Movie-Viewing Experiences 27/3/18 - 14/4/18
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
CHAPPAQUIDDICK (2017)
A- FIRST VIEWING IN-CINEMA
d: John Curran
CAST: Jason Clarke; Ed Helms; Kate Mara; Bruce Dern; Jim Gaffigan
> it's obvious why this wasn't made while Teddy Kennedy was still alive...I have no idea how accurate this character assassination is, but the film's aim is true; having watched Jason in a half-dozen movies now, I can say the actor seems to lack screen impact...which, for this role, is an asset, because he plays a guy who is a moral blank; President-to-be-cos-he's-a-Kennedy Ted drives a car over a bridge, drowning his female passenger...9 hours pass before he reports it; to me, this film doesn't shy away from the tough stuff: a mixture of painkillers & alcohol? + an extramarital dalliance? + mental illness? + turning friends into accomplices? + power as vice? + ambition trumping ethics?; a story of a weak, arrogant, haunted, overburdened man who is built entirely of flaws...and branded with a surname
A QUIET PLACE (2018)
A- FIRST VIEWING IN-CINEMA
d: John Krasinski
CAST: Emily Blunt; John Krasinski; Millicent Simmonds; Noah Jupe
> a classy and clever horror movie; sharing a similar set-up to 2017's It Comes at Night (family hides out in a rural location, trying to avoid being killed by what's out there), this film adds a unique twist: the monsters (in this case, aliens, I think) are blind and seek out their prey by sound...thus, much of the film is in lean-forward silence; refreshingly, this has a minimum of jump-scares to achieve horror-impact...instead, it works on your nerves, with a couple of carefully placed "that's-gotta-mean-something" scenes to keep you involved with the plot; the small cast packs a punch, especially the kids; I would've preferred the monsters be kept more in the shadows (too many full-frontals...the ones I had in my head were more terrifying), but this is the best horror (as opposed to slasher/gore) film since...2017's It Comes at Night
GEORDIE aka WEE GEORDIE (1955)
B+ SECOND VIEWING
d: Frank Launder
CAST: Bill Travers; Alastair Sim; Norah Gorsen; Paul Young; Molly Urquhart
> appealing little movie containing all the nice cliches of Scotland you could list: the simple rural life is the best + childhood sweetheart with heather in her hair + tatties & porridge & kilts & bagpipes & whisky galore + money is meant to be kept + the mountains and the lochs are where God lives; local lad Geordie beefs himself up with a bodybuilding program, becoming a hammer-throwing champion in the process...the 1956 Melbourne Olympics come calling...but will it cost him his true love(s)?; soul-stirring scenery is backdrop to yet another scene-stealing performance by Alastair (with Bill being quite serviceable as the big man); the story rambles along amiably, with absolutely no roughage whatsoever...the cuddly outcome is assured from the get-go; watch it with a mug of hot barley soup under an eiderdown
BOY (2010)
B+ SECOND VIEWING
d: Taika Waititi
CAST: James Rolleston; Taika Waititi; Te Aho Aho Eketone-Whitu
> interesting to watch this again after the comedic popularity of Thor: Ragnarok (which was only a laughfest if you can accept a silly Thor); this is inevitably described as a coming-of-age movie, but that often means child-learns-that-adults-sometimes-aren't-what-you-hope... and this is one of those times; NZ North Island kid is enjoying his 1984 pop culture childhood and then his father returns from jail...and hero worship kicks in; many touches of self-deprecating humour (drinking / crime / assault / drugs / poverty are all used at some point for laughs) raise the enjoyment factor while the inevitable conflict between father & son broods away; the comedy is more effective than the serious stuff, but the serious stuff is what sets the comedy up to work, so...; PS check out Taika's MCU audition short to see how he won the big one
THE SIEGE OF PINCHGUT aka FOUR DESPERATE MEN (1959)
B+ FIRST VIEWING
d: Harry Watts
CAST: Aldo Ray; Neil McCallum; Victor Maddern; Heather Sears; Gerry Duggan
> a British Made-In-Australia thriller which is actually thrilling; a convicted felon is freed by three accomplices and they make their escape via ambulance through the streets of postwar Sydney...fleeing across the harbour, they end up at Pinchgut (Ford Denison)...they hold the lighthouse keeper & his family hostage, trying to bargain their way out with the police; tautly made, with a no-flab script (very little time is wasted on romantic interludes or soft-spoken confessions), the real thrill of this is glorious Sydney circa the late 50's...still looking like a shithole in parts (love the backlane two-up game!) but trying to reinvent itself as a postcard-worthy city; unavoidable flaw is that you are aware that the threatened cataclysmic explosion isn't going to happen...the film obviously doesn't have the budget
CONFESSIONS OF A NAZI SPY (1939)
B FIRST VIEWING
d: Anatole Litvak
CAST: Edward G. Robinson; Paul Lukas; George Sanders: Francis Lederer
> difficult to see this as anything more than a record of its time, but in its time, it was a big (and courageous) deal: the first major studio (Warner Brothers, of course) to make a blatantly anti-Nazi film; the USA was still pro-isolation, wanting to keep out of Europe's war (this film was a commercial flop, so strongly was the public against involvement), but the Brothers Warner (a family of Jews...and real scrappers) weren't having any of it...they knew what was going on in their old homeland; the movie is structured around a Walter Winchellish voiceover, with Eddie G as a G-Man tracking down, questioning (nicely of course...he's American) and breaking the dirty Nazi rats (and they break just like a little girl); only intermittently entertaining, this is graded leniently for its forever message: no matter the ideology, tyranny sucks
COME TO THE STABLE (1949)
B FIRST VIEWING
d: Henry Koster
CAST: Loretta Young; Celeste Holm; Hugh Marlowe; Elsa Lanchester; Thomas Gomez
> oh, I give up...schmaltz like this should be banned...I try my darnedest to point 'n' scoff, but I end up sort-of liking it anyway, and feeling guilty; it's got nuns in it fer chrissakes... not evil or mean ones (y'know...real) but those icky soft-spoken, lightly smiling, looking-up-at-the-sky types; two nuns from France come to USA to build a hospital, relying on the ol' "God Will Provide" economic plan...no mere mortal stands a chance; while Loretta is a noble pain and Celeste struggles with a French accent, light comedy touches (tennis match + jeep speeding) help considerably, and both Hugh and Thomas deliver nice dramatic performances above and beyond the call of duty...good for them; it all works out the way the nuns want of course, with heavenly choirs and hard hearts softened...now, leave me be...I have given
INNOCENCE (2000)
B- FIRST VIEWING
d: Paul Cox
CAST: Julia Blake; Charles Tingwell; Terry Norris; Marta Dusseldorp; Robert Menzies
> a much-praised film by many critics, I was disappointed by this...I expected a heartwarming look at Love in the Twilight Years, but found a rejig of Love Story for the geriatric crowd; don't get me wrong...I was moved (twice) and I agree that Love and Beauty are the closest to God that we'll ever know on Earth, but the dialogue in this is just too self-consciously Dramatic-Arts to make the story recognisably universal (for example: "I don't want sacrifice; I want love" and "Too much love is as bad as no love at all"...how is that much different to "Love means never having to say you're sorry"?); while Julia is graceful and natural, Charles and Terry seem a little stiff in the joints and in some of their line-readings; very romantic of course, but the film doesn't say as much as it means to about fulfillment via soul mate
LBJ (2016)
B- FIRST VIEWING IN-CINEMA
d: Rob Reiner
CAST: Woody Harrelson; Richard Jenkins; Jennifer Jason Leigh; Michael Stahl-David
> while I'm an admirer of American myth-making, I can only tolerate a small amount of self-love before it starts to get to me...this film is right on the edge; the first appearance of Woody as Lyndon is quite a shock: I thought he was wearing one of those oversized Mardi Gras heads...a papier mache pinata with windsocks for ears; Woody never entirely convinces as LBJ (whose transition from redneck to social reformer just allofasudden happens), but gives it a good try, as does the rest of the cast as they portray other US political icons (JFK + Bobby K + Jackie O etc.); too much of The West Wing-style music throbs in the background at crucial/ethical moments, inviting cynical wincing; the historical sweep is given the Reader's Digest treatment, so you are left with the simplest of impressions: LBJ was a flawed but decent man...wow
LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS (2004)
B- SECOND VIEWING
d: Brad Silberling
CAST: Jim Carrey; Liam Aiken; Emily Browning; Timothy Spall; Meryl Streep
> absolutely stunning to stare at (the visuals are rich with design cleverness and grandeur), this lite-dark kids' adventure fantasy has one major flaw which nobbles it: Jim Carrey just cannot be reined in...he overwhelms every scene he is in, swamping the other actors, the scenery, the special effects and even the story itself...he just doesn't have a dimmer switch and the numerous asides & improvs soon become irritating noise...he's more the hiss than the villain; the trio of kids is nice enough and the collection of support turns & cameos serves the given roles without resorting (too much) to let's-ham-it-up-'cos-it's-a-kids-movie; the Roald Dahl-style grotesquery is a blessing but the rather anticlimactic ending is a letdown; just sit in a comfy chair and look at it go gorgeously by...and be ready to hit Print Screen
THE MAGNIFICENT DOPE aka THE MAGNIFICENT JERK (1942)
C FIRST VIEWING
d: Walter Lang
CAST: Henry Fonda; Lynn Bari; Don Ameche; Edward Everett Horton
> very much a poor man's Frank Capra movie...think Meet John Doe or Mr Smith Goes to Washington, but think about a bellyflop at the same time; conman Don (as uninteresting as always) runs a motivational company which hits upon the idea of turning an unmotivated man (Henry, the only reason to watch this) into a business success...love intervenes and the ways of the simple common people prove to be *yawn* the best; while Henry is a fine substitute for Gary Cooper / James Stewart, Lynn is certainly no Jean Arthur / Barbara Stanwyck; even the character actor stylings of Edward can't help this blandfest; apparently Henry had to agree to make fluffy crud like this in order to score leading roles in masterworks such as The Grapes of Wrath and The Ox-Bow Incident...he shoulda complained to his union
PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING (2018)
C FIRST VIEWING IN-CINEMA
d: Steven S. DeKnight
CAST: John Boyega; Cailee Spaeny; Scott Eastwood; Charlie Day; Burn Gorman
> when I was a kid, my Saturday Morning TV Passion was Thunderbirds...sliced in between the Supermarionation heroics of Scott & Company were hysterical ads for the tie-in merchandise...all of the Thunderbird vehicles + a replica of Tracy Island where they launched from + the action figures of the 5 brothers plus Brains and Lady Penelope...every Friday night family trip to the Clovercrest Shopping Centre, my eyes and my heart would settle on these treasures, their exorbitant prices totally exhausting my 20 cents a week pocket money budget...they remained coveted but unpurchased; this film is a 111 minute version of those TV commercials, blasting out to the 9 year old boy in every bloke; me, I'll just admire the Thunderbird 1 model I bought when I turned 50 and soon forget I ever saw this frantic, high-carb movie
Go something you want to tell me?
GO RIGHT AHEAD: masted59@gmail.com
CHAPPAQUIDDICK (2017)
d: John Curran
CAST: Jason Clarke; Ed Helms; Kate Mara; Bruce Dern; Jim Gaffigan
> it's obvious why this wasn't made while Teddy Kennedy was still alive...I have no idea how accurate this character assassination is, but the film's aim is true; having watched Jason in a half-dozen movies now, I can say the actor seems to lack screen impact...which, for this role, is an asset, because he plays a guy who is a moral blank; President-to-be-cos-he's-a-Kennedy Ted drives a car over a bridge, drowning his female passenger...9 hours pass before he reports it; to me, this film doesn't shy away from the tough stuff: a mixture of painkillers & alcohol? + an extramarital dalliance? + mental illness? + turning friends into accomplices? + power as vice? + ambition trumping ethics?; a story of a weak, arrogant, haunted, overburdened man who is built entirely of flaws...and branded with a surname
A QUIET PLACE (2018)
d: John Krasinski
CAST: Emily Blunt; John Krasinski; Millicent Simmonds; Noah Jupe
> a classy and clever horror movie; sharing a similar set-up to 2017's It Comes at Night (family hides out in a rural location, trying to avoid being killed by what's out there), this film adds a unique twist: the monsters (in this case, aliens, I think) are blind and seek out their prey by sound...thus, much of the film is in lean-forward silence; refreshingly, this has a minimum of jump-scares to achieve horror-impact...instead, it works on your nerves, with a couple of carefully placed "that's-gotta-mean-something" scenes to keep you involved with the plot; the small cast packs a punch, especially the kids; I would've preferred the monsters be kept more in the shadows (too many full-frontals...the ones I had in my head were more terrifying), but this is the best horror (as opposed to slasher/gore) film since...2017's It Comes at Night
GEORDIE aka WEE GEORDIE (1955)
d: Frank Launder
CAST: Bill Travers; Alastair Sim; Norah Gorsen; Paul Young; Molly Urquhart
> appealing little movie containing all the nice cliches of Scotland you could list: the simple rural life is the best + childhood sweetheart with heather in her hair + tatties & porridge & kilts & bagpipes & whisky galore + money is meant to be kept + the mountains and the lochs are where God lives; local lad Geordie beefs himself up with a bodybuilding program, becoming a hammer-throwing champion in the process...the 1956 Melbourne Olympics come calling...but will it cost him his true love(s)?; soul-stirring scenery is backdrop to yet another scene-stealing performance by Alastair (with Bill being quite serviceable as the big man); the story rambles along amiably, with absolutely no roughage whatsoever...the cuddly outcome is assured from the get-go; watch it with a mug of hot barley soup under an eiderdown
BOY (2010)
d: Taika Waititi
CAST: James Rolleston; Taika Waititi; Te Aho Aho Eketone-Whitu
> interesting to watch this again after the comedic popularity of Thor: Ragnarok (which was only a laughfest if you can accept a silly Thor); this is inevitably described as a coming-of-age movie, but that often means child-learns-that-adults-sometimes-aren't-what-you-hope... and this is one of those times; NZ North Island kid is enjoying his 1984 pop culture childhood and then his father returns from jail...and hero worship kicks in; many touches of self-deprecating humour (drinking / crime / assault / drugs / poverty are all used at some point for laughs) raise the enjoyment factor while the inevitable conflict between father & son broods away; the comedy is more effective than the serious stuff, but the serious stuff is what sets the comedy up to work, so...; PS check out Taika's MCU audition short to see how he won the big one
THE SIEGE OF PINCHGUT aka FOUR DESPERATE MEN (1959)
d: Harry Watts
CAST: Aldo Ray; Neil McCallum; Victor Maddern; Heather Sears; Gerry Duggan
> a British Made-In-Australia thriller which is actually thrilling; a convicted felon is freed by three accomplices and they make their escape via ambulance through the streets of postwar Sydney...fleeing across the harbour, they end up at Pinchgut (Ford Denison)...they hold the lighthouse keeper & his family hostage, trying to bargain their way out with the police; tautly made, with a no-flab script (very little time is wasted on romantic interludes or soft-spoken confessions), the real thrill of this is glorious Sydney circa the late 50's...still looking like a shithole in parts (love the backlane two-up game!) but trying to reinvent itself as a postcard-worthy city; unavoidable flaw is that you are aware that the threatened cataclysmic explosion isn't going to happen...the film obviously doesn't have the budget
CONFESSIONS OF A NAZI SPY (1939)
d: Anatole Litvak
CAST: Edward G. Robinson; Paul Lukas; George Sanders: Francis Lederer
> difficult to see this as anything more than a record of its time, but in its time, it was a big (and courageous) deal: the first major studio (Warner Brothers, of course) to make a blatantly anti-Nazi film; the USA was still pro-isolation, wanting to keep out of Europe's war (this film was a commercial flop, so strongly was the public against involvement), but the Brothers Warner (a family of Jews...and real scrappers) weren't having any of it...they knew what was going on in their old homeland; the movie is structured around a Walter Winchellish voiceover, with Eddie G as a G-Man tracking down, questioning (nicely of course...he's American) and breaking the dirty Nazi rats (and they break just like a little girl); only intermittently entertaining, this is graded leniently for its forever message: no matter the ideology, tyranny sucks
COME TO THE STABLE (1949)
d: Henry Koster
CAST: Loretta Young; Celeste Holm; Hugh Marlowe; Elsa Lanchester; Thomas Gomez
> oh, I give up...schmaltz like this should be banned...I try my darnedest to point 'n' scoff, but I end up sort-of liking it anyway, and feeling guilty; it's got nuns in it fer chrissakes... not evil or mean ones (y'know...real) but those icky soft-spoken, lightly smiling, looking-up-at-the-sky types; two nuns from France come to USA to build a hospital, relying on the ol' "God Will Provide" economic plan...no mere mortal stands a chance; while Loretta is a noble pain and Celeste struggles with a French accent, light comedy touches (tennis match + jeep speeding) help considerably, and both Hugh and Thomas deliver nice dramatic performances above and beyond the call of duty...good for them; it all works out the way the nuns want of course, with heavenly choirs and hard hearts softened...now, leave me be...I have given
INNOCENCE (2000)
d: Paul Cox
CAST: Julia Blake; Charles Tingwell; Terry Norris; Marta Dusseldorp; Robert Menzies
> a much-praised film by many critics, I was disappointed by this...I expected a heartwarming look at Love in the Twilight Years, but found a rejig of Love Story for the geriatric crowd; don't get me wrong...I was moved (twice) and I agree that Love and Beauty are the closest to God that we'll ever know on Earth, but the dialogue in this is just too self-consciously Dramatic-Arts to make the story recognisably universal (for example: "I don't want sacrifice; I want love" and "Too much love is as bad as no love at all"...how is that much different to "Love means never having to say you're sorry"?); while Julia is graceful and natural, Charles and Terry seem a little stiff in the joints and in some of their line-readings; very romantic of course, but the film doesn't say as much as it means to about fulfillment via soul mate
LBJ (2016)
d: Rob Reiner
CAST: Woody Harrelson; Richard Jenkins; Jennifer Jason Leigh; Michael Stahl-David
> while I'm an admirer of American myth-making, I can only tolerate a small amount of self-love before it starts to get to me...this film is right on the edge; the first appearance of Woody as Lyndon is quite a shock: I thought he was wearing one of those oversized Mardi Gras heads...a papier mache pinata with windsocks for ears; Woody never entirely convinces as LBJ (whose transition from redneck to social reformer just allofasudden happens), but gives it a good try, as does the rest of the cast as they portray other US political icons (JFK + Bobby K + Jackie O etc.); too much of The West Wing-style music throbs in the background at crucial/ethical moments, inviting cynical wincing; the historical sweep is given the Reader's Digest treatment, so you are left with the simplest of impressions: LBJ was a flawed but decent man...wow
LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS (2004)
d: Brad Silberling
CAST: Jim Carrey; Liam Aiken; Emily Browning; Timothy Spall; Meryl Streep
> absolutely stunning to stare at (the visuals are rich with design cleverness and grandeur), this lite-dark kids' adventure fantasy has one major flaw which nobbles it: Jim Carrey just cannot be reined in...he overwhelms every scene he is in, swamping the other actors, the scenery, the special effects and even the story itself...he just doesn't have a dimmer switch and the numerous asides & improvs soon become irritating noise...he's more the hiss than the villain; the trio of kids is nice enough and the collection of support turns & cameos serves the given roles without resorting (too much) to let's-ham-it-up-'cos-it's-a-kids-movie; the Roald Dahl-style grotesquery is a blessing but the rather anticlimactic ending is a letdown; just sit in a comfy chair and look at it go gorgeously by...and be ready to hit Print Screen
THE MAGNIFICENT DOPE aka THE MAGNIFICENT JERK (1942)
d: Walter Lang
CAST: Henry Fonda; Lynn Bari; Don Ameche; Edward Everett Horton
> very much a poor man's Frank Capra movie...think Meet John Doe or Mr Smith Goes to Washington, but think about a bellyflop at the same time; conman Don (as uninteresting as always) runs a motivational company which hits upon the idea of turning an unmotivated man (Henry, the only reason to watch this) into a business success...love intervenes and the ways of the simple common people prove to be *yawn* the best; while Henry is a fine substitute for Gary Cooper / James Stewart, Lynn is certainly no Jean Arthur / Barbara Stanwyck; even the character actor stylings of Edward can't help this blandfest; apparently Henry had to agree to make fluffy crud like this in order to score leading roles in masterworks such as The Grapes of Wrath and The Ox-Bow Incident...he shoulda complained to his union
PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING (2018)
d: Steven S. DeKnight
CAST: John Boyega; Cailee Spaeny; Scott Eastwood; Charlie Day; Burn Gorman
> when I was a kid, my Saturday Morning TV Passion was Thunderbirds...sliced in between the Supermarionation heroics of Scott & Company were hysterical ads for the tie-in merchandise...all of the Thunderbird vehicles + a replica of Tracy Island where they launched from + the action figures of the 5 brothers plus Brains and Lady Penelope...every Friday night family trip to the Clovercrest Shopping Centre, my eyes and my heart would settle on these treasures, their exorbitant prices totally exhausting my 20 cents a week pocket money budget...they remained coveted but unpurchased; this film is a 111 minute version of those TV commercials, blasting out to the 9 year old boy in every bloke; me, I'll just admire the Thunderbird 1 model I bought when I turned 50 and soon forget I ever saw this frantic, high-carb movie
Go something you want to tell me?
GO RIGHT AHEAD: masted59@gmail.com
