Movie review - Corman #6 - "Gunslinger" (1956) **1/2

Roger Corman is not known for his westerns, nor is writer Charles Griffith, but they teamed for this taunt early effort which holds up surprisingly well. It starts with a couple of socko moments: Beverly Garland takes her sheriff husband dinner only to see him shot – and she shoots one of the killers; then at the funeral she sees another of the killers and shoots him then and there! Then she goes and has a fist fight with the woman who runs the local saloon (Alison Hayes).

The film never quite recaptures the momentum of those three moments, although it has an energy and imagination that belies its low budget (which is painfully evident in the saloon sequences). The story turns into a sort of retread of Johnny Guitar, with Hayes hiring John Ireland to do away with Garland but falling for her. The film gets points by having us guess what Ireland will do right up to the end. With its strong female leads I thought the film might be better known as it is as a feminist piece (it does have some reputation). 

A debit perhaps might be Garland – she’s accomplished enough and she grew on me, its just that she doesn’t quite fill what is a terrific role. (Hayes is more charismatic) I got a kick out of the scene where the dance hall girls try to hang Garland.

Movie review – “Platinum High School” (1960) **

The rash of Albert Zugmsith films that followed at MGM in the wake of High School Confidential often had good ideas and interesting casts but tended to lack the care that could have made them special. This one has a terrific exploitation concept – a dad arrives at a military academy to investigate the death of his son. Said academy is located on an island surrounded by sharks and is run for trouble-making children, a ripe exploitation storyline if there was one.

But the filmmakers do very little with it. The death was mysterious, there’s bullying going on. Ho-hum. There’s no real sense of creepiness or unease or storyline apart from the dad asking questions and people taking pot shots at him. This is a film ripe for remake.

The other key flaw of the film is the casting of the father. Mickey Rooney is an actor of tremendous talent and energy and his performance here is accomplished and professional – but at the end of the day he’s still Mickey Rooney, and its no fun to see Mickey Rooney playing a hard-arse (particularly an ex-Marine capable of beating up other marines). It’s not his height, I would have bought Jimmy Cagney in this role, its his Mickey Rooney factor; they should have rewritten the part more to accommodate him.
Mamie Van Doren’s absence is felt, though Terry Moore tries her best in a Mamie Van Doren-like part she isn’t as good. Yvette Mimieux appears in her first role I believe; a thankless part in which she just rocks up to wear an (admittedly pleasing) bikini, and then to nearly get raped.

Oh, the bullying cadets are a bit vanilla, too, especially the blonde leader, and the music soundtrack a bit jarring.

To take a walk on the positive side, the acting is of strong standard (Dan Duryea plays head of the school, Elisha Cook Jnr is in there too) and the action sequences are well done and the film is done with some conviction. Like a lot of these Zugsmith films the son of a famous actor is in the cast, in this case Harold Lloyd Jnr.

Movie review - Corman #16 - "Sorority Girl" (1957) **

In the late 1950s Roger Corman was found directing "women stories" as much as sagas about aliens from outer space. This brisk number is about a bitchy college student (Susan Cabot) who causes trouble at a sorority, being mean and causing blackmail. Thing is, the bitch is a three dimensional character - not simply evil, but because she comes from a rich unloving family, is excluded and unpopular (the fact that Cabot looks older than the others contributes to this). She wrecks a bit of havoc, not as much as you'd like - slaps around one girl, encourages another to blackmail a person into thinking he's the father of her baby - but in its way the film was a bit of a trend setter, it was years before Heathers. Unfortunately its a man at the end who saves the day (Dick Miller as a student politician). Strong performance from Cabot and decent support from others; runs a little over an hour.

Movie review - "Girls Town" (1959) **

Kind of a remake of Boys Town with Mamie Van Doren instead of Mickey Rooney playing a delinquent sent away to a sort of reform school run by nuns (who drive around in a car with "girls town" written on the side).

That's a terrific idea, and certainly parts of this film is fun, particularly Van Doren in her tight pants and constantly looking for men the moment she gets there.
But it makes the crucial mistake of not concentrating on Van Doren and her conflict with the nuns (there needed to be a main nun who she really locked horns with) and instead spending too much time on musical acts (such as the Platters) and Paul Anka, who plays an underage pop star stalked by a Girls Town in-mate - instead of being annoyed and terrified by this Anka tries to help her out and ends up saving the day. 

There is a bit of girl power solidarity plus a drag race that's just like the one in Grease, Mel Torme as a hoodlum, Anka singing 'Ave Maria' to Van Doren in a church; Anka also sings 'Lonely Boy'.

Book review – “Million Dollar Mermaid” by Esther Williams

Million dollar whiner, more likely. This bio of the famous star, a genuine box office giant for a few years after World War Two with her aquatic musicals (considered the second if not third tier of the classic MGM musicals) is fascinating – the mere concept of Esther Williams alone is fascinating – but also reveals Esther to be a real whiner.

She whines her family didn’t love her enough, she missed out on the Olympics, she was sexually harassed by Johnny Weismuller (sounds believable), sexually harassed by just about everyone , had a lousy job, joined MGM who gave her a hard time, made films which was really really hard, never got respect from Louis B Mayer but he was better than Dore Schary who was awful (because he gave Athena to Jane Powell and tried to get Stanley Donen to direct a film with her – how evil!), had lousy plots, got a hard time from Debroah Kerr about her films, married a dull doctor who didn’t want kids, then married an alcoholic gambler, then married a former film star who wouldn’t let her see her kids, had directors who didn’t care, had agents who didn’t care, etc, etc.

Williams goes on and on about having to do everything for herself, as if the world owed her a living – she achieved so much on her own but doesn’t seem to take much enjoyment out of it, except when she talks about swimming, for which she seems to have had a genuine love. This book could have used a few more laughs. Instead we get lots of bitching and talks about erections, particularly Fernando Lamas’.

I mean, I liked it, particularly evocation of MGM at the time, portraits of directors like I-don’t-care Mervyn Le Roy, just-shoot-it Richard Thorpe (who Esther tries to slag but he comes across quite engaging, hating actors and asking Esther not to be too cheerful in the morning) and boozing Busby Berkeley (the one filmmaker she seemed to really respect), plus producers like Sam Katz (who tried to get her in to bed all the time but actually did a lot of good for her career) and the bland leading men she was saddled with including Peter Lawford and Ricardo Montalban. I just wished she took a walk on the sunny side every now and then – no one made her marry three duds (she stuck with number two and three a long time), or lose all her money (she could have kept an eye on it). How about a few laughs?

What makes her a bitch in particular is her reaction when she discovered Jeff Chandler was a cross dresser – although they’d gone out for years, he was a lovely guy, etc, he liked to wear a dress and Esther freaked out, told him to see a therapist. What a cow. Aussies will find interesting the section on making Million Dollar Mermaid (Annette Kellerman met her and said she wished Esther was Australian – good on you, Annette)

Movie review – “Whistle Stop” (1946) ***

Ava Gardner came to the movies via an MGM contract but despite her beauty and off-screen fame (she was married to Mickey Rooney and Artie Shaw), the studio used her for little more than walk ons. 

This film was crucial to her career because it gave her a decent role, one that eventually led to her casting in The Killers, which made her a star. Ava is stunning and already quite an accomplished actor playing a girl who returns to a small town to sell her house and see how she feels about her n’er-do-well former boyfriend (George Raft). 

It’s an entirely decent drama, with some interesting characters: Raft is a useless bum who still has tickets on himself, Tom Conway the smooth guy who wants Gardner and can’t stand how she loves Raft, Victor McLaglen as a bartender who suggests murder. The script was written by a superior talent, Philip Yordan, who knows how to convey a tale of small town seediness (bars, train stations, dance halls), laced with tough dialogue. Raft is quite good playing a loser.

Movie review – “High School Confidential” (1958) ***

A camp classic that remains heaps of fun to watch and is actually a well made film, as many efforts from director Jack Arnold were. Despite the “serious” narration at the end and some “serious” talks about the peril of drugs (which are never made fun of), you can’t help but feel the filmmakers had a tongue shoved in their cheek at times (I would love to read about the behind the scenes of this).
The two best things about the film are the dialogue (tonnes of slang, brilliantly beat-influenced – there is even a performance by an attractive female beat poet, and John Drew Barrymore does a slang version of the story of Columbus) and Mamie Van Doren as Russ Tamblyn’s horny large-breasted aunt.
The rest of the cast is fascinating: Barrymore (looking very much like a skinny version of his father) shows real talent in a sort of snarling sub-Elvis baddy performance, Diane Jurgens (sort of a poor man’s Anne Francis) scores strongly as a marijuana-addicted school girl (she has quite a hot scene where she tries to seduce Tamblyn), Jan Evans as the Eisenhower school teacher (who flirts with Tamblyn before its revealed he’s a cop – interesting sub-currents there), Jackie Coogan as the smart drug dealer (who won’t touch alcohol or drugs), a young Michael Landon as the leader of the decent kids, plus other sons of Hollywood royalty: Charles Chaplin Jnr and William Wellman Jnr.
It’s not a dumb movie either: although you may giggle at talk of the evils of marijuana, Tamblyn is also trying to stop the heroin trade; parents of school kids are shown to be ignorant of what their kids get up to.
There is a drag race, a performance from Jerry Lee Lewis, but the action highlight is an extremely well done climatic fight in a blacked out diner between Tamblyn and Coogan, with Landon and his pals helping out – they throw chairs and plates and tables, knives flash, guns fire, dancer Tamblyn leaps around athletically and it matched by a surprisingly nimble Coogan. It is a very well done sequence.
The skill of this is kind of ruined by then having a narrator talk about the school girl who has given up marijuana and “limits herself to normal cigarettes”.

Movie review – Errol #17 - “Virginia City” (1940) ***

Errol Flynn wasn’t the most obvious Western star in the world but Dodge City made buckets of dough, so Warners ushered him into this follow up. Its an odd sort of film – given a large budget and the A treatment (strong support cast, directed by Michael Curtiz, exec produced by Hal Wallis), it has an excellent central idea (during the Civil War, confederates try to smuggle $5 million out from Virginia City to help the war effort), but feels a little rushed in places: for instance, it’s a bit of a coincidence that Errol figures out about the shipment and takes off after his old gaoler Randolph Scott (why didn’t they just have Errol overhear it in prison?), Errol doesn’t really do much undercover work, the film goes on a bit too long.

There is also a major flaw in the casting of Miriam Hopkins as the love interest – she is given large billing, below Errol’s but just as big a font, she was a name at the time – but she is not very pretty, a poor actor and does not match well with Errol at all, who needs a bit of spunk in his female co-stars, not bland sandpaper. It’s a great role, you get to be a spy, act the Southern belle, sing in a dance hall, romance Errol Flynn and be pursued by Randolph Scott, shoot marauding bandits, plea to Abraham Lincoln – but Hopkins stuffs it. If only the other leading ladies at Warners had played it - Olivia de Havilland, Alexis Smith, Ann Sheridan, etc. Scenes which should have been winners – Hopkins being put in turmoil by conflicting loyalties, singing in a dance hall outfit – are sunk by her charisma and talent by-pass.

There is some compensatory emotional kick from Randolph Scott, who plays Errol’s adversary turned eventual ally (when northern and southerner realise that despite their differences they’re going to have to team up in order to beat off Mexicans). Humphrey Bogart is fun as said Mexican – he was only a year away from stardom, but still had to take assignments like these. The film has plenty of action and there is always something going on – Civil War history buffs will be intrigued by cameos from Lincoln and Jeff Davis, plus an early scene at Libby Prison.

Movie review – “The Beat Generation” (1959) **1/2

From the producer of High School Confidential which features many of the same cast and is set partly around the world of beatniks, but isn’t as nearly as much fun, mostly because the tone of the story is nasty and the ‘hero’ so unsympathetic. Ray Danton (very charismatic) is a rapist running loose, occasionally with best friend Jim Mitchum; Steve Cochran plays the investigating cop who is so misogynistic that he never believes the rapists victims – even when one of them turns out to be his wife.
Cochran is such a prick, nastily interrogating the victims (Danton frames them to make it seem like they ask for it) that it is uncomfortable – but the film doesn’t endorse his point of view (other, nicer characters call him on it), so in the end it makes the film more interesting, to have such a weird protagonist.
How weird? Instead of doing things like talking to witnesses and take fingerprints, he just follows the rape victims around because he “just knows” one will meet up with the rapist again. He turns out to be right – in this case the victim (or rather near victim) is Mamie Van Doren (who Jim Mitchum set out to rape but was held up by the fact Mamie was up for it).
It’s an intriguing story (Richard Matheson was one of the writers) on which the beat setting feels tacked on – Danton hangs out with beatniks but doesn’t really dig their scene. The finale has Cochran chasing Danton but they kept being interrupted by partying beatniks then they fight it out underwater.
To throw some extra stuff into the mix, Louis Armstrong sings the title song about beatniks and appears in a scene (Cochrane asks him to make a phone call for him – why don’t you do it yourself, Armstrong?), Cochrane’s wife gets pregnant to the rapist and we have a scene where a priest talks her out of getting an abortion, the cast includes Vampira as a poet. A bit of a mess, but for all that a watchable film, quite grown up and serious in places, particularly about men’s attitude to women and rape.

Movie review – “Lumumba” (1998) ***

Lumumba was the Congo politician who copped it from the Western press because of his anti-imperial comments and links to Russia, but he died early into the job and certainly couldn’t have been worse than Mobutu. Does anyone really think Lumumba would have been better? Probably not – but he couldn’t have been worse, and he didn’t deserve to be killed. Foolish superpowers, playing their cold war games in Africa, backing dictators if it meant the other side didn’t get in. This film treats him sympathetically, a kindly family man and loyal friend, although it doesn’t shy away from showing him to be a troublemaking firebrand. Tshombe comes out of it awfully, fully implicated in Lumumba’s murder; so, too, does the Belgian government and companies who thought they could rue the Congo by proxy. Like most Congo stories, ultimately depressing because you know it all ended badly. The budget is well used. The device of having the film narrated by the corpse works.

Movie review – “Sink the Bismark” (1960) ***

Most British war films of the 1950s were met with indifference by the American public but this one was an expected hit, despite being about an event with no American involvement. Ed Murrow provides some commentary, the film was given a PR push by 20th Century Fox, the Dana Wynter character receives an offer to work in America. Perhaps also audiences appreciated the no-nonsense presentation of an enthralling story – there is little comic relief apart from a few one liners from cockneys, little romance apart from Wynter making eyes at Kenneth More, little human drama apart from More (whose character is the most ficticious element in the film) becoming more human and fearing he’s lost his son. In a nice change the admiral of the Bismark is a psycho nazi rather than a good German – also there is still a good German character, the captain. The model work, and special effects are very well done and realistic. The events portrayed with general accuracy – for all the ship’s power, it was mostly undone by an old plane! (that wasn’t the whole story, of course, but it was crucial)

Book review – “The Restaurant at the End of the Universe”

Sequel to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy takes more time over its descriptions and gives practically all the action to Zaphod, with Douglas Adams figuring out he’s the most interesting character. Trillion does nothing, Arthur Dent hardly anything til the end, and Ford Prefect only a few things (he blossoms when Zaphord isn’t around). An excellent book nonetheless, with several stand out set pieces of dazzling brilliance: the restaurant, the perspective vortex, the country where its always sunset on a piece of tropical coastline, and most of all the ship containing management consultants at the like. This bit is best of all, and, once the ship lands on the planet, unexpectedly moving and poignant.

Movie review – “I Was a Teenage Werewolf” (1957) ***

The silly title caused this film to become a joke on its release (and helped it to a healthy box office gross, becoming I believe the first blockbuster of the newly-formed AIP) but its actually a superior 50s horror film. The story is intelligent and treated with seriousness: Michael Landon is strong as the tormented teen who becomes a werewolf through the efforts of an unscrupulous shrink (an appropriately chilly Whit Bissell). Adults are not to be trusted in this one, whether turning people into werewolves, hassling kids, or stopping Landon from dating their daughter – no wonder teenagers loved it. The cops are mostly sympathetic – men caught in a difficult situation. Werewolf transformation and make up often bring laughs (even as recent as Wolf) but its pretty good here. The first half is better than the second – the werewolf rampage is disappointingly limited, and the character of the girlfriend underused. But it is thoughtful and well done. Mike Nichols, director of Wolf, once argued that his film would have been more popular if it had deal with vampires, since vampires strike a chord with people that werewolves don’t. I disagree, and would argue that Wolf simply misunderstood the nature of the appeal of werewolf films – namely, that they are tragedies, with a decent person turned into a killer because of circumstances beyond his control. The classic werewolf films, like The Wolf Man, An American Werewolf in London and this one, understood that. Transcript is here.

Movie review – Borat (2006) ***1/2

In terms of pure laughs, the funniest film of the year so far, with Sacha Cohen in extremely good form as the unintentionally obnoxious TV reporter. The film is a bit mean when it comes to poor old Kazhakstan, portraying the country as full of prostitutes, rapists, anti-Semites and gypsies. It’s a tribute to Cohen that his character retains some endearing qualities – mainly because he has such a bad time. The core of the film follows the Ali G formula of having a person ask offensive questions to a nonplussed guest. No wonder this film is popular in America as Americans come out of it pretty well – most of the people in this multicultural society Borat meets are tolerant, polite and friendly (even Pamela Anderson). How real is the film? Are all the lawsuit stories real or plants? Many funny moments: the nude wrestling match, the posh dinner party, the rodeo. It could do with a little more story, though – the format (Borat meets someone) gets a little monotonous; the film needs a subplot (one is kind of provided with his producer character but this is not really developed enough to give it the weight of, say, Spinal Tap).

Book review - "Jonestown" by Chris Masters

Eagerly awaited bio of the broadcast which, like Jones himself, probably won't mean much to people outside of Sydney. Why is Jones so popular in Sydney but nowhere else? (cf John Laws) People turn off from Today when he appears on it. That issue really isn't dealt with in the book. A lot else is, though - Masters does a thorough job on Jones' background, his childhood in the Queensland country, school at Toowoomba, teachers education, working at Ironside then BGS, then Kings, Oxford and eventually rugby and radio. I listened to Jones' show a few times and I think the overall secret to his appeal is certainty - he is astonishingly and overwhemingly certain. I also think he's a bit mad - you can see it in the eyes, and its reinforced by the refusal to believe he's wrong. Masters points out the patterns in his life: hard work, causes, playing favourites, a tendency for favour handsome young men (something we shouldn't be surprised we see it all the time with elder men and pretty young women). It seems he has never ever had a long term romantic relationship, which is sad - and a shame because it might have made him calm down a little bit. Jones' campness and old country town manners/mother love is very Australian - as is his use of sport to fit in a boof head society.

The book has received flak from exploring Jones' homosexuality. I think its fair enough this be looked into - any look at Bob Hawke's life, say, would have to explore his drinking and womanizing - but sometimes it felt as though it went too far: such as an account from a male hooker about an encounter with Jones. I mean, it was interesting on one level, and does sketch a portrait of the man - as a portrait of anyone having sex would - but it felt this went a bit too far. I appreciate Masters’ argument that it is revealing to Jones’ personality how he deals with a male prostitute (or courtesan, or what you will) – but it feels a bit uncomfortable. That argument would apply for any figure you do a biography on, it would be uncomfortable in that case, too. (It’s a bit off how Masters gives Jones’ would-be lover some respectability by saying “Jones met his match” in him – I mean, the kid was basically a rent boy.) I found the stuff about rugby and radio the most interesting, also teaching being a BGS old boy; the stuff about NSW politics was a little duller, as stuff about NSW politics tends to be unless you're really into crime, traffic and corruption.

Movie review - "Dillinger" (1945) ***

Taunt, brisk gangster film with a young slim and with-hair Lawrence Tierney in the title role. It covers Dillinger's first foray into serious crime and goes up til his death - so there is a fair bit of re jigging of the facts. It includes the two most famous pieces: his escape from gaol with a wooden gun and the final shoot out outside the cinema. Dillinger's moll is reduced to one woman, but it moves briskly, Philip Yordan's script is laced with tough dialogue and memorable touches (such as the grape loving gangster); it also has a superior cast including Elisha Cook Jnr.

Movie review - "Robocop" (1987) ****

The memories of some poor sequels fade and this action film still stands up. Paul Verhoeven proved an inspired choice for this sort of satirical sort of promoting form of law and order. Very black and funny, yet with heart. Human work from Peter Weller and inspired villainous turns from Ronny Cox and Kurtwood Smith.

Movie review - "Kingdom of Heaven" (2005) **

After conquering Ancient Rome with Gladiator, Ridley Scott no doubt licked his lips at the idea of taking on the middle ages, but he drops it. There's plenty of stunning visuals, and the setting of the crusades makes it interesting, but the story has problems. Mostly in that the story is so fair to Muslims that they really should have been the heroes - these invades coming into their land and acting beastly, killing people, being treacherous, shouldn't have been there in the first place. Saladin is so nice that the big siege at the end is totally pointless. Orlando Bloom should have just surrendered, same result would have happened, more people would have lived. 

Orlando isn't an engaging hero - he's buffed up, tries hard, is conscientious... but is still too vanilla. Jeremy Irons, Brendon Gleeson and Liam Neeson are professional but we've seen them in these roles too often (Neeson played a similar role the same year in Batman Begins ditto Gleeson in Troy); Edward Norton however kicks a goal as the leper king, as does Eva Green as his tormented sister.

Movie review - "Troy" (2003) **

This is one that got away - there was plenty of money flying around, the film believably deals with the issue of Greek Gods by having characters act because of their faith rather than the fact that the Gods exist, and Brad Pitt's Achilles and the Greeks are often unsympathetic. But it blows it by changing the basics of the story - killing Agamemnon at Troy, Achilles surviving to the Wooden Horse having Paris kill Achilles... that's just cheating and does the story no service. Paris and Helen lack passion, though Peter O'Toole is ideal. Eric Bana is wooden, though all he's required to do is be decent; Brian Cox and Brendan Glesson add some spark and Sean Bean is a perfect Odysseus. This was one of those films I didn't mind at the time when watching it but as time has passed it has become more and more irritating in the mind.

Movie review - "Robot Monster" (1953) No stars... or ****

How good is this movie! Many films of the "so bad its good" school aren't that fun - for instance, I'm not the biggest fan of Plan 9 from Outer Space. But this is terrific - its got a confusing plot, which starts with a couple of kids running into scientists, then jumps to a post-apocalyptic world where there are only eight people left due to the efforts of Ro Man. Ro Man is the star of the film - a man in a gorilla suit and deep sea diver's helmet. And the filmmaker's don't hide it... they show him out in the open. That is the core of the film's genius but there is much else to admire: the fact that Ro Man has wiped out the world except for eight people but lives in a cave, the irritating kids, the soliloquies, Ro Man communicating to his boss back home via a television set, the male lead played by gay Rock Hudson wannabe George Nader (soon to be a bit of a name ), his squabbling sexual tension relationship with Selena Royle (the world's just ended but there's time for a squabble), the scenes where there is no sound (a love scene between Nader and Royle... where its implied they have some pre-maritial sex), Ro Man falling in love with Royle and the humans arguing over whether she should give up her body to him/it (!), the soliloquies by the humans, the fact the two women of the future wear matching outfits, Ro Man discovering his soul. For all the dodgy effects, poor acting, slightly bewildering plot and One Million Years BC stock footage, it's never totally dismissive: I mean, the whole world has been wiped out, Ro Man kills a young girl and almost kills a young boy, Ro Man's boss ends up killing Ro Man and the whole world gets wiped out... its full on (it turns out to be a dream). The film is fascinating and tremendous fun.

Movie review - "The Outlaw" (1943) **1/2

Bizarre Western famous for the censorship battle Howard Hughes fought over Jane Russell's cleavage. Russell's role actually very much fourth in importance in the film, most of which concerns Walter Huston and Thomas Mitchell squabbling over Jack Beutel. The film is laced with homosexual innuendo: the way the characters react to each other heavily implies it. The plot revolves around Huston's horse and the relationship between the three, with Russell being the wildcard.

Mitchell and Huston are professional, Beutel is pretty, Russell inexperienced but snarls and looks terrific - OK this is hindsight but she seems to have it whereas Buteul doesn't. Surprise ending, which builds to the death of Billy the Kid... only the amiable Doc Holliday dies and Billy rides off into the sunset. After an interesting beginning the film starts to slump and then is sporadically interesting: Hughes uses "wacky" music every time something funny happens. The last bit of the film throws in some Indians who we never see - production values aren't that high, apart from Jane Russell.

Book review - "Drew Barrymore" by Lucy Ellis

DB is barely 30 but she deserves a bio, having packed an awful lot of living into those years. Her rise to stardom was one of the unexpected delights of the late 90s, and it seems she's there to stay for a while. This bio isn't much of a book, being a cut and paste job complete with extensive quotes from press kits and use of hyperbole in the language (it was published in 2003 and ends with the prediction that 50 First Dates would be predictable, but Duplex sounded like a winner). But it holds interest because Drew is so fascinating. A scion of the notorious Barrymore family, Drew barely knew her father and was raised by her crazy mother. Her life fits into easy categories: (1) child star thanks to ET, followed by a series of vehicles (including Cat's Eye) (2) troubled adolesence, with declining roles and major off screen problems (mum would take her to nightclubs so they'd have something to do together, early boozing and cocaine use) (3) getting clean (4) come back as a vixen with Poison Ivy and some highly publicised off screen antics (esp bisexuality) that turned her into a Gex X poster girl (5) re-emergence as a sweet young thing(something which began when Woody Allen cast her in Everybody Says I Love You, and something Allen isn't given nearly enough credit for), rising to stardom with The Wedding Singer and a series of vehicles (6) becoming a real Hollywood player with Charlie's Angels. It's a tremendous rise - Drew's greatest achievement seems to be a gift for reinvention. This even encompasses her love life (every new one is "the first time I've ever felt this way".) She's great, a bit mad, but great and should be around for a while now.

Book review - "Laurence Olivier" by Melvyn Bragg

Short bio on the actor, coming out of a profile Bragg did on Olivier for television. So little in the way of new research, just an overview of career, but Bragg is a superb writer and details Oliver's life and achievements with skill and perception. Olivier's career falls into sections more than most: young actor in the provinces, growing reputation in London, Private Lives and West End fame, very brief run as Hollywood leading man, re-establishment of reputation in England, Shakespeare and the rise to greatness, the return to Hollywood and emergence as a film star, the war and becoming an English icon, the bold 1950s, divorce with Leigh and The Entertainer, work at the National, selling out in the 70s. Amazing career, worthy tribute.

Book review - "Vivien Leigh" by John Russell Taylor

Short bio on the famous star but very well written despite some jarring factual errors (eg they saw Peter Finch in Imaginary Invalid not Taurtuffe). Vivien Leigh is a fascinating person: born beautiful (there is a photo of her at three - she just seems to be saying "I get whatever I want"), grew up in convents and travelling outside of England, marriage to a doting barrister, then an acting career, growing fame, affair with Olivier, Gone with the Wind, marriage to Olivier... she never became the film star you would have thought, mainly because she kept trying to make it on stage, where she was constantly in the shadow of her husband. Apart from Streetcar Named Desire and The Hamilton Woman and Waterloo Bridge.... it wasn't much of a film career. But, then, that was surely enough - Scarlett O'Hara alone would have been enough. She paid for her beauty and her luck, though, she surely did.

Play review - "Operator" by David Williamson

Surprisingly strong late period Williamson - yes it does have a woman in her 20s who falls in love with a middle aged man, but the central situation is a strong one - a sociopathic career climber sets out to reach the top at a firm by any means necessary (the role was played by Rory Williamson on stage - I didn't see him but Rory was always good playing pricks eg his "I wouldn't do that if I were you" in the Bundy Rum ads).

It also helps that the firm makes exercise equipment, so not only does it provide a rich field for satire, Williamson is at home with the engineering background stuff. The young woman is a likeable character, notwithstanding her taste for aged tail, as is the slacker lesbian boss's niece. Funny, fast paced, poignant.

Play review – “Influence” by David Williamson (2005)

David Williamson takes on talk back radio, a meaty topic but which he only skims deep. It is funny to have his shock jock be a loud mouth on the mike but a victim at home, but this means the character becomes a little sketchy. 

There’s a classic Williamson bitch character – the DJ’s awful former ballerina wife (who does get a lot of funny lines) – and also a classic Williamson female saint character (he writes as many saints these days as bitches): in fact two, a middle aged psychologist and the Middle Eastern housekeeper. The manic teenage daughter is funny – but it never feels like a real family, or like a real man who works in radio. 

There are glimpses at a more interesting play: when the DJ worries about falling ratings, the fact the DJ’s income enables him to live in a world where his views are considered abhorrent. What’s left is a little sub-par.

Movie review – “Some Kind of Wonderful” (1987) ***

Last of the John Hughes films and perhaps the least known – it didn’t do as well at the box office, probably because the sensitive protagonist was a boy… although there are many girls who love the film for that reason, just not as many who love films about sensitive girls and handsome prince charmings.
The greatest strength of the film is Mary Stuart Masterton’s stand out star making performance as the tom boy drummer – it’s a terrific turn, one that looks even better now and makes one wish she had a bigger career.
Lea Thompson and Eric Stoltz are likeable in their roles, though Stoltz’s character becomes increasingly creepy as the film goes on: lecturing Thompson during his final date, blowing his college money on earrings (that plot development is really irritating), conveniently running after Masterton when Thompson essentially gives him the flick.
The plot of this is the weakest – a big date wasn’t enough, it needed to be the prom or something. Plenty of good things around, though: the support performances of Elias Koteas as a kindly skin-head, Candance Cameron as an annoying kid sister and Scott Coffey as a boy with a crush on Masterton, the music, any scene involving Masterton (particularly the practising kissing scene).

Movie review - "Four Brothers" (2005) **1/2

It was a bright idea to remake The Sons of Katie Elder in a modern day urban setting, especially with multi-racial brothers and John Singleton as director. It was also good to have the mother character be seen and be more of a presence, and have one of the sons involved in her death. But for all that the film is a bit disappointing: flat, sluggish, a bit too on the nose with the lyrics of some of the background songs, and do we have to have something with corrupt cops again? It brightens in places, especially the shoot out towards the end, and the way the film is shot is interesting. Why didn't they re-use John Wayne's great entrance in Katie Elder?

Movie review - "The Wrong Man" (2006) **1/2

Reasonably enjoyable thriller well plenty of plot, a strong cast and some top notch direction which handles the violent scenes with skill and always tries to ensure something different (brightly coloured doors, fresh settings). Doesn't quite compensate for a busy script that is a little too obviously written by a Gen X'er who has seen a LOT of films - references to Once Upon a Time in the West, Yojimbo, Pulp Fiction, North by Northwest (this is made explicitly). The length of the flashback at the beginning tips the film's hand a little too readily, and the wrap up at the end takes a little too long, but for all that I enjoyed it.

Movie review - "Village of the Giants" (1965) **1/2

Really fun, silly mixture of 60s teen film and sci-fi: little Ronny Howard (that Ron Howard) invents material which causes creatures to grow. Its stolen by some high spirited teens (led by Beau Bridges, that Beau Bridges) who take over the town. The classic sort of film which falls into the not-as-bad-as-you-think-but-not-as-good-as-it-could-have-been.
Positive virtues: the cast (also including Tommy Kirk in the lead, Johnny Crawford, Ron Howard’s dad Rance as deputy, Mickey Rooney’s son Tim – he looks like him - and Ann Sothern’s daughter Tisha Sterling), the performances, some social commentary (Bridges and company want to take over from the adults), the special effects, the music (including the groovy theme song and the Beau Brummels – the nightclub they perform at is actually the Whiskey a Go-Go).
There are two decent action sequences: one when Kirk and company use their cars to try and capture Bridges, and a replay of the David and Goliath battle when Kirk takes on Bridges with a slingshot, plus a pretty good fight where Kirk and his girlfriend kill a giant spider.
I also loved all the random moments – especially all the go-go dancing (there’s go-go dancing over the opening credits, then in the first sequence, then in the night club, then at a party, then when the kids become giants (when they realise they're giants and can do anything they want... the first thing they do is go-go dance) - and when the good kids have to distract the bad kids they send in Toni Basil to... you guessed it... go go dance); I love the way Kirk suddenly has two random dorky looking friends out of nowhere (one of them is fat and looks like Drew Carey) and how when giant geese go and dance in the club no one is really fazed; there's also plenty of giant cleavage, and a brunette member of the gang who seems to disappear for periods at a time.
There is also some pleasing clashes within Bridges' gang (Bridges isn't as keen as some others to take over).
Frustratingly under-developed in parts though - we could have seen more why Bridges clashes with the adults, more with the landslide (some adults are away others are around - but the town doesn't feel cut off), Bridges and his gang lack a plan (surely they would try to do something really cool being giants - knock over a building or something - but the filmmakers seem more interested in having characters hang off giant breasts), Kirk (whose character, while brave, is a bit of an Uncle Tom to be honest - and he was only interested in exploiting the formula for money not anything altruistic) runs around in little shorts a lot of the time; also the fight with the giant spider indicates a whole other, possibly more exciting direction the film could have gone in (but they probably blew their sfx money on the breasts).
There is a genuinely funny end gag.

Fansite for the film is here

Movie review – Corman #8 - “Attack of the Crab Monsters” (1957) **1/2

Early Roger Corman opus which has become famous for its silly title and legendary wonky effects of crab arms, but actually has a really, really strong story (radio active waste causes mutated crabs, crew arrive to investigate, crabs taking over humans, island shrinking), is well paced, has plenty of action and deaths, some decent acting from the support, and the special effects aren’t bad.

Charles Griffith wrote the script and is a quite solid and strong – deaths one by one, the fact that the island gets smaller and smaller (there are logic problems here but the structure is fine). It gets right off to a great start – a group of scientists and sailors arrive at an island looking to chase up an expedition who haven’t been heard of. A sailor falls into the water (played by Griffith himself) and dies - his head falls off! Bad weather is threatening the island. Their pilot flies back and the plane blows up. The girl on the expedition (who does some obligatory swimming in a swimsuit) starts hearing voices. The crabs are taking over humans.

Unfortunately after this beginning the story gets bogged down. Corman’s handling was a bit slack – not up to the script if truth be told. There are lots of incredibly complex scientific explanations as goes on – I’ve seen this film three times and I’m still not sure what the deal is.

Richard Garland and Paula Duncan are poor leads, physiques notwithstanding (she's got one of the 50s sci fi point boob figures) – both are easily overshone by Russell Johnson, who is really good as a bitter member of the expedition who loves Duncan (a lot more could have been made of this triangle). There is also decent support from the Roger Corman stock company, including Mel Welles, Ed Nelson and Beach Dickerson.

Fans of this film will want to get the DVD which contains an audio commentary by the guys who wrote “Universal Monsters” including Tom Weaver is interesting, although they pick at the film a little too much. They read from Griffith’s original script which apparently was more logical (the famous gaffe line, where someone comments on there being no animal life on the island when we’ve seen plenty of gulls was meant to be “no insect life on the island”). Apparently Columbia were keen on Griffith, thinking he might have been the power behind Corman’s throne, and signed him to a two picture deal but the films went over budget and were unremarkable.

Movie review – “Just My Luck” (2006) *

Romantic comedies are the hardest genre to do well, among the easiest to do adequately: to be a hit, all you need are stars, a bright concept, and one or two good moments. The recent success of Failure to Launch proved that you don’t even need the moments.
This one has a star, Lindsay Lohan, a lame idea and no moments: Lindsay is a girl blessed with luck who then loses it to a dorky guy. Lohan-star is (or rather was) one of the brightest young Hollywood stars, a talented actor with a genuine girl-next-door attractiveness. She’s off form in this film, not really seeming to care – after this and Herbie and Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, I’m beginning to think Mean Girls and Freaky Friday were flukes. Her position in the Hollywood hierarchy is being over taken by Anne Hathaway, who isn’t as likeable but seems to have a brain.

This is a lazy movie, with lazy ideas (she works in PR! He manages a band!), lazy setting (New York!), lazy casting, lazy writing, lazy everything (best friends, bright colours, a band).

 The one note that is interesting (apart from deciding whether you can tell Lohan-star was out of it on the film) is the character of the young girl, played by an actor with this deep voice.