I want my money back: The Lighthouse, I Lost My Body

I have two weeks to go before the Oscars and I am terribly behind due to my two weeks in Asia, so it's well worth it. I have twenty-nine movies to see and I'm not optimistic. I have legitimate concerns that my retinas will burn out.

1/25/20 Little Women, nominated Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Costume Design, 2019

I was irritated the whole time I watched Little Women. Irritated it was on the list; irritated I make myself follow the list; irritated it was over two hours long. I didn't care and don't care. It's certainly not Best Picture material. 

1/25/20 I Lost My Body, nominated Best Animated Feature, 2019

It took me five tries to finish the movie, and the whole time I wanted to quit. It was the longest 81 minutes of my life. This is a candidate for an animated short, there was no need for this fantasy drama about a disembodied hand in search of its body to be EIGHTY ONE MINUTES long. There was definite potential, but it was lost, in my opinion in mopey melodrama. If this wins for Best Animated Feature, I may give this up.

1/26/20 The Lighthouse, nominated Best Cinematography, 2019

The two best things about The Lighthouse are it's less than two hours long and it was only nominated for one award. Otherwise, oh my god and I want my money back, Redbox. Horror movies usually have one of two effects on me, they either scare the crap out of me or they make me laugh because they are so ridiculous. I cried and laughed because this was so ridiculous. It was nominated for its cinematography because it was in black and white; that almost seems like the way to guarantee at least one nomination, regardless of the quality of the movie. Allegedly this was based on an unfinished Edgar Allen Poe, or at least it was the inspiration, but Poe could scare the crap out of you in a short story (did you catch the 'short' part?) and you weren't laughing. Anyway, I wrote way more than I wanted to about this movie. But, if you want to see a good movie, don't do it. As for the Oscar, I've seen the other nominees, and I think 1917 had some spectacular cinematography as did Joker.

Belated anniversary posting - Mister Rogers, The Quiet Man, From Here to Eternity, Night of the Living Dead

Before I launch into the reviews, I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge the 6th anniversary of the blog. I should have compiled some statistics, but failing any accurate count, I can safely say I have blogged about over 1,000 movies: full length, short, documentary, science fiction, award winners and losers, wonderful films and not so wonderful films. I have around 728 Oscar winners left to watch; two left from the BBC list (down to one after this writing); one left on the American Film Institute list; and 486 on the National Film Registry. At times, it seems insurmountable, other times it feels like I'm making great strides. So, without further ado, let's make some great strides.

7/21/18 Won't You Be My Neighbor, 2018, not yet nominated

After watching Won't You Be My Neighbor, the documentary on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and its creator, Fred Rogers, left me with a greater appreciation for the man and his care, insight and sincerity in working with children. It was almost a crusade, and that's not meant in a negative way; he truly believed that children deserve to be treated with respect and not talked down to with the typical condescension found in children's programming. Mr. Rogers broke all kinds of barriers (the episode where he cools his feet in a wading pool and invites Officer Clemmons (black actor Francois Clemmons) to join him, it spoke volumes in a country struggling with the Civil Rights Movement. Rogers and his puppets addressed other issues in a way children could understand. There was a period of time when it was fashionable to mock Mr. Rogers, I mean, nobody could be that good and kind, could they? And while our world has moved at a crazy pace, and it's common for children to watch shows with violence, sex, swearing, innuendo, and maybe Mister Rogers would be out of place in 2018, I'd like to think he wouldn't be. I think Fred Rogers and the Land of Make Believe is sorely missed. Won't You Be My Neighbor is worth watching for the insights from the actors, the crew and his family.

8/26/18 From Here to Eternity, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing - Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography (B&W), Best Film Editing, Best Sound, National Film Registry, 1953

We have all probably seen the scene of Burt Lancaster rolling in the surf with Deborah Kerr, but there is so much more to From Here to Eternity than that. Set in Hawaii in the weeks leading up to Pearl Harbor, the movie follows three men and their struggles and challenges in the same Army company. Lancaster is First Sergeant Warden, an efficient, cool, tough leader, who has no desire or love for commissioned officers; he does have a desire for the wife of his captain, Karen Holmes (Deborah Kerr). Montgomery Clift is Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt, a man who does things for his own reasons, including take a demotion and taking abuse from others in his company for refusing to box on the regimental team. Frank Sinatra is Maggio (Sinatra won the Best Supporting Actor for his role), a seemingly happy go lucky private, who is Prewitt's only friend. Maggio takes Prewitt to a private club off base where Prewitt meets Lorene (Donna Reed in her Oscar-winning role); Lorene and her co-workers are paid to dance and socialize with the members, but they start seeing each other. In addition to the leading actors, the cast is filled with actors in smaller roles that would go on to become stars themselves: Ernest Borgnine as Fatso, a sergeant who gives Maggio a hard time for being Italian and sets in motion one of the key plot points; Jack Warden; George Reeves (televison's Superman); and Claude Akins. Nineteen fifty-three was a great year for films (Shane, The Robe, Stalag 17, Roman Holiday), and I can't imagine having to pick winners from those films and the others of that year, and I have found that looking back, sometimes there's more hype than quality. I would not say that here. I really enjoyed the different story lines in the film, and the characters; the more I watch of Burt Lancaster, the more I love him; and Sinatra seemed like a natural for Maggio. I'm glad I finally watched it.

8/26/18 Ant-Man and The Wasp, not yet nominated, 2018

Well, like I told a couple of my friends, it was okay, not great; I didn't feel compelled to tell people they HAD to see it, like I did for Wonder Woman or Black Panther. The story line is not even worth me trying to recount to you; it did sort of answer some questions in the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline, sort of. The 'big' thing is this is the first Marvel movie to have a female superhero in the title (why that wasn't the Black Widow, I don't know). The science and the cinematography are very well done, and there's some funny quips. Maybe because I was so shocked that I liked the first Ant-Man so much, I just felt a little let down.

8/26/18 The Quiet Man, Best Director, Best Cinematography, 1952, National Film Registry

In The Quiet Man John Ford directs John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in one of their several collaborations, and won an Oscar for it. It's definitely not the typical John Wayne Western, being set in rural Ireland in the 1920s, and Wayne is retired boxer Sean Thornton who has returned to the land of his parents. Thornton makes a big impression on the locals, including Mary Kate Danaher (O'Hara), but most of them do not know who he is. It's not really a boxing movie or a farming movie, it's romantic comedy, complete with misunderstandings and romantic subterfuge. Danaher is an independent, spitfire of a woman, who battles her brother, Squire Will Danaher (Victor McLaglen) as well as Thornton. I don't think there's anything very deep or sophisticated in the story itself, it's just enjoyable to watch O'Hara and Wayne go head to head, and there is a comedic aspect to the film, especially from Barry Fitzgerald as Michealeen Flynn. The scenery and cinematography are beautiful, and I almost felt compelled to book a trip to Ireland.

9/1/18 Night of the Living Dead, 1968, BBC #85, National Film Registry

I have not made any secret  of the fact that I really do not like horror movies, and after watching cult-classic Night of the Living Dead that hasn't changed. For one horrific night, all over America, dead people are coming back to 'life' or a state of animation, and killing and eating other people. Mmmm, delish. George Romero directed the first in his series of zombie movies on a small budget, with several actors playing multiple roles, and pretty minimal effects (compared to what we are used to in horror movies). Set in western Pennsylvania, brother and sister, Johnny and Barbra, are visiting their father's grave when a strange man comes towards them; he grabs Barbra when Johnny comes to her rescue (a noble, but fatal decision). Barbra runs off towards a house where she meets Ben. Ben is determined to fight off the zombies, even as he tries to engage Barbra in their own survival. They discover there are other people hiding in the house, and there are different ideas as to how to defeat or escape the zombies. I am certainly not going to spoil it for you. It was scary, suspenseful and gross and gory. If that's your thing, you have probably seen it already. I am just so thrilled it is off the lists.

The Wolfman, The Breakfast Club and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

11/18/17 The Wolfman, Best Makeup, 2010

When I see a movie classified as 'horror', my first inclination is to go the other way, and push it to the end of the queue. But something made me request both The Wolfman and Night of the Living Dead at the same time. I'm a little ashamed to say that I returned Night of the Living Dead unwatched. I just couldn't do it (if you're curious, it's on the BBC list and the National Film Registry). However, I bravely watched The Wolfman, and it really wasn't terrible; a little suspenseful and scary, but nothing that gave me nightmares. It is set in the 1890s, in England, in a part where the sun never shines and the fog lies heavy on the moors, and where Anthony Hopkins is lord of the manor as Sir John Talbot, father to Benicio del Toro's Lawrence Talbot. Lawrence is an actor and has been estranged from his family for a long time, until Lawrence's brother, Ben, is mysteriously murdered in the woods.  It gets a little awkward when we learn that Sir John is also a werewolf, and he bites Lawrence, thereby turning him into a werewolf. It's really the gift that keeps on giving. The movie was fine; nothing terrific, the acting was a little melodramatic, but the scenery and the cinematography was beautiful. As far as winning for Best Makeup, I think it was kind of a no-brainer, the other two nominees being The Way Back and Barney's Version, which were more straight dramas, not a lot of effects or dramatic makeup.

11/18/17 The Breakfast Club, 1985, National Film Registry

I watched The Breakfast Club years ago, but not when it came out in the theaters, when I would have been the target age, and it didn't have a huge impact on me. It was added to the National Film Registry last year, and I figured I should give it a fresh viewing. In case you have not seen it, the movie tells the story of "a brain (Anthony Michael Hall), an athlete (Emilio Estevez), a princess (Molly Ringwald), a basket case (Ally Sheedy) and a criminal (Judd Nelson)", essentially stereotypes found in high school (and potentially real life). It was directed by one of the hottest directors of the 1980s, John Hughes (Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Weird Science among a few of his creative efforts), who seemed to have a hold on the teen demographic at the time. Five students are required to attend Saturday detention at school, and as ordered by the Assistant Vice Principal Vernon, they are to sit in silence and write an essay on who they think they are. Of course, this does not happen, and Saturday frequent flyer, Bender (Nelson), engages his fellow captives by cajoling, teasing and harassing them. The quintet get to know each other, challenging the others' preconceptions of them, poking at their frailties and insecurities. The movie is a definite reflection of 1985 with the soundtrack featuring the sounds of the 80s, especially in the anthemic: "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds, the clothes and the vernacular; however, it is also timeless. Teen alienation is nothing new, being shown in films like Blackboard Jungle (including the iconic "Rock around the clock") and West Side Story. High school can be a rough place, with kids not getting each other an certainly not understanding or being understood by the adults in their lives. I liked, and appreciated, the movie a lot more in my golden years.

11/19/17 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Best Film Editing, 2011

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was originally a book written by Stieg Larsson, the first of a trilogy, then the first in a Swedish film trilogy, starring Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander. The English version stars Rooney Mara as Salander and Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist, among an all-star cast that includes Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard, Robin Wright and Joely Richardson. Salander is an anti-social computer whiz, specializing in security/background checks, who is asked to dig into the background of disgraced journalist Blomkvist. The movie follows two paths, Blomkvist's and Salander's until they converge. Blomkvist has been invited to the estate of Henrik Vanger (Plummer) to solve the mystery of his niece, Harriet, over 40 years earlier. Every family has its secrets, and Vanger's is no different, and not everyone is thrilled to have Blomkvist going back through the family's history. As Mikael learns more about the Vangers, Lisbeth is waging her own battle against her new guardian/trustee, who exchanges her trust money for sex. Lisbeth is not passive and plays the long game against the man who uses his power to humiliate and hurt her. Those scenes are brutally described in the book, and they are pretty hard to watch in the movie. Eventually, Salander and Blomkvist connect and she helps him with his research. Director David Fincher sets a fast and suspenseful pace, and the Oscar-winning editing helps that happen. The score was done by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (both winning the Oscar for Best Original Score for The Social Network), and it's pretty powerful, including a version of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" which was really fantastic. The cinematography suited the mood of the film, dark and gray up at the Vanger family home, and pretty dark everywhere else. I wasn't sure how Rooney Mara would be as Salander, especially since I read the book, I had my own idea of what she looked like, and I thought Noomi Rapace was incredible in that role. But, I didn't need to worry about that at all; Rooney Mara disappeared behind the dark makeup, punk, homemade haircut, piercings and tattoos. And attitude. She took ownership of that role, and I would have liked to see if she could have continued it in the following books, but it doesn't seem like that will happen (at least not with her or Craig). I was surprised the movie didn't do better, but it's dark and heavy and maybe not everyone's cup of tea.

Ace in the Hole, Fantastic Beasts and The Shining

 11/19/16 Ace in the Hole, 1951 #100 BBC
 Ace in the Hole was not what I thought it would be; actually, I had no preconceptions whatsoever as I had never heard of the movie before. And after watching it, that really surprises me. I really enjoyed this movie produced, directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, and starring Kirk Douglas as an overly ambitious and self-centered reporter, Chuck Tatum. Tatum has bounced around newspapers because of his drinking, womanizing and other inappropriate behavior. He winds up in New Mexico and joins a local paper there, the Albuquerque Sun-Bulletin, seemingly reformed, until he is sent off to cover a rattlesnake hunt, but instead stumbles across a man who is buried in a collapsed cave. Well, that's a story. An even better story would be if the man, Leo Minosa, stayed down there for a few more days so Tatum can build up a bigger story and negotiate a huge paycheck from the larger national papers. He gets support from Leo's unhappy and dissatisfied wife, Lorraine (Jan Sterling), who is tired of the dusty, poor life she leads. Before long, the town is bursting with gawkers and has a carnival atmosphere as everyone wants to see what happens to Leo. Tatum keeps Leo to himself, not letting other reporters near him. Tatum seems possessed by the glare of the spotlight on him and has visions of relaunching his career with no regard for Leo or his parents. Wilder shines a cynical light on the media, and this is before the advent of cable television, satellite tv, the internet and the 24 hour news cycle. It seems rather prescient with the news circus we have all around us. Douglas is fantastic as Tatum. Wilder is known for movies like The Lost Weekend, Sunset Boulevard, Double Indemnity and Stalag 17 (among many others), perhaps what's why Ace in the Hole is so overlooked. If you are looking for a movie off the beaten track, I strongly recommend Ace in the Hole.

11/24/16 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, not yet nominated, 2016

I think a lot of people are going to be unhappy with my take on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but I did not love it, I'm not even sure I liked it. I know that I looked at my phone (for the time) at least four times, which is not something I normally do. I just didn't really care that much. Eddie Redmayne (who is one of my favorite actors these days) is Newt Scamander an English wizard traveling in New York City with a magical case with fantastic beasts he has collected from around the world. As far as I'm concerned, the beasts are the stars of the movie, since it seemed to me that over half of the movie focused on them, with little or no dialog to interrupt their gliding and flying.Newt meets Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), a wizard who works for MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States), who has been demoted to wand licenses or some such. Newt also meets a muggle or no-maj (which does not trip off the tongue) named Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), and the adventures start when the two accidentally swap their suitcases and three of the creatures get loose in New York City. Jacob takes the fancy of Tina's sister, Queenie (Alison Sudol). Colin Farrell is Percival Graves, Director of Magical Security. And then there's this whole thing with Mary Lou Barebone (Samantha Morton), the leader of the New Salem Philanthropic Society, who takes in kids and forces them to hand out anti-magic leaflets, she is not above physical punishment, especially towards Credence (Ezra Barebone). This train of thought just annoyed me, it seemed like an afterthought, but it was used to pull everything together at the end. Oh, wait, and then there is the character of Gellert Grindelwald, a dark wizard, whom we just hear of through chatter at MACUSA and newspaper headlines, until the very end. I have to say that even though J.K. Rowling wrote the script (oh, sorry, I didn't mention that this is a prelude to the Harry Potter series), it didn't seem to hang together very well; it seemed awkward and forced to me. Visually, the movie is spectacular, the beasts are creative and unique; the sets are fabulous. There could definitely be nominations for production/set design, visual effects, and some of the other technical awards. Anyway, if you are a true blue Harry Potter fan, you will probably love this; and I guess a lot of people will love it. Sadly, I did not.

11/25/16 The Shining #62 BBC

Oh my god. I'm so glad that's over. I really dislike/hate horror movies. I have told you this. But The Shining by Stanley Kubrick (book by Stephen King) was on the BBC list (damn it), so I had to watch. I intentionally watched it during the day because I am honestly afraid of having nightmares, so I will follow this up with Mrs. Doubtfire. Jack Nicholson stars as Jack Torrance, a wannabe writer and a bit of an arsehole; Shelly Duvall is his wife, Wendy, and Danny Lloyd plays their son Danny. In order to focus on his writing, Jack moves the family to an isolated hotel in Colorado to act as caretakers in the offseason. Danny has a telepathic ability which is more creepy than fun; in fact, most things are creepy in this movie. The hotel has a history of violence, which is brought to Jack's attention early on, as well as to Danny's by his new friend Dick Halloran (Scatman Crothers), who is the chef at the hotel and shares Danny's gift. There is a lot of analysis ofn this movie, as there is with all of Kubrick's movies; there are also comparisons to the book by King, which I have not read. I am in no position to analyze, compare or contrast, as it was all I could do to just get through it. The last 30-40 minutes were pretty intense, ok, really scary to me. So, this is all I've got. I made it.

The Hundred-Foot Journey, An American Werewolf in London, Blade Runner and Joan Armatrading's Farewell Tour

Well, the good news is that I've watched a lot of movies over the past three weeks. The bad news is that only a couple will come off of my lists. The good news is The Avengers: Age of Ultron comes out next Friday. And we will stop on that note of positivity.

The Hundred-Foot Journey, 2014

The Hundred-Foot Journey is a nice enough movie, but it left me thinking director Lasse Hallstrom missed a great opportunity. Helen Mirren (who rivals Meryl Streep in the name that accent department) co-stars as French chef Madame Mallory who runs a Michelin star restaurant in France. She embarks on a food battle worthy of The Food Network with Papa (Om Puri) and his family, led by chef Hassan (Manish Dayal). Papa and Hassan initially move to England after a rioting mob kills Papa's wife in India. England is less than hospitable to the family and they move to France to begin a restaurant featuring recipes from Mama. Their new neighbors, including Madame Mallory, are not totally welcoming, although Hassan makes friends with Marguerite, a sous chef for Madame Mallory. The movie features some of the xenophobic actions and attitudes that have been in the news for the last several years. While Madame is not a big fan of Indian cuisine or her neighbors, she realizes that being a true patriot is accepting the newcomers and not tolerating any hate crimes against them. Things turn around, and Hassan, Papa and Madame Mallory become allies, even as Hassan heads to Paris to become an award-winning head chef. Food has often been used to help tell stories in film, sometimes as a way to bridge cultural differences or as an inspiration, as in Babette's Feast, Big Night, Julie and Julia, The Chef. I love food, I love movies and I love Helen Mirren, and yet, the movie was just not everything it could have been. It was good, but not great.

4/3/15 Rust and Bone, 2012 

Rust and Bone is a French/Belgian film starring Marion Cotillard. The film and Cotillard were nominated for Golden Globe awards as well as the Screen Actors Guild, but somehow not quite nominated for an Oscar. Cotillard was nominated for her second Oscar this past year, losing out to Julianne Moore, and is definitely a force to be reckoned with whether she is in a French film or an American film like Inception or Public Enemies. So, since I figured I was not going to knock my big list down too much, it wouldn't hurt to watch another non-nominated film. Cotillard is Stephanie, an Orca trainer at a marine park in France who suffers a devastating accident at work, losing both of her legs. She spends some time feeling low and getting used to her new life with prosthesis and without her beloved whales. Stephanie meets Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts) a down on his luck boxer, supporting his son with odd jobs, while living with his sister. When Ali and Stephanie first meet, it's more as friends or companions, not lovers. One of my favorite scenes is when Ali and Stephanie go to the ocean and Ali wants Stephanie to go in the water, but she is self-conscious about her legs; eventually she asks Ali to take her in, and she comes alive. There is something visceral, but definitely joyful, about watching her in the water, which was almost her natural habitat in her former job. Ali and Stephanie make their relationship physical, but it's not necessarily love, which complicates things for Stephanie. She also becomes his manager, helping to arrange and collect the money for his illegal fights. Ali eventually leaves Antibes to go to Strasbourg to start serious training and his son, who is there for a visit, has a terrible accident.  Ali realizes he loves and misses Stephanie, and the two are reunited. Both Cotillard and Schoenaerts are very strong in this film, both portraying characters who have a lot of emotional baggage that bubbles to the surface in some very self-destructive ways.

4/9/15 Big Hero 6 Best Animated Feature Film, 2014

Sometimes I think my inner child is tied up in a dark, dank dungeon somewhere, and this is one of those times. I would really like to know how votes are cast for Oscar-nominated films, but especially the animated features. I have now seen four of the 2014 nominated features, and I still think that The Boxtrolls should have won. Big Hero 6  was fine, but it didn't move me or make me smile the way The Boxtrolls did. Big Hero 6 is apparently based off of a Marvel comic and tells the story of Hiro Hamada, a young inventive genius, some might say precocious, who irritates his older brother, Tadashi, who gets frustrated at Hiro's reluctance to follow rules or formalized study. Hiro invents a type of bot that will revolutionize everything, and off course, there is an evil genius who tries to steal it and ultimately, gets Tadashi killed. Hiro bonds with Baymax, a medical robot, and Tadashi's classmates, who develop/create super powers. Hiro and the Big Hero 6 try to find out why Tadashi got killed and defeat the microbots and the man behind them. Honestly, I didn't care. I get why kids would like it, and there is a great message of brotherly love, friendship, etc., but, I was just bored.

4/12/15 The Tale of Princess Kaguya, 2014 nominated Best Animated Feature

The Tale of Princess Kaguya was one of the other nominated films for Best Animated Feature of 2014. Stylistically, it is miles apart from Big Hero 6 or The Boxtrolls, and it was produced by Studio Ghibli, the same group that produced The Wind Rises, Howl and the Moving Castle and Spirited Away (although by a different director). The story is more complex than some of the other animated films, but older children may appreciate the fairy tale aspect and adults may be drawn to the story of the bamboo cutter and his wife raising this mysterious girl they find in the forest. The bamboo cutter (voiced by James Caan in the American/English version) finds an abandoned infant in the forest and brings her home to his wife (Mary Steenburgen), and they both think she is a miracle and a gift to them and call her 'Princess'. Princess (Chloe Grace Moretz) has some interesting qualities, namely that she grows and matures faster than a normal child; she goes from being practically immobile as an infant to crawling and walking within a very short period of time. As Princess grows older, the bamboo cutter decides to take her to the city and raise her as a princess, with a tutor to train her in the manners of a fine lady. There are many things that happen as fine lords vie for her hand in marriage and she sets them on seemingly impossible tasks. As the film ends (it was a little on the long side for a younger or otherwise impatient audience), we learn that Princess is a special young woman, and not long for this world. I enjoyed the gentle storytelling even though I occasionally struggled with the pacing of the film (it was over two hours), and I finally got used to James Caan's New York tinged dialogue. If you are a fan of animation, you should check out The Tale of Princess Kaguya.

4/11/15 Blade Runner, 1982 American Film Institute #97, National Film Registry Trylon Microcinema

Blade Runner has become part of the cultural lexicon, certainly among movie lovers, and it was just a matter of time before I saw it for myself, especially since it is on two of my lists (AFI and the National Film Registry). Some movies beg to be seen on the big screen, and if not a BIG screen, then a smaller screen at a microcinema, and that's how I saw Blade Runner. A friend and I got tickets to the Trylon Microcinema's showing (sold out, as it happens). I vaguely knew the story; I knew that Harrison Ford starred with Rutger Hauer, Darryl Hannah and Sean Young; and I knew that for it's time, it was very futuristic and original. Blade Runner is set in the future, where replicants are created to do certain tasks, and they are built with an expiration date; if they try to escape their assigned location or change their 'destiny', a Blade Runner is sent to terminate them. Harrison Ford is one such Blade Runner, Rick Deckard, who almost has a Humphrey Bogart world weary way about him. Hauer, Hannah and Young are the replicants. Apparently, replicants come with no acting skills whatsoever, so the casting is perfect. One by one, Deckard gets rid of them, except for Young who plays Rachael, with whom Deckard seems to fall in love. Ridley Scott directed, and I was quite shocked that it was less than three hours (happily shocked). Blade Runner came after Scott directed Alien, and it definitely has the dark cinematic feel that we saw in Alien. The 'future' that is in the film, is actually just a few years away from now, 2017. I get why the movie made such a wave thirty years ago, the cinematography was fabulous, the suggestions for our future were real enough to stir imaginations, and this was the beginning of the landmark movies in which Harrison Ford starred (The Star Wars trilogy and  the Indiana Jones franchise among a few). When the movie ended, I looked at my friend, held my breath so I didn't say something offensive, and then we both agreed that we were glad we saw it, but did not need to see it again. We also do not need to see the proposed remake. Once was enough.

4/12/15 The Oxford Murders, 2008

Some of you may be thinking that if I stopped watching movies not on my lists, I would be under 800 movies by now. And you would be correct. But sometimes you have to follow your own path, or you get bored of sticking to a list. I'm not sure what my justification is, especially considering this was a HORRIBLE movie. HORRIBLE. I probably should have taken the hint from the fact that I could barely finish the book, and that was less than 300 pages. When you get an uncontrollable urge to poke your eyes out, you may want to take that as a sign to run the other way.  The Oxford Murders is based on the book of the same name by Guillermo Martinez. As you might infer, the film is set in Oxford, England, and features mathematicians and logicians trying to solve a series of murders. Elijah Wood is Martin, an American graduate student (in the book he is Argentinean) working on his thesis at Oxford, under the diffident guidance of Arthur Seldom (John Hurt) (Seldom is much more likable in the book). Martin's landlady, and Arthur's friend, Mrs. Eagleton (Anna Massey) is murdered and the two men work with the police to find the killer. There are a few more murders, a red herring or two, some bad acting from normally good or great actors and a story that is so convoluted as to be total bullshit. At least it was free from the library.

4/15/15 An American Werewolf in London, Outstanding Achievement in Makeup, 1981

In full disclosure, I really dreaded this movie; I think I was fixated on the 'horror' aspect instead of the 'comedy' aspect (which I didn't realize it had). An American Werewolf in London was directed by John Landis, and I supposed if I would have put together the fact that he also directed the video for Michael Jackson's Thriller, I might have less 'afraid' (this is not a surprise to you longtime readers, you know I'm a big fraidy cat). The movie had a suspense element reminiscent of old time horror movies, with the strangers in the village, but it also had a comic element (the song selection featuring songs with 'moon' in the title, like "Blue Moon", "Moondance", etc.) that made the movie fun to watch. David Naughton stars as David Kessler/the werewolf and Griffin Dunne is his doomed friend, Jack Goodman and Jenny Agutter is Nurse Alex Price. David and Jack are on holiday in England when they get lost in Yorkshire and wander into a pub called "The Slaughtered Lamb" (this is one of those horror movie moments where the viewer is totally SHOCKED when bad things start to happen - said with sarcasm in case you missed it). David and Jack get the heebie jeebies in the pub and start walking int he dark when they are attacked by a wolflike creature. David is hurt, but Jack is brutally killed. David turns into the titular werewolf and Jack is a lost soul who haunts David. The movie won the Oscar for the makeup used on Naughton and Dunne, and considering it was over 30 years ago, it is really quite amazing. I don't often watch movies again, but I would probably watch this movie again with a group of friends. If you have been avoiding it because you're chicken like me, don't be. Or give me a call and I'll watch it with you.

Joan Armatrading 4/22/15 The Kent Stage, Kent, Ohio

I continued with my concert-going ways with a trip home to Cleveland (sad to say I didn't make it to my beloved Cedar Lee theater) to see the incomparable Joan Armatrading down in Kent, Ohio. Joan is making her way around the country and world on her last world tour. I have seen her over 5 times, although the exact number eludes me, in Cleveland, St. Paul, and Kent. If you are unfamiliar with Joan, I'm very sorry; she is well-known in her native England with a very loyal following in the US. For her older, classic songs, I recommend Track Record. Joan is not limited to one genre, although for ease I refer to her as a folk musician, but she also plays jazz, blues and pop. On this tour, she is all by herself, just her and the audience; she plays acoustic and electric guitar and keyboards, as well as effects pedals. Joan sang my favorites including "Me, Myself and I", "Drop the Pilot", "Love and Affection" (she teased us that she wouldn't play it), "All the Way from America", "The Weakness in Me" and the set closer and fan singalong "Willow". "Willow" is the moment that binds all Joan fans together, we all sing, quietly, but strongly, and I have never been disappointed. She shredded it on "Mama Mercy" and "Empty Highway". Joan has a great rapport with her audience and playfully joked with us that she was done after three songs "It's been a long tour, so I'll finish now. Thank you for you being a great audience." We knew she was kidding. It's like having an old friend over. On this tour, she also took a few minutes to share some photographs with us and the stories behind them; her meeting with Nelson Mandela; her performance at Ronnie Scott's in London as the first non-jazz artist to perform downstairs; her work with The Prince's Trust; silly photos from album shoots. She is still touring and will be back in the US in the fall, and I hope to see her in San Diego. THAT'S HOW MUCH I love her. A gracious and talented artist.

4/25/2015 Flashdance Best Song, 1983

This movie clocks in at 95 minutes, but I swear it was ten hours long. If the movie was not on the list, I can honestly say that I would never have watched it at all. I went 32 years without seeing it and felt not one whit of deprivation. Now, having seen it, well, it's off the list. Flashdance is about Alex, a welding/dancing young woman in Pittsburgh and her older, divorced boyfriend, who is also her boss. It's really like one very long and bad music video. Jennifer Beals is Alex and Michael Nouri is Nick Hurley, her boss. The premise of the film is that Alex loves to dance; she dances at night at a cabaret/diner, she dances at warehouse/home and she longs to dance for a professional dance company. Hanna Long is her inspiration and cheerleader; we don't know very much about their relationship at all, except it seems to be a pseudo mother/daughter relationship. There are little bits of story pieced together by music sequences. It really seemed ridiculous (the scene where the dancers are working out was hilariously stupid), and seemed liked bad adult film, and this was another that I wanted to turn off. The movie won the Oscar for Original Song, "Flashdance...What a Feeling" sung by Irene Cara. I do like the song, and I liked some of the other music from the movie, but not enough to get the soundtrack or ever care again. Overall, I would say 1983 was not a stellar year for music in films (two songs nominated from Flashdance, two from Yentl and one from Tender Mercies). Another one bites the dust.

Movies I don't ever want to see again - really

Since it seems it may take me a while to get back on track, I thought I would go review some movies that I have seen in the past that I really do not ever need to see again. I realize many may disagree, and that's okay, I won't prevent you from watching them. These are in no particular order:

The Exorcist, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound Mixing, 1973, National Film Registry

Unlike some of the other movies in this list, I didn't hate this movie, I just don't like movies of this genre (I'm not all that thrilled about Rosemary's Baby and The Omen being on my watch list). I'm not really religious, but I don't like to play around with evil (that probably sounds really wacky). I remember watching this movie with a group of friends from junior high and being scared, but not too creeped out, and I think that was the benefit of watching this with a group in the daylight and being a dumb teenager. Aside from the eerie voice used by Mercedes McCambridge as the Devil and Linda Blair's makeup, I always think of the music "Tubular Bells" by Mike Oldfield. William Friedkin directed and Ellen Burstyn is Regan's (Linda Blair) mother. Essentially Regan becomes possessed and undergoes an exorcism. Terrible things happen.

The Tin Drum, Best Foreign Film, 1979

As I look at the list of these films that I never want to see again, it occurs to me that in fact, I may have seen some of them more than once, and that is the case for The Tin Drum. It wasn't on purpose, trust me. Wikipedia calls it a surrealistic black comedy. I cannot explain it, reading the synopsis in Wikipedia it doesn't ring a bell with me at all. I must have successfully blocked it all out. It was over two and a half hours running time. The Tin Drum is a German film and the main character has a...tin drum which he bangs on a regular basis. There was a creepy scene where Oskar is banging his drum and screaming and that's all. I just know that if it ever comes up again, I will not be watching it.

The Silence of the Lambs, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, 1991 #74 on AFI, National Film Registry

I watched The Silence of the Lambs for the first time in the theater and was riveted for the whole time. It was a great piece of film making and storytelling. Jodie Foster won an Oscar for her role as Clarice Starling, a troubled FBI agent who takes on Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins in an Oscar-winning role) and Buffalo Bill in a bizarre and frightening tale. If you haven't seen it yet, I don't want to give anything away. And even though it's on a list of movies I don't want to see again, you should see it at least once; I have seen it twice, and it's just so suspenseful and tense, I'm not sure my old heart can take it. Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins created characters (under the direction of Oscar-winner Jonathan Demme) that are now part of American lexicon, especially Hopkins/Lecter. Hopkins beat out Robert DeNiro in Cape Fear, Robin Williams in The Fisher King, Warren Beatty in Bugsy and Nick Nolte in The Prince of Tides (Williams was incredible in The Fisher King, but I think Hopkins locked it up the minute they roll him out in his mask). Foster beat out out both Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon from Thelma and Louise as well as Laura Dern in Rambling Rose and Bette Midler in For the Boys; it's possible that Davis and Sarandon cancelled each other out and I am not familiar with the other two movies.

Forrest Gump, Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Visual Effects, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, 1994, #76 AFI, National Film Registry

I might upset some people, but I hated this movie. Who cares? I didn't. The movie just seemed to go on and on, and I'm fairly certain I fell asleep at some point during the 142 minutes.I don't think 1994 was a stellar movie for strong male leads if you look at the list of nominees (no offense to anyone), so maybe it wasn't a surprise that Hanks won the Best Actor, but Shawshank Redemption is one of my favorite movies and Morgan Freeman was nominated in his role as Red; John Travolta was nominated for Pulp Fiction (I have not completely watched that movie, so I'll withhold judgement).

The Usual Suspects, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay, 1995

I was so thrilled when I read that Roger Ebert hated this movie too! I felt some redemption for all the people who thought it was so wonderful and clever. It was too clever for its own good and it annoyed the crap out of me. This is another movie I watched twice (you have to give me credit, I try), and liked it less than the first time. I hate pretension and this movie is full of it. It's smug as well. I feel like a thesaurus trying to come up with words to describe my feelings. Give it a miss.

Titanic Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Song, Best Original Dramatic Score, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Sound, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects, 1997, #83 AFI

I may be at my most petulant in this review, which some of my friends find amusing, you may or may not. Just like with Titanic, I don't care. I was literally dragged to see this when it first came out in the theaters and didn't enjoy it. I was later cajoled into going to see Celine Dion who performed "My Heart Will Go On", and then was in a relationship where the other person LOVED this movie. Is it any wonder it's on my list? It would be on the list anyway as I am hard-pressed to find a James Cameron movie that I like. The man is certainly in love with himself, that's for sure. The movie, like most Cameron movies,was an endurance test, lasting over three hours. You'd think he was David Lean or something. Anyway, in case you have no idea what this movie is about, it tells the story of  The Titanic which was making its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York. It was filled with aristocrats and other socialite types as well as immigrants housed in steerage. The story focuses on fictional characters Rose (socialite played by Kate Winslet) and Jack (immigrant played by Leonardo DiCaprio); it's an ill-fated love affair, much like the ill-fated cruise they are on. I'll save you the suspense, the boat sinks. I have more than put in my time with this movie, probably seeing it at least 5 times. It sank every time.

Talk To Her, Best Foreign Film, 2002

I don't always like movies by Pedro Almodovar, my favorite of his is Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, but I find them intriguing. I cannot even tell you what I thought of Talk to Her, except to say that is contained one of the most bizarre scenes I have ever witnessed in a movie. It was so bizarre we actually watched it several times because we could not believe it. The blurb in Wikipedia says it's a movie about the difficulty communicating between sexes, loneliness and intimacy, I can neither confirm or deny that, I was so traumatized by the one scene, I don't remember anything else. And WHAT IS THAT SCENE, you wonder? Well, a man and a woman are driving in a car, then in a moment of surrealism, the man shrinks down to miniature size. He then proceeds to climb into the woman's nether regions, walking in and out. This is where we lost it. The set looked like something Salvador Dali would have created, and it just seemed so ridiculous. It's possible there was very intellectual reason for this scene, but I can't tell you. I just know I don't need to see this movie again.

On a happy note, and to mention a movie that I would watch again and that is apropos of this holiday weekend, I would totally recommend seeing Easter Parade with Fred Astaire and Judy Garland.