Classic Film - What classics did you watch this week? (5/30-6/5) (2024)

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Member since November 1999

Please tell us what classics you saw last week. Modern films are welcome, as well.

You know who else was just following orders? HITLER!

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Member since November 1999

Ginza Cosmetics (Mikio Naruse, 1951) - Pretty good Naruse, if not one of my favorites. Kinuyo Tanaka plays a single mother and geisha in Tokyo's bar-laden Ginza district. Life is tough, and Tanaka hopes to be able to find an eligible man to take care of her and her son. Most men she meets are total losers, though. This is a little unfocused, but it builds to a good climax. Tanaka is wonderful throughout. 7/10. yes.

Repast (Mikio Naruse, 1951) - Gentle and touching portrait of a marriage. Setsuko Hara and Ken Uehara play a young married couple who have been living in Osaka for a while now, after having met and married in Tokyo. Life in Osaka is pretty dull, especially for Hara, who does little but housewife day in and day out. Uehara doesn't make much money, and his job prospects are weak. They're in a rut. When Uehara's beautiful young niece comes for an unannounced visit, Hara's dissatisfaction with life becomes too much to bear. As is usual for Naruse, the characters are extremely well developed and their emotional dilemmas are very easy to sympathize with. The acting is excellent throughout, with Hara giving one of her very best performances. 8/10. yes/YES.

The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2015) - Dystopian sci-fi with an extremely absurdist twist. Single people are brought to a hotel where they are forced to pair up. If they don't, after a certain amount of time they will be physically transformed into an animal of their choice. Colin Farrell, the latest arrival, has chosen a lobster. This film is enjoyably odd. I especially loved the characters' robotic dialogue, which is sometimes just very funny. However, I had no real connection to it and, in the end, it didn't seem to me to be much else but weirdness for the sake of being weird. The characters and situation are so far removed from actual humanity, you'd have to work hard to find that it has anything particularly insightful to say about society, or even its more closely examined subjects like singlehood or relationships. Other recognizable actors include Rachel Weisz, John C. Reilly, Lea Seydoux and Ben Whishaw. 7/10. yes.

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (Akiva Schaffer & Jorma Taccone, 2016) - Amusing mockumentary in the vein of Spinal Tap. Andy Sandberg stars as vapid pop star Conner, who came to popularity through a hip-hop group he founded with his two best friends (the other two members of Lonely Island and the directors of the film, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone) but who has recently gone solo. Taccone has stayed on as his DJ, but he mostly just plays music through his iPod at concerts. Schaffer was infuriated with Conner's behavior and has gone rustic and become a farmer. The film is very silly and a lot of fun, with plenty of great gags, hilarious songs, and entertaining cameos. I do think it runs out of steam as it nears the end - it has to wrap up the plot and becomes semi-serious, and it kind of harms the momentum. I must beg AMPAS to recognize "I'm So Humble" and/or "Equal Rights" for Best Original Song next year. 7/10. yes.

Risen (Kevin Reynolds, 2016) - Christian films of late are factory made to appeal only to a certain kind of dim-witted Christian, stroking their egos and assuring them that they're right and that everyone else is evil and out to get them. Risen, a film which depicts the resurrection of Christ, is certainly a big step up from the likes of God's Not Dead. I wouldn't call it "good," per se, but it's more than competent. It's not quite as rousing as the epics of the '50s, but in some ways I like it's smaller approach better than something like The Robe. Joseph Fiennes stars as a Roman tribune who witnesses the crucifixion of Jeshua (man of all races Cliff Curtis). When the body goes missing, he is assigned to find it. This long stretch of the film is its biggest problem, because it's rather dull. When Fiennes does find Jesus, well, I wouldn't say it becomes fantastic or anything, but it definitely gets more interesting. I would say the big scene where he meets Jesus is quite good. It would be easy to accuse Fiennes of being one note, but I thought his performance was pretty good. He's a man in shock, and he plays it all very well. 6/10. mixed.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (Dave Green, 2016) - A gigantic mess, but a fun mess, unlike the previous film. Obviously I saw it for purely nostalgic reasons, and I think I would have loved this adaptation when I was a kid and a huge fan of the Turtles - this is as close to the cartoon series as you're going to get. I mostly liked it for the side characters it introduces - Bebop and Rocksteady (character actor Gary Anthony Williams and wrestler Sheamus) first and foremost, but also Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry), Casey Jones (Stephen Arnell) and Krang (Brad Garrett). The story is complete nonsense - my favorite example being the first, 60 second meeting between the Shredder (Brian Tee) and Krang, wherein Shredder decides to transport Krang from his dimension to Earth for a full-scale invasion. Podcasts and Youtube channels are going to have plenty of fun dissecting the idiocy of this script. The Turtles themselves come off well. I liked them plenty in the first movie and there characters are well utilized here. Will Arnett and Megan Fox are back and both are fine at what they do. Poor Laura Linney. You can almost hear her weeping behind the scenes! Hopefully she got paid well. 7/10. yes.

Re-watches

Hot Rod (Akiva Schaffer, 2007) (fourth viewing) - One of the funniest comedies of the '00s. Wish we had been able to get more Lonely Island movies between this and Popstar (and, since Popstar actually opened lower than Hot Rod did in 2007, that may be the last one we ever see). I definitely prefer this one because of the weirder jokes, which Popstar doesn't really go for. Andy Sandberg is hilarious, of course, but the funniest moments of the film probably belong to Bill Hader and Danny McBride. I also can't help but laugh an Ian McShane's poo-eating grin every single time. 8/10. yes/YES.

You know who else was just following orders? HITLER!

Member since June 2004

Rewatches of some old fave mysteries:

The Ninth Guest

The Case of the Howling Dog

The Black Camel

Eran Trece

Secret of the Blue Room

~~~~~

Jim Hutton (1934-79) & Ellery Queen

Member since October 2006

On the Bowery (Lionel Rogosin, 1956) 9/10

The end of hope.

"wades into the notorious human ruin as no other film ever did."
- Michael Atkinson

an extraordinary, agonizing documentfilled with an overwhelming sense of veracity and an unvoiced compassion for the men who have surrendered their dignity for a drink
- Arthur Knight

"Not to be churlish about it but simply to state the case as it appears to a cheerful film reviewer and ex-reporter in the byways of New York, this is a dismal exposition to be charging people money to see. You can see the same thing in many places in this city without going too far from where you live. Indeed, it is merely a good montage of good photographs of drunks and bums, scrutinized and listened to ad nauseam. And we mean ad nauseam!

True, the candid photography of actual Bowery scenesgin-mills, flop-houses, missions and drunk-cluttered doorways at dawnis sharp and unrelenting. Carl Lerner, who edited the film, has done a fine job of assembling these sordid and pitiful scenes. [] As a piece of straight documentation, "On the Bowery" makes a tough, arresting film.
[]
Much more enjoyable on the program is a thirty-minute Walt Disney film, "Man in Space," which explains with animations a projected launching of a manned rocket satellite outside the atmosphere of the earth. []"
- Bosley Crowther (The New York Times, March 19, 1957)

Die Zärtlichkeit der Wölfe / Tenderness of the Wolves (Ulli Lommel, 1973) 5+/10

Zootopia 3D (Byron Howard & Rich Moore & Jared Bush, 2016) 7/10

оий / Morphine (Aleksey Balabanov, 2008) 5+/10

High-Rise (Ben Wheatley, 2015) 5/10

I started reading the novel after watching this, which so far I like very much and find quite interesting. So, shame about the film, I guess. Maybe I'll watch it again after I'm done reading it.

歩て 歩て / Still Walking (Hirokazu Koreeda, 2008) 8/10
http://perception-de-ambiguity.tumblr.com/post/145441822293/still-walking-2008

Big Eyes (Timothy Walter Burton, 2014) 8+/10

Wow, this is just like the Zack Snyder story (his films are actually all directed by his wife, in case you didn't know). But seriously, it's written in kind of broad strokes, but in the engaging and fun(ny) way at which the Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski team (Ed Wood, The People vs. Larry Flynt, Man on the Moon) is really good at.

J'ai tué ma mère / I Killed My Mother (Xavier Dolan, 2009) 8/10

Dead of Winter (Arthur Penn, 1987) 2+/10

Tren de sombras / Train of Shadows (José Luis Guerín, 1997) 5/10

Although not at all a bad or uninteresting film (I liked the other two José Luis Guerín films I've seen, 'Los motivos de Berta' and especially 'In the City of Sylvia') this one didn't really work for me. The fact that the old footage was fabricated unfortunately very much got in the way for me during all of the different sections to one degree or another, including the old footage section itself (which overall is done well enough), and while I would be happy to watch 17 minutes of random home movie footage of people in the 20's/30's goofing around, it would really have to be the real article, those 17 minutes felt more self-indulgent to me than three hours of 'The Hateful Eight', also because after a while I was afraid that the whole film would be like that. I can never help being overly critical of those recreations of old films, thinking that this or that doesn't seem authentic, whether I'm right or not.

I also have a pet peeve with fake home movies in films always having an aggressive lack of artistry, like the filmmakers are afraid that as much as one shot that looks intentionally framed or even just an accidentally interesting-looking shot would ruin the illusion of it being authentic. Not that this fake film shows absolutely no intentionality or experimentation, but it's very, very minor. Plus, this guy was meant to be a filmmaker to some degree, wasn't he even supposed to have won some prize for making films like those? Seriously? So in this case especially the "bland & thoughtless = authentic" equation doesn't add up. They certainly did a beautiful job with aging the film material, and also with the aging of photographs and other props, I'll give them that.

Anyway, sitting through that part paid off well enough during the "old footage investigation" section which implied a love triangle going on, and it's certainly the part that worked best for me. It's also the section that most justifies creating the old footage rather than using actual one, because even if the juxtapositions, recontextualization and "discoveries" can still be considered speculative rather than proven, it wouldn't really have been possible in nearly the same way with some random found footage, partly also because I'm pretty sure there was some cheating involved in the form of additional material being shot (e.g. when blowing up a small reflection in a window and coming up with an unrealistically clear image).

Suffice it to say though, if Guerín had somehow pulled this off with actual found footage this section also would have been a hundred times more impressive and fascinating. And even with this section I'm torn between appreciating the different approach to storytelling and being annoyed at it just being what I would describe as a "fake avant-garde film", which is also how I would describe the film as a whole.

The section that shows the places in the present is to some degree like a James Benning film (I'm thinking 'Landscape Suicide') with the small but to me crucial difference that its backstory/context is completely fictional, while another section suggests that amidst the physical traces in the mansion (which are sets, props and fake photographs) there are also elusive traces of the family still being in the mansion (shadows of the past, ghosts, spirits, call it what you like), a well done section but again something that would be infinitely more powerful if there was the illusion for the viewer of some real-life basis for all of this, not that this isn't also evocative but it would simply make it work on more levels.

For what I would consider a "proper" avant-garde film (and which is a found footage film in its entirety) that is a somewhat similar hybrid of found-footage-investigation & storytelling-through-recontextualization I recommend 'Welt Spiegel Kino' by Gustav Deutsch, a lesser known work from the guy you may know from 'Shirley: Visions of Reality' or 'Film ist a Girl & a Gun'.

Music for the Movies: Tôru Takemitsu (Charlotte Zwerin, 1994) 6/10

Mystery Science Theater 3000: "High School Big Shot" (1994) 9/10
High School Big Shot (Joel Rapp, 1959) 2/10
Out of This World (producer: Jamison Handy for Jam Handy Organization, 1954)
Out of This World (producer: Jamison Handy for Jam Handy Organization, 1954) (rewatch) 6/10

Deadpool (Tim Miller, 2016) 8+/10

It's, like, this decade's 'Last Action Hero'most people wouldn't see this as a compliment, but I do. I make this comparison because it doesn't completely deconstruct the genre, it's as much a parody of the genre as it is very much a part of it. It's less subverting it than it is acknowledging the conventions, making that kind of plot feel fresh again. Also the irreverence that the film was allowed to have thanks to its R-rating truly is a breath of fresh air.

One probably won't find anything at all in the movie that will make you think, but it isn't just a string of cheap thrills and crass meta-jokes à la Seth MacFarlane either (which it easily could have been and it probably would have gotten by well enough just on the strength of its main concept and protagonist), it's actually smartly-written and well-structured. The whole thing just works, it never feels like it is just going through the motions. Also, maybe, think 'Scott Pilgrim', minus the thematic layers, minus that degree of style, minus Edgar Wright's film-savvy genius, minus the emotional depth,uhmsomehow it's still really good, though.

Fassbinder (Annekatrin Hendel, 2015) (partly; primarily the Margit Carstensen parts)

- Shorts -

Le spectre rouge / The Red Spectre (Segundo de Chomón & Ferdinand Zecca, 1907) 6/10

Provincial School (Ivan Maximov/Ivan Maksimov, 1992) 7/10
A true original.

Papillon d'amour (Nicolas Provost, 2004) 6-/10

Passo / Birth (Alê Abreu, 2007) 7-/10

Pingu's The Thing / THINGU (Lee Hardcastle, 2012) 6/10

Mankinda (Stan Vanderbeek, 1957)

Menschen im Espresso (Herbert Vesely, 1958) 4/10
Presumptuous.

Aunt Luisa (Tim Miller & Paul Taylor, 2002) 5/10

Hall of Mirrors (Warren Sonbert, 1966) 4/10

No Doubt: Don't Speak (Sophie Muller, 1996) (umpteenth viewing) 6-/10

42 Years of Swedish music in 4 minutes, as seen at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 (medley by Jonas kerlund) 7/10
https://vimeo.com/166799900

Bob Dylan: Like a Rolling Stone (Vania Heymann, 2013) 8-/10
Interactive music video. Nice idea, well executed.
http://video.bobdylan.com/desktop.html

- Other -

Louie: "Halloween/Ellie" (Louis C.K., 2011) 5+/10

The Ren & Stimpy Show: "Fire Dogs/Stimpy's Storybook Land: The Littlest Giant" (John Kricfalusi, 1991) 6-/10

On Cinema: 'The Frozen Ground' and 'Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning' (2012) 6/10

On Cinema: 'Red Dawn' and 'Life of Pi' (2012) 7/10

On Cinema: 'Grown Ups 2' and 'Pacific Rim' (2013) 6/10

On Cinema: 'Jupiter Ascending' and 'The SpongeBob Movie' (2015) 6/10

- Didn't Finish -
Calcutta (Louis Malle, 1969) [36 min]
Our Time, Our Story (2002 documentary about the New Taiwan Cinema movement) [30+ min]

- Notable Online Media -

Kanye West's VMA Speech Recut As Stand-Up Comedy Set
Michael Moore: Norway is unbelievable for americans
When Apes Become Human
The business of GIFs: Then and now
The Execution - Cyanide & Happiness Shorts
Russell Crowe Ryan Gosling Jodie Foster Sir Elton John The Graham Norton Show S19E09 [at least the Goslinger parts]
David Lynch pesky fly interview 1986
Badlands and the Art of the Voiceover
The Big Lebowski - The Importance Of A Rug | Ryan's Theory
Game of Thrones: Why Dragons Halt Progress
How Deadpool Spent Halloween
Deadpool - Gentlemen, Touch Yourself Tonight | 2016
Deadpool - Ladies, Touch Yourself Tonight | 2016
Honest Trailers - Deadpool (Feat. Deadpool)
Top 4:
DP/30: Big Eyes, Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski
Christoph Waltz discusses working with Quentin Tarantino - The New Yorker Festival - The New Yorker
Coldplay Up&Up'
Video Essay: PLEASANTVILLE "Black & White vs Color"

- just another film blog -
http://perception-de-ambiguity.tumblr.com

Member since November 1999

MUSTANG

Directed by Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Turkey, France, U.S., (2015), 96 minutes

I feel the air flowing for life's in full swing, so tell me why I cannot breathe Kate Rusby, Fallin'

Since the dawn of human history, men's ability to suppress the rights of women has been a measure of their power. Despite our social advances, even today women are often put into categories such as, as author Estela Welldon describes it, Mother, Madonna, or whor*. Accusations of being either cold and prudish or seductive and manipulative obscure the fact that sex for women is as natural and healthy a form of self expression as it is for men. Unfolding against a backdrop of adolescent sexual repression, rebellion, and loss of innocence, Director Deniz Gamze Ergüven's magical first feature Mustang tackles the issue of gender inequality that women all over the world have to confront, the title symbolizing their strength and untamed spirit.

Co-written by the director and Alice Winocour, the film is set in a rural Turkish village near the Black Sea, and takes place in a conservative patriarchal culture that discourages the expression of femininity other than in fulfilling traditional gender roles. Though Mustang is filmed in Turkey and spoken in Turkish, because France is the director's adopted country, it was France's entry for the Oscars Best Foreign Language Film award in 2016.

In the film, five orphaned teenage sisters, Lale (Güne Nezihe ensoy), Nur (Doa Zeynep Doulu), Ece (Elit Ican), Selma (Tuba Sungurolu), and Sonay (Ilayda Akdoan) are being raised in the countryside by their uncle Erol (Ayberk Pekcan, Winter Sleep) and their grandmother (Nihal G. Koldas, Kuma). Though sad that their favorite teacher (Bahar Karimoglu) is going to Istanbul, the girls enjoy the final day of their school year, engaging in horseplay with local boys in waist-deep water.

Their joyous exuberance is turned into something dirty, however, by a local gossip who accuses them of sexually touching themselves against the boys' necks and, of course, it is the girls who must pay the price. As an innocent game becomes the catalyst for intimidation, the girls are taken one by one by grandma to check their virginity and are subject to beatings from their overbearing uncle. Anything potentially corrupting is taken away such as their cell phones and computers along with their makeup. Expressive, often skimpy outfits are substituted with ugly, shapeless, colorless dresses that destroy their vibrancy.

The restrictions become even more blatant after they sneak away to attend a soccer match, even though the crowd is all female (men have been refused entry after a riot). Though Erol didn't see them at the game thanks to a relative who sabotages the electricity to the entire village, their act of rebellion is the last straw for the grandmother. The house becomes a prison as bars are put on the windows and a group of local women arrive to teach the girls cooking and housekeeping in preparation for their preordained role in life as wives and mothers. The situation is promptly described by the feisty Lale who asserts that their home has become a wife factory, and that their key function will be to produce children.

Even sadder, there are darker things going on which are not shown but are implied when we see Uncle Erol going into Nur's room at night, after which the grandmother hides the sheets. Most likely aware of what's going on but powerless to prevent it, she begins to arrange marriages for each one of them. Sonay rebels and insists that she will only marry her boyfriend Ekin (Enes Surum) which is agreed to. Selma, however, is not so fortunate. After her marriage to a boring partner, she is forced to undergo a gynecological examination when there's no blood on the sheets, despite her repeated and truthful assertions that she is a virgin. While the forced marriage plan is partially successful, it leads to tragedy that we are totally unprepared for.

Anticipating that she may need to escape this prison before she is also ground down into the passive, compliant woman the family desires, Lale is secretly taught how to drive by Yasin (Burak Yigit, Victoria), a friendly neighborhood truck driver and her thoughts turn to other possibilities. Mustang is marked by outstanding performances by the five sisters who display an intimacy that breathes love and affection. Though the film deals with disturbing subject matter, it is not a depressing film. The remarkable performances by these outstanding young women and the connection they have with each other is exhilarating as is their willingness to assert their individuality and their humanity in the face of ignorance masked by good intentions.

GRADE: A-

LOVE & FRIENDSHIP

Directed by Whit Stillman, Ireland, (2016), 92 minutes

A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment. Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Chapter VI

Lady Susan Vernon (Kate Beckinsale, Absolutely Anything), the main protagonist of Whit Stillman's (Damsels in Distress) period comedy Love & Friendship is determined to get what she wants without any pretense of hiding her ambitions. With a bow to Machiavelli, she has perfected the skill of turning evidence directed at her back towards her accusers, declaring Facts are horrid things. Based on Jane Austen's novella Lady Susan written in 1794 but not published until 1867, the story revolves around the recently widowed socialite, Lady Susan, whose reputation as "the most accomplished flirt in England" follows her from London to the home of her in-laws at Churchill Estate.

In Austen's day, an unmarried woman had few prospects for financial stability and Susan's not-so-secret dalliance with the married Lord Manawaring, the owner of the Langford estate, does not work in her favor. Though we are aware of her tendency to scheme, we only get a hint of what she's up to when her daughter Frederica (Morfydd Clark, Madame Bovary) arrives at Churchill after running away from school. Stillman introduces us to each character with a descriptive caption (though it is hardly possible to remember who's who). Lord Manawaring, (Lochlann O'Meárain, Poison Pen) is called a divinely attractive man, Sir James Martin (Tom Bennett), who plays Federica's suitor, is described as a bit of a rattle which in commonly understood terms means a simple-minded buffoon.

Lady Susan nonetheless intends for her daughter to marry Sir James, noting that he is vastly rich, rather simple, ideal. Intending to enhance her relationships with her late husband's family, Susan charms her brother-in-law, the young bachelor Reginald Decourcy (Xavier Samuel, Frankenstein) who takes the bait, much to the chagrin of his sister (Emma Greenwell, Dare to be Wild). Susan has an ally, however, in her American friend Alicia Johnson (Chloe Sevigny, #Horror), her secret confidante. Married to a much older man (Stephen Fry, The Man Who Knew Infinity), Alicia is threatened by her husband to be sent to Connecticut if her friendship with Susan continues (sounds good to me). Let Mr. Johnson's next gouty attack end more favorably, Lady Susan says to her friend. On another occasion, she laments that Mr. Johnson is "too old to be governable, too young to die."

Kate Beckinsale's performance as the cunning Lady Susan can only be described as delightful. She is thoroughly believable as the powerless woman who gains strength through her ability to bend others to her will, though her accent and rapid delivery can render some of the best lines unintelligible. Another vibrant performance is that of Bennett who has great comic timing as the inane Sir James who discovers that there are only Ten Commandments, not twelve, and that those little round green things on his plate are called peas. As the plot thickens, the film turns up its snarky wit and the time whisks by in a flurry of exuberance that lends a Shakespearean quality to the unpredictable ending.

GRADE: A-

REPEAT VIEWING
WHERE TO INVADE NEXT

Directed by Michael Moore, U.S., (2015), 120 minutes

Where to Invade Next is a satiric look at what much of the world has to offer that is not found in the U.S. Taking his camera crew to Italy, France, Finland, Slovenia, Tunisia, Portugal, Iceland, and Germany, he interviews workers, teachers, students, CEOs, government officials, and ordinary folks who tell him about the advantages they have that aren't available in the U.S.. His intention is to show how other nations treat their citizens in the workplace, schools, and prisons, including their attitudes towards women and sex, leaving it to the viewer to make comparisons and to dream.

"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits" - Einstein

by

Member since June 2002

Member since November 1999

Thanks very much. I appreciate your comment. I think you'd like the movie.

"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits" - Einstein

by

Member since June 2002

Member since November 1999

L&F is definitely not the usual period piece but it's worth a try.

"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits" - Einstein

Member since December 2008

Howard - MUSTANG is an utterly marvelous and moving film. It's one of the very best pictures I saw in 2015, and your fine, heartfelt review brings it vividly to life on the page. I certainly hope your words inspire some of those CFB-ers who think they don't make good movies anymore to rush off and watch this outstanding film.

As for WHERE TO INVADE NEXT. What a treat this delightful and thought provoking serio-comic documentary flick is. For me, it might well be Michael Moore's best film, and it made me fall in love with him all over again. Saw Moore on REAL TIME with BILL MAHER - having been ill at the time of the film's theatrical release and unable to appear on the show he was finally there to promote its DVD and Blu Ray release, recently. He has lost a lot of weight, and he reminded us so much of my dear friend "The Professor" - who hasn't lost a lot of weight, but is losing his short term memory, and my heart is breaking. I was surprised at how humble and modest a man Moore was in the flesh.

I know this isn't the CFB way Howard, but I also know how much your reviews mean to you and how much time and effort you put into them, so here comes a sincere compliment. I was in two minds about whether or not to watch WHERE TO INVADE NEXT, so I was lazily scanning reviews and humming and hawwing. I eventually came across your (full) review of it. After reading it, I wanted it to see it real bad, thus I immediately got my hands on the movie and watched it with my partner. We loved it so much and I gave it an IMDB rating of 9 out of 10. Thanks Howard.

PS. Loaned it to my passionate, brilliant, intense and dedicated, but strange and sometimes exhausting bi-polar high school science teacher friend Pete. Pete was blown away and is currently trying to persuade the school where he heads up the Science Department to start feeding the kids properly and doing away with homework.

Of course, after seeing the Portugese example, I am even more determined to persuade the ANC and anybody who will listen that legalization of all drugs is the best way forward in the fight against narcotics. It's a tough, uphill battle and the local newspaper wouldn't even print my last couple of letters about legalizing marijuana, so you can imagine how they feel about my passion to see all drugs legalized in my lifetime.

I even threatened the official opposition in SA, the Democratic Alliance, with the loss of my vote in the upcoming municipal and national elections if they didn't change their ridiculous and mean spirited policy on the legalization of marijuana. To my dismay and great sadness, the threat didn't help, and I think the f*ckers are prepared to lose my vote rather than do the right thing. Which puts me in a bit of moral dilemma. Because Julius Malema, the leader of the far left worker's party in SA, the EFF (Economic Freedom Fighters) has just asnnounced that they would legalize marijuana if they came to power. I love the way the fearless EFF have taken on the corrupt President Jacob Zuma in parliament, but I also think that if "Wee" (a nickname given to him before he fell out of favor with the ruling elite and was still the leader of the ANC's Youth Wing) Julius became President he would be the next Idi Amin. What's a man of principle to do?

"Wee" Julius in action.

The EFF take on the ANC's Chief Whip.

You gotta love the EFF for their balls Howard, but their economic policies leave much to be desired. Stiil, there is a small chance I might be the one white person in South Africa voting for them in the forthcoming elections. You are so lucky to live in Canada Howard, and sometimes I wish I lived in Canada or America, but at the end of the day I love this beautiful, vibrant, oft scary, oft dangerous, still deeply scarred country of mine soooo very much. Funny enough, my hugely successful younger brother - who is the Chief Anesthesiologist at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town and also has a thriving private practice, took his girlfriend and their two kids and left to join a practice in a spectacularly beautiful and peaceful part of Canada a few years back. They stuck it out for just over a year before deciding they missed SA too much and returned to Cape Town.

Member since September 2012

Hello JC,

Much crime in your area of SA? I've heard the beaches are dangerous after dark.

Member since December 2008

Hi honesthughgrant

Yes, there is a lot of crime in my area of SA. But there is a lot of crime in every area of SA. Nobody - anywhere - is immune from it. I live on a hill above the inner city in a rather historical old suburb - not far from where the 1820 British Settlers first landed, and our second floor apartment overlooks Nelson Mandela Bay. The quiet part where we live is safe enough during the day, and I'm pretty chill to the streets and the hot spots anyway, but you don't want to flaunt gold jewellry or a rolex when you are putting petrol in at a garage in the nearby area I call Little Nigeria. Or to draw large sums of money from an ATM in the same area. You get hit a couple of terms, and if you walk away unscathed you learn from the experience and make sure it never happens again.

The * cops can take hours to repond respond to a complaint, but the private security companies - who, with SA's strict gun laws and a constitution that at times seems to favor criminals' rights, cannot afford to be trigger happy - are red hot with amazing response times. Your alarm goes off, or someone hits the panic button and one of the their patrol cars is there within minutes. That said, while we have made our home pretty secure (after the second time an armed someone climbed up the side of the building and got into our place), we don't have an alarm or a panic button in our apartment, and don't feel the need. Of course, the building is pretty safe and secure too. You can't live in a single house (as opposed to a gated complex - where security is intense) and not have an alarm, a panic button and burglar bars, though.

One learns to be careful and not to make mistakes, and one cannot let it get to you. We are careful and aware, but we do not live in fear and, for the most part, SA is an amazing country to live in. It is not a country where you ever feel Big Brother is watching you, and the constitution protects our hard won freedoms and the rights of individuals. There is an epidemic of political corruption in the ruling party, and nepotism, and bribery is a way of life for many elected officials, cops and traffic police, but the New South Africa is still a million times better place than the old SA was.

And yes, we have some of the most beautiful beaches in SA in the city where I live, but they are definitely not safe after dark. Hell, some of them are not even safe on a deserted weekday afternoon. Nor are graveyards safe to visit on your own, which is very sad.

Despite all of the above, I would really encourage people from overseas to take advantage of the rand dollar exchange rate, the rand pound exchange rate etc etc and come here on vacation. Your money will go a whole long way and you will have the holiday of a lifetime. For the record book, tourism is flourishing - no doubt helped by the exchange rate. This unbelievably favorable exchange rate, and the top notch techicians, actors and studios available - not to mention the breathtaking locations - makes Cape Town and its surrounds a mecca for international filmmaking. When in Cape Town visit the V & A Waterfront and at any given time of the night or day you are likely to come across at least one or two movie stars or well known actors in the restaurants or shops.

Visiting the Kruger National Game Park is a widlife experience that has to be experienced to be believed and the Eastern Transvaal and the Plettenberg Bay, Wilderness, Knysna areas are among the most beautiful places in the world.

I'm getting carried away here dude. Sorry.

Member since September 2012

Member since December 2002

Kruger National Game Park is a widlife experience that has to be experienced to be believed

Is rhino poaching still an issue there?

jj

"I can't BELIEEEEEVE you're such a geese!"

Member since December 2008

It's still an issue jesus, and not only in the Kruger Park. It Also happens in the smaller game parks in the area where I live. It's heartbreaking dude, and some of the game parks have resorted to surgically removing the horns of baby rhinos in order to save these wonderful animals from being slaughtered by poachers. Here is Julian Rademeyer - a lovely, passionate man, a brilliant journalist and a friend of ours; some of his remarkable black and white images of Africa adorn our lounge walls (next to the black and white pics of Gary Cooper, Cary Grant and Alan Ladd) on the subject (watch the clip). And do try to read Julian's excellent book; KILLING FOR PROFIT: EXPOSING THE ILLEGAL RHINO HORN TRADE

http://penguin.bookslive.co.za/blog/2015/09/22/rhino-poaching-is-a-gathering-storm-killing-for-profit-author-julian-rademeyer-video/

Edited to add. My partner just saw this post and pointed out that Julian's photographs of Sub-Saharan Africa are actually alongside B/W images of Bob Dylan and James Dean. The pics of Cooper, Grant and Ladd are on what she calls my side (as opposed to her side) of the lounge. I have to fight for every bit of space - the back room houses a myriad of DVDs and film posters, but as the bookshelves in this room have filled up the DVDs and Blu Rays have drifted through to the giant book shelf in the passage, and now the lounge. All the movies I have gathered over the years are pretty cool ones, but the DVD's and Blu Rays in the lounge - which include my seventies flicks collections - are a film buff's wet dream. Collectively, they are one of the touchstones to my identity and I will continue to fight the good fight to keep them on display.

Member since November 1999

Thanks very much. I loved Mustang and I hope others will as well. Moore's film has a lot to say even though it can be a bit depressing, thinking of all the things that could be done to make people's lives better that are not done because there is no political will. I also found the segment on teaching kids in Germany about the holocaust to be very moving and I couldn't hold back the tears, even on a second viewing. I wish Moore had ended the film about fifteen minutes sooner, however, but it is still a powerful statement.

I know next to nothing about the political situation in South Africa, except that I was an ardent admirer of Mandela (at least the younger Mandela) but you seem to have some interesting characters judging from the clips you sent. I know it takes an awful lot to effect a change in attitudes that have been entrenched for generations, however. The American people want to legalize marijuana in the latest poll by 54-41% but as of now, there are only a few states that have done so but things change rapidly as witness the issue of gay marriage.

The current Libertarian candidate for President Gary Johnson, described as a former cannabis entrepreneur, is in favor of legalizing the drug. Canada, by the way, was the first country to legalize medical marijuana as early as 2001 and Trudeau has officially recommend legalization and regulation of marijuana for recreational use.

Thanks again for your comments, CFB way or not.

"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits" - Einstein

Member since December 2002

I wish Moore had ended the film about fifteen minutes sooner, however, but it is still a powerful statement.

Why? What was in that fifteen minutes that bothered you?

jj

"I can't BELIEEEEEVE you're such a geese!"

Member since November 1999

I just thought the last segment on Iceland went on too long.

"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits" - Einstein

Member since June 2007

I really liked both Mustang and Love & Friendship. Mustang really got under my skin, made me feel concerned about the girls. I was so happy with the ending.

Love really is a delight. It's intriguing how, as an Austen character, Susan is sort of the anti-Emma, working not to help others but only herself.

Great reviews!

Member since November 1999

Thanks very much. All the girls in Mustang were very good but Lale was outstanding. She was so real, it was hard not to root for her.

"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits" - Einstein

by

Member since March 2000

Re-re-re watch of perennial favorite To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) with a friend who had just read the book and Lee's other book with the local book club. Kept having to hear how the film differed from the book and stop to look up words like "entailment" may watch it again soon to re-catch the magic un-interrupted.
Just noticed on the IMDb page that John Megna is listed second in the cast list any ideas why ?

Mulholland Falls (1996) Surprisingly good film about well meaning cops going about ridding the world of badguys using pretty bad methods. I liked the actors and despite plot holes galore recommend a watch it has the feel of L.A. Confidential (1997) but not quite as violent or bleepable.

Oklahoma! (1955) Another recommend for a re-watch of an ever enjoyable musical. Noticed that the oh, so hateful Jud Fry was able to hold his own in the dream ballet sequence and during his signature song. Rousing singing and group dancing. Interesting casting choices for many of the supporting roles folks you would not expect to find in a musical.

by

Member since March 2009

Jobs - Got the Dvd from the Library and was amazed at how bad it was. I thought it was just me. I didn't really like the real Steve Jobs and don't like all the worship of Tech Giants and Businessmen in general. Afterwards, I saw it had an IMDB rating of 5.6. So, I felt vindicated.

Total Recall (2012) - A remake of the popular SF Arnold Schwarzenegger movie about a man who has a "memory implantation" and everything goes wrong. Given the advance in CGI, and a chance to improve on the original this SHOULD be better. But it isn't. Its much less funny and much dumber than the 1990 version. The special effects ARE better, but that's it. Even worse is the moronic "You go girl" action feminism. In the original, it was stupid enough when 130 lbs. Sharon Stone got into a physical fight with 200 lbs, ripped Arnold. In this version, Kate Beckinsale physically overpowers (using a Headlock!) Colin Farrell and almost beats him to a pulp. How you can remake a popular movie, spend more money, use almost the same plot, and still come out with a loser is beyond me.

by

Member since February 2011

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) 1st view. More of the same. 6/10

Terminator Genisys (2015) 1st view. Makes mincemeat of the entire franchise. 2 points for a wasted but amusing J K Simmons = 3/10

Toy Story 3 (2010) 1st view. I'm not an "animated" fan but this series is darn good. 7.5/10

Lars and the Real Girl (2007) 1st view. A real surprise. 8/10

The Crow (1994) 1st view. "Death Wish" on acid. 3/10

The Number 23 (2007) 1st view. Decent thriller with silly ending. 5/10

Operation Crossbow (1965) 2nd view. Solid WW2 espionage flick. 7/10

Broadcast News (1987) 3rd view. Amusing dramedy on journalistic ethics [is that an oxymoron these days?] which is never quite as clever as it thinks it is. 7.5/10

Conan the Barbarian (2011) 1st view. 3/10
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) 3rd view. 7/10
Excalibur (1981) 5th? view. 7.5/10

Columbo (1971 TV Series)
Episode: Playback (1975) 2nd view. With Oskar Werner, Gena Rowlands and Martha Scott. 7.5/10

"He was a poet, a scholar and a mighty warrior."

Member since June 2004

I agree with your assessment of the Toy Story series. I've seen a number of post-1990 animated films and I found a lot of them to be quite irritating. The Toy Story series is very well done. I think it's because it's not dominated by annoying references to modern pop culture.

~~~~~

Jim Hutton (1934-79) & Ellery Queen

by

Member since June 2002

My wife and I started watching the Columbo TV programs and ended up watching them all.

They all have a similar routine formula. Yet, we kept watching them til the end.
Some were very good, others not so good.

by

Member since February 2011

Watching the guest stars is one main attraction of Columbo. The first few seasons are consistently the best, after that they are definitely hit-and-miss. But still good entertainment.

"He was a poet, a scholar and a mighty warrior."

by

Member since January 2011

oh, and one more thing With that beady eye of 'is and all.

God Save the King

Member since April 2003

-The Mountain Road 7.6/10
-Fool's Parade 1971 7.1/10
-Away All Boats 7.5/10
-Tap 7.5/10
-Face of a Fugitive 6.9/10
-Mommie Dearest 6.3/10

Did I ever tell you I was struck by lightning 7 times?

Member since December 2002

Les quatre cents coups (1959) The 400 Blows Francois Truffaut 9/10 Yes

The Lobster (2015) Yorgos Lanthimos 8.5/10

Yes

Donzoko (1957)

The Lower Depths Akira Kurosawa 8/10 Yes

Whit Stillman 8/10

Yes

Apocalypto (2006) Mel Gibson 8/10

Yes

Elvis: That's the Way It Is (1970) Denis Sanders 6.5/10

Yes for hardcore Elvis fans

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016) Schaffer and Taccone 5/10

No

jj

"I can't BELIEEEEEVE you're such a geese!"

Member since April 2000

Die Nibelungen (1924)

Siegfried (Paul Richter), the son of a King, is determined to win the hand of Kriemhild (Margarete Schon), the sister of King Gunther (Theodor Loos). But to do so, he must defeat the warrior Brunhild (Hanna Ralph) who Gunther wants for his bride. Thus begins an epic tale of heroism, deceit, betrayal and revenge. Fritz Lang's astonishing 4 1/2 hour epic really needs to be seen to be believed. It's really two separate films, the first part Siegfried and the second film is Kriemhild's Revenge. The imagery is stunning as befits one of the great directors of the silent era. It's an increasingly crazy masterwork that starts off like a mythical Arthurian romantic legend and ends up as vengeful and bloody as a Shakespeare tragedy. The word epic is tossed around too often and used to describe films that aren't really epic at all. THIS is the genuine article! You're transported in a way that nothing but cinema can achieve. Visually, I'd say it's even more impressive than Lang's own Metropolis. Lang dedicates the film to the German people and at first that seems noble. Yet it's disturbing that the German "Nibelungen" are deemed heroes for their loyalty and standing by their own even with death staring them in the face. However, the person they are protecting is the murderer (Hans Adalbert Schlettow) of a hero whose only fault was trusting a weak king and the same murderer also kills a baby in front of the child's parents! Yet the heroine is deemed evil for seeking justice from the Germans for the murderer of her husband and child? It's unsettling when you realize that Atilla the Hun (Rudolf Klein Rogge) is the most sympathetic character in the film!

Murders In The Rue Morgue (1932)

In 1845 Paris, a deranged scientist (Bela Lugosi) kidnaps young women and injects them with the blood of his gorilla in the hopes of finding a mate for his ape. Very loosely based on the classic novella by Edgar Allan Poe which has been filmed many times. Directed by Robert Florey (Beast With Five Fingers), this is a very primitive film. The acting is mostly terrible (Lugosi an exception) but Florey and his ace cinematographer Karl Freund manage to create a dark, disquieting climate that instills a sense of morbid dread. This is a pre-code film but apparently the violence was unacceptable even back then so the running time was cut by about 10 minutes. It's the flip side of the beauty and the beast of King Kong which would come the following year. Part of the film's unsettling titillation is the implied sexual mating of a gorilla with the young girls. With the stiff Leon Waycoff as the nominal hero, he would become a reliable character actor once he changed his name to Leon Ames. Also in the cast a very young Arlene Francis as one of the victims, years before she became one of TV's most famous game show panelists.

Mourning Becomes Electra (1947)

As the Civil War ends, the daughter (Rosalind Russell) of a proud New England dynasty is furious that her mother (Katina Paxinou) is having an affair with the man (Leo Genn) she loves. She plots to destroy their relationship when her father (Raymond Massey) and brother (Michael Redgrave) return from the war. Unlike Tennessee Williams, America's other great American playwright Eugene O'Neill hasn't fared well (the 1962 Long Day's Journey Into Night is an exception) on film. Strange Interlude (1932) was an unmitigated disaster and his nearly 6 hour Mourning Becomes Electra was cut to 3 hours for the film version but after it performed poorly at the box office, it was edited down to 105 minutes! Not surprisingly considering the source material, it's as close to Greek tragedy as an American play has got. It was potent material for 1947 film audiences as the incestuous implications of the son's Oedipus complex and the daughter's Electra complex as well as madness, murder and adultery ran rampant. But the audience stayed away and the film lost several million dollars and it would be another 11 years before Hollywood attempted O'Neill again. It's not quite a filmed play but it isn't very cinematic either and the director Dudley Nichols (best known as a screenwriter than a director) doesn't seem to have a handle on the film. That being said, the acting is excellent in particular Redgrave as the mama's boy slowly going mad and Paxinou as the passionate mother seething in a loveless marriage. The O'Neill purists may object but I liked it overall. With Kirk Douglas, Nancy Coleman and Henry Hull.

Duel On The Mississippi (1955)

In 19th century Louisiana, the co-owner (Patricia Medina) of a gambling riverboat surreptitiously takes over the land debt of a plantation owner (John Dehner) and demands immediate payment. To prevent him from going to debtor's prison, his son (Lex Barker) agrees to be an indentured servant to the woman for three years. This low budget Columbia programmer uses stock footage and stock music to cut costs but it's modestly enjoyable in its own "B" movie way what with duels, river pirates and an all girl barroom brawl. Directed by William Castle before he moved into the exploitation horror genre (Strait Jacket, The Tingler), it's a time killer movie, not wearing out its welcome in its brief 1 hour and 12 minute running time. Not exactly a western but not quite a swashbuckler either, Barker makes for a decent Southern hunk while the exotic Medina makes for a fiery river cat. With Craig Stevens, Warren Oates, Celia Lovsky and Lita Milan.

Sissi (1955)

An unsophisticated young girl (Romy Schneider) who lives in the Bavarian countryside travels with her mother (Magda Schneider) and older sister (Uta Franz) to Austria where she catches the eye of the young Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria (Karlheinz Bohm). Directed by Ernst Marischka, this was a huge hit in Germany and spawned two sequels. It was also Romy Schneider's breakthrough role and made her one of Germany's most popular actresses. All three films were edited down and edited together, dubbed into English and released in America under the title Forever My Love in 1962. Although based on real people, the film has a charming fairy tale quality about it with princesses, castles, true love triumphing over all. In fact, Disney-esque is a good way to describe it. Schneider would later play the Empress Elizabeth once again in Visconti's Ludwig (1973). It's the kind of film 7 year old girls would probably adore but captivating enough to hold the adults attention too. With Gustav Knuth and Vilma Degischer.

La Maschera Del Demonio (aka Black Sunday) (1960)

In 1630, a beautiful princess (Barbara Steele) is tortured and burned at the stake under orders from her brother but not before she places a curse on all her brother's descendants. 200 years later, she returns to carry out her threat. Based on the short story Viy by Nikolai Gogol, this was Mario Bava's "official" film debut as a director. A noted cinematographer, he had often helped direct several films on which he worked on. For 1960, this was quite a gruesome film, so much so that it was banned in Great Britain for 8 years. It's an evocative and stylish piece of Gothic horror pulp that was influential enough to be copied several times over but Bava's imitators have never matched his luxurious eye. The American version has been cut by 2 to 3 minutes and rescored by Les Baxter (Roberto Nicolosi scored the Italian version). This was the exotic Steele's first horror film and she quickly became known as the scream queen, at least until Jamie Lee Curtis came along to challenge her title. With John Richardson, Andrea Checchi and Enrico Olivieri.

The Children's Hour (1961)

Two young women (Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine) manage an exclusive boarding school for girls. When a nasty and venomous student (Karen Balkin) is disciplined, she retaliates by telling her grandmother (Fay Bainter) that the teachers are flaunting their lesbian affair in front of the students. The child's malicious lie has far reaching consequences for all concerned. Based on Lillian Hellman's 1934 hit play and directed by William Wyler, who had previously directed the first film version in 1936 under the title These Three. The 1936 film changed the lesbian accusation to one of a love triangle between the two teachers and a man. These Three is an excellent film and unfortunately, The Children's Hour is often pushed aside in favor of the 1936 film. Hour remains a potent piece of film making with terrific turns by MacLaine and Bainter and alas, remains as relevant today as it was in 1934. In actuality and why Hellman had no problem with the 1936 film, the narrative isn't about hom*osexuality but the destruction of human lives based on a child's hateful lie and the film has many similarities to the 1987 McMartin pre-school trial in California which lasted 3 years. The owners and staff were accused of sexual child abuse but all charges were dropped but lives were already irretrievably damaged. With James Garner, Miriam Hopkins (who played MacLaine's part in the 1936 film) and Veronica Cartwright.

The End (1978)

After being diagnosed with a terminal illness by his doctor (Norman Fell), a man (Burt Reynolds) decides to commit suicide rather than face the deterioration and pain that will come with the fatal illness. In addition to playing the leading role, Reynolds also directs this uneven black comedy. It plays out like a series of comedy sketches stitched together, some are okay but some like the sequence with Reynolds and a priest (Robby Benson) are awful. But at the halfway mark, a small miracle occurs. Dom DeLuise turns up as a psychotic schizophrenic and suddenly the picture is actually funny. DeLuise attacks his role with glee and abandon, a plump neurotic demon bubbling over with vitality in between bouts of self loathing. As for the rest of the film, it's mostly Reynolds and there's something unpleasantly narcissistic about his performance and I'm still not sure if it's the actor or the character. With Joanne Woodward, Sally Field, Myrna Loy, Carl Reiner, Pat O'Brien, Kristy McNichol and David Steinberg.

Author! Author! (1982)

A playwright (Al Pacino) is about to go into rehearsals for his latest Broadway show with a movie actress (Dyan Cannon) who's never done Broadway before. Meanwhile, his unstable wife (Tuesday Weld) is having an affair and leaves him, letting him take care of her 4 kids (from 3 different husbands) and his own son (Eric Gurry). Directed by Arthur Hiller (Love Story), this is sort of a comedic Kramer Vs. Kramer from an original screenplay by Israel Horovitz. This is the kind of film with movie kids as opposed to real kids. They are all wise beyond their years and talk like 40 year olds and so obnoxious that one can't blame Weld for running off. If they were my kids I'd abandon them too! On the plus side, this is one of Pacino's most likable performances and proof that he can turn it way down when necessary. Cannon's role is underwritten but Weld, probably the film's most realized and honest character, gets a chance to make something of her role. With Alan King, Andre Gregory and Bob Dishy.

Husbands And Wives (1992)

When their married best friends (Judy Davis, Sydney Pollack) announce they are breaking up, a married couple (Woody Allen, Mia Farrow) begin to question their own relationship as their own marriage begins to unravel. Between the completion of the film and the film's release, the Soon Yi "scandal" broke and as a result, it's almost impossible to not read into Woody Allen's film. At one point in the film, Farrow asks Allen, "Are you hiding something from me?" and later when asked about his relationship with a girl (Juliette Lewis) young enough to be his daughter, he responds "Everything about it was wrong but it didn't deter me". Husbands is rarely brought up when discussing Allen's best films but when it opened, the reviews were highly positive and I think it's very good. Allen's screenplay received an Oscar nomination as did Judy Davis's fierce performance. If you're not sure you've seen it, this is one that opens with Carlo Di Palma's dizzying handheld camera weaving in and out. The film's faux semi-documentary approach is the perfect setting for this romantic roundelay. With Liam Neeson, Blythe Danner, Ron Rifkin and Caroline Aaron.

The Lobster (2015)

In an anti-Utopian society that demands people be coupled in 45 days or else changed into animals, a widower (Colin Farrell) goes to a government run hotel to be paired off but that proves disastrous and he escapes into the woods where the loners live and mating is forbidden. After having done the film festival circuit last year and opening in Europe, The Lobster is only now opening in the U.S. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (whose first English language film this is), this black (and I mean black) comedy with sci-fi trimmings is both sharp and mercifully restrained. It doesn't go for easy laughs. One just has to accept its insane premise for it to work and fortunately the actors are all in sync delivering their lines in an almost robotic manner but with just the right amount of minimalist feeling. But in its way, it's too much of a good thing. The narrative is essentially a one joke act that wears out its welcome and after awhile, I just wanted it to end. I've never been much of a Colin Farrell fan but he's wonderful here, possibly his best performance. With Rachel Weisz, Lea Seydoux, John C. Reilly and Ben Whishaw.

In ancient Egypt, cats were worshipped as gods. They have never forgotten this

by

Member since March 2009

Husbands And Wives (1992) - I liked it a lot when it first came out but I've seen it twice on DVD and I liked it less each time I saw it. The Sydney Pollack character is incredibly unlikable, and he grated on me more and more. The worse scene comes when he blows up at his new GF for embarrassing him in front of his "Smart" friends. The problem is Pollack's character never says or does anything which shows he's particularly smart or intellectual. Meanwhile, the GF, a yoga instructor, seems to be Woody's odd idea of what a "dumb" person would act like.

It is odd looking back to see how public Allen's obsession with "bright young things" was. First, Hemingway in Manhattan, then H&W, then Mia's daughter.

Member since April 2000

Oh, Pollack's character in HAW is a total jerk. Not only the scene with the girlfriend (and I kept thinking why isn't anybody checking to see if she's okay after her screams) but when he busts into his ex-wife's house and starts trying to push around her boyfriend (though Neeson could have decked him easily). But as in all Allen's films, all his characters are crammed with neuroses.

In ancient Egypt, cats were worshipped as gods. They have never forgotten this

Member since April 2000

Because METROPOLIS is sci-fi and sci-fi has become a genre of great importance (2001, BLADE RUNNER, et al), that film has become the great exemplar of Lang's silent career. But he helped to establish several genres, including the espionage film (SPIONE) and the master criminal sage (DR. MABUSE, THE GAMBLER), and with DIE NIBELUNGEN, he created one of the true national epics. Of course, since Germany would be discredited, creating an epic of German mythology was suspect for decades. Yet seeing this film (complete, in its two part form), it's perhaps Lang's most fully realized and dynamic work. Yet it's also an unsettling and deeply ambiguous work, which only adds to its greatness.

Even by Universal standards (and Universal was one studio that teetered on the brink between a "major" studio and Poverty Row), MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE is a primitive work, but it's also a decidedly stylized work, with obviously cheap sets gussied up with stark lighting. Yet there's something very painful about this movie: it's one of the rare horror films from the 1930s which seems to relish sadism.

Even abbreviated, MOURNING BECOMES ELECTRA does pack a punch. Yes, it's one clunky, leaden movie, but the acting is often amazing (especially Michael Redgrave). Rosalind Russell certainly tries, but there are times when she's merely posturing, but Katina Paxinou (in spite of her sometimes strenuous line readings) proves that she was one of the most elemental actresses prior to Anna Magnani.

SISSI is one of those movies that must be experienced (i won't say seen) to be believed. It's all set in the kind of fairy-tale, cuckoo-cloud past that, as you note, almost screams "Disney" even though it's a German film. Yet there is something charming about this movie, and you can see why Romy Schneider became a huge star in Europe. She's dimply and impossibly pretty and adorable. But Romy Schneider would very soon try to stretch her talent, and she would emerge as a major actress by the 1960s.

BLACK SUNDAY is one of those movies that, when i saw it in the 1960s, it so scared me that i haven't seen it since. The horrible mask at the beginning, it just proved so disturbing to me. But Barbara Steele would remain an icon of horror because of this movie.

I won't rehash the arguments pro and con about THE CHILDREN'S HOUR, but it is an example of Wyler's professionalism, and the film is effective. One thing, though: the film wasn't a success, and it caused some friction between Audrey Hepburn and William Wyler. She trusted him (of course) and she felt that he was wrong to insist on her doing this movie. To ameliorate this failure, he came up with HOW TO STEAL A MILLION, a frothy caper comedy (if overextended) which proved a success, and allowed Hepburn to glisten in an incredibly chic Givenchy wardrobe. But after THE NUN'S STORY and THE UNFORGIVEN, Hepburn's attitude towards acting changed: she didn't want to do anything too "difficult". On BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S, she had the original director, John Frankenheimer, fired because he was insisting on a grittier, more realistic depiction of Holly Golightly as a prostitute. Audrey Hepburn didn't do gritty, but she gave it a try for Wyler, and she didn't like it. So, years later, when Fredric Raphael (who had written TWO FOR THE ROAD) wrote RICHARD'S THINGS for her, she refused, and then explained that she'd tried to do a lesbian story, and it wasn't a success, so she wasn't going to try it again.

Yes, there are some performers who can lift a movie through their sheer energy, and in THE END, Dom De Luise is that person! But it's a strangely self-pitying mess, and it feels too close to Burt Reynolds, not because he was dying at the time, but because the self-pitying seems to be him, not the character, just Burt Reynolds.

Israel Horovitz is one of those off-off-Broadway playwrights whose work skirts "absurdism" (others include Arthur Kopit and John Guare) and so it's tough to know how their works should be adapted for the movies. AUTHOR! AUTHOR! is pretty much a disaster, but Al Pacino shows that he's a great actor: he makes this movie believable! It's nice to have Dyan Cannon around, though her part isn't much, but Tuesday Weld shows why she was (at one time) considered potentially a great actress, she gives her role as many shadings as she can find (and that's a lot).

Even though there was so much publicity around Woody Allen at the time of HUSBANDS AND WIVES, i'm surprised that this movie is so often overlooked. It's a tough, almost abrasive movie, taking the "darker" elements of CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS and elaborating on them. Though most of Woody Allen's movies are well acted, this one is particularly so, everyone seems to be really digging deep. Mia Farrow seems totally exposed, and Judy Davis is so harsh she's scary, she seems to be discontent in the flesh.

Yes, i understand that THE LOBSTER is supposed to be dystopian, but i thought the ending was a real bummer. I mean, there's a downer and then there's going off the rails. But still, there was a lot in it that was quite weird and funny. And the performers were so game! Colin Farrell's pot belly was a joke in itself! I have to say, even more surprising than Colin Farrell's utterly anti-narcissistic performance was Lea Seydoux's meanness! She's usually such a cuddly sex kitten actress, but she's really frightening here. (You know nothing good's going to come from her, and the movie proves it.) Still, it's something to see.

Member since April 2000

It's a pity Audrey Hepburn was hesitant about doing heavy dramas because she certainly had the acting chops as she proved in The Nun's Story and Wait Until Dark. She was smart to turn down Richard's Things though.

re: The Lobster's ending. I don't know. It seemed to me to be ambiguous enough (is that what troubled you?) that it softened where it was possibly going. Did Farrell actually carry out what he had promised to do or did he chicken out at the very last minute? Indeed, did he even return to Weisz or did he abandon her sitting at the booth all by herself? Or did he return, not having carried out his promise but resolving to work it out some other way? I kind of liked the not knowing for sure. If he had carried out his promise it would have been just too cruel.

I agree about Lea Seydoux. After Blue Is The Warmest Color, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Spectre and now this one, it's clear she's the real thing.

In ancient Egypt, cats were worshipped as gods. They have never forgotten this

Member since April 2000

Re: THE LOBSTER. No, it wasn't the ambiguity, it was the "physical" cruelty. (I get the heebie-jeebies when handicaps become a plot point: i freaked out when i saw DEAD OF WINTER and the villains chopped off her finger at the beginning.)

But the acting in THE LOBSTER was amazing. It's a classic example of casting-against-type: Olivia Colman, who usually plays such sympathetic roles, is really harsh as the woman running the center; Ben Whishaw, who's often so soft in his roles, really plays up the conniving bit. But when Colin Farrell started to undress and his pot belly stuck out, the audience i was with gasped! And Lea Seydoux didn't let up: she never slipped and showed a softer side. Even when the plot started spinning in all directions, the actors never lost their focus. So i think that's quite an achievement.

Member since November 2005

I saw SISSI as a kid, and its two sequels and liked them a lot, and yes Romy was adorable. The kitschy films were like eating a box of chocolates as one admired the costumes, the castles and the dramas of court life as the young Elizabeth took on that interfering mother in law, and in the subsequent films became estranged from the emperor and even got over tuberculosis by taking a trip to the Greek islands! (I have been to the real Elizabeth's summer palace in Corfu, now a casino, and saw her private chapel). Romy of course grew tired of playing Sissi, but those Welles and Visconti roles in the early 60s (THE TRIAL, BOCCACCIO 70, Foreman's THE VICTORS, Preminger's THE CARDINAL) made her a prestige actress. She is fascinating too as the older, more sardonic Sissi in Visconti's LUDWIG in '72. The 3 SISSI films edited into FOREVER MY LOVE is actually a good way of seeing the hightlights of all three, even if dubbed.

The success of SISSI got Walt Disney interested in signing Romy, but he had to settle for Hayley Mills instead. Boehm and Schneider also played the young Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in another chocolate box confection no wonder she rebelled and ran off to Paris to team up with Alain Delon and Visconti! Other costumers she did at the time were OH MEIN PAPA (FIREWORKS) and that 1958 remake of MADCHEN IN UNIFORM, both with Lilli Palmer.

Incidentally, I have just seen Romy's mother Magda (who played her mother in the SISSI films) in a 1935 farce GOING GAY (not that kind of gay), an oddity dug up for a channel here specialising in old movies.

Fay Bainter is marvellous in THE CHILDREN'S HOUR (or do we call it THE LOUDEST WHISPER?) but the role of the lying child played by Karen Balkin is so repulsive - is it the actress or the role that sets one's teeth on edge? If ever a movie brat deserved to be slapped very hard - or is one not allowed to say that these days

You have stirred a memory of my seeing DUEL ON THE MISSISSIPPI as I remember Patricia Medina here. It also seems similar to the enjoyable THE GAMBLER FROM NATCHEZ (Debra Paget was the river girl in that) which I saw again recently, and of course Tyrone Power's THE MISSISSIPPI GAMBLER.

They're on to you - I'm in your room.

http://www.osullivan60.blogspot.com/

Member since April 2000

And as I'm sure you know, Schneider's Sissi co-star Karlheinz Bohm was signed by MGM in the 1960s but they changed his name to Karl Boehm but he was one of the brothers in Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm as well as Minnelli's redo of 4 Horsem*n Of The Apocalypse and, of course, the title role in Powell's Peeping Tom but with Carl with a C rathern than a K.

Hour's Karin Balkin's film career didn't work out and but she ended up working as an executive at MGM in the 1980s and one of my best friends was her secretary. He told me she was always badmouthing Veronica Cartwright because she was jealous that she made it as an adult actress and she didn't! She married well so she did okay.

In ancient Egypt, cats were worshipped as gods. They have never forgotten this

Member since November 2005

That's fascinating about Balkin, thanks. So many child actors do not transition well as adults - Paul Petersen from HOUSEBOAT comes to mind. He too though survived and went on to form that child-actor support group.

Boehm too of course was in COME FLY WITH ME in '63 teamed with Dolores Hart, who ended her career here, so-starring with the PEEPING TOM ! He also had a good role in Fassbinder's FOX AND HIS FRIENDS in 1974. He was the son of famous German conductor Karl Boehm and he died aged 86 in 2014.

PS: I have not seen that BROTHERS GRIMM film but it must surely be stretch to picture Boehm and Laurence Harvey as brothers.

They're on to you - I'm in your room.

http://www.osullivan60.blogspot.com/

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Member since April 2006

Part 21 of my Asian Horror Year In Review playlist is now up. It covers the better films released during 2001:

Here are the films I saw this week.

Highly Recommended

Attack the Gas Station (1999) (Korean Comedy) (repeat viewing) While robbing a gas station, four guys decide to stay and pocket the extra cash by tending to customers. This crazy comedy contributes a variety of conflicts with patrons, gangs, cops, and even a take-out delivery crew with mopeds. The way they handle their more difficult customers is very funny and should hit the spot for viewers who have had a bad day at work. One particular melee battle is classic.

The Accidental Detective (2015) (Korean Mystery Drama/Thriller/Comedy) A wannabie detective teams up with a true detective to solve a series of murders. This is an impressive murder mystery that goes into detail regarding how the protagonists use logic and investigation to solve it. The investigation is complex and nuanced, with a neat resolution. The cops in this one are sharp and intelligent, but there is also some charming, funny banter between the leads that adds some color to their personalities. One cool suspense sequence involves electricity, and another one involves rope. The tone really works as it shifts between serious and light-hearted moments effortlessly. Both leads are great together.

Bullets Over Summer (1999) (Chinese Drama/Action/Comedy) (repeat viewing) Francis Ng and Louis Koo are cops who stake out a suspect while dealing with the residents of the apartment complex they use for cover. The opening series of events is classic. You get cold-blooded, nonchalant, civilian-killing antagonists, an armed robbery involving a bag of potato chips, and an imaginative form of interrogation involving fruits and vegetables. Francis and Louis mess with the residents (an old lady with loss of memory, an angry neighbor, a pretty schoolgirl, a pregnant dry-cleaning lady, etc.) in all sorts of entertaining ways, leading to a number of funny moments. Add to those a good suspense/shootout sequence and an effective ending, and you have a very good film on your hands.

Fires on the Plain (2014) (Japanese War Horror) Shinya Tsukamoto directs and stars as a Japanese soldier who endures illness, starvation, and brutality in the Philippines at the tail end of World War II. Not a whole lot of story or character depth in this one, but as a stripped down, purely haunting portrayal of the horrors of war, this is a visually arresting walk thru hell on Earth. The constant state of hunger is portrayed very well, because these soldiers were in really, really bad shape. This is a grungy, primal affair that will wear down the viewer, but it is also a bit dreamy in spots due to the deteriorated mental condition of the characters (as well as the music). The scorching hot forest is a great setting and offers some beautiful environments that are juxtaposed with the horrific violence. Tons of nasty corpse shots are showcased, as well as some graphic gore and killings. Tsukamoto gives a very good performance. The 87-minute runtime is perfect. This is so different from the 1959 film, that it's not even comparable. (Viewed without subtitles.)

Recommended

Whispering Corridors 3: Wishing Stairs (2003) (Korean Horror) (repeat viewing) Although this is the third film of this impressive series, it unquestionably includes more horror elements than the second installment. The entire second half is loaded with scare tactics. Surrounding trees look dead, with many brown leaves littering the grounds and flying thru the air. The storyline focuses on jealousy and is moderately successful as it sufficiently develops the conflicts between the characters. The girl with brown hair does overact during the first half, but her performance improves later on. This entry also feels more like a mainstream, commercial movie in terms of style (it even has a Japanese onryo ghost), and therefore loses a bit of that art-house flare that drives the previous entries. Nevertheless, the ending is creepy.

The Strange House (2015) (Chinese Horror) At the request of a family, a young girl agrees to appease an ailing grandmother by pretending to be her granddaughter, but she begins experiencing horrific visions while visiting the house. This film by Danny Pang is better than most of his other solo efforts. Direction and acting are good. The twists have been done before, but the mystery is engaging and holds interest throughout. A few moments are creepy too.

Isola (2000) (Japanese Horror/Drama) (repeat viewing) A psychic and a girl with multiple personalities cross paths. The psychic reads people's minds, even if she does not want to. The other girl can control other people's minds. This is a deliberately paced film, but it is atmospheric and both lead actresses are good. The interaction between these girls is generally well-written and the odd premise helps to hold interest. The ending is a bit of an anticlimax and somewhat forgettable. Still, the positives outweigh the negatives.

Goodnight Mommy (2014) (Austrian Horror) After plastic surgery, a mother returns home to her 10-year-old identical twin sons with her face swathed in bandages. But as she recovers, her increasingly odd behavior fuels the boys' fears about the identity of the woman behind the gauze. This is a very quiet film that is nicely shot, but it does meander a lot, leaving some dull patches throughout. There is also a cliched twist that is used, but there are some disturbing acts of violence, which give this an edge. Pretty good.

Not Recommended

Lost in the Pacific (2016) (Chinese Thriller) A group of rich passengers on board an inaugural luxury, transoceanic flight are thrown into chaos by bad weather, mutant cats, and human conflict. This is essentially a situational thriller that takes place in one location (an airplane), but the script isn't strong enough to make it work. Pacing is pretty good, but there are lots of flaws. International cast requires the use of English for the most part, which takes away from the Chinese actors performances a bit. The thriller elements are not memorable at all, and no death scenes are actually shown (only the PG-rated dead bodies). A lot of painfully cliched moments too. This is Sci Fi Channel Original quality. The CGI airplane and mutant cats look atrocious. I gotta say, however, that the high-end cabin is awesome; I would kill someone to fly international on this plane.

YouTube Asian Movie Review Channel
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Member since November 1999

I keep forgetting the Tsukamoto version of Nobi exists. I need to seek it out, since it's unlikely ever to be distributed in the US.

You know who else was just following orders? HITLER!

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Member since April 2006

Watching without subs is perfectly fine with that movie. So much of it is visually driven.

YouTube Asian Movie Review Channel
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Member since January 2011

Lost in the Pacific looks bloomin' 'orrendous it does. Never trusted 'em flimsy planes I 'aven't. Much better to travel by boat, shipmate. One of 'em planes ain't worf killin' someone over, that much I do know

God Save the King

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Member since June 2002

Walk Don't Run (1966)
This is a great madcap movie of the mid-60s with a film score by Quincy Jones and that music that was so typical of the period.

It is Cary Grant's very last movie and it took me about 10 minutes to realize that it was really a remake of the 1943 George Steven's movie, The More the Merrier (1943).

Rarelymaybe neverhave I ever said that the remake of a movie was better than the original.
However, here is where I will plant the exception to my own long-standing rule.
While The More the Merrier (1943) was a fun and great movie, Walk Don't Run (1966) is much better.

If you take the overcrowded city of Washington, D.C. in 1943 and replace it with the overcrowded city of Tokyo during the 1964 Olympics, it changes the setting and the time and place.

Then replace:
Charles Cobrun with Cary Grant
Jean Arthur with Samantha Eggar
Joel McCrea with Jim Hutton
and, black and white for color, you start to see the movie develop in a sort of familiar way.

However, the 1966 movie is much more cleaver for me since I was born in 1943, but clearly remember the "times" of the mid 60s. The 60s were a period of cold war alliances and a modern Japan emerging and blending with the West.

AND spiesspy movies were everywhere, TV, movies, songs, everywhere. This spy motif all started with the first James Bond movie and only grew and grew to comedies, etc. So, if there were Russians with Americans in Japan's Olympics there had to be some mention of spiesif only in jest.

But, the best part of this madcap comedy, for me, was Cary Grant spoofing his whole careerfrom madcap movies to romantic movies. (It really helps you understand this movie if you have seen all the Cary Grant movies): when he is in the bathroom he is singing An Affair to Remember and from time to time he hums the theme from Charade. There are probably other references to his movies in this one, but one has to pick them up as the movie progresses.

Beyond all that, this is just a funny movie.
Watch it if you like mid-60s madcap comedies.
Watch it if you the like the romantic comedies of Cary Grant.
Or, just watch it if you like good humor which would have been topical to the time at which it was made.
Here, Cary Grant, while playing matchmaker to Samantha Eggar (English) and Jim Hutton (American), goes out of the movies with a bang rather than a whimper.

I still find it almost impossible that Grant NEVER won an Best Acting Oscar somewhere

P.S. If you don't understand where the movie got its name, wait and watch what event Jim Hutton competed in during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Ocean's Eleven (1960)
First, I think that jimcat32-1 may have stolen my opening line for this review. To paraphrase his line, I avoided seeing this movie for 38 years. I fully had planned to use this phrase I have heard about this movie for 56 years and never watched it from beginning to end.Now I have. To travel back in time to where I was and what was going on when this movie was released: I was a17-year-old high school junior. I was a

YOUG REPUBLICAN (when all of my friends were YOUNG DEMOCRATES . Why is this important? Because we were having fun debating each other over the merits and demerits of Nixon V Kennedy because this year, 1960, was our first adult exposure to politics with a presidential election in the air. I mention this only to put you back into the zeitgeist of the times in which this movie was released.

There was a lot of talk about this movie because it was like a heist movie of all heist movies, with an all-star cast (including the new rat pack). The objective of their heist was no less than cleaning out the five top Las Vegas Casinos by causing a wide- spread power outage at the stroke of midnight on a New Year's Eve, when everyone would be celebrating in a state of mayhem!!

To do this, a group of old army buddies converge around Las Vegas under the leadership of Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra). The old army buddies were these guys:

Dean Martin as Sam Harmon; Sammy Davis, Jr. as Josh Howard; Peter Lawford as Jimmy Foster; Richard Conte as Tony Bergdorf; Joey Bishop as Mushy O'Connors; Henry Silva as Roger Corneal; Buddy Lester as Vince Massler; Richard Benedict as Curly Steffans
Norman Fell as Peter Rheimer; Clem Harvey as Louis Jackson

Each of the members of the group had their own story with its own problems and pitfalls.

How, then could they pull off this heist without some problems somewhere?

This movie is rather long. It is filled with individual entertainers entertaining and Las Vegas marquees promoting other entertainers of the time, not to mention the great promotion offered to the five Las Vegas casinos featured in the movie.

Oh, did I mention that Peter Lawford was John F. Kennedy's brother-in-law at time the 1960 Presidential Election campaign was occurring? The USA release date for this movie was August 10, 1960.

This movie also spawned a long string of other Ocean's movies which were also highly successful at the box office.
There are a few other interesting facts about this movie:
George Raft briefly appeared in it as one of the casino owners.
Shirley McClain had a small part as a stray drunk woman outside of a Casino.
Ilka Chase had her last movie role here. (Well, her name is familiar to me anyway.)

I can't help but notice that amassing old army buddies to pull off a big heist was a in vogue that year too:
The League of Gentlemen (1960)

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Payment on Demand (1951)
I started out watching this to work on my Bette Davis project (completely seeing all of her films). This was her first film after All About Eve (1950) and it surprisingly showed that the aging star had some staying powerat least to this point.

I enjoyed watching Payment on Demand (1951) in that it shows Davis in both her strong conniving side as well as her weaker human vulnerable side. Here, she plays Joyce Ramsey, the middle-aged wife of David Ramsey (Barry Sullivan) and the mother of two daughters in their late teens or early 20s: Martha (Betty Lynn) and Diana (Peggie Castle).

As the movie opens, we see Joyce as the wife of a successful man and the mother of burgeoning and wonderful daughters. She clearly is happy with her station in life and its situation, and confident that everything is under control. However, when her husband comes home one evening and asks for a divorce, it throws her off balance. As she displays a calm facade, she reflects back on her married life. The movie displays this backward reflection as a series of flashback scenes in silhouette (which I found as very convincing as a way to show the past without leaving the present). There, flashback scenes show the Ramseys as hopeful and full of life as they run off to get married and meet life head on.

Now, those salad days are gone and David is tired of the superficial life that his wife has helped make for him. But, filing for divorce is one thing, and the anticipation of living in that life is quite another, as Joyce finds out

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Testament of Youth (2014)
As of now, I can think of NO anti-war movie more compelling than this one (currently streaming on Starz).
As we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the totally senseless World War, we should see this movie, based on the true memoir by Vera Brittain.

After this world war, she became a dedicated pacifist for the rest of her life: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Brittain

Here is the IMDb synopsis of the film:

Testament of Youth is a powerful coming-of-age story which tackles love, war, loss and remembrance. It's based on the beloved WW1 memoir by Vera Brittain, which was a bestseller on publication, heralded as the voice of a generation and has become the classic testimony of that war, from a woman's point of view. Vera's story encompasses vast themes - youth, hope, dreams, love, war, futility, and how to make sense of the darkest times. It's a key witness account of WW1, which continues to resonate because it is above all a personal story of how one person faces war and tragedy, and rises above them.

The story begins in the Edwardian spring of 1914, with Vera Brittain - a youthful feminist, free-minded and irrepressible - determined to sit exams for Oxford, against her conservative parents' wishes. She is encouraged and inspired by her brother and his friends, particularly the brilliant Roland Leighton, who shares her dream of being a writer. But her hopes for Oxford with Roland turn to dust as war is declared, and all the young men enlist; she herself gives up her dream of writing, and becomes a nurse. What follows is a story of heightened, urgent love between Vera and Roland - interrupted by the war, as Vera moves closer and closer to the front, eventually nursing German soldiers, who help her to recognise the futility of war. Through Vera we see youthful love buffeted by fatal losses and the overpowering tide of history, as one by one those closest to her are lost to the war. Yet Vera's story is also one of survival, as she returns from the war determined to find a new purpose, and to keep faith with those she has lost, spurring her towards a powerful act of remembrance.

The film follows Vera's rites of passage through war, and through her wartime experiences, we understand how she went on to write one of the defining memoirs of her age, which gave voice to a lost generation. Many elements in the film (such as the key letters from the front and Roland's poems) are authentic, and it's the fact that Testament of Youth is a genuine witness testimony which gives the story its power.

Member since June 2004

Hey, I'm glad that someone else here has enjoyed Walk Don't Run. It's a film which I can watch over and over again.

As for The More the Merrier, I only had two problems with it:

1. Jean Arthur's excessive crying during the last 10 or so minutes. (Samantha Eggar toned it down a bit.)

2. Charles Coburn's constant repetition of that one phrase (I forget what it is now).

Otherwise, it's a terrific film with a bittersweet touch to it.

Walk Don't Run: I enjoyed hearing Cary Grant whistle the Charade theme song. He had a great sense of humor: I loved the way he pulled off the morning-shower routine, both in this movie and in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House.

I like the way Jim Hutton kept us in suspense about his character's Olympics event. I think he was preparing to keep us in suspense as Ellery Queen.

Ocean's 11: I liked the heist itself and the ending. I didn't care for the first part, because clearly it was an attempt to promote Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. They just got a bit carried away with the promotion. By the way, I really enjoyed The League of Gentlemen from the same year. Another fun heist film from a year later is The Honeymoon Machine.

~~~~~

Jim Hutton (1934-79) & Ellery Queen

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Member since June 2002

2. Charles Coburn's constant repetition of that one phrase (I forget what it is now).

"Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead"
Coburn found the expression from a statue of Admiral David Farragut in D.C.

P.S. I think I got the idea for watching this movie from one of your reviews recently.
If it is not too late, Walk Don't Run might be considered for the 1966 CFB Poll.

There are some fine moments in it.

Member since June 2004

Oh yes, that's the expression. Thanks for triggering my memory!

One other excellent film which suffers from the "repetitive expression" problem is the 1940 film The Shop Around the Corner. In that one, I've lost count how many times the characters say "Mr./Mrs. Matuschek".

I mentioned Walk Don't Run in the 1966 CFB poll. Maybe it'll get more votes.

~~~~~

Jim Hutton (1934-79) & Ellery Queen

Member since September 5, 2021

Member since May 2001

Helpmates (1932, James Parrott) begins where many Laurel & Hardy movies finish: a house in that post-party state of utter disaster, bottles and dishes and garbage everywhere. But the mess here is only the beginning. Hardy enlists Laurel's help to clean the place up and things go from bad to worse. Even children can see the jokes coming in advance, and here lies the appeal of this clownish duo: if Laurel opens a drawer, Hardy's head must bust through it, if he unwraps the butter and leaves it by the soap, Hardy inevitably washes his hands with it. Each bit of business operates like a piece of comic suspense where the audience waits for the spectacle they know will happen, in what amounts to a slapstick version of Murphy's Law. Inexplicably, but just as inevitably, things improve during the momentary edits, which becomes a law unto itself, with the movie's best reversal of this saved for the end, when Laurel miraculously cleans the entire mess up only to light the fireplace as a finishing touch (35mm http://www.imdb.com/board/10022994/) (Second Viewing)

The Midnight Patrol (1933, Lloyd French) finds Laurel & Hardy as policemen, instead of their more familiar place on the other side of the law. Incompetent as ever, they mistake thieves for shop owners and homeowners for prowlers. There's plenty of property destruction on display, as usual, but the ending is unusually dark. (

35mm http://www.imdb.com/board/10024335/) (First Viewing)

Busy Bodies (1933, Lloyd French) puts Laurel & Hardy in a carpentry workshop with inventive gags that grow ever more demented as the workday progresses. There's a neat bit of symmetry to this one involving a car radio created out of a turntable under the hood that book-ends the slapstick. (

35mm http://www.imdb.com/board/10023858/) (First Viewing)

County Hospital (1932, James Parrott) gives Laurel & Hardy the chance to make a mess of a hospital, culminating in a moment worthy of Harold Lloyd, where an oafish doctor hangs out of a window on a string attached to Hardy's giant cast leg. As if to underscore that bit of physicality, the second part features an extended moment of distracted driving with deliberately awful rear projection, turning the lack of a budget into a joke itself. (

35mm http://www.imdb.com/board/10022782/) (First Viewing)

The Music Box (1932, James Parrott) deserves its reputation as the finest of Laurel & Hardy shorts, taking a single premise and running with it for an entire 30 minutes. One sympathizes with their Sisyphean plight: moving a piano up flights of external stairs leading up a hill to a grand house, inevitably losing control and having to repeat the process over and over, each time getting closer to their goal, which in true absurdist fashion is all for naught, anyway. I love the gleeful insouciance that accompanies their failed endeavor, and there's even, perhaps, a bit of wisdom to be found there. (

35mm http://www.imdb.com/board/10023251/) (First Viewing as an adult, many prior viewings as a child)

Member since June 2004

By the way, The Music Box was remade as an episode of the 80s sitcom Perfect Strangers. Did you ever watch that show? If so, do you remember that episode? I loved the piano episode back when it aired (in 1988 or 89 or something), but now I think that The Music Box is much better. I've seen it a few times in the past 12 years. Lots going on there, while the sitcom episode cut out a lot of the greatest jokes from the movie.

As for the episode of Perfect Strangers, I saw it when I was a young teen and I laughed my brains out. Then I watched it again on youtube about 5 years ago. It didn't hold up at all. I highly recommend The Music Box to comedy lovers.

~~~~~

Jim Hutton (1934-79) & Ellery Queen

Member since May 2001