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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

Movie review - "Godzilla" (2014) *** (warning: spoilers)

Decent revival of the famous monster, which has some genuinely excellent special effects and memorable new creatures in the form of the MUTOs... it's more of a MUTO picture than a Godzilla one, with the big G taking an almost supporting role before he comes along and helps raise San Franscisco while fighting two opponents.

Gareth Edwards' style is to give things an air of verisimilitude and film a lot of action in long shots; he also has a major soft spot for helicopters. This means the movie is visually impressive but lacks excitement as many of the big set pieces take place in the distance. It doesn't help that the lead - the dull Aaron Taylor Johnson - spends most of the movie observing action, only getting involved in the end. I wish they'd killed him off and kept alive his father, Bryan Cranston, whose craziness provides some much needed life. Even duller is Elizabeth Olsen as Johnson's wife, who spends the film running up and down corridors escaping rubble - and their kid is even duller than that.

I did like how respectful the film was towards it's Japanese heritage and there are some first rate moments: the initial appearance of the monsters, the death of Juliet Binoche, the Halo jumping sequence, the visuals of a destroyed San Francisco. Some top actors are wasted in bland support roles - Sally Hawkins and Ken Watanabe especially.

Movie review - "The Story of Mankind" (1957) **

This made an appearance in Harry Medved's 50 Worst Movies of All Time but truth be told it's not that bad - it is interesting in a uni revue kind of way, with an all star cast keeping things interestingly. The story seems to be a kind of rip off of A Matter of Life and Death with good Ronald Colman and bad Vincent Price arguing in a celestial court over whether humankind is good or bad.

We see a variety of incidents throughout history and lots of stock footage, plus actors like Dennis Hopper (Napoleon), the Marx Brothers (in separate scenes, as Peter Minuit and Isaac Newton and a monk), Hedy Lamar (Joan of Arc), Virgina Mayo (Cleopatra), Marie Wilson (Marie Antoinette), Jim Ameche (Don's younger brother) (Alexander Graham Bell), Peter Lorre (Nero), John Carradine (Egyptian leader).

Film buffs will probably get something out of it - and I genuinely laughed at Groucho's segment, and Harpo's wasn't bad. It's silly and dumb but there are lots of worse movies. The people who wrote and direct it weren't really comedy people - it was directed by Irwin Allen.

Movie review - "Grand Hotel" (1932) *** (warning: spoilers)

MGM at its most Irvin Thalberg-y, a big glossy all star melodrama. I didn't realise how few Greta Garbo movies I'd actually seen watching this - she's a terrible ham, beautiful and charismatic to be sure, but emoting all over the place and chewing up the scenery as the tragic ballerina, one minute about to kill herself then madly in love.

Equally playing to the back row are Wallace Beery and Lionel Barrymore, as a dodgy businessperson and dying clerk respectively. Lionel is especially hard to take, ACTING all over shop, making dumb pronouncements about money and being a little man. You wish someone would pull out a gun and end him early.

Far far better are John Barrymore, in a genuinely sensitive and restrained performance as the thieving Baron (he's terrific), and Joan Crawford, as a kind of secretary slash model slash mistress (the film is pre Code and thus allowed to be a bit racy.... there's also Garbo about to commit suicide, Barrymore and Garbo pretty clearly have sex, Beery kills J Barrymore brutally).

Lewis Stone is irritating as a Greek chorus as is Jean Hersholt as a porter. The art direction is impressive. Dated in many ways but still worth watching.

Book review - "Lucky Stars: Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell" by Sarah Baker

It's a wonder why no one's written a bio of Gaynor or Farrell before - after all, for a few years there they were among the most popular stars in Hollywood, and their movies went into the sound era; they made a large number of films together, several of which were classics (Sunrise, Seventh Heaven), and Gaynor not only won the first Best Actress Oscar, she appeared in some sound classics (A Star is Born, State Fair). Also, they had a long-running affair with each other - and/or Gaynor is one of the best known "rumoured lesbians" of Hollywood.

Maybe it's because their best films together were silents, and thus not widely seen once sound came in; perhaps it was because State Fair and A Star is Born were followed by more-famous remakes; also, to be blunt, neither of them died young or featured in a scandal, meaning they missed out on the immortality gained by silent stars like Fatty Arbuckle and Valentino.

Still, better late than never and Baker has done a very good job - well written, thoroughly researched. And the two leads did have interesting lives - plucky little Gaynor, essentially thrust into acting by her mother and step father, despite not having much enthusiasm for it; she began as an extra but her big eyes and waif appeal saw her graduate to leads then stardom fairly rapidly, much to the chagrin of her bitter sister; she managed to stay a star for the rest of her career, retiring when on top. She also made a lot of money, battling with studios and going on strike for better terms and conditions (she was a pet of William Sheehan's and later David O. Selznick's) - but also hung on to it, dying a wealthy woman.

A first marriage proved disastrous, but her second and third were happy; this was to costume designer Adrian and then, when he died on her, producer Paul Gregory. The Adrian liasion in particular fuelled the rumour that Gaynor was a lesbian, as did her close friendships with Margaret Lindsay and Mary Martin. This book doesn't support these rumours, and quotes people who criticize them - but the evidence doesn't rule it out either. Whatever she did in the privacy of her bedroom and/or mind, it's clear she did have intense friendships with women, and a happy marriage to Adrian.

It's also clear she and Farrell had an affair, though she never married him; Baker argues this may have been due to the fact Gaynor sensed that, down deep, Farrell was weak. His story was worth telling on it's own merits - coming from a comfortable family, who he defied to go into acting, Farrell's climb to the top was a little rockier, with several false stars before he hit big. Like Gaynor, he managed the transition to sound with relative ease but was never regarded as big a star, and his decline was swifter - from being still regarded as one of the biggest names at the box office in 1932, he was firmly B list within a few years time, making The Flying Doctor in Australia in 1935. (As an Aussie, I would have liked to have read more about this; Baker mentions his affair with Mary Maguire - though doesn't talk about the fact her later husband wound up imprisoned during World War Two for fascist beliefs).

He bounced back, though, helping found and run the successful Palm Springs Racquet Club, becoming a force in Palm Springs politics (including stints as mayor), making money as a property developer, then rediscovering acting success in 50s sitcoms. His personal life was rockier - a womaniser whose marriage lasted a long time but was often stormy and unhappy; he had a long affair with Diana Powell, William Powell's second wife - something I was completely unaware of (W. Powell was much older than his wife, and apparently was willing to turn a blind eye so Diana could have a bit of fun). Farrell battled with the bottle, kicked it for some years but relapsed towards the end of his life and became a hermit. At least he was rich  (I hate it when they lose their money).

So not one but two stories which deserved to be told and they've been told well.

Book review - "Robert Taylor" by Charles Tranberg (2014)

Was there a luckier film star than Robert Taylor? No overwhelming passion to be an actor, or even famous, or show off - he just sorted of ambled along through life, growing up in Nebraska, going to college in California. He was a good looking guy, so they cast him in college plays, where he was spotted by MGM because he was a good looking guy. Then the studio signed him and cast him in some things, because he was a good looking guy, and his parts got bigger and he became a star very quickly. And despite basically getting all this way because he was good looking he stayed a star for 25 years.

Okay that's not entirely fair - he knew he was lucky, and worked very very hard, kept his head down, was conscientious and never phoned it in. He listened to his directors and found the perfect studio home in MGM, where he was happy for Leo B. Mayer to boss him around - and later on he got along well with Dore Schary. He had a good speaking voice, the benefit of a star marriage to the elder Barbara Stanwyck, and was comfortable co-starring against the big female names of the time (this is harder than it sounds - and also helped Fred MacMurray become a name). 

His career was managed well - pretty boy leading man parts in the mid 30s, tales of cocky kids who get redemption a la Tom Cruise in the late 30s, Westerns and war flicks in the 40s, film noir in the late 40s, costume blockbusters and Westerns in the 1950s (where he received an unexpected boost as a swashbuckling star). Stardom eventually faded but the decline was gradual - lesser budgets, a TV series, Disney, European thrillers. He died while still being highly employable.

There's a lot of genuinely good films on Taylor's resume: Camille, A Yank at Oxford, The Crowd Roars, Waterloo Bridge, The Bribe, Undercurrent, Bataan, Quo Vadis, Rio Valdez. To be frank, all these parts could have been played better by other stars at the time - he was from the Golden Age but remained a second rate star. (His 50s swashbuckers especially all seemed as though they should have had Stewart Granger in them instead.) Still, the length and bredth of his career demands serious appraisal and Tranberg does a good job. There is solid research and plenty of sympathy.

Taylor comes out of it well - a solid, decent stick, if a bit dull; an old school Republican, which meant he was a dick during the McCarthy era, where he named names, but he also served his country during the war; he enjoyed hunting, fishing and flying, disliked hippies, became Ronald Reagan's best friend towards the end of his life; he enjoyed a happy second marriage to a woman who wanted to stay at home and raise kids (if not her kids to a first marriage - one of whom killed himself shortly before Taylor's death of smoking-induced cancer). Definitely worth a read, especially if you're a fan of golden era Hollywood.

Movie review - "Neighbors" (2014) ****1/2

One of the funniest films I've seen in ages - maybe the rating is too high, especially for a movie where the young characters aren't really well developed (I would have loved to have seen more of Zac Efron's girlfriend), but the laughs are consistent and are of blockbuster quality. Seth Rogen is born to play this sort of role, Rose Byrne matches him excellently, the film is made by people who actually like and admire women so her role carries weight, Zac Efron surprises in a confident portrayl, James Franco offers strong support. The baby is genuinely cute, Lisa Kudrow is perhaps the most believable college dean in the history of cinema (solely obsessed with headlines). Tremendous fun.

Movie review - "The Private Lesson" (1975) *1/2 (warning: spoilers)

Odd, pervy comedy which feels like it was made by dirty old men. In a small town, most people seem to be thinking about sex a lot. A good looking music teacher (Carroll Baker) in particular gets a lot of hearts a flutter. One of her students photographs her masturbating and uses the photos to blackmail her into an increasing series of humiliating acts for the enjoyment of himself and his mate, who had a crush on Baker: not wearing a bra, having her arm pits shaved.

it's a weird sort of movie - the teen girls discuss sex and fondle their breasts, the sensitive young man has a dirty old father and uncle (the latter has a mistress/girlfriend who gives the SYM oral sex). There's a lot of flesh on display - masturbation, oral sex and deflowering are all discussed, nudity, Baker has a sex scene with the boy, who becomes a man and goes cavorting in the fields naked with his more age appropriate girlfriend.

Baker's performance is fine, but it really is a not particularly comfortable film to watch.

Movie review - "The Devil Has Seven Faces" (1971) **

Carroll Baker in another European thriller but it's not really a giallo, more a hesity film. This is pretty bad - not just bad, it's also dull, which is even worse, without even a Baker nude scene to liven things up. She does play a double role and has to endure some awful fashions that make her look like Carol Brady.

The plot involves Baker being tormented by a mystery assailant and a missing bag of diamonds. Stephen Boyd (of Ben Hur fame) offers some name recognition as a lawyer friend, while George Hilton plays her racing car driver lover. Baker doesn't give a good performance; actually no one does (there are some hilariously OTT British police). Surely more could have been made of Baker playing identical twins?

It was partly shot in Amsterdam, but it's an ugly looking movie, crummily shot, badly made. The music score isn't bad.

Play review - "I'll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers" by John Logan (performance 1 Nov 2014)

A fun night at the theatre - not a masterpiece, but swift, funny, and poignant, and especially interesting to movie buffs. Sue Mengers was such a larger than life character that it's a wonder she hadn't been dramatised before; of course, the fact she only died in 2011 would have had something to do with it.

The story is set in 1981, before a Mengers dinner party. Mengers was famously exercise-adverse, so Logan has most of this with her on the couch - a person is invited out of the audience twice to pour her drinks, which is a great trick to keep things lively. She's just been sacked by Barbra Streisand and is waiting for a call. It helps if you know that in real life Mengers soon wrapped up her agency work (although she did make a late 80s comeback.)

I thought more would have been made of Mengers relationship with husband Jean Claude Tramont, particularly with all the references to "knowing the spouse".  But we do get plenty of Steve McQueen and Ali Magraw, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, Peter Bogdanovich and Cybil Shepherd, and Barbra.

Production wise I saw this with Miriam Margoyles in the role. Her acting was fine - accent, look, feel.... but she lacked the energy and pizzaz that Bette Midler would have brought. Maybe Judy Davis would have been more ideal.

Movie review - "Gone Girl" (2014) ***1/2 (warning: spoilers)

There's no reason this had to be given the misogynistic treatment - it's a perfectly decent story, with some meaty twists and characterisation. It's simply that there are over a hundred little story and character choices where he seemed to take a creative position that bags women.

The woman who asks for a selfie with Ben Affleck (Kathleen Rose Perkins), Rosamund Pike's confident (Casey Wilson), the young college student (Emily Ratajowski), not one but two female current affair hostesses who pillor Affleck even before he's been charged (Missy Pyle, Sela Ward) (is this something people are allowed to do legally in the US? You're not in Australia), a cold bitch mother (Lisa Banes)... all of these, without exception, are caricatured, broadly devised and played. There's no reason they needed to have been - why couldn't the Wilson's character be a genuine person with a big heart instead of a moron who is mocked and does massive displays of emotion; Ratajowski has no depth, instead of being a three dimensional woman who is in over her head, she's another naive idiot who pouts and just wants to hump Affleck (in the living room of his sister's house... not even in a spare room).

It's like David Fincher thought, "well we have two really nice, sympathetic female characters (detective Kim Dickens and Affleck's twin sister Carrie Coon... both of whom, incidentally, dress in mannish clothes whereas the rest of the women are feminised - make of that what you will), so I can portray the rest as cartoons and/or bitches".

Compare it to the male characters, who while they do bad things are always given humanity and sympathy: Affleck, who may cheat but is put upon and has a sister who adores him; David Clennon, as Pike's peace-keeping, loving father (he doesn't bag Affleck after it comes out Affleck cheated on Pike - all those moments are given to Banes); Neil Patrick Harris, who looks like his character is going to be kinky and weird (we never get to know his back story), but turns out to be another patsy; Scoot McNairy as a poor innocent victim of Pike; Patrick Fugit, who is anti-Affleck but is allowed to have a wife in his back story and a sense of humour; Tyler Perry's defender-of-wife-bashers attorney who is allowed to be smart as a whip.

Dramatically the motivations of Pike get all fuzzy. She's initially given this clear, understandable, basic motive - getting elaborate revenge on Affleck - but then the film complicates things by introducing the McNairy character and this back story where Pike took out elaborate not-well-motivated against him that has no real logic apart from "she's crazy and manipulative". I understood why Pike went against Affleck, but she goes to ridiculous lengths against McNairy; Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction always remained human; Pike does not here. In part it's also because of the limitations of the actress - Pike is simply unable to convey passion or complexity, all she can do is sociopathic. (I wish Reese Witherspoon, who produced, had played the role).

It's a shame because there is so much good stuff here - music, photography, some of the acting, the story. And it would have been a better movie with more humanity - the relationship between Pike and Affleck would have made more sense, and has more resonance. It could have been a story about two messed up people instead of what it is: a flawed man and his psycho wife. I also wish they'd done more the Neil Patrick Harris and Scoot McNairy characters - if only these had been more manipulative and/or interesting instead of simple victims.

Another  more minor irritants - far too much of the dialogue has "writers disease" and is over quippy (I can predict the argument "they're writers!", but writers don't talk like this in dialogue with each other, only on the page). I also laughed at the end credits - all these specialist people working for Tyler Perry (he had his own hair, costume and make up person).