One of several comedies Hollywood made in Europe in the early 60s. This is understandably one of the lesser known; Ricardo Montalban is an impoverished aristocrat seeking to marry rich American Hope Lange (not a bad set up) so he gets a team of people together led by Charles Boyer (good idea) and including Glenn Ford.
And it's with Ford's casting where things start to go haywire - he seems out of place, and far too old. It doesn't feel real that he'd get involved in such schemes. I know "real" is a relative term here for a frothy French Riviera romantic comdey but still appropriate. (Actually you know who would have been good? Elvis Presley. The Ford character is a former racing car driver and the plot would have made an ideal Elvis film. In fact, it's actually got a lot in common with Girl Happy.)
And also Hope Lange's character is so sophisticated, beautiful, smart and brave that you never believe for one second she'd be bullied into marrying anyone she didn't want to, which makes the whole set up false. Why would an independent millionairess who wants to race cars and win Grand Prixs be so attracted a titled person? Sure uncle Telly Savalas pushes her along but she's easily too tough for him.This needed to be set in the past, or have Lange as a wall flower, or have her fortune dependent on getting married to someone by a certain date or something?
It's a shame because "someone pretending to be someone else" stories usually work in romantic comedies (there's no reason they couldn't have made it work here with some story adjustments for the star). And the film has lots of good things going for it - notably location shooting in the south of France and a support cast that includes Boyer, Savalas and John Wood (part of the team to train up Montalban). For all Ford's basic miscasting, he and Lange have an enjoyable rapport (they used to be a couple in real life) and I enjoyed scenes when it was just the two of them flirting and I forgot about the weak set up.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Movie review - "Mr Turner" (2014) **1/2
Like a lot of Mike Leigh's films: overlong, not a terribly gripping story, superb character study, some brilliant acting mixed in with over the top scenes, delightful period detail. A researcher got her own credit up the front and she deserved it. Timothy Spall was very good as was everyone, really - I'm always delighted by discovering unfamiliar faces in British films (eg Paul Jesson who plays Spall's father). There were some clunky Leigh acting scenes such as the two women bitchily commenting on the paintings, plus Victoria and Albert.
There's a lot of coughing and grunting - I can't recall a movie with more phlegm. Or sex scenes involving old people. My favourite scene was when Turner was finding himself praised by an idiot, who was showering Turner with compliments and bagging out an old time artist. There are plenty of moments like these - a look at the artist as a man: not a horrible person but he neglects his wife and daughters, carries on a second life in a different town, grumpy, touchy, bad diet, few close friends; deals with even touchier rivals.
Fans of painting from this era will love it, as will Leigh/Spall fans. I admired it but was glad when it ended.
There's a lot of coughing and grunting - I can't recall a movie with more phlegm. Or sex scenes involving old people. My favourite scene was when Turner was finding himself praised by an idiot, who was showering Turner with compliments and bagging out an old time artist. There are plenty of moments like these - a look at the artist as a man: not a horrible person but he neglects his wife and daughters, carries on a second life in a different town, grumpy, touchy, bad diet, few close friends; deals with even touchier rivals.
Fans of painting from this era will love it, as will Leigh/Spall fans. I admired it but was glad when it ended.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Movie review - "Have I the Right to Kill?" (1964) ***
Alain Delon's first effort as producer - though he'd dabbled in distribution for Any Number Can Win - was a box office failure, but is actually one of his best movies. It's a moody downbeat tale with Delon as a French soldier in the Algerian War who decides to desert; he gets the chance to go home if he helps the OAS kidnap a lawyer - but because she's good looking (Lea Massari) he falls in love with her, he helps her escape and now the OAS are after him.
That's a solid story, and its well executed, with plenty of atmosphere and exciting scenes (notably Delon's final moments, the abduction scenes, and facing off against the OAS).
The biggest problem is surprisingly the casting - Delon isn't up to the demands of the role; possibly it was his inexperience, or youth, or distractions of producer, but he's not convincing, particularly in the melancholy moments. I think he would have made more of a fist of it later on in his career - really it's a role that belonged to Jean Gabin or Charles Bronson.
Also he doesn't have much chemistry with Massari, who doesn't seem that in to him. The movie needs to be about a grand passion but they only display it occasionally. It would have been more exciting drama if her husband had had a more defined character; he's too weak dramatically. I feel it's the lack of fire between these two, rather than the political angle, which hurt the movie at the box office.
That's a solid story, and its well executed, with plenty of atmosphere and exciting scenes (notably Delon's final moments, the abduction scenes, and facing off against the OAS).
The biggest problem is surprisingly the casting - Delon isn't up to the demands of the role; possibly it was his inexperience, or youth, or distractions of producer, but he's not convincing, particularly in the melancholy moments. I think he would have made more of a fist of it later on in his career - really it's a role that belonged to Jean Gabin or Charles Bronson.
Also he doesn't have much chemistry with Massari, who doesn't seem that in to him. The movie needs to be about a grand passion but they only display it occasionally. It would have been more exciting drama if her husband had had a more defined character; he's too weak dramatically. I feel it's the lack of fire between these two, rather than the political angle, which hurt the movie at the box office.
Movie review - "Any Number Can Win" (1963) ***1/2
French cinema at it's most commercial - a heist movie which unites one of its most experienced, beloved stars (Jean Gabin) with an exciting newcomer (Alain Delon), and gives them a top notch story. Gabin is just out of prison with no intention of going straight; he plans to rob a casino near Cannes, and employs former cell mate Delon to get some inside information, which results in him romancing a dancer at the casino.
Now that's a terrific set up, a perfect star vehicle for a younger and older star - so much so one wonders why this wasn't remade by Hollywood (you can just see, say, Edward G. Robinson and Paul Newman in it).
It takes it's time - the film clocks at almost two hours - but it doesn't feel boring, because many of the longer sequences are devoted to suspense. Silly acts by Alain Delon are crucial for two plot twists (getting his picture in the paper and then later panicking and shoving a bag in a swimming pool when all he has to do is wait) but his character is set up enough for this to work. It's cute how they make Delon the idiot and not super cool Gabin.
Actually for most of the movie's running time, it's more Delon's film - he has a big subplot, romancing a dancer in order to get inside informtation (his beauty is exploited). Robbing a casino feels borrowed from Oceans Eleven and the ironic cash ending is reminiscent of The Killing. But an entertaining groovy movie with stars in good form.
Now that's a terrific set up, a perfect star vehicle for a younger and older star - so much so one wonders why this wasn't remade by Hollywood (you can just see, say, Edward G. Robinson and Paul Newman in it).
It takes it's time - the film clocks at almost two hours - but it doesn't feel boring, because many of the longer sequences are devoted to suspense. Silly acts by Alain Delon are crucial for two plot twists (getting his picture in the paper and then later panicking and shoving a bag in a swimming pool when all he has to do is wait) but his character is set up enough for this to work. It's cute how they make Delon the idiot and not super cool Gabin.
Actually for most of the movie's running time, it's more Delon's film - he has a big subplot, romancing a dancer in order to get inside informtation (his beauty is exploited). Robbing a casino feels borrowed from Oceans Eleven and the ironic cash ending is reminiscent of The Killing. But an entertaining groovy movie with stars in good form.
Movie review - "The Truth'" (1960) ***
An excellent star vehicle for Brigitte Bardot - it was meant to show the world that she could act, as if that matters, but it's brilliantly constructed around her. She plays a Bardot type - a free spirit who loves a good time and hates working, who managed to get permission from her parents to move to Paris via a suicide attempt (apparently the real life Bardot threatened to kill herself when she wanted to marry Roger Vadim). She has a good girl sister whose dull but handsome musician boyfriend (Sami Frey, good), she seduces in part my rolling around naked underneath a sheet pouting. When he caves - I mean, why wouldn't you - their relationship suffers because she refuses to be tied down. They break up, she becomes a prostitute while he becomes famous, and she realises she made a mistake of letting him go.
This is a well directed film - beautifully shot, with some excellent actors and photography. I enjoyed the French trial scenes, in part because of the depth of field and all the extras (it's a super packed room) but also because their legal system is different (the judge gets in the ring more and asks questions).
The script is less good - the story, rather. There are plenty of good scenes but it hits the same note over and over again - to wit, the movie is always having male character go "Bardot is a whore/tramp not capable of love" and we see that it's not true, i.e. she is a party girl, but she does love Frey. After a while you start to go "alright, already" (especially as the film clocks in at two hours).
Another problem is the whole movie is in flashback from the trial and there is not much development or mystery - either Bardot killed Frey in cold blood or it was a crime of passion, and we never see any reason why she'd kill him in cold blood so there's no mystery. In The Letter there was present day progression because of the blackmail aspect - Bette Davis told one story, it was complicated by the existence of a letter, her lawyer basically fell in love with her, her husband found out this new information... there were things playing out before our eyes. Here, everything has already happened. (I wish they'd used Bardot's lawyer more - maybe he could have fallen in love with her or something.)
But I did enjoy it. Bardot was tremendous - sexy, charismatic, believable as a spoilt sexpot and enraged woman. Her final suicide scene was very moving.
(The story of the making of this movie is fascinating - Clouzot bullied his stars, Bardot had an affair with Frey which resulted in her husband having a nervous breakdown, Frey and her husband having a brawl, and then later Bardot herself trying to kill herself... I wonder how much everyone's behaviour was influenced by the movie? No wonder Bardot was such a massive star - every movie she made there was an excellent chance of drama off screen.)
This is a well directed film - beautifully shot, with some excellent actors and photography. I enjoyed the French trial scenes, in part because of the depth of field and all the extras (it's a super packed room) but also because their legal system is different (the judge gets in the ring more and asks questions).
The script is less good - the story, rather. There are plenty of good scenes but it hits the same note over and over again - to wit, the movie is always having male character go "Bardot is a whore/tramp not capable of love" and we see that it's not true, i.e. she is a party girl, but she does love Frey. After a while you start to go "alright, already" (especially as the film clocks in at two hours).
Another problem is the whole movie is in flashback from the trial and there is not much development or mystery - either Bardot killed Frey in cold blood or it was a crime of passion, and we never see any reason why she'd kill him in cold blood so there's no mystery. In The Letter there was present day progression because of the blackmail aspect - Bette Davis told one story, it was complicated by the existence of a letter, her lawyer basically fell in love with her, her husband found out this new information... there were things playing out before our eyes. Here, everything has already happened. (I wish they'd used Bardot's lawyer more - maybe he could have fallen in love with her or something.)
But I did enjoy it. Bardot was tremendous - sexy, charismatic, believable as a spoilt sexpot and enraged woman. Her final suicide scene was very moving.
(The story of the making of this movie is fascinating - Clouzot bullied his stars, Bardot had an affair with Frey which resulted in her husband having a nervous breakdown, Frey and her husband having a brawl, and then later Bardot herself trying to kill herself... I wonder how much everyone's behaviour was influenced by the movie? No wonder Bardot was such a massive star - every movie she made there was an excellent chance of drama off screen.)
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Top Ten George MacDonald Fraser
In no particular order
1) Flashman - not my favourite of the Flashmans but it was the one that set up the world and the character and demands respect
2) Flash for Freedom - time has made me appreciate this one more - the energy, scholarship and cleverness of the exchanges
3) Flashman at the Charge - a true epic, two novels in one: Flashman in the Crimea and then in India, with some of GMF's best writing
4) Flashman in the Great Game - for me, the greatest Flashman, with the tightest plot and most vivid sequences
5) Flashman and the Redskins - the last great Flashman, with some brilliant writing and the most moving emotionally believe it or not (I'd also put in for Flashman's Lady but wanted to spread the love a little)
6) McAuslan in the Rough - all the McAuslan stories are entertaining, honestly there's not much between them, but I picked this because of the particularly moving last story where Dand McNeill and McAuslan leave the army on the same day
7) The Pyrates - a gloriously full swashbuckling pastiche full of invention and scholarship - Fraser tried to make lightning strike twice with The Reivers but that only served to show how much his writing had deteriorated
8) The Hollywood History of the World - the book that got me on to GMF, a highly entertaining look at what Hollywood did to history
9) Octopussy - Fraser made an imprint with his scripts for The Three Musketeers but this is my favourite of all the movie's he's credited on as writer (even if I'm not sure of the extent of his contibution)
10) Quartered Safe Out Here - aside from some right wing ranting, this is a masterpiece, Frasers's magnum opus
1) Flashman - not my favourite of the Flashmans but it was the one that set up the world and the character and demands respect
2) Flash for Freedom - time has made me appreciate this one more - the energy, scholarship and cleverness of the exchanges
3) Flashman at the Charge - a true epic, two novels in one: Flashman in the Crimea and then in India, with some of GMF's best writing
4) Flashman in the Great Game - for me, the greatest Flashman, with the tightest plot and most vivid sequences
5) Flashman and the Redskins - the last great Flashman, with some brilliant writing and the most moving emotionally believe it or not (I'd also put in for Flashman's Lady but wanted to spread the love a little)
6) McAuslan in the Rough - all the McAuslan stories are entertaining, honestly there's not much between them, but I picked this because of the particularly moving last story where Dand McNeill and McAuslan leave the army on the same day
7) The Pyrates - a gloriously full swashbuckling pastiche full of invention and scholarship - Fraser tried to make lightning strike twice with The Reivers but that only served to show how much his writing had deteriorated
8) The Hollywood History of the World - the book that got me on to GMF, a highly entertaining look at what Hollywood did to history
9) Octopussy - Fraser made an imprint with his scripts for The Three Musketeers but this is my favourite of all the movie's he's credited on as writer (even if I'm not sure of the extent of his contibution)
10) Quartered Safe Out Here - aside from some right wing ranting, this is a masterpiece, Frasers's magnum opus
Elvis Presley Top Ten
In no particular order
1) Love Me Tender - I'm putting this in because I've always enjoyed it - it's not a bad story, one of the few movies Elvis made which had clearly been written for any old actor, and his impact is immediate
2) Jailhouse Rock - the first great Elvis movie, with some stunning performances and a genuinely good performance from the lead
3) King Creole - a moody melodramatic piece, very much of its time and different from most of Elvis' output
4) Viva Las Vegas - absolutely wonderful entertainment, the most fun movie Elvis was ever in, with his all time best co-star, Ann Margret
5) Girl Happy - Elvis does a Beach Party film, in some dopey, cheerful entertainment and a very likeable Shelley Fabres
6) Flaming Star - another Elvis movie clearly not written for him and he steps up to the plate, very well done
7) Wild in the Country - not entirely successful melodrama but remains interesting and I always like Tuesday Weld
8) Kid Galahad - remake of an Old Warner Bros movie with Elvis giving a strong performance and a top rate support cast
9) Fun in Acapulco - a bit dopey but a great looking movie, including Ursula Andress
10) Blue Hawaii - a toss up between this and Girls Girls Girls - this gets the edge via location photography
1) Love Me Tender - I'm putting this in because I've always enjoyed it - it's not a bad story, one of the few movies Elvis made which had clearly been written for any old actor, and his impact is immediate
2) Jailhouse Rock - the first great Elvis movie, with some stunning performances and a genuinely good performance from the lead
3) King Creole - a moody melodramatic piece, very much of its time and different from most of Elvis' output
4) Viva Las Vegas - absolutely wonderful entertainment, the most fun movie Elvis was ever in, with his all time best co-star, Ann Margret
5) Girl Happy - Elvis does a Beach Party film, in some dopey, cheerful entertainment and a very likeable Shelley Fabres
6) Flaming Star - another Elvis movie clearly not written for him and he steps up to the plate, very well done
7) Wild in the Country - not entirely successful melodrama but remains interesting and I always like Tuesday Weld
8) Kid Galahad - remake of an Old Warner Bros movie with Elvis giving a strong performance and a top rate support cast
9) Fun in Acapulco - a bit dopey but a great looking movie, including Ursula Andress
10) Blue Hawaii - a toss up between this and Girls Girls Girls - this gets the edge via location photography
Abbott and Costello Top Ten
My favourite Abbott and Costello, in no particular order:
1) Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) - may as well get this over and done with, for all the praise it remains a marvellous combination of horror and humour
2) Buck Privates (1941) - generally not regarded as one of their best despite its massive box office success, I have a lot of time for this movie - I enjoy the Andrews sisters and the love triangle too
3) Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951) - first rate horror comedy with some very funny sequences
4) Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer Boris Karloff (1948) - a murder mystery with Karloff only in a small role - not super highly regarded but I really like this
5) The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (1948) - enormously fun comedy with perhaps the best ever story they had
6) Buck Privates Come Home (1947) - a very good sequel which is their version of The Best Years of Their Lives and has too many flashbacks but still remains funny
7) The Time of their Lives (1947) - from that period when Abbott and Costello didn't actually act as a duo despite being in the same movie, but strong material nonetheless
8) Who Done It? (1942) - murder mystery at a radio station very well done
9) Pardon My Sarong (1942) - Abbott and Costello take on South Sea Island films with a highly entertaining entry
10) Hold That Ghost (1941) - old haunted house comedy which I felt was over-rated but that doesn't mean it doesn't have some strong things about it
1) Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) - may as well get this over and done with, for all the praise it remains a marvellous combination of horror and humour
2) Buck Privates (1941) - generally not regarded as one of their best despite its massive box office success, I have a lot of time for this movie - I enjoy the Andrews sisters and the love triangle too
3) Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951) - first rate horror comedy with some very funny sequences
4) Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer Boris Karloff (1948) - a murder mystery with Karloff only in a small role - not super highly regarded but I really like this
5) The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (1948) - enormously fun comedy with perhaps the best ever story they had
6) Buck Privates Come Home (1947) - a very good sequel which is their version of The Best Years of Their Lives and has too many flashbacks but still remains funny
7) The Time of their Lives (1947) - from that period when Abbott and Costello didn't actually act as a duo despite being in the same movie, but strong material nonetheless
8) Who Done It? (1942) - murder mystery at a radio station very well done
9) Pardon My Sarong (1942) - Abbott and Costello take on South Sea Island films with a highly entertaining entry
10) Hold That Ghost (1941) - old haunted house comedy which I felt was over-rated but that doesn't mean it doesn't have some strong things about it
Movie review - "Rider on the Rain" (1970) ** (warning: spoilers)
One of the films which helped make Charles Bronson a massive star in Europe (along with Farewell Friend and Once Upon a Time in the West) - although interestingly he's not the protagonist. That part is taken by Marlene Jolbert, the housewife who is stalked then raped by a mysterious bald man, who she then shoots dead and decides to bury without telling anyone, including her husband. Bronson pops up around 20 minutes or so in and seems to know a lot about what happened.
It's a funny sort of movie - I've heard it described as a little like Charade, which it kind of is because it's about a scared but beautiful and plucky woman meeting a mysterious man who knows more than he lets on, who treats her a bit roughly at first and seems to be a villain but actually is a goodie. Only Charade was better because Cary Grant changed identity several times, he and Audrey Hepburn fell in love and there were live stakes, i.e. the missing fortune.
Here Charles Bronson only changes identity once - he seems to be bad but is revealed to be good; also he and Jolbert don't fall in love - they develop an interesting rapport and grow to appreciate each other, but I feel it would have been better had the connection been stronger and they'd fallen in love. (They didn't have to get together at the end but there should have been love involved.) Also the stakes aren't as high - because the rapist has been shot dead, he's no longer a threat (maybe they should have employed an old Alec Coppel favourite... had her dispose of the body, thinking he's dead... but it turns out the person isn't dead after all), and the stakes then becomes about $60,000 in cash, which isn't that much... and there aren't really other people chasing after it.
This film has also been described as like an episode of Columbo which is perhaps a fairer comparison - because we see the crime committed and then the rest of the time we wait and see if the detective (Bronson) figures it out. Only that's not super satisfying because this is a movie and it felt as though it needed another twist or somethign.
I'd never seen Jolbert in anything before but thought she was great - a real cutie. She has some interesting character touches too, like an inability to swear, and throwing nuts against the window. Bronson impresses - he doesn't get that much of a chance to be a tough guy apart from one scene where he forces Jolbert to drink alcohol, and beats up some thugs in a bar, but he carries himself well, and he falls firmly into that French tradition of "weathered melancholic macho men" that includes Gabin and Belmondo. The two of them have a strong rapport.
The direction isn't bad though it never recaptures the spookiness of the opening sequence, with the stalker in the rain. Hitchcock very much an influence, as he was for so many French filmmakers. I'm still a little confused though exactly why this was such a hit in France.
It's a funny sort of movie - I've heard it described as a little like Charade, which it kind of is because it's about a scared but beautiful and plucky woman meeting a mysterious man who knows more than he lets on, who treats her a bit roughly at first and seems to be a villain but actually is a goodie. Only Charade was better because Cary Grant changed identity several times, he and Audrey Hepburn fell in love and there were live stakes, i.e. the missing fortune.
Here Charles Bronson only changes identity once - he seems to be bad but is revealed to be good; also he and Jolbert don't fall in love - they develop an interesting rapport and grow to appreciate each other, but I feel it would have been better had the connection been stronger and they'd fallen in love. (They didn't have to get together at the end but there should have been love involved.) Also the stakes aren't as high - because the rapist has been shot dead, he's no longer a threat (maybe they should have employed an old Alec Coppel favourite... had her dispose of the body, thinking he's dead... but it turns out the person isn't dead after all), and the stakes then becomes about $60,000 in cash, which isn't that much... and there aren't really other people chasing after it.
This film has also been described as like an episode of Columbo which is perhaps a fairer comparison - because we see the crime committed and then the rest of the time we wait and see if the detective (Bronson) figures it out. Only that's not super satisfying because this is a movie and it felt as though it needed another twist or somethign.
I'd never seen Jolbert in anything before but thought she was great - a real cutie. She has some interesting character touches too, like an inability to swear, and throwing nuts against the window. Bronson impresses - he doesn't get that much of a chance to be a tough guy apart from one scene where he forces Jolbert to drink alcohol, and beats up some thugs in a bar, but he carries himself well, and he falls firmly into that French tradition of "weathered melancholic macho men" that includes Gabin and Belmondo. The two of them have a strong rapport.
The direction isn't bad though it never recaptures the spookiness of the opening sequence, with the stalker in the rain. Hitchcock very much an influence, as he was for so many French filmmakers. I'm still a little confused though exactly why this was such a hit in France.
Movie review - "Shoot Loud, Louder... I Don't Understand" (1966) *
Terrible 60s comedy which was first of a three picture deal between Joe E. Levine and Marcello Mastroianni - it would have left both wondering what they were thinking. It's got a premise which could arguably have been made into something - a sculptor has trouble telling the difference between fantasy and reality and reports his gangster neighbour as being murdered - but it's a mess.
Raquel Welch pops up as a woman with the hots for Mastroinanni, for no good reason other than he's the star of the film; she wears a variety of different outfits and doesn't do much else but it's not her fault this is awful. Lots of Italian actors gesture, bombs are set off, everyone acts energetically, it doesn't make any sense and it's highly unlikely you'll care about any of it.
Raquel Welch pops up as a woman with the hots for Mastroinanni, for no good reason other than he's the star of the film; she wears a variety of different outfits and doesn't do much else but it's not her fault this is awful. Lots of Italian actors gesture, bombs are set off, everyone acts energetically, it doesn't make any sense and it's highly unlikely you'll care about any of it.
Movie review - "The Sound of Music" (1965) ****
What's there left to say about this movie? It is superbly made, with gorgeous scenery, perhaps the most perfectly cast star in the world in Julie Andrews, catchy tunes, and a book that incorporates schmaltz with a deadly serious subtext. It completely defies criticism.
The decision to film most of it on location was the right one, resulting in some stunning looks of snow capped mountains, beautiful lakes, green fields and old houses. Andrews is perfect, and Christopher Plummer fine - awkward, but it works for the role; I never really believed he genuinely fell in love with Andrews, or she him - I think she read a lot of books and got caught up in the romance, and he figured this would be a good way to make sure his kids were always looked after... although that reading of it works for the movie too.
The kids aren't terribly memorable - Charmian Carr is really pretty and I'm surprised she didn't have more of a career, if only as the sexy bird in some 60s spy films (she got married and quit acting); Kym Karath does the cute thing and everyone looks their parts but I got the impression only Carr and Peggy Cartwright could act (look at their reactions in the different scenes).
Richard Haydn and Eleanor Parker's scenes feel like they're in a different movie, a Noel Coward thing, which is the point, I guess; and everything the nuns do is great. Who can resist that finale where the nuns have nobbled the cars?
I always forget re-watching this too that the last third or so of the movie (after the wedding) pretty much completely sidelines Andrews and becomes Plummer's story. You could be generous and say it's the family's story but he's the one who gets all the close ups.
A final note of appreciation for Ernest Lehman's script -screenplays for musicals are never that highly regarded, but he did an excellent job of condensing and emphasising drama, and also helping choreograph the songs.
The decision to film most of it on location was the right one, resulting in some stunning looks of snow capped mountains, beautiful lakes, green fields and old houses. Andrews is perfect, and Christopher Plummer fine - awkward, but it works for the role; I never really believed he genuinely fell in love with Andrews, or she him - I think she read a lot of books and got caught up in the romance, and he figured this would be a good way to make sure his kids were always looked after... although that reading of it works for the movie too.
The kids aren't terribly memorable - Charmian Carr is really pretty and I'm surprised she didn't have more of a career, if only as the sexy bird in some 60s spy films (she got married and quit acting); Kym Karath does the cute thing and everyone looks their parts but I got the impression only Carr and Peggy Cartwright could act (look at their reactions in the different scenes).
Richard Haydn and Eleanor Parker's scenes feel like they're in a different movie, a Noel Coward thing, which is the point, I guess; and everything the nuns do is great. Who can resist that finale where the nuns have nobbled the cars?
I always forget re-watching this too that the last third or so of the movie (after the wedding) pretty much completely sidelines Andrews and becomes Plummer's story. You could be generous and say it's the family's story but he's the one who gets all the close ups.
A final note of appreciation for Ernest Lehman's script -screenplays for musicals are never that highly regarded, but he did an excellent job of condensing and emphasising drama, and also helping choreograph the songs.
Movie review - "The Brain Eaters" (1958) ** (warning: spoilers)
Not one of the more memorable AIP sci fi-ers of the late 50s - it lacks high camp, and isn't dumb so much as dull. Roger Corman helped make it (in an uncredited producing capacity) and the cast is headlined by Ed Nelson (who has star quality, albeit TV star quality). It's a sort of Invasion of the Body Snatchers knock off, with a mysterious alien space craft causing some locals in a small American town to turn into zombies. (Apparently the story plagiarised from a Robert Heinlein short story, "The Puppet Masters" which was from 1951 and probably inspired Body Snatchers.)
There's some spooky moments with the creatures running wild and the story isn't bad, despite plot holes (an alien ship has landed, the government know about it and only send in a couple of men). The climax is quite spectacular for a low budget movie - and quite shocking with Ed Nelson going on a suicidal mission. But the direction fails to add much suspense or atmosphere and even at a little over an hour I found this dragged. Leonard Nimoy pops up towards the end as the doctor - he's in makeup so I didn't identify him. The cast also features late 50s teen girl regular Jody Fair.
There's some spooky moments with the creatures running wild and the story isn't bad, despite plot holes (an alien ship has landed, the government know about it and only send in a couple of men). The climax is quite spectacular for a low budget movie - and quite shocking with Ed Nelson going on a suicidal mission. But the direction fails to add much suspense or atmosphere and even at a little over an hour I found this dragged. Leonard Nimoy pops up towards the end as the doctor - he's in makeup so I didn't identify him. The cast also features late 50s teen girl regular Jody Fair.
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Movie review - "Two Weeks in September" (1967) **
The considerable star power of Brigitte Bardot is the only real thing going for this romantic drama which is about a model (guess who) in a relationship with a dull, uncharismatic elder man (I don't think he's meant to be that way, that's just how Jean Rochefort came across) who goes to England for a photo shoot for two weeks and has a fling with a younger dude (Laurent Terzieff).
This was the period in Bardot's career when she seemed to be aiming at the international market - she made Viva Maria, had her cameo in the Hollywood flick Dear Brigitte, was about to appear in Shalako. Most of the action is set in England and Scotland, although the dialogue is still French.
The support cast is interesting. The part of a lecherous fashion photographer is played by Michael Sarne, who later directed Joanna and then, notoriously, Myra Breckenridge. His assistant is Murray Head, later famed for Jesus Christ Superstar and One Night in Bangkok. And the owner of a castle in Scotland where Bardot and Terzieff run away to is played by none other than James Robertson Justice - who, like everyone else, speaks (or is dubbed - I couldn't tell) mostly French.
But it's not much of a movie. Dramatically it's severely hurt by the fact that Bardot is torn between two men, but we only ever see her spend much time with the younger onee - Rochefort disappears from the movie after the first ten minutes, and is only a presence/voice on the phone. He really needed to appear. Also no one really has much of a character - Bardot is attracted to this young guy, who wants him all to himself, but she can't leave... and that's about it.
The plot is reminiscent of the later Goodbye Emmanuel; at least that had some eroticism to it, more than this. There is one or two good moments where Bardot and Terzieff are lounging about on some straw, and the star is always watchable, but this simply isn't a very good movie.
This was the period in Bardot's career when she seemed to be aiming at the international market - she made Viva Maria, had her cameo in the Hollywood flick Dear Brigitte, was about to appear in Shalako. Most of the action is set in England and Scotland, although the dialogue is still French.
The support cast is interesting. The part of a lecherous fashion photographer is played by Michael Sarne, who later directed Joanna and then, notoriously, Myra Breckenridge. His assistant is Murray Head, later famed for Jesus Christ Superstar and One Night in Bangkok. And the owner of a castle in Scotland where Bardot and Terzieff run away to is played by none other than James Robertson Justice - who, like everyone else, speaks (or is dubbed - I couldn't tell) mostly French.
But it's not much of a movie. Dramatically it's severely hurt by the fact that Bardot is torn between two men, but we only ever see her spend much time with the younger onee - Rochefort disappears from the movie after the first ten minutes, and is only a presence/voice on the phone. He really needed to appear. Also no one really has much of a character - Bardot is attracted to this young guy, who wants him all to himself, but she can't leave... and that's about it.
The plot is reminiscent of the later Goodbye Emmanuel; at least that had some eroticism to it, more than this. There is one or two good moments where Bardot and Terzieff are lounging about on some straw, and the star is always watchable, but this simply isn't a very good movie.
Movie review - "City Slickers" (1991) ***1/2
A first rate comedy which starts with a strong concept - three men with varying mid life crises decide to drove cattle across country - and excellent complications - their range leader dies and they have to take the cattle themselves. It also attempts to provide an answer to the question "what is the meaning of life"... "one thing". And you know, that's a pretty good answer. I can't think of a movie that's come up with a better one.
Other bits in this film have always stayed with me - the fact men can talk about baseball forever, even a father and son who argue about everything else; Billy Crystal's summation at the beginning about a life span; the legendary arse crack shot of that cab driver and Crystal's associated expression.
Billy Crystal is in excellent form and his baseball references weren't that annoying then; he works well with Bruno Kirby and Daniel Stern, who each are allowed a chance to shine. Helen Slater is bland as the sole girl but at least is pretty and Jack Palance is excellent as Curly.
The segment where they rescue the calf went on too long (it was like a typical 90s action set piece) and the comedy schtick involving guessing flavours of ice cream seemed pointless. Touching father-son stuff involving the black cowboys. Jake Gylenhall has hs first role as Crystal's son.
Other bits in this film have always stayed with me - the fact men can talk about baseball forever, even a father and son who argue about everything else; Billy Crystal's summation at the beginning about a life span; the legendary arse crack shot of that cab driver and Crystal's associated expression.
Billy Crystal is in excellent form and his baseball references weren't that annoying then; he works well with Bruno Kirby and Daniel Stern, who each are allowed a chance to shine. Helen Slater is bland as the sole girl but at least is pretty and Jack Palance is excellent as Curly.
The segment where they rescue the calf went on too long (it was like a typical 90s action set piece) and the comedy schtick involving guessing flavours of ice cream seemed pointless. Touching father-son stuff involving the black cowboys. Jake Gylenhall has hs first role as Crystal's son.
Movie review - "Viva Maria" (1965) ***1/2
Neither Jeanne Moreau or Louis Malle were known as Captain Comedy, but this buddy western pastiche is a lot of fun, helped considerably by the casting of Brigitte Bardot in the lead. She plays the daughter of an Irish revolutionary who dies throwing bombs at the British somewhere in South America in the early 20th century; at a loss what to do next Bardot then joins a theatre troupe featuring Moreau and the two of them form a stage act which involves accidentally inventing the strip tease.
The two of them do this for a while, singing cute songs (this movie is kind of a musical), and Bardot discovers the joy of sex (though this is mentioned really more than seen) and it's all very Gentlemen Prefer Blondes when they are captured by dictatorial forces. Moreau falls instantly in love with captured revolutionary George Hamilton (looking handsome and speaking decent enough French in what is a surprisingly small role) and gets politicised - she and Bardot help lead a revolution.
There are some treacherous priests, pompous generals, a fun group of strolling players, plenty of gags. It goes for too long and is misshapen - my attention would waver from time and time. I think it would have helped if say Moreau or Bardot had had some sort of rough goal from the beginning, even if only something like "I must get home" or "I want to be rich"; as it is they sort of just able along until they are thrown in gaol. I felt it could have done with at least one of the support characters fleshed out a bit more, even if just a baddie (there's two good ones, a nasty priest and the dictator, but neither really get much screen time). Maybe Malle's inexperience with comedy let him down here.
However it is full of irreverence and good spirits, not to mention liberated attitude to sex (the lead girls have passions and aren't punished for following them) which help the film age well. Bardot is particularly bright and winning - I preferred her to Moreau who, okay yes was/is a great actor, could seem a little glum. The two stars do have good rapport though and seem to genuinely like each other. It looks great - photography, costumes and production values are top notch.
NB Apparently the film was inspired by the buddy Western Vera Cruz which also inspired the boy buddy gangster flick Borsalino - but the girls got in first.
The two of them do this for a while, singing cute songs (this movie is kind of a musical), and Bardot discovers the joy of sex (though this is mentioned really more than seen) and it's all very Gentlemen Prefer Blondes when they are captured by dictatorial forces. Moreau falls instantly in love with captured revolutionary George Hamilton (looking handsome and speaking decent enough French in what is a surprisingly small role) and gets politicised - she and Bardot help lead a revolution.
There are some treacherous priests, pompous generals, a fun group of strolling players, plenty of gags. It goes for too long and is misshapen - my attention would waver from time and time. I think it would have helped if say Moreau or Bardot had had some sort of rough goal from the beginning, even if only something like "I must get home" or "I want to be rich"; as it is they sort of just able along until they are thrown in gaol. I felt it could have done with at least one of the support characters fleshed out a bit more, even if just a baddie (there's two good ones, a nasty priest and the dictator, but neither really get much screen time). Maybe Malle's inexperience with comedy let him down here.
However it is full of irreverence and good spirits, not to mention liberated attitude to sex (the lead girls have passions and aren't punished for following them) which help the film age well. Bardot is particularly bright and winning - I preferred her to Moreau who, okay yes was/is a great actor, could seem a little glum. The two stars do have good rapport though and seem to genuinely like each other. It looks great - photography, costumes and production values are top notch.
NB Apparently the film was inspired by the buddy Western Vera Cruz which also inspired the boy buddy gangster flick Borsalino - but the girls got in first.
Friday, December 26, 2014
Movie review - "The Imitation Game" (2014) ****
The story of Alan Turing and Enigma is such a fascinating, rich one that it's no surprise to find it's already inspired books, plays, documentaries and movies... though I was surprised that no one has done the story properly as a film until now. It had so much to offer: a spy for the Russians, a tormented genius gay hero, genuine stakes, a woman in a man's world, incompetent leaders, treacherous secret service agents.
Benedict Cumberbatch is excellent in the lead - it's the sort of part he is perfect for: brilliant, showy, eccentric, tormented. There's strong support too from Charles Dance, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Mark Strong etc, particularly the kid who plays the young Turing, plus first rate evocation of Britain at the time.
The script is sometimes sublime but other times goes on the nose with a "spelling out the subtext" dialogue and scenes which were sometimes a bit too 'we are pumping this up for drama'. But a very good film.
Benedict Cumberbatch is excellent in the lead - it's the sort of part he is perfect for: brilliant, showy, eccentric, tormented. There's strong support too from Charles Dance, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Mark Strong etc, particularly the kid who plays the young Turing, plus first rate evocation of Britain at the time.
The script is sometimes sublime but other times goes on the nose with a "spelling out the subtext" dialogue and scenes which were sometimes a bit too 'we are pumping this up for drama'. But a very good film.
Movie review - "Made in Paris" (1966) ** (warning: spoilers)
This was produced by Joe Pasternak who made many similar movies with weak plots for MGM about girls getting up to madcap adventures on the back lot with plenty of colour, movement and clothes... but those films tended to be musicals. This does have Ann Margret do a great dance number in the middle and she sings a song with Louis Jourdan - but, bizarrely, it isn't really a musical; it's done as a comedy with a song and a dance inserted in it.
They should have gone the whole hog and made it a musical. Actually there's a few things this movie should have done - had more of a transformation for Ann Margret (they hint she's meant to be mousy girl who gets liberated, but she's pretty liberated to start off with); had a stronger love story (they throw up three suitors for her - the boss' son Chad Everett, fashion designer Louis Jourdan, and hard bitten reporter Richard Crenna - but we never really spend any time with her and one of them); given Ann Margret a confidante.
Ann Margret didn't really have the chops to carry a movie like this on her shoulders - to be fair, it would have been hard for someone like Doris Day.
All the male leads are poor - Jourdan as a fashion designer who we are constantly told is butch, Crenna's masculinity is emphasised as well but he doesn't have any real character to play (and I kept wondering why he was even in the film), Chad Everett smells of television and is never given any time to establish rapport with Ann Margret (the basis of his attraction to her is apparently she won't put out). Their reunion at the end is astonishingly unconvincing - actually she doesn't have chemistry with anyone.
There are some pretty clothes which are given lots and lots of screen time. But that's not basis enough for a movie.
They should have gone the whole hog and made it a musical. Actually there's a few things this movie should have done - had more of a transformation for Ann Margret (they hint she's meant to be mousy girl who gets liberated, but she's pretty liberated to start off with); had a stronger love story (they throw up three suitors for her - the boss' son Chad Everett, fashion designer Louis Jourdan, and hard bitten reporter Richard Crenna - but we never really spend any time with her and one of them); given Ann Margret a confidante.
Ann Margret didn't really have the chops to carry a movie like this on her shoulders - to be fair, it would have been hard for someone like Doris Day.
All the male leads are poor - Jourdan as a fashion designer who we are constantly told is butch, Crenna's masculinity is emphasised as well but he doesn't have any real character to play (and I kept wondering why he was even in the film), Chad Everett smells of television and is never given any time to establish rapport with Ann Margret (the basis of his attraction to her is apparently she won't put out). Their reunion at the end is astonishingly unconvincing - actually she doesn't have chemistry with anyone.
There are some pretty clothes which are given lots and lots of screen time. But that's not basis enough for a movie.
Movie review - "The Impossible Years" (1968) **
According to William Goldman's brilliant book on Broadway, The Season, the original Broadway play was an acknowledged crappy effort which even its backers didn't like but was propelled to big success via Alan King in the lead role and its subject matter. No one seemed to like this movie version either - and it didn't have Alan King in the lead. Instead it had David Niven, who isn't really well cast. I know Niven was the father of two teenage girls, like his character in the movie, but he doesn't seem at home as a psychiatrist or a father - his persona is more worldly - and the material suits a "cranky, angry stressed out Jew" type that King did so well.
He gives a professional performance though and the daughter, Christine Ferrare, is very good looking, and spends a lot of the movie in tight pants and bikinis. The plot has Niven struggling to control her behaviour and worried about her sex life, being paranoid about all the men who seem to want her (including a hippy painter, and her boyfriend who is seen basically trying to date rape her in a scene played for comedy)... but it's okay because when she does decide to have sex its with a guy she marries... a coworker (MGM contractee Chad Everett).
There's bright colour, some groovy tunes, easy pot shots at the youth of the time, and completely wasted support characters, such as Niven's wife (Lola Albright) and best friend (Ozzie Nelson).
He gives a professional performance though and the daughter, Christine Ferrare, is very good looking, and spends a lot of the movie in tight pants and bikinis. The plot has Niven struggling to control her behaviour and worried about her sex life, being paranoid about all the men who seem to want her (including a hippy painter, and her boyfriend who is seen basically trying to date rape her in a scene played for comedy)... but it's okay because when she does decide to have sex its with a guy she marries... a coworker (MGM contractee Chad Everett).
There's bright colour, some groovy tunes, easy pot shots at the youth of the time, and completely wasted support characters, such as Niven's wife (Lola Albright) and best friend (Ozzie Nelson).
Book review - "Pirate Latitudes" by Michael Crichton (2009)
This novel was discovered completed after Crichton died - it's not a bad one for him to go out on, a readable entertaining piece of historical fiction reminiscent of The Great Train Robbery. There's nothing particularly amazing about it especially since the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has made us so familiar with piratical activity.
Crichton as a historical novelist wasn't as good as Crichton the technical speculativist but its well researched as always and the story is pretty strong - it's about an English privateer raid on a Spanish settlement which proves much harder than the team who organise it think.
Characterisation was never Crichton's strong point and there's not much here beyond archetypes - horny aristocratic women, sturdy virile yet ruthless heroes, the one black pirate, the one woman pirate, the dodgy French pirate who proves untrustworthy, the Spanish villain. He doesn't quite have the action-description skills to do justice to his story - maybe another draft could have solved this problem. And I can't recall any story I've read/seen where so many guards/henchmen were killed off - seriously it was like a hundred or something. There's an intriguingly down beat epilogue.
Crichton as a historical novelist wasn't as good as Crichton the technical speculativist but its well researched as always and the story is pretty strong - it's about an English privateer raid on a Spanish settlement which proves much harder than the team who organise it think.
Characterisation was never Crichton's strong point and there's not much here beyond archetypes - horny aristocratic women, sturdy virile yet ruthless heroes, the one black pirate, the one woman pirate, the dodgy French pirate who proves untrustworthy, the Spanish villain. He doesn't quite have the action-description skills to do justice to his story - maybe another draft could have solved this problem. And I can't recall any story I've read/seen where so many guards/henchmen were killed off - seriously it was like a hundred or something. There's an intriguingly down beat epilogue.
Movie review - "Manina the Girl in the Bikini" (1952) **
Brigitte Bardot simply had It - charisma, presence, incredible sex appeal. This was one of her first movies and made before she was an official star but you can't take your eyes off her. It's a shame she doesn't appear until the film is half way over - the actual leading man is someone called Jean-Francois Calve, whose physique is actually exploited as much as Bardot's. (He wears some hilarious lap lap pants as swimming trunks - he looks like a male stripper).
The plot has Calve as a uni student who goes diving for ancient Roman treasure off the coast; Bardot is the lighthouse keeper's daughter who spends most of her time running around in a bikini and diving off cliffs. It's not in colour, unfortunately, but Bardot is very beautiful. She sings a dubbed son.
The conflict somes from Calve's partner, a smuggler who has designs on Bardot and who we expect will try to rip off Calve. The film really needed more plot than that - a twist, another baddy, some gangsters, or something. Or else decently defined characters. As it is, the movie's running time feels padded with underwater footage, and songs.
The plot has Calve as a uni student who goes diving for ancient Roman treasure off the coast; Bardot is the lighthouse keeper's daughter who spends most of her time running around in a bikini and diving off cliffs. It's not in colour, unfortunately, but Bardot is very beautiful. She sings a dubbed son.
The conflict somes from Calve's partner, a smuggler who has designs on Bardot and who we expect will try to rip off Calve. The film really needed more plot than that - a twist, another baddy, some gangsters, or something. Or else decently defined characters. As it is, the movie's running time feels padded with underwater footage, and songs.
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Movie review - "All the Fine Young Cannibals" (1960) *1/2
MGM went on a youth kick in the late 1950s under Sol Siegel, with sometimes effective results (Where the Boys Are), other times misfires (The Subterraneans). This falls in the latter category, with a script by Robert Thom who also wrote Subterraneans.
It's a weird thing of a movie - George Hamilton, who appears as the second male lead, described it accurately as a combination of Southern Gothic and a biopic of Chet Baker. There's lots of Southern accents and heaving bosums, and characters who just need sex, and get all tormented and act all over the place - the influence of Tennessee Williams. There's women talking about being horny and drink scenes and suicide attempts and death.
Natalie Wood is poor white trash in love with poor white trash Robert Wagner (tousled hair, top buttons of shirt undone) but they can't be together for some reason or another (this is a major weakness of the story) so Wood heads for the city where rich trash George Hamilton falls in love with her; Hamilton's trashy, horny sister Susan Kohner falls for Wagner.
The most surprising thing about the movie is Wagner's relationship with self-destructive singer Pearl Bailey - he seems to love her and she him, and they live together; the characters speak a lot of lines about "we don't do any more than that" but you could easily read miscegenation into it.
Natalie Wood acts her heart out and I bought her being in love with Wagner - but he seemed unable to convey the same passion for her. (To be fair, the script doesn't help him - if he really wanted her he should have been with her). Wagner's trumpet playing is fairly convincing and Hamilton was surprisingly sympathetic as the well-off-but-basically decent rich kid who gets in over his head. Kohner over-acts. Pearl Bailey's part needed to be much bigger.
The plot about Wagner being a top jazz musician doesn't seem to go anywhere. (He seems to be able to play the trumpet awfully easily without practising.) There's a funeral at the end for Pearl Bailey which feels like a rip off of Imitation of Life. And the ending feels super convenient - Hamilton just happens to fall in love with Kohner and Wood with Hamilton, and we haven't seen any of it when for most of the film there's meant to have been this big Wood/Wagner passion. It's a mess of a story. It's interesting, but a mess.
It's a weird thing of a movie - George Hamilton, who appears as the second male lead, described it accurately as a combination of Southern Gothic and a biopic of Chet Baker. There's lots of Southern accents and heaving bosums, and characters who just need sex, and get all tormented and act all over the place - the influence of Tennessee Williams. There's women talking about being horny and drink scenes and suicide attempts and death.
Natalie Wood is poor white trash in love with poor white trash Robert Wagner (tousled hair, top buttons of shirt undone) but they can't be together for some reason or another (this is a major weakness of the story) so Wood heads for the city where rich trash George Hamilton falls in love with her; Hamilton's trashy, horny sister Susan Kohner falls for Wagner.
The most surprising thing about the movie is Wagner's relationship with self-destructive singer Pearl Bailey - he seems to love her and she him, and they live together; the characters speak a lot of lines about "we don't do any more than that" but you could easily read miscegenation into it.
Natalie Wood acts her heart out and I bought her being in love with Wagner - but he seemed unable to convey the same passion for her. (To be fair, the script doesn't help him - if he really wanted her he should have been with her). Wagner's trumpet playing is fairly convincing and Hamilton was surprisingly sympathetic as the well-off-but-basically decent rich kid who gets in over his head. Kohner over-acts. Pearl Bailey's part needed to be much bigger.
The plot about Wagner being a top jazz musician doesn't seem to go anywhere. (He seems to be able to play the trumpet awfully easily without practising.) There's a funeral at the end for Pearl Bailey which feels like a rip off of Imitation of Life. And the ending feels super convenient - Hamilton just happens to fall in love with Kohner and Wood with Hamilton, and we haven't seen any of it when for most of the film there's meant to have been this big Wood/Wagner passion. It's a mess of a story. It's interesting, but a mess.
Movie review - "Farewell Friend" (1968) ** (warning: spoilers)
The movie that helped turn Charles Bronson into a big star in Europe, which in turn led to him becoming a star in Hollywood, just like for Clint Eastwood. The French especially found they loved his craggy face and masculine integrity - he fit right in to their sort of male stars like Jean Gabin and Jean-Paul Belmondo (Jean Reno is the modern day equivalent).
This starts strongly with some booming French action movie music as Bronson and Alain Delon disembark in France after the Algerian War. They were both in the army but didn't really know each other - Delon was a doctor. Delon is met by a beautiful girl (Olga Georges-Picot) who knew a dead friend of his, and she asks him to do a task for her that involves flirting with another girl (Brigitte Fossey)... and returning some old security bonds... it turns out to be part of a plan to rob a bank. Bronson hears about it, follows, and he and Delon wind up locked together in a bank after hours.
During that time the two of them basically fall in love and stand around sweaty without their shirts. They escape and realise the girls are treacherous. Bronson is caught by the cops but won't give up his new mate.
In other words lots of male bonding with a strand of misogyny - like a lot of popular Alain Delon films from this era (The Last Adventure, Borsalino). Delon and Bronson work well together - you buy them as both ex soldiers, which in real life they were. But I struggled with the story - all the schemes seemed really complex and I felt it didn't make sense.
Bronson talks about going off to be a mercenary in the Congo, another Delon film to refer to this conflict (after The Last Adventure).
This starts strongly with some booming French action movie music as Bronson and Alain Delon disembark in France after the Algerian War. They were both in the army but didn't really know each other - Delon was a doctor. Delon is met by a beautiful girl (Olga Georges-Picot) who knew a dead friend of his, and she asks him to do a task for her that involves flirting with another girl (Brigitte Fossey)... and returning some old security bonds... it turns out to be part of a plan to rob a bank. Bronson hears about it, follows, and he and Delon wind up locked together in a bank after hours.
During that time the two of them basically fall in love and stand around sweaty without their shirts. They escape and realise the girls are treacherous. Bronson is caught by the cops but won't give up his new mate.
In other words lots of male bonding with a strand of misogyny - like a lot of popular Alain Delon films from this era (The Last Adventure, Borsalino). Delon and Bronson work well together - you buy them as both ex soldiers, which in real life they were. But I struggled with the story - all the schemes seemed really complex and I felt it didn't make sense.
Bronson talks about going off to be a mercenary in the Congo, another Delon film to refer to this conflict (after The Last Adventure).
Monday, December 22, 2014
Movie review - "Sex Tape" (2014) **1/2
It's got a fantastic concept, title and cast, and some very funny moments and nice scenes, but it's not a complete slam dunk. First of all Jason Segel, who you would think would be perfect (and is certainly perfectly cast, and co-wrote the script) isn't in good form - he seems distracted, and not all quite there; he's going through the motions, and relying on his technique but his game isn't "on" in the way that Cameron Diaz's definitely is. She throws herself into her part and his obviously keen on aging disgracefully, showing off her backside and generally being raunchy. They should be a perfect couple but Segel's unfocused performance stops the fun.
Secondly, there's the plotting; this is set up as a farce, but there are too many holes in the storyline - the stakes are set up being about not wanting family-image-friendly Rob Lowe finding out about the sex tape, but a third of the way in he's revealed to be into cocaine (a really funny sequence) so the stakes go away; they try to reactivate it with a blackmailing kid but it doesn't hold. There's also too much of characters "oh I didn't realise you could do that" or "that doesn't matter".
I love Ellie Kamper but her part seems a bit of a waste - she and Rob Coddrry are Diaz and Segel's best friends, and you keep expecting them to complicate the action somehow, but they don't, really Characters come in who you think are going to do something interesting - eg Diaz's mother, Segel's co worker - but they disappear. The movie needed a genuine villain or something else - some structural work.
But there are lots of laugh out loud moments and the movie does say something about marriage. It is also better directed than Jake Kasdan's previous feature, Bad Teacher.
Secondly, there's the plotting; this is set up as a farce, but there are too many holes in the storyline - the stakes are set up being about not wanting family-image-friendly Rob Lowe finding out about the sex tape, but a third of the way in he's revealed to be into cocaine (a really funny sequence) so the stakes go away; they try to reactivate it with a blackmailing kid but it doesn't hold. There's also too much of characters "oh I didn't realise you could do that" or "that doesn't matter".
I love Ellie Kamper but her part seems a bit of a waste - she and Rob Coddrry are Diaz and Segel's best friends, and you keep expecting them to complicate the action somehow, but they don't, really Characters come in who you think are going to do something interesting - eg Diaz's mother, Segel's co worker - but they disappear. The movie needed a genuine villain or something else - some structural work.
But there are lots of laugh out loud moments and the movie does say something about marriage. It is also better directed than Jake Kasdan's previous feature, Bad Teacher.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Movie review - "Papa's Delicate Condition" (1963) **
Part of that sub genre which could be classified as nostalgic, coming of age Americana set around the end of the 19th century and beginning of 20th - there's lots of growing up in small towns, colourful characters, picnics, small children. It's the world of Ah Wilderness, Andy Hardy and Booth Tarkington - Orson Welles was obsessed with it for a time.
This is based on some novel about a little who who remembers growing up in a small town, with her basically useless drunken father - who however dotes on his girl and buys her a circus. How much you like this will depend on how charming you find Jackie Gleason. I was never a big fan - his character is a bit of an idiot, though not as annoying as the girl who whinges about wanting a pony (hence circus purchase).
Glynis Johns - who seemed to get stuck in "wife role" in the 60s - does not save the day as Gleason's long suffering wife. I couldn't care about any of the characters - not Johns "loveable" politician father who doesn't want women to vote, or Gleason's hot other daughter who wants to date guys.
There is some colourful production design, costumes and wacky adventures. Occasionally the characters hum a little tune and you wonder if this wouldn't work better at a musical. They've tried to turn it into a Disney picture without the Disney atmosphere. But, like I said, if you enjoy Gleason you might get something out of it.
This is based on some novel about a little who who remembers growing up in a small town, with her basically useless drunken father - who however dotes on his girl and buys her a circus. How much you like this will depend on how charming you find Jackie Gleason. I was never a big fan - his character is a bit of an idiot, though not as annoying as the girl who whinges about wanting a pony (hence circus purchase).
Glynis Johns - who seemed to get stuck in "wife role" in the 60s - does not save the day as Gleason's long suffering wife. I couldn't care about any of the characters - not Johns "loveable" politician father who doesn't want women to vote, or Gleason's hot other daughter who wants to date guys.
There is some colourful production design, costumes and wacky adventures. Occasionally the characters hum a little tune and you wonder if this wouldn't work better at a musical. They've tried to turn it into a Disney picture without the Disney atmosphere. But, like I said, if you enjoy Gleason you might get something out of it.
Movie review - "The Last Adventure" (1967) **1/2 (warning spoilers)
This sounds as if it's going to be more exciting than it is: two mates, an inventor (homely Lino Ventura) and a dashing pilot (Alain Delon), team up with a beautiful sculptor (Joanna Shimkus) and go treasure hunting; they wind up looking for some treasure that resulted from people fleeing the disturbances in the Congo, making this one of the few movies to refer to that conflict. (The music score at times is reminiscent of Dark of the Sun).
There are two great action sequences - a shoot out on the boat, which results in Shimkus' expected death, and one at the end at this great abandoned fort. They're so well done it makes you wish there had been more of them. This is an oddly shaped movie, which spends most of its time being about three people hanging out together - the movie is almost half over before they hear about the missing treasure.
Until then it's Jules et Jim stuff with Ventura, Delon and Shimkus hanging out, all seemingly in love with each other but no one being romantic - and once you accept that it's quite enjoyable, with Ventura being heavyset and charismatic, like a large amount of French stars; Delon being handsome and sexy (he tries a beard in this and it suits him) and Shimkus, who I'd never heard of, being very sexy. The movie struggles to recover from her death; though the real romance here is between Delon and Ventura (this is as homoerotic as any Western). I did laugh in that we were supposed to believe Shimkus would want to go off with Ventura.
There's a lot of flabbiness to the story, some attractive people, Shimkus runs around in a bikini, Delon flies an old time bi plane, and pretty locations and underwater photography.
There are two great action sequences - a shoot out on the boat, which results in Shimkus' expected death, and one at the end at this great abandoned fort. They're so well done it makes you wish there had been more of them. This is an oddly shaped movie, which spends most of its time being about three people hanging out together - the movie is almost half over before they hear about the missing treasure.
Until then it's Jules et Jim stuff with Ventura, Delon and Shimkus hanging out, all seemingly in love with each other but no one being romantic - and once you accept that it's quite enjoyable, with Ventura being heavyset and charismatic, like a large amount of French stars; Delon being handsome and sexy (he tries a beard in this and it suits him) and Shimkus, who I'd never heard of, being very sexy. The movie struggles to recover from her death; though the real romance here is between Delon and Ventura (this is as homoerotic as any Western). I did laugh in that we were supposed to believe Shimkus would want to go off with Ventura.
There's a lot of flabbiness to the story, some attractive people, Shimkus runs around in a bikini, Delon flies an old time bi plane, and pretty locations and underwater photography.
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Book review - "All Hell Broke Loose" by Max Hastings
Excellent one volume history of WW2. Hastings has a real ex journo's gift of the key anecdote, and it's full of memorable vignettes humanising the great struggle. He is overly impressed with the Russian war effort - yes, they did take on the bulk of the fight, but maybe they could have won fighting a less ruthless way. (I've noticed a few historians lately seem to have taken a "Nazis couldn't have been defeated without totalitarianism" attitude.)
Movie review - "Plan Nine from Outer Space" (1959) ***
There was a time I though this movie was over-rated in its crappiness, commonly called the worst movie ever made despite being not as gloriously fun as something like Glen or Glenda? or Robot Monster. Watching it again years later on the big screen though made me appreciate it a bit more - it's a lot of fun. Technically the quality of photography is high and the script is surprisingly interesting - there's always some way out idea or over the top moment to keep you watching. Some of the notions used are actually quite clever - it's an imaginative piece.
Lots of fun too with Bela Lugosi and his hilariously inappropriate doubt, Vampira making a great zombie, Tor Johnson a lot of fun, Gregory Walcott has the dully hero, Dudley Manlove having the most dialogue as an alien leader and John Breckenridge being wonderfully campy as their leader.
Sure there is bad acting, sexist attitudes and dodgy special effects - but I've seen much worse in other movies from this period, and without the individuality that exists in Plan Nine. There was much more to Wood than the smart arse attitudes of the Medveds - but good on them for shining a light on his career.
Lots of fun too with Bela Lugosi and his hilariously inappropriate doubt, Vampira making a great zombie, Tor Johnson a lot of fun, Gregory Walcott has the dully hero, Dudley Manlove having the most dialogue as an alien leader and John Breckenridge being wonderfully campy as their leader.
Sure there is bad acting, sexist attitudes and dodgy special effects - but I've seen much worse in other movies from this period, and without the individuality that exists in Plan Nine. There was much more to Wood than the smart arse attitudes of the Medveds - but good on them for shining a light on his career.
Book review - "Hollywood England" by Alexander Walker
Invaluable account of the British film boom of the 1960s and subsequent bust, with a skilful appreciation of the talents involved and the artistic and corporate industry within which they worked. Occasionally it falls into the trap of whininess - all of Walker's British film industry books have this flaw, "why did they do it that way?" He also waffles at times and overlooks some key films from the era - there's nary a mention of horror or comedy, two massively popular genres from the period.
But there is some terrific stuff, such as the story behind the Bonds, early works of Schlesinger, Boorman, Richardson etc, the role of Nat Cohen, the finale involving Bryan Forbes, the regimes of United Artist and Universal, etc.
But there is some terrific stuff, such as the story behind the Bonds, early works of Schlesinger, Boorman, Richardson etc, the role of Nat Cohen, the finale involving Bryan Forbes, the regimes of United Artist and Universal, etc.
Book review - "Charles Dickens" by Simon Callow
Not a spectacular achievement like some other Callow books but still a highly entertaining look at the famous writer, with the gimmick that it focuses on Dickens' love for theatre. Dickens was stage crazy throughout his life, acted as often as he could, put on plays and tried to write them - not particularly memorably, as far as we can tell, though it would have helped with his novels and lectures.
Book review - "Beau Ideal" by P.C. Wren (warning: spoilers)
There is some first rate action and adventure in this story, the second sequel to Beau Geste, which also plays interestingly with time, like the third Bourne Identity, there is decent emotion with the horrid Van Brugh father, great description of the gaol life and desert action sequences, and it has an intriguing opening sequence, but is done in by stupid plotting. I don't like John Geste for going off to find his old mates, because he retired happy with a woman who loved him and plenty of cash, and his mates didn't have to get in trouble the way he did; I didn't like the lead dude Otis either for trying to track them down. His methods are always so convoluted - enlisting in the foreign legion, getting thrown into a penal settlement.... whatever happened to doing some basic reconnaissance? There are some outlandish plot twists - the Dark Angel is the long lost daughter of Otis' father, really?
Movie review - "The Black Angel" (aka "L'ange noir" (1994) * (warning: spoilers)
The few articles I've read on this film all commented on how Hitchcockian and film noir it was, with its deliberately lush cinematography and female star, Sylvie Vartan, who is styled just like Kim Novak in Vertigo; there's also a lot of nods to The Paradine Case.
However the film, or rather story and play, it rips off shamelessly, is The Letter - right from the opening sequence of Vartan shooting a man dead and then claiming rape; only here the filmmaker cunningly reduces suspense (yes I am being ironic) by showing clearly that she's lying because she sets about ripping up her clothes with an accomplice. She has a trusting, doting husband - played by Michel Piccoli who you might recognise even if you're only a casual viewer of French cinema (like me) because he was in Belle de Jour - who then sets about hiring a lawyer, Tcheky Karyo, who then discovers she's a good time girl in love with the man she shot... but that doesn't stop him from falling in love with her anyway. There's even the "reveal" that the dead man had another lover, the lover having an incriminating piece of evidence which they use to blackmail.
Writer-director Jean-Claude Brisseau is a renowned dirty old perv of world cinema and this movie is no exception - lots of scenes of hot young women lying naked adoring their elderly lover, elongated scenes of female hookers lounging about in a room making out.
For a while I went with this - for all it's shameless uncredited copyright infringement of Somerset Maugham, that's not a bad story - but it was just too silly and over the top.
However the film, or rather story and play, it rips off shamelessly, is The Letter - right from the opening sequence of Vartan shooting a man dead and then claiming rape; only here the filmmaker cunningly reduces suspense (yes I am being ironic) by showing clearly that she's lying because she sets about ripping up her clothes with an accomplice. She has a trusting, doting husband - played by Michel Piccoli who you might recognise even if you're only a casual viewer of French cinema (like me) because he was in Belle de Jour - who then sets about hiring a lawyer, Tcheky Karyo, who then discovers she's a good time girl in love with the man she shot... but that doesn't stop him from falling in love with her anyway. There's even the "reveal" that the dead man had another lover, the lover having an incriminating piece of evidence which they use to blackmail.
Writer-director Jean-Claude Brisseau is a renowned dirty old perv of world cinema and this movie is no exception - lots of scenes of hot young women lying naked adoring their elderly lover, elongated scenes of female hookers lounging about in a room making out.
For a while I went with this - for all it's shameless uncredited copyright infringement of Somerset Maugham, that's not a bad story - but it was just too silly and over the top.
Movie review - "Maps to the Stars" (2014) ***1/2 (warning: spoilers)
Acerbic, gripping look at life in Hollywood with more melodramatic plot than a Greek tragedy (which feels like it's main influence, actually) - there is incest, suicide, self-immolation, murder, threesomes, schizophrenia, visions of dead people, cancer, drowning, greed, lust, botox, massage and lots of therapy.
I can't say that I super enjoyed it - some of it was just plain unpleasant, and depressing with so much pain. There's plenty of story and I could never pick what was going to happen next. It's also superbly acted: Julianne Moore as an aging starlet (loved her lip work), newcomer Evan Bird as a brattish child star, chameleon Mia Wasikowska, and ever reliable Olivia Williams; John Cusack and Robert Pattison are also solid in smaller, if crucial parts. Actually everyone was good, down to the smallest parts.
The one thing I didn't quite believe story wise was Cusack being a famous self-help guru and Bird's father - that didn't feel super real to me (also would someone with Cusack's secret really chase fame? It wasn't necessary that he was famous).
Maybe I'm being too smarty pants here but the movie seemed to betray a Canadian bias - a distaste for lack of politeness (Bird and Moore suffer terribly for being rude) and guns (Bird again is shown to be a brat).
I can't say that I super enjoyed it - some of it was just plain unpleasant, and depressing with so much pain. There's plenty of story and I could never pick what was going to happen next. It's also superbly acted: Julianne Moore as an aging starlet (loved her lip work), newcomer Evan Bird as a brattish child star, chameleon Mia Wasikowska, and ever reliable Olivia Williams; John Cusack and Robert Pattison are also solid in smaller, if crucial parts. Actually everyone was good, down to the smallest parts.
The one thing I didn't quite believe story wise was Cusack being a famous self-help guru and Bird's father - that didn't feel super real to me (also would someone with Cusack's secret really chase fame? It wasn't necessary that he was famous).
Maybe I'm being too smarty pants here but the movie seemed to betray a Canadian bias - a distaste for lack of politeness (Bird and Moore suffer terribly for being rude) and guns (Bird again is shown to be a brat).
Movie review - "The Light in the Piazza" (1962) *** (second review)
This is the sort of material that could have gone horribly wrong, as it did in producer Arthur Freed's previous film, The Subterraneans, but on the whole it works very well, with sensitive hands from people not normally associated with MGM: director Guy Green (not super highly regarded or even remembered these days but with some impressive films on his resume), writer Julius Epstein, star Olivia de Havilland.
Two MGM contractees really step up to the plate - Yvette Mimeux (who usually played air headed flower power types anyway.... her characters in The Time Machine and Where the Boys Are aren't much cluey-er than the one she plays here), and George Hamilton, whose Italian accent seems to liberate him; he gives a relaxed, likable performance, and it was convincing to me.
To be sure there are some dodgy moments, like when de Havilland talks about the ability of her mentally challenged daughter to live in Italy because she won't have to do any housework and can just talk about movie stars all day (what do Italians think of this movie? It's not very flattering?) There's also a lot of plot towards the end about a dowry and the age difference between George Hamilton and Yvette Mimieux - this, when the real drama is that she's not all there. And I wish the romance between de Havilland and Rosanno Brazzi had been resolved more.
But the handling is fine, it is consistently interesting, there is strong drama at times, notably Mimieux's hysteria scenes, and the clashes between de Havilland and husband Barry Sullivan. Beautiful location work in Italy, too.
Friday, December 19, 2014
Movie review - "Exodus: Gods and Kings" (2014) ** (warning: spoilers)
Ridley Scott isn't the strongest on story - when he's got ready made material he knocks it out of the park eg Thelma and Louise - but if he's got something that's inherently tricky he often stuffs it up eg Prometheus, this.
I thought he was on safer ground because the story of Moses is so great, and has been filmed several times before so it's easy to see what works. But he stuffs it up. (Maybe other people were to blame but really Ridley Scott if a "giant ape" director, to use the William Goldman term - he does what he wants and the buck stops with him).
First of all they don't show the baby Moses story - one of the all time awesome origin stories, which sets up the world. the ruthlessness of the Egyptians, humanises the Jews, has great characters in Moses' mother, sister and adoptive mother. But this is thrown away so when we meet his mum and "sister" later on we don't care - they're these random people we get to spend two scenes with.
Instead we start with a battle against the Hittites - nicely enough done, but I think is Scott throwing back to Gladiator. (We never see Hittites again - all this does is set up rivalry between Christian Bale and Joel Edgerton, which could have been done some other way.)
The movie also wastes opportunities wholesale with its supporting characters: Sigourney Weaver is set up as this interesting person, Edgerton's mother who hates Bale and tries to have him killed... then does nothing with her; we get all these scenes with Bale's super bland wife, who has nil character apart from "why are you never home"'; Ben Kinglsey is set up as going to be important, he delivers some exposition about Moses' birth... then nothing, he doesn't even have a point of view to the action; Aaron Paul's wide eyes indicate that maybe his characterisation of Joshua will be worth watching but he hardly does anything (I don't even think he has an argument with Moses); Moses' brother Aaron is introduced, and he's bitter about Moses and you think "oh here's some drama" - but nope, nothing their; the actress who plays Edgerton's wife looks similar to the one who plays Bale's and she has a nothing character either (make her a religious fanatic, or super stupid, or sexy.... but use her please); we never seen Moses' adoptive mother again, or his sister.
The Cecil B de Mille 1956 film, for all it's flaws, was infinitely superior in terms of crafting story and interesting characters. For instance, the pharaoh's wife was in love with Moses.... so, bang, right there, you've got conflict. Edward G. Robinson played an Uncle Tom Hebrew - conflict again. It put Moses at the forefront of the action - here, Christian Bale disappears for most of the plague sequences. Why not touch on the Hebrews disappointing God in their behaviour after deliverance? (It's implied but not shown.) Newcomers to the story will be confused as to whether Moses ever reached the Promised Land, and what happened to the commandments. I couldn't help thinking that at times the film was too clever by half ("well we don't want to be obvious and spell all that out") and as a result disappeared up it's own backside.
Let's take a walk on the sunny side. I felt the concept of God as a small boy worked, and visually it was (as per all Scott's films) superb: the plagues, the partying of the Red Sea, the battles, the costumes. Ben Mendelsohn is marvellous as a villain, Joel Edgerton was pretty decent as the insecure pharaoh, Dar Salim impressed as Bale's old Egyptian army 2IC. It's a genuine spectacle. I just wish they'd done the story justice.
I thought he was on safer ground because the story of Moses is so great, and has been filmed several times before so it's easy to see what works. But he stuffs it up. (Maybe other people were to blame but really Ridley Scott if a "giant ape" director, to use the William Goldman term - he does what he wants and the buck stops with him).
First of all they don't show the baby Moses story - one of the all time awesome origin stories, which sets up the world. the ruthlessness of the Egyptians, humanises the Jews, has great characters in Moses' mother, sister and adoptive mother. But this is thrown away so when we meet his mum and "sister" later on we don't care - they're these random people we get to spend two scenes with.
Instead we start with a battle against the Hittites - nicely enough done, but I think is Scott throwing back to Gladiator. (We never see Hittites again - all this does is set up rivalry between Christian Bale and Joel Edgerton, which could have been done some other way.)
The movie also wastes opportunities wholesale with its supporting characters: Sigourney Weaver is set up as this interesting person, Edgerton's mother who hates Bale and tries to have him killed... then does nothing with her; we get all these scenes with Bale's super bland wife, who has nil character apart from "why are you never home"'; Ben Kinglsey is set up as going to be important, he delivers some exposition about Moses' birth... then nothing, he doesn't even have a point of view to the action; Aaron Paul's wide eyes indicate that maybe his characterisation of Joshua will be worth watching but he hardly does anything (I don't even think he has an argument with Moses); Moses' brother Aaron is introduced, and he's bitter about Moses and you think "oh here's some drama" - but nope, nothing their; the actress who plays Edgerton's wife looks similar to the one who plays Bale's and she has a nothing character either (make her a religious fanatic, or super stupid, or sexy.... but use her please); we never seen Moses' adoptive mother again, or his sister.
The Cecil B de Mille 1956 film, for all it's flaws, was infinitely superior in terms of crafting story and interesting characters. For instance, the pharaoh's wife was in love with Moses.... so, bang, right there, you've got conflict. Edward G. Robinson played an Uncle Tom Hebrew - conflict again. It put Moses at the forefront of the action - here, Christian Bale disappears for most of the plague sequences. Why not touch on the Hebrews disappointing God in their behaviour after deliverance? (It's implied but not shown.) Newcomers to the story will be confused as to whether Moses ever reached the Promised Land, and what happened to the commandments. I couldn't help thinking that at times the film was too clever by half ("well we don't want to be obvious and spell all that out") and as a result disappeared up it's own backside.
Let's take a walk on the sunny side. I felt the concept of God as a small boy worked, and visually it was (as per all Scott's films) superb: the plagues, the partying of the Red Sea, the battles, the costumes. Ben Mendelsohn is marvellous as a villain, Joel Edgerton was pretty decent as the insecure pharaoh, Dar Salim impressed as Bale's old Egyptian army 2IC. It's a genuine spectacle. I just wish they'd done the story justice.
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Carroll Baker Top Ten
My top ten films starring Carroll Baker - in no particular order:
1) Baby Doll - the quintessential Baker performance, have to include this
2) Giant - Baker is very impressive as a rebellious teen, something she should have played more
3) A Quiet Place to Kill - I had to pick one giallo and it was either this or The Sweet Body of Deborah. Sexy with twists.
4) How the West Was Won - Baker stands out in this epic Western
5) Something Wild - a bizarre, completely unique art film from Baker's then husband Jack Garfein, with a superb performance from its star
6) The Carpetbaggers - Baker's biggest hit after Giant and she stands out in a sex bomb role
7) The Sweet Body of Deborah - oh okay why not go for two giallos?
8) Kindergarten Cop - Baker is genuinely creepy in this Arnie action comedy
9) But Not For Me - don't laugh! This is a flawed movie but I really liked Baker in it.
10) Andy Warhol's Bad - Baker meets Warhol.
1) Baby Doll - the quintessential Baker performance, have to include this
2) Giant - Baker is very impressive as a rebellious teen, something she should have played more
3) A Quiet Place to Kill - I had to pick one giallo and it was either this or The Sweet Body of Deborah. Sexy with twists.
4) How the West Was Won - Baker stands out in this epic Western
5) Something Wild - a bizarre, completely unique art film from Baker's then husband Jack Garfein, with a superb performance from its star
6) The Carpetbaggers - Baker's biggest hit after Giant and she stands out in a sex bomb role
7) The Sweet Body of Deborah - oh okay why not go for two giallos?
8) Kindergarten Cop - Baker is genuinely creepy in this Arnie action comedy
9) But Not For Me - don't laugh! This is a flawed movie but I really liked Baker in it.
10) Andy Warhol's Bad - Baker meets Warhol.
Movie review - "Follow the Fleet" (1936) ****
Astaire and Rogers were at their peak here, creatively and financially - yet RKO didn't feel confident giving them the whole movie - so a great slab of this is taken up with a romance between Randolph Scott and Harriet Hilliard. To be fair, the filmmakers probably had the tremendous success of Roberta in mind - that spent a lot of time on a Randolph Scott romance as well.
Not that it makes it any more interesting: this has a whole bunch of plot about Hilliard (who is a bit of a charisma free zone - she became Harriet Nelson) being an ugly duckling who blossoms into a swan and Scott not noticing and blah blah blah. Fred and Ginger's own romance is, once again, relatively stress free although there is a bunch of misunderstandings about a Broadway show.
They do have some squabbles and superb dancing, which achieve genuine art status. You get a real range of them - "Let Yourself Go", which starts in a comic fashion but builds in intensity (I love it how Ginger matches him leap for leap - Fred is clearly a genius but she's in there, going for it, never letting him beat her); the dramatic intensity of the climactic "Let's Face the Music and Dance", Ginger's solo (her only one in these films), Fred's solo, Fred playing the piano.
The film could have done with a genuine comic actor or two in there - the equivalent of Edward Everett Horton.
Not that it makes it any more interesting: this has a whole bunch of plot about Hilliard (who is a bit of a charisma free zone - she became Harriet Nelson) being an ugly duckling who blossoms into a swan and Scott not noticing and blah blah blah. Fred and Ginger's own romance is, once again, relatively stress free although there is a bunch of misunderstandings about a Broadway show.
They do have some squabbles and superb dancing, which achieve genuine art status. You get a real range of them - "Let Yourself Go", which starts in a comic fashion but builds in intensity (I love it how Ginger matches him leap for leap - Fred is clearly a genius but she's in there, going for it, never letting him beat her); the dramatic intensity of the climactic "Let's Face the Music and Dance", Ginger's solo (her only one in these films), Fred's solo, Fred playing the piano.
The film could have done with a genuine comic actor or two in there - the equivalent of Edward Everett Horton.
Movie review - "Up the Creek" (1984) ***
I loved this film as a kid and was delighted to see how well it held up. Of course this is biased, but it seemed to be to remain a lively, fun, albeit predictable romp with a decent heart. It's got a decent plot too: the Dean of the worst college in America (John Hillerman) blackmails four students into competing in a white water raft race in the hope the college will actually win something. The four are played by three teen comedy veterans: Tim Matheson (Animal House), Stephen Furst (Animal House), Dan Monahan (Porky's) plus Sandy Helberg who looks like he should have been in a teen comedy before then (he's listed as "special consultant" - does this mean he did some rewriting).
There are two groups of villains - blonde rich kids led by Jeff East (in the William Zabka part), and mentored by James B Sikking; and some army types led by Blaine Novak. All the actors really get into it - I'm surprised Tim Matheson never became a bigger star, he had a real relaxed Chevy Chase type vibe, confident and masculine - maybe he lacked that one special vehicle; Helberg is excellent, Frust and Monahan do their thing; Jennifer Runyon is truly lovely as Matheson's love interest. Jake as the dog is hilarious - he has a stand out charades scene.
The female roles are slightly better in this film that others around this time (not major praise admittedly) - they are independent, have their own desires, are sexually aggressive, and Jennifer Runyon joins in the fun with the boys at all. There's some pleasing Oregon scenery and rafting action, plus a catchy Cheap Trick theme song. This was executive produced by Sam Z Arkoff and it's one of the best comedies he was ever associated with.
There are two groups of villains - blonde rich kids led by Jeff East (in the William Zabka part), and mentored by James B Sikking; and some army types led by Blaine Novak. All the actors really get into it - I'm surprised Tim Matheson never became a bigger star, he had a real relaxed Chevy Chase type vibe, confident and masculine - maybe he lacked that one special vehicle; Helberg is excellent, Frust and Monahan do their thing; Jennifer Runyon is truly lovely as Matheson's love interest. Jake as the dog is hilarious - he has a stand out charades scene.
The female roles are slightly better in this film that others around this time (not major praise admittedly) - they are independent, have their own desires, are sexually aggressive, and Jennifer Runyon joins in the fun with the boys at all. There's some pleasing Oregon scenery and rafting action, plus a catchy Cheap Trick theme song. This was executive produced by Sam Z Arkoff and it's one of the best comedies he was ever associated with.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Movie review - "Death on the Nile" (1978) ***1/2
Enjoyably civilised entertainment - the British film industry of the 1970s gets a bad wrap at times but they could rise to the occasion, such as this one. It's got a strong story (thanks to Agatha Christie); a cast of familiar faces (I wouldn't say "all star" when the line up includes Jane Birkin, Simon MacCorkindale and Jon Finch but I recognised most of them); some broad comedy courtesy of Bette Davis and Maggie Smith's hilarious double act (I wish they'd be given their own vehicle; does the film hint they're lovers?) and Angela Lansbury; sex appeal via Lois Chiles and some very low cut gowns; location shooting in Egypt; David Niven as his exposition man; Mia Farrow being a crazy nutter very convincingly (I imagine her acting the way she does here with Chiles and MacCorkindale with Woody and Soo-Yi years later); Olivia Hussey being pretty; Jon Finch as a communist who can stay in expensive hotels.
IS Johar does his comic Indian turn again which he was always good at - it just wish in a film set in colonial Egypt (well it was basically a colony) that the only decent sized non Anglo part wasn't a broad comic bit. Jack Warden hams it up as a German doctor (wish this part could've been played by a real German) and Peter Ustinov occasionally goes OTT as Poirot. Niven handles his part with aplomb and is very likeable (I remember first watching this and being terrified he'd turn out to be the killer). Olivia Hussey is pretty as always and George Kennedy fits in well.
The unravelling of the murderer is very satisfactory - though when you think about it too much, it was an incredibly risky plan involving lots of throwing things over the side of the board despite a verandah being there. The film does feel long at two hours 20 minutes. Some funny dialogue.
IS Johar does his comic Indian turn again which he was always good at - it just wish in a film set in colonial Egypt (well it was basically a colony) that the only decent sized non Anglo part wasn't a broad comic bit. Jack Warden hams it up as a German doctor (wish this part could've been played by a real German) and Peter Ustinov occasionally goes OTT as Poirot. Niven handles his part with aplomb and is very likeable (I remember first watching this and being terrified he'd turn out to be the killer). Olivia Hussey is pretty as always and George Kennedy fits in well.
The unravelling of the murderer is very satisfactory - though when you think about it too much, it was an incredibly risky plan involving lots of throwing things over the side of the board despite a verandah being there. The film does feel long at two hours 20 minutes. Some funny dialogue.
Movie review - "Borsalino" (1970) ***
Alain Delon no doubt had the grosses of Bonnie in Clyde and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid very much in mind when he made this bromance depression era gangster flick which provides a great team starring duo for himself and Jean-Paul Belmondo. They play two gangsters in Marseilles who meet by fighting over a woman - but eventually decide its bros before hos and go into business together, running the whole town and creating enemies.
No one else really gets a look in during the film, except for maybe the costume and production designers. There's a lot of male love, and the stars looking natty and being great mates. Plenty of action too - it's an enjoyable movie, with the lead actors perfectly cast. Belmondo is a better tough guy than Delon, no matter how many real life gangster contacts the latter had.
No one else really gets a look in during the film, except for maybe the costume and production designers. There's a lot of male love, and the stars looking natty and being great mates. Plenty of action too - it's an enjoyable movie, with the lead actors perfectly cast. Belmondo is a better tough guy than Delon, no matter how many real life gangster contacts the latter had.
Movie review - "L'effrontee" (1985) (aka "An Impudent Girl") (1985) **
Early film from Charlotte Gainsborough, French showbiz royalty, being a product of Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsborough. She was only 13 or so and plays a girl around the same age. The story is similar to Carson McCuller's The Member of the Wedding with Gainsborough as the girl on the cusp of adulthood living in a small town, who has no mother and is close to her annoying brother (as opposed to a friend); unlike in McCullers there is no wedding or notable servant character - instead she develops a sort of crush on a 13 year old piano playing prodigy, and announces herself as the girl's manger (this is cute) and fends off the advances of a delivery guy who has the hots for her (this is dodgy).
There's a slightly uncomfortable element to the scenes of men pursuing Gainsborough and her running around in a swimsuit etc - I've noticed a few French films with pre pubescent girls have this whiff of dodginess about them (eg My Father the Hero). Some of it is charming though and Gainsborough is very good.
There's a slightly uncomfortable element to the scenes of men pursuing Gainsborough and her running around in a swimsuit etc - I've noticed a few French films with pre pubescent girls have this whiff of dodginess about them (eg My Father the Hero). Some of it is charming though and Gainsborough is very good.
Movie review - "22 Jump Street" (2014) ***1/2
Very funny sequel which in some ways improves on the first. Extremely meta (there's a lovely gag at the end where they riff on all possible sequels) but not in an annoying way. The filmmakers also make sure there's real heart at the center - it's basically a "comedy of remarriage", with Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum essentially breaking up, Channing finding a new love in a guy who is a more suitable friend at college, Wyatt Rogers (who is the son of Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn!), but then getting back together.
Ice Cube is given more to do, Amber Stevens is a little bland as Jonah's love interest (they often seem to set up chubby male stars with black love interests in Hollywood - Turtle on Entourage often went black), but Jillian Bell is hilarious as Stevens' roommate. It probably could have had half an hour cut out.
Ice Cube is given more to do, Amber Stevens is a little bland as Jonah's love interest (they often seem to set up chubby male stars with black love interests in Hollywood - Turtle on Entourage often went black), but Jillian Bell is hilarious as Stevens' roommate. It probably could have had half an hour cut out.
Movie review - "The Gay Divorcee" (1934) ****
Bright, peppy Astaire and Rogers musical with a light silly plot that excellent serves as an excuse to introduce various songs and dances and keep the lovers separated until the finale. Some spectacular dances - it's been said they were a substitute for sex and after one in particular Ginger even asks Fred if she'd like a cigarette.
Alice Brady and Edward Everett Horton offer support, doing their thing. There's some outrageously tacky 1930s decor - though not as outrageous as in Top Hat. Like that movie the whole story could have been resolved by a few lines of honest conversation, so credulity is strained at times.
Alice Brady and Edward Everett Horton offer support, doing their thing. There's some outrageously tacky 1930s decor - though not as outrageous as in Top Hat. Like that movie the whole story could have been resolved by a few lines of honest conversation, so credulity is strained at times.
Movie review - "42nd Street" (1932) ****
This movie as a famous one line description - the tale of a plucky understudy who has to go on when the star twists her ankle and is a fabulous success. Actually that doesn't happen towards the end, right before the climax. The actual driving force is the Depression, which has forced now-broke director Warner Baxter to come out of retirement and try to make a comeback. During the course of this he has to deal with investors (Guy Kibee) who insist their paramours be starred (Bebe Daniels), squabbling chorus people, his dodgy ticker, stage managers (George E. Stone) who ensure their girlfriend Una Merkel) is cast, the discovery his star Daniels is still seeing her past-it lover (George Brent) who then falls for a chorus girl (Ruby Keeler), even though she's desired by one of his juveniles (Dick Powell).
That's a lot of story, and it's consistently interesting, helped by the fact this was a Pre-Code work so all the sex can be emphasised. (The novel had a romance between Baxter and Powell's characters as well; I can understand why that couldn't fly at the time but it's a shame they didn't give Baxter a love interest). It's full of corruption, greed, wisecracks and self interest - with some unexpected sweetness in the love between Daniels and Brent, the relationship between Brent and Keeler (I forgot how much screen time this took up), the camaraderie between chorus girls (Ginger Rogers gets a chance for stardom but turns it down in order to help Keeler).
There are bizarrely no musical numbers until the last act - when we see the show and get three big ones in succession. (To be fair they are pretty terrific with lots of Busby Berkeley choreography.)
Despite the strong book and score, and zingy dialogue, some of the casting is weak - Keeler is a damp squib and never convincing for a moment as someone who could carry off a big musical. Brent and Daniels are bland too; I didn't mind Baxter. The supporting parts (Rogers, etc) are first rate. I'd love it if they made a film adaptation of the stage musical version.
That's a lot of story, and it's consistently interesting, helped by the fact this was a Pre-Code work so all the sex can be emphasised. (The novel had a romance between Baxter and Powell's characters as well; I can understand why that couldn't fly at the time but it's a shame they didn't give Baxter a love interest). It's full of corruption, greed, wisecracks and self interest - with some unexpected sweetness in the love between Daniels and Brent, the relationship between Brent and Keeler (I forgot how much screen time this took up), the camaraderie between chorus girls (Ginger Rogers gets a chance for stardom but turns it down in order to help Keeler).
There are bizarrely no musical numbers until the last act - when we see the show and get three big ones in succession. (To be fair they are pretty terrific with lots of Busby Berkeley choreography.)
Despite the strong book and score, and zingy dialogue, some of the casting is weak - Keeler is a damp squib and never convincing for a moment as someone who could carry off a big musical. Brent and Daniels are bland too; I didn't mind Baxter. The supporting parts (Rogers, etc) are first rate. I'd love it if they made a film adaptation of the stage musical version.
Movie review - "Men, Women and Children" (2014) ***1/2 (warning: spoilers)
This Jason Reitman film didn't find much enthusiasm amongst audiences or critics, despite a cast including Adam Sandler and Jennifer Garner, plus a "hot button" subject matter - namely, the influence of the internet on our lives.
It's a well made, solidly acted film, done with affection and skill - Reitman has a wonderful humanity about his movies. Some of it was so eerily spot on - the recreation of net life, the details - and there were a bunch of very impressive young actors, especially Kaitlyn Dever, plus beautiful music. I enjoyed it when watching it.
But thinking back on the movie, I admit I feel a little sordid or "yuck". I think because every internet-related aspect of the movie had some dodgy overtone - Adam Sandler looks up porn and escorts on the internet; his son looks up so much porn he can't get it up when he gets the chance to bang the trashy cheerleader, Olivia Crocicchia, who is oversexualised due to the internet, who has warped ideas of fame due to the internet, and whose mother (Judy Greer) sells dodgy pictures of her on line; Sandler's wife, Rosemary De Witt, seeks out an affair on line; Jennifer Garner is so obsessed with daughter Dever getting in trouble on line she drives a wedge between them and almost causes a death; Ansel Elgort becomes so into a role playing game he can't function in the real world; Elena Kampouris is encouraged into bulimia by people on line.
It's actually all quite bleak and down - the only real bright spot is the sweet romance between Elgort and Dever. So my memories of the film are mixed.
TV review - "Damages - Season 1" (2007) ***1/2
Highly enjoyable legal thriller which has a (then) unusual relationship at its core - between ruthless tort lawyer Glenn Close and protege/surrogate daughter/rival Rose Byrne. Apparently it was inspired by the writers seeing the relationships between successful female film executives and their proteges in Hollywood; it transfers well.
There is super support from Ted Danson as a villain tycoon (coke snorting, murder ordering, thief, bully) who is nonetheless shown considerable humanity (he wants people to like him especially his family, he tries to ghost write a book) Zeljko Ivanek's Southern accent did get on my nerves - not that it was bad, I just felt at times he used the accent instead of acting. Noah Bean is inoffensively bland as Rose's fiancee. Rose became known for comedy work but she's pretty good here - even if not as excellent as Glenn Close. Tate Donovan is alright (the episode that focused on him was the dullest) and that guy who plays the crusty old timer was really irritating. Still, a real "page turner" of a TV show.
There is super support from Ted Danson as a villain tycoon (coke snorting, murder ordering, thief, bully) who is nonetheless shown considerable humanity (he wants people to like him especially his family, he tries to ghost write a book) Zeljko Ivanek's Southern accent did get on my nerves - not that it was bad, I just felt at times he used the accent instead of acting. Noah Bean is inoffensively bland as Rose's fiancee. Rose became known for comedy work but she's pretty good here - even if not as excellent as Glenn Close. Tate Donovan is alright (the episode that focused on him was the dullest) and that guy who plays the crusty old timer was really irritating. Still, a real "page turner" of a TV show.
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Movie review - "The Statue" (1971) *
The last screen credit for Australian writer Alec Coppel while he was alive. According to the credits its based on an unproduced play "Chip, Chip, Chip" - it's hard to get a copy of this, so I'm not sure how much was Coppel, or how much co-writer Dennis Nordern, but the Australian born writer did have a track record with dopey sex comedies (eg The Captain's Paradise).
This has the sort of plot that kind of sounds high concept but actually isn't - famed professor David Niven (holding his dignity surprisingly well) looks at a statue his wife (Virna Lisi) has made based on him... only the penis is massive so he becomes convinced that she's cheated on him.
Now if he's genuinely worried about that, there are deeper problems in the marriage - but this is not really dealt with. So much of this feels forced - the "importance" the statute in Robert Vaughan's political career (he's the US ambassador to England hoping to run for president), the legal argument that Niven needs to have the statue suppressed, the nature of his relationship with his wife, the point of Niven's assistant Ann Bell (I think she might just be there to go topless - it's set up she and Niven might be lovers but not much is dealt with), all the forced gay jokes and satire and plotting. It's a pretty dreadful film.
There is some poppy music and bright European scenery and the actors do commit. I hope Niven put the money to good use on his house or something.
This has the sort of plot that kind of sounds high concept but actually isn't - famed professor David Niven (holding his dignity surprisingly well) looks at a statue his wife (Virna Lisi) has made based on him... only the penis is massive so he becomes convinced that she's cheated on him.
Now if he's genuinely worried about that, there are deeper problems in the marriage - but this is not really dealt with. So much of this feels forced - the "importance" the statute in Robert Vaughan's political career (he's the US ambassador to England hoping to run for president), the legal argument that Niven needs to have the statue suppressed, the nature of his relationship with his wife, the point of Niven's assistant Ann Bell (I think she might just be there to go topless - it's set up she and Niven might be lovers but not much is dealt with), all the forced gay jokes and satire and plotting. It's a pretty dreadful film.
There is some poppy music and bright European scenery and the actors do commit. I hope Niven put the money to good use on his house or something.
Movie review - "Le choc" (1982) **
French cinema didn't get more commercial in 1982 - you've got Alain Delon as a hitman who wants to retire, forced to do the inevitable "one last job" (who actually invented this trope, by the way?), falling in love with Catherine Deneuve (who invented that trope?). They canoodle, smoke cigarettes and have great hair while bad music plays on the soundtrack. The baddies force Delon into a job and he kicks arse.
Delon looks moody and melancholic, does a very super hero things, and talks about his long lost love to Deneuve (this seems to be a thing in French cinema - the all-powerful ex, who made the Person What They Are Today). There is some violence, Deneuve looks bored in what is a nothing part, really. Delon isn't that much better. They look like aging film stars rather than real people and the handling feels like a telemovie.
Delon looks moody and melancholic, does a very super hero things, and talks about his long lost love to Deneuve (this seems to be a thing in French cinema - the all-powerful ex, who made the Person What They Are Today). There is some violence, Deneuve looks bored in what is a nothing part, really. Delon isn't that much better. They look like aging film stars rather than real people and the handling feels like a telemovie.
Monday, December 15, 2014
Movie review - "Bachelor in Paradise" (1961) **
Bob Hope seemed such a natural family man kind of star that it doesn't exactly scream "high concept" to cast him as a smooth bachelor writer who goes an does a book in suburbia. It's like fish out of water only where the fish is used to being out of water.
Once I got used to Hope in a part that really should have been played by Cary Grant or some other particular type, I didn't mind this. There are some lively lines, satire of suburban American, that glossy early 60s MGM look that I'm always a sucker for, Jack Arnold could be counted on to do a solid job no matter the project, and the delectable Paula Prentiss in the support cast in one of her four teamings with Jim Hutton.
(Prentiss is a fascinating case - everyone seemed to think she was fabulous, she was fabulous, she was given lots of roles... but she could never break through to stardom. Her part is too small - so is Hutton's.)
As if to compensate the film also stars Lana Turner, who is poor and drags the film down. I did buy her romance with Hope though - that's an odd thing to write but it's true.
Once I got used to Hope in a part that really should have been played by Cary Grant or some other particular type, I didn't mind this. There are some lively lines, satire of suburban American, that glossy early 60s MGM look that I'm always a sucker for, Jack Arnold could be counted on to do a solid job no matter the project, and the delectable Paula Prentiss in the support cast in one of her four teamings with Jim Hutton.
(Prentiss is a fascinating case - everyone seemed to think she was fabulous, she was fabulous, she was given lots of roles... but she could never break through to stardom. Her part is too small - so is Hutton's.)
As if to compensate the film also stars Lana Turner, who is poor and drags the film down. I did buy her romance with Hope though - that's an odd thing to write but it's true.
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Movie review - "The Student" (1988) (or "L'etudiante") **
Before she became familiar to English speaking countries with Braveheart, Sophie Marceau was actually a big name in France since she was a teenager. This is a vehicle for her in her early 20s. She gets a big star entrance, taking being wrapped up in ski head gear and taking it off to reveal her beauty. The person who sees it is Vincent Lindon, who is first presented as a dag - pink lipstick to help with the glare in ski gear, but eventually turns out to be a pants man: a musician and composer with a track record with the ladies. The film tracks their romance.
It's not much of a story - most of the conflict comes because Marceau is in her final year of studying to be a teacher and feels she should be focusing on that. Also Minton goes on tour and isn't sure he should settle down either. Both get jealous and they yell at each other. They make up.
There's lots of talk about pop culture - Lindon describes his music as a cross between Jim Morrison and Elston John. There is also some terrible music - we hear too much of Lindon's band, and the stuff on the soundtrack isn't much better.
Marie-Christine Barrault (the star of Cousin Cousine) makes a cameo as herself. But the big attraction here is Marceau who is very good looking. She's required to do some full frontal nudity - is this something no French actress can avoid? Still, she's got to rank with one of the most gorgeous stars of all time.
It's not much of a story - most of the conflict comes because Marceau is in her final year of studying to be a teacher and feels she should be focusing on that. Also Minton goes on tour and isn't sure he should settle down either. Both get jealous and they yell at each other. They make up.
There's lots of talk about pop culture - Lindon describes his music as a cross between Jim Morrison and Elston John. There is also some terrible music - we hear too much of Lindon's band, and the stuff on the soundtrack isn't much better.
Marie-Christine Barrault (the star of Cousin Cousine) makes a cameo as herself. But the big attraction here is Marceau who is very good looking. She's required to do some full frontal nudity - is this something no French actress can avoid? Still, she's got to rank with one of the most gorgeous stars of all time.
Movie review - "Stand by Me" (1986) ***1/2 (warning: spoilers)
A movie much beloved by people. I was never that into it myself - please don't throw rocks at me, I recognise it's quality, it just never had quite the resonance. Beautifully made with love and affection, and wonderfully acted: Wil Wheaton, River Pheonix and Corey Feldman are all excellent, though so too is Jerry O'Connell (whose performance is often overlooked because he's fat comic relief and not given a tormented backstory - but he's perfect as a very familiar type, and also given more screen time than I remembered, they are always cutting away to him).
It's steeped in darkness and death - the passing of Wheaton's brother, the corruption of the teacher who caused River to be falsely accused, the PTSD of Feldman's father, the injury to Feldman which will ultimately mean he can't live out his dream and go into the army, the disdain Wheaton's father has for his son, the vileness of Kiefer Sutherland who looks completely prepared to kill River, River grows up to be a success and then is stabbed in the throat. But there's also warmth and camaraderie as well as pitch perfect evocation of the sort of friendships and conversations you have when you're 12.
Several things struck me re watching it after years - Richard Dreyfuss seems to be a very successful author (his house is huge), I feel they should have addressed Ace's revenge (detailed in the book), the "friend structure" of the group reminded me of Entourage (fat comic friend, wild arse, smart bookish guy who is besties with the charismatic leader).
It's steeped in darkness and death - the passing of Wheaton's brother, the corruption of the teacher who caused River to be falsely accused, the PTSD of Feldman's father, the injury to Feldman which will ultimately mean he can't live out his dream and go into the army, the disdain Wheaton's father has for his son, the vileness of Kiefer Sutherland who looks completely prepared to kill River, River grows up to be a success and then is stabbed in the throat. But there's also warmth and camaraderie as well as pitch perfect evocation of the sort of friendships and conversations you have when you're 12.
Several things struck me re watching it after years - Richard Dreyfuss seems to be a very successful author (his house is huge), I feel they should have addressed Ace's revenge (detailed in the book), the "friend structure" of the group reminded me of Entourage (fat comic friend, wild arse, smart bookish guy who is besties with the charismatic leader).
Movie review - "Docteur Popaul" (1972) **1/2 (warning: spoilers)
French black comedy that was popular in its day. Jean Paul Belmondo is a doctor who marries "ugly" Mia Farrow (glasses, buck teeth) then falls for her sister, Laura Antonelli, and proceeds to set about killing her suitors. Since Mia Farrow's part is played by, well, Mia Farrow and isn't very big for most of the movie's running time, you know she's going to do something by the end - so the twist is telegraphed.
It's a misogynistic film, which the filmmakers I think try to cover up by the fact that Belmondo gets his come-upppance and the end - but still, it's misogynistic. (Lots of jokes about ugly women etc). Also there's kind of a reality problem with Belmondo so obsessed with Antonelli's suitors that he takes them out.
The piece relies a lot on the charm of Belmondo, which is considerable, though he occasionally mugs.
It's a misogynistic film, which the filmmakers I think try to cover up by the fact that Belmondo gets his come-upppance and the end - but still, it's misogynistic. (Lots of jokes about ugly women etc). Also there's kind of a reality problem with Belmondo so obsessed with Antonelli's suitors that he takes them out.
The piece relies a lot on the charm of Belmondo, which is considerable, though he occasionally mugs.
Movie review - "Mayerling" (1936) ****
A big hit in France and also an art house favourite in English speaking countries which launched the Hollywood career of Anatole Litvak. Deservedly so because he does an excellent job ensuring the tone of this works.
This was the first time I'd ever seen Charles Boyer actually act in French and he does a superb job as the tragic Rudolph - seeking love, sulky, wanting change but too weak to stand up to his father, self-pitying (I was reminded a lot of Prince Charles, forever wanting people to feel sorry for him). Danielle Darrieux is perfect as his young lover - naive, enchanting, completely in over her head. Boyer kills the poor thing, then himself - but you buy it dramatically.
There is solid support work from the other actors, and a surprising amount of scenes where characters watch musical numbers at the opera or nightclubs.
This was the first time I'd ever seen Charles Boyer actually act in French and he does a superb job as the tragic Rudolph - seeking love, sulky, wanting change but too weak to stand up to his father, self-pitying (I was reminded a lot of Prince Charles, forever wanting people to feel sorry for him). Danielle Darrieux is perfect as his young lover - naive, enchanting, completely in over her head. Boyer kills the poor thing, then himself - but you buy it dramatically.
There is solid support work from the other actors, and a surprising amount of scenes where characters watch musical numbers at the opera or nightclubs.
Friday, December 12, 2014
Movie review - "Roberta" (1935) ***1/2
A silly story about a football player running a dress shop in Paris is given a lift by some incredible Astaire-Rogers dance numbers. Fred and Ginger don't actually drive most of the action in this one - that job is taken up by jock Randolph Scott, who inherits the dress shop, and Irene Dunne who runs it. Another big role is taken up by Claire Dodd, as Scott's snooty ex. Fred basically plays Scott's sidekick, with Ginger as his ex - neither actually necessary for the plot.
There's lots (and lots) of fashion on display, and Irene Dunne sings opera which may get on your nerves (or not - I'm not a fan of her singing), and plenty of talk about being a snob. Dunne and Randolph Scott aren't a great team. There's an unexpectedly moving moment when Helen Westley dies. (Watching this I got the feeling this heavily influenced Dad and Dave Come to Town - a hick inheriting a fashion store, a climax involving a beauty show).
But all is forgiven when Fred and Ginger dance - there's "sex dancing", with the dancing standing in for sex, both of them flirting around each other, getting into it and building to a climax. I laughed how little thought was put into their romance - they were once a couple and don't really have any obstacles to getting back together again - they don't even really do anything with the fact that Ginger is impersonating a Polish countess; far more time and complication is given to Scott-Dunne. (I'm assuming the reason Fred and Ginger play essentially support roles is that no one would believe Fred as a footballer).
Songs include "When Smoke Gets in Your Eyes".
There's lots (and lots) of fashion on display, and Irene Dunne sings opera which may get on your nerves (or not - I'm not a fan of her singing), and plenty of talk about being a snob. Dunne and Randolph Scott aren't a great team. There's an unexpectedly moving moment when Helen Westley dies. (Watching this I got the feeling this heavily influenced Dad and Dave Come to Town - a hick inheriting a fashion store, a climax involving a beauty show).
But all is forgiven when Fred and Ginger dance - there's "sex dancing", with the dancing standing in for sex, both of them flirting around each other, getting into it and building to a climax. I laughed how little thought was put into their romance - they were once a couple and don't really have any obstacles to getting back together again - they don't even really do anything with the fact that Ginger is impersonating a Polish countess; far more time and complication is given to Scott-Dunne. (I'm assuming the reason Fred and Ginger play essentially support roles is that no one would believe Fred as a footballer).
Songs include "When Smoke Gets in Your Eyes".
Movie review - "The Libertine" (1969) **1/2
Catherine Spaak was a pretty actress perhaps best known to Hollywood for her support past in Hotel. She's very cute but wasn't really strong enough a performer to carry a movie - although to be fair her performance here is dubbed, so maybe she lost something by not having her own voice. But a blank expression is still a blank expression which is what Spaak has a lot of the time.
Still, she is good looking and at least the film is about a woman seeking sexual fulfillment, not a man. She's a widow who discovers her dead husband cheated on her (making home movies of said cheating, no less) so she reads a dirty book and decides to get into it herself. So she seduces her husband's best friend, her dentist, a guy who tries to rape her at first but then she goes along with it, etc before finding true love with a doctor (Jean Louis Trintignant) who doesn't mind her desire for kink - which is kind of liberated, and reminded me a little of the film Secretary.
There is some nudity, though I was never sure if Spaak had a body double or not - I think she was protected. Some of the playing is too broad, and over the top, but after a while I got into this and particularly enjoyed the last third because we finally had another character apart from Spaak (Trintignant) who we could spend some time with and get to know. I feel this is the sort of movie that would have been better focusing on a couple of characters in depth rather than just having a series of comic random adventures. Anyways...
Still, she is good looking and at least the film is about a woman seeking sexual fulfillment, not a man. She's a widow who discovers her dead husband cheated on her (making home movies of said cheating, no less) so she reads a dirty book and decides to get into it herself. So she seduces her husband's best friend, her dentist, a guy who tries to rape her at first but then she goes along with it, etc before finding true love with a doctor (Jean Louis Trintignant) who doesn't mind her desire for kink - which is kind of liberated, and reminded me a little of the film Secretary.
There is some nudity, though I was never sure if Spaak had a body double or not - I think she was protected. Some of the playing is too broad, and over the top, but after a while I got into this and particularly enjoyed the last third because we finally had another character apart from Spaak (Trintignant) who we could spend some time with and get to know. I feel this is the sort of movie that would have been better focusing on a couple of characters in depth rather than just having a series of comic random adventures. Anyways...
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Movie review - "Sitting Target" (1972) **1/2 (warning: spoilers)
Early 70s British gangster film which fits very much into the genre of Get Carter, Villain and so on: a heavy set glowering star, misogynistic attitude towards women, sudden outbursts of violence, lots of homo-eroticism, not highly regarded critically on release but with a growing cult.
This one stars Oliver Reed in what Josh Olsen on Trailers from Hell described as one of the best on screen depictions of Donald Westlake's Parker, even though it was not based on a Westlake novel but someone else. However the screenwriter was Alex Jacobs, he of cult reputation and major influence on Walter Hill, who adapted the Westlake Parker film Point Blank.
Reed is in prison when wife Jill St John tells him she's pregnant to someone else. Reed tries to strangle her, then is sent to solitary; he breaks out with Ian McShane and Freddie Jones, gets a gun and sets about causing mayhem.
I wasn't super familiar with director Douglas Hickox but he does a good job - it's handled freshly, well at least differently. "Fresh" seems an odd word for a movie with so much grime - dingy prison cells, back alleys, etc. The action scenes are very well done - the prison break out, a chase amongst laundry hanging up, assassination attempts.
The story isn't great and too often feels repetitive without development - Reed tries to kill St John, is stopped, tries again, is stopped, does something bad to someone else, then someone else. He's also ridiculously indestructible at the end. I always feel these films get over praised in later years because they are neglected for so long - and because they're so unlike movies made today.
There's a good cast - this isn't the sort of movie Jill St John usually made but she's fine. Reed is in glowering good form and MacShane was effective back then. Edward Woodward pops up as a police officer and Frank Finlay is in it too.
This one stars Oliver Reed in what Josh Olsen on Trailers from Hell described as one of the best on screen depictions of Donald Westlake's Parker, even though it was not based on a Westlake novel but someone else. However the screenwriter was Alex Jacobs, he of cult reputation and major influence on Walter Hill, who adapted the Westlake Parker film Point Blank.
Reed is in prison when wife Jill St John tells him she's pregnant to someone else. Reed tries to strangle her, then is sent to solitary; he breaks out with Ian McShane and Freddie Jones, gets a gun and sets about causing mayhem.
I wasn't super familiar with director Douglas Hickox but he does a good job - it's handled freshly, well at least differently. "Fresh" seems an odd word for a movie with so much grime - dingy prison cells, back alleys, etc. The action scenes are very well done - the prison break out, a chase amongst laundry hanging up, assassination attempts.
The story isn't great and too often feels repetitive without development - Reed tries to kill St John, is stopped, tries again, is stopped, does something bad to someone else, then someone else. He's also ridiculously indestructible at the end. I always feel these films get over praised in later years because they are neglected for so long - and because they're so unlike movies made today.
There's a good cast - this isn't the sort of movie Jill St John usually made but she's fine. Reed is in glowering good form and MacShane was effective back then. Edward Woodward pops up as a police officer and Frank Finlay is in it too.
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Movie review - "My Father's Wife" (1976) (warning: spoilers) *1/2
Carroll Baker made less thrillers in the mid 70s and more sex movies. Here she plays a wife whose husband (Adolfo Celi from Thunderball) can't get it up for her so he starts having affairs with younger women (who he can get it up for), which upsets Baker so she has an affair with his son, her step son.
Baker goes topless and rolls around on bed, throwing herself into it, which is good to see for a mature aged actress (which is what she'd become). Her performance is fine; better than Celi - it's not fun to see him writhing away.
This is an odd film - you expect the set up to be for a sex comedy or thriller but it's neither; the drama is played straight and the central situation isn't really interesting enough to carry for a feature film. At the end Baker is (it's implied) shot from a snipers rifle while skiing - that feels like it should be the end of act one or two, not the movie. This badly lacks a few murders, or twists - there's some promising support characters set up (like the sexy lady who is the first to bed the step son) but they do hardly anything with it.
Baker goes topless and rolls around on bed, throwing herself into it, which is good to see for a mature aged actress (which is what she'd become). Her performance is fine; better than Celi - it's not fun to see him writhing away.
This is an odd film - you expect the set up to be for a sex comedy or thriller but it's neither; the drama is played straight and the central situation isn't really interesting enough to carry for a feature film. At the end Baker is (it's implied) shot from a snipers rifle while skiing - that feels like it should be the end of act one or two, not the movie. This badly lacks a few murders, or twists - there's some promising support characters set up (like the sexy lady who is the first to bed the step son) but they do hardly anything with it.
Movie review - "The Virgin Wife" (1975) *1/2
Italian sex comedy, also known as La Moglie Vergine, which I only watched because Carroll Baker has a small role. She's the mother of a newly wed whose husband is yet to deflower her due to his impotence. If you find impotence hilarious then this is the movie for you.
There's some sexy women, who are frequently bending over showing off their backsides, and some fat comic actors. Most of the action seems dominated by Mr Impotent's lecherous uncle who manhandles a whole bunch of women - apparently this is considered hilarious.
There's a quite hot final sequence where the bride and groom are caught in a rainstorm with different people - a stud for her, and the bride's mother (Baker) for him - and both get to have sex. The groom apparently has a mother complex which is why his equipment works with her. So she suggests they move in. It's light and energetic and a film very much of it's country and time.
There's some sexy women, who are frequently bending over showing off their backsides, and some fat comic actors. Most of the action seems dominated by Mr Impotent's lecherous uncle who manhandles a whole bunch of women - apparently this is considered hilarious.
There's a quite hot final sequence where the bride and groom are caught in a rainstorm with different people - a stud for her, and the bride's mother (Baker) for him - and both get to have sex. The groom apparently has a mother complex which is why his equipment works with her. So she suggests they move in. It's light and energetic and a film very much of it's country and time.
Movie review - "The Subterraneans" (1960) **
Utterly bizarre - MGM try to keep with the times, and end up making a big screen version of Jack Kerouac's novel on beatniks. It's produced by Arthur Freed of all people too! So there's lots of scenes with characters performing poetry and saying "dig it" and talking about free love and their novel. No one sounds like a real person which is alright as long as it makes sense in the world - but it doesn't - at least not to this viewer. Maybe there is a big screen movie that could have been done of this tale - in black and white, with Cassevetes like atmosphere. Maybe.
Still, it's fascinating to watch, and George Peppard and Leslie Caron are genuinely well cast in the leads - I completely buy Peppard as a self-loathing, boozy aspiring writer who gets consumed by his passions... after all, he was that in real life to a certain degree, and he played that sort of role in Breakfast at Tiffanys. Caron is also vivacious and sexy as his French lover.
Roddy McDowall and Jim Hutton are far less happily cast as beatniks - Hutton especially struggles with his beard. Janice Rule is alright though her character is annoyingly misogynistic (she's independent and a genuine believer in free love until falling for Peppard converts her into a skirt wearer).
There is some entertaining MGM gloss (photography, production design) but the biggest problem is you can't take it seriously - and the whole point of the work is about passion.
Still, it's fascinating to watch, and George Peppard and Leslie Caron are genuinely well cast in the leads - I completely buy Peppard as a self-loathing, boozy aspiring writer who gets consumed by his passions... after all, he was that in real life to a certain degree, and he played that sort of role in Breakfast at Tiffanys. Caron is also vivacious and sexy as his French lover.
Roddy McDowall and Jim Hutton are far less happily cast as beatniks - Hutton especially struggles with his beard. Janice Rule is alright though her character is annoyingly misogynistic (she's independent and a genuine believer in free love until falling for Peppard converts her into a skirt wearer).
There is some entertaining MGM gloss (photography, production design) but the biggest problem is you can't take it seriously - and the whole point of the work is about passion.
Tuesday, December 09, 2014
Movie review - "Breath of Scandal" (1960) **
John Gavin wasn't the best actor in the world but he's the least miscast out of the three leads - he plays an American engineer travelling through Europe who falls for a beautiful woman (Sophia Loren) who turns out to be Octavia, princess of the Austrian Empire - daughter of Emperor Josef (Maurice Chevalier!)
Adding to the Italian and French nationalities of the stars are the fact that Loren is not at home playing a princess (something pointed out by Gavin at the time), nor is Chevalier as a head of state. So lump Gavin actually comes off best.
The film never recovers from those issues and it's a silly story - Loren torn between love and duty - with a sexist element - Loren offers Gavin the chance to be her "mistress" but he turns it down and she gives up royalty for him. But it does have gorgeous Paramount colour and art design, location work, and a support cast that includes Angela Lansbury and Isabel Jeans.
Adding to the Italian and French nationalities of the stars are the fact that Loren is not at home playing a princess (something pointed out by Gavin at the time), nor is Chevalier as a head of state. So lump Gavin actually comes off best.
The film never recovers from those issues and it's a silly story - Loren torn between love and duty - with a sexist element - Loren offers Gavin the chance to be her "mistress" but he turns it down and she gives up royalty for him. But it does have gorgeous Paramount colour and art design, location work, and a support cast that includes Angela Lansbury and Isabel Jeans.
Movie review - "Die, Die My Darling" (1965) **1/2
It was inevitable Tallulah Bankhead would try her hand at the psycho biddy genre of films that had given an unexpected late career boost to Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. She really, really looks her age, and not in a great way - wrinkles added to Davis and Crawford but not Tallulah. Still, that incredible voice remains and she's got presence.
The story itself isn't much. Stefanie Powers - whom I've seen in a few movies lately and come to appreciate, she has a genuine down-home charm with high likeability factor - plays a girl who visits her ex's mother (Tallulah)... and finds herself locked up in a room by her.
Richard Matheson does a typically decent job of adaptation but Silvio Narizzano's job doesn't get all the juice out of it that say a Freddie Francis and Roger Corman might have. Donald Sutherland plays a mentally challenged handyman and Yootha Joyce is one of Bankhead's cronies. Maurice Kafumann is a damp squib as Powers' boyfriend. Some of the action is repetitive - Powers escapes, is recaptured -and it lacks the flair and character work of something like Misery but this isn't bad.
The story itself isn't much. Stefanie Powers - whom I've seen in a few movies lately and come to appreciate, she has a genuine down-home charm with high likeability factor - plays a girl who visits her ex's mother (Tallulah)... and finds herself locked up in a room by her.
Richard Matheson does a typically decent job of adaptation but Silvio Narizzano's job doesn't get all the juice out of it that say a Freddie Francis and Roger Corman might have. Donald Sutherland plays a mentally challenged handyman and Yootha Joyce is one of Bankhead's cronies. Maurice Kafumann is a damp squib as Powers' boyfriend. Some of the action is repetitive - Powers escapes, is recaptured -and it lacks the flair and character work of something like Misery but this isn't bad.
Movie review - "There's a Girl in My Soup" (1970) **
In his book The Season, William Goldman wrote a chapter on sex comedies on Broadway during the 1967 season, which included this - he says it was one of the best, not particularly high praise, in part because it had a decent number of laughs and its contemporary quality: the fact the hippie girl had a rock star lover, and ended up choosing him in the end, and everyone actually had sex instead of teasing it out.
This film adaptation is quite racy - Goldie Hawn shows off her boobs and bare backside, Peter Sellers goes down on a girl, everyone has lots of sex. The women are very good looking, Hawn is perfectly cast and does her best in what was already a tired conceit: the manic pixie dream girl who captures everyone's heart (she played it in this, Cactus Flower and Butterflies Are Free - all based on Broadway hits).
The piece is hurt greatly by Peter Sellers who hams it up and gives a sketch comedy performance - he never seems for a moment to be a real person with actual feelings (even by the standards of sex comedy). It's distancing. Also much of the material is repetitive. And the age gap between the guy and the girl is a bit yuck.
This film adaptation is quite racy - Goldie Hawn shows off her boobs and bare backside, Peter Sellers goes down on a girl, everyone has lots of sex. The women are very good looking, Hawn is perfectly cast and does her best in what was already a tired conceit: the manic pixie dream girl who captures everyone's heart (she played it in this, Cactus Flower and Butterflies Are Free - all based on Broadway hits).
The piece is hurt greatly by Peter Sellers who hams it up and gives a sketch comedy performance - he never seems for a moment to be a real person with actual feelings (even by the standards of sex comedy). It's distancing. Also much of the material is repetitive. And the age gap between the guy and the girl is a bit yuck.
TV review - "Girls Season 3" (2014) ****
The series is running along nicely now - I could be wrong but I get the feeling that Lena Durham has learnt how to get other people to write for the show. The "romance" between Marnie and Ray was unexpectedly interesting, Marnie continues to suffer but it is funny, Jessa's relapse is terrific and I loved dealing with the suicidal artist and Hannah at work. They don't do that much with Shoshonna.
Movie review - "A Fistful of Dollars" (1964) ****
You can't blame people for not thinking much of this from the sounds of things - an Italian Western shot in Spain with a US TV star in the lead. But Sergio Leone turned out to be one of the all time great directors and he found his perfect icon in Clint Eastwood, all squinty eyes, three day growth and sucking down a cheroot (the costumer on this deserves all the awards they can get).
The plot gleefully rips off Yojimbo (which ripped off Westerns in turn so there's nice synergy) with Clint playing off two sides against each other until he tries to do the right thing (cue some heavily sentimental music and acting) and suffers for it. But don't worry - super human vengeance awaits.
The action scenes are incredibly well done and the whole piece drips in atmosphere. Clint is remarkably good - every actor should have a vehicle like this one. Gian Maria Volonte is a strong antagonist. And of course the music is divine.
The plot gleefully rips off Yojimbo (which ripped off Westerns in turn so there's nice synergy) with Clint playing off two sides against each other until he tries to do the right thing (cue some heavily sentimental music and acting) and suffers for it. But don't worry - super human vengeance awaits.
The action scenes are incredibly well done and the whole piece drips in atmosphere. Clint is remarkably good - every actor should have a vehicle like this one. Gian Maria Volonte is a strong antagonist. And of course the music is divine.
Monday, December 01, 2014
WW2 History style links
For something different... my take on WW2 based on the WW2 website - see here:
Overall view:
Major turning point of WW2 - Battle of Moscow. I think if Germany had won the Battle of Stalingrad they would have still lost the war. But if they'd won Moscow they could have won the whole thing.
Biggest mistake of WW2 - Hitler not focusing on getting the Middle Eastern oil fields before invading Russia. If he'd kicked the British out of Egypt and Iran/Iraq, he would have had all the oil he wanted and two places to get at Russia. In the Pacific War - Japan deciding to attack the Western Allies and not Russia.
Best decision of the war - the Allies all pooling goals and operating as allies. Yes, absolutely there were differences but if the Axis had acted in concert half as well we would have been in trouble.
Most over-rated leader of WW2 - Stalin. He gutted the army, formed an alliance with Germany, ignored news of an impending German invasion.
Australian view:
Major turning point of WW2 - Kokoda Track victory - Japanese army stopped from reaching Port Moresby. It's doubtful the Japanese wanted to invade Australia but being in Moresby would have made attacks on Australia a hell of a lot easier.
Biggest mistake of WW2 - Malayan Campaign. Whinge as we might, Australia must take a share of the blame for this.
Most over-rated leader of WW2 - Blamey. Did he ever actually do anything good?
Best leader of WW2 - Morshead for Tobruk,
Best decision of the war - introducing conscription for Australian territories thus ensuring troops in PNG.
Overall view:
Major turning point of WW2 - Battle of Moscow. I think if Germany had won the Battle of Stalingrad they would have still lost the war. But if they'd won Moscow they could have won the whole thing.
Biggest mistake of WW2 - Hitler not focusing on getting the Middle Eastern oil fields before invading Russia. If he'd kicked the British out of Egypt and Iran/Iraq, he would have had all the oil he wanted and two places to get at Russia. In the Pacific War - Japan deciding to attack the Western Allies and not Russia.
Best decision of the war - the Allies all pooling goals and operating as allies. Yes, absolutely there were differences but if the Axis had acted in concert half as well we would have been in trouble.
Most over-rated leader of WW2 - Stalin. He gutted the army, formed an alliance with Germany, ignored news of an impending German invasion.
Australian view:
Major turning point of WW2 - Kokoda Track victory - Japanese army stopped from reaching Port Moresby. It's doubtful the Japanese wanted to invade Australia but being in Moresby would have made attacks on Australia a hell of a lot easier.
Biggest mistake of WW2 - Malayan Campaign. Whinge as we might, Australia must take a share of the blame for this.
Most over-rated leader of WW2 - Blamey. Did he ever actually do anything good?
Best leader of WW2 - Morshead for Tobruk,
Best decision of the war - introducing conscription for Australian territories thus ensuring troops in PNG.
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Top Ten War Films
A list just for the fun of it
1) Paths of Glory
2) Saving Private Ryan
3) Full Metal Jacket
4) Battleground
5) The Hurt Locker
6) Downfall
7) The Great Escape
8) Stalag 17
9) Gallipoli (with an honorable mention to Breaker Morant)
10) Where Eagles Dare
1) Paths of Glory
2) Saving Private Ryan
3) Full Metal Jacket
4) Battleground
5) The Hurt Locker
6) Downfall
7) The Great Escape
8) Stalag 17
9) Gallipoli (with an honorable mention to Breaker Morant)
10) Where Eagles Dare
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Movie review - "Sorcerer" (1977) ***1/2
The making of this film has become legendary as a symbol of 70s director excess in such tomes as Easy Rider Raging Bulls - it was a definite turning point in the career of William Friedkin, who for his previous two films could do no wrong, but came a cropper with this one.
He did want to make a big commercial picture - a bunch of dudes driving nitro glycerin over the mountains in central America... that's a sexy concept. And he had the basis of a classic French film to take from. Yes the characters aren't particularly likeable but they didn't have to be in the 70s.
In hindsight though it's not hard to see why audiences stayed away. The title is misleading. It feels very European, with a cast of mostly unknown actors; they are excellent, by the way, but it probably would have had more impact for Western audiences with more familiar names or say a Brit as one of the four drives; it may have resonated more for Eastern audiences if one of the drivers had been Asian (would have loved Toshiro Mifune or Ken Tanaka to be in this!) Roy Schneider is very good in his part but Friedkin is right - Steve McQueen would have made all the difference. It's also a bleak journey - and overlong, at two hours. I enjoyed the opening sequences, particularly the one in Israel, but really, they could have gone. (The Paris opening sequence feels especially long with people going off to have chats and coming back etc)
It's also easy to see why the movie has become a cult favourite. There is the story of its making, and its place in 70s cinema (particularly Friedkin's career). Plus its a stunning looking creation; it must have been hell to make but it's got amazing locations and production design. The scene of the trucks going over the bridge in the rain has to be seen to be believed. The bit part actors and extras are incredibly authentic. And the script improves on the French original in several ways such as the addition of bandits at the end.
Bruno Cremer is touching as the dodgy French banker, Francisco Rabal alright as the especially ruthless driver (his moustache was annoying), Amidou very impressive as the Arab terrorist who actually seems to be the most decent of the lot (he's the only one much upset by Karl John's death).
It's a flawed film (I never believed the Mafia would travel all that way for a hit) but made with tremendous passion and intensity, and deserves to be more widely known.
He did want to make a big commercial picture - a bunch of dudes driving nitro glycerin over the mountains in central America... that's a sexy concept. And he had the basis of a classic French film to take from. Yes the characters aren't particularly likeable but they didn't have to be in the 70s.
In hindsight though it's not hard to see why audiences stayed away. The title is misleading. It feels very European, with a cast of mostly unknown actors; they are excellent, by the way, but it probably would have had more impact for Western audiences with more familiar names or say a Brit as one of the four drives; it may have resonated more for Eastern audiences if one of the drivers had been Asian (would have loved Toshiro Mifune or Ken Tanaka to be in this!) Roy Schneider is very good in his part but Friedkin is right - Steve McQueen would have made all the difference. It's also a bleak journey - and overlong, at two hours. I enjoyed the opening sequences, particularly the one in Israel, but really, they could have gone. (The Paris opening sequence feels especially long with people going off to have chats and coming back etc)
It's also easy to see why the movie has become a cult favourite. There is the story of its making, and its place in 70s cinema (particularly Friedkin's career). Plus its a stunning looking creation; it must have been hell to make but it's got amazing locations and production design. The scene of the trucks going over the bridge in the rain has to be seen to be believed. The bit part actors and extras are incredibly authentic. And the script improves on the French original in several ways such as the addition of bandits at the end.
Bruno Cremer is touching as the dodgy French banker, Francisco Rabal alright as the especially ruthless driver (his moustache was annoying), Amidou very impressive as the Arab terrorist who actually seems to be the most decent of the lot (he's the only one much upset by Karl John's death).
It's a flawed film (I never believed the Mafia would travel all that way for a hit) but made with tremendous passion and intensity, and deserves to be more widely known.
Movie review - "The Outsiders" (1983) ***1/2
This film confirmed - if any further confirmation was needed after The Godfather - that few people had an eye for promising youngsters sharper than Francis Coppola (and Fred Roos of course). It's a remarkable line up of names - C Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Swayze, Cruise, Estevez, Rob Lowe. Watching them in this movie the one you'd think least likely for stardom was Cruise, so immersed in his role as an Okie cracker does he go; Estevez also looks pure character actor with his chubby cheeks and ducktail hair. Swayze is the one who leaps off the screen as a possible leading man.
The bulk of the film's running time actually goes to Macchio and Howell, with Dillon getting the juiciest support part. It's high end melodrama full of tormented yet sensitive kids, whose problems are mostly caused by dead/neglectful parents and rich kids, hunky juvenile delinquents who just need a cuddle; there's a justified murder, thugs reciting Robert Frost and reading Gone with the Wind, lots of masculine hugging, self sacrifice and the deux ex machina of an orphanage burning down.
For the most part this is very effective - beautifully shot and designed, for the most part strongly acted (Diane Lane is very winning in the one decent sized female part), with a strong sense of atmosphere. Matt Dillon's excesses could have been curtailed, some of the dialogue clunks, and the theme song is terrible. But it's made with conviction and sincerity and some bits of it eg Macchio in the hospital, are heartbreaking.
The bulk of the film's running time actually goes to Macchio and Howell, with Dillon getting the juiciest support part. It's high end melodrama full of tormented yet sensitive kids, whose problems are mostly caused by dead/neglectful parents and rich kids, hunky juvenile delinquents who just need a cuddle; there's a justified murder, thugs reciting Robert Frost and reading Gone with the Wind, lots of masculine hugging, self sacrifice and the deux ex machina of an orphanage burning down.
For the most part this is very effective - beautifully shot and designed, for the most part strongly acted (Diane Lane is very winning in the one decent sized female part), with a strong sense of atmosphere. Matt Dillon's excesses could have been curtailed, some of the dialogue clunks, and the theme song is terrible. But it's made with conviction and sincerity and some bits of it eg Macchio in the hospital, are heartbreaking.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Movie review - "Baba Yaga" (1973) **
Really weird occult thriller based on a graphic novel about a fashion photographer (Isabelle de Funes) who comes under the spell of a sorceress. The sorceress is played by Carroll Baker who is appalling. De Funes starts to have visions of things, including Nazis - and gets turned on by Baker, who tries to brainwash her. De Funes' boyfriend George Eastman comes to save the day.
There's hallucinations, sado masochism, fetishism, photo shoots, a torture dungeon, lesbians, nudity, left wing political statements. Listing all those things makes the movie sound more fun and interesting than it is - although you do keep watching. None of the three leads are up to their roles.
There's hallucinations, sado masochism, fetishism, photo shoots, a torture dungeon, lesbians, nudity, left wing political statements. Listing all those things makes the movie sound more fun and interesting than it is - although you do keep watching. None of the three leads are up to their roles.
Movie review - "Interstellar" (2014) **1/2
Sometimes a filmmaker's head gets so far up their arse it can't come out again - I can't helping thinking that's what happened here for Chris Nolan, as talented as he is. There's so much exposition and theoretical physics that I had trouble wrapping my head around it; I'm quite prepared to admit I'm not the smartest cookie in the box but it was just plain confusing too much of the time. When I saw it there was this group of ten year old boys who trooped out of the movie still with 20 minutes to go - I think this is why it's not going to be a block buster.
For all the work done developing the story, far too much of this felt like a first draft - scenes end early, dialogue feels as though it needs another polish, exposition was clunky rather than smooth, far too much talk going on instead of using images to tell the story, too much dialogue coming from Matthew McConaughey (I'm glad he had a comeback, but I don't really want to see him in movies any more).
For a movie where the world is going to end a surprising amount of characters were selfish brats, such as McConaughey's daughter, Anne Hathaway's love struck astronaut. Too much of it didn't ring true - I'm not talking about the physics, more things like that random mention modern day society was insisting the Moon landings were fake (this didn't feel real) and nasa refused to drop bombs because of some food war thing; Hathaway wanting to base a mission on love. Moments like McConaughey and Hathaway realising 23 years have passed are tossed away; ditto McConaughey being reunited with his daughter (wouldn't he be curious at all to meet his children?). Why wouldn't everyone in the world be keen for a science mission to save themselves? Why wouldn't everyone want to find what happened to Hathaway? And I note Nolan still can't help using talking robots.
Stunning special effects and some terrific sequences, such as landing on the all water planet full of massive waves, and the Matt Damon sequence (even if he too is given too much to say). There is decent emotional kick to the story and it is worth watching especially on the big screen - I just wish they'd streamlined it and not keep using "well 2001 was confusing" as an excuse.
For all the work done developing the story, far too much of this felt like a first draft - scenes end early, dialogue feels as though it needs another polish, exposition was clunky rather than smooth, far too much talk going on instead of using images to tell the story, too much dialogue coming from Matthew McConaughey (I'm glad he had a comeback, but I don't really want to see him in movies any more).
For a movie where the world is going to end a surprising amount of characters were selfish brats, such as McConaughey's daughter, Anne Hathaway's love struck astronaut. Too much of it didn't ring true - I'm not talking about the physics, more things like that random mention modern day society was insisting the Moon landings were fake (this didn't feel real) and nasa refused to drop bombs because of some food war thing; Hathaway wanting to base a mission on love. Moments like McConaughey and Hathaway realising 23 years have passed are tossed away; ditto McConaughey being reunited with his daughter (wouldn't he be curious at all to meet his children?). Why wouldn't everyone in the world be keen for a science mission to save themselves? Why wouldn't everyone want to find what happened to Hathaway? And I note Nolan still can't help using talking robots.
Stunning special effects and some terrific sequences, such as landing on the all water planet full of massive waves, and the Matt Damon sequence (even if he too is given too much to say). There is decent emotional kick to the story and it is worth watching especially on the big screen - I just wish they'd streamlined it and not keep using "well 2001 was confusing" as an excuse.
Movie review - "Camille" (1936) ***
If you're a fan of Greta Garbo you'll love this movie because it gives her a chance to act all over the place - play coy, funny, tragic, romantic, sexy, etc. Camille is a dream part for an older woman - you get to wear fantastic clothes, all the men pant over you (including a handsome elder one and dashing younger) and you get to die and have all the sympathy.
It's done with MGM gloss which means plenty of over the top costume and sumptuous production design; the censor has pulled back on what Camille does for a living but it's still clear to adults what's going on.
The performances of Lionel Barrymore and Robert Taylor have been much criticised. Barrymore was indeed irritating - all ham and self righteousness, barnstorming his way around the set as he scolds Garbo; Taylor I went easier on - he wasn't a very good actor but he does his best and he's got the looks. Henry Daniell is superb and there is some garishly overly the top support from character actors like Laura Hope Crews.
I didn't really get into this and the finale, where Camille kicks the bucket, left me cold. Maybe I'm shallow. But like I say if you enjoy Greta Garbo you'll get into it.
It's done with MGM gloss which means plenty of over the top costume and sumptuous production design; the censor has pulled back on what Camille does for a living but it's still clear to adults what's going on.
The performances of Lionel Barrymore and Robert Taylor have been much criticised. Barrymore was indeed irritating - all ham and self righteousness, barnstorming his way around the set as he scolds Garbo; Taylor I went easier on - he wasn't a very good actor but he does his best and he's got the looks. Henry Daniell is superb and there is some garishly overly the top support from character actors like Laura Hope Crews.
I didn't really get into this and the finale, where Camille kicks the bucket, left me cold. Maybe I'm shallow. But like I say if you enjoy Greta Garbo you'll get into it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)