Robert Wagner made a few wacky heist films in the 60s - Sail a Crooked Ship, The Pink Panther, this. It has the benefit of some pretty Italian location filming, a strong cast, Raquel Welch in a series of sexy outfits and bikinis, and an unoriginal plot.
Wagner isn't very well cast as a small time crook who kidnaps a former big time crook, Vittorio de Sica - only to find out that no one wants to ransom him. So de Sica offers to mastermind a $5 million heist for Wagner and his crew.
Raquel looks spectacular but it's a lousy role - she hangs around a lot at the side of scenes. Godfrey Cambridge is one of the men. Edward G Robinson steals the film as a mastermind and it's a shame his part isn't bigger. The main fault of this film is it isn't very funny, or clever or entertaining. Even the Italian locations aren't that pretty.
Monday, June 27, 2016
Friday, June 24, 2016
Movie review - "The Green Berets" (1968) ** (warning: spoilers)
Attacked by the mostly liberal film critic establishment with almost hysterical furor in its day, enough time has passed to appreciate this movie for what it actually is, an utterly fascinating time capsule that is a pretty crap flick.
The one big big budget pro-Vietnam War film was always going to be up against it; things aren't helped by some shoddy filmmaking. Structure wise, the film really should have focused just on the siege - then they throw in this extra act about a female agent who helps them abduct a general, which clunks.
Hokey moments abound - the intro sequence where sergeant Aldo Ray professes to be non political then gives journos a lecture about why they want to be in Vietnam; the journalist from the woman's journal being apologetic on that fact; meeting Hamchuck the orphan; Hamchuck getting into bed with Jim Hutton; Hamchuck going "you funny"; pretty much every sequence involving Hamuck (including the ending exchange "was my Peterson brave?" "Yes he was brave" "what will happen to me now" "You let me worry about that you're what this war is all about".)
But it's fascinating, utterly fascinating. It takes these well warn World War Two and Western tropes - evil generals, double agent women, spies, sieges in outposts, yelling savage natives - and puts them in this fresh Vietnam War setting. It's remarkable to see Wayne talking about DMZ and saying Vietnam place names. It contrasts sharply to Vietnam War tropes (soldiers going crazy and raping/napalming Vietnamese etc) which we assume are so much more accurate because... um... we see it more in movies I guess.
Some of the action isn't bad - I enjoyed the siege component as a good old fashioned John Wayne siege story. And the film doesn't stuff around showing the harshness of war - we meet key soldiers who die (eg the likeable Jim Hutton winds up in a trap - this made me feel sad; Mike Henry gets a whole taking-out-several-VC-before-being-killed himself sequence). The Vietnamese enemy are admittedly heavily depersonalised as wild, mostly faceless savages (just as they were in Platoon and Full Metal Jacket), but the South Vietnamese are allowed a bit of characterisation: the double agent girl, the officer. It is completely worth seeing.
The one big big budget pro-Vietnam War film was always going to be up against it; things aren't helped by some shoddy filmmaking. Structure wise, the film really should have focused just on the siege - then they throw in this extra act about a female agent who helps them abduct a general, which clunks.
Hokey moments abound - the intro sequence where sergeant Aldo Ray professes to be non political then gives journos a lecture about why they want to be in Vietnam; the journalist from the woman's journal being apologetic on that fact; meeting Hamchuck the orphan; Hamchuck getting into bed with Jim Hutton; Hamchuck going "you funny"; pretty much every sequence involving Hamuck (including the ending exchange "was my Peterson brave?" "Yes he was brave" "what will happen to me now" "You let me worry about that you're what this war is all about".)
But it's fascinating, utterly fascinating. It takes these well warn World War Two and Western tropes - evil generals, double agent women, spies, sieges in outposts, yelling savage natives - and puts them in this fresh Vietnam War setting. It's remarkable to see Wayne talking about DMZ and saying Vietnam place names. It contrasts sharply to Vietnam War tropes (soldiers going crazy and raping/napalming Vietnamese etc) which we assume are so much more accurate because... um... we see it more in movies I guess.
Some of the action isn't bad - I enjoyed the siege component as a good old fashioned John Wayne siege story. And the film doesn't stuff around showing the harshness of war - we meet key soldiers who die (eg the likeable Jim Hutton winds up in a trap - this made me feel sad; Mike Henry gets a whole taking-out-several-VC-before-being-killed himself sequence). The Vietnamese enemy are admittedly heavily depersonalised as wild, mostly faceless savages (just as they were in Platoon and Full Metal Jacket), but the South Vietnamese are allowed a bit of characterisation: the double agent girl, the officer. It is completely worth seeing.
Movie review - "Zeta One" (1969) *
A terrible, terrible movie - someone once called it the worst British film ever made and maybe they had a point. Sure, there's some camp fun with all these naked/near naked women running around but it's an absolute mess - continuity all over the shop, agonisingly long sequences, stunningly unfunny running gag about a secret agent whose moustache keeps falling off, incoherent story, unpleasant sequences of men torturing women.
Some familiar faces pop in and help pass the time - James Robertson Justice, Yuette Stusgaard, Valerie Leon. It sounds as though it's going to be fun - a British Barbarella - but the film screeches to a halt within the first few minutes with a painfully slow strip poker sequence and never recovers. Dreadful.
Some familiar faces pop in and help pass the time - James Robertson Justice, Yuette Stusgaard, Valerie Leon. It sounds as though it's going to be fun - a British Barbarella - but the film screeches to a halt within the first few minutes with a painfully slow strip poker sequence and never recovers. Dreadful.
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Movie review - "Chisum" (1970) ***
Entertaining late period John Wayne movie, from his last really solid period - the True Grit era. It has the benefit of a strong story, heavily based on history. Wayne plays the real life rancher Chisum dealing with the much-adapted Lincoln County Wars - he has to deal with Tunstall, Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, etc... the same era later glamorised in Young Guns.
Wayne actually doesn't drive a lot of the action - he's more interested in keeping the peace - but because he's so imposing and such a force it doesn't matter. He easily overshadows poor old Forrest Tucker who plays the main baddie - Tucker reminded me and George Kennedy, another big boned character actor with a big presence but who was dwarfed by Wayne (to be fair the script has Wayne punch out Tucker several times).
There's a rich array of support cast: Ben Johnson as Wayne's sidekick, Geoffrey Deuel (who I'd never really heard of) as Billy the Kid, Glen Corbett (ditto) as Pat Garrett, Patric Knowles as Henry Tunstall, Christopher George as a gunslinger, Bruce Cabot as a sheriff, Richard Jaekel as another gunslinger. They've been given decent roles to play too, notably Billy the Kid's emerging psycho and Tunstall determined to lead a better life.
Some decent action (including a cattle stampede at the end), plus decent direction from Andrew McLaglen. I really liked this film.
Wayne actually doesn't drive a lot of the action - he's more interested in keeping the peace - but because he's so imposing and such a force it doesn't matter. He easily overshadows poor old Forrest Tucker who plays the main baddie - Tucker reminded me and George Kennedy, another big boned character actor with a big presence but who was dwarfed by Wayne (to be fair the script has Wayne punch out Tucker several times).
There's a rich array of support cast: Ben Johnson as Wayne's sidekick, Geoffrey Deuel (who I'd never really heard of) as Billy the Kid, Glen Corbett (ditto) as Pat Garrett, Patric Knowles as Henry Tunstall, Christopher George as a gunslinger, Bruce Cabot as a sheriff, Richard Jaekel as another gunslinger. They've been given decent roles to play too, notably Billy the Kid's emerging psycho and Tunstall determined to lead a better life.
Some decent action (including a cattle stampede at the end), plus decent direction from Andrew McLaglen. I really liked this film.
Movie review - "Kansas City Bomber" (1972) ***
A high water mark in the career of Raquel Welch: the film was written as a vehicle for her and she helped produce it, and gives one of her best performances: a single mum (Jodie Foster is one of the kids) who is determined to make it in the roller derby. Welch seems more natural than normal, chewing gum, slouching and skating her arse off. Still not brilliant or anything but beautiful
It's a gritty-ish early 70s piece - certainly no add for roller derby which is depicted as brutal, corrupt run by team owners such as Kevin McCarthy. The script depends too much on McCarthy doing Something Bad - whether encouraging Welch to brawl, trading her best friend, encouraging a rival with another skater, causing a male skater to be brutish. It's as if they couldn't bring themselves to criticise anyone else - and sometimes it's a bit silly.
But the milieu works - dingy bars and halls, cramped beds, crummy locker rooms. Its very feminist even if Raquel takes a shower or two and looks great in her costumes, with Raquel learning she can't rely on a man. (Though admittedly she's not the best mum in the world, dumping her two kids with her mum while she goes off skating.) The love scene between McCarthy and Welch is underwhelming but Helena Kallianiotes gives an interesting support performance.
The title is completely perfect even though most of the action takes place in Portland.
It's a gritty-ish early 70s piece - certainly no add for roller derby which is depicted as brutal, corrupt run by team owners such as Kevin McCarthy. The script depends too much on McCarthy doing Something Bad - whether encouraging Welch to brawl, trading her best friend, encouraging a rival with another skater, causing a male skater to be brutish. It's as if they couldn't bring themselves to criticise anyone else - and sometimes it's a bit silly.
But the milieu works - dingy bars and halls, cramped beds, crummy locker rooms. Its very feminist even if Raquel takes a shower or two and looks great in her costumes, with Raquel learning she can't rely on a man. (Though admittedly she's not the best mum in the world, dumping her two kids with her mum while she goes off skating.) The love scene between McCarthy and Welch is underwhelming but Helena Kallianiotes gives an interesting support performance.
The title is completely perfect even though most of the action takes place in Portland.
Monday, June 20, 2016
Movie review - "Fathom" (1967) **
Raquel Welch was one of the last film stars created by a studio - kind of. Under contract to 20th Century Fox, her PR pictures were getting a lot of attention so they were considering putting her in Our Man Flint as The Girl before deciding to cast her in a support role in Fantastic Voyage (as The Girl). She was borrowed by Hammer to appear in One Million Years BC where the famous still of her in a fur bikini made her a star, at least in PR terms. Enthused, Fox decided to give her her own vehicle, this spy spoof.
James Bond movies and their rip offs were hugely popular in the mid 60s - so much so that there was a sub genre of female spy movies: Modesty Blaise, Caprice, this. Welch is a sky diver who is hired by a mysterious agent (Ronald Fraser) and his offsider (Richard Briers) to find a maguffin, a nuclear triggering mechanism.
Some not particularly colourful or well budgeted adventures follow, with Welch coming up against a mysterious American (Tony Franciosa), comic Armenian (Clive Reville) and brooding Tom Adams (briefly the star of his own spy series). There's also a Chinese Secret Service agent, Greta Chi and Australia's own Reg Lye.
The film was written by Lorenzo Semple Jnr, whose work I often like, including the film of Batman; that was directed by Leslie Martinson, who also directed this. This has a similar campy tone with Revill's performance being particularly over the top. It could have done with more gags - or excitement. Or logic really.
The film is seems most inspired by is Charade with an adventurous heroine who is continually rescued by a handsome leading man who may be good or bad.
Welch isn't very good but she does look great - wearing a series of sky diving outfits, low cut outfits and bikinis, plus large hair. Annoying her character is saved a lot by Franciosa (in a bull ring, on a plane), who is a better actor but not as strong a personality - the role required someone more charming. And he calls her "poppet" too often, it gets on the nerves. I enjoyed Welch more than Franciosa and the two don't have much chemistry.
Fraser and Briers give the support cast some class.
James Bond movies and their rip offs were hugely popular in the mid 60s - so much so that there was a sub genre of female spy movies: Modesty Blaise, Caprice, this. Welch is a sky diver who is hired by a mysterious agent (Ronald Fraser) and his offsider (Richard Briers) to find a maguffin, a nuclear triggering mechanism.
Some not particularly colourful or well budgeted adventures follow, with Welch coming up against a mysterious American (Tony Franciosa), comic Armenian (Clive Reville) and brooding Tom Adams (briefly the star of his own spy series). There's also a Chinese Secret Service agent, Greta Chi and Australia's own Reg Lye.
The film was written by Lorenzo Semple Jnr, whose work I often like, including the film of Batman; that was directed by Leslie Martinson, who also directed this. This has a similar campy tone with Revill's performance being particularly over the top. It could have done with more gags - or excitement. Or logic really.
The film is seems most inspired by is Charade with an adventurous heroine who is continually rescued by a handsome leading man who may be good or bad.
Welch isn't very good but she does look great - wearing a series of sky diving outfits, low cut outfits and bikinis, plus large hair. Annoying her character is saved a lot by Franciosa (in a bull ring, on a plane), who is a better actor but not as strong a personality - the role required someone more charming. And he calls her "poppet" too often, it gets on the nerves. I enjoyed Welch more than Franciosa and the two don't have much chemistry.
Fraser and Briers give the support cast some class.
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Movie review - "Stopover Tokyo" (1957) **
Robert Wagner was lucky to be a film star, really - he had boy next door looks and was under contract to a studio, 20th Century Fox, who needed a juvenile they could groom as the next Tyrone Power, so they gave him a lot of chances, but he could never carry a film, as proved by this thriller.
You can say "the material is crap" but a real star can carry a crap thriller - like Alan Ladd, or William Holden or John Wayne or Burt Lancaster. Wagner's too lightweight, too young, and child looking - for all the cigarettes he smokes and cynical dialogue he spits out. (It's a different matter on TV where Wagner is a star.)
This was based on a novel by John Marquand which was originally a Mr Moto novel. There's no Moto in the film, which is a shame as it would've given the movie some kick. It does have location shooting in Japan - something very common in the 50s (eg House of Bamboo, Sayonara).
Wagner is never convincing as a US agent investigating an attempt to assassinate the US High Commissioner (who, conveniently, really really doesn't seem to care someone is after him). There's a pointless set up where Wagner's ID is held off, a bunch of mediocre investigation scenes, an unconvincing rivalry with fellow agent Ken Scott (even more beige than Wagner), a whimpy romance with receptionist Joan Collins (torn between two men and not really essential for story).
The most effective bit is a plot where a Japanese agent is killed and Wagner discovers he has a ten year old daughter and can't bring himself to tell her that dad's dead. Hokey, sure, but actually moving (because the girl doesn't have anyone).
I also quite liked the end where Wagner has to pretend to be a photographer to get to the flame in time to stop the assassination - then chucks the explosive away. It is pretty to look at, and there is some novelty in watching Wagner so miscast.
You can say "the material is crap" but a real star can carry a crap thriller - like Alan Ladd, or William Holden or John Wayne or Burt Lancaster. Wagner's too lightweight, too young, and child looking - for all the cigarettes he smokes and cynical dialogue he spits out. (It's a different matter on TV where Wagner is a star.)
This was based on a novel by John Marquand which was originally a Mr Moto novel. There's no Moto in the film, which is a shame as it would've given the movie some kick. It does have location shooting in Japan - something very common in the 50s (eg House of Bamboo, Sayonara).
Wagner is never convincing as a US agent investigating an attempt to assassinate the US High Commissioner (who, conveniently, really really doesn't seem to care someone is after him). There's a pointless set up where Wagner's ID is held off, a bunch of mediocre investigation scenes, an unconvincing rivalry with fellow agent Ken Scott (even more beige than Wagner), a whimpy romance with receptionist Joan Collins (torn between two men and not really essential for story).
The most effective bit is a plot where a Japanese agent is killed and Wagner discovers he has a ten year old daughter and can't bring himself to tell her that dad's dead. Hokey, sure, but actually moving (because the girl doesn't have anyone).
I also quite liked the end where Wagner has to pretend to be a photographer to get to the flame in time to stop the assassination - then chucks the explosive away. It is pretty to look at, and there is some novelty in watching Wagner so miscast.
Movie review - "Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation" (2015) **
It starts, it goes, it ends; there are stunts in it, and action, and actors. Tom Cruise is starting to show his age by looking suspiciously young. Simon Pegg has been given a bigger role, presumably so the audience have someone to like. Ving Rhames pops in and out as does Jeremy Renner; either could really have been cut from the film. Rebecca Ferguson has a more important part, as one of JJ Abrahams leggy, willowy, slender brunettes. She's okay - it's a gift role but I really missed Paula Patton. In fact, I missed many things from Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol, which now seems like an aberration in this highly mediocre series.
Everything just seems so tired - a subplot about trying to shut down IMF, Sean Harris' underwhelming villain, the throwbacks to other movies (going to Casablanca, ripping off the Albert Hall sequence from The Man Who Knew Too Much), the culture lite (Nessum Dorma), the stock MacGuffins (a USB with a list of agents), the baddies (agents gone rogue), the blonde Aryan assassins... It's like no one in this film really cared. Alec Baldwin seems to be sending it up.
Everything just seems so tired - a subplot about trying to shut down IMF, Sean Harris' underwhelming villain, the throwbacks to other movies (going to Casablanca, ripping off the Albert Hall sequence from The Man Who Knew Too Much), the culture lite (Nessum Dorma), the stock MacGuffins (a USB with a list of agents), the baddies (agents gone rogue), the blonde Aryan assassins... It's like no one in this film really cared. Alec Baldwin seems to be sending it up.
Saturday, June 18, 2016
Movie review - "The Love Ban" (1973) *
Ralph Thomas, Betty Box and Hywel Bennett had a big hit with Percy but this re-teaming was a flop - and deservedly so, because it's dreadful. It needn't have been - there's no reason you couldn't make a comedy about birth control, and the source material was a popular play. But the result it witless, dumb and miscast.
The plot has Nanette Newman refuse to sleep with husband Bennett because he won't let her go on the pill. I'm sure that was/is a genuine issue for Catholics but the pressure never seems real - not in a swinging 70s sex comedy. Maybe if this had been set in a Catholic country like Ireland where a priest played by Milo O'Shea would have real pull. Or maybe if the lead duo had been played by actors who seemed middle aged. But Bennett seems too young for his part, he doesn't come across as a morally strict middle aged man, he's like a young actor playing a middle aged man with the help of glasses and a moustache but he's never convincing. Newman is sensible and girl-next-door pretty but not a lot of fun. You never get the sense why she and Bennett would marry.
There is an interesting support cast including an early performance from John Cleese as a birth control expert. (Interestingly, Thomas cast another Python alumni, Graham Chapman, in Doctor in Trouble.) His scene is towards the beginning of the film so die hard Python fans might want to check it out then switch off; all others are best off avoiding.
The plot has Nanette Newman refuse to sleep with husband Bennett because he won't let her go on the pill. I'm sure that was/is a genuine issue for Catholics but the pressure never seems real - not in a swinging 70s sex comedy. Maybe if this had been set in a Catholic country like Ireland where a priest played by Milo O'Shea would have real pull. Or maybe if the lead duo had been played by actors who seemed middle aged. But Bennett seems too young for his part, he doesn't come across as a morally strict middle aged man, he's like a young actor playing a middle aged man with the help of glasses and a moustache but he's never convincing. Newman is sensible and girl-next-door pretty but not a lot of fun. You never get the sense why she and Bennett would marry.
There is an interesting support cast including an early performance from John Cleese as a birth control expert. (Interestingly, Thomas cast another Python alumni, Graham Chapman, in Doctor in Trouble.) His scene is towards the beginning of the film so die hard Python fans might want to check it out then switch off; all others are best off avoiding.
Movie review - "Women He's Undressed" (2013) ****
Gloriously enjoyable doco about costume designer Orry Kelly, one of the most successful Australians in Hollywood. He grew up in Kiama, moved to Sydney to work in a bank but became interested in theatre, and eventually went to New York to try and make it as an actor. He never did but he did develop contacts in the theatre world, including sharing an apartment with a young Cary Grant; he began painting murals which led to a job as a costume designer on stage, then Hollywood.
It was an amazing career - his credits include Jezebel, Casablanca, An American in Paris, Les Girls and Some Like It Hot. Three of these films won him Oscars - interestingly all three came after major slumps in Kelly's career. He liked to drink and could be difficult to work with - Jack Warner gave him the boot in the mid 40s and in the early 1950s he couldn't get a gog to save his life. But he had enough people willing to give him a job.
Some great talking heads including Jane Fonda and Angela Lansbury plus lots of costume designers who give us a technical insight into Kelly's particular gifts. There's also plenty on Kelly's sexuality and friendship with Cary Grant.
I think the device of using Darren Gishenan worked well. I wasn't as wild about the decision to not have any photos of Kelly until the very end - I can get why they did it, but it just seems odd in a film that attempted to increase his renown.
It was an amazing career - his credits include Jezebel, Casablanca, An American in Paris, Les Girls and Some Like It Hot. Three of these films won him Oscars - interestingly all three came after major slumps in Kelly's career. He liked to drink and could be difficult to work with - Jack Warner gave him the boot in the mid 40s and in the early 1950s he couldn't get a gog to save his life. But he had enough people willing to give him a job.
Some great talking heads including Jane Fonda and Angela Lansbury plus lots of costume designers who give us a technical insight into Kelly's particular gifts. There's also plenty on Kelly's sexuality and friendship with Cary Grant.
I think the device of using Darren Gishenan worked well. I wasn't as wild about the decision to not have any photos of Kelly until the very end - I can get why they did it, but it just seems odd in a film that attempted to increase his renown.
Movie review - "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" (2015) **
Long in development, underwhelming public response, and a disappointment. Some bits are quite good - it looks stylish, nice costumes and make up, etc - but it never works.
Part of this are the cast which is surprisingly uniformly bland - full of pretty young things that look like they've stepped out of drama school. England is full of great actors steeped in Austen lore but Burr Steers (or whoever is responsible) has peopled his film with bland nothings - the Bennett girls, for instance, are all pretty and that's it. They lack personality and spark. The young men are pretty and bland too. Sam Riley and Lily James are poor leads.
Part of it is the zombie stuff. We are so familiar with zombies now that the filmmakers really needed to come up with something fresh and/or interesting - they've failed to do so. There should have - the concept is strong enough - but all the zombie attacks are filmed in lazy perfunctory style that we've seen heaps of times before. It feels like the same old zombie attacks - munching brains, our heroes performing superhuman efforts of zombie fighting. Sure they spout the words but you never get a sense that anyone has a genuine feel for the period or Austen or even zombies. It occasionally comes to life - it's not awful - just dull.
Part of this are the cast which is surprisingly uniformly bland - full of pretty young things that look like they've stepped out of drama school. England is full of great actors steeped in Austen lore but Burr Steers (or whoever is responsible) has peopled his film with bland nothings - the Bennett girls, for instance, are all pretty and that's it. They lack personality and spark. The young men are pretty and bland too. Sam Riley and Lily James are poor leads.
Part of it is the zombie stuff. We are so familiar with zombies now that the filmmakers really needed to come up with something fresh and/or interesting - they've failed to do so. There should have - the concept is strong enough - but all the zombie attacks are filmed in lazy perfunctory style that we've seen heaps of times before. It feels like the same old zombie attacks - munching brains, our heroes performing superhuman efforts of zombie fighting. Sure they spout the words but you never get a sense that anyone has a genuine feel for the period or Austen or even zombies. It occasionally comes to life - it's not awful - just dull.
Movie review - "Zoolander 2" (2015) **
This very late in the day sequel didn't seem to please too many people but I found it had its moments. Sure, everyone is getting old but there's still a lot of talent on display: Stiller, Wilson, Ferrell, Wiig, etc plus Cyrus Arnold as the newcomer.
I wish Wiig had been given more to do - she's excellent - and feel maybe they made a mistake having outlandish Penelope Cruz as the love interest instead of a straight "normal" woman like Christine Taylor in the original. Kyle Mooney's character is irritating, as is the sheer number of cameos.
But lots of funny stuff, like Wiig, and Justin Bieberm and Cruz. I couldn't understand the hate. Maybe because I saw it at home on TV and not in a theatre or something.
I wish Wiig had been given more to do - she's excellent - and feel maybe they made a mistake having outlandish Penelope Cruz as the love interest instead of a straight "normal" woman like Christine Taylor in the original. Kyle Mooney's character is irritating, as is the sheer number of cameos.
But lots of funny stuff, like Wiig, and Justin Bieberm and Cruz. I couldn't understand the hate. Maybe because I saw it at home on TV and not in a theatre or something.
Monday, June 06, 2016
Movie review - "Quest for Love" (1971) **
An odd one in the career trajectory for star Joan Collins and director Ralph Thomas, this is an adaptation of a John Wyndham story about a physicist (Tom Bell) who is transported to a parallel universe where he is not a single, hardworking scientist, but a dissolute, boozy, womanising best selling novelist who is married to Joan Collins. At which point you might go "lucky me!" especially when Bell falls for Collins. But then Collins dies of a terminal illness. Bell finds himself back in his original work trying to track down the "other" Collins.
This was an odd sort of movie. The budget is low-ish, and it's very early 70s British cinema - garish clothes, ugly photography, a hero with angular features and long hair, a cast including Joan Collins and Denholm Elliot. I kept thinking "this is TV this is TV". The Twilight Zone did this sort of thing all the time. The possibilities inherent in the concept aren't deal with - Bell has no fun as his alter ego, there are no real subplots, no exploration of character, it just focuses on a love story.
But you know as a love story it's not bad. Collins falls for Bell and he for her, and it's sad when she dies. The last act consists of a lot of running around with Bell trying to track down Collins, which is dull. Collins is sweet in an atypical role from her early 70s British film industry period (Revenge, Fear in the Night, Dark Places).
This was an odd sort of movie. The budget is low-ish, and it's very early 70s British cinema - garish clothes, ugly photography, a hero with angular features and long hair, a cast including Joan Collins and Denholm Elliot. I kept thinking "this is TV this is TV". The Twilight Zone did this sort of thing all the time. The possibilities inherent in the concept aren't deal with - Bell has no fun as his alter ego, there are no real subplots, no exploration of character, it just focuses on a love story.
But you know as a love story it's not bad. Collins falls for Bell and he for her, and it's sad when she dies. The last act consists of a lot of running around with Bell trying to track down Collins, which is dull. Collins is sweet in an atypical role from her early 70s British film industry period (Revenge, Fear in the Night, Dark Places).
Sunday, June 05, 2016
Movie review - "Conspiracy of Hearts" (1960) ***1/2 (warning: spoilers)
A labour of love for Betty Box and Ralph Thomas and it's absolutely one of their best movies, a charming, moving, unashamedly sentimental look at some nuns in 1943 Italy protecting Jewish kids who have escaped from a concentration camp.
Lili Palmer is perfect as the head nun, with fine support by Sylvia Syms as the novice in love with Ronald Lewis (not a bad performance but not very believable as an Italian officer), Yvonne Mitchell is touching as a nun who doesn't want to get involved.
There's some amazing sequences - a nun is shot dead, a Jewish kid says her name is "Jew pig", the execution of George Colouris. These go right to the gut. The Yom Kippur sequence did feel long and the ending was a cheat. It builds up to the three main nuns being executed which feels dramatically right - as long as it had been arranged for the kids to escape. But they're saved by a convenient Italian changing of sides, which feels like a cop out. I know why they did it - it still feels like a cheat.
But it's handled with sensitivity and the Holocaust is actually referred to which wasn't super common around this time. I'm not surprised Box and Thomas liked the film so much.
Lili Palmer is perfect as the head nun, with fine support by Sylvia Syms as the novice in love with Ronald Lewis (not a bad performance but not very believable as an Italian officer), Yvonne Mitchell is touching as a nun who doesn't want to get involved.
There's some amazing sequences - a nun is shot dead, a Jewish kid says her name is "Jew pig", the execution of George Colouris. These go right to the gut. The Yom Kippur sequence did feel long and the ending was a cheat. It builds up to the three main nuns being executed which feels dramatically right - as long as it had been arranged for the kids to escape. But they're saved by a convenient Italian changing of sides, which feels like a cop out. I know why they did it - it still feels like a cheat.
But it's handled with sensitivity and the Holocaust is actually referred to which wasn't super common around this time. I'm not surprised Box and Thomas liked the film so much.
Movie review - "The Iron Petticoat" (1956) **
This must have seemed promising at the time - Ralph Thomas coming off Doctor in the House, Ben Hecht writing the script specifically for Katherine Hepburn, a plot well used in Ninotchka and Comrade X, Hepburn as a Russian during the Cold War. Then Bob Hope was cast. Thomas, producer Betty Box and Hepburn have all gone on the record about Hope promising to play the role as written, then having it rewritten for himself, and generally being a pain.
Sometimes stars you don't think of as teams end up working really well together eg James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich in Destry Rides Again. Sometimes they don't - Hope and Hepburn are a case in point. Hope wasn't wrong to want to change the film to suit him, but the changes are only piece-meal - there's still enough of the original in there, with his character as a Cary Grant smooth talking officer type. They would've been better off having Hope play his usual coward type.
Hepburn's performance is awful. Maybe Hope threw her off but I found it over the top and hammy and not at all funny. She's far worse than Hope. There's also a general feeling of lameness about the whole enterprise - no one seems sure of what they're going - and there's no chemistry between Hope and Hepburn. Noelle Middleton feels like a wasted opportunity as Hope's love interest.
There are one or two bright moments. I liked Hope trying to convince the Russians that Hepburn is not a traitor, Hope conning some Russian guards, and James Robertson Justice and Robert Helpmann are effective Russians.
Sometimes stars you don't think of as teams end up working really well together eg James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich in Destry Rides Again. Sometimes they don't - Hope and Hepburn are a case in point. Hope wasn't wrong to want to change the film to suit him, but the changes are only piece-meal - there's still enough of the original in there, with his character as a Cary Grant smooth talking officer type. They would've been better off having Hope play his usual coward type.
Hepburn's performance is awful. Maybe Hope threw her off but I found it over the top and hammy and not at all funny. She's far worse than Hope. There's also a general feeling of lameness about the whole enterprise - no one seems sure of what they're going - and there's no chemistry between Hope and Hepburn. Noelle Middleton feels like a wasted opportunity as Hope's love interest.
There are one or two bright moments. I liked Hope trying to convince the Russians that Hepburn is not a traitor, Hope conning some Russian guards, and James Robertson Justice and Robert Helpmann are effective Russians.
Movie review - "Steve Jobs" (2015) ****
Flamboyant, gloriously wordy, entertaining look at the life of Jobs via three product launches in his life. Having made that decision, Aaron Sorkin locked himself into the fact that major events need to happen off screen, which plays better on stage than film. He kind of tries to get around that by having brief cut aways to said event - Jobs and Woz in the famous garage, Jobs getting fired, etc.
Danny Boyle's direction is energetic and pacey, even if there are times I wish he'd slowed down to milk the emotion. The acting is uniformly excellent - but Michael Fassbender isn't a star and I think the movie would have benefited with someone more likable. Kate Winslet does wonders with that Sorkin standby, the faithful assistant (Sarah Snook is thrown in as another one for good measure - a girl with clipboard); Seth Rogen is really good as Wozniack; Jeff Daniels I was prepared to be getting sick off but he's great as the guy who sacks Jobs; Katherine Waterston is okay in perhaps the most sketchy role, the mother of Jobs' kid. It's smart and brave and I wish it had done better at the box office.
Danny Boyle's direction is energetic and pacey, even if there are times I wish he'd slowed down to milk the emotion. The acting is uniformly excellent - but Michael Fassbender isn't a star and I think the movie would have benefited with someone more likable. Kate Winslet does wonders with that Sorkin standby, the faithful assistant (Sarah Snook is thrown in as another one for good measure - a girl with clipboard); Seth Rogen is really good as Wozniack; Jeff Daniels I was prepared to be getting sick off but he's great as the guy who sacks Jobs; Katherine Waterston is okay in perhaps the most sketchy role, the mother of Jobs' kid. It's smart and brave and I wish it had done better at the box office.
Movie review - "Traveller's Joy" (1949) **
Arthur Macrae's comedy play ran for two years on the West End; based on this it's hard to see why but the subject matter - currency restrictions for English travelling in Europe - no doubt had enormous appeal for it's target market i.e. West End theatre audiences. Today its fairly hard to watch with a bunch of Poms stuck at a hotel in Stockholm. Googie Withers wants cash, runs into her ex John McCallum, who flirts with American Yolande Donlan.
There is some interest watching Withers act with McCallum (the two had just gotten married) and the topic matter has some social history value. McCallum is wooden and Withers seems a bit old - sorry if that's mean, it's just how I feel. I get they were going for light comic touch but it defeated people. The cast try, Ralph Thomas' direction is workmanlike. There aren't a lot of laughts. The Swedish setting really isn't used well - needed to be in a country that had more of a history with England eg France, Italy.
There is some interest watching Withers act with McCallum (the two had just gotten married) and the topic matter has some social history value. McCallum is wooden and Withers seems a bit old - sorry if that's mean, it's just how I feel. I get they were going for light comic touch but it defeated people. The cast try, Ralph Thomas' direction is workmanlike. There aren't a lot of laughts. The Swedish setting really isn't used well - needed to be in a country that had more of a history with England eg France, Italy.
Book review - "Father of the Blob" by Jack H Harris (2015)
Harris gives some of his best stuff up the front, talking about making The Blob then goes into his life story. Much of it at first feels familiar to regular readers of movie bios - Russian Jewish immigrant ancestors, moving to the US, becoming interested in the film industry on the exhibition side. Harris had a spell as a child actor and served in the war, then going to work for his dad. The two men clashed, Harris went out on his own and made a success of it (for instance, distributing old Laurel and Hardy films). Harris decided to go into actual production at had a home run hit with The Blob.
After that the book becomes less predictable and more interesting. He makes/finances a series of films, of wildly varying quality - The 4D Man, Dinosaurus, The Unkissed Bride with Tommy Kirk, Dark Star with John Carpenter, Schlock with John Landis, Equinox with a bunch of unknowns, Prison Ship with Fred Olen Ray.
He earns a lot of money with his movies including a Danish sex film, his marriage breaks up, he lives in Malibu where his neighbours include Larry Hagman (who makes a Blob sequel) and Jon Peters (who he becomes friends with, and Barbra Streisand, leading to Eyes of Laura Mars), doesn't like The Blob remake.
It's a jaunty tale. A lot of the time you do wonder if he's telling the truth but it's an entertaining read.
After that the book becomes less predictable and more interesting. He makes/finances a series of films, of wildly varying quality - The 4D Man, Dinosaurus, The Unkissed Bride with Tommy Kirk, Dark Star with John Carpenter, Schlock with John Landis, Equinox with a bunch of unknowns, Prison Ship with Fred Olen Ray.
He earns a lot of money with his movies including a Danish sex film, his marriage breaks up, he lives in Malibu where his neighbours include Larry Hagman (who makes a Blob sequel) and Jon Peters (who he becomes friends with, and Barbra Streisand, leading to Eyes of Laura Mars), doesn't like The Blob remake.
It's a jaunty tale. A lot of the time you do wonder if he's telling the truth but it's an entertaining read.
Movie review - "Her" (2013) ****
I was resistant seeing this because all the hipsters seemed to like it, and I have an instinctive aversion to cool group movies, and Spike Jonze is very much in the cool group, but it's lovely. Simple and lovely with Joaquin Phoenix falling in love with the voice of Scarlett Johanssen - both a very good. The characters in the film don't really judge Phoenix for what he does, and the twist is she falls for him more than he goes for her.
I did struggle to believe Phoenix's job - writing letters for people. Didn't feel like a real job felt like something people do in movies. Excellent support cast eg Chris Pratt, Amy Adams, Olivia Wilde.
I did struggle to believe Phoenix's job - writing letters for people. Didn't feel like a real job felt like something people do in movies. Excellent support cast eg Chris Pratt, Amy Adams, Olivia Wilde.
Book review - Richard Burton Diaries (published 2012)
Every Richard Burton fan should read this - a fascinating insight into the man, his thoughts, ramblings, demons, passions. Melyvn Bragg's biography quotes extensively from these but nothing beats reading them, and there's a fair bit to go around- it's not consistent, with great gaps at key periods, but there is a lot, particularly in the late 60s and early 70s.
It's all there - constant talk to "E"; ramblings about politics, sport, human nature, the industry; accounts of the making of various films; traveling to various glamorous locales. I was aware Burton was a great reader though not how passionately and consistently - as he himself writes at one stage, literature, not acting or theatre or films, was the great love of his life. He read all sorts of books too: the classics, biographies, histories, pulp, classy pulp.
I didn't realise how much of a family man he was - even though the kids didn't live with them most of the time they are always turning up for breaks and the diary entries are full of concerns for what they've been up to.
The most comprehensive behind the scenes accounts concern Raid on Rommell, Staircase, Boom, Villain, Taming of the Shrew, Anne of a Thousand Days, Assassination of Trotsky, Bluebeard plus the early 80s revival of Camelot.
The most entertaining bits are (sorry have to admit it) the bitch sessions - slagging off on actors (Elliot Gould), directors (Franco Zefferelli). He goes back and forth on Joe Losey. There are some fascinating "I remember when" bits, especially recalling getting contracted to Alex Korda, making My Cousin Rachel, the making of Cleopatra. There's also things like watching Alexander the Great on TV, making fun of Ice Palace.
There is a lot of genuine affection and admiration for Taylor (with whom he had a healthy sex life) and his family, mixed in with concern. His marriage to Susan Hunt clearly had good times too. He is enthusiastic about Welsh rugby and has interesting things to say about other actors.
The most moving entries concern his drinking - self loathing, little congratulatory moments when he cuts down on his drinking. It's a very big book but is very gripping.
It's all there - constant talk to "E"; ramblings about politics, sport, human nature, the industry; accounts of the making of various films; traveling to various glamorous locales. I was aware Burton was a great reader though not how passionately and consistently - as he himself writes at one stage, literature, not acting or theatre or films, was the great love of his life. He read all sorts of books too: the classics, biographies, histories, pulp, classy pulp.
I didn't realise how much of a family man he was - even though the kids didn't live with them most of the time they are always turning up for breaks and the diary entries are full of concerns for what they've been up to.
The most comprehensive behind the scenes accounts concern Raid on Rommell, Staircase, Boom, Villain, Taming of the Shrew, Anne of a Thousand Days, Assassination of Trotsky, Bluebeard plus the early 80s revival of Camelot.
The most entertaining bits are (sorry have to admit it) the bitch sessions - slagging off on actors (Elliot Gould), directors (Franco Zefferelli). He goes back and forth on Joe Losey. There are some fascinating "I remember when" bits, especially recalling getting contracted to Alex Korda, making My Cousin Rachel, the making of Cleopatra. There's also things like watching Alexander the Great on TV, making fun of Ice Palace.
There is a lot of genuine affection and admiration for Taylor (with whom he had a healthy sex life) and his family, mixed in with concern. His marriage to Susan Hunt clearly had good times too. He is enthusiastic about Welsh rugby and has interesting things to say about other actors.
The most moving entries concern his drinking - self loathing, little congratulatory moments when he cuts down on his drinking. It's a very big book but is very gripping.
Movie review - "Joy" (2015) **
I really like Jennifer Lawrence and tend to enjoy David O. Russell movies once I get in the cinema, but this was a slog. It sounds like it's going to be interesting - an unconventional biopic about the inventor of the Miracle Mop - and there are good bits, like her initial sale, and trying to sell the mop, and working for shopping networks.
But I couldn't get into it. There are all these characters - Robert de Niro as dad, Bradley Cooper as a selling executive, Edgar Ramirez as her ex, Diane Ladd as mum, Dascha Polanco as her best friend, Virginia Madsen as mum, Isabella Rossellini as dad's girlfriend, PLUS two kids - but none of them make an impact. I think it's meant to have something to do with family, and also soap operas (they cut away to some) and women's role in society. But... it doesn't hit home. It didn't work for me. Lawrence was watchable, though.
But I couldn't get into it. There are all these characters - Robert de Niro as dad, Bradley Cooper as a selling executive, Edgar Ramirez as her ex, Diane Ladd as mum, Dascha Polanco as her best friend, Virginia Madsen as mum, Isabella Rossellini as dad's girlfriend, PLUS two kids - but none of them make an impact. I think it's meant to have something to do with family, and also soap operas (they cut away to some) and women's role in society. But... it doesn't hit home. It didn't work for me. Lawrence was watchable, though.
Movie review - "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean" (1972) **
I think John Milius was a hard writer to film - at his best he wrote in such a big flamboyant style, that he needed characters and handing to match. Milius the director was never up to Milius the writer - he never quite conveyed visually the grandiosity of the scripts. Francis Ford Coppola got it right in Apocalypse Now but he's one of the few. (Just like Brian de Palma is one of the few directors to do justice to the operatic nature of David Mamet's writing.)
I can understand why they would have thought John Huston was ideal to direct The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean - like the central character, Huston was a rogue, a womaniser, a teller of tall tales. But the film he turned in is a sober, buttoned down version, with Paul Newman miscast in the lead. Oh he gives a nice enough performance, hitting all his marks, even being quite effective in the quieter moments - but he's still Paul Newman. You never believe he was an outlaw, or would grow a big beard, or be a megalomaniac. Huston himself actually would have been a better choice.
The plot consists of a series of vignettes - Bean's arrival in town, his revenge on the people who try to kill him, hanging murderer Tab Hunter (an effective performance), meeting reverend Anthony Perkins, getting a bear from John Huston, cavorting with said bear and beautiful Victoria Principal while a song plays on the soundtrack in a scene that throws back to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, taking on an albino gunman (Stacy Keach in perhaps the best bit in the film), knocking out Roddy McDowall, trying to visit Lily Langtry, losing Principal.
The final act, where McDowall becomes an unconvincing villain and Bean/Newman returns to help his daughter, the not terribly American Jacqueline Bisset, feels very tacked on and is likely to try your patience - though I did like the epilogue with Ava Gardner as Langtry.
I get the feeling the filmmakers were torn about how "likeable" to make Bean. He needed to be compelling but he isn't. Victoria Principal is beautiful but it's a terrible role - pretty adoring simpleton who dies, like Debra Paget in Broken Arrow. There doesn't seem to be any real build - it's not about bringing justice is it, since Bean is mostly lining his own pockets.
I should add though, the script was a lot of fun to read, and some people love the movie. I just didn't enjoy much watching it.
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