Sort of, but not really a disaster movie - Airport

7/27/13 Airport, Best Supporting Actress, 1970

This was not the Airport I thought it was going to be; I thought it was the one with Charlton Heston and Karen Black, but it turned out to be the original and first one in what turned out to be a franchise with three other movies, and starred Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin and Helen Hayes among others. It tells the story of the fictional Lincoln Field airport and Trans Global Airlines (TGA) during a blizzard. There's nothing overly complicated about the plot or the subplots, but not everything has to be Bergman or Fellini and make your head hurt.  There are a few different relationships that fall into subplots: Dean Martin and Jacqueline Bisset (most people are probably used to Dean Martin playing the straight man to Jerry Lewis, but he was pretty good as the self-assured, serious pilot); Burt Lancaster and Jean Seberg, Lancaster plays Mel Westerfeld, the airport manager, and Jean Seberg is Tanya Livingstone, customer relations for TGA; Maureen Stapleton and Van Heflin, the ill-fated Guerreros. George Kennedy is the cigar-chomping chief mechanic, Joe Patroni (he is in all four Airport movies - you'd think after 2 disasters, the airlines would have picked up on these coincidences and cut him loose). Helen Hayes played Ada Quonsett, and won an Academy Award for her role. When last we saw Helen Hayes, she and Gary Cooper were ruining my Saturday night, but she more than made up for that with this movie. The movie is mostly serious and many dramatic moments, but when Helen Hayes is on the screen, you are in for a treat; her timing, her inflections, her looks are priceless. I think she was much more effective using her comedic skills than in the heavy drama of Farewell to Arms, but that may just be my perception. Maureen Stapleton was also nominated for her role as Inez Guerrero, on the totally other end of the spectrum, and she was marvelous as well, but I didn't smile a whole lot when she was on screen. This is classified on Wikipedia as the first of the disaster movie genre, and but it is strange after watching The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure, I watched this, and thought, eh, the disaster wasn't so bad (which is terrible, I know, but hear me out). In Inferno and Poseidon, the 'disaster' happens much earlier in the movie and the action is non-stop, and most of the movie is spent fixing or getting out of the disaster, and I recall that is the same for Airport 1975. In Airport, the narrative and relationships get to develop onscreen. The disaster doesn't happen until at least an hour into the movie (maybe even later) and compared to the three previously mentioned movies, the danger really wasn't as huge or serious. The lack of explosions and the low body count don't take away from the movie, I enjoyed it. The airport and its operations are a major character in the movie, which just so happened to be the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport; I don't know how much of the portrayal is true and accurate, but it seemed pretty realistic to me. The movie was made in 1970 and just as a time capsule, I thought it was fun to watch see all the old airlines that have long since disappeared; to see how airports themselves have changed, especially since 9/11, remember when your family could go to the gate with you? How about smoking on the plane? So foreign today, but common forty years ago. There is virtually no swearing in the movie, no gore, no sex scenes, some sexism that could be described as apropos to the era, so if you are looking for a family-friendly disaster movie (is that an oxymoron?), you can start with Airport.

Another I told you so moment - The Towering Inferno

7/20/13 The Towering Inferno - Best Original Song, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing 1974

Oh, the humanity! Ok, I kind ripped that off from The Hindenberg, but that's all I could think of as people were flying out of windows over 1,000 feet in the air. The Towering Inferno is not a movie for the fainthearted, or if you have a fear of skyscrapers, but if you want to see a first-rate disaster movie (and one of the originals), this is it. Do a double feature with this and The Poseidon Adventure to make it an Irwin Allen night. The plot isn't that hard to follow: man builds the tallest building in the world, someone decides to use less than premium building materials, bad things happen, good guys have to save the day. If I was ever in a disaster movie, I can't think of two other people I would rather have rescue me than Paul Newman and Steve McQueen, normally I would also include William Holden, but in this movie, he's about as effective as Mr. Magoo without his glasses. These are just three of the stars in this movie, but it was full of them: Faye Dunaway (who previously played the love interest of both McQueen and Holden, but is Newman's fiancee here); Robert Wagner, Fred Astaire (who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Harlee Claiborne), Jennifer Jones (who won Best Actress for Song of Bernadette in 1943), and Richard Chamberlain, just to name a few.

View from the Willis (Sears) Tower, Chicago glass-floor observation deck, 2009

View from the Willis (Sears) Tower, Chicago glass-floor observation deck, 2009

 You only have to wait 41 minutes for your first "I told you so" moment when Newman's character, Doug Roberts, the architect of the building, tells James Duncan (Holden) the builder of the building and host of the big party, to evacuate because of a fire over 30 floors below (the building is over 130 floors high). Duncan refuses, thinking they'll be safe, and you guessed it, not so much. Of course, if he would have listened, the movie would have be 50 minutes long and nobody would have watched it. Chamberlain is the insecure, but egotistical son-in-law of Duncan and the electrical engineer for the building. I love listening to Chamberlain speak, but he was an ass in this movie, and I would have liked to push him out a window myself. In addition to several "I told you so" moments, the action and suspense is almost non-stop, and a few times, I actually looked away. Allen does not shy away from showing bodies engulfed in flames or plunging 100 stories to their death, and if that bothers you, you may want to skip this. McQueen is wonderfully understated but totally in control of this crazy situation; Newman, as the architect, does his part as well, a civilian and McQueen's eyes on the inside. They shared top billing, but actually had few scenes together. Fred Astaire is an aging con-man who falls for Jennifer Jones; he was wonderful, and I felt such empathy for him. Inferno won Oscars for Best Editing and Best Cinematography, there was no category at this time for special effects or visual effects, but it probably would have won. It also won for the best original song, "We may never love like this again", sung by Maureen McGovern (who also sang the winning song from The Poseidon Adventure, written by the same pair, Al Kasha and Joel Hirschorn). It was kind of milquetoast-y to me, but looking at the other songs, maybe it was the lesser of all evils. The movie highlights the work of firefighters and the dangers they face, willingly as part of the job, even dying in the process. Firefighters have been in the news a lot recently here in the States from the explosion on Texas a couple of months ago where volunteer firefighters were killed trying to contain a huge fire, to the Hotshots who died trying to fight a wildfire in Arizona, and fighting the wildfires in Colorado. They're crazy; crazy brave, and while The Towering Inferno is fiction, the risks and dangers of firefighting are not.

Memorial to London Firefighters during the Blitz, London, 2006

not quite 8 1/2 out of 10

I'm glad people read the blog, I like it when they mention they read it and laughed, or watched a movie based on my comments and unique insights. What I don't like is them using one of the movies (or its title) to tease me about not going on the boat. You know who you are (yes, you). Oh, the title used to taunt me? Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. (insert frowny face).

7/19/13 8 1/2, Best Foreign Film, Best Costume Design, 1963

A friend of mine asked me not too long ago if I had any criteria for not finishing a movie, or phrased another way, quitting. It really is my intent to watch every movie all the way through, even if it hurts. I may have to revise that. It's not like this is my job. Tonight was a real test, but I did it. I have had this DVD for 3 weeks and one day, and I started to wonder if I was going to ever pop it in the DVD player. But I did it. I have reviewed a couple of foreign films in the blog and encouraged you to try them if you never have. If you're thinking, hey, great, another foreign film, hold your horses buckaroo. I'm not sure I would start with this one. I have never watched a Federico Fellini film, but I have watched many foreign films including some directed by Ingmar Bergman, Pedro Almodovar and others. Some are inaccessible and too abstract for me, while others are very captivating, and even if I don't quite understand them, I will watch them over and over again. At this moment in time, I will not be watching 8 1/2 again. Warning: The following are my opinions and may not represent the actual intention of the plot (I did not refer to any background materials in order to keep my mind uncluttered). Guido is an Italian director prepping for his next big movie, which he seems to be avoiding at all costs. His main character is somewhat autobiographical and seems to have very conflicting ideas and thoughts about the Catholic Church and women. The movie uses flashbacks, or perhaps imagined flashbacks, some scenes that seem like fantasy. It reminded me of Pedro Almodovar, although I'm guessing Fellini inspired Almodovar (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Talk to Her [never, ever need to see that again], and many more) and something of Bergman's, but I could not quite put my finger on it. I finally started to get into the movie, or at least grasp what was happening, about an hour and fifteen minutes in, which isn't really very good because there were only 50 minutes to go. It seemed very existentialist (again, my interpretation of what that means), you know, why am I here, what has my life been about, what is in my future, etc. etc. I'm all for looking inward and being introspective, but this didn't interest me here. This seemed like a movie that you would have to do some studying beforehand, figure out what all the symbolism means, a biography of Fellini in hand, etc. Guido resists making any progress on his film, refusing to watch screen tests, taking forever to create his huge set, and then towards the end, he wants to call the whole thing off, but his crew/friends/producers won't let him. It ends with the cast doing a dance across the stage, it sort of reminded me of The Seventh Seal (Bergman) at the end where the Grim Reaper, the Knight and other characters dance across a field, and brought to mind the quote from Shakespeare (Hamet?) "All the world's a stage..." This might be something I watch again after I get more familiar with Fellini's work, and I'll have plenty of opportunity from the list of Academy Awards winners. But, then again, maybe not.

I kept this an extra day and owe the library a dollar. Netflix thought I would rate this two stars, they were right on with that one. Well, now I can cross it off the list.

It happened one night - winner of five Oscars

7/13/13 It Happened One Night - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, 1934

It Happened One Night is the second Frank Capra-directed movie I have seen in the past week (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town being the first). Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert star in this romantic comedy; Claudette Colbert is a spoiled rich girl, Ellie Andrews, who, prior to the movie starts, marries a rascal of whom her father disapproves (sorry for that horrible sentence, but I really did not want to end the sentence in a preposition). Clark Gable is Peter Warne, a reporter from New York. Ellie escapes from her father by jumping off his yacht and swimming back to shore and then catches a bus back to New York, and that's how she meets Warne. Socialite meets street-smart reporter and all kinds of things happen. Gable was really good as Peter Warne, at times bemused by Ellie's snobbish behavior and naivete, and other times appropriately irritated. Until this project, I didn't have any appreciation for his work, and I don't know if he is in the top 20 of great American actors (although his part in Gone with the Wind may be the clincher), but he convinced me that if he's in a movie, it's worth checking out (see Mutiny on the Bounty). Colbert was believable as the petulant newlywed determined to get back to her ne'er do well husband; she is totally disdainful of Warne's honest attempts to help and provide 'guidance' on this road trip. There were some funny bits, like when they have to rent a cabin at an 'auto camp' (the precursor to the motel?), and it cost $2 a night! What really struck me was the amount of smoking during the movie, including smoking cigars on the bus (I can't imagine traveling 10 hours on a bus with a guy smoking a cigar, blech). If you can believe Wikipedia, and of course you can, this movie, with this cast, almost never happened. The fact that it happened, and won the five major Academy Awards, just goes to show you never can tell. Out of the two Frank Capra movies, I did prefer Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, but splurge, watch both.

I have completely and totally screwed up my Netflix rotation because I still have not watched Cimarron after having it for a whole month, and I still have 8 1/2. Chalk up another dollar fine on my library card, cause it's not getting watched until Saturday. Consider yourself warned. Mwah ha ha.

Me Tarzan, You Jane

7/13/13, Tarzan, Best Original Song, 1999

I needed to lighten up the day, especially after falling asleep during Cimarron (a winner from the 1930s), and having to choose between Fellini's 8 1/2 and It Happened One Night, so I went for an animated Disney film, Tarzan. I had a couple of thoughts, which if you actually say them out loud, perhaps you should not be watching Disney movies, or anything, really. But, do all of the animals in the 'jungle' actually belong in that particular habitat; and how does Tarzan do all that running without shoes? Don't his feet hurt? I don't like getting a pebble in my shoe, much less running along at high speed and climbing trees. I'm kind of wimpy though. Anyway, it's a good movie, it's got a couple of villains, a leopard and later Clayton, the guide, some great action scenes, and a little bit of silliness (courtesy of Rosie O'Donnell as Terk and Wayne Knight as Tantor). Minnie Driver voices Jane, and Tony Goldwyn (who is currently the President in Scandal, which also requires you to suspend disbelief, but is very good) is Tarzan. Phil Collins wrote the award-winning song, "You'll Be in My Heart", which is probably not my favorite Phil Collins song, but when I look at the other nominees, I don't think I've heard one of those songs on the radio EVER, so it doesn't seem like 1999 was a very tough year. I rather liked the songs in the soundtrack, unlike some movies (why does The Thomas Crowne Affair always come to mind) the winning song fits the story and the characters. There are so many animated kids' movies out there, but some of them are dreadful, so if you're looking for one that isn't, Tarzan fits the bill. And you don't even need a kid to watch it (nobody will know).

I am Batman, but it was the Joker's show

7/6/13 Batman, Best Art Direction 1989

I'm kind of a wishy-washy Batman fan. I love the utility belt, the Batmobile, and the Batcave, so cool, but I was never very psyched to see the older Batman movies, I don't know, maybe I couldn't believe any of the Batmen as a super hero. This was the first time I watched Batman all the way through, and eh, it was okay. It was directed by Tim Burton and starred Michael Keaton as Batman. Jack Nicholson played the Joker, and he was suitably maniacal. I don't know if other comic books fans are the same way, but when it comes to movies, sometimes I am much more interested in the bad guys than the super hero. I think that was true in this case. The Joker was much more fun to watch, and it seemed he was on screen more than Bruce Wayne/Batman. There were several songs by Prince which annoyed me more than anything. In some places in Minneapolis, it's blasphemy to not like Prince, so sue me. The movie won for Best Art Direction, and it was very good, but The Adventures of Baron von Munchausen and Glory were among the other nominees, and I think I would have picked the Baron, which is a fantastical movie by Terry Gilliam (another Minnesota native) and well worth a watch.

Batman wasn't horrible and is worth seeing to watch Jack Nicholson and perhaps draw your own comparisons between Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning performance, which I purposely did not do here. Also, since there were several more movies made in this particular 'series', it's good start at the beginning and then see the different Batmans (Batmen?), including Val Kilmer and George Clooney.

A Labor Day movie two months early - Norma Rae

7/5/13 Norma Rae, Best Actress, Best Original Song, 1979

I suppose had I could have planned this better, I would have waited for Labor Day weekend to watch this because I'm always searching for themes (speaking of which, keep an eye out for another 'flashback' to movies already watched), but carpe diem and all. Sally Field is Norma Rae, a worker in a cotton mill in North Carolina who gets very intrigued by a union organizer Reuben Warshowsky played by Ron Liebman,a Jewish union organizer no less. This is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton. Norma Rae is feisty, independent and can generally be a pain in the butt to management, her parents, and anyone else she encounters. She's my kind of woman! The movie looks at a period of union history that happened in my lifetime, it was less than 25 years ago, and seems a little hard to believe that people worked under those conditions for those wages. It also gives a glimpse into the racial and gender dynamics at the time. While the motivation for the movie is the fight to unionize, it really is a look at the growth and education of Norma Rae, and her fight for what she believes in - her family and friends. Sally Field won her first Oscar for her portrayal of Norma Rae, and it was a pretty impressive field of actresses, Jane Fonda, Jill Clayburgh, Bette Midler and Marsha Mason. I thought she was great, and I highly recommend the movie. In addition to the Best Actress award, the movie won for the Best Original Song, It Goes Like it Goes, and I have to say 'WHAT?'. I'm mildly confused as to how a movie like The Rose did not yield one song? I had not heard of most of the nominated songs, except for Looking through the Eyes of Love from Ice Castles and The Rainbow Connection from The Muppet Movie. No contest - The Rainbow Connection hands down. 1979 was a strange year.

Mr. Deeds goes to the Easter Parade...well, sort of

What I really enjoy about this little project of mine (some might say 'compulsion', or even 'obsession') is that I am watching so many movies that I would probably never, ever watch. Some are very disappointing, but others have been pleasant surprises. Over this long holiday weekend, I have about 8 movies to watch, and have finished two of them, and they fall under the 'pleasant surprises' category, very pleasant surprises.

7/4/13 Easter Parade, Best Original Musical Score, 1948

Right away Easter Parade opens with a musical number with Fred Astaire and the ensemble singing 'Happy Easter' as they stroll up and down the avenue. My first thought was, oh crap, this is going to be so cornball, I'm never going to make this without laughing my head off. Oh, how cynical the 21st century has made us. It was great, Astaire singing and spinning, and the parade of Easter bonnets was wonderful. In fact, after watching the movie, I was a little surprised that it wasn't even nominated for best costume, because the hats alone would be the envy of Ascot and the Kentucky Derby. The movie was set in 1912, an era which had very different standards in dress and formality than today, or even 1948. Anyway, Astaire rolls from one number to another, playing drums, dancing and singing, and I was hooked. Irving Berlin (White Christmas) wrote the songs. Astaire plays a dancer (Don Hewes), whose partner, Nadine Hale (Ann Miller) decides to go solo with the Ziegfield Follies. Hewes believes he can take anyone and make them a dancer (think Pygmalion/My Fair Lady with a quick step), and in walks Hannah Brown (Judy Garland). Garland really gets to show her comedic timing, I hope I don't have to draw attention to the fact she can sing. Watching her and Astaire dance was really fun, and Ann Miller was no slouch either. As I watch so many of these movies, I try to think of them in the context of can parents watch this movie with their kids, and will kids groan at the thought of watching it? You can definitely watch this with your kids (or grandkids if you've got 'em), think of it broadening their horizons beyond comic book violence and crash 'em and smash 'em films. I'm sure I sound so ridiculously old-fashioned, and in some ways, I probably am, but I don't think that there are a lot of movies made today (save for the slew of animated films released every holiday season) that can be watched as a family. If you like this, you may also like Anchors Aweigh with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra.

7/5/13 Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Best Director, 1936

Well, I feel silly writing this review because just last week I wrote a scathing review of A Farewell to Arms starring Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes, and here I am, watching another Gary Cooper movie (I just picked it up at the library, not even paying attention to who was in it, just that it won an Oscar). I was not looking forward to this 116 minute cinematic experience at all. Oh, happy, happy day! The Gary Cooper in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town was NOT the same Gary Cooper in A Farewell to Arms or the other Gary Cooper movies I have watched in the past several months. Someone turned Pinocchio into a real boy! Maybe it was Frank Capra (he won for Best Director, and directed It's a Wonderful Life with James Stewart), maybe it was the script, or Jean Arthur, his leading lady, I don't know, but it was a fabulous surprise. Postcard poetry writer and tuba-playing Longfellow Deeds is from small-town Mandrake Falls when it is discovered that he is the sole heir to $20 million (in 1936 dollars, can you imagine what that would be like today?). Longfellow has a refreshingly honesty that lacks pretension or any need for ostentation, he plays tuba in his own farewell parade and frets about who will replace him in the town band. Of course, everyone else is out to exploit him, mock him and otherwise get over on Longfellow, including Babe Bennett, ace reporter played by Jean Arthur (I don't think I have ever seen Jean Arthur before, which is a shame) and the lawyers for the late Martin Semple, Longfellow's beneficiary. Corny Cobb, who is supposed to keep Deeds out of trouble, reluctantly begins to admire and appreciate Deeds' way of seeing life and his pure motives. Deeds becomes something of a laughing stock thanks to Babe's articles (he is unaware that she is duping him), and his quick temper; on several occasions he resorts to punching people out. After a hostile encounter with a struggling farmer (this is 1936, the middle of the Great Depression), Deeds has a great idea to give farmers another chance at running their own farms (kind of like homesteading), reminiscent of the scene near the end of It's a Wonderful Life with George giving away the bank's money. This act leads to the circle of lawyers sending him to a mental hospital and challenging his mental capacity. The trial scene sort of reminded me if Miracle on 34th Street. There are some very funny moments, like when two elderly sisters from Mandrake Falls say that Longfellow is 'pixilated' leaving the court and the observers amused and certain Longfellow is not fit to have a $20 million dollar fortune. I enjoyed this movie more than It's a Wonderful Life, I don't know why, but I did, and it's unfortunate that it doesn't get played more on the classic movie channels. But it may be available from your local library or Netflix, and I suggest you check it out. Would I lie to you?