Reviews

I just finished watching "Hail, Caesar". This is a new Coen Brothers film which pays homage to the film studios in their waning days of 1950s Biblical spectacle and Western singing cowboy flicks. It follows a classic one-day pattern of starting in the morning of one day and ending about 24 hours later in the morning of the next day. Tilda Swinton steals the movie despite only appearing on-screen for about four or five minutes. She plays feuding twin sister columnists, based on the rivalry between Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons. TS is phenomenal, creating two completely individual characters using voice inflection, facial tics, posture, attitude, and costumes (including fabulous HATS, natch!). George Clooney does a sort-of reprise of his befuddled goofball from "O Brother Where Art Thou?", but he is not as successful this time, IMO. Josh Brolin plays the main character, a grizzled studio 'fixer' who must deal with the disappearance of a big star in the midst of shooting the climax to the titular epic tale of Jesus Christ and a Roman soldier's conversion at The Crucifixion. Josh does a great job, capturing the rhythms of the Coens' zany dialogue and satirical tone, without going completely over-the-top. Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, and Alden Ehrenreich also do outstanding work in this loaded ensemble piece. Other notable actors appearing briefly include Clancy Brown, Fisher Stevens, Frances McDormand, Christopher Lambert, Ralph Fiennes, and Jonah Hill. I loved it, and I look forward to re-watches just for the pleasure of Tilda's acting.

"Hah! Would that it were so simple!"

Bill Forsyth is a Scottish-born director and writer of great insight with a whimsical view of the world. His movies tend to focus on low-key characters and obscure places rarely seen in filmdom. "Local Hero" is one of my all-time favorites. I now add "Housekeeping" to the list.

The movie is adapted from a novel by Marilynne Robinson. It takes place in the tiny town of Fingerbone, located in the Cascade Mountains of what I assume is Eastern Washington or Idaho, given many references to Spokane and Portland. I have lived in Seattle for many years, and I adore the scenery featured in this movie. One can almost smell the pungent, bracing aroma of decaying logs, fir trees, and smoldering campfires in the outdoor scenes.

Christine Lahti is an actress of rare gifts. Her basic decency and warmth comes through in every film I have seen her in. She plays rootless Sylvie, who comes to be the guardian of two adolescent orphaned nieces, Ruthie and Lucille. The story takes place in the 1950s, and the fashions, cars, and social mores are all dead-on. She and the girls live in a large house on the outskirts of Fingerbone, the same home Sylvie and her deceased sister Helen grew up in. The story explores the relationships of these three women, and the shifting dynamics of those relationships. There is an implied parallel of Ruthie and Lucille with Sylvie and Helen. "Housekeeping" supplies a rich family history for these off-beat characters, and provides a context for their behavior and development.

There are very few men in this film. It is resolutely about the lives of women among other women. The story unfolds over several years, and we see how Lucille (the younger sister) comes to be the responsible one, who yearns to live 'like other people'. Sylvie exists in a dream world, and Ruthie is gradually drawn into that land of longing and detachment. Eccentric is how most people would describe the behavior of Sylvie, but I prefer haunted. Haunted by the lingering presence of dead siblings and parents, haunted by the inability to fit in to modern society, haunted by the endless possibilities of other places and times. To me, "Housekeeping" is a ghost story, but these ghosts yet live.

"She IS sad. I mean, she should be sad."

Movies like "Southland Tales" are so irredeemably bad that re-watching them could lead directly to insanity and loss of life. Movies like "The Fall of the Roman Empire" can be very enjoyable if one gets properly blazed and mocks them endlessly during a second (or third) viewing, MST3K style.

Wow, does this film suck. The cast is the most bizarre collection of mismatched acting styles and accents ever assembled. Techniques like filming Alec Guinness talking to Death in voice-over while wandering around his chambers alone, grimacing, fall flat and become downright painful to watch. By contrast, Ingmar Bergman turned a chess match between Death and Max von Sydow into one of the most brilliant films ever made. Sophia Loren gets the same treatment near the end, but her scene actually becomes so surreal that it borders on hallucination, as she pines for Stephen Boyd in voice-over as she wanders through a giant set crammed with extras from the "Matrix II" Rave in Zion.

The plot of "Fall" is rooted solidly in historical fact. It is more or less the same as the plot of Ridley Scott's far superior "Gladiator". Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (Guinness, doing what he can and gracefully making an early exit from this disaster) decides to bequeath the Title of Emperor to General Livius (Boyd), instead of his son, Commodus (Christopher Plummer, giving one of the two performances that I thoroughly enjoyed). Commodus and Livius are best buds, as evidenced by the early scene of the pair simultaneously quaffing wine from upraised wine-skins. This scene is the highlight of the entire movie, and qualifies as Gayest Scene Ever in a mainstream movie made before 1965.

Boyd is Boyd, and that ain't good. His individual line readings seem adequate, but the sum total is a hollow, good-looking, thoroughly rehearsed nothing. Sophia Loren as Commodus' sister Lucilla gets tossed into the same pit by the script, and John Ireland is reduced to playing the role of barbarian leader Ballomar as a grunting stereotype wearing a series of hilarious wigs.

James Mason as adviser to Aurelius and Greek former slave Timonides acquits himself the best of anyone. His natural acting style of stage-bound histrionics fits the film perfectly, and he is given a few showcase scenes. Like Guinness, he ignores the fact that the script of "Fall" is a cliché-ridden joke, and dutifully builds a character of noble grace and moral strength.

The script: UGH. The material is inherently dramatic, as Emperor Aurelius attempts to unite the disparate kingdoms of the Roman Empire into a peaceful confederation. Perhaps the screenwriters were too concerned with the history, and not enough with the dialogue. There is little or no subtext, and very few memorable lines. Plummer plays with the words and makes them his own. Boyd rents them and then abandons them.

On paper, this should have been a great flick. It features a cast to rival "Spartacus", and a director who has done very good work elsewhere. I blame the script and the cinematography. The battle scenes are terrible, and the general level of the entire enterprise is about the same as the Steve Reeves/Reg Park Hercules sword and sandal epics of this same period. Indeed, I would rate Mario Bava's "Hercules in the Haunted World" as a much better movie. It is cheese also, but cheese delightfully elevated by being served on a platter of bravura cinematic style, with a main course of beefcake.

The essence of drama is conflict. Conflict arises from actions or intentions that are at cross purposes. These actions may be classified as 'good' or 'evil' , but these labels depend on the observer identifying with one side or the other. Taoism does not adhere to these classifications; in its pure form, it is amoral.

The roles of antagonist and protagonist are similarly dependent on a moral judgment. In "Emperor of the North", Lee Marvin's character A No. 1 is clearly meant to be the protagonist; Ernest Borgnine's Shack is portrayed as the antagonist. Shack is obsessed with keeping (ho)'boes from hitching free rides on his train. A No. 1 takes on the challenge of doing so, in defiance of Shack (and railway regulations). The two men play out their duel on a train that is moving through forests and mountains on its way north to Portland, Oregon. If Marvin is the 'hero', it is a hollow triumph he seeks. There is no promise of a job waiting for him in Portland - he simply wants to 'beat' Shack and remain the widely acknowledged greatest boe there is. His peers are other rootless men who have been driven by circumstance to find work and food wherever they can. Their loyalties are to their empty bellies and, usually, their fellow boes. Some work in the railroad yards for whatever pay they can scrounge. One fascinating aspect of Emperor is the gambling that is shown as widespread: will A No. 1 succeed, or will Shack remain the unconquered, feared, and despised 'champion' of the rails?

The time is late October, 1933. There is no welfare state, no food stamp program, no Social Security yet for everyone. These things are a part of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, which is in its infancy during this movie. FDR's voice is heard on the radio early on. He urges the citizenry to be scrupulous about the programs he has pushed through Congress; to "cooperate with me, in making this the most efficient, and the cleanest, public enterprise that the world has ever seen". To the men who ride the rails, the prize is their next meal.

Marvin is his usual laconic self. He does not attempt to turn A No. 1 into a heroic or noble figure. He is just a guy who is self-assured and fiercely protective of his independence. His underplaying is a thing of wonder. He conveys the decency and humanity of A No. 1 with the slightest of head shaking and almost imperceptible nods and winks.

Borgnine is simply awesome as Shack. His sadistic glee at casually maiming and bullying hapless vagabonds is palpable. He keeps his eyes wide open like a giant piranha the whole time. His kind can also be found in other movies, guarding prisons housing felons and herding Jews into the ovens of Auschwitz. Shack gets off on power over others. He is doing his job - maintaining security on the train - but perhaps a little too well. An early incident shows how things can get out of control if the boes are allowed free rein. In a country paralyzed by economic disaster, he protects the interests of the Establishment. If cattle do not arrive at their markets, people, innocent people, may suffer. Again, the morality of the various characters is relative to one's point of view. Is Order Good? Is Chaos Evil? In terms of the physical universe, good and evil are essentially meaningless concepts. A hawk killing a rodent is not evil: it is feeding.

Keith Carradine plays Cigaret, a young drifter who follows A No. 1 around, while boasting of his own boe prowess. The relationship between the two reminded me greatly of "The Film Flam Man", where grizzled grifter George C. Scott mentors Army deserter Michael Sarrazin. The dynamic between the two men is much different in "Emperor", but there is an echo of one to be found in the other. The locations and down-home soundtracks of both movies are also similar.

The supporting cast is overflowing with familiar character actors. Elisha Cook Jr appears briefly, nearly unrecognizable in an eye patch. Other notables are Malcolm Atterbury as Hogger the engineer, Harry Caesar as Coaly the coal stoker, Charles Tyner as Cracker, the boe assistant to Shack, Matt Clark as railyard boe Yardlet , Liam Dunn as hobo jungle resident Smile, Robert Foulk as a passenger train conductor, and Simon Oakland playing a policeman (again!). The ensemble meshes wonderfully, dutifully providing texture and a backdrop to the central conflict.

Robert Aldrich directs the film without gimmicks while creating an immersive experience. The shots of 56-year-old Borgnine and 48-year-old Tyner nimbly running along the top of an obviously real moving train are incredible. As the train continues north, the lush scenery of Northern California and Oregon displays the inherent beauty of indifferent Nature, and provides contrast to the personal drama played out in the foreground. This film is all about survival. If Shack allows boes to ride his train, the company will replace him with someone who will not. And he knows it, which makes him just as desperate as the men he brutalizes. There can be no quarter given in this world, where every loose chicken represents another day of Life.

I highly recommend this film. It is not grim, but it is not a comedy, either, although there are numerous humorous moments. It is the stuff that great dramas are made of.

"Atlantic City" is the movie wherein my crush on Susan Sarandon (and her figure) reached full flower. She is klutzy, strong-willed, and hopeful as an aspiring casino dealer at the dawn of Las Vegas East. Burt Lancaster gives a heart-rending performance as a two-bit crook who has simply outlived all the real thugs. It was like watching a mighty oak refuse to shed its last few tender leaves before succumbing to the frigid indifference of Winter. Louis Malle keeps the movie moving along amiably, and the few weak points (the ex-husband, occasional overacting by SS, some viewers may also find BL a bit hammy for their tastes) are not particularly dire. The film evokes the spirit of the great film noirs of the 1940s and 1950s. Think Coen Bros. served with a thick glaze of sentimentality. Comic yet poignant, "Atlantic City" is one of the Best Films of the Eighties (says I).

"Tutti-frutti ice cream and craps don't mix."

"The Hunger" is a fairly empty exercise in Style, but, ooh-la-la, what style! Tony Scott's transition piece from shooting commercials to directing features, it feels like a 97-mnute Chanel ad. Nowhere in evidence are the grotesque framing, cutting, editing, and color-filtering choices that mar so much of Scott's later work. "The Hunger" boasts three gorgeous leads, and incredibly rich photography and of-the-moment music, combined with the lazy, narcotic pacing of an afternoon spent lounging in an opium den. It was cutting-edge culture in 1983, and has influenced countless film-makers ever since. A much, much better movie than "Only Lovers Left Alive", IMO.

A freewheeling, bawdy humor enlivens this love letter to the quintessential American sport. Susan Sarandon met her love Tim Robbins on this film-set, and their chemistry is entertaining and funny. Kevin Costner literally inhabits the role of Crash Davis, a lifetime minor-leaguer in pursuit of a dubious record. Robert Wuhl steals all the bases as the hilarious assistant manager/coach. If you like comedy with a bit of adult frankness and a lot of heart, run, don't walk to watch Bull Durham. It is a safe bet for an enjoyable evening. A double-header with Pastime (1990) would make a clean sweep of good times.

"Don't think. It can only hurt the ball club."

"Edge of the City" casts Sidney Poitier as a warehouse worker who befriends John Cassavetes' troubled loner. His ready laugh and casual manner belie a character of depth and fortitude. As Tommy Tyler, Poitier exudes kindness and grace, even as Jack Warden's Charlie tries to bully and intimidate him. Cassavetes was skeptical of Lee Strasberg's Method by 1957, and he plays it fast and loose as Axel, an Army deserter who cannot find his place in the world. "Edge" spends a considerable amount of time showing these two characters at work in a warehouse, and the incidents of harassment and horseplay ring equally true to anyone who has done time in the world of unskilled blue-collar labor. This is the first feature film directed by Martin Ritt, and the themes of male bonding (Hud) and workplace injustice (Norma Rae) are ones he would revisit during his illustrious career. Exemplary cinematography by Joseph C. Brun, and observant writing by Robert Alan Aurthur add to the verisimilitude of this examination of the everyday existence of men who toil anonymously in the background of urban life.

"You go with the lower forms, and you are down in the slime."

I was thoroughly impressed with this movie. The magical worlds of the Moor and the Castle were stunning, and the effects were seamless. The rich colors and fantastic creatures made the entire viewing a joy to experience. I was knocked silly by Maleficent's character design, and I was entranced by Elle Fanning's smile. The quiet power of this film builds slowly, as the various events unfold at a regal pace. The filmmakers eschew the usual bombast and frenetic overkill so common in effects-driven blockbusters. The music plays softly in the background, nudging rather than bludgeoning. Children of any age can embrace this wonderful tale of betrayal, vengeance, and redemption. I look forward to watching it again and again in years to come. Magnifique!

Heartbreakers (1984) Bobby Roth wrote and directed this humorous yet poignant depiction of a male friendship that is tested by a femme fatale art dealer. Peter Coyote is Blue, talented LA painter who has been scraping by with the help of best buddy Eli (Nick Mancuso), heir to a struggling garment business. Carol Wayne, Kathryn Harrold, Jamie Rose, and Carole Laure are the women they spar and sometimes sleep with. The friendship between the two men is one of the most authentic and affecting I have seen on film. They complement each other well, and their loyalty to each other is expressed in quiet ways. Look for the scene about 38 minutes in, when Eli comes over and finds Blue sleeping on his layout table. Cinematography by Michael Ballhaus, with a score by Tangerine Dream. A perceptive observation of young singles resisting the demands of full adulthood, and my choice as the best movie out there about modern day painters. Highly Recommended.

"Well, Syd told me, that you think abstractionists should be executed."

The Haunting (1963). Adapted from "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson. Hollywood legend Robert Wise directs this disturbing tale of a fragile spinster who joins a paranormal researcher's on-site investigation of a notoriously haunted house. Julie Harris radiates naivete and terror in equal measure. 60s stalwarts Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn, and Claire Bloom are her de facto family in a harrowing weekend of closing doors and phantom noises. This film is extremely unsettling and brilliantly filmed.

The relationship between Eleanor (Harris) and Theo (Bloom) in The Haunting provides an opportunity for camp to leak in, but Wise keeps everything strictly business. There is not a single frame in The Haunting that does not somehow either enhance the atmosphere or advance the plot. If you watch closely, you will see that they inverted some of the exterior shots from B&W to W&B just to create a more alien feel. The movie is rife with innuendo, but never crosses the line to self-parody.

Eleanor is a very tragic figure. Her lone attempt to control her own destiny results in unexpected acceptance and kinship that slowly gives way to fear. Julie Harris plays her as if she stopped maturing at age 10, when the poltergeist experience occurred. Her celibate status is due more to her childish attitude that sex is 'icky' (inferred from her relationships with Theo and Luke), than any lack of sex appeal.

The Haunting is set in the early 1960s, but the picture is timeless. The cinematography by Davis Boulton, editing by Ernest Walter, production design by Elliot Scott, and especially the music by Humphrey Searle are all top-quality. Its treatment of ghostly goings-on may not be to everyone's liking, but the synergy of technical elements with casting and script creates a thrilling, memorable experience for the audience.

"Whose hand was I holding?"

French silent classic. Produced, written, and directed by Georges Méliès, who took inspiration from Jules Verne's "From the Earth to the Moon" (1865) and H. G. Wells' "First Men in the Moon" (1901). The first science fiction film ever made was very expensive to produce for films of its time, and it was a huge success worldwide.

The fully restored 14-minute silent is posted to YouTube. The hand-painted cels have been restored and re-assembled digitally. There are no interstitial titles or dialogue. Everything is communicated via pantomime and music cues. The music recorded with this release is a great asset to the visuals, and is not a conventional silent film score. The joy I experienced while watching this I usually associate with The Wizard of Oz (1939) and such films. The movie is a continuous 14 minutes of sheer visual delight. Note especially the way women are featured.

One truly amazing aspect is the actual capsule that travels to the Moon. Just compare the ship featured in "Le voyage dans la lune" with the Service & Command Modules which actually orbited the Moon during the Apollo missions.

I recently found the Restored version of this silent homage to the Mary Shelley classic tale on YouTube. All quoted passages are taken verbatim from the novel.

The animating of the Creature sequence (3:00 - 6:45) in this short film is unique, I believe. Note the human skeleton prominently displayed therein. I never understood how Frankenstein could make a vigorous eight-foot-tall humanoid from the rotting corpses of normal-sized 19th Century men.

"When I found so astonishing a power placed within my hands, I hesitated a long time concerning the manner in which I should employ it. Although I possessed the capacity of bestowing animation, yet to prepare a frame for the reception of it, with all its intricacies of fibres, muscles, and veins, still remained a work of inconceivable difficulty and labour. I doubted at first whether I should attempt the creation of a being like myself, or one of simpler organisation; but my imagination was too much exalted by my first success to permit me to doubt of my ability to give life to an animal as complex and wonderful as man. The materials at present within my command hardly appeared adequate to so arduous an undertaking; but I doubted not that I should ultimately succeed....It was with these feelings that I began the creation of a human being. As the minuteness of the parts formed a great hindrance to my speed, I resolved, contrary to my first intention, to make the being of a gigantic stature; that is to say, about eight feet in height, and proportionably large. After having formed this determination, and having spent some months in successfully collecting and arranging my materials, I began....These thoughts supported my spirits, while I pursued my undertaking with unremitting ardour. My cheek had grown pale with study, and my person had become emaciated with confinement. Sometimes, on the very brink of certainty, I failed; yet still I clung to the hope which the next day or the next hour might realise. One secret which I alone possessed was the hope to which I had dedicated myself; and the moon gazed on my midnight labours, while, with unrelaxed and breathless eagerness, I pursued nature to her hiding-places. Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil, as I dabbled among the unhallowed damps of the grave, or tortured the living animal, to animate the lifeless clay? My limbs now tremble and my eyes swim with the remembrance; but then a resistless, and almost frantic, impulse urged me forward; I seemed to have lost all soul or sensation but for this one pursuit. It was indeed but a passing trance that only made me feel with renewed acuteness so soon as, the unnatural stimulus ceasing to operate, I had returned to my old habits. I collected bones from charnel-houses; and disturbed, with profane fingers, the tremendous secrets of the human frame. In a solitary chamber, or rather cell, at the top of the house, and separated from all the other apartments by a gallery and staircase, I kept my workshop of filthy creation: my eye-balls were starting from their sockets in attending to the details of my employment. The dissecting room and the slaughter-house furnished many of my materials; and often did my human nature turn with loathing from my occupation, whilst, still urged on by an eagerness which perpetually increased, I brought my work near to a conclusion."

Shelley specifically states that intact re-animation of the already-dead would be the second phase of the experiments.

"Pursuing these reflections, I thought, that if I could bestow animation upon lifeless matter, I might in process of time (although I now found it impossible) renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption."

This 14-minute piece is a grand early work, and the accompanying music sets the tone brilliantly. The way J. Searle Dawley ends the story is unique and surprisingly poetic.

The true story of Helen Keller, born deaf and blind. She was a vigorous advocate for social justice, and an inspiration to countless people around the globe.

I remember as a young boy that "The Miracle Worker" was something of a sensation in 1962. It depicts the early life of Helen Keller and her relationship with teacher Anne Sullivan. It is that rare case where the lead roles were cast with the same actors as the Broadway play. The dinner table scrap is firmly embedded in Cinema lexicon. Oscars went to both Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke, with 3 other nominations. The film was universally praised by critics. Directed by Arthur Penn, with ethereal, haunting cinematography by Ernesto Caparros.

"The room's a wreck, but her napkin is folded"

Burt Lancaster as the world's most buff 55-year-old. He spends the entire movie in a pair of swimming trunks. A cross-section of 60s supporting players populate his odyssey through the swimming pools of the upper crust of Connecticut. The episodic structure leads to some relatively weak passages, but the music and Burt's dynamic, charismatic Candide-like ad executive keep things moving at a jaunty pace. Janice Rule is inhumanly sexy in a small, but pivotal role. Adapted from a John Cheever New Yorker short story, and a case study in delusion and denial.

"This is my hot dog wagon."

Mentally impaired Dominick (Tom Hulce, Oscar-winner for Amadeus) is putting his intern brother, Eugene (Ray Liotta at his best), through medical school by collecting garbage. Eugene is torn between his nascent career and his responsibility for his brother. Todd Graff as Nicky's partner on the garbage truck, Larry, brings humor and sympathy to what could have been a throw-away role. I collected garbage for two Summers in my Hometown, and the scenes of Nicky and Larry chatting with the folks on their route are completely authentic. Powerful and exhilarating, with Jamie Lee Curtis as the sympathetic student who inadvertently comes between the brothers.

"...and you have to believe in your strength, Nicky"

"Iron Man" is every bit as good as "Spider-Man (1)". The character is lesser known to the public, but he is a central figure in the Marvel universe. No prior knowledge is necessary to thoroughly enjoy this movie, but it is packed full of references to the source material, a real joy for a lifelong Marvel Comics reader and fan like me. One can just feel Marvel Studios flooring the accelerator on future adaptations ("Thor", Captain America", and "The Avengers" are all listed in IMDb as being in pre-production). Do NOT miss this movie: it is loads of fun, crisply paced, and well-acted. It is not just a great superhero movie, but a great movie, period.

This movie is way beyond bad, it is thoroughly incompetent. I would expect better acting in a 3rd grade Nativity play. I can not imagine a worse cast for ANY movie, mostly just a bunch of Mad TV and SNL alumni cashing paychecks. Even Miranda Richardson is made to look ridiculous - her performance consists entirely of arching her eyebrows. "The Rock" walks around wide-eyed and compulsively taps his fingers and is bloody awful. Wallace Shawn...what the hell? It seems like Kelly was trying for a sort of sci-fi cross between "Total Recall" and "Magnolia", with characters' lives randomly intersecting, but there is nothing here to focus on, it ends up just being random. Appallingly bad, I see no value even as a cult item. A major disappointment, because I love "Donnie Darko".