Yes, I’m aware that May is closing in and I still haven’t posted the movies I watched in March. March was much less active than February, filled with several rewatches and one TV season. Let’s get started:
Captain Phillips (2013) Paul Greengrass
Captain Phillips is based on the true story of an American shipping vessel being captured by Somali pirates. I know it’s based on a true story, but I kept asking myself why certain things weren’t done or weren’t done sooner. This movie could’ve ended one way in about 30 minutes had someone done a little advance planning. It also could’ve quickly ended a completely different way if someone hadn’t used their head. The ship’s ease of capture (and a few other points) initially bothered me, but Greengrass got me involved in the story from that point and kept a good focus. Hanks is good, as always, but the supporting cast of virtual unknowns brings a sense of authenticity to the film. Hanks is particularly good in the last section of the film.
3.5/5
Mona Lisa (1986) Neil Jordan (2x)
Mona Lisa is almost a great film. It stars Bob Hoskins (who is frequently great) as George, a man who works for the London mob. It’s his first day out of jail and he’s ready to get back to work when his boss (Michael Caine) assigns him to be a driver/bodyguard for a prostitute named Simone, played by Cathy Tyson (niece of actress Cecily Tyson). The film is full of wonders, the most amazing of which is the fact that Tyson can act toe-to-toe with Hoskins. Simone exudes elegance and an icy invulnerability, yet we also know there’s a painful part of her past she’s not willing to divulge. Hoskins and Tyson are absolute magic together. Unfortunately, the film suffers from a weak ending, keeping it from becoming a truly great film. Tyson’s performance makes you wonder why she never hit superstar status. Perhaps it was her choice. The talent’s certainly there.
The movie also stars a very young Robbie Coltrane and features a nice, slimy performance by Caine. Sadly, Hoskins was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease a few years ago and no longer acts, which is certainly our loss.
4.5/5
The Maltese Falcon (1941) John Huston (7x)
I see new things in this film each time I watch it. I once thought Mary Astor was the weak link in what is otherwise an absolutely perfect cast, but now I see how good she really was in the role of Brigid O’Shaunessey. So I retract my former statement and add this new one: The Maltese Falcon does have the greatest cast of any American film. There, I’ve said it. And it was director John Huston’s first film. Not bad for your first time out.
5/5
Unbreakable (2000) M. Night Shyamalan (3x)
My friend Matt recently reminded me of just how good Shyamalan’s second major feature is, one that invites (if not demands) multiple viewings, not so much to “figure out how they did it” as many do with The Sixth Sense, but to soak up the characters and how the subtle aspects of the script work so well. Bruce Willis plays a man who works on a stadium security detail, wondering why he’s never been sick in his entire life. A strange man - with a disorder that causes his bones to break easily - named Elijah (Samuel L. Jackson) may have the answers. Anyone who is a fan of comic books who has never seen Unbreakable is not truly a fan of comic books.
4.5/5
The Sopranos Season Five (TV 2004)
It took me months to get through the fifth season of The Sopranos, mainly due to what seems the inevitable slowing down and stretching out of the story as the series approaches its final season. Some of the plot lines seemed interminable, but there’s still a lot of good stuff here, primarily the performances. Season Six is in two parts and I eventually want to see them, but right now I’m not in any hurry.
3.5.5
L.A. Confidential (1997) Curtis Hanson (2x)
Looking back on all the other films nominated for Best Picture in 1997 - Titanic (which, to no one’s surprise, won), As Good as It Gets, Good Will Hunting, and The Full Monty - L.A. Confidential, in a perfect world, should have won.
My guess as to why it didn’t? For one thing, good or bad, Titanic was just too popular. For another, while neo noir was and still is popular (films around that time such as Reservoir Dogs, The Usual Suspects, Dark City, Memento, Mystic River, etc.), L.A. Confidential is in reality a classic period film noir set during its heyday (1953). Like many of those films from the noir era (roughly the 1940s and 50s), L.A. Confidential contains lots of plot twists and convoluted storylines. The look of the film is stellar and the cast is pretty much tops. I suspect (and hope) that L.A. Confidential will stand the test of time as a very, very good film.
5/5
Thor: The Dark World (2013) Alan Taylor
I think the guys in this photo are waiting around for a good script... What a disappointment from Marvel. I don’t know when I’ve seen so much talent onscreen and off that was so wasted on blowing stuff up and rehashing another Marvel villain they probably pulled from a Choose Your Own Villain adventure. Thor’s Asgard (and all of Norse mythology) is so rich with possibilities that to reduce a story to how many explosions you can put onscreen is just wrong.
2/5
Shock (1946) Alfred L. Werker
“Schlock” might be a better title, more in line with its B-movie status. Shock is the second film in a noir collection I bought awhile back with the catchy title Film Noir Collection. I certainly didn’t expect greatness, nor did I get it, but Vincent Price is always fun to watch and if he’s not at his wicked best here, he’s pretty close, playing a psychiatrist who murders his wife while a distraught woman looks on from a hotel room.
2.5/5
Rebecca (1940) Alfred Hitchcock (2x)
Hitchcock’s first American film - and his first film to direct under the eagle eye of producer David O. Selznick - was his only film to win the Best Picture Oscar. Incredible, isn’t it? While excellent on many counts, Hitchcock is still developing many of his skills in pacing, mood and style. Laurence Olivier is pretty much going through the motions, which works for the character of Maxim de Winter, who marries an ordinary woman (Joan Fontaine) in order to forget his deceased first wife, Rebecca. Judith Anderson steals the show as Mrs. Danvers, the ice-in-her-veins housekeeper. You’ll never forget her performance or the final scene. Watching the extras on the Blu-ray - especially all the Hitchcock vs. Selznick shenanigans - is definitely worth a look as well.
4.5.5
That's it for the movies I watched in March. Let me know what you saw that was good and maybe wasn't so good.
