Wednesday 19 June 2019

1989 Page Added...That's It! The 80's are Done!

Movie-Viewing Experiences  17/5/19 - 19/6/19     
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



ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS (1939)
A   MOVIE JUKEBOX
d: Howard Hawks
CAST: Cary Grant; Jean Arthur; Richard Barthelmess; Thomas Mitchell; Rita Hayworth
> I love this film but am quite prepared to own up to its flaws: Cary is miscast (and looks silly in a gaucho outfit) + the macho-isms can be a bit much at times + Rita is pretty and out of her depth + Jean plays piano in a rather odd way BUT the movie still works emotionally; set in South America, it's the story of pilots working for a two-bit courier company and loaded with the usual Hawksian themes of being good enough & second chances (at a price); beautifully atmospheric (wonderful use of silence...no orchestral strings sawing away in the background), the flying sequences are riveting and the film's tension builds & tightens as it tells its tale 
Award-Worthy Performance
Thomas Mitchell


ALL IS TRUE (2018)
A   FIRST VIEWING   IN-CINEMA
d: Kenneth Branagh
CAST: Kenneth Branagh; Judi Dench; Kathryn Wilder; Lydia Wilson; Ian McKellen
> yet another film which has been largely overlooked / dismissed by the public & critics but I thought was terrific...am I really so odd?; looks at Shakespeare's last 3 years of life, retired from writing & regretful of his life choices & grieving for his plague-slain son; is it all true?...does it really matter?...it makes for an involving, moving story with many threads (marital sorrow + gender & class equality + the need for Art to devour a normal life + parenthood as the greatest love + is religion fundamentally fandom? + does God curse genius as compensation for the rest of us?); pastoral in mood with beautiful visuals and a clever script, this is a great one...it truly is
Award-Worthy Performance
Judi Dench


36 HOURS (1965)
A-   MOVIE JUKEBOX
d: George Seaton
CAST: James Garner; Eva Marie Saint; Rod Taylor; Werner Peters; John Banner
> totally preposterous but still highly entertaining WWII movie; James is an Allied officer who knows the plans for the upcoming D-Day landing...Nazis kidnap him in Lisbon and set up an elaborate hoax to get the information (much to the chagrin of the Gestapo...they're facing unemployment if it works): James emerges from a "coma" in a "hospital" in "occupied Germany" in "1950", and his "doctor" "treats" him by chatting about how the war "ended"; well-acted by all involved (if you can accept Aussie Rod playing a German playing an American), it's the sheer ingenuity of the gimmick that makes it impressive (and fun...we are in on the ruse right from the start, so our enjoyment comes from trying to figure out how & when James is going to wise up); suspend common sense for a couple of hours and you should have a good time with this


WATCHMEN (2009)
A-   THIRD VIEWING...NOW ADDED TO THE MOVIE JUKEBOX
d: Zack Snyder
CAST: Patrick Wilson; Jackie Earle Haley; Malin Ackerman; Billy Crudup; Matthew Goode
> disowned by its grumblebum originator Alan Moore and given a meh reception by a few sniffy critics, this film adaptation (as opposed to filming the book) grows in stature with every viewing; impressively staged, with terrific fight choreography and use of slow-mo, sharp choice of foreground songs and noirish elements, this is more than just another men-in-masks movie...it's a kiss-goodbye to the hope of the Sixties mixed with Cold War terror; yes, the graphic novel from whence it came is denser and more profound, and yes, the film sags in the middle, and yes, the violence is borderline revolting, but it's a superhero movie that says more than POW!
Award-Worthy Performance
Jackie Earle Haley


THE SELFISH GIANT (2013)
B+   FIRST VIEWING
d: Clio Barnard
CAST: Conner Chapman; Shaun Thomas; Sean Gilder; Rebecca Manley; Lorraine Ashbourne
> as readers of this blog know, I am not a fan of British kitchen-sinkers...just too bloody depressing and usually capped with the bleakest of endings...and here's another one; two 13 year old boys living amongst poverty, neglect, crime, violence turn to scrapping (picking up old metal and selling it to a dealer) to make money and just to have something to do...jealousy, rage and tragedy hit until forgiveness and possibility (the tiniest of both) fullstop the story; I bawled openly during this, primarily because of the kids...children who are young in years only...I've taught a few like them; strong, affecting stuff but you'll only want to watch it once
Award-Worthy Performance
Conner Chapman


ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL (1975)
B+   FIRST VIEWING
d: Claude Whatham
CAST: Simon Ward; Anthony Hopkins; Lisa Harrow; Brian Stirner; Freddie Jones
> it's obvious why this film spawned a very popular & long-running British TV series in the 1980's: set in between-wars Yorkshire with ivy-wearing cottages and stone-fenced farms + all about the daily duties of a pair of country vets + domestic animals to tend to, involving births & amusing antics + the two vets are all-round nice guys with endearing traits + a younger wastrel brother who causes no end of frustration & fun + and, of course, the obligatory arms-up-cows, for that touch of sloppy realism; to the film's credit, it doesn't just go for lightweight comedy... beloved pets die, making lonely old people even lonelier (an inescapable tearjerker if you're human), and there is a rocky-road romance for a little mild tension; acted with warmth and ease by all, with a special nod to Simon for being a good fit with chronic scene-stealer Anthony


THE BLACK ORCHID (1958)
B   FIRST VIEWING
d: Martin Ritt
CAST: Sophia Loren; Anthony Quinn; Ina Balin; Jimmy Baird; Peter Mark Richman
> a true-love-travels-on-a-gravel-road story, and pretty sweet it is too: widow Sophia meets widower Anthony...they fall in love (even before their first kiss!), but Anthony's daughter has a severe case of the Electra Complex...will Love triumph over Stupid Bullshit?; the happy ending is far too pat and some of the dialogue hits turgid patches, but the star-couple chemistry of Sophia & Anthony makes it (mostly) work...if you have a romantic inclination, that is; the writer tries to beef things up with some inconsequential asides: Sophia's first husband was killed in a gangland hit + her young son was (for some reason) sent to a work farm which he keeps running away from + Anthony's first wife was mentally ill...none of this really matters though because Sophia & Anthony keep looking at each other with wet eyes and smiling...told you it was sweet


X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX (2019)
B-   FIRST VIEWING   IN-CINEMA
d: Simon Kinberg
CAST: Sophie Turner; James McAvoy; Michael Fassbender; Jessica Chastain; Nicholas Hoult
> why is everybody knifing this with such relish?...it really isn't that bad...flawed, sure, but hardly "the worst superhero film ever made, in any franchise"...DC fans perhaps, after a little payback?; look, this has some nifty action (fight) scenes (well-staged + camera held reasonably still and at a sensible distance + some fresh moves) and the only actor who is truly ghastly is Jessica (I kept waiting for her to flair her nostrils to show evil); Sophie is fine as Jean Grey and while the other actors don't seem particularly enthused, they get the job done; my biggest gripe is that the original Dark Phoenix Saga is barely here, and a few of the plot deviations are ill-fitting; still, as a superhero movie this ticks most of the usual boxes, isn't shoddy in production values, and isn't even slightly the worst of its kind (have you seen the Fantastic Four movies?)


THE DEVIL IS A SISSY (1936)
B-   FIRST VIEWING
d: W.S. Van Dyke
CAST: Freddie Bartholomew; Jackie Cooper; Mickey Rooney; Ian Hunter; Peggy Conklin
> this is an MGM attempt at social commentary (this time, juvenile crime), so don't expect insight or even honesty; rich kid Freddie stays with his architect-dad in a tough New York neighbourhood and attends a public school...enter rough boys Jackie (whose dad belts him) & Mickey (whose dad is fried for murder), and they teach Freddie about the code of the streets (y'know...not squealin' & robbin' saps & accurate spittin'); the plot is more a string of incidents which allow Freddie to ingratiate himself with the gang (and features a truly ghastly musical number...be prepared to shudder); this is formulaic shite, but gives us old-movie fans our only opportunity to see the three premier boy-stars of the 1930's together, no small joy...oh, and the other joy is a close-up of a bare six-toed foot...when's the last time you saw one of those?


ROCKETMAN (2019)
B-   FIRST VIEWING   IN-CINEMA
d: Dexter Fletcher
CAST: Taron Egerton; Jamie Bell; Richard Madden; Bryce Dallas Howard; Gemma Jones
> a Baz Luhrmann-ish musical bio about Elton John, told through (gulp) his songs...but that's okay...far better than the Freddie & Queen songbook; nothing revelatory here: the story of a pudgy, balding nerd who was a gifted tunesmith and a flamboyant performer...the man turned to excesses (all the usuals if you're rich) when what he really wanted was Love; the greatest enjoyment I had in this film was ticking off the songs as they appeared (surprisingly MIA: "Candle in the Wind"...thank you); in his heyday (1970-76), Elton pumped out a couple of good-to-great pop songs per album...a collection of those 20 or so tracks makes for a nifty history of 70's pop culture (before the attack of Punk); Taron is fine but he seems to be craving a few more straightforward dramatic scenes, and doesn't look entirely at ease in a bustle
BTW: "Pinball Wizard" is actually a Who song...let's not forget that, okay? 


BLOOD ON THE SUN (1945)
C   FIRST VIEWING
d: Frank Lloyd
CAST: James Cagney; Sylvia Sidney; John Emery; Robert Armstrong; Leonard Strong
> one of the rare USA movies that acknowledges that the Asian-Pacific theatre of WWII didn't start with Pearl Harbour, but with the 1931 invasion of Manchuria...a shame then that the movie isn't particularly good; James is a newspaper editor in Tokyo who publishes a story about Japan's military intentions...the secret police aren't too happy about it and attempt to regain a document before it reveals all; strangely slow-paced & unconvincing for a Cagney action film (even his fights are hokey...Jimmy out-judos the bad Japs), this features cringy stereotypes (no speakee good Engrish), Sylvia playing her always-appealing civil-despite-hardship role, and not a single Asian actor in sight; while the film is well-shot (mostly night scenes, perfectly lit), it's a James Cagney movie that is quite forgettable...and you don't get too many of those either


TOLKIEN (2019)
C   FIRST VIEWING   IN-CINEMA
d: Dome Karukoski
CAST: Nicholas Hoult; Lily Collins; Harry Gilby; Colm Meaney; Derek Jacobi; Anthony Boyle
> Confession Time: I may be the only person on the planet who has fallen asleep during the cinematic showings of all 3 Lord of the Rings films (even during IMAX screenings...I couldn't get through The Hobbit in Year 9 English either); this biopic of JRR Tolkien's early years is a little bit sad and a whole lot genteel (a polite synonym for boring)...but I stayed awake for most of it, with only a slight nod-off here & there; some standalone images in the WWI trench-warfare scenes are powerful, but some are questionable (dragons? noble warriors? noble steeds?)...but at least these have more impact than the affairs-of-the-heart stuff, not to mention most of the talking; Nicholas gives a peculiarly guarded performance: he is very controlled and brooding, but instead of quietly deep, he teeters on the edge of blandness without entirely toppling over



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