Beatlemania? We're Just Getting Started...

There’s so much that can be (and has been) said about A Hard Day’s Night that I could never add anything substantial to a further discussion, but I can tell you that the new Criterion release/restoration of the film is a must-have, whether you’re a Beatles fan, a film lover, or just someone who enjoys important events in pop culture. 

A Hard Days’ Night, however, goes far beyond just being an entry in the history of pop culture. It came at just the right time - just weeks after the Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, turning what was already a phenomenon into something that’s still going strong 50 years later and shows no signs of stopping. 

If you want to read just a few essays about the film, there’s no better place to start than Roger Ebert’s blog, where you can read at least four substantial posts. Then read the review of the release at Blu-ray.com. All of the supplements are excellent. And since this is still a dual format package, you’re getting both the Blu-ray and two DVDs (one for the film, one for the supplements) for one price. 

And if this doesn’t scratch your Beatles itch, I’ve got another item for you: Mark Lewisohn’s Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years Volume 1, which so far (I’m 200 pages in) is superb. The book is painstakingly researched and detailed and just a lot of fun to read. Yes, it’s 944 pages AND it’s only the first of three projected volumes, so pace yourself. 

Enjoy! 

The Small-Town Movie Theater is Not Dead!

While we were on vacation last week, I knew we had to stop at the Star Theater in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, an independent locally-owned movie theater that’s been showing movies since 1928. The theater - run by Jeanne Mozier and Jack Soronen - is open Thursdays through Sundays for one 8:00 pm show (as well as an occasional Sunday matinee). The price? $4.50 for adults and $4 for kids under 12. With those prices, you’d think you’re going to see movies that are at least a year or two old, right?

Nope. These are first-run movies - maybe not in their first week of release, but still pretty current. When we were there last week, we just missed X-Men: Days of Future Past, but did see Edge of Tomorrow. Starting August 21, you’ll be able to see Dawn of the Planet of the Apes at the Star, just a little over a month after its initial release. (I should probably also mention that there’s not another movie theater around Berkeley Springs for 40 miles.) 

I paid Jack for our tickets and couldn’t help noticing he used an old-fashioned red mechanical punch cash register, which still does the job quite well. I also couldn’t help noticing that Jack seemed not only pleasant, but genuinely excited about opening the doors and welcoming customers, something he’s undoubtedly done thousands of times over the years. 

As we walked into the theater, I told my wife I was having a dejá vu moment. The seats and their arrangement looked exactly like the ones we had at the Town Theater in Forest, Mississippi where I grew up: wooden-backed seats covered in red leather (although I don’ t think the seats at the Town were red) and a long center section with ten-seat rows flanked on either side by a strip of four or five-seat rows. Interspersed were a few couches, which you could enjoy for an extra fee (50 cents). 

Most of the seats I noticed were in good shape, but a few looked like they’d seen better days. Still, the theater seats 325, so a few imperfections isn’t too bad. (And hey, there are always the couches...) 

Digitalization has been the kiss of death for many small-town theaters in America, but the Star has managed to stand strong, having upgraded to a digital projector in 2013, which is pretty much essential these days. The picture looked great throughout, and although the sound quality was not as strong as the picture, it certainly wasn’t a deal-breaker by any stretch. 

My visit to the Star held many moments of nostalgia, but I realized the best aspect of the experience is one I hadn’t thought of in decades, probably because I hadn’t experienced it since the last time I visited the Town Theater in Forest: community. 

When you think about it, when you walk into a movie theater these days, you only know the people who came to the movie with you. Sure, you might see one or two other people you know, but that’s usually about it. Growing up in a small town going to the movies, you knew everyone there. You’d see friends and people from school there, even if they weren’t sitting with you at the time. And when the movie was over - or maybe later at school - you could talk about the movie, act out scenes, and generally fanboy/fangirl over the stars. That was a shared community that you don’t really have anymore at the local cineplex. True, part of that sense of community comes from living in a small town, and another part is the recognition that movies were sometimes the only game in town, but there’s something about that community aspect that’s been lost with the demise of the small-town movie theater. 

But not so in Berkeley Springs. I saw people talking to each other about the movie they’d just seen and about how they’d see each other at the next movie next week. I don’t know how many of these people knew each other, but they obviously felt some type of connection. They’d all seen the same movie and - for a brief time - they were all a part of that movie-going community. They shared something in common, even if it only held them together for a couple of hours. 

Of course we can still share that sense of community, even in larger theaters and even in watching movies in our homes. But it’s not the same. It’s similar to - but not quite the same as - watching your local sports teams (amateur up to professional) play live. Win or lose, there’s always something to talk about and if you have season tickets, you know you’re going to see those people again soon. But the movies are different. We all walk in to a darkened room, see the same presentation, and are taken to another world. Sometimes that world is one of wonder and magic, and sometimes it’s a world much like our own. We can laugh, cry, cheer, yell, and get the pants scared off of us in various ways, but when we walk back out into the real world, we know that we’ve experienced something together. That something is passing away with the shrinking number of small independent movie theaters, but thankfully is still alive and well at the Star Theater. Thank you, Jeanne and Jack. Keep up the good work - I hope to see you again soon.

Spielberg Collection on the Way

On October 14, 2014, Universal will release Steven Spielberg Director's Edition Blu-ray, which includes these eight films:

Duel (Made for TV 1971)

The Sugarland Express (1974)

Jaws (1975)

1941 (1979)

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Always (1989)

Jurassic Park (1993)

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

The retail price for this set is two pennies under $200. You can save a whopping 10% by preordering from Amazon for $179.98.

I'm going to pass on this one. While I love several Spielberg films, appreciate others, and avoid others like the plague (and for me, there's some of all of these in this collection), I'll be content with the two that I already own from this set: Jaws in Blu-ray and Duel on DVD. E.T. and Jurassic Park are always slightly tempting, but I've resisted so far. I know they had to put some of the duds in this collection, otherwise what would you do? Maybe put out a You Failed Collection with all the films carrying Rotten Tomatoes scores below 70, which would be 

Always 64%
The Terminal 61%
Lost World: Jurassic Park 52%
1941 32%
Hook 31%

What's interesting about this new set is that it completely skips Close Encounters of the Third Kind in its chronology (released after Jaws and before 1941). And does that mean the next set (and it seems obvious there will be a next set or sets) might include The Color Purple, Empire of the Sun, Hook and others? (The Indiana Jones movies, of course, have already been collected.) Maybe Empire of the Sun will be reserved for The Depressing Spielberg Edition, where it might join Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan and Armistad? I can't really see those films standing alongside some of Spielberg's others. 

I can see a science fiction set, though, including Minority Report, A.I. and War of the Worlds. Or maybe a historical set. 

What would YOU like to see?

Ripley’s Game (2002) Liliana Cavani

If you’ve never heard of Ripley’s Game, you’re not alone. Most moviegoers missed the film, largely due to the fact that it was never released theatrically in America. At the time, the film’s distributor Fine Line (part of New Line Cinema) was so busy promoting the final film in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King, that Ripley’s Game got lost in the shuffle. As a result, many people never saw one of John Malkovich’s finest performances in what may be the best of the Ripley movies, which is no small feat. 

That list of films includes Purple Noon (1960), The American Friend (1977), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) and Ripley Under Ground (2004), with Tom Ripley portrayed by Alain Delon, Dennis Hopper, Matt Damon, and Barry Pepper respectively. Malkovich is a much older actor playing a much older Tom Ripley than in any of the other Ripley films and that maturity - both in the actor and the role - adds a tremendous amount of depth to the film. 

Malkovich’s Ripley has always known how to exist keeping his crimes under the radar. No, “exist” is rather inaccurate; Ripley knows how to thrive as a criminal, which he does living in an Italian villa with his wife and a large assortment of the finer things that money (stolen or earned, which is often the same thing) can buy. He’s always been confident, but now, approaching middle-age, Ripley is patient, precise, and unshakable. Oh, and deadly.  

At a dinner party, a man named Trevanny (Dougray Scott) tells a group of guests that his neighbor Tom Ripley is just another American with “too much money and no taste.” He says this just as Ripley enters the room, hearing Trevanny’s entire rant. The next few moments are priceless as Ripley completely controls the situation as the dinner guests hold their collective breath. 

One of Ripley’s former partners, a British man named Reeves (Ray Winstone) - whom Ripley can barely tolerate - needs Ripley to kill a man for him. Ripley refuses, but tells Reeves that no one would ever suspect someone who’s completely innocent, someone like Trevanny. Ripley reasons that Trevanny - who has a terminal illness - has nothing to lose and the job would help provide for his family after his death. But such things never turn out quite the way we expect. 

If you’ve read any of Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley novels or seen any of the aforementioned films, you know that Ripley is going to wreak some serious havoc, which he does. It should come as no surprise that Malkovich is certainly up to that task. Neither should it surprise you that the film includes several instances of dark humor, particularly in one scene on a train. What is surprising is that we see something of Tom Ripley’s humanity in some unexpected ways, both in the manner in which he treats women and in some of the revelations he experiences. Ripley’s Game is one of those films that’s intelligent, fun, suspenseful and well-acted, certainly one you should not miss.  

4/5

Where You Can See Life Itself

I'm very pleased that Life Itself, the documentary on the life of Roger Ebert, is finally playing in select theaters, but really disappointed that it's only showing in one theater locally, the E Street Cinema in Washington DC. You can find a complete list of theaters here, at least through the month of July. And not one theater in Maryland... (Nice going, AFI Silver.) The list also states that you can rent the film through Amazon Streaming and iTunes for $7, which I might actually do. Matt Zoller Seitz reviews the film here. 

Movies Watched in June 2014

June was a sad, sad month for movies, perhaps an all-time low. My excuse? I did read a lot in June (33 books and graphic novels) and I watched probably three seasons of Breaking Bad with my wife (her first time; my second). So here’s the very short list:

The Invisible Man (1933) James Whale [Universal Monsters Collection Blu-ray] (2x)

You can read my full review here. 

4/5

The Lady Vanishes (1938) Alfred Hitchcock [Criterion Blu-ray]

One of Hitchcock’s final British films before coming to America, The Lady Vanishes takes awhile to get going and dwells on some establishing scenes a little too long, but once the train gets moving (literally and metaphorically), the film is quite a treat. 

While traveling by train, a young English woman (Margaret Lockwood) meets an elderly woman named Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty), who mysteriously disappears. Stranger still, no one on board has any recollection of Miss Froy. Extras on the Criterion Blu-ray include:

Audio commentary from film historian Bruce Eder

Crook’s Tour (1941), an additional feature film starring Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne, who reprise their roles as Charters and Caldicott from The Lady Vanishes

Excerpts from the 1962 famous Truffaut/Hitchcock audio interview

Mystery Train, a video essay about The Lady Vanishes by Hitchcock scholar Leonard Leff

New essays by critic Geoffrey O’Brien and Hitchcock scholar Charles Barr

The usual gallery of behind-the-scenes photos and promotional art

4/5

The Cooler (2003) Wayne Kramer [DVD]  

Previously discussed here. 

3/5 

They Made Me a Criminal (1939) Busby Berkeley

With all the talent associated with They Made Me a Criminal, it should be a much better film. For starters, you’ve got Busby Berkeley - a man who made his name with a long string of hit musicals - directing. Next, you have John Garfield in his second major film, Claude Rains in a supporting role, and James Wong Howe as the film’s cinematographer. 

Yet They Made Me a Criminal isn’t a very good film, even for 1939. Heck, especially for 1939, American cinema’s golden year. Garfield plays Johnny Bradfield, the lightweight boxing champ who projects a squeaky-clean image for the public, yet behind closed doors, is up to major shenanigans. One night, during a party in Bradfield’s Manhattan apartment, a man is accidentally killed. Although Bradfield had nothing to do with it (since he was out cold drunk), he gets the blame. The cops think Bradfield died in a car accident trying to evade the law, but he secretly sneaks his way out West, where he meets up with some reform school rejects and a beautiful woman named Peggy (Gloria Dickson). 

The plot is filled with holes, the script is littered with hokum and nearly every aspect of the story is telegraphed way in advance. (And if you’re a boxing fan, you’re in for some disappointment. There are boxing scenes, yes, but nothing at all memorable.) About 10 minutes of The Dead End Kids was enough to last a lifetime, but otherwise the performances are certainly better than the material. 

2/5

The Cooler (2003) Wayne Kramer

The Cooler is one of those films hardly anyone remembers or talks about just over 10 years after its release, although at the time it was nominated for (and in a few cases, won) several awards. The strength of the film lies in its performances. William H. Macy plays Bernie, a guy who works in a casino owned by a mobster named Shelly (Alec Baldwin). Bernie is a “cooler,” a guy so unlucky that his mere presence at a crap table, slot machine, card game - you name it - causes the person who’s on a winning streak to collapse in immediate and utter defeat. Bernie is a loser, but he’s a well-paid loser. One day his luck starts to change when he gets a casino waitress named Natalie (Maria Bello) out of a jam. 

The Cooler loses its cool when the Frank Hannah/Wayne Kramer screenplay hits us over the head a little too hard with too many examples both of Bernie’s hard luck and his change of luck. A subplot involving Bernie’s son and the son’s pregnant girlfriend doesn’t really work because we know they’re just there as a plot device that helps bring the film to its turning point. Those instances aren’t really deal breakers, at least not until we get to the final slow-motion gambling scenes and a completely implausible ending. Still, the performances - including a couple of short scenes with Paul Sorvino - make The Cooler worth a look. 

3/5

Rod Serling

Yesterday, one of my favorite comics writers Ed Brubaker retweeted this Mike Wallace interview with Rod Serling from 1959. The interview was conducted before The Twilight Zone aired in that same year, so Serling - although he had already written successfully for television - was far from a household name. 

The interview touches on some very interesting topics: the future and quality of television, censorship, writing, and much more. Although obviously much in television has changed since 1959, so much has not. Serling certainly saw the potential for television and storytelling via television and was not afraid to fight for quality. As you can see and hear from the interview, Wallace, at times, clearly doesn't get it and you can see the frustration on Serling's face. 

The quality of the film isn't very good and both guys smoke like stacks, but it's still essential viewing for Serling fans, Twilight Zone fans, or simply fans of quality TV.  

Brubaker also tweeted this documentary of Serling which I have not yet watched, but plan to later today.

Serling's daughter Anne published a biography of her dad in 2013 called As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling, a book I hope to read soon.  

Criterion Collection Format Change

Well, it was nice while it lasted...

Criterion recently announced that starting with the September releases (which should be announced sometime tomorrow) it will no longer offer its films in the dual format packaging, something they've been doing for the past several months. I'm very disappointed in this decision for several reasons, which I'll go into below.

I should probably clear up a misconception. The "dual format" does not mean that a single disc contains a DVD side and a Blu-ray side (which I don't even think is possible), but rather that both are included in a single case. That packaging has been responsible for a lot of the complaints to Criterion, since in many instances, you're talking about a package that contains three discs: one for the Blu-ray edition, one for the DVD edition, and one for the DVD supplements. To accommodate three discs, Criterion often goes with a digipak package - like this release of Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent I recently bought. 

Yeah, those discs aren't in the normal plastic packaging and they look a little funny on the shelf with your other discs, but so what? Yes, I know they're not as sturdy, either, but take care of your movies and everything's fine. 

I like the dual format because I can loan movies out to friends who don't have a Blu-ray player, I can play them on my computer, I can take them on vacation, I can play them for licensed library programs... all sorts of reasons. And since the retail price of the sets remained $39.95 (same price as the individual formats), you're basically getting something for free. 

I know these decisions are all about money, but many (I won't say most, because I haven't researched it) companies put out dual format editions of new releases anyway, and include digital copies (which Criterion still doesn't do). 

Why not keep the dual format option and add a digital copy? Go ahead and bump the price up to $45. Heck, make it a print-on-demand and raise it to $50. See how many people want 'em. (I would, but I'd wait until the 50% off sales.)

If both discs together are currently priced at $39.95, then it seems the price of the Blu-ray by itself should drop to a retail of $29.95. The new one-disc Criterion DVDs are currently $19.95 retail; the 2-discs, $29.95. So you're making me pay $10 for supplemental features on a DVD? That's ridiculous. Make the 2-disc DVD $24.95 tops. 

That's my solution. Feel free to weigh in with your thoughts. 

The Invisible Man (1933) James Whale

The Invisible Man (1933) James Whale

(The Invisible Man is part of the Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection 

Blu-ray set, which I am slowly working through.)  

I first saw James Whale’s The Invisible Man on the late show when I was in college and - like most college students - thought I knew everything. I remember thinking that the film was uneven, slow, and not very exciting, at least compared to other classic horror films like Frankenstein and The Wolf Man. Now, watching it again after 30 years, I understand why I didn’t like it then: The Invisible Man is enormously disturbing. 

Claude Rains (all wrapped up, naturally, in gauze and bandages) plays Dr. Jack Griffin, a scientist who has discovered the secret of invisibility, mainly through the use of monocane, a drug that also causes Griffin to become unstable in his thinking and cruel in his actions. Like many mad scientists in the movies, Griffin believes his power gives him the right and means to rule the world. 

Such movie villains are usually laughable and rarely do much serious harm, but Griffin kills people. Lots of them, many of them on-screen. Griffin even promises to kill one of the main characters, a threat we see all the time in movies, but rarely carried out. When Griffin makes good on his promise, it’s a chilling scene.  

I also remember thinking the film contained too much obvious comic relief. When Griffin checks in to a village inn - all bundled up with his head covered in bandages - the locals get a little too inquisitive, causing Griffin to engage in some invisible hijinks. Clearly these antics are meant to show off the film’s special effects, but we also see that many of these characters aren’t too bright, especially the innkeeper, played by Una O’Connor. (We can almost sympathize with Griffin’s desire to be rid of them.) Give credit to John P. Fulton, John J. Mescall and Frank D. Williams for what were at the time, groundbreaking special effects. You can’t really fault them for wanting to indulge themselves. 

The Invisible Man is ultimately more terror than horror. Although the characters realize that Griffin certainly isn’t omnipresent, they never really know where he might be at any time. He could be anywhere, sitting right next to you, ready to strangle you with hands you’d never see. The unpredictability of the menace is both suspenseful and disturbing. The idea that death could strike at any moment is one no one enjoys, especially in the times we live in now. Combine the aspect of terror with the fact that Griffin operates on his own rules, answering to no one, and you’ve got a disturbing film that unfortunately resonates all too well in 2014. Or maybe Whale just meant it all as dark comedy. Either way, The Invisible Man is still worth a look and deserves a place in this collection. 

(The Invisible Man also includes a performance by Gloria Stewart, who was 23 when this film was made, and 87 when she appeared in James Cameron’s Titanic.)

Extras on the disc include a Rudy Behlmer commentary (which I did not sample), “Now You See Him: The Invisible Man Revealed,” a interesting but not very inspired 35-minute look at The Invisible Man and its sequels, a four-minute series of production photographs, a trailer gallery of The Invisible Man Returns and Invisible Agent, and an 8-minute short called “100 Years of Universal: Unforgettable Characters,” trumpeting Universal’s horror and non-horror characters. 

4/5

Upcoming Blu-ray Releases

I often take a look at the Release Calendar over at www.blu-ray.com, usually just for fun, seeing not only the new "just-got-out-of-the-theater" movies, but releases of movies I haven't seen in years/decades. Here's a little bit of both that, although I probably won't buy many of these, I would like to see the upgraded versions. 

I think it'll be much easier to watch this streaming or from the library, but everybody's talking about True Detective. Eager to start this one. Release date June 10, 2014

I remember seeing this Charles Bronson flick when I was a kid, being struck that Jan-Michael Vincent - who had been in a lot of Disney movies I'd seen - was playing a way cooler character than he'd played in any of those kids' films. Release date June 10, 2014

Hey, it's Wes Anderson - what other reason do you need? Release date June 17, 2014

Picnic at Hanging Rock is one of the most popular "entry points" into art films. It certainly was for me. This is one I plan to buy, especially with the dual format that I can loan out to friends. Release date June 17, 2014

Another must-buy. It's the Beatles. It's Criterion. It's dual format. Done. Release date June 24, 2014

I've always loved George Pal's 1960 version of The Time Machine, even if it does look cheesy over 50 years later. I grew up with it and love it. I'll get this one for sure. 
Release date July 8, 2014

There's really only one scene that people remember from David Cronenberg's Scanners, even people who've never seen the movie. I'll be interested to see if the whole movie holds up. (I kinda suspect it doesn't.) Release date July 15, 2014

Marty isn't the type of movie that really needs a Blu-ray release, unless it has a lot of extras, but it's a movie I've always enjoyed. I have to be in the right mood for it, but I'd like to see it again at some point. Release date July 15, 2014

I'll confess that I've never seen the entire run of David Lynch's Twin Peaks, but I usually buy into the Lynch weirdness. The whole series was streaming, but I don't know if that will be the case after this set is released, which also includes the movie Fire Walk With Me.  
Release date July 29, 2014

So, look around on the Release Calendar and see what grabs you. 

Movies Watched in May 2014

Not a ton of movies in May, but hopefully some old and new films for your consideration:

Safety Last! (1923) Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor [Criterion Collection Blu-ray] (2x)

From time to time it’s my job to provide a movie for the students in our church’s college ministry to watch and discuss. I wracked my brain for something new and edgy to talk about, something relevant to the times we live in and maybe even something “straight from the headlines” (or the Facebook posts). Then I decided to go in the complete opposite direction and show them a silent movie that’s over 90 years old, Harold Lloyd’s classic Safety Last! 

I wasn’t sure how the students would like the movie, but they were on the edge of their seats during the climbing sequences, gasping and clutching their chairs. I also wasn’t sure if I would enjoy the film as much on a second viewing, but I enjoyed it more than the first time, having a greater appreciation for Lloyd’s masterful timing, charm and ability to make us laugh - and grip our chairs in suspense. 

5/5

Dallas Buyers Club (2013) Jean-Marc Valée [library DVD]

I’ve always thought Matthew McConaughey a talented actor who often rises above his material - sometimes too much so, due either to a bad script or as a result of his presence being too strong (or possibly unchecked). In his Oscar-winning performance in Dallas Buyers Club, he’s certainly worthy of the award, even though I didn’t always think the movie worked as a consistent story. 

3.5/5

The Mummy (1932) Karl Freund (2x)  [Blu-ray]  

Watching some of the old horror classics shows you just how good some of these filmmakers were at what they did, considering what they had to work with and what - compared to modern times - they didn’t have. Boris Karloff shows why he remains one of the giants of cinema, but much credit has to go to makeup pioneer Jack Pierce, a man who is still not given the recognition he deserves. Also noteworthy is a striking performance by Zita Johann, who was far stranger in real life than the role she plays here, that of a woman who may or may not be the reincarnation of an Egyptian princess. You can learn more about Karloff, Pierce, Johann, and the film itself in the Blu-ray’s excellent extras.  

4/5 

Lars and the Real Girl (2007) Craig Gillespie [Netflix streaming]

  

Lars and the Real Girl comes oh, so dangerously close to disaster in so many places that I marvel at its tone and construction. By now, everyone knows the plot: Lars (Ryan Gosling) - an extremely shy, awkward recluse - orders a lifelike doll from an adult website and acts like she’s a real woman, showing her off to everyone in his small Wisconsin town. Credit director Gillespie for making us believe in the premise, but also credit Gosling for an incredibly restrained performance that, somehow, works. 

4/5

Eye of the Needle (1981) Richard Marquand [DVD] (2x)

Maybe you’re not familiar with director Richard Marquand, but after Eye of the Needle, he did a little movie you might’ve heard of called Return of the Jedi. I’m not exactly sure what George Lucas saw in Marquand from this film, since it’s a pretty pedestrian adaptation of Ken Follett’s novel of the same name, minus most of the suspense and character development. Even musical score legend Miklós Rózsa stumbles badly in places. (Nothing can ruin a spy film faster than overscoring.) 

Still, the story itself is good: Donald Sutherland plays a spy for the Nazis who discovers the location of the D-Day landing. On the run, he crashes a boat near a remote island in an attempt to reach a radio so that he can warn the Nazis of the impending attack. The sole inhabitants of the island - a family of three - find him, believing him to be a innocent (and rather incompetent) sailor. Earning their trust (especially that of the wife, played by Kate Nelligan), “The Needle” seeks to reach a radio in time to foil the Allied attack.     

3/5

A River Runs Through It (1992) Robert Redford [DVD]

Many of my friends love this movie based on a semi-autobiographical novella by Norman Maclean, but I found it to be too openly sentimental and nostalgic for my tastes. The story of two sons (Brad Pitt, Craig Sheffer) of a Presbyterian minister (Tom Skerritt) in Missoula, Montana roughly during the 1920s and 30s contains some absolutely stunning cinematography, but you can predict just about everything that’s going to happen. Worth watching for the cinematography and to see a very young Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  

3/5

The Conjuring (2013) James Wan [library DVD]

Good gracious, this scared the crap out of me! Leave the lights on and don’t see it by yourself - that’s all I’m going to tell you. (That and never, ever play hide and seek again!)

4/5

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) Brian Singer (theater)

Marvel is finally starting to figure some things out. Just give us a good story and most moviegoers will be happy. It’s more important to have a solid story than to have stuff blowing up every 10 seconds, and while some stuff does blow up, the story drives the film. This is a movie you can go to and just have a good time. (And isn’t that why we go to the movies anyway?) I’ll leave you with one word: Quicksilver. 

4/5

Movies Watched in April 2014

Yes, I know I’m late once again with my movie list from last month. It’s not even a very long list (May is on board to be a bit more lengthy), so don’t blink, or you’ll miss it:

Foreign Correspondent (1940) Alfred Hitchcock [Hulu Plus]

One of the reasons people tend to forget about Hitchcock’s Foreign Correspondent is that it was the director’s second American film after Rebecca. It was also nominated for Best Picture, losing to Rebecca. (This was also the same year Hollywood gave us such films as The Grapes of Wrath, The Letter, Our Town, The Philadelphia Story, and The Great Dictator. (Not as good a year as 1939, but all in all, not a bad year.) Despite a Best Picture nomination and critical praise, most audiences at the time considered Foreign Correspondent a “B” movie. It’s rarely talked about when discussing Hitchcock’s best films, but maybe it should be. 

This review from The Guardian is worth reading and tells you everything you need to know about the film. With the recent release of the film from Criterion, I hope Foreign Correspondent will receive a new viewership. 

4/5

All is Lost (2013) J. C. Chandor [DVD]

Everyone knows that All is Lost is a “one-man show” movie about a man trapped on a boat trying to survive long enough to be rescued. Other than one voice-over and a few swear words, the movie contains no dialogue. Robert Redford does a fine job (and supposedly permanently lost his hearing in one ear as a result of filming), but I’ll be blunt: the movie just isn’t that interesting. We can’t really know what the character is thinking, what’s motivating him (beyond the obvious: staying alive), or why we should care (other than it’s Robert Redford). Maybe I’m being too harsh, but there just wasn’t enough about the character to sustain my interest. 

3/5

Dracula (1931) Tod Browning (2x)  [Blu-ray]  4/5 

Drácula (1931) George Melford  [Blu-ray]  3/5

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Frankenstein (1931) James Whale [Blu-ray]

  

Love it or hate it, Frankenstein is one of the handful of films that has had an enormous, far-reaching impact on cinema (and not just horror cinema). Sure, you can stack up a multitude of problems with the movie (and I’d probably agree with most of them), but the film’s atmosphere, cinematography, make-up, and performance by Boris Karloff still remain stunning over 80 years later. I wish I could go back in time to see and hear the 1931 audience reaction to those three successive shots of the monster’s face, each getting closer and closer.  

4/5

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) Anthony Russo, Joe Russo [theater]

If you buy into the superhero world, there’s no reason why you wouldn’t enjoy Captain America: The Winter Soldier. In fact, even if you don’t buy into the superhero world, you should enjoy this film since it’s so much more than “things crashing into other things” as Matt Zoller Seitz (Editor-in-Chief of RogerEbert.com) discusses in a recent blog post. It’s going to be very hard to beat Captain America: The Winter Soldier for the summer movie bragging rights. 

4.5/5

Fair is fair: tell me what you saw.