Best Picture Nominees: 1917, Parasite, Jojo Rabbit, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

1/19/20 1917, nominated Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Production Design, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Visual Effects, 2019

National World War I Museum and Memorial, Kansas City, MO

1917 sure did get a lot of nominations, but nothing for the actors. I've seen that before, of course I can't remember when, but what does that say about the movie? Is it really the best picture? I don't know. Not for me. It was very good, great effects and the cinematography is spectacular. 1917 is set in northern France near the end of World War I. Lance Corporal Thomas Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) is given an unenviable, and almost impossible, task of crossing through no-man's land and German territory to warn another regiment. Blake is selected because his brother is in the other regiment; his friend Lance Corporal William Schofield (George MacKay) was the victim of dumb luck. Director Sam Mendes and the production designers do a phenomenal job of recreating the horrible trenches that were such a huge factor in World War I. I really don't want to give away too much of the plot (that's pretty much the company line for the other movies below). I think it was a really good decision to not cast well-known actors in the two main roles, it would have been too distracting; there were cameos by Benedict Cumberbatch and Colin Firth, and I kind of think they were a little distracting. Roger Deakins filmed the movie beautifully and with quite a bit of effort to make it look like one continuous shot. If you're still able to catch the film in the theater, I hope you can see it; some movies should be seen on the big screen and this is definitely one of those. I think it will win a lot of awards, but I don't think it's best picture.

Exhibit of Trench Warfare, National World War I Museum and Memorial, Kansas City, MO

1/25/20 Parasite, nominated Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best International Feature Film, Best Production Design, Best Film Editing, 2019

South Korean film Parasite wins the award for the most misleading title. Yes, I do know why it's titled that NOW, but I didn't before I watched it, and the name was one of the reasons I didn't want to see it. Stereotypically, a movie called "Parasite" would be a horror movie, something with an invasive species or something. In case you're wondering, that doesn't happen. What does happen is a story unfolds about class wars, envy, deceit mixed with satire. Don't be put off because it's in Korean, or it has a creepy title, it is an original idea with original characters. Co-written and directed by Bong Joon-ho (Snowpiercer), Parasite has social commentary mixed with some biting sarcasm and a little bit of suspense. We first meet the Kim family, a down-on-their-luck clan, living in cramped basement quarters and leaching off the wi-fi signal of their neighbors and trying many different scams to earn money. When son, Kim Ki-woo, gets a job as an English tutor for Park Da-Hye, the daughter of the wealthy Park family, Ki-woo sees possibilities for his family to improve their situation. And that's all you'll get from me. This is another film that has been nominated for Best Picture, but no actor nominations, which I don't understand, maybe because it was really an ensemble piece with eight 'leads' (well, maybe 6), but there could have been at least a supporting nod for Lee Jeung-eun as the housekeeper. I really liked Parasite, it wasn't a remake, a sequel, a reboot or based on real events (as far as I know); I know I keep harping on the originality, but it was so fresh. I would be willing to bet that an American version will be out in the next five years. I think it will win Best International Feature Film; I haven't seen any of the other nominees, so this is going on past awards and a gut feeling. This is out now on DVD or streaming, so check it out.

Seoul, S. Korea

1/25/20 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, nominated Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, 2019

Sigh. 161 minutes, everyone I know has commented on how long The Irishman is, but nobody has complained about the length of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but they were both too long. I liked half the premise, a visit to old Hollywood and the shows of the 1950s and 1960s, a washed up actor, Rick Dalton, (Leonardo DiCaprio) trying to be relevant again. I also thought it was an interesting twist to include his stuntman/driver/gopher, Cliff Booth, (Brad Pitt) in the mix, creating the buddy movie element. Parallel to Rick and Cliff trying to find work is the introduction of the Manson Family and Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), Roman Polanski and friends; eventually they all intersect. Eh. DiCaprio and Pitt were both nominated for Oscars, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively, but I didn't see anything in DiCaprio's performance (compared to his own past performances and other 2019 nominees) that deserved an Oscar nod. I thought Pitt's performance was worthy of the nomination, I thought he was more fun to watch and had better scenes. I think the Best Actor is probably going to go Joaquin Phoenix, but I'm not sure about Best Supporting Actor.

1/26/20 Jojo Rabbit, nominated Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, 2019

Jojo Rabbit is one of my favorite movies of this year because of its originality (with a nod to Mel Brooks), humor, satire, tenderness and the three young actors. Jojo Rabbit is set in the later years of World War II, and ten year-old Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) has regular conversations with his imaginary friend Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi, who also wrote and directed) and is eager to join the Hitler Youth with his pal, Yorki (Archie Yates). His patient mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) gently chides Jojo about his dedication to the Fuhrer, while protecting him from a dangerous secret involving a young girl, Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) hidden in the house. I'm not really sure I can describe more of the story without giving away some of the surprises I had while watching it. I enjoyed watching looking at the world through Jojo's eyes, even as horrible as it could be during a war, as he endured heartbreak, love and small victories, and learned to shed his devotion to Hitler. Also in another terrific supporting role is Sam Rockwell as Captain Klenzendorf; seemingly devoted to the cause because he has to be, not necessarily because he is a rabid believer. He shows Jojo kindness and protection that Adolf can't give. As far as the nominations go, I don't understand thinking a movie is Best Picture, but you don't nominate the director of the movie? I'm not sure how it's going to do against the other nominees, but I know who I'll be rooting for. And I can't wait to see Davis and Yates in more films. I would say if you have not seen Jojo Rabbit, do yourself a favor and watch it. I may watch it again after the awards.

Finally - The Big Lebowski and Finishing off the AFI list with Intolerance and Three Identical Strangers

10/14/18 Intolerance, 1916 #49 AFI, National Film Registry

I have borrowed this movie from the library twice before and returned it unwatched, then I got it from Netflix and it sat unopened for over a month before I forced myself to watch it...or at least have it playing where my eyes could randomly wander. I understand from a historical perspective why Intolerance is on the National Film Registry and maybe even on the American Film Institute's list of top 100 films, but I seriously considered poking myself in the eye. Written, directed and produced by D.W. Griffith, who also wrote, directed and produced The Birth of a Nation in 1915, it is three hours of epic storytelling and filmmaking. Except I didn't find it to be captivating storytelling at all. There are four separate stories that are from four different time periods in human history, and they are interwoven so the story lines run parallel. I have watched, and enjoyed, silent movies before, but, I didn't care. Perhaps if Griffith would have focused on one story, then maybe I would have paid attention. Supposedly Intolerance was made in response to the negative feedback that Griffith received after The Birth of a Nation which featured black Americans as negative stereotypes and white actors in blackface. I will leave further dissemination to true film critics. I will just say that most of my readers will not willingly subject themselves to this movie. And, it also completed the AFI 100 list.

10/20/18 Three Identical Strangers, not yet nominated, 2018

I think one of the most disgraceful and disgusting things in human history is when people we are supposed to trust to act in the best interest of all of us, betray that trust and act sanctimonious in the process. There are examples of this throughout different fields of medicine; Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa cell line, for one, and the triplet brothers featured in Three Identical Strangers. The brothers, Eddie, David and Robert, were put up for adoption and were separated very early in life, and placed with three different families of three different socio-economic statuses to study them. The adopting families knew nothing about this experiment. The film interviews the brothers, their families and friends and uses archival news footage from when the brothers discovered each other. There are feelings of anger and resentment towards the adoption agency for lying and deceiving the families and separating the brothers, essentially robbing them of a lifetime together. The film producers were able to track down a couple of people involved in the study, led by Peter Neubauer, but Neubauer is dead, and the study was never published. Also discovered were other twins included in the study. One 'assistant' who is interviewed (I cannot remember her name, nor find it in the credits) was rather flippant about it, not bothered at all about the harm that was inflicted or about basically lying to the families, but conveniently, she didn't remember other things when asked. Her smugness made me want to slap her. The papers, notes, and data from the study were left to Yale University with restrictions on the collection until 2065, not even the subjects of the study could get those records, until the pressure from the release of the film made the owners of the records relent, a little. I was totally captivated by the story of the brothers and their families, and outraged that the adoption agency and researchers made decisions that impacted so many people, with very little regard for them. The movie blends the stories of the brothers within the context of the research and left me wanting to know more, in a good way, that is, I felt invested in the brothers and the others impacted.

10/20/18 The Big Lebowski, 1998, National Film Registry

As much as I enjoy movies by the Coen Brothers, I have never, ever seen The Big Lebowski. I have no reason. I kind of bumped it to the top of my watch list because apparently there is a Big Lebowski bar in Iceland, and I'll be headed there shortly. Jeffrey Lebowski (Jeff Bridges), who insists on being called "Dude", is a slacker and enjoys bowling and hanging out with his friends, who include Walter (John Goodman), a Vietnam Vet with frequent bursts of oversized outrage and Donny (Steve Buscemi) who always seems to be a step behind. Believe it or not (and with a Coen Brothers movie you usually have to do that a lot) there is another Jeffrey Lebowski in Los Angeles; this one is a little bit wealthier and has a wife with a spending habit, and a daughter, Maude (Julianne Moore), who is an enthusiastic feminist. In a case of mistaken identity, that kind of propels the whole movie, a couple of goons bust into the Dude's house and threaten him over his wife's debt, and then pee on his rug. The Dude is more upset over the defilement of the rug than the assault. The Dude goes on a quest to find the other Lebowski and replace the rug. Of course, it's not that simple, and one thing leads to another, including a kidnapping and ransom gone wrong, a couple of bowling games gone awry (John Turturro is hilarious as Jesus Quintana, a bowling nemesis with a questionable past), an encounter with a stranger (Sam Elliott), and a bizarre dream/dance sequence. All in a day's work for the Coen Brothers. Some movies (like the above-mentioned Intolerance) are on the list, and I dread them, and realize that I was right; other movies, like The Big Lebowski, I kind of wish I hadn't waited so long to watch it, one, because I did like it (not loved it, though) and it really has become embedded into the culture, thus, its inclusion onto the National Film Registry.

10/27/18 To Sleep With Anger, 1990, National Film Registry

To Sleep with Anger has a great cast: Danny Glover (Harry), Richard Brooks (Baby Brother; you'll recognize Brooks from his stint on "Law and Order"), Carl Lumbly (Junior), Sheryl Lee Ralph (Linda), Mary Alice (Suzie; you may not recognize the name, but you'll recognize her voice and face) and Paul Butler (Gideon). The story is as old as Cain and Abel or Jacob and Esau, two brothers competing for their father's approval and pride; there is nothing sinister or evil in this sibling rivalry, however, just resentments carried for years. Gideon and his family live in South Central Los Angeles, but still carry on with some of their rural ways brought with them from the South. Out of nowhere an old friend, Harry, appears on their doorstep. It's been decades since they have seen each other, but Gideon welcomes Harry into the house, and things start to go a little askew within the family. I am not sure that the content is what got the Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep) written and directed film on the National Film Registry; perhaps it's because it was written and directed by an African-American and the cast is all African-American, admittedly, a rare occurrence these days, but especially in the 1990s. I thought the movie was okay, better than Killer of Sheep, which I didn't like at all, some good performances and potential in the story, but it wasn't great.

Catching up: Independence Day Master and Commander, Wallace and Gromit, The Incredibles

4/26/18 Independence Day, Best Visual Effects, 1996

I think I may start counting a movie as 'seen' if I fell asleep during it, that would move this list along a little faster; it certainly would have saved me two hours of watching Independence Day. Earth is being invaded by an alien species, blah blah. Bill Pullman is the young president, a former fighter pilot, who is leading an all-star cast in a seemingly hopeless endeavor. But if it was hopeless, it might have been a shorter movie. Will Smith is the lead pilot, and gives us a precursor to the smart alecky, but cool, agent in Men in Black; Judd Hirsch, Randy Quaid, Mary McDonnell, Jeff Goldblum, Robert Loggia and Viveca Fox also co-star. I know for some this was a huge summer blockbuster, but it dragged on, and was painful to watch. 

4/28/18 Master and Commander, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, 2003

Master and Commander was one of the big Oscar-nominated films of 2003, with twelve nominations and two wins (this was the year of The Lord of the Rings: Return of the Rings). I saw it the first time on the big screen and you certainly get the feeling of being swept overboard with the incredible waves and the vast ocean. The movie is set during the Napoleonic Wars of the early 1800s, in the southern hemisphere, with the British ship HMS Surprise, captained by Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe). Aubrey and his crew have been bested by the French ship Acheron, and Aubrey chases it like Ahab pursued Moby Dick. The story is taken from several of the books from Master and Commander book series, and I think there was talk about doing a sequel, but despite a dozen Oscar nominations, I don't recall the regular public clamoring for it. There is a lot of action and it is helpful to be somewhat familiar with the historical setting. It is certainly a primer for the very harsh life on board a fighting ship in the 1800s. I liked it, I didn't mind watching it a second time, and it's a good adventure/action movie.

4/28/18 Romeo and Juliet, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, 1968

I was inspired to re-watch Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet after watching my friend's son in his high school production (he was Friar Laurence); it wasn't too bad. In the film, Leonard Whiting plays Romeo and Olivia Hussey is Juliet. Hopefully you are somewhat familiar with the play by William Shakespeare or perhaps some other film adaptation, so I won't recap it. This was Whiting's first film, and Hussey's third, so they were pretty unknown teenagers, and untested actors. The script is not verbatim, there are things that are missing (I noticed Friar Laurence was not as featured as he was in the play I had recently attended), but the spirit and energy are definitely there. The movie was filmed throughout Italy, and I think it's beautiful. I enjoyed Romeo and Juliet, but I wouldn't say it's my favorite play by Shakespeare or even my favorite film of a Shakespeare play (Laurence Olivier, who is the Chorus in this film, played King Lear in 1983 in a television production, which was incredible), but it's a good production of one of the most well-known of Shakespeare's plays.

4/29/18 Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit, Best Animated Feature, 2005

I love Wallace and Gromit, and apparently, so do the Oscars, as Wallace and Gromit have been nominated five Oscars and winning three (two short films and one feature). Wallace is an eccentric inventor living in the north of England with his wise-beyond-his-species dog, Gromit, who is often responsible for rescuing Wallace. They both have a fondness for cheese and adventure (trips to space are not uncommon). In this glimpse into their lives, Wallace and Gromit operate a humane pest control business, trying to save their neighbors veg gardens. Wallace (voiced by English actor Peter Sallis) catches the eye of Lady Campanula Tottington (Helena Bonham Carter), but unfortunately he also pokes the ego of Lord Victor Quartermain (Ralph Fiennes who just chews up the scenery with his pomposity, meant in a good way). Ever the inventor, Wallace accidentally creates a Were Rabbit, which almost brings ruin to the town, and himself. Aside from the super fun animation, using the time intensive stop motion method, I always enjoy the smart word play and puns and visual treats provided by the Arman team.

5/3/18 The Incredibles, Best Animated Feature, Best Sound Editing, 2004

I suppose it's very timely that I re-watched The Incredibles so close to the release of The Incredibles 2; it's almost like I planned it. This is another movie that I actually saw in the theater when it was originally released. I enjoyed it, didn't love it. This was before the spate of super hero movies started coming out, and it was a new take on the whole idea of super heroes, making it a family affair. Written and directed by Brad Bird, who also voiced the fashion designer in the film, Edna Mode, and starring Craig T. Nelson as Mr. Incredible, Holly Hunter as Mr. Incredible's wife and hero in her own right, Elastigirl. They have three kids who also have powers: Violet (who is similar to Invisible Girl from The Fantastic Four) and Dash who is super fast, and Jack-Jack who has yet unidentified powers. Of course, there is a bad guy, Incredi-Boy/Syndrome (Jason Lee) who was ignored/treated badly by his hero, Mr. Incredible, and he comes back to teach the Supers, especially Mr. Incredible a lesson. I am getting a little ahead of myself: the Supers had to all go underground after the public sentiment turned against them (similar to what happened to Batman and The Avengers); so they had to take regular jobs. It may be safer, but it's boring, so Mr. Incredible and his friend, Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson, before he took on the eye patch of Nick Fury) take on bad guys secretly, their wives don't know and the 'agency' doesn't know. Back to Syndrome, who starts to wreak havoc, requiring the Incredibles, and later Frozone, to come out of retirement. The Incredibles is a fun movie, and at the time it was released, it was a fresh take on super heroes with the family element, and showing them to be all to human. The character of Edna Mode, dahling, is still one of my favorites (she kind of reminds me of Heddy from NICS: Los Angeles). It was pretty cool to have a black super hero (years before Fury, Falcon, Luke Cage or the Black Panther). I was pleased with the animation, and it looks like The Incredibles 2 is a very different style, but that's for another review, because I'm almost sure it will be nominated. 

One word movie titles for three hundred, please - Hugo, Deliverance, Champion, Spartacus

8/26/17 Hugo, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, 2011

I haven't figured out why Martin Scorsese's Hugo has not found a bigger audience; I think it has stunning visuals (this is one of the few movies I have seen where 3D makes a difference, in a good way); I think kids/young teens can relate to the story; fans of early animation can appreciate the story of Georges Melies. But, perhaps I am getting ahead of myself. In 1930s Paris, Hugo (Asa Butterfield - Boy in the Striped Pajamas) is orphaned after his clockmaker/inventor father (Jude Law) is killed in a fire, but he is left an automaton his father was repairing. He is left in the care of his drunk and mean uncle Claude (Ray Winston), who teaches him to keep the clocks running at Gare Montparnesse. Hugo has a habit of shoplifting from a toy store owner (Ben Kingsley); using the pieces to finish restoring the automaton, until he gets caught by the store owner, who threatens to burn Hugo's notebook. Hugo meets Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz) and they go on adventures, and Hugo learns that Isabelle is the toy store owner's goddaughter. Uncle Claude turns up dead after an ill-timed dip in the Seine, and Hugo is on his own again, so he lives in the clock (seriously, who would not think this is the coolest thing?), evading capture from a very hilarious Station Inspector Gustave (Sacha Baron Cohen who is surprisingly not offensive). It turns out that the toy store owner, also known as Papa Georges, was a groundbreaking filmmaker in the early 20th century, making the landmark film "A Trip to the Moon". The movie won the visual Oscars for very good reason, it's gorgeously done, the special effects from the automaton to the recreated scenes from Meliers' films and theater pieces are beautiful. Scorsese is a film historian and has provided funds for film restoration and while this may seem off the beaten track for him, I think it's a work of love. There are not a lot of films that families can watch together, so if you're looking for something whimsical and magical, get Hugo from the library or Netflix.

8/26/17 Deliverance, 1972 #84 BBC, National Film Registry

I don't think some of these 'classic' films translate so well thirty or forty years later. At least that's my opinion Deliverance based on watching it three times and not liking it any time, although I was less creeped out the last time than the first two times. The film is set in the north Georgia wilderness, and stars Burt Reynolds as Lewis, Jon Voight as Ed, Ronnie Cox as Drew and Ned Beatty as Bobby; Lewis and Ed are the outdoorsmen of the group, and this is Drew and Bobby's first outing. These are city boys and the locals are targets for their mockery and mistrust (although the mistrust goes both ways). Even if you have never seen Deliverance you are probably familiar with the music called "Dueling Banjos" (usually played when people are referring to hillbillies or something backwards); it's early on, and pretty much the only part I liked. Anyway, the city boys head down the river in their canoes, and Ed and Bobby have the misfortune to meet two very creepy country boys who have more than just fishing on their minds; one of them humiliates Bobby by making him squeal like a pig and then raping him. Before the same can be done to Ed, Lewis kills the attacker with a shot from his bow. The men dispose of the body, but are now in fear of the second man, whom they believe is stalking them from above in the cliffs. Things get really dangerous as they hit a series dangerous rapids, and it doesn't end there, as there are more deaths, severe injuries and an encounter with the local sheriff who doesn't believe anything they say. I don't mind outdoor films, and director John Boorman filmed a lot of beautiful shots in the Tallulah Gorge, and I like a good mystery or thriller, but this did nothing for me, and I can honestly say I tried.

8/26/17 Champion, Best Editing, 1949

I've been in a Kirk Douglas frame of mind, I guess, having recently finished Douglas's autobiography, The Ragman's Son, watching an old interview with Dick Cavett and grabbing two of his films in this blog session, Champion and Spartacus. Douglas was nominated for Best Actor for his role as "Midge" Kelly, a good boxer but a pretty crappy person. Midge didn't plan on being a boxer; he and his crippled brother, Connie (Arthur Kennedy), are heading west to claim their ownership of a restaurant in California, only to find that they've been swindled. The real owner, Lew, of the diner lets them stay on to work and both Midge and Connie fall for the owner's daughter, Emma. Lew is less than pleased with Midge and Emma's relationship and forces them into a shotgun marriage. Now that the fun is over, Midge takes off, leaving Emma behind. This is pretty typical of how Midge operates; he's a me first kind of guy. On the way out west, Midge enters a fight as a way to make some quick money, and when he flees his marriage, he finds Tommy Haley who offered to train and manage him if he wanted to get into the fight game for real. Midge has a single-minded focus on his new career, defeating all comers as he moves around the country. Midge gets the opportunity to fight Johnny Dunne, who is in line for the championship. Instead of tanking the fight like he promised, Midge knows out Johnny early on, earning the wrath of the mob, but the affections of Johnny's girlfriend, Grace. Yeah, there's not a lot to like about most of the characters in this movie. Grace persuades Midge to drop Tommy and get a new manager. Bad move on Grace's part as she unwittingly sets Midge up with his next fling. Being champion holds short term rewards for Midge, for which he seems to have no gratitude or appreciation. Things don't end for him quite as he anticipated. Douglas is pretty despicable in this role, and it kind of reminded me of his part in Ace in the Hole, as a journalist who is willing to risk another man's life to improve his career - devoid of scruples. It was a good movie, probably not at the top of most people's list, but it's one of Douglas's earlier films and worth a look.

8/27/17 Spartacus, 1960,  Best Supporting Actor, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography - Color, Best Costume Design - Color,  #81 AFI

Spartacus is one of those old time Hollywood epic films that begins with an overture, has an orchestral intermission and a closing bit, enough costumed Romans to fill the Colosseum and more stars than there are in the sky. The movie is significant for more than its scope; it was Dalton Trumbo's first officially credited movie since he had been blacklisted, and it pretty much broke the blacklist; Kirk Douglas hired Trumbo and made the decision to put his name on the credits. Stanley Kubrick directed after the production company, Bryna Productions, fired the original director, Anthony Mann (Bryna Productions was Douglas's company). Douglas stars as Spartacus, a Thracian slave who is sold to a gladiator school run by Batiatus (Peter Ustinov in an Oscar winning role). Spartacus meets a slave girl, Varinia (Jean Simmons), who also draws the attention of Crassus (Laurence Olivier) and his entourage. Crassus and his party request a fight to the death between the gladiators, and Spartacus is chosen to fight against the African, Draba. Draba refuses to kill Spartacus and instead, lunges at the gawking visitors, only to be killed by one of the guards. This is the inspiration for the slave rebellion, led by Spartacus. Meanwhile, back in Rome, Crassus is in a power struggle with Gracchus (Charles Laughton) in the Senate. Domestically, Crassus adds a young slave to his household, Antoninus (Tony Curtis), and attempts to seduce him (one of the interesting things about this scene is that it is part of the restored film and Olivier's voice had to be dubbed by Anthony Hopkins). Antoninus later joins the growing slave army. Spartacus is trying to get the slaves out of Rome and makes a deal for ships, but in the time it takes for him to move down the coast, Crassus and Gracchus have been making their own deals and double-deals, in opposition to one another. Eventually, Spartacus and his army are brutally defeated, and the stage is set for probably the best known scene in the film, where the Romans are looking for Spartacus, and everyone stands up and says "I'm Spartacus"; the scene is more dramatic than written here. I love the drama, maybe melodrama, the grand scale, the cast of amazing actors, and since I have learned more of the history of the film, that just adds to it. Ustinov plays his role with a touch of comedy, dry wit and tongue in cheek; Olivier is cool and calculating; Laughton is calculating but honest about some of his foibles and weaknesses (food and women); there is something about Jean Simmons that I find captivating, her voice, her almost ethereal presence, I don't know. Douglas as Spartacus is pretty flawless, which is not typical of most heroes, there is sign of weakness, not even being prideful; I don't think it detracts anything, though, the movie is so big and there are other flawed characters. This would be a great movie for an autumn night in front of the fire, perhaps some Italian wine and cheese, if you're so inclined.

The original Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven 1960 and 2016

Ugh, I have had the worst writer's block as far as reviewing the following three movies. All I can say is that it's good this isn't my day job or I would have been fired. (Sigh). If you think this is a pre-excuse excuse, you are correct. Anyhoo, here we go.


10/8/16 Seven Samurai, 1954
10/9/16 The Magnificent Seven, 1960, Nation Film Registry
9/27/16 The Magnificent Seven, 2016, not yet nominated

On my recent trip home (not so recent now), I saw The Magnificent Seven, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke and others, with my brother. This led to the discussion that there were two earlier movies based on a similar premise (well, one WAS the original, and then the other the first remake).

The premise for all three films is that a town or village in Japan, Mexico or the Old West is under siege from a gang, and the townspeople set out to find the men who will fight for them. It's not like you go to Target and go down the row that has mercenaries or guns for hire. If it was that easy, they wouldn't have made three movies about it.  The original movie in this collection is Seven Samurai, directed by Akira Kurosawa, was really the first movie to employ the concept of assembling a collection of (usually men) from different backgrounds and circumstances to fight a common cause. Seven Samurau is set in the 16th century and is about a small village fighting to keep their crop, and they try to hire seven ronin for this purpose. Kurosawa spends a lot of time following the process of finding the right men, giving us a look into their potential motives for joining this possible deadly endeavor, the conflicts they experience before the real fight even starts. It gives us a depth that is lacking in the subsequent films, especially the newest one. Seven Samurai is not as reliant on fancy gun tricks or special effects as the other films, again, especially the latest. The seven samurai had less than 40 men to fight, whereas it seemed that there were hundreds in the 2016 film. Seven Samurai is over three hours old, and it may take a while to get into the rhythm of the subtitles and the pacing, but it is such an influential film, that it is well worth the effort.

The Magnificent Seven (1960), directed by John Sturges and starring Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Charles Bronson, James Coburn and Horst Buchholz and Brad Dexter are the seven of the title. There is some resemblance to the inspirational characters of Seven Samurai, but finding the cast of characters isn't quite as detailed. Yul Brynner as Chris Adams is the leader of motley crew. Eli Wallach is most unlikable as the leader of the bandits, Calvera. I would have liked to learn more about the characters, because I really liked them, this one of my favorite casts. I have seen this movie three or four times. Charles Bronson was in another of my favorite 'motley crew' movies, The Dirty Dozen. I don't have a whole lot of insight to add (see above disclaimer), except that I like this movie and if you're looking for a good western, dip into this for a couple of hours. I should also mention that the score, by Elmer Bernstein, should be familiar to you because it is used frequently (including in the 2016 film). It's a great collection of actors with some good action with an underlying them of redemption (this is true for all three films).

The Magnificent Seven (2016) directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) is an action explosion, pun intended, featuring a lot ammunition and explosives. In this version, a small mining town out West is being tormented by a sadistic industrialist, Bartholomew Bogue (sounds like a Marvel bad guy) played with great gusto by Peter Sarsgaard. A young widow sets out to find someone to help fight Bogue's impending destruction of the town and finds Sam Chisholm, a warrant officer (Denzel Washington), who is pretty handy with a gun. He reluctantly agrees, and begins collecting his team of six, including sharpshooters, warriors, and knife-throwing expert. The men in the 2016 version represent a diverse assembly - including a Korean, Billy Rocks (Lee Byung-hun); Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), a Mexican outlaw; Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier), a Comanche Indian; Jack Horne (Vincent D'Onofrio), a mountain man who has fought Indians; Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), a veteran of the Confederate army. Chris Pratt rounds out the group as Joshua Faraday, a gambler. As Chisholm and crew try to prepare the town, they involve the townspeople, trying to help them shoot and also prepare some great surprises. There is a lot I liked about the movie: I did like the action, there are some great scenes as Bogue's men come in for the attack; I liked the different characters, although not as much as I did in the 1960 version. There is something quirky about D'Onofrio's character, he has a weird voice/speech pattern and you're not sure if he is mentally challenged, has had a brain injury or if he is from some part of the country where they speak like that, or perhaps he has been so isolated that he hasn't spoken very much. It's jolting at first, but he grows on you. The knife-wielding Billy Rocks is an artist with the assortment of weapons he has, he's also funny and the care-taker to Robicheaux who has a dependence on cannabis.Red Harvest doesn't have many lines, he gives the impression that he doesn't speak English, but he lets his actions speak for him. He has been cast-out from his tribe, and I may have missed it, but I don't think it's clear why. I had some issue with the endless number of men that Bogue seemed to have available to him, it was like the endless soup and salad at Olive Garden. Then he rolls out a Gatling gun, which is a huge game changer, and yet, the outcome is not what was expected. I read a review (which I try not to do) and it wasn't very favorable, citing the lack of character depth as one issue. I get that, especially after seeing how Kurosawa handled introducing the men to us, and I would have liked to have more understanding on Chisholm's motivation (if I had to pick), and we get little hints, but not much more until the end of the movie. But I guess the reason I still give this a thumb's up is it was entertaining. Pure and simple. I'm pretty sure Denzel Washington has not been in a bad movie; Chris Pratt is his wise-cracking self (my brother thought this was suppose to be a comedy); D'Onofrio is special as always; I could actually tolerate Ethan Hawke; and it was nice to see some new actors (to many of us) hanging out with the veterans, and very ably. I would suggest making a weekend of it and watching all three and make the comparison yourself.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy - a weekend with Hobbits, Orcs, Elves and Ents

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
9/2/16 The Fellowship of the Ring, Best Makeup, Best Original Score, Best Visual Effects, Best Cinematography, 2001, #51 AFI
9/3/16 The Two Towers, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, 2002
9/4/16 The Return of the King, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Sound Mixing, Best Visual Effects, 2003

Before I start, I feel like I need to clarify that I actually saw all three movies, when they were released, in the theaters. This is not one of my 'Johnny come lately' moments (I tend to admit that right away). I read the trilogy and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien many years ago, and although I am not one of those people who read and re-read books over and over again, it made a huge impression on me, back to the first time I ever heard The Hobbit. My fourth grade teacher, Mr. Rounds (much gratitude to him for being one of the best teachers ever), used to read to us when we came back in from lunch, I think it was meant to calm us down after pretty intense kickball games. I fell in love with the story, watched the animated film, listened to an older cousin as he showed me his map of Middle Earth and explained Elvish to me; it was a little while before I was able to get into reading the books for myself, but when I did, I was so sad when it was over. Tolkien had an incredible ability to create a universe with so much detail you felt it was real; characters that came alive with their heroism, humor and frailty; and a story line where a character, no matter how large, small, magical or mortal, has a role to play. SO when I heard these movies were going to be made back in the early 2000s, I was ecstatic, but nervous. How could anyone put onto a screen what Tolkien had created in my mind? I probably don't need to tell you, but Peter Jackson not only did it once, but three times.

Each film corresponds to one of the trilogy, there is no doubling up (or tripling up) like Jackson did for The Hobbit. Jackson filmed all three movies at the same time, or consecutively, or put another way, he didn't wait years between each film; I think this helped with the continuity of the movies, the actors weren't 5 or 10 years older. Ian Holm is featured as Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit who starts it all in The Hobbit and Elijah Wood is his nephew Frodo. In The Hobbit, Bilbo brought back a magical ring, stolen from Gollum/Smeagol; The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the story of the return and ultimate destruction of the ring. Frodo inherits the ring from Bilbo and when Gandalf determines that it is best for the ring to be destroyed, Frodo sets off with his friends Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin), Pippin Took (Billy Boyd) and Merry Brandybuck (Dominic Monaghan). Along the way, they meet Strider/Aragorn (Viggo Mortenson), Boromir (Sean Bean), Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli the Dwarf (John Rhys-Davies), among many, but this is the 'fellowship of the ring'. The best bet for success is to split of the group, and the story branches off into three main parts: Frodo and Samwise; Merry and Pip; and Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli; Gandalf appears when needed. There is way too much to try and recap here, and I'm not even going to try; besides, you probably already know or you haven't read or seen the movies and I'm not going to ruin it for you.What you do need to know is that there is a lot of suspense, incredible effects (I mean, it won the Oscar three times for Best Visual Effects), battle scenes that will have you swinging your imaginary battleaxe, and some humor, usually found in the banter between Legolas and Gimli or with Pippin and Merry. If you read the blog regularly, you may know that I tend to be biased against long movies unless there is a point. Well, these are not short, by any stretch, in fact the last of the trilogy is over three hours, and I did NOT care. I didn't want them to end. There are times I didn't like the pacing of the different plot lines because I didn't want to leave Aragorn and the others to go wandering with Frodo and Sam, but then I got back into it, other times I was less interested in Merry and Pippin, but then the Ent (I love the Ents), Treebeard, appears and I'm caught up again; I hated the battles because the 'good guys' were always facing overwhelming odds, but then, you know, magic would happen, and then I didn't want the battles to end. Seriously, Jackson takes you on one helluva roller coaster ride and you don't want to get off. This might have been the perfect storm as far as movies go, because I think the cast is perfect, I can't imagine anyone else as Frodo, Sam, Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, etc. I would be remiss if I didn't mention Andy Serkis as Gollum who broke ground as a motion-capture actor, in fact there was some talk that he should have been nominated for an Oscar, or maybe a special Oscar, for his performance. The main cast is superb, and the supporting cast is also just amazing, with Cate Blanchett as Lady Galadriel, Hugo Weaving as Lord Elrond, Christoper Lee as Saruman, and the list goes on.

I really can't say if the movies were 100% faithful to the books, to my recollection, they were faithful enough for me; there are people who can speak to that better than I. I just know the movies and books are absolutely magical. My complaint or what I take issue with is that the movies are shown on cable just about every 90 days or so. I just think that dilutes everything, and unless they show it without commercials (insert HUGE belly laugh), they are making them LONGER, or speeding up the film to make it shorter (or whatever the technical term is). BOO! I had the DVDs (thanks friends for not charging an overdue fee) and it was perfect (well, perfect was on the big screen, but this worked). I think I will put the books on the reading list and let Tolkien work his magic again.

This probably isn't my typical review, but I really didn't know how to review these epics that I love so much. Maybe that's the review? At least it's better than the movies that get the one sentence review, right?

Ben-Hur, Groundhog Day and An Inconvenient Truth - movies for every occasion

7/3/16 Ben-Hur, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Art Direction - Color, Best Cinematography - Color, Best Costume Design - Color, Best Special Effects, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Scoring of a Drama or Comedy, Best Sound Recording, 1959, #100 AFI, National Film Registry

A remake of Ben-Hur is coming out soon. I don't know why, I would imagine the comparisons to the 1959 Oscar-winning movie (11 wins), and Charlton Heston as Ben-Hur are going to be inevitable. It's possible that the only knowledge that young movie goers have of Ben-Hur is from the famous chariot racing scene which always seems to be included in any montage tribute to classic films. I have classified Ben-Hur as a 'religious' film in my tags, but it's not as religious (to me) as The Greatest Story Ever Told or  Jesus of Nazareth, in fact the religious awakening/awareness don't come until the last 20-30 minutes of the film. Charlton Heston had himself one helluva a career in just two movies with The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur (I mean, he did more than that, obviously, but if he only made two, I would have picked these two). Heston plays Judah Ben-Hur, a wealthy Jewish merchant in Judea. Judah's childhood friend, Messala (Stephen Boyd), a Roman, returns to Judea as a tribune. Messala wants to use his friendship with Judah, and Judah's influence, to calm the Jews and get them to tow the line. Judah cannot bring himself to do this, and through a series of events, Judah is sent as a slave on a galley ship. Roman Consul Quintus Arrias (English actor Jack Hawkins) takes an interest in this slave who seems determined and focused and unbent by the extreme physical exertion of rowing. Arrias eventually adopts Ben-Hur (this was actually not uncommon in Roman culture) and trains him as a charioteer. The opportunity arises for Ben-Hur to race against Messala, who has since imprisoned Ben-Hur's mother and sister, and is his mortal enemy. This is the scene I referenced above, and I'm not sure how to describe it, or if I even could in a way that would do it justice. After the race, Judah discovers that his mother and sister are no longer imprisoned, but in a leper colony. Around this same time, Jesus is traveling and preaching through Jerusalem, ultimately being put on trial by Pontius Pilate. The scene of Jesus walking through the streets of Jerusalem, carrying the crucifix does not focus on Jesus, but on Judah watching Jesus, even trying to give him a drink of water. Judah's family experiences a miracle after the Crucifixion, and the anger and hate that Judah had been feeling dissipate. As you faithful readers know, I generally dislike long movies on principle, and while I think this movie could have been a little shorter, I didn't mind because it was so well-done. William Wyler directed (Roman Holiday, The Best Years of Our Lives,  Mrs. Miniver, Wuthering Heights to name a few) and he did a spectacular job, combining the action of battle scenes and chariot races with gorgeous sets and magnificent cinematography, plus getting wonderful performances from the actors. The movie won Best Picture and Wyler won Best Director. Heston won Best Actor. It also won several other Oscars and is #100 on the AFI list and on the national film registry. There is an earlier, silent version of Ben-Hur which is also on the national film registry, and that disk was included in the set from the library, but I ran out of time and had to return it. Also, my brother was coming for a visit and love is not making your 22 year old brother watch a two hour silent movie. I don't know if I will see the new version coming out, perhaps if it's nominated.


7/23/16 An Inconvenient Truth, Best Documentary, Best Original Song, 2006

After all these years, I do not understand how anyone with a critical thinking brain cell can deny climate change and the impact that humans have on this planet. After watching An Inconvenient Truth, I feel even more strongly about that. This is really Al Gore's movie, he presents to audiences around the world on global warming, using powerful graphics, his Southern accent and facts that seem to have been burned into his brain. He is as comfortable talking and explaining the science behind global warming as if he was chatting to friends around a picnic table. Around the scenes of his actual presentation, former Vice President Gore talks about certain events in his life that have had a long lasting impact on his life: his sister's death from cancer brought on by a lifetime of smoking, his son's accident that helped him refocus his priorities, and teachers who influenced him. Gore is not a recent convert to environmental issues, he has been an advocate since he was a congressman from Tennessee in the late 1970s. The movie is ten years old, which is hard to believe, but it's probably more relevant and important today than even when it was released. Gore isn't all doom and gloom, he points out that if we all make incremental changes, the affect can still be felt. It's not too late, but we have to act now. The movie was written by Al Gore and directed by Davis Guggenheim (He Named Her Malala); it also won the Oscar for Best Original Song, "I Need to Wake Up" by Melissa Etheridge. I encourage you to watch this movie as well as a few others about our planet: Racing Extinction, Merchants of Doubt, which requires you to wear your critical thinking cap, and Chasing Ice. These are just a few, but they are powerful in the how they portray what is happening to this planet. For crying out loud, if we can bring Earth to the very brink of destruction in less than 200 years, what hope do we have on some future home, whether it's Mars or some undiscovered sphere?

7/30/16 Boy & the World, nominated Best Animated Feature, 2015 

Watching Boy & the World turned into a 'list exercise' meaning I finished watching it because it was on the list of nominated films for 2015 and, in fact, was the last film on the list. It was nominated for Best Animated Feature, Inside Out was the winner. I'm not going to lie, the movie did not hold my interest at all, I can't even give you a synopsis, except to say that it would have made a good short film, but 90 minutes was too long for me. There was virtually no dialogue, and perhaps that added to its appeal, I don't know. I didn't hate it, I just didn't care. Sorry.

7/30/16 Groundhog Day, 1993, National Film Registry, #71 BBC

Since watching the Ghostbusters remake last week, I  have yet to watch the original, but in an effort to make up for that, I did watch Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray and directed by Harold Ramis. That kind of counts for something, doesn't it? Groundhog Day did not win any Oscars, but it did land a place on the National Film Registry as well as on the BBC's list of the top 100 American films. It has also landed a place in our lexicon when people find themselves doing the same thing over and over (or it feels like it), they say something like, "It's like Groundhog Day." I know I have. Bill Murray plays Phil Connors, an snide, arrogant weatherman in Pittsburgh, who goes to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to wait for the groundhog to come up and see his shadow. Along for the fun are his producer Rite (Andie McDowell) and cameraman Larry (Chris Elliott). After watching the groundhog come out and see his shadow, the crew try to head back to Pittsburgh, but are deterred by a snowstorm that Phil failed to predict. They head back to town where Phil finds himself in a time loop, and in a twist worthy of a Greek tragedy, Phil has to relive Groundhog Day over and over and over. He goes through a period of despair and tries to kill himself; normally I would not use 'suicide' and 'funny' in the same review, but his attempts and the results, are pretty funny. Eventually he learns to use it to his advantage since he knows exactly what's going to happen next, like answering Jeopardy questions before Alex Trebek can answer them. There's no question that this is Bill Murray's movie, but he does have a good partner in McDowell, who does the only thing you can do and that's play it straight. I don't think we know how or what created this time loop, but I think that's totally okay and is really irrelevant. I enjoyed the humor and the way the story did progress, so even though it was the same day, we see different aspects of that day. I didn't laugh out loud, but I did like it quite a bit and was laughing on the inside.

Around the world - take that, Amazing Race

4/30/16 Around the World in 80 Days, Best Picture, Best Cinematography - Color, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Best Writing - Screenplay, Adapted, 1956

Around the World in 80 Days was based on the novel by Jules Verne, originally written in 1873 and stars David Niven, Cantinflas, Robert Newton and Shirley MacLaine, and features cameos by dozens of stars, including Frank Sinatra, Buster Keaton, Noel Coward, Charles Boyer and Peter Lorre. Stylistically, thematically and with the cast of hundreds, it immediately reminded me of The Great Race and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World. There is a lot going on and so many people popping in and out, I just resolved myself to enjoy it and not get caught up in the details. David Niven plays Phileas Fogg, a wealthy eccentric who engages in a bet with the members of his club that he can make it around the world in eighty days. He sets off with his new valet, a resourceful man known as Passpartout (Cantinflas, who was very well known in Latin American comedic films), and is faced with travel obstacles at every turn. Of course, that is where all the fun is - how will they get out of the situation and who will be in those scenes? Niven is the perfect straight man, playing everything seriously and without any sense of irony, and Cantinflas adds a dash of comedy, physical as well as his interplay with Niven and others. Robert Newton plays Inspector Fix, Fogg's nemesis; Fogg is mistakenly accused of stealing 55,000 pounds from the Bank of England. Shirley MacLaine is Indian Princess Aouda, a young widow who is destined to end up on her husband's funeral pyre, until she is rescued by Fogg and Passepartout. There are things about the movie that are unapologetically British and may be unfamiliar, but I don't think that should turn you off; it's also three hours long, and that may make you reconsider, but I hope it doesn't. It's a beautiful film, using the Technicolor technique/method, and the venues are breathtaking; I've always been a fan of the hot air balloon scene. This is a good family film and a way to introduce geography and travel to young people. The movie won the Oscar for Best Film, beating out The Ten Commandments, Giant, The King and I and Friendly Persuasion; it was very good and certainly epic, but I have a soft spot for The Ten Commandments, and I think it would have been tough to cast a vote among these massive films.

Around the World in 80 Days was probably a subliminal influence on me and my love for travel, and for the biggest trip I have ever taken, when I went around the world for seven weeks in 2006. I wrote a book, which is available on Amazon.com as an e-book, called "Oh, You're a Vegetable". I'm a terrible salesperson, but I'm funny and entertaining (so I've been told) and would be grateful if you would check out my book.And if I sell enough books, perhaps I can go on another trip.

A rare hard copy edition of the book

Prague

Istanbul

Taj Mahal, India

Heaven's Gate - make up your own mind

4/16/16 Heaven's Gate, 1980, #98 BBC

I am going to be perfectly honest -  Heaven's Gate did not suck. Yes, it was long and maybe the four editors could have cut a little more, but I have seen worse. Much worse. I was concerned because I remember when Heaven's Gate was released and it was eviscerated in the press for being too long (the version I watched was almost four hours long), too wandering in its story, and ego ride for writer/director/head narcissist Michael Cimino (Deer Hunter), and just not very good. Growing up on all of that, I was totally shocked to see the movie had made the BBC's 100 Best American Films (I have to say, I am putting less and less faith in this particular list, but I'm too far gone to quit).

The movie opens in 1870 in Boston, Massachusetts with a college graduation from Harvard University, focusing on two friends, Billy Irvine (John Hurt) and Jim Averill (Kris Kristofferson). There's a lot of laughing, not a lot of dialogue and then some unintelligible speeches (at least to me) from the serious and pious Reverend Doctor (Joseph Cotton) and the drunk Billy. The opening scene is about 10-15 minutes and I have no idea why it's there unless it's to show the privilege that produces Billy and Jim, but there is no need for the drawn out scene. We are then magically transported out West where we see a town flooded with immigrants from all over Europe, most of them not faring very well. I had a little problem with the geography because it sounded to me like they kept referring visits to St. Louis, which is in Missouri, but it turns out that most of the story is set in Wyoming; they are not close to one another. Anyway, once I left that distraction behind, I focused on the movie. Billy and Averill are both out in Wyoming; Billy is some kind of gentleman/businessman and Averill is the marshal. It seems the immigrants are stealing cattle to survive, either for food, or some believe for favors at the local brothel. This is spurring on a high level of anti-immigrant feelings, leading to killings and a plan for a mass execution, headed by Frank Canton (Sam Waterston) of the cattle association, and his orders are carried out by Nate Campion (Christopher Walken). Oh, and the woman who runs the brothel, Ella Watson (Isabelle Huppert in her American film debut), is having a relationship with Averill AND Campion (the good thing is she doesn't charge Averill, but she does charge Campion for her favors - apparently that shows she has more feelings for Averill). Most of the movie seems to drag on with fights, drinking, and a rolling skating music video at Heaven's Gate, the local roller rink owned by John L. Bridges (Jeff Bridges). Yes, the movie is named after a roller skating rink, or maybe it's the other way around. The last hour of the movie is actually the best, things start to happen, and it leads to this incredibly violent and crazy shootout with the immigrants and those against the cattle association go on the offensive against the cattle association and their hired hands. It's very chaotic, and not very organized; wagons weren't designed to run in tight circles over and over, so of course they tip and it seemed more people were killed because of runaway wagons or horses. Before this all transpired, Averill quit as marshal and was ready to head back East, but his conscience gets the best of him, and he joins the immigrants and helps them construct Roman inspired war machines and gives them a brief boost, but it's not enough.

Enough about the story. The movie has an incredible cast, many of them in the early days of their careers or just before they hit it big. Waterston is refreshingly evil and unlikable as Canton, he makes you forget his longtime role as Jack McCoy. Kristofferson was nominated for a Razzie for Worst Actor, but I didn't think he was terrible; I think the role required a restrained performance with a lot below the surface. Sometimes I thought the issue was more with the script than his acting. Isabelle Huppert was my favorite actor in the movie as Ella Watson; maybe it was the French accent, but I like to think I'm more evolved than that. She was tough, sensitive, funny, held her own with a mostly male cast. I'm not sure what Bridges character was for, except to create the roller rink, and maybe be Averill's pal. Walken was really good and showed a lot of depth as well: romantic, tough as nails, a good friend, and although sometimes it's hard to see, a sense of morality.

I think if the movie had been made in the last few years, and shown on the History Channel (it's sort of based on historical events), Netflix or Amazon as a two or three part series, it would have found an audience and maybe even been nominated for a Golden Globe or something. There is a bigger appetite for longer programs if it's over a couple of nights. Not to say that would have remedied everything, but it might have helped with some of the issues. Or not, it seems that Cimino was a huge control freak and there was a lot wrong, but I'm feeling optimistic. What's that? Are you asking me if you should see it? If you like action westerns and have four hours at the cabin when it's raining, yeah, I would say to watch it. Or a snowy weekend.

In a galaxy far, far away there is someone who has not seen Star Wars, but it's not me

12/26/15 Star Wars, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, 1978 #13 AFI, National Film Registry, #36 BBC

1/9/16 Empire Strikes Back, Best Sound Mixing, Best Visual Effects, 1980 National Film Registry, BBC

1/11/16 Return of the Jedi, Special Achievement in Visual Effects, 1983

What can I say that thousands of nerds and geeks haven't said already? I have been thinking about how I would write this entry since I finished re-watching the original trilogy, which is one of the lame reasons it has taken so long to write. That, and the fact, I wanted to see the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens which I just did this past weekend. All of my contemplation brought me to a few conclusions: The Star Wars story is practically mythological, even if you can't recite all of the characters and their family trees, you know about Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, et al, just like you know about Zeus, Hercules, Apollo, and their stories. It's crazy. Another observation: the films get better with age; I know I saw the movies during their original release dates, but my memories are dim at best, which is why I wanted to watch them with fresh eyes. I enjoyed them so much more this time around; I found a new appreciation for the humor between C3P0 and R2D2, Chewbacca and Han Solo. And the effects - all three movies were recognized in some fashion for their visual and special effects. They may be 30 - 40 years old, but I thought they held up better than special effects you might see in a movie from the 1950s. I wasn't distracted by them, but enjoyed them, and realize now how truly groundbreaking they were at the time. The movies have a good versus evil theme, brothers in arms, a young man's quest for his place in the universe, etc., but without putting too much thought into it - they are just great movies. I found it odd that I enjoyed the movies more, years later, rather than at the time, but there you go. Proof I was just a contrary child.


2/6/16 Star Wars: The Force Awakens, nominated for Best Original Score, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects, 2015

I'm a little late to the party since Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released in mid-December and here we are in almost mid-February and I have just seen it for the first time. I really was waiting for the crowds to go away, and see the other movies on my list. The Force Awakens introduces us to some new characters like Kylo Ren, Finn, Rey, BB-8, but also brings back familiar faces like Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca and Luke Skywalker. The story seemed to be a modified telling of the original trilogy and didn't really give us any surprises (except one, but I'm not telling), and I say that having not read any spoilers or plot lines. There was still the familiar banter/growling between Chewbacca and Han Solo, it's like they've been traveling the galaxy for decades. Newcomer John Boyega as Finn had some very serious scenes, but that was balanced with humorous lines. Daisy Ridley joins as Rey, a scrapper, who is also a pilot and mechanic, who seems to have a bit of the Force in her. Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is reminiscent of Darth Vader (with good reason as it turns out). You have already probably seen the movie, so I'm not going into any more plot points. I saw this with a friend of mine, who doesn't normally strike me as a sci-fi person, but she went with me and liked it. As did I. It carries on the tradition of good fun, with great effects, characters that you want to see again and again and a rousing score by the legendary John Williams. Nothing deep or complicated, or if there was, I chose to not find it. It entertained. It is nominated for a few Oscars, but I would be surprised if it won because the competition is so much more fierce than thirty years ago, like from Mad Max, Ex Machina and The Martian. I'm looking forward to the next installment as is everyone else on the planet.


I want to dedicate this particular review to a friend who recently passed on to the next galaxy. She loved Star Wars and especially Darth Vader; we went to the Star Wars exhibit years ago at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts; she even got her hands on a lifesized cutout of Darth Vader for her cube at work. As fate would have it, she saw the most recent movie before she got sick. Somehow that makes me feel better. I'll miss you Brenda Kay of the Milky Way. May the Force be with you my friend.

The Revenant - we may agree to disagree

Twenty-one movies to go; it was supposed to be 20 but I fell asleep during one of the documentaries last night and I have to re-watch it. So far, things look good, but I'll probably miss the foreign films and a couple of big films that I missed in the theater and aren't on DVD until March. But, despite being behind the eight ball, I still fit in a non-nominated movie last week.

1/28/16 Pawn Sacrifice, not nominated, 2015

Pawn Sacrifice is a bio-pic of Bobby Fischer, the chess genius who suffered from severe paranoia. Toby Maguire is Fisher and Liev Schreiber plays his nemesis, Boris Spassky. We meet Bobby as a young chess prodigy with a laser focus on becoming the best chess player in the world, and doesn't let anyone stand in his way, except perhaps himself and his occasionally outrageous demands. When I saw the trailer for the movie, I was very interested in seeing it, but it really didn't live up to what I thought it would be. I'm not sure exactly what that was, but it lacked something. I have mentioned before, but I will say it again, if you are going to use subtitles (99% of Schreiber's dialog, and the other Russian characters, was in Russian) then they should be in a font that can be read on the movie screen as well as on television. Having said that, I missed out on any important tidbits that Spassky and others might have said. I got bored, which is too bad, because I think it's an interesting topic from an interesting period of time for international politics.

1/31/16 The Revenant, nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Bests Visual Effects, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design, 2015

I'm going to say this now: a lot of people are not going to like this review and disagree vehemently with me, but I did not LOVE The Revenant, nor do I think it's the best movie from this year. Sorry, but I don't. I will say that the cinematography is spectacular; I would love to have some stills from the film, and I will also say that Leonardo DiCaprio is very good as Hugh Glass and Tom Hardy is good as Mumbles, I mean John Fitzgerald. There is very little dialog in the film, comparatively less than the other movies, and that turns out to be a bonus because most of the spoken word is mumbled and unintelligibly. This tells me that the words aren't important, and I could probably have figured out what was happening without any words at all. A very high level synopsis (because it is almost three hours long): Glass and his son, Hawk, are part of a fur trapping party in the Western territories of the US. They are attacked by the Arikara and must flee. Glass is attacked by a bear (I didn't expect them to use a real bear, but there was something that screamed 'animatronic' to me) and almost killed. Fitzgerald wants to leave him, in part because he dislikes Glass's half-Indian son, and he doesn't want to be burdened by the near-dead Glass. As Fitzgerald tries to secretly kill Glass, Hawk sees and tries to stop him, but Fitzgerald kills him. He and Jim Bridger leave Glass half-buried and try to catch up with the rest of the trapping party. Glass comes back from the dead and begins tracking Fitzgerald and Bridger. This is where it gets long. As he hunts Fitzgerald, the Arikara are hunting them. I should mention that it is winter time in the Dakota/Wyoming territory and they are at some altitude. I kind of started to get irritated when Glass tries to hide in the river (it's winter, remember) and gets swept away, down some rapids, and seems to go for at least a few miles. He crawls out of the river and eventually builds a fire. I later asked my two friends, who are outdoor people and camped last year in Ely, Minnesota IN THE WINTER TIME, about hypothermia and frostbite, and they were pretty sure that would be some severe damage. But Glass persists, eating a raw bison heart or some organ, as one does when the drive through isn't available. Later, Glass takes a horse from some French trappers and skedaddles when he is chased yet again. This time, he and the horse go flying off of a cliff and smack into a very tall pine tree; well, Glass does, the poor horse immediately proves gravity exists. It was at that exact moment I looked at my young friend and said "I call bullshit." (that previously would have cost me a couple dollars for his college education, but hanging around with me is priceless) Not only is Glass NOT killed, he actually gets up and is moving around a lot better than when he could barely get on the horse a few minutes earlier. I was using the reclining feature in my seat but I became deathly afraid I would fall asleep, thus sacrificing all of my cool points with said young friend. I really stopped caring. The attraction of the beautiful scenery and any good acting just fell by the wayside. I really don't think this is the best movie of the year; Room is my favorite, but if not that, then Spotlight or The Big Short. DiCaprio is very good and he'll probably take it; Eddie Redmayne is outstanding in The Danish Girl, but I think it's long odds that he would win two years in a row, and I don't think the others are really in contention. So, it's off the list and now moves to the "I don't need to see this again" pile. Onward ho.

Lesson learned: Don't go camping with Leonardo DiCaprio, it doesn't end well.

 

Going back - In the Heat of the Night, A Streetcar Named Desire, Dances with Wolves and Rocky

I requested several classic movies from the library before the Oscar nominations were announced because I thought I was in really good shape. Ah, overconfidence. I thought since I had them, I should watch them, cross them off the list and move on. It feels like a strategy one might use in a hot dog eating contest, eat and move on to the next one. I will try to give good and reliable reviews despite my cinematic overload.


1/15/16 In the Heat of the Night, Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Writing Adapted Screenplay, 1967 #75 AFI, National Film Registry

So, the movie was made 48 years ago, in the midst of the American Civil Rights movement, with two of the greatest actors at that time, and perhaps ever. One was nominated for Best Actor and won, and the other was not even nominated, not for this movie or the other big movie he was in, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Rod Steiger won Best Actor and Sidney Poitier was not even nominated. Seriously.  If I was a cynic, I would say things haven't changed all that much in Hollywood. 1967 was a great year for films, nominated films included Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Cool Hand Luke (a favorite of mine; Newman lost out to Steiger), The Graduate, Bonnie and Clyde (ack), and Camelot among others. Virgil Tibbs (Poitier) finds himself as the prime suspect in the murder of a wealthy man in Sparta, Mississippi. The problem is Virgil is black and the victim is white (although from Chicago) and Mississippi is in the South. Virgil shortly proves that he is actually a police detective from Philadelphia, and is ordered by his superior officer to stay and help Chief Gillespie (Steiger) solve the murder.  Tibbs and Gillespie have a strained relationship at best, with Tibbs upsetting, well actually smacking, a wealthy scion of the community, who also happens to be a remnant from the antebellum South. Tibbs finds himself surrounded by violent racist members of the community on more than one occasion. The movie as a movie is a murder mystery that needs to be solved by the stranger; the stranger happens to be a Northerner and black, which adds to the tension. Norman Jewison directed In The Heat of the Night and a little over 15 years later he directed another murder mystery that includes race relations and another great black actor, Denzel Washington. Steiger digs into the gum-chewing, drawling chief Gillespie who may not be a card carrying member of the NAACP, but he's also pragmatic and realizes that Tibbs may bring some detection skills to the case. Steiger is as explosive as Poitier is cool and restrained, we only see Tibbs really lose his temper once; he handles the indignities of being called 'boy' with a controlled anger, he tells Gillespie that "They call me Mister Tibbs" back in Philadelphia. Poitier and Steiger are a study in contrasts and I really enjoyed the scenes they did together, watching two geniuses at work. You cannot go wrong watching this movie, ever.

Philadelphia Art Museum

1/16/16 Rocky, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing, 1976, #57 AFI, National Film Registry
 You cannot even think about Rocky Balboa and not hear that theme music. Rocky has become part of the American pantheon, the man who makes his dream come true and gets the girl. I saw the original years ago, and honestly, was, like, meh, and I think I have maybe seen one of the sequels, so I wanted to see if I had changed or at least I could have some appreciation for the king of underdog movies. And, I guess I was motivated because Creed is a continuation of the Rocky saga and Sylvester Stallone has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor (however, Michael B. Jordan, playing Apollo Creed's son, was not nominated). Anyway, back to the movie at hand, Rocky. Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is a boxer in Philadelphia who is sort of successful, but never really got that big break. He still fights, but he also acts as the muscle for a local loan shark. Rocky likes Adrian (Talia Shire), who works at a pet store and is really shy. Adrian is Paulie's sister, and Paulie (Burt Young) wants to get in with Rocky's boss. Rocky gets his shot at the big time when Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) needs a quick replacement for an injured opponent. Creed is smooth and rich, and if you think too hard, you would probably not believe that he would ever ask Rocky to fight, but Rocky is a local boy, a Southpaw and he has a cool nickname, Italian Stallion. Rocky starts to train for the big fight, reconnecting with Mickey (Burgess Meredith in an Oscar-nominated supporting role). Mickey sounds like he gargled with glass shards and he's just as gruff. Don't look to him for comfort. There are great shots of Rocky running through the streets of Philadelphia and up steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum. The fight sequence is very well done, with both fighters landing blows as well as taking them. What was interesting to me, and it's funny looking back forty years, is that Rocky was made with a 1.1 million dollar budget, but made over $225 million. But because of the tight budget, there were things that couldn't be re-shot, or that were shot differently, like the ice skating scene - they couldn't afford to have as many actors as they wanted, so, they filmed it with just Rocky and Adrian. Who would have thought that a franchise was born. I was also impressed with Stallone as Rocky, before he knew he was going to be a huge multi-million dollar star. Rocky in this first film was very sensitive and tender but with a huge heart and a some naivete as well. He's a huge animal lover and a kid from the neighborhood. Perhaps you knew this, but I had no idea. I really liked it and it finally dawned on me why he's such a popular character. You've probably seen it already, but if you haven't, get some Philly cheese steaks and some hoagies and watch a homegrown American hero.


1/16/16 A Streetcar Named Desire, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Art Direction  - Set Direction B&W, 1951, #47 AFI, National Film Registry

I planned to watch A Streetcar Named Desire when I watched On the Waterfront, it made perfect sense. Although, if you recall, I requested the play and not the film. Grr. I did finally get the correct item and re-watched the film; I say 're-watched' because I watched it about ten years ago. The film version stars Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski, Kim Hunter as Stella Kowalski, Stanley's wife (winning an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress), Vivien Leigh as Blanch DuBois, Stella's sister (winning an Oscar for Best Actress) and Karl Malden as Mitch, Stanley's friend and Blanche's suitor (Best Supporting Actor). The story is set in New Orleans, and New Orleans is as much a character as the actors. Stanley and Stella live in the upstairs of a two family home and have their own version of wedded bliss until Blanche comes for a visit. It took me about half of the film to not be annoyed by Blanche (Leigh), she seems so over the top. It occurred to me that perhaps that intention and not overacting (I really don't know) because that is Blanche's character Leigh is acting as Blanch and Blanche is acting. Blanche has left the family estate/plantation, Belle Reve under unclear circumstances and has nowhere else to go. Stanley is not very sympathetic to Blanche, but he bends to Stella's loyalty to her older sister. Blanche's behavior is erratic, somehow not of this world and as a viewer, we don't know exactly what is going on or why she is acting this way. She certainly seems delusional at times. Mitch, a bachelor living with his elderly and ailing mother, is taken by Blanche's charm and ladylike disposition and they begin seeing each other, but we find out that they're meetings are usually in darkly lit places. Stanley wants Blanche out of his home and sets out to find what really happened in her home of Auriol, and why Blanche left. Throughout the film we see how explosive Stanley's temper can be, especially when he's been drinking or Blanche and Stella harangue him for being 'a dirty Pollack' or a pig. He gets physical with Stella, pushing and shoving, smacking her, and her reaction is to be angry and run to her neighbor's house, but it does not take much for her to come back to Stanley, in fact, she seems to be turned on by his aggressive animalistic behavior. Brando as Stanley can be violent and brutal but then seems to be so tender with Stella. It's an intense performance. Stanley uses his contacts to learn more about Blanche and it seems that Blanche may have had a mental breakdown and did things that a proper lady would never do, so much that she was run out of town. There is a lot that unfolds and with any great movie, the drama comes from the unraveling. What I will tell you is that if you have only seen Vivien Leigh as Scarlet O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, her portrayal of Blanche will surprise you; as strong as Scarlet was, Blanche is fragile and not as resilient. Kim Hunter was in the original Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire (as were Brando and Malden, only Leigh was not, her role played by Jessica Tandy, although Leigh was in the play in London) and she seems to have the chemistry with Brando, and she can go nose to nose with him during their arguments. There are some differences between the play and the movie, some changes were made due to the morality of movies at the time and what you could show and say and what you couldn't; allusions to homosexuality are strongly muted, and the ending is also different than the play.  Brando is powerful and was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar, but lost out to Humphrey Bogart in African Queen.

1/16/16 Dances with Wolves, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, 1990, National Film Registry

 If I said I was avoiding this movie, for once I would not be exaggerating. As a rule, I am not a Kevin Costner fan and a movie that goes for three hours is a big turn off. BUT, for some reason it seemed like a good idea. And, much to my surprise, I liked it, not loved, but not hated either. The movie is set in the 1860s as the US is expanding westward.  Kevin Costner is Lieutenant John Dunbar a soldier in the Union Army who is wounded and then sent to a post out west at his request. The post is deserted, but he is spotted by the Pawnee and the Sioux. Through a series of events, he befriends the Sioux, especially Stands with a Fist (Mary McDonnell) a white woman who was adopted by the Sioux, and her adopted father, Kicking Bird. The movie is three hours long so I'm not going to give you a detailed synopsis. There are trials and tribulations, a battle with the Pawnee and fight with Army soldiers. Dunbar lives with the Sioux and takes on the name "Dances with Wolves". A lot of the movie is in Lakota with either subtitles or Stands with a Fist translating. There are a lot of great things about the movie, in particular the scenery is really beautifully filmed, the plains of South Dakota and Wyoming, the wildlife, including the bison (although they were part of private herds). The score by John Barry is very powerful as well. The acting was well done, with Mary McDonnell and Graham Greene both outstanding. Costner was okay, too. The movie gives an unkind and somewhat barbaric portrayal of the Army soldiers, and much is based on fact. Looking back a hundred years can be tough, especially when you know the things that were done were wrong. Maybe the expansion was inevitable, but it was brutal. Ways of life were lost and people killed. Dances with Wolves sheds a little light on that; it may not be textbook, and perhaps the Lakota dialect was not perfect, but I will admit I was wrong about hating it and that maybe watching it will encourage people to learn more about Native American history.

The next entry you see should include more of the 2015 nominees, including: The Danish Girl, Star Wars, Ex Machina, Cinderella and (I'm so creeped out by this) Fifty Shades of Grey.

A movie classic: 2001: A Space Odyssey and some new movies from 2014 - Snowpiercer, Pride, Skeleton Twins

Sometimes I think I'm onto a great idea and other times, I just get points for trying. In this case, I thought I would be able to knock a few off of the 2014 list (which was released on 1/15/15) and also clear some off of the big list. Alas, only two come off the list, BUT, and this is a big BUT for me, there were a couple of fabulous movies that I hope you check out.

1/8/15 Of Human Bondage 1934
This was probably the most disappointing of all of the movies in this selection. First, for some reason I was certain it was on the list, only to find out that Bette Davis was nominated for the Best Actress award, but did not win, and the film did not win anything at the Oscars. Second, the movie was really not that great. It was based on the book by Somerset Maugham, which I have not read, and now have no plans to do so. It was dreary and annoying, kind of like our modern-day soap operas with the weak-willed man who is a sucker for the manipulating woman (sorry if that's too simple of an analysis). I really lost interest about 45 minutes into it. The saving grace is it was a relatively short film. This was Bette Davis' break out role, and it was definitely a tough role, but Leslie Howard in the lead was milque toast. A basic synopsis is Leslie Howard plays a failed artist with a club foot; he then tries his hand at medicine, but he falls in love with a waitress, Mildred, (Bette Davis) who is happy to use him, but doesn't really return his affections. And this is how the movie continues until Mildred dies a rather horrible death. I would recommend skipping this.

1/9/15 Snowpiercer not nominated 2014
I really am not a huge science fiction fan, especially of the dystopic sub-genre, it just doesn't usually interest me. However, I read an online interview with Tilda Swinton who co-stars in Snowpiercer by Korean director, Bong Joon-Ho, and it sounded really interesting and the author supposed that the film might be nominated for an Oscar or two. So, trying to get ahead of the nominations, I thought I would watch. What a treat. Seriously. It leans towards being very dark and serious, but then something will happen that will be humorous. The movie is set in the mid-21st century, so not too far in the future, and the has been devastating climate change - the world is frozen over. Survivors are on a train circling the Earth (now in its 18th year), with the passengers divided into classes, the lower classes are in the back of the train and eat a very gross protein bar, while the upper class eat meat and eggs and experience daylight. The train is driven and guided by a man who is unseen until the end of the film, Wilford (played by Ed Harris). His right hand man (or woman) is Minister Mason (Tilda Swinton); I say man or woman because Mason is addressed as "Sir" and is almost androgynous; in fact, Swinton is almost unrecognizable, looking a little like Edith Head or the character from The Incredibles and she provides some of the best humor at the worst possible times. I really think she should have received a Supporting Actress nod. The leader of the people in the tail section is John Hurt as Gilliam, but he is ready to pass on the reigns to Curtis (Captain America Chris Evans). Curtis is a reluctant leader, he wants change, but not the responsibility of leading the section in revolt that will get people killed. Circumstances come together to push Curtis to the front, to confront the demons from the past and deal with a future he cannot comprehend. There is a lot that happens, and I don't want to spoil it as it unfolds. It's a movie I would watch again because I'm sure I missed things, especially when the movie got going. Octavia Spencer, Jamie Bell and Ewen Bremner also co-star. Evans and Song Kang-ho (a Korean actor) really feature, and Evans is good, more emotive than his Captain America role, but also controlled. The movie has tension and some plot twists, interesting effects. This is probably not on anyone's radar, but it was at my library and I saw it on Netflix, so it's out there. Go get it.

1/10/15 Skeleton Twins not nominated 2014

I didn't really think this would be nominated , but when I saw the previews, I thought it was going to be pretty funny, and it came up from the library, so I grabbed it. It's funny, but it's not pee your pants funny. The funny is tempered by the serious and sad nature of the relationship between Maggie and Milo, twins played by Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader. And I think that's fine, it just wasn't what I was expecting. Maggie and Milo have been separated for many years and still carry around unresolved feelings about their father's suicide, and have a distant relationship with their mother. Maggie is married to a seemingly great guy (Luke Wilson) but cheats on him with apparent regularity; and Milo is gay and a struggling actor in California. After a failed suicide attempt, Maggie brings Milo back home to New York state, and they reconnect, but it's not easy. Some of the funny moments are when Milo visits Maggie at the dentist officer where she works and they inhale quite a bit of nitrous; they also lip-synch to a Jefferson Starship song (and the name escapes me at the moment), and that was pretty funny. Like I said, it wasn't a side-splitting movie, but that's okay. Hader and Wiig are really funny; I'm a latecomer to appreciating Hader because I was not a loyal Saturday Night Live viewer, but I usually liked the sketches he was in (arg, I hate ending sentences with a preposition).

1/10/15 The Equalizer not nominated 2014

Again, this was not going to be nominated for any major awards, but you never know on the technical side, especially sound editing. And really, it's Denzel Washington, so I don't need to justify anything here. The Equalizer is a movie based on the television series from the 1980s starring Edward Woodward as Robert McCall, a retired agent of a government agency. Washington plays McCall in the film. I never watched the series, so I didn't have any preconceived ideas of how it should be. McCall works in a Home Depot-type store and is a friend or mentor to a lot of the workers, even though he kind of keeps to himself. He's kind of Yoda-like, inspiring an overweight co-worker to work out and diet to get enough to apply for a security guard job. McCall has long given up his pat life, but he cannot help himself when he sees friends in trouble; we some of his retribution, but some we don't, leaving us to fill in the blanks (it's not hard, but it was nice that director Antoine Fuqua let us figure it out on our own). McCall is a well-read, type A insomniac who keeps late hours at a 24 hour diner where he befriends a young girl, Teri, in the escort business (played by Chloe Grace Moretz). After Teri gets beaten by her employers, McCall takes matters into his own hands, using past connections from his agency to get the lowdown on the bad guys. Whereas I don't usually watch science fiction, movies like this catch my attention (witness my willingness to watch Taken 2 and  November Man), so I enjoyed it. It had a lot of action and great acting by Washington, and left the distinct possibility for a sequel, although Washington has historically avoided any sequels. I kind of thought it might be nominated for sound editing, but it was not to be. If you're looking for a movie to hunker down with during the winter, this would not be a bad choice.

1/10/15 Million Dollar Arm not nominated, 2014

On the road to Agra

I didn't really think that Million Dollar Arm, an inspired by the true story film by Disney would be nominated for an Oscar, although I thought there was an outside chance the the soundtrack/score by A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours among many of his scores) would be nominated, and from I can learn from Wikipedia, it was on the long list. Million Dollar Arm is about sports agent J.B. Bernstein (Jon Hamm) who is struggling to get his own business up and running and his crazy scheme to go to India, focusing on cricket players to find a pitcher for major league baseball. His P.T. Barnum approach takes him (and us) around India, including to Agra, the site of the Taj Mahal, at sunrise, and to Indian villages. Bernstein, with the help of scout, Ray Pointevint (the irascible Alan Arkin) picks two boys to come back to the States, hopefully getting tryouts with Major League scouts. Dinesh and Rinku, and translator/comrade Amit are overwhelmed by the amenities and modern conveniences they experience, and kind of dumped by Bernstein, who doesn't consider that he has uprooted these young men and abandoned them. Coach Tom House (Bill Paxton) is willing to work the boys who have unconventional forms and no understanding of baseball whatsoever; House tries to engage Bernstein a little more, but it takes Brenda (Lake Bell), his tenant and potential love interest, to really hammer it home. I'm a fan of sports movies and travel, so this was a nice combination. Having been to India and having friends who live there, I was interested in how things would be portrayed. I think they did a good job of showing the color and variety of the country, as well as the openness of the people. I thought the movie was a little long, and I was turned off by Bernstein, but I liked the young actors who played Dinesh,  Rinku and Amit (Madhur Mittal, Suraj Sharma and Pitobash Tripathy) added a great sense of naivete but adventurousness that made them fun to watch.  I doubt my friends in Hyderabad watched this, we talked many times about movies and their tastes ran towards action films, but maybe they'll give this a try.

1/11/15 Calamity Jane, Best Original Song, 1953

WARNING: Leave your late 20th/early 21st century sensibilities in the closet or you risk being offended by the politically incorrect portrayal and references to American Indians and women as well. If you can do that, I think you might enjoy this 1950s musical about Calamity Jane, portrayed by the legendary Doris Day. Calamity Jane is set in Deadwood, South Dakota, in the late 1800s. The plot revolves around the tale-telling, gun-toting Calamity Jane and her promise to the mostly male population of Deadwood that she would bring famed entertainer Adelaid Adams to Deadwood. Instead, she brings Katie Brown, Miss Adams' maid, who has aspirations of being on the stage. After overcoming the initial disappointment of Katie not being Miss Adams, she is embraced by the town, and she also forms an unlikely friendship with the tomboyish Jane. Jane has a love/hate relationship with Wild Bill Hickock (Howard Keel), but has designs on Lieutenant Danny Gilmartin. As these types of plots usually goes, there are crossed wires and hurt feelings, but they are overcome with song. The movie doesn't tax your brain, has some rollicking songs ("The Deadwood Stage Whip Crack Away", "A Woman's Touch" and Oscar-winning "Secret Love") and Doris Day. I don't think today's audiences, myself included, really appreciate the kind of talent Doris Day had, and I've only had a little taste in The Man Who Knew Too Much, but she is really amazing, and I look forward to watching a few more of her films. After recently watching Hello Dolly! and feeling my attention wane, I didn't feel the same way watching Calamity Jane; it wasn't as lush (if that's it) and didn't have the dance numbers, but I liked it more (being PC aside).

1/11/15 2001: A Space Odyssey, Best Visual Effects, 1968, #15 AFI, National Film Registry

I am not quite sure how to review this iconic film, I mean it is on the American Film Institute's list of 100 best films, it was put on the National Film Registry as a film of historic significance, it has references that most people know, even if they have never seen the film. I feel like I should have seen this movie at some point in my younger days, that my dad would have inflicted it on me, I'm certain he read the book by Arthur C. Clarke, but I have no complete memory of it. Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey is set in the future (it seems very odd to say future given that 2001 is in our rearview mirror), and is complete with space travel and gadgets of the future. The movie does not have a traditional narrative, and as I was watching it, I was reminded of The Tree of Life a Terrence Malick film from 2011 which I hated, and yet, I didn't hate this move at all. Once I released my brain from trying to follow the story and just enjoyed the visual immensity and the aural festival, I really liked it. There is very little dialog, and really none of it matters except for the last 45 minutes or so (the movie is close to three hours) when HAL (the supercomputer) is confronted by the astronauts, Dr. David Bowman (Keir Dullea) and Dr. Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood). This is one of the most beautiful films I think I have seen, incredible visuals (deserving of the Best Visual Effects Oscar), and the music is wonderfully apropos; I'm sure Richard Strauss never imagined how is waltzes would be used. There is an extremely long and detailed article on Wikipedia about the movie, its influences, etc. and you would be better off reading that for more information, because I am not up to the task. The movie may not be everyone's cup of tea and its length may be off-putting, but the section with HAL is well worth it. For those of us who periodically think computers are running the world, HAL does nothing to change that point of view.

1/14/15 Pride not nominated 2014

Pride is set in 1980s, Thatcher England and Wales among coalfields and the gay rights movement. Huh? Yeah, exactly. What an unlikely combination, but it works and works incredibly well. Pride was nominated for a Golden Globe and for a couple of BAFTA awards but not a single Oscar (although this year's Oscars may be more remembered for the many movies it snubbed than what was nominated). Until today when I saw Selma (review to come soon), I don't recall crying so much during a movie. As I was driving back from Selma, I was thinking about this, and it kind of made sense, two movies that had a spirit and showed the power of what people can do together. Pride focuses on a group of gay and lesbian young people in London, led by Mark Ashton, who decide to support the coal miners during their strike in 1984. The problem lies in the fact that most of the unions don't want to take support from the gay community, so the group, now called LGSM (Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners) picks a community and union to give their support. They find a small town in South Wales and begin to forge the most unlikely of alliances. For a pretty serious situation that includes a lot of hate and bigotry, the film handles it with humor (or humour since it's a British film) and affection. Dominic West (from HBO's The Wire) leads the cast of gay and lesbian activists as Jonathan Blake; the remainder of the actors may are relatively unknown in the US. The Welsh community is led by Dai Donovan (Paddy Considine), Hefina (Imelda Staunton - Vera Drake, Harry Potter, Nanny McPhee among others), Cliff (Bill Nighy - Love Actually, Best Exotic Marigold Hotel). Ben Schnetzer plays Mark Ashton, the leader of LGSM, who brings an incredible enthusiasm and passion and a refusal to take no for an answer (mostly); I have not seen Schnetzer in anything before, but he was a dynamo and he must have been magnetic to be around, and probably frustrating because he was like a bull sometimes. It's important to remember the place in time that this movie occupies, decades removed from gay marriage and the openness we see from artists (Elton John had not yet come out), but in the early days of the AIDS epidemic; also the movie is based on real events and real people, some of whom are still alive, which made it more powerful to me. I was so excited about this movie that I emailed a friend of mine the next day, I thought a text late at night might be overdoing it, to tell him about it. I don't buy movies, but I will probably buy this one. Some people may be uncomfortable with the overt gay theme, but when you see middle-aged Welsh miners embrace 'the gays' as they are called, how can you be uncomfortable? It's a great lesson in tolerance and acceptance, from both sides.