7/21/18 Won't You Be My Neighbor, 2018, not yet nominated
After watching Won't You Be My Neighbor, the documentary on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and its creator, Fred Rogers, left me with a greater appreciation for the man and his care, insight and sincerity in working with children. It was almost a crusade, and that's not meant in a negative way; he truly believed that children deserve to be treated with respect and not talked down to with the typical condescension found in children's programming. Mr. Rogers broke all kinds of barriers (the episode where he cools his feet in a wading pool and invites Officer Clemmons (black actor Francois Clemmons) to join him, it spoke volumes in a country struggling with the Civil Rights Movement. Rogers and his puppets addressed other issues in a way children could understand. There was a period of time when it was fashionable to mock Mr. Rogers, I mean, nobody could be that good and kind, could they? And while our world has moved at a crazy pace, and it's common for children to watch shows with violence, sex, swearing, innuendo, and maybe Mister Rogers would be out of place in 2018, I'd like to think he wouldn't be. I think Fred Rogers and the Land of Make Believe is sorely missed. Won't You Be My Neighbor is worth watching for the insights from the actors, the crew and his family.
8/26/18 From Here to Eternity, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing - Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography (B&W), Best Film Editing, Best Sound, National Film Registry, 1953
We have all probably seen the scene of Burt Lancaster rolling in the surf with Deborah Kerr, but there is so much more to From Here to Eternity than that. Set in Hawaii in the weeks leading up to Pearl Harbor, the movie follows three men and their struggles and challenges in the same Army company. Lancaster is First Sergeant Warden, an efficient, cool, tough leader, who has no desire or love for commissioned officers; he does have a desire for the wife of his captain, Karen Holmes (Deborah Kerr). Montgomery Clift is Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt, a man who does things for his own reasons, including take a demotion and taking abuse from others in his company for refusing to box on the regimental team. Frank Sinatra is Maggio (Sinatra won the Best Supporting Actor for his role), a seemingly happy go lucky private, who is Prewitt's only friend. Maggio takes Prewitt to a private club off base where Prewitt meets Lorene (Donna Reed in her Oscar-winning role); Lorene and her co-workers are paid to dance and socialize with the members, but they start seeing each other. In addition to the leading actors, the cast is filled with actors in smaller roles that would go on to become stars themselves: Ernest Borgnine as Fatso, a sergeant who gives Maggio a hard time for being Italian and sets in motion one of the key plot points; Jack Warden; George Reeves (televison's Superman); and Claude Akins. Nineteen fifty-three was a great year for films (Shane, The Robe, Stalag 17, Roman Holiday), and I can't imagine having to pick winners from those films and the others of that year, and I have found that looking back, sometimes there's more hype than quality. I would not say that here. I really enjoyed the different story lines in the film, and the characters; the more I watch of Burt Lancaster, the more I love him; and Sinatra seemed like a natural for Maggio. I'm glad I finally watched it.
8/26/18 Ant-Man and The Wasp, not yet nominated, 2018
Well, like I told a couple of my friends, it was okay, not great; I didn't feel compelled to tell people they HAD to see it, like I did for Wonder Woman or Black Panther. The story line is not even worth me trying to recount to you; it did sort of answer some questions in the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline, sort of. The 'big' thing is this is the first Marvel movie to have a female superhero in the title (why that wasn't the Black Widow, I don't know). The science and the cinematography are very well done, and there's some funny quips. Maybe because I was so shocked that I liked the first Ant-Man so much, I just felt a little let down.
8/26/18 The Quiet Man, Best Director, Best Cinematography, 1952, National Film Registry
In The Quiet Man John Ford directs John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in one of their several collaborations, and won an Oscar for it. It's definitely not the typical John Wayne Western, being set in rural Ireland in the 1920s, and Wayne is retired boxer Sean Thornton who has returned to the land of his parents. Thornton makes a big impression on the locals, including Mary Kate Danaher (O'Hara), but most of them do not know who he is. It's not really a boxing movie or a farming movie, it's romantic comedy, complete with misunderstandings and romantic subterfuge. Danaher is an independent, spitfire of a woman, who battles her brother, Squire Will Danaher (Victor McLaglen) as well as Thornton. I don't think there's anything very deep or sophisticated in the story itself, it's just enjoyable to watch O'Hara and Wayne go head to head, and there is a comedic aspect to the film, especially from Barry Fitzgerald as Michealeen Flynn. The scenery and cinematography are beautiful, and I almost felt compelled to book a trip to Ireland.
9/1/18 Night of the Living Dead, 1968, BBC #85, National Film Registry
I have not made any secret of the fact that I really do not like horror movies, and after watching cult-classic Night of the Living Dead that hasn't changed. For one horrific night, all over America, dead people are coming back to 'life' or a state of animation, and killing and eating other people. Mmmm, delish. George Romero directed the first in his series of zombie movies on a small budget, with several actors playing multiple roles, and pretty minimal effects (compared to what we are used to in horror movies). Set in western Pennsylvania, brother and sister, Johnny and Barbra, are visiting their father's grave when a strange man comes towards them; he grabs Barbra when Johnny comes to her rescue (a noble, but fatal decision). Barbra runs off towards a house where she meets Ben. Ben is determined to fight off the zombies, even as he tries to engage Barbra in their own survival. They discover there are other people hiding in the house, and there are different ideas as to how to defeat or escape the zombies. I am certainly not going to spoil it for you. It was scary, suspenseful and gross and gory. If that's your thing, you have probably seen it already. I am just so thrilled it is off the lists.
