo Ann Harris; Darleen Carr
> 1971 was a stellar year for Our Man Clint (Dirty Harry + Play Misty For Me...his directorial debut...+ this, a Gothic sex-horror movie); a journey into the Quirk Zone for both star & director, this is a highly-regarded Art-y flick which bombed with the public but made the critics' hearts race...I'm with the common people on this one; not much different to groovy Sixties repressed-sex captive pics such as The Collector and Three in the Attic (and 1990's Misery), this tells the tale of a wounded Civil War Yankee holing up in a young ladies school in the Deep Spanish-Moss-Covered South...he stirs the women's loins (the youngest is 12!) and they like it...a lot; add incest, sexual jealousy and orgiastic fantasy and shake; while Clint's character is intriguingly horrid, the pace is sleepy, the acting is variable and the premise is artificial
MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN (1969)
d: James B. Clark
CAST: Teddy Eccles; Theodore Bikel; Tudi Wiggins
> when it comes to nature movies, I am a walking contradiction... I am a creeks 'n' rivers 'n' mountains 'n' native bushland admirer & hiker but films about wilderness bore me shitless; I saw this movie one Saturday TV matinee when my 11 year old self was keen with Scouting and the story thrilled me (kid goes out into the Canadian wild country by himself to live off the land and become one with Nature), but viewing it now as a grumpy 58 year old, I detect flaws: Teddy comes across as an arrogant little snot who may be adventurous but he sure is a drag + for an environmental guy, he hypocritically litters, steals baby birds, turns a raccoon into a cat and torches a tree + glistening water & snow and blue mountains whiskered with conifer soon become as dull as painted canvas; graded leniently for making a contribution to my childhood
ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL (2015)
d: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
CAST: Jeremy Dawson; Olivia Cooke; RJ Cyler; Molly Shannon
> a High School misfit (he compares himself to a groundhog) is persuaded by his mother to visit a terminally-ill schoolfriend... they don't fall in love, but he grows up while she dies...Death being a demanding taskmaster after all; while I recognise long, tortuous cancer death (here's to you, Barb), there is nothing else in this film which seems to be from Planet Earth...particularly not the characters, who are bizarre plastic fakery rather than anything resembling flesh; personality quirks are accessorised onto both lead and side roles, and the result is a collection of animated costume jewellery...sparkle & paste; the twist in the tale is an annoying cheat and the ending is too tidily wrapped up; best bits are the classic movie title parodies: Scabface + The Prunes of Wrath + The Turd Man + Anatomy of a Burger + Death in Tennis...like that
FATTY FINN (1980)
d: Maurice Murphy
CAST: Ben Oxenbould; Rebecca Rigg; Bert Newton; Noni Hazlehurst; Gerard Kennedy
> based on the 1930's Aussie comic strip of the same name, this is a fairly awful kids film, primarily due to the overripeness of the acting (the child actors are gratingly schoolplay-ish but the adult professionals should have known better...without exception, they stink); the colours are all dayglo pop which becomes nauseating after a while, the songs are rotten and the plot just seems to be a way to weave in some Keystone Kop slapstick and bum & nuddy jokes; however, I have found a redeeming feature: I am old enough to take some nostalgic pleasure from the appearance of crystal sets, smell-the-cheese punches, cursive & compositions, outside dunnies, lumpy morning porridge, lemon-squeezer Scout hats, backyard chooks, laundry mangles, shanghais and going barefoot at school...but it's nowhere near enough
FANTASTIC 4 (2015)
d: Josh Trank
CAST: Miles Teller; Kate Mara; Jamie Bell; Michael B. Jordan; Toby Kebbell
> while it's not entirely the infamous disaster that nerds & real people believe, it is indisputably subpar; I am a Fantastic Four (the greatest of all comicbook superhero creations... along with Batman, of course) fan and I can tell you right now that the characters in this film may have the names, but they are definitely not Reed, Sue, Ben, Johnny and Victor; void of the originals' joy + backslap humour + stunning inventiveness + love of adventure, this mob is solemn and emotionally washed out, the people you steer clear of at parties because they are such a bring-down; there are a couple of plusses (such as seamless SFX and an admirable attempt at explaining the blatantly impossible) but the fundamental flaw is obvious: why make a film about classic, beloved characters and then deliberately change them into other people?
Got something you want to tell me?
GO RIGHT AHEAD: masted59@gmail.com
