Movie-Viewing Experiences 25/1/19 - 12/2/19
A+ = Adored Masterwork A = Excellent A- = Very Good B+ = Good B = Nice Try B- = Scrapes Through
C = Significantly Flawed D = Pretty Bad E = Truly Dreadful: Looking Into the Void F = Absolutely Vile: The Void
HEAVEN KNOWS, MR ALLISON (1957)
A- MOVIE JUKEBOX
d: John Huston
CAST: Deborah Kerr; Robert Mitchum
> yet another run-through of the Beachcomber / African Queen dynamic (rough guy meets pious woman in a time of war...she mellows him out as he toughens her up)...and just as enjoyable as its predecessors; in contrast to the other two though, this never fully blossoms into romance (she's a nun, y'see), so there's a certain sadness that never fully eases...which makes the story all the more endearing (and the drunk scene so upsetting); the South Pacific Island setting is an asset as is the always-hovering danger of the Imperial Japanese Army; the partnership of Deborah & Bob is acting perfection and (dare I say it) beats Kate & Humphrey
Award-Worthy Performances
Deborah Kerr & Robert Mitchum
THE MUMMY (1932)
A- THIRD VIEWING
d: Karl Freund
CAST: Boris Karloff; Zita Johann; David Manners; Arthur Byron; Edward van Sloan
> like any true movie fan, I adore the Universal Horror 1931-1941 run (from Dracula to The Wolf Man)...this first Living Mummy entry is not usually as highly regarded as the others (the James Whale others), but I've always loved it; Director Karl was originally Cinematographer Karl and this was his debut I'm-the-Boss film and doesn't entirely follow formula...it's one of the more, er, gentle of the early Monster Movies: long, dialogue-less scenes build tension and light/dark is painted about for eeriness...you're never frightened, but you are held in a constant state of uneasiness; the only humour present here is unintentional: when Boris the Mummy awakes and wanders off, one of the archaeologists has a fit of laughing hysterics and screams "He's gone for a little walk!"; a classy, slowburn horror classic that has not been made camp by age
PADDINGTON 2 (2017)
B+ FIRST VIEWING
d: Paul King
CAST: Hugh Bonneville; Sally Hawkins; Hugh Grant; Julie Walters; Brendan Gleeson
> I was not a Paddington Bear fan when I was a youngster (not Rupert, Sooty nor even Gentle Ben for that matter), so I have no sentimental attachment to this...and I believe the absolute highwater marks for child/family films are Hugo, E.T. and Babe...so this was always going to have an uphill climb in my affections; I am happy to report that it's...nice; what makes this work is the mixture of flawless comic timing, a cast of British greats at their most gleeful, Hugh Grant at his most charismatic and the polite bear himself, all enormous wet-eyes & marmalade fetish; if you really want to have a good time, watch it with a 5 year old and listen to the laughing
Award-Worthy Performance
Hugh Grant
THE FRONT RUNNER (2018)
B+ FIRST VIEWING IN-CINEMA
d: Jason Reitman
CAST: Hugh Jackman; Vera Farmiga; J.K. Simmons; Sara Paxton; Alfred Molina
> this American Politics true story has been criticized for not delving deeply enough into its topic (namely: Is a politician's private life of public concern if the behaviour is not criminal?)...but I appreciate a political film that is not hysterical or cynical; Hugh (in a note-perfect performance... I immediately forgot I was watching an actor) is presidential-wannabe Gary Hart...in 1988, he is in the lead, but a Clintonish scandal nobbles him with help from a voracious media; it's hard to feel sympathy for a smart guy whose dick overrides his sense; the victims worthy of our pity are the thrown-to-the-sharks lover & the American people...Hart could've been a good one
Award-Worthy Performance
Hugh Jackman
MURDER MOST FOUL (1964)
B+ MOVIE JUKEBOX
d: George Pollock
CAST: Margaret Rutherford; Bud Tingwell; Ron Moody; Stringer Davis; James Bolam
> while a number of esteemed actresses has played Agatha Christie's sleuth (Gracie Fields among them), there really is only one Miss Marple...Margaret, of course, and this is her best portrayal in the 4-installment series; with bags under her eyes large enough to carry knitting and a peninsula of a chin, Margaret swaggers her way through the mystery (actually a Poirot story), defying all to stop her being right; set in the world of repertory theatre, this is English to its bootstraps: a horse & trap used to collect jumble for a church bazaar + a bobby having a sly ale and riding a bicycle + a 3-wheeler milk van; a light, fun entertainment with a triple murder
Award-Worthy Performance
Margaret Rutherford
GREEN BOOK (2018)
B FIRST VIEWING IN-CINEMA
d: Peter Farrelly
CAST: Viggo Mortensen; Mahershala Ali
> aka Felix & Oscar Go On a Road Trip; there's no getting around it...this is a nice movie...solid feelgood...predictable, sentimental and soft (A Christmas ending? Really?)...don't expect depth, and you'll have a pleasant time; set in the early 60's, Italian Scorsese-style bouncer Viggo is hired to drive light-jazz pianist Mahershala around the Deep South USA to a series of concerts and racist conflicts...both men's characters improve as their relationship develops; a few of their behavioural / attitudinal shifts seem to come out of nowhere, but that's not the fault of the actors...their performance-partnership is a joy and makes the movie ultimately work
Award-Worthy Performances
Viggo Mortensen & Mahershala Ali
THE BRIDAL PATH (1959)
B FIRST VIEWING
d: Frank Launder
CAST: Bill Travers; George Cole; Bernadette O'Farrell; Alex Mackenzie; Duncan Macrae
> this amiable comedy tried to repeat the unexpected financial success of 1955's Wee Geordie (same star + same director + same producers + same Scottish Highlands backdrop) but it remained a fluke; islander sheepfarmer Bill leaves his small village on an unsubtle search for a wife (the gene pool back home is too shallow...inbreeding is easier but not ideal, you see)...his hicksy ways vex all those he comes across on the mainland and he lands himself in no end of misunderstandings and trouble; some of the humour (which is mild at best) comes from Bill's treatment of wife-shopping as if it's akin to assessing livestock...and how women throw themselves at him, regardless of how picky he is; another minor British comedy from the 1950's that you'll enjoy watching with a cup of tea & shortbread, and soon forget you've ever seen it
MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS (2018)
B FIRST VIEWING IN-CINEMA
d: Josie Rourke
CAST: Saoirse Ronan; Margot Robbie; Jack Lowden; Guy Pearce; David Tennant
> all of the critical applause for this historical drama has gone to the acting (and the two women are wonderful...Saoirse is the most beguiling of modern actresses, and Margot takes what is essentially a supporting role and makes every appearance kick...and a different spin on the versions by Bette Davis, Cate Blanchett and Glenda Jackson...Margot's Elizabeth I is softer and insecure); overall, where this film falters is in the priorities of the storytelling itself: sexual politics & the politics of Feminism come across as more significant than religious politics & the politics of Dominion, and surely this was not the case; captivating but it wanders off point
Award-Worthy Performances
Saoirse Ronan; Margot Robbie
THE MULE (2018)
B- FIRST VIEWING IN-CINEMA
d: Clint Eastwood
CAST: Clint Eastwood; Bradley Cooper; Laurence Fishburne; Dianne Wiest; Michael Pena
> being old is no excuse for being thoughtless, selfish or a knowing transporter of life-destroying drugs; grandpa Clint has been a lousy husband & father (he ran a flower company, spent most of his time on the road having a good time and missed birthdays, anniversaries, weddings etc)...at the tender age of 90, his business collapses (the internet strikes again) so he turns to delivering drugs for a TexMex cartel...and he's pretty good at it too...but then family obligations, nasty crimelords and pesky cops mess things up for him; despite the film being structured for maximum compassion, at no point did I feel any sympathy for this greedy old bugger: the guy knows from the outset that he is carrying drugs and making money off of addiction...and if you don't like him, the intent of the film will be lost on you, as it was me
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (2018)
B- FIRST VIEWING IN-CINEMA
d: Bryan Singer
CAST: Rami Malek; Lucy Boynton; Gwilym Lee; Ben Hardy; Joe Mazzello; Allen Leech
> okay, okay...I've watched it, alright?; I am not, and never have been, a Queen fan (they kept ordering me about..."find me somebody" + "we will rock you"...closer to Wagner than Elvis) and I particularly loathe THAT song, so I had no desire to see this but everybody kept telling me how great it was, so I went, and...What is the big deal, people??; another poor-little-rich-boy / he-got-what-he-wanted-but-lost-what-he-had celebrity bio, this tends to sanitize the rock'n'roll lifestyle (where is all the sex'n'drugs?..I want more than just hints & mentions-in-passing); Rami does a respectable job as Freddie (although those teeth make him look like my friend Flicka), but hardly revelatory, and some of the soapy situations occasionally defeat him; graded leniently because I was a singer in a pub band for 8 years and us artists have gotta stick together
ELIZABETH OF LADYMEAD (1948)
C FIRST VIEWING
d: Herbert Wilcox
CAST: Anna Neagle; Hugh Williams; Michael Lawrence; Bernard Lee; Nicholas Phipps
> curious structure: the same small plot is repeated over 4 generations in one grand home (hubbie returns from a war + wife wants some, er, attention + another bloke drops in at an inopportune time + wife gets angry and reveals that she's a Women's Lib devotee, so put that in your pipe and smoke it); immediate problem of course is that by rerunning the basic plot, it's all quite predictable and exhausts all curiosity; lovely colour makes the film look painted in pastels (although this bright palette makes Anna's face seem whitewashed); these rich, upper class people suffer in exquisite elegance, spouting phrases like "terribly frightful", "it's all just too too much" and "life is a bore"; while the intention may have been to show the growing independence of women in British society, it forgot to be interesting as well
GLASS (2019)
D FIRST VIEWING IN-CINEMA
d: M. Night Shyamalan
CAST: James McAvoy; Bruce Willis; Samuel L. Jackson; Sarah Paulson; Anya Taylor-Joy
> I didn't have high hopes for this movie, but I was still disappointed anyway; I mildly enjoyed 2000's Unbreakable and was admittedly less taken with 2016's Split, but this intersection of both has reduced those relative successes; the story has three disparate "super beings" (Samson + Mr Hyde + Blofeld-On-Wheels archetypes) getting together in a mental hospital... they are treated/examined by a shrink who specialises in extraordinary patients; much gushing on about Good vs Evil mythos is weaved into some of the slowest-paced action-based narrative ever (it's not well-crafted slowburn because it never actually ignites); James' performance is all-consuming and the others underplay to the point of near-invisibility; plodding, silly and anti-climactic; M. Night...mate...embrace change...it's time to move on...
Got something you want to tell me?
GO RIGHT AHEAD: masted59@gmail.com
HEAVEN KNOWS, MR ALLISON (1957)
d: John Huston
CAST: Deborah Kerr; Robert Mitchum
> yet another run-through of the Beachcomber / African Queen dynamic (rough guy meets pious woman in a time of war...she mellows him out as he toughens her up)...and just as enjoyable as its predecessors; in contrast to the other two though, this never fully blossoms into romance (she's a nun, y'see), so there's a certain sadness that never fully eases...which makes the story all the more endearing (and the drunk scene so upsetting); the South Pacific Island setting is an asset as is the always-hovering danger of the Imperial Japanese Army; the partnership of Deborah & Bob is acting perfection and (dare I say it) beats Kate & Humphrey
Award-Worthy Performances
Deborah Kerr & Robert Mitchum
THE MUMMY (1932)
d: Karl Freund
CAST: Boris Karloff; Zita Johann; David Manners; Arthur Byron; Edward van Sloan
> like any true movie fan, I adore the Universal Horror 1931-1941 run (from Dracula to The Wolf Man)...this first Living Mummy entry is not usually as highly regarded as the others (the James Whale others), but I've always loved it; Director Karl was originally Cinematographer Karl and this was his debut I'm-the-Boss film and doesn't entirely follow formula...it's one of the more, er, gentle of the early Monster Movies: long, dialogue-less scenes build tension and light/dark is painted about for eeriness...you're never frightened, but you are held in a constant state of uneasiness; the only humour present here is unintentional: when Boris the Mummy awakes and wanders off, one of the archaeologists has a fit of laughing hysterics and screams "He's gone for a little walk!"; a classy, slowburn horror classic that has not been made camp by age
PADDINGTON 2 (2017)
d: Paul King
CAST: Hugh Bonneville; Sally Hawkins; Hugh Grant; Julie Walters; Brendan Gleeson
> I was not a Paddington Bear fan when I was a youngster (not Rupert, Sooty nor even Gentle Ben for that matter), so I have no sentimental attachment to this...and I believe the absolute highwater marks for child/family films are Hugo, E.T. and Babe...so this was always going to have an uphill climb in my affections; I am happy to report that it's...nice; what makes this work is the mixture of flawless comic timing, a cast of British greats at their most gleeful, Hugh Grant at his most charismatic and the polite bear himself, all enormous wet-eyes & marmalade fetish; if you really want to have a good time, watch it with a 5 year old and listen to the laughing
Award-Worthy Performance
Hugh Grant
THE FRONT RUNNER (2018)
d: Jason Reitman
CAST: Hugh Jackman; Vera Farmiga; J.K. Simmons; Sara Paxton; Alfred Molina
> this American Politics true story has been criticized for not delving deeply enough into its topic (namely: Is a politician's private life of public concern if the behaviour is not criminal?)...but I appreciate a political film that is not hysterical or cynical; Hugh (in a note-perfect performance... I immediately forgot I was watching an actor) is presidential-wannabe Gary Hart...in 1988, he is in the lead, but a Clintonish scandal nobbles him with help from a voracious media; it's hard to feel sympathy for a smart guy whose dick overrides his sense; the victims worthy of our pity are the thrown-to-the-sharks lover & the American people...Hart could've been a good one
Award-Worthy Performance
Hugh Jackman
MURDER MOST FOUL (1964)
d: George Pollock
CAST: Margaret Rutherford; Bud Tingwell; Ron Moody; Stringer Davis; James Bolam
> while a number of esteemed actresses has played Agatha Christie's sleuth (Gracie Fields among them), there really is only one Miss Marple...Margaret, of course, and this is her best portrayal in the 4-installment series; with bags under her eyes large enough to carry knitting and a peninsula of a chin, Margaret swaggers her way through the mystery (actually a Poirot story), defying all to stop her being right; set in the world of repertory theatre, this is English to its bootstraps: a horse & trap used to collect jumble for a church bazaar + a bobby having a sly ale and riding a bicycle + a 3-wheeler milk van; a light, fun entertainment with a triple murder
Award-Worthy Performance
Margaret Rutherford
GREEN BOOK (2018)
d: Peter Farrelly
CAST: Viggo Mortensen; Mahershala Ali
> aka Felix & Oscar Go On a Road Trip; there's no getting around it...this is a nice movie...solid feelgood...predictable, sentimental and soft (A Christmas ending? Really?)...don't expect depth, and you'll have a pleasant time; set in the early 60's, Italian Scorsese-style bouncer Viggo is hired to drive light-jazz pianist Mahershala around the Deep South USA to a series of concerts and racist conflicts...both men's characters improve as their relationship develops; a few of their behavioural / attitudinal shifts seem to come out of nowhere, but that's not the fault of the actors...their performance-partnership is a joy and makes the movie ultimately work
Award-Worthy Performances
Viggo Mortensen & Mahershala Ali
THE BRIDAL PATH (1959)
d: Frank Launder
CAST: Bill Travers; George Cole; Bernadette O'Farrell; Alex Mackenzie; Duncan Macrae
> this amiable comedy tried to repeat the unexpected financial success of 1955's Wee Geordie (same star + same director + same producers + same Scottish Highlands backdrop) but it remained a fluke; islander sheepfarmer Bill leaves his small village on an unsubtle search for a wife (the gene pool back home is too shallow...inbreeding is easier but not ideal, you see)...his hicksy ways vex all those he comes across on the mainland and he lands himself in no end of misunderstandings and trouble; some of the humour (which is mild at best) comes from Bill's treatment of wife-shopping as if it's akin to assessing livestock...and how women throw themselves at him, regardless of how picky he is; another minor British comedy from the 1950's that you'll enjoy watching with a cup of tea & shortbread, and soon forget you've ever seen it
MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS (2018)
d: Josie Rourke
CAST: Saoirse Ronan; Margot Robbie; Jack Lowden; Guy Pearce; David Tennant
> all of the critical applause for this historical drama has gone to the acting (and the two women are wonderful...Saoirse is the most beguiling of modern actresses, and Margot takes what is essentially a supporting role and makes every appearance kick...and a different spin on the versions by Bette Davis, Cate Blanchett and Glenda Jackson...Margot's Elizabeth I is softer and insecure); overall, where this film falters is in the priorities of the storytelling itself: sexual politics & the politics of Feminism come across as more significant than religious politics & the politics of Dominion, and surely this was not the case; captivating but it wanders off point
Award-Worthy Performances
Saoirse Ronan; Margot Robbie
THE MULE (2018)
d: Clint Eastwood
CAST: Clint Eastwood; Bradley Cooper; Laurence Fishburne; Dianne Wiest; Michael Pena
> being old is no excuse for being thoughtless, selfish or a knowing transporter of life-destroying drugs; grandpa Clint has been a lousy husband & father (he ran a flower company, spent most of his time on the road having a good time and missed birthdays, anniversaries, weddings etc)...at the tender age of 90, his business collapses (the internet strikes again) so he turns to delivering drugs for a TexMex cartel...and he's pretty good at it too...but then family obligations, nasty crimelords and pesky cops mess things up for him; despite the film being structured for maximum compassion, at no point did I feel any sympathy for this greedy old bugger: the guy knows from the outset that he is carrying drugs and making money off of addiction...and if you don't like him, the intent of the film will be lost on you, as it was me
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (2018)
d: Bryan Singer
CAST: Rami Malek; Lucy Boynton; Gwilym Lee; Ben Hardy; Joe Mazzello; Allen Leech
> okay, okay...I've watched it, alright?; I am not, and never have been, a Queen fan (they kept ordering me about..."find me somebody" + "we will rock you"...closer to Wagner than Elvis) and I particularly loathe THAT song, so I had no desire to see this but everybody kept telling me how great it was, so I went, and...What is the big deal, people??; another poor-little-rich-boy / he-got-what-he-wanted-but-lost-what-he-had celebrity bio, this tends to sanitize the rock'n'roll lifestyle (where is all the sex'n'drugs?..I want more than just hints & mentions-in-passing); Rami does a respectable job as Freddie (although those teeth make him look like my friend Flicka), but hardly revelatory, and some of the soapy situations occasionally defeat him; graded leniently because I was a singer in a pub band for 8 years and us artists have gotta stick together
ELIZABETH OF LADYMEAD (1948)
d: Herbert Wilcox
CAST: Anna Neagle; Hugh Williams; Michael Lawrence; Bernard Lee; Nicholas Phipps
> curious structure: the same small plot is repeated over 4 generations in one grand home (hubbie returns from a war + wife wants some, er, attention + another bloke drops in at an inopportune time + wife gets angry and reveals that she's a Women's Lib devotee, so put that in your pipe and smoke it); immediate problem of course is that by rerunning the basic plot, it's all quite predictable and exhausts all curiosity; lovely colour makes the film look painted in pastels (although this bright palette makes Anna's face seem whitewashed); these rich, upper class people suffer in exquisite elegance, spouting phrases like "terribly frightful", "it's all just too too much" and "life is a bore"; while the intention may have been to show the growing independence of women in British society, it forgot to be interesting as well
GLASS (2019)
d: M. Night Shyamalan
CAST: James McAvoy; Bruce Willis; Samuel L. Jackson; Sarah Paulson; Anya Taylor-Joy
> I didn't have high hopes for this movie, but I was still disappointed anyway; I mildly enjoyed 2000's Unbreakable and was admittedly less taken with 2016's Split, but this intersection of both has reduced those relative successes; the story has three disparate "super beings" (Samson + Mr Hyde + Blofeld-On-Wheels archetypes) getting together in a mental hospital... they are treated/examined by a shrink who specialises in extraordinary patients; much gushing on about Good vs Evil mythos is weaved into some of the slowest-paced action-based narrative ever (it's not well-crafted slowburn because it never actually ignites); James' performance is all-consuming and the others underplay to the point of near-invisibility; plodding, silly and anti-climactic; M. Night...mate...embrace change...it's time to move on...
Got something you want to tell me?
GO RIGHT AHEAD: masted59@gmail.com
