Tuesday 26 June 2018

1955 Page Added

Movie-Viewing Experiences  4/6/18 - 26/6/18     
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 NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955)
A-   THIRD VIEWING
d: Charles Laughton
CAST: Robert Mitchum; Lillian Gish; Billy Chapin; Shelley Winters; James Gleason
> universally-hailed as one of the greatest of all American films, I've always admired this at arm's length; I appreciate that it is structured as a nightmare-fairy tale in the order of Hansel & Gretel, therefore gritty realism is hardly its aim, but I struggle with the broadness of the characters: Robert is too cartoonish + Lillian is too hokey + the kids are too amateurishly lousy...all intentional and fitting, but I find it off-putting; having said that, I acknowledge the primal impact of the film and much of the imagery (the LOVE vs HATE knuckle-tattoos + the drowned wife's hair floating in wisps + the starry starry trip down the river) is haunting; the confronting mix of Christian fanaticism, sexual violence and child abuse is the source of the story's horror; undeniably a powerful film but not flawless, despite what the universe says



EAST OF EDEN (1955)
A-   THIRD VIEWING
d: Elia Kazan
CAST: James Dean; Julie Harris; Raymond Massey; Richard Davalos; Jo van Fleet; Burl Ives
> yet another certified 50's classic which I think is somewhat overrated; this is the only one of the 3 major Jimmy Dean performances (he was in 5 other films prior, all tiny walk-ons) where he nails the inner-turmoil / teen-angst role of which he is the historic icon...the twitchy tics and overwrought histrionics which marred the other two are new and relatively low-key here; while Cal's motivation is clear (he wants Daddy's love), Aron is more muddled: his shift from goody-two-shoes pain to shit-on-the-liver sulker is too sudden and not entirely logical; and the tilted camerawork is a pretentious irritation; definitely still a good film though, just not a great one
Award-Worthy Performances
James Dean; Julie Harris; Raymond Massey; Jo van Fleet



DEATH ON THE NILE (1978)
A-   MOVIE JUKEBOX
d: John Guillermin
CAST: Peter Ustinov; Mia Farrow; Simon MacCorkindale; David Niven; Bette Davis; Angela Lansbury; Maggie Smith; Jack Warden; George Kennedy; Lois Chiles; Olivia Hussey
> a worthy companion-piece to 1974's Murder on the Orient Express, with completely different cast and director; just plain fun (despite / because of the bloody murders), the preposterous plot unravels surrounded by exotic scenery and sparkling with bits of humour (mostly courtesy of Angela's vampish lush and Bette Davis being Bette Davis); some of the acting is admittedly atrocious (how did George ever have a career?) but Peter is an enjoyably droll Hercule Poirot, ensuring that his moustache is not as prominent as his sleuthing...got that Kenneth?
Award-Worthy Performance
Angela Lansbury



EDIE (2017)
B+   FIRST VIEWING   IN-CINEMA
d: Simon Hunter
CAST: Sheila Hancock; Kevin Guthrie; Paul Brannigan; Amy Manson; Wendy Morgan
> yeah, another one of those life-affirming looks at Old Age (ref. The Straight Story + The Trip to Bountiful et. al.); occasionally slumping into the gaggy (wistful melancholy & swells of music & wet-eyed staring), the film manages to sidestep total schmaltz with the help of the spectacular Scottish Highlands and the spot-on performance by Sheila; an 80-year-old dear decides to reclaim her life by hiking up a mountain, something she has wanted to do since she was a wee thing...with help from a young outdoorsy guy and a bucketload of determination, she makes it; only souls of the coldest stone could bollock such a warming story  
Award-Worthy Performance
Sheila Hancock



HAMBURGER HILL (1987)
B+   FIRST VIEWING
d: John Irvin
CAST: Dylan McDermott; Steven Weber; Courtney B. Vance; Don Cheadle; Michael Boatman
> a Vietnam War movie in docu-drama style, based on the assault on the Ap Bia Mountain... actually, 11 assaults in total before the location was taken; standard structure for a war movie (you get to know the young men via at least one solo speech apiece and their downtime conversations...before they are butchered one by one) which works reasonably well (it usually does, that's why it's the standard), but I still found them to be a rather anonymous bunch; the battle scenes are gripping & appropriately awful, and this is one war film where the sense of Luck (who gets it; who doesn't) is right upfront; typical Sixties tags (chopper blades + Otis / Country Joe / Animals / Tempts etc playing way up loud + sex, constantly talking about sex) inevitably make you recall other VW films; anti-war of course, therefore worth watching once



KODACHROME (2017)
B+   FIRST VIEWING   IN-CINEMA
d: Mark Raso
CAST: Jason Sudeikis; Ed Harris; Elizabeth Olsen; Bruce Greenwood
> a character study road-trip with 3 people who have issues; sadsack Jason is persuaded to accompany his estranged father on a trip to the offices of Kodak...old Dad is a photojournalist who long ago chose his job over standard family life, and wants his last rolls of film developed before Kodachrome becomes no more (and before The Big C kills him); Jason has an everyman quality about him which is very affecting and Ed perfectly plays an arrogant arsehole having end-of-life regrets...mix in a lovely, natural Elizabeth as nurse and you have a performance partnership with real emotional kick; a story of family and how hard it can be
Award-Worthy Performance
Jason Sudeikis & Ed Harris & Elizabeth Olsen



THE DESPERATE HOURS (1955)
B+   SECOND VIEWING
d: William Wyler
CAST: Humphrey Bogart; Fredric March; Arthur Kennedy; Martha Scott; Dewey Martin
> a hostage movie that starts off tense but struggles to maintain it for 112 minutes...it only just gets by; Bogie is the escaped crim who takes over a nice, average, WASPy family home headed by Fred (with wife + teenage daughter + precocious 8YO son)...Bogie's nasty partners include the obligatory psycho; Fred walks away with acting honours (he is the only one who seems to be genuinely desperate) / Bogie's heart doesn't really seem to be in the role, as if he needs something more to the character (mental illness or moral angst) to help boost his portrayal / the support cast is merely adequate; still, the story has its moments and simmers appropriately
Award-Worthy Performance
Fredric March



HEREDITARY (2018)
B   FIRST VIEWING   IN-CINEMA
d: Ari Aster
CAST: Toni Collette; Alex Wolff; Gabriel Byrne; Ann Dowd; Millie Shapiro
> a horror film which strives to unsettle more than terrify or (thankfully) revolt; impossible to go into the plot too much without ruining the viewing experience (it really needs to baffle to give you full bang for your buck)...Toni is an artist, wife and mother of two teenagers whose own mother dies...she has a history of tragedy and worries about her mental health and that of her children...sure enough, more tragedy unfurls which leads Toni to get in touch with her spiritual side and this has, er, consequences; this is the slowest of slowburn horror movies and it occasionally struggles with maintaining the creeps...the hysterical finale somewhat makes up for it, but some images / occurrences are dropped in for pure shock and seem to only have a vague connection to what has gone on before; not the next The Babadook, but not bad



NURSE EDITH CAVELL (1939)
B-   FIRST VIEWING
d: Herbert Wilcox
CAST: Anna Neagle; Edna May Oliver; May Robson; George Sanders; ZaSu Pitts; H.B. Warner
> a moving true story delivered without the slightest breath of air (well, maybe a little from ZaSu); difficult to do a total hatchet job on this because the woman does deserve our admiration (WWI nurse Edith helped Allied soldiers escape to the Dutch frontier and was consequently executed by The Bosch); May R overacts to the point of unintentional silliness, but the major fail is from Anna / Edith herself...how bloody noble can you get?..all the cliched traits are on display...soft-spoken + calm in a crisis + calls on God when she doubts her strength + courteous & forgiving, even of the mongrels who shoot her + beautifully wan with skin that glows (no, it actually glows); look, instead of watching this, do what I did: climb Mount Edith Cavell in Alberta, gaze out over the magnificence and have a drink to the brave woman



TOO MANY HUSBANDS (1940)
C   RE-EVALUATION   Original Grade: B
d: Wesley Ruggles
CAST: Jean Arthur; Fred MacMurray; Melvyn Douglas; Harry Davenport; Melville Cooper
> a comedy which is more flimsy farce than classic screwball; the W Somerset Maugham story is about a woman who remarries after her first husband is declared drowned...but he selfishly reemerges dry and alive; rather limp when compared to the same year's (and similarly plotted) My Favourite Wife, which wins via the comic-chemistry of Cary Grant + Irene Dunne...in TMH, there is nil snappiness between players: as usual, Fred and Melvyn display a heavy-handed comic touch (it's a double thud) and, unusually, Jean is scatterbrained to the point of noisy annoyance (like she was in The More the Merrier...talks too much, too quickly and too mannered); even perennial scene-stealers Harry & Melville make minimal impact in support; the whole show thrashes about in search of risque laughs but barely divines a tee-hee



MASTER OF THE WORLD (1961)
C   FIRST VIEWING
d: William Witney
CAST: Vincent Price; Charles Bronson; Henry Hull; Mary Webster; David Frankham
> based on two lesser-heralded Jules Verne novels (Robur the Conqueror and Master of the World), this is really just an aerial relocation of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea; 4 Americans are held hostage by a looney mastermind in his airship...he floats around the world, threatening and wrecking in the pursuit of that ol' bugbear, World Peace (he wants to make people stop killing each other by killing them himself); as schlockmeister Irwin Allen once proved, low-budget SFX can only be ignored by the viewing public if the characters are appealing (that's why Lost in Space was more popular than Time Tunnel); there's not much acting going on...Vincent is boringly lowkey + Charles is mobile granite + Henry goes large 'n' loud + Mary & David say some stuff; graded gently because it's kinda pro-disarmament



THE EXCEPTION (2016)
D   FIRST VIEWING   IN-CINEMA
d: David Leveaux
CAST: Lily James; Jai Courtney; Christopher Plummer; Janet McTeer; Eddie Marsan
> a Mills & Boon look at the Nazis; war-damaged German captain Jai beds scullery slut Lily (in what must be record time, even for the movies) in the household of the abdicated Kaiser...turns out that the maid is a spy, a Dutch war-widow and a Jew (geez...the Nazi captain sure can pick 'em)...then Himmler pops round for a chat and the woman sees a chance to strike a blow...but can her lover protect her from the Gestapo killjoys?; the romance is so unlikely and so stupid that it becomes borderline zany...an office party fling that goes too far...but the actors play it stonefaced, pleading with us to be moved; the Kaiser (y'know, the guy who cranked up World War I) is portrayed as a nice senior citizen with a twinkle in his eye and a longing for the good ole days; this is History as written inside a Hallmark card: flowery & forgettable



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Sunday 3 June 2018

2017 Page Added

Movie-Viewing Experiences  12/5/18 - 3/6/18     
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



CASH ON DEMAND (1961)
A-   FIRST VIEWING
d: Quentin Lawrence
CAST: Peter Cushing; Andre Morell; Richard Vernon
> a Hammer Films attempt at a heist thriller, and it's right on the money; Peter is the Scrooge-like bank manager (it's even Christmas!), a strict believer in rules & procedures...in walks an insurance officer, to check up on the rules & procedures...but all is not as it seems; the very definition of taut, efficient and flab-free, this little gem zips along in a budget-conscious way (all of the action takes place inside the bank!) without short-changing the tension; the plot is carried by Peter & Andre, and their click-click to-&-fro is acting-perfection; I'm unsure if the ending entirely works, but it certainly is British; no guns, no blood, no car chases...just suspense
Award-Worthy Performance
Peter Cushing & Andre Morell



BLUE COLLAR (1978)
A-   FIRST VIEWING
d: Paul Schrader
CAST: Richard Pryor; Harvey Keitel; Yaphet Kotto; Harry Bellaver; Cliff De Young
> unusual story of three production line workers who decide to steal their Union's payroll...a notebook is found containing evidence of illegal dealings...they attempt blackmail; the film begins as if it's a comedy (in fact, I assumed the heist was going to go down the bungling-burglars track...complete with funny masks) but the humour drains away, leaving behind something quite sinister and frightening; Richard is in his element as the despairing ball-of-rage but it is Yaphet who stands out as a guy who is both decent and aggressive, and smart enough to always be wary; the flipside of Norma Rae, this Union is a legal incarnation of The Mob 
Award-Worthy Performance
Yaphet Kotto



LEASE OF LIFE (1954)
B+   FIRST VIEWING
d: Charles Frend
CAST: Robert Donat; Kay Walsh; Adrienne Corri; Denholm Elliott; Vida Hope
> a warming little Ealing movie about, believe it or not, The Meaning of Life; nice guy Robert is told that he has a year to live...he questions what his life has been worth, his achievements, his beliefs and those of his family and the people around him...the catch: he is the village vicar; he keeps his terminal illness to himself (why do film characters do that?), and everyone around him continues with their petty concerns and behaviours (wife wants money for their daughter's music education + daughter is spoilt & self-centred & stupid + busybodies want to sack the drunken verger + pompous school officials want to maintain stuffiness etc)... but Robert straightens them all out, calmly, directly and with compassion; if you're over-endowed with cynicism, you should give this a miss...for the rest of us, it's a minor charmer



DEADPOOL 2 (2018)
B   FIRST VIEWING   IN-CINEMA
d: David Leitch
CAST: Ryan Reynolds; Josh Brolin; Julian Dennison; Zazie Beetz; Morena Baccarin
> unlike most superhero aficionados, I was not overly taken with the first Deadpool movie...my main reasons being: I don't find Ryan Reynolds particularly funny & I have no sentimental attachment to the character (he was after my time) & some sex/violence stuff was just put in to guarantee it an MA15+ rating (so, gratuitous to the max...which was probably the point); while these objections remain, I was a little more accepting of this go-round...many of the jokes were laugh-out-loud funny while a few fell flat, and the one-on-one fight choreography was outstanding (some of the best I've seen); bit miffed by the waste of strong characters such as Colossus and Juggernaut but was quite delighted by the slaughter of deadbeats like Shatterstar and Bedlam; in short, it was throwaway fun but I'll never be a complete fan



THE MAN IN POSSESSION (1931)
B   FIRST VIEWING
d: Sam Wood
CAST: Robert Montgomery; Irene Purcell; Charlotte Greenwood; Reginald Owen
> a pre-code sex comedy that would have been considered risque adult entertainment back in its day...but is now a little creaky, with the occasional naughty line which unfortunately predicts Benny Hill; Robert is the ex-crim son returned to his stuffy society family...they kick him out...through a series of the usual unlikely coincidences, he becomes the butler to his brother's bride-to-be...and, of course, he ends up falling for her himself; stacked with a nude in-the-bath scene and sex that happens when the lights go out & the shot fades & suggestive sounds are made, this is proof that our great-grandparents tittered at rude stuff too; while this provides us with a rare chance to see Charlotte do her physical comedy thing (love her bum right in the camera!), it is the impeccable comic timing of Robert which makes this farce mildly enjoyable



CARGO (2017)
B   FIRST VIEWING   IN-CINEMA
d: Ben Howling; Yolanda Ramke
CAST: Martin Freeman; Simone Landers; Anthony Hayes; David Gulpilil; Caren Pistorius
> another addition to the Zombie Apocalypse genre, this Aussie film tries to come up with something a little different...tries to, but, despite mixing in Aboriginal mysticism, a well-behaved baby and The Australian Outback in its most drone-shot beauty, nothing here is particularly novel; Martin the Dad is bitten by a zombie and has 48 hours to get his infant daughter to safety before he succumbs...he carries her around in a backpack, trekking across a rugged landscape and confronting zombies, human monsters and indigenous warriors who just somehow know that this is all the white guys' fault (hinted-at culprit: Fracking); there are a few scenes which aim for Tragic but only reach Sad, but some others are quite affecting (the one that haunts me: a father digging a mass grave for his still-alive family); okay, but not a genre-changer



THUNDERBIRD 6 (1968)
B   FIRST VIEWING
d: David Lane
CAST: Scott, Virgil, Alan, Jeff Tracy; Brains; Lady Penelope; Parker; Tin-Tin; baddies
> the second of the two feature film versions of the pop-iconic 1960's puppet show (totally ignoring the 2004 live-action abomination of course); while the first fell into the TV-Show-as-a-Movie = Bigger-is-Better trap of charmlessness (like Star Trek: The Motion Picture did), this sequel is actually fairly enjoyable...an admitted prerequisite being a childhood love of the original series; some spritely humour helps things along (Brains throwing a tantrum + Parker hanging on for dear life), and the miniatures special effects work remains an under-heralded treasure of cinematic craft (the equal of Ray Harryhausen); the plot is the standard International Rescue scenario (climaxing with the obligatory explosions) but with a nifty surprise vehicle: an old Tiger Moth biplane!; for what's left of the 8 year old in you



BREATH (2017)
B-   FIRST VIEWING   IN-CINEMA
d: Simon Baker
CAST: Samson Coulter; Simon Baker; Elizabeth Debicki; Ben Spence
> an iconic Aussie setting (sand / surf / the Seventies / sex...very Morning of the Earth) for this Aussie story (writer: Tim Winton) about the coming-of-age of nice kid (Samson) and his tough-guy mate (Ben); Samson & Ben meet up with experienced surfer Simon and his troubled partner Elizabeth...the boys learn how to ride the waves and overcome their childish fears; the film lags somewhat but the ocean cinematography is gorgeous...and soon becomes blah for a non-surfer-type like me; the two teenage boys are real kids and the spiritualism of surfing is certainly seductive, but I have nagging questions: a 15(?) year old boy has a lot of sex with a 25(?) year old woman in this...isn't that a crime?...and some of it is kinky and dangerous...if the genders were swapped, wouldn't that be considered morally repugnant?...just wondering...



BAXTER! (1973)
B-   SECOND VIEWING
d: Lionel Jeffries
CAST: Scott Jacoby; Patricia Neal; Jean-Pierre Cassel; Britt Ekland; Lynn Carlin
> Scott is an American teenager living in London with a cold, angry mother, an idealised, absent father and a speech impediment...kindly neighbours and a speech therapist help him to overcome his inevitable descent into mental illness (let's face it...if you can't speak clearly and you've got lousy parents, you must be nuts); rather mundane story is given unusual camera & editing effects to boost the emotional depth quotient but it should've just been left up to Scott, who does an effective job as the weird kid obsessed with death and being understood; the strength that Patricia injects toughens up the last act but unfortunately not the ending
Award-Worthy Performance
Scott Jacoby



TULLY (2018)
B-   FIRST VIEWING   IN-CINEMA
d: Jason Reitman
CAST: Charlize Theron; Mackenzie Davis; Ron Livingston; Mark Duplass
> so-so look at post-natal depression and the emotional strain some women experience with motherhood (and getting older); Charlize is pregnant with child #3 + hubbie Ron is a decent guy who has a day job + kid #2 is somewhere on the autism spectrum + times are tough all round...baby is born, Mummy can't sleep so a "Night Nanny" named Tully is hired and all becomes bright again; Charlize is, yet again, wonderful as Mum (the actress has naturalness nailed) and the film would be a disaster without her; about two-thirds of the way in, things become peculiar, and the surprise ending is more a letdown than the intended poignant twist
Award-Worthy Performance
Charlize Theron



FIVE ON A TREASURE ISLAND (1957)
B-   FIRST VIEWING
d: Gerald Landau
CAST: Rel Grainer; Richard Palmer; Gillian Harrison; John Bailey
> ah...Enid Blyton's Famous Five...the regrettably-named Julian and Dick, little mother Anne, gender-bending George and Timmy, the mongrel that understands complex sentences; this celluloid incarnation of the group (there were two TV series versions as well...1978 & 1995) is the closest to the original stories: ever-so-English children who are plucky, well-mannered, vaguely irritating and wear their bathers pulled up above the navel; based on the first book in the franchise, this 8-part-serial condensed into a longplay film is admittedly fairly bland, despite an island, a ruined castle, sunken treasure and a warship brightly named "The Gay Viking"...but, what-ho...here's to you, Enid...thanks for making a contribution to my childhood, along with Lost in Space, Friday night Scouts, games of Brandy and Black Cat bubblegum



VIRGIN ISLAND (1958)
C   FIRST VIEWING
d: Pat Jackson
CAST: John Cassavetes; Virginia Maskell; Sidney Poitier; Isabel Dean; Ruby Dee
> young British woman goes on a holiday to the Virgin Islands...she meets, falls in love with and marries an American writer / beach bum...they buy a deserted island and set up house, despite objections from the mother-in-law and a bureaucrat; quite dull story where not much actually happens...no conflict, no bad guys, no violent storm or rumbling volcano...just tropical bliss...and nothing is more boring than watching people be happy; biggest flaw is that there is zero chemistry between John & Virginia...they are supposedly passionate partners, but they carry on like polite acquaintances who have only recently met; Sidney's part isn't much more than a cameo and you'll miss Ruby if you blink; must feature the most serene childbirth / in labour scene in movie history..."Get that for me, will you Deidre?"



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