A wonderful screenplay - a true valentine to an odd ball who loved making movies. It wasn't a hit - the general public found it too strange, or didn't simply didn't care, but I think it was probably the best version that could have been done of Woods life. They start with a problem - how do you create a bright climax out of the life of someone who died drunk, poor and obscure? By focusing on Plan Nine from Outer Space and working back, finishing with a made up meeting with Orson Welles (my main gripe in the film - Welles complaining the studio forced him to use Charlton Heston as a Mexican in Touch of Evil when it was Welles who decided to make the character Mexican after Heston's casting). Wood had made his super personal production already with Glen or Glenda? so instead Plan Nine is created as a valentine to Bela Lugosi and a determination to make a masterpiece.
It's a script with a big heart - the centerpoint is Wood's relationship with Bela Lugosi, which is touching, but it's also about Wood and his other friends, bringing them into the gang: Bunny Breckenridge, Tor Johnson, Criswell, even reluctant Vampira - and finding love himself with Kathy. One of the most loving depictions of movie making I can remember.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Movie review - "Romance on the High Seas" (1948) **
No slowly-working-your-way-up-the-cinematic-food-chain for Doris Day - like Errol Flynn before her, her first Hollywood film was a well-funded, specifically-crafted starring vehicle (though one I assume was devised for another star) and a hit, launching her straight away. And why not - she sings like an angel, is perky and pretty, full of good humour.
The film isn't much, despite some superb colour - the plot was really confusing, with married Janis Paige getting Day to take a trip pretending to be Paigein order to find out if Paige's husband Don de Fore is cheating on her, and de Fore getting private Jack Carson to go on the trip as de Fore to find out if Paige is cheating on him. Therefore there are no stakes because you know one honest chat will clear everything up - it's like the weaker Astaire-Rogers musical plots; like those movies there's a lively support actor, Oscar Levant, as piano player in love with Day.
De Fore and Paige are pretty uninspiring, I got Carson and De fore mixed up at times and Caron is an odd person to have in a musical - he sings a song and tries, but just felt weird. Levant was fun even if he too looked similar to de Fore and Carson. Day is a delight, bubby and fun and gets to sing some nice tunes.
There is some Hollywood backlot recreation of Caribbean ports including one number "The Tourist Trade". Day sings "It's Magic" which became a hit for her. Day fans will want to catch this; others not so much.
Monday, February 23, 2015
Movie review - "A Fistful of Dynamite" (1971) ***
After four Westerns that have been regarded as classics, Sergio Leone came up with a fifth that isn't - due, one suspects, to the casting in the lead of nobody's favourite action stars, Rod Steiger and James Coburn. Steiger actually is pretty good in a variation of Eli Wallach in The Good the Bad and the Ugly and Jason Robards in Once Upon a Time in the West - a colourful crook who accidentally finds himself the leader of a revolution. (This is a Western set during the Pancho Villa era of the 1910s.) He plays it broad and big as required, even though it's a bit off when we first see him he's urinating and a few minutes later he rapes a woman (I think it's meant to be alright because she's hoity toity).
I always had a soft spot for James Coburn, who does do his best but isn't entirely comfortably cast as an Irish revolutionary whose paths cross with Steiger. (Apparently George Lazenby was offered this role and turned it down!) The role is really meant for a tormented, stoic type - the Bronson/Eastwood part - and Coburn is at his best when gregarious. Also I didn't quite buy the chemistry between the two men.
It isn't as effective as other Leone Westerns but does has its moments - some epic battle scenes, the executions of revolutionaries in the rain, the discovery of the ambushed revolutionaries (it feels more like it was set in a European country occupied by the Nazis fighting a communist revolution), Ennio Morricone's score.
It's an odd combination of comedy (lots of comic explosions) and melodrama. There's lots of odd flashbacks to Coburn's menage a trois with his mate and a girl back in Ireland which feels a little kinky. Flawed, but interesting.
Movie review - "Shall We Dance?" (1937) ***
In hindsight, this can be seen as a turning point for Astaire & Rogers - while still very profitable, it was less so than Swing Time and the next two would record losses. I'm trying not to be unduly influenced by hindsight (probably inevitable, but I try) but it did seem to be weaker - despite containing some of the most famous songs in the series, 'Let's Call the Whole Thing Off', 'They All Laughed' and 'They Can't Take That Away From Me'.
The movies generally had silly stories but this one seemed especially silly - something about Astaire and Rogers pretending to be married. I think they got away with it earlier on but it was starting to grate by now - all the contrived misunderstandings and so on. The supporting players felt overly familiar - Eric Blore, Edward Everett Horton, etc. Also it lacks some of the energy of the earlier works.
There's still plenty of incredible dancing and professionalism on display: tap solos, an African American soul number (common at the time eg Day at the Races), some waltzes, a masked dance at the end. It's good, just not as good as what had come before.
The movies generally had silly stories but this one seemed especially silly - something about Astaire and Rogers pretending to be married. I think they got away with it earlier on but it was starting to grate by now - all the contrived misunderstandings and so on. The supporting players felt overly familiar - Eric Blore, Edward Everett Horton, etc. Also it lacks some of the energy of the earlier works.
There's still plenty of incredible dancing and professionalism on display: tap solos, an African American soul number (common at the time eg Day at the Races), some waltzes, a masked dance at the end. It's good, just not as good as what had come before.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Movie review - "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" (1966) ****
They don't come much bigger than this, either in terms of close ups, lingering shots, or running time. The best of the Dollars trilogy, with Eli Wallach making a welcome addition to the gang - he has a lively unscrupulousness which adds considerably to the energy of the piece.
Clint Eastwood's "Blondy" is more vulnerable here, spending a far whack of the running time at Wallach's mercy - which actually adds to the tension because he's not an invincible superhero, and makes his re-emergence at the end very satisfactory. Lee Van Cleef's "bad" is a worthy villain (or is that anti-hero?), ruthless and powerful. There is also a fine collection of supporting actors and faces such as the dying solider.
It's a genuinely good script, with plenty of twists and turns and characters double crossing each other, and the powerful motivating force of money. Setting with the Civil War backdrop gives the action extra scopre. The theme song is deservedly famous, although I actually preferred other lesser known tunes like "The Carriage of the Spirit" which are incredibly moving, particularly with all those dead soldiers - this I feel is what gives the movie an extra special resonance.
Clint Eastwood's "Blondy" is more vulnerable here, spending a far whack of the running time at Wallach's mercy - which actually adds to the tension because he's not an invincible superhero, and makes his re-emergence at the end very satisfactory. Lee Van Cleef's "bad" is a worthy villain (or is that anti-hero?), ruthless and powerful. There is also a fine collection of supporting actors and faces such as the dying solider.
It's a genuinely good script, with plenty of twists and turns and characters double crossing each other, and the powerful motivating force of money. Setting with the Civil War backdrop gives the action extra scopre. The theme song is deservedly famous, although I actually preferred other lesser known tunes like "The Carriage of the Spirit" which are incredibly moving, particularly with all those dead soldiers - this I feel is what gives the movie an extra special resonance.
TV review - "Garfunkle and Oates - Season 1" (2014) ****1/2
I can imagine these two having to go through a lot of "oh it's like Flight of the Conchords" type comments when pitching their TV show around, and while it is about two quirky singers trying to make it big, they are very different in style. This is of course female drive, with a feminist slant, whip smart and well placed genuine emotion. Fred Savage directs it perfectly. A lot of fun and I hope it runs for years.
Book review - "Bette and Joan: The Divine Feud" by Shaun Considine (1989)
The story of the famous feud between two of arguably the greatest divas in Hollywood. At times as a book it felt a little hyped and gossipy - but Considine has done his research (I really liked his book on Paddy Chayefsky) and benefits considerably from interviewing many of Bette and Joan's colleagues.
Both of them were hard working, talented pieces of work, who had more in common than they cared to admit - sure, Bette was more of a serious actor, but both knew the importance of being a star, both had atrocious track records as mothers and in the world of long term relationships, both liked being with men who adored them but then grew bored with them, both were routinely attracted to arseholes, both could be troupers but also grossly unprofessional. Some of their behaviour was shocking - the carry on and antics.
Joan seems to have been more successful as a lover - she probably liked it more - and glam-bot while Bette was the better actor. Joan became a movie star first, dipping when Bette was at her peak - but then she came back; both got a career boost from the psycho biddy films of the 1960s. Joan seems nicer than Bette. You come out of this being entertained but also sad that two women had such a knack for making themselves miserable.
Both of them were hard working, talented pieces of work, who had more in common than they cared to admit - sure, Bette was more of a serious actor, but both knew the importance of being a star, both had atrocious track records as mothers and in the world of long term relationships, both liked being with men who adored them but then grew bored with them, both were routinely attracted to arseholes, both could be troupers but also grossly unprofessional. Some of their behaviour was shocking - the carry on and antics.
Joan seems to have been more successful as a lover - she probably liked it more - and glam-bot while Bette was the better actor. Joan became a movie star first, dipping when Bette was at her peak - but then she came back; both got a career boost from the psycho biddy films of the 1960s. Joan seems nicer than Bette. You come out of this being entertained but also sad that two women had such a knack for making themselves miserable.
Movie review - "Pacific Rim" (2013) ***
Few comic book movies are stuffed with as much exposition as this one, in which the first five minutes are like a trailer for an earlier film, with the emergence of a race of beasts from the sea, humans grappling to find a solution, creating a special suit and emerging triumphant.And the movie feels like it's got an extra, unneeded act - the last battle feels like an afterthought.
Still, its a lot of fun, with its combination of video games, theme parks and - most importantly - Japanese and Universal monster movies. Lots of effects and explosions and action. Kids especially will love it but also big kids too.
Charlie Hunnam is fine as the hero - cocky, brave, tormented by stock dead relative. Rinko Kikuchi has the novelty of being an Asian lead in a Hollywood movie who gets to kick butt but for too much of the running time is demure and passive. Idris Elbra is effective as the head of operations and Charlie Day adds good comic relief geekness.
I wish Aussie actors had been found to play the Aussies in this movie - I mean, how hard could it have been?
Book review - "It's the Pictures That Got Small" by Charles Brackett
What a sensational find! The diaries of Charles Brackett, best remembered today as Billy Wilder's collaborator - but also a top level producer at Fox for many years, plus a member of the smart New York sophisticate set of the 20s and 30s. The result is one of the best books about Golden Era Hollywood screenwriting I've ever read.
We start in 1935, with Brackett unhappy with his Hollywood existence, fretting about money and his career, making oblique references to his wife's illness (she was an alcoholic), worried about his talent and whether he's a sell out. There's a series of unsuccessful/unsatisfactory script assignments, work on his play and novel, before he's teamed up with Wilder and his career starts to flourish.
Naturally there's plenty of insight into work with Wilder - maddening, furiously talented, acerbically funny, womanising (his technique to pick up women - no kiss at all until the end of the second date, just asking lots of questions - then kiss madly, runaway, go to a phone booth and say "I can't do this it's too dangerous..." then apparently it's on for young and old), egotistical, fight happy. You can just picture it.
There's also fascinating insights into other aspects of Hollywood at the time - Marc Connelly refusing to believe his wife has left him, Brackett's swipes at the dullness of Phil Dunne (both personally and his writing) and Ray Milland's acting, Franchot Tone arguing over every comma of the script of Five Graves to Cairo, being threatened with Alan Ladd's casting in various projects, hating the thought of Helen Walker in The Uninvited, John Farrow cracking jokes about Loretta Young at the commissary. It's very reassuring to see how often Brackett and Wilder were rewritten and worried about jobs.
Less fun is Brackett's consistent casual anti-Semitism - entirely typical of men from his class and age. He seemed to enjoy being a solitary Republican among left leaning screenwriters; he also must have been good company, despite all this neurosis, because he's always going to a party.
Slide's introduction goes into detail about the Brackett-was-gay rumours, tracking their source and pointing out they are hard to prove (diaries don't indicate much gay activity but not indicate a high hetero sex drive either, and he never ever mentions his wife's alcoholism). Then he, correctly, swings the focus back to Brackett the writer and producer.
It's a wonderful, wonderful book - my only quib is it cuts out when he and Wilder break up. I would have loved to have read his account of working at 20th Century Fox - with Zanuck, Monroe, etc.
We start in 1935, with Brackett unhappy with his Hollywood existence, fretting about money and his career, making oblique references to his wife's illness (she was an alcoholic), worried about his talent and whether he's a sell out. There's a series of unsuccessful/unsatisfactory script assignments, work on his play and novel, before he's teamed up with Wilder and his career starts to flourish.
Naturally there's plenty of insight into work with Wilder - maddening, furiously talented, acerbically funny, womanising (his technique to pick up women - no kiss at all until the end of the second date, just asking lots of questions - then kiss madly, runaway, go to a phone booth and say "I can't do this it's too dangerous..." then apparently it's on for young and old), egotistical, fight happy. You can just picture it.
There's also fascinating insights into other aspects of Hollywood at the time - Marc Connelly refusing to believe his wife has left him, Brackett's swipes at the dullness of Phil Dunne (both personally and his writing) and Ray Milland's acting, Franchot Tone arguing over every comma of the script of Five Graves to Cairo, being threatened with Alan Ladd's casting in various projects, hating the thought of Helen Walker in The Uninvited, John Farrow cracking jokes about Loretta Young at the commissary. It's very reassuring to see how often Brackett and Wilder were rewritten and worried about jobs.
Less fun is Brackett's consistent casual anti-Semitism - entirely typical of men from his class and age. He seemed to enjoy being a solitary Republican among left leaning screenwriters; he also must have been good company, despite all this neurosis, because he's always going to a party.
Slide's introduction goes into detail about the Brackett-was-gay rumours, tracking their source and pointing out they are hard to prove (diaries don't indicate much gay activity but not indicate a high hetero sex drive either, and he never ever mentions his wife's alcoholism). Then he, correctly, swings the focus back to Brackett the writer and producer.
It's a wonderful, wonderful book - my only quib is it cuts out when he and Wilder break up. I would have loved to have read his account of working at 20th Century Fox - with Zanuck, Monroe, etc.
Book review - "Kay Francis: I Can't Wait to Be Forgotten" by Scott O'Brien
I consider myself a fan of the Golden Years of Hollywood but I never knew that much about Kay Francis - unlike say Bette Davis her films were not played that often on TV growing up and she didn't have a great legend around her like say Joan Crawford. In fact the only Kay Francis movie I can recall seeing is Another Dawn with Errol Flynn.
So while I'm not usually a fan of movie plots being recapped in biographies, I was glad that Francis' movies were given brief synopsizes here. It's an excellent book and I enjoyed it a lot. O'Brien was fortunate to have an ace in the hole - Francis diaries which are joyfully indiscreet. There's lots about her career, friends and love life - including rating lovers and all the abortions she had (I lost count after six).
Francis was a modern woman in many ways - she enjoyed sex a lot and was not afraid to show it, taking numerous lovers; financially savvy and independent (she hung on to her money and died a millionaire, she didn't want to have children); secretly loyal; sexually experimental (she was rumoured to be a lesbian, but the diaries show she had several lesbian experiences but mostly partnered with men); was suspicious of the press.
Francis didn't set out to be an actor at first and might never have become a star had her first marriage not ended - but it did, and she wanted adventure, and acting was in the family blood (mum was an actor), so she gave it a shot. Her rise was relatively rapid - she was in a few plays before striking a hit, Elmer the Great with Walter Huston who became a fan; this led to a screen test and Hollywood contract and she quickly established herself as a glamorous clotheshorse at Paramount, and then Warner Bros.
There are some classics on her CV - One Way Passage, Trouble in Paradise - and for a few years Francis was Queen of the Warners lot, but most of her films appear to have been lush formula melodramas which involved Francis wearing a lot of clothes. The White Angel seems to have been a turning point of her - Francis as Florence Nightingale, but the resulting movie disappointed and she lost favour with the front office. They tried to get rid of her but she wouldn't budge and thus made her play out her contract in B pictures - which seems sadistic, and was, though it also would have been a warning to any other contract players who got out of line.
Francis pushed on, and some of those Warner Bs were pretty good (King of the Underworld, My Bill from John Farrow) - and she continued to have an alright career. She never got the chance to make a Joan Crawford type comeback but she kept getting some decent roles, including a stint as producer (for Monogram, but still), then when Hollywood offers faded, as they did for everyone, she had a good run in theatre.
It was a good life, sometimes more than that - she made a lot of money, had good friends, was very independent. She also did genuinely useful and hard war work with her tours (filmed as Four Gals and a Jeep). She had a lot of lovers (some of whom received harsh reviews in her diary), including Delmer Daves, Otto Preminger and Aussie Ivan Goff.
There were some health issues - she badly burnt herself against a heater leading to a painful operation, suffered poor eyesight (due in part to studio lights), became an alcoholic and died of cancer. And I think she would have been a great mother. But anyway, a full life lived to the utmost and O'Brien gives her perfect tribute, full of affection and impressive research.
Movie review -"The Cannonball Run" (1981) **1/2
Dopey early 80s car racing movie which I remember loving as a kid. It hasn't aged that well but it maintains a genuine good natured air of mischief and fun - you do feel everyone who worked on it got along, and just wanted to have a good time. It presumably helped everyone would have gotten paid a decent amount of money and Burt Reynolds and Hal Needham were friends.
The chief appeal of this is the cast - Burt Reynolds as the nominal hero (a relaxed and self-kiddying performance), and Dom de Luise as his sidekick (who turns into Captain Chaos, which is fun); Farrah Fawcett as the girl who gets dragged along (I always liked her theme song in this); Jack Elam as a crazy doctor; Roger Moore poking fun of his James Bond image (which he kind of did anyway playing James Bond but still entertaining); Jamie Farr playing up the stereotypes as an Arab; ditto Jackie Chan as a technology obsessed Asian; Burt Convy as a tycoon competing for fun doing a wheelie most of the way (this always cracked me up); Tara Buckman and Adrienne Barbeau as a female driver with massive boobs (at least she's allowed to win); Peter Fonda as the head of some bikies, the third act villains (how is that for times are a changin'); Dean Martin and Sammy David Jnr hilarious as priests.
The movie is ramshackle and silly but it works (despite the fact there's actually not that much driving). It has a spirit that is hard to repeat though - so when they did for Cannonball Run II (and also Stroker Ace) it didn't work. (Maybe a crucial element was also Brock Yates, who wrote this - he's a car journalist and added a lot of verisimilitude).
The chief appeal of this is the cast - Burt Reynolds as the nominal hero (a relaxed and self-kiddying performance), and Dom de Luise as his sidekick (who turns into Captain Chaos, which is fun); Farrah Fawcett as the girl who gets dragged along (I always liked her theme song in this); Jack Elam as a crazy doctor; Roger Moore poking fun of his James Bond image (which he kind of did anyway playing James Bond but still entertaining); Jamie Farr playing up the stereotypes as an Arab; ditto Jackie Chan as a technology obsessed Asian; Burt Convy as a tycoon competing for fun doing a wheelie most of the way (this always cracked me up); Tara Buckman and Adrienne Barbeau as a female driver with massive boobs (at least she's allowed to win); Peter Fonda as the head of some bikies, the third act villains (how is that for times are a changin'); Dean Martin and Sammy David Jnr hilarious as priests.
The movie is ramshackle and silly but it works (despite the fact there's actually not that much driving). It has a spirit that is hard to repeat though - so when they did for Cannonball Run II (and also Stroker Ace) it didn't work. (Maybe a crucial element was also Brock Yates, who wrote this - he's a car journalist and added a lot of verisimilitude).
Friday, February 20, 2015
Movie review - "Looking for Love" (1964) *
MGM and producer Joe Pasternak struck box office gold with Where the Boys Are but could never quite turn any of his leads in that film into a star: The Horizontal Lieutenant, Come Fly with Me, Follow the Boys, this. It's a vehicle for Connie Francis, and the actual concept isn't that bad: she plays a singer who is frustrated with her career and thinks she's never going to make it, so she decides to get a husband.
Instead of going after someone rich and inappropriate while falling in love with a poor but honorable boy - the way these stories always go, she chases after an inventor (Jim Hutton) who wants to promote a clothes stand Francis invents, goes on Johnny Carson's talk show, then starts singing again, goes on Danny Thomas' talk show, and doesn't realise the boy next door (Joby Baker) is more appropriate. And she's got this best friend Susan Oliver who just kind of hangs around.
This film annoys me - it was just dumb. It's as though they had a story session with people going "hey you should put that in" and they did. Francis tries to channel Judy Holliday in some scenes but it doesn't work - maybe she could have made it as a movie star, she was likeable with that great voice, but her material is horrid here. Hutton throws himself into it as always but he's got nothing to work with - he can't even have a romance. Why is Susan Oliver in this film? Why are we meant to be happy that Francis gets Baker?
Hutton and Francis were in Boys - there's also cameos from other graduates of that flick: Yvette Mimieux, George Hamilton and Paula Prentiss. Francis sings a lot of songs and her fans won't want to miss this. But I found it an offensively stupid movie.
Instead of going after someone rich and inappropriate while falling in love with a poor but honorable boy - the way these stories always go, she chases after an inventor (Jim Hutton) who wants to promote a clothes stand Francis invents, goes on Johnny Carson's talk show, then starts singing again, goes on Danny Thomas' talk show, and doesn't realise the boy next door (Joby Baker) is more appropriate. And she's got this best friend Susan Oliver who just kind of hangs around.
This film annoys me - it was just dumb. It's as though they had a story session with people going "hey you should put that in" and they did. Francis tries to channel Judy Holliday in some scenes but it doesn't work - maybe she could have made it as a movie star, she was likeable with that great voice, but her material is horrid here. Hutton throws himself into it as always but he's got nothing to work with - he can't even have a romance. Why is Susan Oliver in this film? Why are we meant to be happy that Francis gets Baker?
Hutton and Francis were in Boys - there's also cameos from other graduates of that flick: Yvette Mimieux, George Hamilton and Paula Prentiss. Francis sings a lot of songs and her fans won't want to miss this. But I found it an offensively stupid movie.
Movie review - "The Honeymoon Machine" (1961) ***
Steve McQueen became known for playing Mr Cool but he's a lot of fun - if admittedly not entirely comfortably cast - in this breezy service comedy, an enormously popular genre in the1950s (when the great bulk of the male population had spent time in uniform) which faded out in the 1960s.
It helps that this has a decent plot, based on a play by Lorenzo Semple Jnr - McQueen and some mates (Jim Hutton, Jack Mullaley) pinch a top navy computer in order to help them win at the casino. While there McQueen romances Brigid Bazlen (not a familiar face - she was Salome in King of Kings - but bright and pretty), who is the daughter of admiral Dean Jagger; Hutton hooks up with his ex, Paula Prentiss, and they all set out to make a lot of money.
I wish they'd given Mullaley a girl to have a romance with and our lead characters are far too passive at the end - I also didn't like how Bazlen gott McQueen out of trouble simply by saying "I love him", and I wish more had been done with the Russians. But it's energetic and colourful, Jagger is a strong antagonist and I loved the camaraderie that exists between the four leads. Prentiss is a stand out as the short sighted heiress determined to nab Hutton come what may (she reminded me of Alison Janney) - they do steal the film from McQueen and Bazlen, but those two are no slouches either.
It helps that this has a decent plot, based on a play by Lorenzo Semple Jnr - McQueen and some mates (Jim Hutton, Jack Mullaley) pinch a top navy computer in order to help them win at the casino. While there McQueen romances Brigid Bazlen (not a familiar face - she was Salome in King of Kings - but bright and pretty), who is the daughter of admiral Dean Jagger; Hutton hooks up with his ex, Paula Prentiss, and they all set out to make a lot of money.
I wish they'd given Mullaley a girl to have a romance with and our lead characters are far too passive at the end - I also didn't like how Bazlen gott McQueen out of trouble simply by saying "I love him", and I wish more had been done with the Russians. But it's energetic and colourful, Jagger is a strong antagonist and I loved the camaraderie that exists between the four leads. Prentiss is a stand out as the short sighted heiress determined to nab Hutton come what may (she reminded me of Alison Janney) - they do steal the film from McQueen and Bazlen, but those two are no slouches either.
Movie review -"The Horizontal Lieutenant" (1962) **
Could Jim Hutton ever have been a star? Producers loved casting him in support roles in comedies and action films during the 60s, but he rarely got a lead. This puts him front and center, in what should have been sure fire material - albeit in 1962 starting to be a little dated: to wit, a service comedy from MGM via old veterans Richard Thorpe (director) and George Wells (writer). But it's not very good and Hutton flounders
Maybe he didn't have what it took - he was often compared at his peak to James Stewart (a similarly gangling type of actor) but he never had Stewart's intensity or voice. But he was an easy going, charming actor with a likeable presence and real flair for comedy - I think he could have carried more movies as star, with better material.
It's the story that sinks this. Hutton plays a bumbling officer in army intelligence who is shipped off to the islands and winds up capturing a Japanese soldier who refuses to surrender. That's not a bad idea for a movie but the story goes all over the shop - Hutton keeps making mistakes and being saved by deux ex machinas, he becomes passive for much of the story which is taken over by his Japanese American mate, we never really got a fix on his character other than "bumbling", I got other characters confused, I wasn't sure if this was set during the war or just afterwards (no one seems to regard the Japanese as any sort of threat), Paula Prentiss (who's great as always) needed more to do, there should have been some life and death stakes.
Jim Backus and Charles McGraw are on hand. It's colourful and just wants you to like it. And there is some novelty with its mostly sympathetic depiction of the Japanese.
Maybe he didn't have what it took - he was often compared at his peak to James Stewart (a similarly gangling type of actor) but he never had Stewart's intensity or voice. But he was an easy going, charming actor with a likeable presence and real flair for comedy - I think he could have carried more movies as star, with better material.
It's the story that sinks this. Hutton plays a bumbling officer in army intelligence who is shipped off to the islands and winds up capturing a Japanese soldier who refuses to surrender. That's not a bad idea for a movie but the story goes all over the shop - Hutton keeps making mistakes and being saved by deux ex machinas, he becomes passive for much of the story which is taken over by his Japanese American mate, we never really got a fix on his character other than "bumbling", I got other characters confused, I wasn't sure if this was set during the war or just afterwards (no one seems to regard the Japanese as any sort of threat), Paula Prentiss (who's great as always) needed more to do, there should have been some life and death stakes.
Jim Backus and Charles McGraw are on hand. It's colourful and just wants you to like it. And there is some novelty with its mostly sympathetic depiction of the Japanese.
Movie review - "Never Too Late" (1965) **
In his book on Broadway, The Season, William Goldman talked about the play which was adapted into this film - and ran for over a thousand performances. He gives it as an example of a crappy play which starred a very well cast Paul Ford, and the critics decided to give it a tick and it became a tick - and he accused it of encouraging producers of bad plays to keep going hoping their own works would be so lucky.
He has a point - this is fairly bad. The central idea isn't bad - Ford is a grumpy middle aged man who lives with his wife (Maureen O'Sullivan), daughter (Connie Stevens) and her husband (Jim Hutton), who finds out his wife is going to be pregnant. This of course would involve a lot of health risks for wife and baby, none of which are touched on here. Instead we get lets of Ford being grumpy and grousing at O'Sullivan and Stevens and especially Hutton. The movie is really about their relationship - they don't get along, Ford thinks Hutton is a freeloader, Hutton thinks Ford is a bastard (he works for his father in law), then Stevens wants to get pregnant too. There's also a subplot about the local mayor (Lloyd Nolan) who is thinking of buying lumber from Ford or something.
Maybe this worked on stage. Or maybe tastes have changed. But it's hard going - few decent jokes, lots of arguing, heaps of sexism. Hilarious comedy like when O'Sullivan gets pregnant and then Stevens is forced to do the cooking - ha ha - and is bad at it -ha ha. I felt opportunities were missed -we don't even see the babies get born, or meet Hutton's relatives or friends.
I did like the sequence where Hutton and Stevens are told to relax if they want to get pregnant and wind up getting even more stressed. It also looks handsome - beautifully shot in that 1960s glossy way - with a Vic Damone theme song. The actors are okay - everyone can play comedy (Jane Wyatt's in there in a throw away role) - everyone's just a bit of a dickhead.
He has a point - this is fairly bad. The central idea isn't bad - Ford is a grumpy middle aged man who lives with his wife (Maureen O'Sullivan), daughter (Connie Stevens) and her husband (Jim Hutton), who finds out his wife is going to be pregnant. This of course would involve a lot of health risks for wife and baby, none of which are touched on here. Instead we get lets of Ford being grumpy and grousing at O'Sullivan and Stevens and especially Hutton. The movie is really about their relationship - they don't get along, Ford thinks Hutton is a freeloader, Hutton thinks Ford is a bastard (he works for his father in law), then Stevens wants to get pregnant too. There's also a subplot about the local mayor (Lloyd Nolan) who is thinking of buying lumber from Ford or something.
Maybe this worked on stage. Or maybe tastes have changed. But it's hard going - few decent jokes, lots of arguing, heaps of sexism. Hilarious comedy like when O'Sullivan gets pregnant and then Stevens is forced to do the cooking - ha ha - and is bad at it -ha ha. I felt opportunities were missed -we don't even see the babies get born, or meet Hutton's relatives or friends.
I did like the sequence where Hutton and Stevens are told to relax if they want to get pregnant and wind up getting even more stressed. It also looks handsome - beautifully shot in that 1960s glossy way - with a Vic Damone theme song. The actors are okay - everyone can play comedy (Jane Wyatt's in there in a throw away role) - everyone's just a bit of a dickhead.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Movie review - "Game of Death" (1978) **
One of the most bizarre films ever made. When he died, Bruce Lee left behind some fighting footage for a movie he never got to complete (which was to star George Lazenby incidentally). Golden Harvest decided they couldn't let it go to waste, so they brought in Robert Clouse, director of Enter the Dragon, and cobbled together a plot about a Bruce Lee style actor who upsets the mob, who then try to kill him... so he goes into hiding and seeks his revenge via way of various disguises. They added a bunch of Hollywood actors to help make it more appealing for the world market.
Now that's actually a decent idea for a movie - its similar to the premise of Return to Eden, and is based in strong emotion (desire for revenge, watching your partner think you are dead). But the kick off is weak - I didn't buy that they would go to all this trouble to shoot Lee just to prove a point. (I wish they'd had more history with Lee, like was a childhood friend he owed a favour too or something).)
And the doubling of him isn't very effective - Bruce Lee was so distinctive it's really obvious when someone is impersonating him. They try to add extra Bruce by putting in clips from Way of the Dragon and Fists of Fury but that makes things even more distracting.
Because Bruce Lee made so few movies as a star this is still worth seeing. The fight stuff at the end is pretty good, especially the bout he has with Kareem Abdul Jabar. Colleen Camp does the best she can with her role as Lee's girlfriend (a singer who at one point is so deranged with grief she decides to shoot his assassin). Gig Young adds some professional sheen as his journalist friend, Dean Jagger is fine as a mob boss, and Hugh O'Brien good as a baddie... until he has to do kung fu. I really liked this as a kid but it so didn't hold up.
Now that's actually a decent idea for a movie - its similar to the premise of Return to Eden, and is based in strong emotion (desire for revenge, watching your partner think you are dead). But the kick off is weak - I didn't buy that they would go to all this trouble to shoot Lee just to prove a point. (I wish they'd had more history with Lee, like was a childhood friend he owed a favour too or something).)
And the doubling of him isn't very effective - Bruce Lee was so distinctive it's really obvious when someone is impersonating him. They try to add extra Bruce by putting in clips from Way of the Dragon and Fists of Fury but that makes things even more distracting.
Because Bruce Lee made so few movies as a star this is still worth seeing. The fight stuff at the end is pretty good, especially the bout he has with Kareem Abdul Jabar. Colleen Camp does the best she can with her role as Lee's girlfriend (a singer who at one point is so deranged with grief she decides to shoot his assassin). Gig Young adds some professional sheen as his journalist friend, Dean Jagger is fine as a mob boss, and Hugh O'Brien good as a baddie... until he has to do kung fu. I really liked this as a kid but it so didn't hold up.
TV review - "House of Cards" - Season 1 (2013) ****
I always loved the British book - less so the mini series, which seemed to simplify it, but it had that superb lead performance. This Americanisation has Kevin Spacey in terrific form as Frank Underwood, scheming his way to the top, talking to the audience Richard III style - a device which I don't always like but which works excellently here.
There's some brilliant moody photography, nil sexual chemistry between Spacey and Kate Mara (who's really good), a gallery of excellent actors I wasn't particularly familiar with which added to its freshness (for instance that bald guy). Robin Wright is also a stand out. The ending is a bit flat - it gives up its awesomeness to ep one in season 2.
There's some brilliant moody photography, nil sexual chemistry between Spacey and Kate Mara (who's really good), a gallery of excellent actors I wasn't particularly familiar with which added to its freshness (for instance that bald guy). Robin Wright is also a stand out. The ending is a bit flat - it gives up its awesomeness to ep one in season 2.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Movie review - "Enter the Dragon" (1973) ***** (warning: spoilers)
Dynamic, exciting, brilliantly successful attempt to present Bruce Lee in a Hollywood movie. It plunders all sorts of inspirations, from James Bond to the house of mirrors finale in Lady from Shanghai, in this perfectly acceptable tale of Lee being asked by a vague intelligence organisation (Mr Braithwaite) to take part in a martial arts competition on an island run by an evil doctor. To add some personal connection it turns out one of the doctor's lackeys was responsible for the death of Lee's sister (in a flashback scene we get to see a girl do some martial arts, very successfully for the most part - there's also a female undercover agent on the island which makes this the Bruce Lee film with the two strongest female roles, ie. they're not just simpering good girls).
Two other men are invited to the island - Jim Kelly, who has one of the best Affros you'll ever see, and a great, wry presence, plus a fun gag where he takes a whole lot of women to bed (hey I said there were some good female parts, not all).... and a quite shocking death. There's also John Saxon, who isn't entirely convincing as a top rank martial artist (he looks too heavy and slow) but he's an excellent actor with perhaps the best character in the film - a dodgy guy who still has his own code of honour, and helps Lee in the end. I really enjoyed the mutual respect that grows between Saxon and Lee (yes I know that's in part because he's my Western surrogate in the movie but it's still true), as exemplified by their nod at the end. I was also a fan of the little subplot between him and the girl on the island who winds up dead.
Some fantastic fight scenes and plenty of them. Again, Lee tackles a really old dude at the end but it feels more equal here because the guy has a claw. All time classic music score and it looks fantastic - the extra money from Warners was well spent.
Two other men are invited to the island - Jim Kelly, who has one of the best Affros you'll ever see, and a great, wry presence, plus a fun gag where he takes a whole lot of women to bed (hey I said there were some good female parts, not all).... and a quite shocking death. There's also John Saxon, who isn't entirely convincing as a top rank martial artist (he looks too heavy and slow) but he's an excellent actor with perhaps the best character in the film - a dodgy guy who still has his own code of honour, and helps Lee in the end. I really enjoyed the mutual respect that grows between Saxon and Lee (yes I know that's in part because he's my Western surrogate in the movie but it's still true), as exemplified by their nod at the end. I was also a fan of the little subplot between him and the girl on the island who winds up dead.
Some fantastic fight scenes and plenty of them. Again, Lee tackles a really old dude at the end but it feels more equal here because the guy has a claw. All time classic music score and it looks fantastic - the extra money from Warners was well spent.
Monday, February 16, 2015
Movie review - "Way of the Dragon" (1972) *** (warning: spoilers)
Directors of Bruce Lee films who aren't Bruce Lee (eg Robert Clouse, Lo Wei) sometimes get a bad wrap, with critics tending to attribute everything good in the movies to Lee. This was Lee's properly credited directorial debut - but it isn't as good as his first two films with Lo Wei, so Wei obviously bought something to the party.
It's still entertaining, mind, and the fight scenes are excellent - particularly the climactic battle between Lee and Chuck Norris in the Colosseum - but the handling is flabby, the acting campier (check out the black guy among the villains), and there is far too much dopey comedy. (This is all a matter of personal taste of course but Lee wouldn't be the first auteur who went over board on the hyuck factor).
Story wise the movie is weak too - and Lee wrote the script - because the stakes are so small: who cares if the Mob take over Lee's relative's restaurant in Rome? There's not even a good old racial element that could've been used because there are so many Chinese in the mob. (Though I did like the twist that the uncle turns dodgy and kills his own staff with a view to getting all the carnage over and done with.) Still, definitely worth watching.
It's still entertaining, mind, and the fight scenes are excellent - particularly the climactic battle between Lee and Chuck Norris in the Colosseum - but the handling is flabby, the acting campier (check out the black guy among the villains), and there is far too much dopey comedy. (This is all a matter of personal taste of course but Lee wouldn't be the first auteur who went over board on the hyuck factor).
Story wise the movie is weak too - and Lee wrote the script - because the stakes are so small: who cares if the Mob take over Lee's relative's restaurant in Rome? There's not even a good old racial element that could've been used because there are so many Chinese in the mob. (Though I did like the twist that the uncle turns dodgy and kills his own staff with a view to getting all the carnage over and done with.) Still, definitely worth watching.
Movie review - "The Big Boss" (1971) ***
Bruce Lee became a star with this Hong Kong kung fu epic. Like many of them the basic story could have been done as a Western - he's a country hick who moves to Thailand where his family work for an ice factory. It turns out this factory is the front for a drug operation.
Lee doesn't do much in the first bit of this film, being more of a watcher. (The first fight scene he literally just watches as James Tien - who was in Fists of Fury - does the chop socky against the forces of evil.) Story wise he doesn't get roused for a long time - in Fists he was angry from the get go but here he goes through this whole period where he is tempted by the dark side when the boss makes him foreman and plies him with drink and gives him a hooker to sleep with (he has sex with her too; she goes topless which did surprise me for a Bruce Lee movie).
However then his family members start getting knocked off and he fires up and in the second half he really kicks arse and takes part in some top fight scenes (even if the Boss he defeats at the end is kind of whimpy and not worth Lee's skill.)
There's some great music. The scenery isn't that pretty - it doesn't feel much like Thailand. (I'm not sure where it was shot.)
Lee doesn't do much in the first bit of this film, being more of a watcher. (The first fight scene he literally just watches as James Tien - who was in Fists of Fury - does the chop socky against the forces of evil.) Story wise he doesn't get roused for a long time - in Fists he was angry from the get go but here he goes through this whole period where he is tempted by the dark side when the boss makes him foreman and plies him with drink and gives him a hooker to sleep with (he has sex with her too; she goes topless which did surprise me for a Bruce Lee movie).
However then his family members start getting knocked off and he fires up and in the second half he really kicks arse and takes part in some top fight scenes (even if the Boss he defeats at the end is kind of whimpy and not worth Lee's skill.)
There's some great music. The scenery isn't that pretty - it doesn't feel much like Thailand. (I'm not sure where it was shot.)
Movie review - "Fists of Fury" (1972) ***1/2*
For my money, this is the Bruce Lee classic - an excellent story, which is simple but has historical basis and lots of emotional power, a strong support cast, superb fight scenes. It's set in early 20th century Shanghai, where the Chinese were second class citizens in their own country - in particularly, according to this movie, they were persecuted by the Japanese.
Bruce Lee is the student of a real life Chinese martial arts guy who genuinely died under mysterious circumstances (we never meet him) who is determined not to take it from the Japanese. There are some very rousing moments like the Japanese (who are pretty much racially vilified in this film) taunting the Chinese, the sign that says "No dogs or Chinese allowed" (with a Sikh guard played by a browned-up Chinese), Lee's spectacular final leap (freeze frame death).
This movie has a great atmosphere of doom and menace - the constant racism of the Japanese, the struggle of the school to survive, Lee taking out the baddies one by one but ultimately being doomed, the massacre of the Chinese school. The love affair subplot is simple stock stuff but provides some necessarily relief.
Of course there are the fight scenes which are incredible - particularly the one where Lee walks alone into the enemy school and takes them apart. All the others are of high quality too. Lee is in stunningly good form - lithe, charismatic, furious, deadly. Fantastic music score.
Bruce Lee is the student of a real life Chinese martial arts guy who genuinely died under mysterious circumstances (we never meet him) who is determined not to take it from the Japanese. There are some very rousing moments like the Japanese (who are pretty much racially vilified in this film) taunting the Chinese, the sign that says "No dogs or Chinese allowed" (with a Sikh guard played by a browned-up Chinese), Lee's spectacular final leap (freeze frame death).
This movie has a great atmosphere of doom and menace - the constant racism of the Japanese, the struggle of the school to survive, Lee taking out the baddies one by one but ultimately being doomed, the massacre of the Chinese school. The love affair subplot is simple stock stuff but provides some necessarily relief.
Of course there are the fight scenes which are incredible - particularly the one where Lee walks alone into the enemy school and takes them apart. All the others are of high quality too. Lee is in stunningly good form - lithe, charismatic, furious, deadly. Fantastic music score.
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Movie review - "For a Few Dollars More" (1965) **** (warning: spoilers)
Known for being Part Two of the Clint/Leone Dollars triology, it's a surprise to see that this is actually more a Lee Van Cleef film - Clint's character is really along for the ride. He does do things, mainly shoot peeople and add a bit of tension, but it's LVC's story, really. He's searching for a super baddie for some unknown reason - just like in Once Upon a Time in the West we don't find out why it's so personal until the end (the guy killed his sister - it's not like a massive secret). Clint is another bounty hunter after the same guy and they team up to help zap them.
Gian Maria Volonte is a superb villain with Klaus Kinski offering excellent support - actually there's a whole array of interesting faces to be mown down. Singular, arresting direction by Leone, backed by that incredible Morricone music.
Clint is relatively chatty in this one, feeling like the junior partner a la Rawhide. There's plenty of juicy shoot outs and double crosses, plus some nice wry humour. Stunning photography.
Gian Maria Volonte is a superb villain with Klaus Kinski offering excellent support - actually there's a whole array of interesting faces to be mown down. Singular, arresting direction by Leone, backed by that incredible Morricone music.
Clint is relatively chatty in this one, feeling like the junior partner a la Rawhide. There's plenty of juicy shoot outs and double crosses, plus some nice wry humour. Stunning photography.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Movie review - "The Wild Racers" (1968) **1/2
I was prompted to re-visit this after reading that it was Quentin Tarantino's favourite racing movie. I think he liked the fact it was so different - he compared it to an Antonioni movie. It's certainly very arty, full of short scenes and non synchronous sound - I think there's no scene of people talking going for longer than 30 seconds, and plenty of rapid cuts and voice over... which presumably helped the unit when they went "sneak filming" in Europe. i.e. stealing shots of cars racing around monuments.
Roger Corman helped finance this and did some uncredited direction; it's a kind of a follow up to Corman's The Young Racers, which like this was shot in Europe. Fabian - in the middle of a seven film contract with AIP - is very good as the cocky race driver who is meant to help his more senior partner win but can't help winning himself. That's the gist of the plot - plus a romance with a stunningly beautiful Mimsy Farmer. (He also has flings with a few other girls who are less attractive and poor actors to boot).
Plenty of scenes of cars zipping around, groovy music and credits, great production values (it was shot all over Europe, there's trips to bull fights as well as the obligatory night clubs), consistently interesting technique (in the style of A Man and a Woman). It's beautifully shot. There's not a lot of drama going on and only Fabian gets a full fleshed character - the way the movie is made causes you to feel distance from it. Still, it's worth seeking out if you're interested in a race car movie that is very "late 60s funky".
Roger Corman helped finance this and did some uncredited direction; it's a kind of a follow up to Corman's The Young Racers, which like this was shot in Europe. Fabian - in the middle of a seven film contract with AIP - is very good as the cocky race driver who is meant to help his more senior partner win but can't help winning himself. That's the gist of the plot - plus a romance with a stunningly beautiful Mimsy Farmer. (He also has flings with a few other girls who are less attractive and poor actors to boot).
Plenty of scenes of cars zipping around, groovy music and credits, great production values (it was shot all over Europe, there's trips to bull fights as well as the obligatory night clubs), consistently interesting technique (in the style of A Man and a Woman). It's beautifully shot. There's not a lot of drama going on and only Fabian gets a full fleshed character - the way the movie is made causes you to feel distance from it. Still, it's worth seeking out if you're interested in a race car movie that is very "late 60s funky".
Saturday, February 07, 2015
Movie review - Francis #7 - "Francis in the Haunted House" (1956) **1/2 (warning: spoilers)
Donald O'Connor finally got sick of playing second fiddle to the mule and was replaced by Mickey Rooney - who actually does a good job, and it would have been nice to see the series continue with him, but this was the last one.
He's helped by the fact this has a decent basis for a story: Francis witnesses a murder and gets old chum Rooney to help him investigate. There is a lot of Cat and the Canary silliness (one of those wills were a person is required to live in a house for X amount of time, a spooky housekeeper) and repetitive action (Rooney being interrogated by cops who refuse to believe the talking mule story, Francis randomly deciding who he is and isn't going to talk to) but it has decent atmosphere, typically strong Universal black and white photography (Charles Lamont directed), a strong support cast and a genuinely good twist at the end.
It's a silly movie, but it's sweet and there's a high spirited climax.
He's helped by the fact this has a decent basis for a story: Francis witnesses a murder and gets old chum Rooney to help him investigate. There is a lot of Cat and the Canary silliness (one of those wills were a person is required to live in a house for X amount of time, a spooky housekeeper) and repetitive action (Rooney being interrogated by cops who refuse to believe the talking mule story, Francis randomly deciding who he is and isn't going to talk to) but it has decent atmosphere, typically strong Universal black and white photography (Charles Lamont directed), a strong support cast and a genuinely good twist at the end.
It's a silly movie, but it's sweet and there's a high spirited climax.
Monday, February 02, 2015
TV review - "Breaking Bad Season 1" ****
Okay so I'm just getting around to watching this, don't give me a hard time. This has one of the best concepts for a TV series in recent memory - high school teacher with lung cancer decides to make money by making crystal meth - done with intelligence and skill. I didn't love it as much as other people - maybe because it's set in the desert, or something. Or it feels a little grotty. Just being honest.
Superbly made though - and I really love how they extracted every ounce of juice out of pieces of story. Deaths aren't casual, they are hard - and pay off down the track; making money from selling drugs is hard, but not as hard as life in the lower middle classes in contemporary America. Brilliant acting.
Superbly made though - and I really love how they extracted every ounce of juice out of pieces of story. Deaths aren't casual, they are hard - and pay off down the track; making money from selling drugs is hard, but not as hard as life in the lower middle classes in contemporary America. Brilliant acting.
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