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Lennie_G
Reviews
2024 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Animation (2024)
Political to excellent
For many years we have enjoyed the Oscar nominated short subject live action and the animated films. They are clever, fun and often have a rewarding message. This year there were a few especially rewarding ones and a couple that weren't. One from Iran was lament about the fact that women and girls are expected to wear a covering or Hijab ("Our Uniform"). The short began with a disclaimer that it wasn't condemning Iranian society for this. Then it proceeded to complain at length about it. We certainly enjoy our freedom of dress in the U. S., but we need to abstain from criticizing the cultural habits of others. It is suggested that women in Iran all hate the clothing they are expected to wear. If you've been there, you know this isn't true. For people who think Iran is repressive, they have forgotten that the Taliban has taken over Afghanistan. There are those in high places that want the U. S. to attack Iran. If you watch cable news you will see these implied suggestions.
Another short, "Letter to a Pig", is a political commentary about the Holocaust. The timing of this animated short could not have been worse considering the slaughter that is happening in Gaza. It was animated in France and the story was developed in Israel with Hebrew dialog.
Yet another short animated film is "Wild Summon" that is a warning about sometimes devastating life cycle of a salmon. This is mostly live action scenes of beautiful rivers and streams with the injection of humanoid skin divers replacing the salmon. It is beautifully done, but not very clever and about as subtle as a sledge hammer. I think just about everyone in this country knows about the peril that salmon are facing now with pollution, dams, and over-fishing and it's not an understated problem. A little surprise was that it was narrated by Marianne Faithful.
The rest of the Oscar nominated shorts are simply delightful and inspiring - and worth the price of admission. We especially enjoyed "99 Senses". You will too.
Harlan Coben's Shelter (2023)
Another thriller by Harlan Coben
Shelter is a drama about family loss and a who-dun-it mystery. The story is a complex amalgam of thriller with family drama and comedy. The screen play is written by Corbin's wife, It has some snappy dialog and some improbable situations that distract from a central story that helps to lose sympathy for the main characters. But the series tells the story from the kids point of view which is often endearing. The story veers from tragedy to the supernatural on its way to a conclusion. Without adding spoilers, the series has some mysterious characters that the plot takes a long time to explain why they are included. The serious acting sequences are well done and dramatic. There are numerous scenes of family conflict. Also themes of Nazism, Lesbianism and the holocaust.
Night on Earth (1991)
Something very different....and very good.
Beautifully written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, Night on Earth is an entertaining and enjoyable exploration of human behavior from the vantage point of the taxi in night. It is dramatic without being mean spirited - touching without being overly sentimental. There's genuine compassion and believable angst. The cinematography and direction are smooth and engaging. With deft editing of the streets, the cab, and the passengers, stories evolve until you're situated as a voyeur while the plot quickly develops. This is a movie that holds up over time. It's about human interaction. Highly recommended.
John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)
If you're rather lazy and stupid, you might like it
At the time I write this there have been 279.901 ratings for John Wick:Chapter 4. The vast majority of those must have been ratings by lazy 13 and 14 year olds. The kind of kids that are failing in school. The kind who are spending their time watching hack em' up movies like this and playing Call of Duty or other violent video games. The kind of kids that won't go to the effort of writing a review. In their defense, they probably couldn't find enough positive remarks to say about the movie other that "it's cool". There's perhaps a few who have gotten enough vicarious thrills and can't wait to buy a semi-automatic rifle. Not the kind to have fathers at home willing to teach them how to handle guns and when to use them.
The movie itself is a mindless non-interactive video of long fight scenes in which the characters fight after they should have been killed or disabled by nunchucks, swords or pistols. It is a continuous blood bath with a muddled plot and no humor. When our civilization is unearthed in a thousand years and if a copy of this movie is recovered, the historians could only conclude the we were destroyed from within and a strong contributing factor were mindless and violent entertainment like this.
If you haven't yet seen it...don't.
Mouchette (1967)
Sad defeating
I'm the first to recognize that French cinema has a different style and pacing than American made movies. However, Mochette differs from other French movies by long sequences that could have made their point and 1/4 of the time. There are two sequences with animals that last so long one begins to wonder why they were in the movie in the first place.
Another feature of this French film that takes place, I'm guessing the 1920s, is the sadistic treatment of Mouchette by adults and young people in the movie. The addition of numerous scenes where Mouchette is mistreated, physically, and emotionally by adults, doesn't provide any justification by those adults, or any nuance of self-serving factors. As such, the only reason that I can see for their inclusion would be to hammer home the immoral behavior of such acts to show us that we should have more empathy for young people. But if this were the goals of the story, then we should have seen that the girl had some redeeming character. But she doesn't seem to have any character at all - positive or negative.
Turist (2014)
Not a comedy
I grant that "Force Majeure" ("Turist") does not fit into American genres well, but is it not a comedy as listed in IMDB. It is a deadly serious human drama about a personal crisis following a man's humiliation by his wife. The humiliation is triggered by her deep disappointment in him after an avalanche nearly crashes into them during lunch. They argue and she exposes his failing in front of another couple, which later spawns and argument between the other couple. The drama isn't in the avalanche, but the realistic dialogue between actors. The movie has longer periods of silence that let the situations fully sink in to the viewer. In this sense, it reflects Scandinavian sensibilities and pacing. It is much different that American movies that move quickly from scene to scene with eye candy and helps explain why American social media works so hard to keep users attention. The other difference is an ending that some Americans will feel short changed them. But it is situationally believable, and on that basis worthwhile.
Night and Day (1946)
Take some time to hear a variety of Porter's music
The production of 1946's "Night and Day" is fairly typical of the kind of musical dramas that Hollywood was producing during the forties and fifties. And of course it features the finely crafted words and music of Cole Porter. Cary Grant was one of the hardest working and capable actors that Hollywood has produced, and he doesn't disappoint with this film. Porter was well known for his flamboyant personality and parties, so Grant's breezy persona works well. The film faithfully depicts the major experiences of Porters life and his musical hits.
There is some criticism made by reviewers that the film fictionalized Porter's life. This doesn't differentiate it from the many other films of the period. Some refer to Porters homosexuality. The references that I've come across in reading Porter's biography are innuendo and unconfirmed. The references are such as, "Little is known about when or where cause homosexuality began so that way it would not be unreasonable to assume...". , or "There was nothing really to confirm the suspicions." or "Rumor had it". There are no letters or poems that Porter wrote that hint of gay liaisons though he loved the company of both women and men - especially at parties.
If you take care to listen to Cole Porter's music, and especially the lyrics, you have a true appreciation of his talents which amply portrayed in the movie. To hear just how good music can be, Google the Temptations version of Night and Day on Youtube. It is the most beautiful arrangement of a song I've ever heard.
Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)
Tennessee William's dysfunctional southerners
After a brief scenes in an asylum, "Suddenly, Last Summer" opens to a locale inside a bizarre garden. What is more bizarre than the garden (which certainly must have been intentional) is Katherine Hepburn monologuing Tennessee Williams dialog with psychiatrist Montgomery Clift. She prattles on many minutes without Clift contributing while she recites William's self aggrandizing writing about philosophy, family and preying mantises. Tennessee Williams characterizes Mrs. Venable as a controlling, pedantic whacko. To me, Williams deserves much of the credit for our concept of southerners as unbalanced, histrionic and deceitful. If it were only Mrs. Venable, we could excuse him. But the characters of the Holly family and doctor Hockstader exhibit such unrelenting hysterics and near hysterics that one comes away almost laughing at the over-acting. The movie ends strangely. For a story that is not science fiction or fantasy, this scene incredibly depicts dozens of Italian boys aggressively chasing Catherine Holly's (Elizabeth Taylor) cousin through the Italian seaside streets until he collapses and dies of a heart attack. It's a scene reminiscent of "Lord of the Flies". The bright spot in the movie is Elizabeth Taylor's performance as the guilt ridden and intimidated niece of Mrs. Venable. We at last get to see her redeemed, with the help of Montgomery Clift - the sympathetic psychiatrist. This scene too reflects William's penchant for histrionics in story telling.
Slava (2016)
Universal theme, humor and poignancy
This 2016 satirical movie is both poignant and outrageous. It follows a chronic stutterer who is beset by tormentors from a self interested and corrupt transportation agency in Bulgaria. His abuse at the hands of selfish and vindictive managers and politicians is both laughable and exasperating, frustrating the viewer and the protagonist. But there are funny scenes showing the absurdness of bureaucracy against the vulnerable. The plot is original and compelling and not one that most Americans are likely to see without an extended search. But this one is worth that search. It has universal themes and appeal.
The Fighter (2010)
A good demonstration of why illegal drugs are so destructive
Soap opera fans may like this this semi-factual story of a dysfunctional family that is involved in the professional boxing sport. Like soap operas, most of its scenes take conflict way over the top - often with fighting outside the ring. The movie has many of the elements audiences love - brotherhood, loyalty, family infighting, dysfunction, weakness, and redemption. If you fail to get caught up in the family drama you will constantly be reminded of the failure of the family to step back from the conflict and simply make a decision to stop using drugs and/or remove themselves from the pathetic lifestyles they seem intent on reliving over and over. The direction, camera work and acting is good solid work and keeps the audience entertained. For those who want to see another side of this Lowell neighborhood and the fighters family, you can look for the documentary, "High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell". I haven't seen it.
Ten Who Dared (1960)
A historical drama
For those who have not read, or read of, John Wesley Powell's life threatening trip down the Colorado River, they may not realize that while it is an entertaining movie, it is also historically accurate. Whiskey WAS smuggled aboard one of the boats; Powell DID nearly fall to his death while hanging by his one good hand. Credit to the Disney studio for making a dramatic personal drama accurate to history. Long before Spielburg learned to integrate personal conflict and human frailty into stories, Disney melded the personal with the structural into a visually beautiful and engaging movie with "Ten Who Dared". If the reader is interested in learning more about the trip (which turned out near its end to be a near death experience) I recommend, Powell's Journal, "Down the Colorado" and "The Emerald Mile" by Kevin Fedarko.
A Patch of Blue (1965)
Unpredictable and convincing
As of this writing "A Patch of Blue" is nearly a sixty year old film. As such my expectation was that it would be a sixties treatment and predictable. It wasn't. The screen writing is spare and dramatic. Not present is the almost obligatory barrage of racial prejudice found in films from the fifties to the present. But the message is clear. Without sight to identify a persons skin color, we might all be drawn or repulsed only by a persons actions. This is an important lesson which is handled, not with the bludgeon of most films with racial themes, but finely crafted personal drama of one girl. In addition to the benefit of black and white photography is the acting of Sidney Poitier and especially Shelley Winters, who apparently hated the role for her revolting character.
House of Strangers (1949)
95+ minutes of verbal pugilistics
The screenplay here, especially the dialogue is sparse. There are tense scenes of disagreements, insults, and arguments. That's where most of the drama lies. There is an undercurrent of the mafia, especially that seen in mafia gangster movies. Intimidation, threats and insults, predominate. Indeed, it reminds me much of the movie The Godfather, though I haven't read Mario Puzo's book. After a while, however, the insults and arguments grow tiresome, and it needs to have been broken up by some genuine feelings. There is some redemption near the end of the movie which saves it from being a disaster.
Blast of Silence (1961)
Unconvincing and at times, sloppy
I have to confess some puzzlement over the ratings for Blast of Silence. I think most would agree the movie was on the low end of low budget movies. It's not the black and white cinematography; that's appropriate for noir, and I think it concentrates the drama in movie noir. For one, it's the mediocre acting. It was just ok for a low budget film. The shortcuts taken in filming the movie made for an unconvincing story. To change scenes the camera is blacked out by the protagonist walking into the camera lens, but you see him slowing down as he does it. As another example, near the end of the movie the wind is howling with plants bent over, then a second later the wind sound effect is still howling, but all is visually still including the water. Lest someone thinks I'm nit-picking for a low budget movie, these are but two examples. The narration is at times believable and other times laughable. If the film has one saving grace, it is the many actual street scenes of New York, which are sometimes too long. At times however, it lends an air of authenticity. The reason for those scenes was probably the lack of access to a city sets that the studios had. I'm a big fan of film noir. Not of this one.
Limelight (1952)
A showcase for Chaplin - an ode to himself
I was puzzled by the very high reviews of Limelight. Compared to other movies of the fifties, it lacks coherence. Released in 1952, the film often didn't seem to know what it was supposed to be about. However, certainly it was meant to showcase Chaplin. There are scenes that mimicked the silent films Chaplin did in the twenties where he over-acted the part of a drunk. There are a couple scenes of vaudeville performances that were superfluous. There were numerous scenes where Chaplins character Calvero was glib and overconfident. These and many others put Chaplin center stage to showcase his prodigious talents. The talents could not, in my opinion, raise the movie to the level accorded it by other reviewers. The genius of the way his silent film personas conveyed meaning and emotion to the films of the twenties, though well done, had no place in this film. In one absurd scene Calvero slaps his loving stage frightened ballerina so hard that she stumbles backward three or four steps, and he orders her to get back out on the stage -which she does without hesitation.
But the story was nicely adapted into the dialog especially with the stunningly beautiful Claire Bloom. In the most incredible plot twist, Chaplin has Bloom fall in love with his character Calvero and had her propose marriage to him. If it were possible that Chaplin could have made the movie today, he would have been accused of imitating Clint Eastwood. Chaplin was 41 years older than Bloom.
Some of the camera work was unsteady and self conscious for a film made in 1951 which was a minor flaw.
In spite of these flaws, the movie succeeds with a good basic plot, some fine acting performances and, what I think is the best achievement, the score composed by Chaplin and arranged by Raymond Rasch and Larry Russell.
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
Solid story and script
I generally don't watch movies earlier than 1940. It's only because of the age in which I grew up. I made an exception for this 1939 movie. And in just about every way this was a quality production. From the script to the soundtrack, everything worked. You care about the people. And you find yourself drawn into their world and believing in their situation. Nitpickers will rightly complain about the sets and special effects. But they don't distract much from the storytelling. The evolution of James Cagneys character as well played. The story has an important moral message about the 1920s and it is portrayed effectively.
Endangered (2022)
Suffers from a lack of narration
This documentary takes on a very important subject, the subtle and not so subtle attack on the press by power hungry politicians and those gullible enough to believe them. The film suffers from a lack of any narration that would stitch the disparate anti-press videos together. To me, it's as if the documentary was made to be shown to reporters alone as a kind of solidarity film. The film does leave no doubt as to the extremes politicians and others go to threaten and smear reporters. As an example, Bolsonaro of Brazil says of on one female reporter that she is "using her hole (sic) to get a story"
Histoire immortelle (1968)
A short piece by Orson Wells
This short movie (just an hour) has the benefit of Well's script writing and direction. Through that he convincingly takes you to the 1800s, in dialog and scene. It is a slow moving moving story in both story and camera work. That is its strength. But it is also its weakness because it is less compelling particularly for modern audiences. Except for an anti-climatic death, there is no ending to the story, either good or poignantly bad. Well's character is bitter, but unanimated. Likewise, the other characters are disappointingly unanimated.
One False Move (1991)
highly engaging drama that draws you in and keeps you there
This is a well crafted movie. In general, I have a difficult time suspending disbelief with movies, but not so with One False Move. There are films that concentrate too much on the action (most these days) and some that spend too much time on the character developent and personal interactions. This film, to my mind was very well balanced in that regard. Beautifully filmed suspense and great acting by all the main characters make it a pleasure to watch. There is some fairly intense violence which may bother some people, but violence enhances the story and characters personalities.
Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (1968)
Just being different doesn't make it good
It was a novel idea To make a movie like this. My suspicion is: a few other documentarians thought about the idea before and discarded it for a good reason.
It doesn't have a point. It is simply confused people who become argumentative and are encouraged to keep at it.
The Big Sky (1952)
Outdoor realism
It strikes me that The Big Sky was one of the most logistically difficult films to make. Without CGI and studio back lots, the filming locations are far from Hollywood in the Northwest. There are more actual Native Americans than in other movies I've seen and the river scenes with people falling into and swimming in the river must have been especially arduous. Though one could quibble with the movie's problems: the neatly combed hair and clean shaven faces of the cast the fact that the boat had a motor to propel it up the river, the terrible condition of the celluloid and the sould (the film was apparently rescued from complete degredation before it was digitized), the script and cinematography is a remarkable achievement in realism. I love outdoor films, but this one, with its large cast was an impressive undertaking.
Stalker (1979)
A depressing movie without it setting up a point or lesson
There are those who seem to celebrate movies that are complex and cryptic. Stalker fans must be among those. The movie itself didn't have much to offer to me beyond a vague and depressing story. Seen without having first read the book on which it is based (Roadside Picnic 1972), the plot emerges vaguely in references to the forbidden "Zone" and the Stalker's desire to take two men to a portal within it which will somehow take them to a beautiful reality. We never get to see the "door" or what lays beyond, but eighty percent of the movie consists of the Stalker's struggle to get them there. The movie begins and ends in a sepia colored Russian poverty stricken and depressing town. The furniture is scarce and broken. The floors and walls are dilapidated, peeling, and stained. The ragged looking men wear clothes that are worn and dirty.
When the director takes his three characters into the zone, he switches to color. Then their odyssey progress through junkyards of abandon military and other equipment partially covered in grass that the director obviously found as inexpensive location. They nap beside, (and in) a stream, trudge thru scum covered ponds in abandoned buildings with broken tiled walls. They argue to no conclusion while they walk through underground tunnels that drip water that have garbage and junk strewn everywhere. At one point it looks as though the director has used an abandoned salt mine as a set, which seems completely incongruous.
Coupled with the use of a ugly junkyards in the movie the director makes use of the slowest zoom ins, zoom outs and pan shots that I've ever seen in a movie. Far from exciting interest in the plot or compassion for the characters, these shots slow the story to a crawl and beg the viewer to bail out from watching. Alicia Malone on TCM wants us to be impressed by this kind of film making. I question whether she saw the movie or just read someone else's description. There's description of the characters in the synopsis as "Time Travelers". Other than the stalker having made multiple trips to the zone, there is nothing exhibited in the movie that time is somehow transmuted.
The movie is certainly not entertaining, and not evocative of something unseen. I suppose one could stretch the imagination to reveal an allegory about our search for heaven or a better life. I couldn't see it.
Cry Macho (2021)
Not a drama
I have a lot of respect for the movies that Eastwood has starred in and directed. This isn't one of them. As a drama it is as believeable as a comedy as it is a drama. Clint at 91 is still attempting to protray himself as a sexy macho guy, being seduced by thirty somethings and riding bucking broncos. If he lived from being thrown from the bucking horse he was supposedly riding, he would be in a wheel chair for the rest of his life if he lived. It was a ludicrous couple of minutes. Those kind of scenes simply make the movie unbelievable. Had they been edited out, the film might have been a nice little sleepy Mexican drama. Unfortunately, Eastwood no longer has the energy, timing or incredulous stare to make his character desireable. Too bad.
Kajillionaire (2020)
Unbelieveble
In the pantheon of movie plots, Kajilliaonaire if something rarely seen. This is not enough to rescue this film from the impression it is simply not believeable. The characters would not have spent five minutes together much less the few days that they did. You can always appreciate Richard Jenkins in a film, and a in this one Debra Winger plays something vastly different than her other roles. Alas, I kept thinking, "Yeah, right" saracastically at various plot twists.
Chain Reaction (1996)
Engaging
I like movies that go places (physically). This one does and it helps deliver (the very likeable) characters from harm during their quest to find and reveal historical changing information. You're rooting for them the whole time. Very fun.