Movie review - "Ricki and the Flash" (2015) **

 Jonathan Demme's last dramatic feature sent him out with a minor hit, helped by the casting of Meryl Streep as a rocker. She's estranged from her family - ex husband Kevin Kline.

Interesting double bill with Rachel Gets Married - that film needed this character. 

Feels like an Australian film. I plotted this. Really poor script. From Diablo Cody! But things of great promise like Rick Springfield loving Streep - that's resolved in one scene! Endless music. Dull. 

Movie review -"The Manchurian Candidate" (2004) **1/2

 For the first half of this I found it annoying - there was no need to make it, really, and the story doens't really work outside the Cold War. I know big business is bad but they normally just buy off people instead of big conspiracies. It needed the religious fervour of the Cold War.

Meryl Streep has a high old time and Denzel Washington goes mad well - the second half where the movie forges more of its own identity is stronger.It beefs up the Janet Leigh part.

The TV pundit scenes annoyed me for some reason. 

Roger Corman has a small role! 

Book review - "There's No Going Back The Life and Work of Jonathan Demme" by David M. Stewart

 Solid biography of the director - I'm surprised there hadn't been one before now. It packs a fair bit in - his publicist, flashy dad, who had progressive politics and was a bit of a sleaze, like his son, really, who didn't always treat women well. Like his Australian first wife who he refused to allow produce.

Demme broke in as a publicist, worked in New York, interned for Joe Levine, benefited from a wealthy background, move to London, did some work on Eyewitness, then hooked up with Roger Corman, stayed with Corman a few years. Obviously talented, so much so that people kept giving him work despite a lack of hits. Indeed, he only had a few hits throughout his career. Quality of his work seemed to slip after Philadelphia with too many remakes but in his defense his focus seems to have been split, doing a lot of producing and documentaries, being involved in Haiti. A heavy smoker which is why he died relatively young.

I'm not a huge Demme fan. Something slightly lacking in the book. Maybe a layer of depth or something.

Movie review - "The Deer Hunter" (1978) ****

 A big deal in its day and the fame has lingered in part because of the notoreity of Michael Cimino. It's long - over three hours - so is probably best appreciated in the cinema. It looks gorgeous - the Pennsylvania steel towns, Vietnam and stuff.

There's New York actors pretending to be working class types and they mostly pull it off because they're excellent actors. The Russian Roulette stuff works brilliantly as a dramatic device. It's so homoerotic - the homophobia dialogue is accurate for the milieu but Chris Walken and de Niro seem to be in love and John Cazale accuses de Niro of not being interested in women and de Niro doesn't do anything in bed with Meryl Streep for a while. 

We see a deer actually be killed. There is Hollywood shenanigans in de Niro is in Nam, then runs into Walken and Savage, then they are all captured, then de Niro escapes by being super heroic then de Niro gets back and does a silly but highly effective final Russian Roulette.

John Cazale's part isn't much and I sense the roles of George Dzunda and Chuck Aspegren could be combined and Streep is the Girl and Savage's wife could've done something more but...

You know what? This is still a really good movie. It's gorgeous. The money is on screen. De Niro is superb. It's moving. Russian Roulete words a treat. The cuts are terrific. It tackles PTSD very well. It does like its characters.

Book review - "Desperately Seeking Something" by Susan Seidelman

 Entertaining book about a director who was a big deal in 1985 but then had a few under performing films then went to movie prison and never quite got out of it although she had a strong career including the pilot for Sex in the City. Written brightly. Maybe could've done with a few trims (there were a lot of bits where she says she couldn't remember the name of something). Seidelman was middle class, so isn't as traumatised - her parents subsidised her lifestyle, which every director needs, and she married well, had a kid etc. I don't meant to be dismissive, just pointing out it adds to a life.

Madonna stories are the best, offering to go down on Barbara Boyle, munching faces as she auditions love interests. Rosanne Barr offered to go down on Seideman too.

Random observation - Seidelman doesn't seem to repeat key collaborations. What happened to the writer of Susan? Why didn't she work with the same stars again? Really wish she and Rosanna Arquette worked together again (although Seidelman admits they butted heads).

Also I think the good luck that greeted Smithereens and Susan vanished later on. She didn't have the stars to make her films non-ignorable, except arguably Meryl on She Devil. Making Mr Right and Cookie needed bigger stars I feel.

Loved the story about Gary Oldman flaming out on Dylan. Had no idea about Seidelman's later movie work.

Movie review - "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" (2004) **1/2

 Terry Gilliam lite - not bad, episodic storyline, Jim Carrey having fun. Aussie Emily Browning is the main young girl. I haven't read the books. Entertaining support cast - Tim Spall, Meryl Steep, etc.

TV review - "The Only Murders in the Building" Season 3 (2023) ***

 Still fun, and Meryl Streep is always entertaining, though haven't we seen Paul Rudd play a mock version of himself before? Or just too many other actors do it? Selena Gomez seems bored. The mystery is fine. I love the Broadway stuff.

Movie review - "Little Women" (2019) ****

 Bright version of the oft film tale. Benefits from strong production values and cast. Soraise Ronan is ideal as Jo, though the show is stolen by Florence Pugh as Amy, an under-rated role. Emma Watson is fine as Meg, though Meg is a terrible part (she's pretty and gets married). An Aussie played Beth. There's Laura Dern, Saul Goodman and Meryl Streep, and two floppy black haired guys who look like Noah Baumbach.

Movie review - "The Post" (2018) ***

Solid story - I was surprised, I wasn't sure how they could get drama out of printing leaks, but they went to character, establishing Kay Graham as haunted by her husband's suicide and her own inexperience and insecurity... and having Ben Bradlee motivated by a desire to beat the Times as much as save democracy.

There's typically high quality production design, Spielberg moves the camera around and lingers over his production design in a way that suggests perhaps the material doesn't completely resonate for him - he clearly finds it interesting rather than fully emotionally engaging. But it is a smart film for grown ups.

Strong cast, Meryl is very good and Tom Hanks is fine but he simple feels miscast - when he's smoking cigarettes and being gruff you kept thinking "that's Tom Hanks acting" in a way I never did Jason Robards in that role.

TV review - "Big Little Lies Season 2" (2019) **

The acting is fantastic. The set design, costumes, etc is to die for. There are some good moments. But there's no overriding story. None of the leads have decent secrets or are in conflict with each other for extended periods of time. Laura Dern's part feels especially padded. The whole show is "fall out" of what happened in season 1. There's nothing new except Meryl Streep as the dead guy's mother but even then not much is done with her. Scenes feel choppy, written at the last minute, edited about. It doesn't feel like a cohesive goal. There's no strong narrative. They should have had Meryl kidnap the kids or something. A mess.

Movie review - "Mamma Mia" (2008) ***1/2

Why did this hit so big when say The Producers didn't do as well on the big screen? Especially with Pierce Brosnan singing so badly and a similarly inexperienced film director?

I think having more stars in it was enormously helpful.  So too was the Greek Island scenery, and an infectious good nature. It's better directed than The Producers. The story is fun, the show is fun.

There's great aspirational stuff for older and young women - older woman get to gaze at Meryl Streep, who gets to sing Abba, and have two outrageous friends (Julie Walters and Christine Baranksi) and be pursued by three hunks (Stellan Skarsgaard, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth), and live in the Greek islands, and have a great relationship with her adoring daughter. Younger woman get to pretend to be Amanda Seyfriend, who gets to sing Abba, and have two outrageous friends, and be pursued by a hunk (Dominic Cooper).

Peter Bogdanovich must look at this and go "why were they so harsh on me for At Long Last Love this lot can't sing any better than my cast" - but this has a better story and scenery and a stronger over-all cast.

Book review - "Leading Lady Sherry Lansing and the Making of a Hollywood Groundbreaker" by Stephen Galloway (2017)

Sherry Lansing seems too nice and normal to be a truly legendary Hollywood exec, like Leo B Mayer, Robert Evans or even Dawn Steel. But she was/is smart and tenacious and had an excellent track record as an exec - she even developed her own genre, Sherry Lansing thrillers, like Fatal Attraction.

This is a pretty good book, benefiting considerably from close access to its subject matter.  Lansing had a happy/sad childhood - her mother fled from Nazi Germany, her adored father died at a young age when Lansing was only nine, mum's new husband could be aloof (though they grew close). Se was smart and pretty and went to work as a teacher, but her passion, initially was for acting. She got some decent roles including in Rio Lobo for Howard Hawks. However her enthusiasm for the craft dimmed. She found a new career when she went to work as a script reader - this led to a job as an executive.

The acting and good looks would have come in handy navigating the tricky world of Hollywood studio politics. She had some mentors too such as Dan Melnick (I didn't know he was a coke fiend), James T Aubrey (who was a boyfriend), Stanley Jaffe. She was appointed president of 20th Century Fox in 1980 but really made her mark as a producer in the 80s and head of Paramount in the 90s.

Lots of time in the book is devoted to the struggles of films that became successful: Fatal Attraction (a real fight and I believe it because no one in it was a big draw, not Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Adrian Lynne), Titanic, Braveheart, Forrest Gump, The Accused, Indecent Proposal.

There are a number of irritating errors: Jonathan Kaplan had directed way more than one movie before The Accused; Tom Berenger wasn't in Southern Comfort.

But this is compensated for by all the entertaining stories: Lansing reading the riot act on Mike Myers, who had adapted Passport to Pimlico for Wayne's World 2 without clearing the rights;
There's some unexpected sweetness in Lansing's relationship with her father and Aubrey and finding true love with William Friedkin; Robert Redford was easy to deal with on Indecent Proposal; the machinations of people like Frank Price and Alan Hirschfield; Dustin Hoffman being a prick to Meryl Streep on Kramer vs Kramer.

And it's got a great "arc" in that Lansing was a woman who battled incessant prejudice and sexism (overt and subtle) to get where she was. It's a good read.

Movie review - "Manhattan" (1979) ****

An important film in the evolution of Woody Allen, Superstar - this followed up the blockbuster success of Annie Hall by being a similar adult comedy. The two movies helped set the template for many classic 90s-00s TV series which explored modern day relationships.

I wonder if its recalled as fondly as other Allen films - say Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, or Bullets over Broadway. Maybe not. In part because it's more serious, less loving - also I think the fact Allen's character goes out with a 17 year old and realises at the end that She's The One For Him, can, in hindsight, be a little off putting.

Gordon Willis' black and white photography is stunning, as are the views of New York and the use of Gershwin's music. Dianne Keaton gives a wonderful performance, so different from Annie Hall. Darling support turns from Wallace Shawn, Michael Murphy (in the Tony Roberts role), Meryl Streep (what a stunner). Mariel Hemingway is okay - a bit wooden. Woody himself gives one of his most confident star performers - funny, neurotic, but a rounded adult.

Very strong acting, jokes and situations. Its uniqueness has since been superseded by TV but it remains entertaining.

Movie review - "Suffragette" (2015) ***

The suffragette movement deserved a modern day treatment, especially with the interest in terrorism post Sept 11 and the parallels to the movement back in the day. It's handsome with typically strong British production design and acting. Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, Romola Gorai and Anne-Marie Duff are good in roles you can imagine Emily Blunt, Keir Knightly, Rebecca Hall etc playing the parts. Brendan Gleenson is superb as always as a bastard.

Plenty of things to admire. But it's dramatically wonky. Mulligan doesn't really have a strong personal relationship with anyone, except maybe her son. Husband Ben Wishaw is a passing figure (not supportive), there's no real warmth between her and Carter, Meryl Streep pops in and out. It felt not quite emotionally dramatised.

Movie review - "August: Osage County" (2013) **1/2 (warning:spoilers)

Its wonderful to see an all star adaptation of a Broadway hit and I'm sure this was a very satisfying night out at the theatre, with plenty of juicy roles and conflict and family drama and secrets coming out. On screen however it just comes across as a lot of actors yelling at each other, clearly wanting to speak in Southern accents.

There's a decent secret (a couple in love are actually brother and sister) but it's not that massive because the couple already think they're cousins. Meryl Streep gives a barnstorming performance as does Julia Roberts. There are two British actors pretending to be Americans, effectively enough, but none of them are as good as Chris Cooper - I know actors like to think they can play anything but in a heavy drama like this I think anything that chips away at the reality, even if only a little bit, hurt it.

It was just so much of it felt familiar - the sister who kept going from man to man, the dodgy boyfriend, the husband having an affair, the secret affair, the father figure, etc etc. It's not dopey comic book stuff so I suppose we should be grateful.

Movie review - "The Iron Lady" (2012) **1/2

Much to admire in this biopic - Meryl Streep's superb performance, getting all the incantations and inflections right, some stunningly good make up (they start off with this right away - I was apprehensive but what is normally bad is very well done), the sets and costumes, a strong cast of excellent actors. But the filmmakers seem more interested in Thatcher's Alzheimer's and old age banter with Dennis than politics - about a third of the film is devoted to her imaginary talks with Jim Broadbent, which hits the same beat over and over again. I don't mind five minutes or so but it goes for over half an hour.

This has the table of contents of a good movie - glimpses at Maggie's preference for Mark over Carol, we hear about how her being a woman was an advantage as well as a debit, shots of her listening to her father speak, her attitudes on the Poll tax, a snap shot of her relationship with Airey Neave, a brief moment showing her opposition to conciliatory conservatism - but little of this is dramatised. What we mostly get are montages, lots of scenes of extras banging on her car, or being the only woman. No real insight. Jim Broadbent's Denis Thatcher is just loveable cuddly and supportive - no moments of his own political views or why he loved Maggie or thoughts on their kids or the state of the nation. (This could have been a moving love story - it has the ending for one, but not the middle). There's no sense how she controlled her Parliament, or the country, or got legislation through. We have two IRA bombs (Brighton and one that killed Airey Neave) but no talk about her attitude towards Ireland.

Bob Ellis was right: it's a musical without music, all set ups for songs and theatrical devices (talking to dead people, monologues). Wonderful performance and make up, and at least it has a different sort of take on the material even if it is an undramatic one.

Script review – “Kramer vs Kramer” (1978 draft) by Robert Benton

The first Benton script I’ve read (I have seen a bunch of his moves though). It’s intelligent, thoughtful work – a very good screenplay. Reading this apart from the film means you’re not as distracted by the politics, star power and brown suits. It’s Ted’s journey from selfish man and lousy husband and father to a much nicer person.

So much of it feels true – Ted blithely apologising when his wife announces she’s going to leave (thinking that’ll fix it), his insistence that all is okay (the French toast scene is a great example of subtext in screenwriting), his denial that he was a bad husband (“I remembered every anniversary”), his work boss who now has lost a friend because Ted can’t hang with him as often, his friendship with their neighbour (has their been a better depiction of a platonic friendship between a man and a woman in a Hollywood film?)

Some interesting things which I don’t believe made the final cut – Ted talks to a “Saturday dad” who resents the time he has to spend with his child; Phyllis, his casual root in the film, has an extra scene where she plays some baseball with Billy and Ted and then a moment where she tells Ted she’s moving to do a job in another city (the big print indicates they love each other, which to be honest I never got). The script has scope for improvisation in a few scenes – it says things like “Billy and Ted are walking along talking about cartoons”. Joanna’s depression was more evident in the film – the amount of time she was away from her child is less emphasised here. And the script ends with a final shot of Billy and Ted amongst all the other families in the part. An excellent, moving script.

Movie review – “Kramer vs Kramer” (1979) ***1/2

This film has received much criticism for it’s perceived bias towards male fathers, but seeing it years on – and admitting that I am a man – it seems fair. Dustin Hoffman was clearly a neglectful husband and father, that’s made clear from the get-go – and Meryl Streep is evidently depressed. I understand mothers taking off but taking off and not seeing their child for over a year when they are young – that is big time. So it would be a mistake to regard her as a “typical unmarried mother”. (The Jane Alexander character would be closer to that.)

A story treated with sensitivity and intelligence, plus some excellent acting. It’s not a good-looking film – everyone seems to wear grey or beige suits (were there really so many late middle aged men working in advertising in New York in the late 70s), and it’s shot like a TV show. Howard Duff impresses as Hoffman’s lawyer (he looks like a boozer, with a terrific speaking voice) and the guy who plays Streep’s lawyer went on to play a defendant lawyer on Law and Order. Jo Beth Williams livens things up with some nudity (I remember this gag from the Mad magazine spoof).

Movie review – “Julie and Julia” (2009) ***

After the misfire of Bewitched Nora Ephron found form again by making a film on a subject she was really passionate about – food. When I say “found form” I really mean she made a good Nora Ephron film; my wife adored it but I found myself nodding off a bit. 

Meryl Streep is good value as Julia Childs and her relationship with Stanley Tucci is one of the most believable depictions of a loving supportive marriage (very subtly played, like the way he’s supportive and how the fact the can’t have children is conveyed). The modern section is less good; it’s simply less of an achievement to cook a lot of stuff than it was to do what Julia Childs could, the character of Julia’s husband is nothing (if they didn’t give him a character why not just make him really good looking, or funny, or cast a TV star keen to break into features?). 

Also Amy Adams is surprisingly un-engaging; I was always a big Amy Adams fan but it's like she's hamstrung by having to play a real character and has tried to dig in where she can, creating pain and frustration that's all too well. The film really just needed a good old fashioned bubbly star performance like from a young Meg Ryan, or say Reese Witherspoon or Kristen Bell. Bright support cast and great art direction if you're into that sort of thing. 

The film also gets points for acknowledging that Julia wasn't particularly appreciative of Julie when she found out about what was going on.

Book review – "Heartburn" by Nora Ephron

These days Nora Ephron is associated with sappy movies that have moments of brightness but tend to be overwhelmed by schmaltz and reference of old Hollywood classics – so it’s worth revisited this brilliant, pungent classic, a magnificent depiction of divorce. Full of brilliant moments – every page has some classic line. Very funny – how our emotions battle with our intellect, dealing with break up of marriages. There’s comments about food throughout the book and I realised she rehashed a gag in When Harry Met Sally (“Pretty. Nice. Big tits. Basic nightmare.”)