gbill-74877 Reviews

Artists and Models (1955)

A little bit of everything

[7/10 · 8 May 2024]

A vehicle for the comedy duo of Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, one that's got a little bit of everything, and in vibrant Technicolor no less. There were a lot of ideas crammed into this film, not all of which work, but they're executed with a lot of energy. Here you'll find musical numbers, Lewis's wacky humor, topical issues, and cultural references, all helped along considerably by the women in the cast, including Dorothy Malone, Shirley MacLaine, Anita Ekberg, and Eva Gabor. In fact, it's MacLaine who pulls off the best scene when she reprises the song Innamorata on the staircase, one that's choreographed beautifully for both laughs and sex appeal as she throws herself at Lewis.

It's a film that families can watch, but it sneaks in quite a bit of sexual innuendo, something that amused me. There's an erection reference in the dickey of Lewis's evening clothes continuing to pop up - "I can't keep this dickey down, Ricky" he says as it springs up to slap him in the face. There's the funny scene where he and Martin get twisted up in knots with two women at the massage parlor. There's the suave Martin rubbing lotion into the back of the prone Malone while serenading her, and Lewis's vision for a comic strip including the alluring villain Zuba the Magnificent, who "uses her body like a pair of pontoons." There's the publisher's always-hungry lover, who he passes off as his niece, cousin, or daughter, depending on what comes to mind.

Perhaps unintentionally(?), there's also a fair bit of homoeroticism in the relationship between the two leads. Lewis's character "likes girls," but he's also effeminate and adores Martin's character, cooking for him in an apron, welling up in a tear when he threatens to move out, and walking into the bathroom while he's in the bathtub. After playing a wild game of charades trying to convey a message to him, he even jumping into the water, almost causing Martin to break character. Later he gives him two kisses on the cheek, one from a woman, the other "from me."

There are a lot of fun little bits dropped into the script, starting with the Bat Lady and the dangers of comic books, which predated the dangers of television, the internet, and cell phones, and had ushered in the Comics Code the previous year. We get bits of the Cold War and a couple of years before Sputnik, get a prefetch of the Space Race ("We can safely predict our nation will be the first to break through the Earth's gravitational pull and establish a space station" ... oops on both counts). There's a Rear Window reference complete with Jimmy Stewart accent, an allusion to President Eisenhower's fondness for golfing, a meta reference to Martin's success with That's Amore, and Martin imitating one of Lewis's bits by crossing his eyes while yelling at him.

It was a bit exhausting keeping up with the film, but sweet little moments like Martin singing The Lucky Song with little kids, help with that. I might have liked it even more without the spy plotting towards the end, but Jerry Lewis tickles me with his screwball zaniness and this came with the package.

Gigli (2003)

Affleck is terrible here

[4/10 · 7 May 2024]

Not the worst movie of all time, contrary to popular opinion, but certainly not a good movie either. It suffers from a lot of things, starting with wanting to be a drama but at the same time a romantic comedy, and failing at both. Mainly it seems to be a vehicle for Jennifer Lopez, three years after she wrote that green Versace dress at the Grammy's and still on top of the world, and who at the time had left Cris Judd for Ben Affleck to form Bennifer 1.0. She's gorgeous but you would probably be happier watching scenes like the one where she's doing yoga with the sound muted, the dialogue is so atrocious.

One of the biggest issues with the film is with her lead man, Ben Affleck, whose character is an unlikeable tool, made worse by the way he performs it. Seriously, if the thought of wanting to punch him in the face doesn't cross your mind, you're a saint. The problem is not thar he makes Lopez's character "go straight" as mentioned in many reviews because that's not even what happens (and she's pointed out she's been with men before) - the problem is he's so utterly charmless that there's absolutely no way her character would want to share a bed with him, let alone sleep with him. Affleck is caught in no-man's land here - a character too soft to be a gangster, one of the plot points, but still abrasive and arrogant in his personal relationships. It's dissatisfying both ways, and tonally the film is wildly inconsistent.

Al Pacino makes an appearance and gets his big moment in, but it doesn't fit the film at all. The other cameo, Christopher Walken, just seems awkward, with Walken trying to make something good out of the crappy lines he was given and failing. Then there's the kidnap victim, a mentally challenged man, played by Justin Bartha, who you may know as the sidekick Riley in National Treasure. Suffice it to say that unsurprisingly, this character is handled poorly and it's cringe-worthy how he's played for laughs, even if the film thinks it's showing empathy in that final Baywatch scene, which was ridiculous.

Watchable especially if you have low expectations, but be prepared to howl at the screen, and to endure 122(!) minutes.

Postcards from the Edge (1990)

Streep is brilliant

[8/10 · 6 May 2024]

"I do not like this side of you." "I'm not a box with sides. This is it! One side fits all!"

Not a story I would normally gravitate towards: the entitled daughter of a Hollywood actor, growing up with drug problems and "mommy issues," based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Carrie Fisher, daughter of Debbie Reynolds. Here I was won over by the powerhouse performances from Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine in the lead roles, and continuing down the line through a very deep cast (Gene Hackman, Richard Dreyfuss, Dennis Quaid, Rob Reiner, CCH Pounder, Annette Bening), as well Fisher's script, which tugs on all the right emotional chords.

Guys, here's a fun fact that I'm not sure anyone has observed before: this Meryl Streep is an incredible actor! Seriously, I've never seen as much authenticity oozing out of every little moment, every gesture. And in this film you get to hear her drop the F bomb a few times as well as belt out a couple of songs, one written by Shel Silverstein (what!). It's a brilliant performance, and it's to MacLaine's credit that she isn't completely overshadowed, and in fact more than holds her own.

Mike Nichols keeps this story moving and Carrie Fisher's screenplay wisely doesn't wallow in self-pity or assigning blame, instead sprinkling humor into what could have been a dark film. I also found there was a universal element to the parental dynamic, as I recall my father telling his children the exact same thing as Carrie Fisher does here, that "you only remember the bad stuff." This is one that I found had aged well despite subject matter that might not have for more than one reason, e.g. The characters too privileged, not a deep enough dive into the recovery from addiction. In any event, I really enjoyed it, and if nothing else, think the performances alone make it worth checking out.

Italian for Beginners (2000)

Charming

[7/10 · 6 May 2024]

As various older people were dying off amid budding connections and possible romance, I began thinking this might be Denmark's answer to Four Weddings and a Funeral, with what would end up a different number of both events.

There is certainly sweetness and humor to be found here, as well as a reminder that kindness is what counts in this too-painful world, a combination I invariably fall for. There are several characters who've lost their way on that front, including the elder Reverend who gets told off for his cynicism in one of the film's dramatic scenes, but mostly it's about being gentle and patient enough with those around us, as embodied by the younger pastor, who was a fantastic character (Anders W. Berthelsen).

As for the love connections, they feel organic and lovely, but two of the three matches didn't completely resonate: the hairdresser and the loudmouth (he's too much of a jerk), and the dorky Jørgen Mortensen and the beautiful Italian women who's ten years younger (they just didn't seem like a match, nor could they communicate with one another). The pairing of the pastor with the klutzy woman, him having recently lost his schizophrenic wife, and her having lived under a verbally abusive father, was wonderful though.

Lone Scherfig directed the film in the style of the Dogme 95 Manifesto, meaning very naturally - handheld camera, natural sound and light, etc - most of which works well, and is in keeping with the unpolished tone of the story. The beautiful city of Venice makes an appearance with about ten minutes left, but it's shot quietly, with little fanfare. In fact, the one shot on the promenade simply sets up a funny moment where a tourist helps out by taking a couple of group photos, but does so very badly.

All in all, not perfect, but charming, especially if you like the feel of indie films.

The Virgin Suicides (1999)

Dreamy and elusive

[7/10 · 5 May 2024]

A story told through the fog of memory, 25 years after the fact, as well as from the perspective of a group of boys, who can't begin to fathom the five sisters who are the objects of their fascination. As a result, there is a certain inscrutability about what we see, a distancing. That may capture the helpless feeling survivors feel when someone they know commits suicide, especially when the reason isn't clear, or how we may remember events from our past and the emotions they caused, but spend a lifetime trying to understand them. Unfortunately, it also results in a feeling of not enough depth in the subject matter. I really would have loved to have gotten more of the perspective of the girls, and for them to have been better differentiated. Seriously, aside from the youngest and Kirsten Dunst's character, the others just blur together. We get glimpses of the double standard for young women and what strict, religious parenting might drive them to, but it was shallow, and in any event, it wasn't enough for me to truly love the film. Dreamy and elusive, it has its moments though, and it's set to a nice soundtrack.

Gone Girl (2014)

Trashy fun

[7/10 · 5 May 2024]

Pure pulp, which has its appeal, especially in the hands of David Fincher, who knew how to tell this story. Like the book, it has elements showing the arc of bad marital relationships and cutting observations about men (e.g. The view of the "cool girl") as well as the media, but mostly this is just trashy fun. Unfortunately it's also a story with twists that are predictable, plot bits which are implausible, characters who are cliché, and an ending which is ridiculous. Worse yet, the central idea, a woman serially lying about rape and abuse, has a problematic air about it. Lots of great performances here, slick storytelling, and a very watchable popcorn film - just don't think about it too much.

Sunshine (2007)

Great cast, flawed script

[6/10 · 4 May 2024]

I'm usually drawn to science fiction films set in space and this one has a decent amount of entertainment value, but it didn't really work for me. The premise of sending a crew of astronauts towards the dying sun to detonate a bomb to jump start it didn't come with answers for some obvious questions, starting with how that could possibly work. I'm usually ok with taking a leap of faith (or in this case, a leap of physics) for a work of fiction, but here it was a chasm, so wide that no explanation was even attempted. Also, why would a crew be necessary at all? Why couldn't the stellar bomb simply be sent directly into the sun?

There are some of the usual tropes here - the crew sitting around socializing early on, ala Alien, and them finding what remains of a previous spacecraft sent on this mission, which allowed for some dramatic moments, but gave the film a bit of a generic feeling. That was made worse in the second half by what they discover, which aside from feeling incredibly implausible, led to thriller type moments that detracted from what had started out as science fiction. Danny Boyle fell in love with the dizzying special effects but I just found them confusing, and would have preferred something quieter, more restrained. It's not a terrible way to spend your time, and the casting, including Michelle Yeoh, Cillian Murphy, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Rose Byrne, was definitely a positive.

Summer of Sam (1999)

A hot mess, but engaging

[7/10 · 4 May 2024]

Spike Lee's telling of the sweltering summer of 1977 in New York, the year the Son of Sam murders gripped the city, is effective in transporting us to the era, especially with music references that span disco, pop, rock, and punk. It's also very well cast, with Mira Sorvino especially turning in a great performance, and John Leguizamo, Adrien Brody, and Jennifer Esposito all strong as well.

Lee's tale has the actually serial killer in the background, an interesting idea that allowed him to focus on the evils of the citizens in the neighborhood: little bits of racism and homophobia, a good dose of misogyny and the double standard in the attitude and philandering of a married guy (Leguizamo), and most effectively, the turning loose of the mob to both loot during the blackouts, and to target individuals unfairly deemed suspects in the killings, like the guy from the neighborhood who wants to be a punk rocker (Brody).

Unfortunately, Lee got a little overindulgent in focusing on these people, and aside from creating characters that sometimes seemed like shallow clichés, the script veered too often into sexual antics. The married couple going from his numerous affairs to her trying to please him through dressing up, asking for sexual advice, going to an orgy, etc felt like a little much. The friend who aside from wanting to be a punk rocker also dances provocatively and services men in a gay nightclub did too. You could say this is a hot mess of a film, and at 142 minutes, it went on too long.

With that said, I was always engaged, and found Lee's memory of this period (he was 20 in 1977) to have a certain intimacy, one with a refreshing darkness that contrasts the buoyant songs of the day, any semblance of sentimentality reserved only for his beloved New York Yankees. Speaking of which, I loved the lines speculating that the killer might be Reggie Jackson - the Son of Sam, Uncle Sam, New York Yankee wearing #44, the caliber of the handgun used.

The Moon Has Risen (1955)

Romantic melodrama

[6/10 · 3 May 2024]

The coded telegrams with digits were cute:

3755: a number for a poem in the Manyoshu, by Lady Otomo of Sakanoue. "Her beauty radiates over mountains and rivers that separate and incapacitate."

The reply, 666: "Little time has passed since I last saw you, yet I only think of how much I adore you."

This is a romantic melodrama in the fashion of Jane Austen or the Brontë sisters, with a little dash of Maupassant via his novella Moonlight, said here to be the one where "strangers fall in love under the moon." Mostly it consists of a spunky young woman (Mie Kitahara) trying to maneuver her older sister (Yoko Sugi) into a relationship with a man, followed by her own little mini-drama with a family friend who could be more than that to her. It's a tad too prim and staid for my taste, with harmonious family interactions the general rule, complete with the gentle and beatific father straight out of Ozu (and played by Chishu Ryu no less). The tone is not something I'm not a big fan of, feeling too wholesome to the point of being saccharine, but it had its moments, all of which came from Mie Kitahara for me. I liked the visuals from Kinuyo Tanaka but not the slow pacing, and the script left me wanting a little sizzle.

Date with Dizzy (1958)

Entertaining

[8/10 · 3 May 2024]

Fascinating and fun for a couple of reasons: (1) seeing Dizzy Gillespie and his quintet riffing to create music that might dub a commercial for an "Instant Rope Ladder" (the animation of which includes the ashes for one poor soul who's doom came from not having this wonderful product), and (2) the (real) old commercials that Hubley had actually created for E-Z Pop Popcorn, Heinz Worcestershire Sauce, and Speedway "79" gas, the first and last of which include jazzy horns and the hip lingo of the era. Dizzy and his band can't seem to be contained to this medium, leading to a delightful ending. Wish it could have gone on longer.

Hundreds of Beavers (2022)

Fantastic

[9/10 · 2 May 2024]

Creative and very entertaining. Its wild slapstick draws from Looney Tunes and silent movies, but it also feels highly original. It seems like it will wear thin, but the antics get funnier as it goes along, helped considerably by Cheslik's great sense of pace and use of misdirection. It's all "cartoon violence," but some of the deaths are delightfully grisly - and somehow acceptable, even though it's depicting the odious act of animal trapping. You even have Olivia Graves in a role reminiscent of Red Hot Riding Hood. Love the homage, love the update to the form; somewhere Tex Avery and Chuck Jones must be smiling.

Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005)

Terrible

[3/10 · 1 May 2024]

I know its heart was in the right place, but charmless writing, unlikeable characters, and unfunny attempts at humor doomed this one for me. This is a film that's trying very hard to be quirky and offbeat, but it's obvious that it's trying, and it just comes across as pretentious nonsense. Add to that numerous instances of putting children into sexual situations, and it quickly became one I actively hated.

The sexual situations include the characters played by Natasha Slayton (age 17) and Najarra Townsend (15) practicing oral sex on Miles Thompson (17) so that they can hone their skills before they continue their flirtation with their older neighbor, Brad William Henke (39). Brandon Ratcliff (age 7) sits in on an online sex chat, where he utters these lines: "I want to poop back and forth. ... Like, I'll poop into her butthole, and she'll poop it back into my butthole. And then we'll just keep doing it back and forth, with the same poop." Miranda July apparently thought this was so clever that she made it a running plot point, leading to an adult meeting and kissing the little kid. Good grief.

I guess what this was going for was to show people of all ages desperate for connection (there are others I haven't mentioned), but held back by awkwardness and vulnerability. None of these people felt real, however, so I never felt invested in any of them. Any potential momentum the film builds in its scenes is quickly destroyed by inane dialogue, particularly coming from July herself. She probably should have cast someone other than herself in the lead role, but I'm not sure anything could have saved this thing. And as quirky as the film wants to be, it settles in for a very traditional, sappy ending. Just an unpleasant way to spend 91 minutes, be forewarned.

The Love Life of the Octopus (1967)

Not great

[4/10 · 1 May 2024]

I don't know, any description of octopi that leads with "horrific" and never mentions "intelligence" has a fundamental flaw. The viewpoint of these extraordinary creatures expressed here seems straight out of the 19th century, portraying them as bizarre monsters. The footage also seems confined to the seashore and aquarium tanks, and the wonky soundtrack is a complete miss. It's redeemed somewhat by the shots of the female octopus tending her strands of eggs and the babies popping out like popcorn, but keep your expectations low with this one. It's just too bad it didn't treat these creatures with the respect it should have.

Cruising (1980)

Daring, but doesn't quite work

[6/10 · 30 April 2024]

Too many things wrong with this one to really care for it. The main problem is too much focus on over-the-top depictions of the gay S&M subculture, and not enough on its characters. The undercover cop (Al Pacino), his girlfriend (Karen Allen), and the killer (???) are all ridiculously underdrawn. We don't get enough of what's going through the cop's mind as he's undercover, the girlfriend is only there to serve as a barometer of his heterosexuality, and the killer has some cliché "daddy issues." We do, however, get public fisting ffs.

Especially for 1980, it's unfortunate that this was the window mainstream America got into gay life, as it felt voyeuristic and intended to shock, not serve as a source of understanding or empowerment, at least as best possible as a backdrop to a murder mystery. Maybe the neighbor character, the aspiring writer, was intended to balance some of this out, but he was quickly lost, perhaps by things like the ridiculous man in the precinct house wearing nothing but a jockstrap and walking into interrogations to slap gay suspects around. What the hell was that?

I loved the little bits critiquing the police department at various levels - the beat cops harassing guys on the street and forcing one to perform oral sex, the captain (Paul Sorvino) who too quickly looks the other way, and the chief of detectives who doesn't really empathize with the victims, only wanting to avoid untimely negative publicity. It's too bad more wasn't done with this, but maybe there was a moment of transformation in the captain finding that last body.

The story doesn't really hold together as a police procedural, however. Maybe the film didn't want us to think about Pacino's character having to go home with guys to be effective at his assignment, so a lot of the time, he's just standing around in a bar, watching the raunchy antics of the wild crowd. Early on we're made to understand he's working for the captain only, with no one else knowing about it, but then in one critical scene swarms of cops come to his aid - only to then disappear at the end, when he acts completely alone again. There are also attempts at adding ambiguity into the story in several ways, but they all felt more forced than intriguing.

It's Pacino's character that ends up being the real mystery. You could see this as a man whose bisexuality is awakened, that he goes home with enough men like the guy we see him following out of the park that he loses interest in his girlfriend, and then later knows the repartee well in the climactic encounter. You could also see it as a straight man who has been overwhelmed by what he's seen and done, so much so that his relationship suffers along the way, and even when he's back with her at the end, he's liable to suffering flashbacks and trauma. It was interesting pondering that, but it felt like the film was being less artistic in its ambiguity, and more inhibited by what it felt it could show in a 1980 Hollywood production with a big star like Pacino. Regardless, it was less than completely satisfying, like everything else here.

Full Moon in New York (1989)

Heart in the right place, but falls short

[6/10 · 29 April 2024]

A year after making his brilliant Cantonese supernatural romance Rouge, Stanley Kwan came to Manhattan to film Full Moon in New York, which gives us a slice of life type story of three women who are different in many ways, but share a common heritage. I believe the intention was to show the diversity within the Chinese community, some of the struggles of its members in America, and the strength in friendship and unity. It's not a bad concept, and with Maggie Cheung, Sylvia Chang, and Gaowa Siqin you could certainly do worse, but each of the subplots isn't developed or resolved in ways that made this film particularly satisfying. Kwan himself said the film "turned out to be an embarrassment," but that's probably too harsh, as there are several wonderful little moments to be found here.

One woman (Chang) is an actress from Taiwan dating a broke white guy and soon to break up with him; another (Cheung) is from Hong Kong and works in her father's restaurant, she's bisexual and just ending a lesbian relationship; the third (Siqin) is a new bride from mainland China who has just married an "Americanized" Chinese man. In a parallel to these very different lives, one mentions about the restaurant, "It's a Hunan place run by Cantonese serving Peking duck," or words to that effect. The three women form a friendship despite some disagreements initially when Siqin's character says simply, "We're all Chinese, why argue?" and that seems to be the spirit of the film.

Each woman is buoyant and strong, but we see bits of their difficulties. Cheung's character is harassed on the street and she responds by chasing the guy down and whacking him with her shoe. Chang's character goes to an audition where a white director has the nerve to ask her why she as a Chinese woman thinks she can play Macbeth (grrr, and her response is brilliant). Siqin's character wants to bring her suffering mother over to live with them, which is perfectly natural in the traditional culture, but the idea is met with disdain from her husband.

The film is not helped by its subpar audio, which has tinny vocals and strange attenuation. It's also not helped by how the stories aren't fully developed, or complete their arcs. Cheung's character's lesbian past is limited to moments being essentially stalked, and an indication she wants to date a man now, but there is no real introspection. After Siqin's character walks out on her husband, we get no further scene of conflict or resolution. Lastly, Chang's character has a father who from the KMT, and is helping a woman who suffered during the Cultural Revolution to write a book. In one of the stronger visual moments of the film, her gaze and brief words inform us that he's actually abused her himself, in order to give her injuries he can then attribute to the Communist government. The idea of that felt ridiculous and wrong to me, and on top of that it was expressed in far too brief a manner, then simply left dangling.

The film has its heart in the right place and it's possible you like it better, but unfortunately for me it comes up a little short.

The Young Master (1980)

A couple of great scenes, but uneven overall

[6/10 · 28 April 2024]

Jackie Chan is his usual goofy, exuberant self in a film that had its moments, especially at the beginning and end, but which was too uneven in its middle for me to truly like. It opens with a fantastic 7 minute lion dance competition and closes with an entertaining 17 minute epic fight scene between Chan and Hwang In-shik; for those scenes alone, it's probably worth seeing. Another bit I enjoyed was Lily Li fighting with her swirling skirt, a scene I wished had gone on longer, then Chan later using the idea himself while fighting others. Chan also shows off his athleticism by climbing up a chute by walking up the left wall with his hands, and the right with his feet.

As an actor Chan gives an emotional speech early on that comes across pretty hammy; as a co-screenwriter he peppers the script liberally with adolescent jokes; as a director he's oddly in love with rapidly zooming in and out on characters during dramatic scenes. However, as he's rocking some serious 80's hair here (resembling Eddie Van Halen to me) and is so lovable, it's hard to ever really get mad at him, even as the plot meanders. I guess I prefer his later movies with more jaw dropping stunt work and less of the silly comedy, especially when the latter gets in the way of movements flowing naturally in fight scenes. If you like his style of comedy though, you may like this one more than I did.

As Tears Go By (1988)

Entertaining

[8/10 · 27 April 2024]

Wong Kar-wai's debut film is tough to rate because it's raw and uneven, but its highlights were strong enough to carry the day for me, and the truth is I found it very entertaining.

It's the story of a couple of brothers who are part of an organized crime racket, but often in conflict with rivals because the younger brother (Jacky Cheung) has a tendency to screw up, wishing he could be a tougher guy than he actually is. The older brother (Andy Lau) routinely bails him out and tries to mentor him as best he can. Meanwhile, a distant cousin of his shows up (baby-faced Maggie Cheung at just 24), and the two of them feel an attraction for one another. It's a simple story but its pacing and accessibility relative to Wong's later efforts are positives.

We do see bits of Wong's trademark stylings in the use of color, neon lights, shot composition, and the low frame rate, step printing effect he's probably most known for. Particularly for this type of film in 1988, it's beautiful. The scene set to a version of Take My Breath Away where the romance blossoms, is brilliant, and on its own worth seeing the film for. Maggie Cheung is resplendent, Andy Lau is tough and cool, and their chemistry together is palpable.

While it can get lost in the violence, the film also has themes of brotherhood and family. We find out the oldest brother has been killing since 14 for a gang he considers his family, and the younger brother has been torn apart by his mother re-marrying feeling like he has something to prove before going back to her. He also tries his best to look out for a third brother, who's on the straight and narrow and recently married, but isn't very well approved of by his in-laws.

There are lots of little moments of connection and parting that could have been expanded on, but in a way, they're perfect as they are. The older brother dashing off in the rain after finding out his ex-girlfriend is now married. The doctor biking off down the lane after finding out Maggie Cheung's character is more interested in her cousin. The mother quietly hanging up the phone on the younger brother after he bought an air conditioner for her, followed by him heaving it off a balcony.

I do wish Maggie Cheung's character had been better developed, however, and played more of a role in the film's conclusion, which wasn't as satisfying as it could have been. Down the stretch there were scenes where the younger brother was too overwrought for my taste, and the final scene with the rival (Alex Man, who's also good here) seemed very unlikely, things that made me consider dropping my review score. However, the bittersweet tragedy, with this cast and the young auteur, were enough for me to like it, and I think it's worth checking out.

Royal Warriors (1986)

Michelle Yeoh is brilliant

[9/10 · 26 April 2024]

Michelle Yeoh, legend. What a great showcase for her athleticism and fluidity, which just jumps off the screen. At 24 and in her second major role, she cemented herself in the Hong Kong action films of the 80's and 90's with this performance. There are so great scenes here - fighting on the street, in an airplane, during a car chase, in a crane, in a nightclub, with an armored vehicle, and against a chainsaw. Several times it looks like the actors are in real danger of being hurt, and adding to the feeling of being on the edge is the script not being afraid of killing off innocent bystander characters, young and old. It also gives us a nice little backstory for the four villains, though on the other hand it also gives us the annoyingly repetitive romantic overtures of Michael Wong's character to Yeoh's, which was the weakest part of the film. If you think you know where that may end up, however, you might be mistaken. Aside from that, there is a lot of cheese here which may bother you, including some sappy family interaction from a Japanese colleague (Hiroyuki Sanada), the synth soundtrack, and the bad guy's cliché evil laugh, but they just added to the camp appeal for me. I loved its bits of real darkness and how it was Yeoh's character doing the rescuing at the end. A lot of fun, so much so that I rounded up my review score a bit.

The Fall (V) (2019)

A dark short

[8/10 · 26 April 2024]

Ominous to say the least. There may be no better metaphor for the crowd vs. An individual than a man literally up a tree, terrified, and being shaken down. What did this guy do to warrant this treatment - did he commit a crime, or is he an outcast of some sort? As he is plunged down an endless chute and faced with a very difficult climb back upwards, scratching and clawing with each step, is this a statement on how punitive the justice system can be, leaving the chances for rehabilitation after prison very low? Or just a window into the struggle of the outsider, the "other" tortured by the mob? The sense of humanity, of any semblance of compassion, is lost behind masks. Terrifying and timeless, and yet clearly made for the time we're living in.

Blanche Fury (1948)

Gothic drama in technicolor

[7/10 · 25 April 2024]

There's a decent enough setup to this film, and Stewart Granger brings swagger and passion to the role of Philip Thorn, a property manager on an estate nursing an enormous grudge against his master. He believes he was the rightful heir to the property, you see, and is now forced to take orders from people who've not only acquired the property, they've taken the family name, Fury. Enter a family relation, Blanche (Valerie Hobson), a spirited young woman who marries the son, but whose eyes wander.

Granger's character is a nuanced one, showing moments of bravery against thieves and compassion for an injured horse, the latter in direction contrast to his master, but also moments of arrogance and violence. He carries most of this film, so much so that it probably should have been named Philip Thorn. With that said, Blanche shows strength in standing up for herself, early on with a pompous employer, later with her husband (whom she informs "I have no intention, contrary to the fashion of our times, of being ordered about my husband!"), and then even with Thorn himself. Granger and Hobson also show a degree of chemistry together, but unfortunately much of it feels muted due to the morality of the day.

Along those lines, the film doesn't quite reach the heights it could have because it stumbles into moralism down the stretch. Neither the transition to the courtroom drama nor the melodrama of little Lavinia attempting a jump with her horse worked very well for me. It felt like the film was too busy tidying up after itself when further passion, darkness, or something related to the ghost of Fury's ape would have served it better. Not bad though, if you're in the mood for gothic drama in Technicolor.

Scary Time (1960)

Sobering

[7/10 · 25 April 2024]

"You know a milkshake costs as much as a year's supply of medicine for a kid who's got leprosy? And a submarine costs twice as much as UNICEF spends in two whole years."

It's a promotional short for UNICEF, but there is undeniable power in the juxtaposition of American kids happily enjoying Halloween and less fortunate kids in the world suffering. The film still makes one reflect on the unfairness of it all, with the most innocent among us in such pain, obviously still true today. The shots of children from other countries dancing and smiling towards the end were a nice touch, adding some degree of balance to this sobering film.

Les photos d'Alix (1982)

Intriguing

[8/10 · 24 April 2024]

"I seduced someone with this picture. I sent it to him, and he fell madly in love with it. With the photographer, that is."

I could listen to an artist talk about their art all day long (here in French no less), and this was made even more intriguing by the descriptions shifting about halfway through to no longer match the images, at least in a literal sense. Part of the film seems to reveal just how much we may not understand about a photo without such an intimate conversation, another part seems to raise questions of what we're willing to believe in trying to "get" art despite what's plainly in front of our eyes, which were fascinating sides of the same coin. The talented photographer, Alix Cléo Roubaud, someone whose work I would love to see in an exhibition someday, would die less than a year later at just 30, making this little short feel even more elusive and poignant.

Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)

Forgettable, except for one moment

[5/10 · 24 April 2024]

There's one great moment in this film, truly shocking, and that's the one with the little girl at the ice cream truck (played by Disney film star Kim Richards no less, adding to the shock). The rest is so weakly done that's it hard to feel any real tension, and I found my attention wandering. In Night of the Living Dead like fashion, a ragtag group finds themselves holed up in a defunct police station, one that's being sieged by a violent gang. Not much of how anyone acts is believable, starting with the father of the little girl, and continuing on to the interactions between the cops and the death row convict who's wound up there. The slow pacing and poor acting are counterbalanced a little by Carpenter's soundtrack, but not enough. It also seems like the premise could have been taken in much more interesting directions than the very linear plot with minimal social commentary that we got here. It's a very forgettable effort, one that I don't understand the cult appreciation for.

When Strangers Marry (1944)

Entertaining, but a little soft

[6/10 · 21 April 2024]

Coincidentally, three years before this film was made, my grandparents married after having met only three times, with her still a teenager. As far as the family knows there were no murders, and they remained happily married until his death many decades later.

When Strangers Marry is a bare bones, B-noir, livened up by its cast, which includes Robert Mitchum in one of his earliest starring roles, Kim Hunter, and Neil Hamilton. Unlike a lot of noir entries whose plots are convoluted beyond belief, this one has a very simple story, probably too simple. The fact that the wife doesn't ask a lot of questions before marrying or afterwards either, when she starts to realize her new husband might be a murderer, is a little disappointing. There is a twist but it contradicts earlier character actions, and overall the film felt too tame, needing more of a malevolent edge. The actors are all fine, but the characters they play are too soft, too flat.

I liked this film more for its smaller moments, like the wonderful scene in the lively Harlem nightclub, Mitchum and Hamilton dousing themselves with buckets of water in the sauna, or the little girl in the hotel spying solemnly through her cracked door. This is one that never offended the sensibilities, but just needed a few bigger moments to go with those kinds of things and its solid foundation. At least it didn't overstay its welcome, moving along well and finishing in a brisk 67 minutes.

Mississippi Masala (1991)

Denzel and Sarita sizzle

[8/10 · 19 April 2024]

"Struggle? Look, I'm a black man born and raised in Mississippi. Ain't a damn thing you can tell me about struggle."

A story that seemed a little simple and formulaic early on, but which really blossomed as it played out. That was of course helped considerably by the palpable chemistry between the two leads, Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury. Their moments walking along the bayou, flirting over the phone together, and making love are electric in such easy, natural ways. The backstory of her family's time in Uganda - ancestors having been brought over by the British to build the railroads, then descendants expelled when Idi Amin took power - along with the considerations of race within both of their cultures added depth and meaning to the romance.

Along the lines of race, we get sentiments of solidarity between people of color, but also viewpoints of darker skin people (whether they're Indian or African) being less desirable, expressed both overtly and in more subtle ways, something which naturally churns the emotions. The film is focused there, but we get glimpses of white racism and power imbalance, like that wonderful scene in the bank, but director Mira Nair was wisely restrained on this front. She also gets a little humor in, like the grandfather at the BBQ who keeps saying "bring the food!" or the new husband struggling to consummate his marriage, accidentally getting whacked in the face for his troubles. Look for the performance from Konga Mbandu as well (he plays Okelo, the friend in Uganda); it's a small part, but he's brilliant. Fun soundtrack too.