In 2008, Italian director Paolo Sorrentino made a film about a, then, still living sinister political figure Giuliano Andreotti. The ferociousness of the portrait was acceptable to the public at large because it was presented as a stylish, slightly surreal comedy. Adam McKay sets VICE in a more realistic universe but the results are just as pungent, disturbing and funny. Christian Bale is spookily perfect. And Amy Adams is a modern day Lady Macbeth of major proportions. The most unsettling part of the whole experience, because Vice is an experience, is the knowledge that this are the people chosen by the people. The fact that countries have the governments they deserve gives me a chill in 2018. A remarkable film with remarkable performances. Bravo.
Reviews
15 Reviews
The Prize
(1963)
Hitchcock Robson Style
1 May 2018
To say that this is an Alfred Hitchcock movie made by Mark Robson is not a put down, it's just a fact of life. Look at the framing and you'll know immediately that we're not in Hitchcockian territory. But the the Hitchcockian ingredients are there even if not mixed or cooked at the wrong temperature, or something. Paul Newman, absolutely gorgeous and funnily enough he'll make a spy film with Hitchcock set in Sweden during the Nobels. Elke Sommer is like an imitation Hitchkcock ice blonde made in Germany. Diane Baker was the brunette in Hitchcock's Marnie and she's a real delight. Edward G Robinson, of course, always a pleasure but then Mr Robson casts Micheline Presle, Micheline Presle from "Devil And The Flesh" and ignores her. She is framed as if Robson didn't know who she was. Another unforgivable bit of business, Sergio Fantoni's Italian mamma. What was he thinking. All that aside. It's entertaining and Paul Newman can take me anywhere, anytime.
The 39 Steps
(1935)
Donat and Carroll dance a Hitchcock tune
17 April 2018
Tight and delicious. Everything matters and nothing matters. An amazing commercial eye without detracting from the poetry. Poetry? Yes poetry. Robert Donat was one of the best actors of his generation - I wonder why he's not better known. Maybe he will be rediscovered. The 39 Steps, The Winslow Boy, Goodbye Mr Chips just to name 3 of his spectacular performances. Madeleine Carroll is perfect as an early, classy and icy Hitchcock blonde. The coupling of Donat and Carroll has all the signature traits of the Master and it's downright irresistible. Not to be missed.
Desolation As A Young Man
24 March 2018
The sadness of this story based on real events is unbearable at times. Darren Criss gives life to Andrew Cunanan, the killer of Gianni Versace. His performance reminded me that Cunanan was a human being and at the same time there is practically no room for sympathy. Cunanan in Criss's eyes is compelling, terrifying and utterly pitiful. The series uses the murder of Gianni Versace to tell us the sordid tale of his killer. The series is structured in a way that forces you to pay attention. I liked it but I seem to be in the minority there. Loved Penelope Cruz as Donatella Versace. She's great fun to watch and Edgar Ramirez is a dead ringer for the slain designer. Ricky Martin was a bizarre casting choice but Judith Light a stroke of genius. So, terrific, thank you.
The Disaster Artist
(2017)
James Franco breaks new ground
8 December 2017
Ed Wood was Stanley Kubrick compared to Tommy Wiseau but James Franco treats him with such loving care that we can connect with his humanity without letting his eccentricities pull us away from him. That, I think, was the most moving aspect of this outrageous true life tale. James Franco is spectacular keeping it true and real in a character that lent itself for caricature. Dave Franco, James's brother in real life is the most believable instant soulmate of the James Dean wannabe. Seth Rogen is also perfect as the one knows that they're in for a major disaster and yet sees the whole thing to the bitter end. I must confess I hadn't heard of The Room but now it's on top of my list of films I want to see next.
Prick Up Your Ears
(1987)
A loving punch in the gut
25 November 2017
Gary Oldman plays real life British 60's sensation Joe Orton, the author of "Entertaining Mr. Sloane". His performance, for me, goes at the very core of a gallery of real life characters who run the gamut from A to Z and then some. From Sid Vicious to Ludwig Van Beethoven, from Lee Harvey Oswald to Joe Orton and in 2017 Winston Churchill - not to mention fictional literary characters like Count Dracula. With Joe Orton, Gary Oldman reaches some kind of mountain top. He finds innocence in this emotional and sexual misfit and he projects Orton's genius with a profound flawed humanity. His tragic lover is played by another extraordinary actor, Alfred Molina - I've just seen him in "Feud" playing Robert Aldrich with such virtuosity that I have developed a personal relationship with Aldrich as if I knew him personally. Oldman and Molina create something we've never seen before and Stephen Frears know exactly how to capture it. As if this wasn't enough, Vanessa Redgrave play's Orton's agent. Even if you've never heard of Joe Orton, do yourself a favor, venture into this dark and human universe.
Last Flag Flying
(2017)
A moving rehearsal
22 November 2017
I had the feeling the film was shot before anyone was ready. I love Richard Linklater, Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburne, Steve Carrell is also very good but I still have to surrender to his characters. I'm far too aware of him, the actor and Last Flag Flying puts that in evidence. This wonderful actors needed to get those characters a bit more rehearsal time. Also the look is so drab that I'm not sure if that was intentional or if it's just the new digital age. In any case I was moved and I was glad I saw it.
Mother!
(2017)
Heavy Ingredients Severely Undercooked
21 September 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I was in the right mood for a smart horror film, they used to be my favorite kind of film until they sort of disappeared, the smart part not the horror. I'm a huge fan of Polanski's The Tenant - it terrified me more than any other film, followed shortly by 2 other Roman Polanski masterpieces, Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby. There are others - Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now, Martin Donovan's Apartment Zero, Alex De La Iglesias's La Comunidad, Davin Lynch's Eraserhead and Blue Velvet in particular. Most of Luis Bunuel's work and a few others. Mother! reminded me somehow of some of them but it was just like a tease that didn't really matured into anything.Here everything is outrageously on the nose but not in a phenomenal Ken Russell way but in a rather obvious, unconvincing, "look at me" kind of thing. I love Jennifer Lawrence but in Mother! she wakes up at the beginning of the film and she's already panicky. Please, don't misunderstand me, I'm not suggesting a prequel! No, clearly Darren Aronfski gave the audience too much credit or not enough because for me, as a member of the audience, left me cold. I may have winced at the sight of blood but it didn't frighten me. The "wound" on the floor? Remember the hole in the wall of "The Tenant"? Maybe it's my fault. I've seen too many films and young audiences haven't. I've read some of the positive comments and I imagine they are from very young people who feel, quite rightly, they been given something besides Marvel and they have. I only hope they use it as a gateway to discover some of the "old" films. And as for Mother! what I enjoyed was the totally unexpected turn by Michelle Pfeiffer. Dark and funny, mocking or better still, paying tribute to Ruth Gordon - I imagine. I left the theater with a desperate need to revisit Rosemary's Baby and you know what? I will. So after all said and done, thank you.
X, Y & Zee
(1972)
Martha's Ignorant Twin
26 August 2017
Elizabeth Taylor is just amazing. She goes for this superficial, primitive bitch with every weapon in her arsenal. Her Zee is like Martha's - Taylor's character in Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf - disgraceful twin. The one who probably never read anything, dropped out of school. She was probably disowned by her intellectual father and she went all out. Her performance is free of any literary constrictions - I mean this is not by Edward Albee - she can jump and roll at her own speed, at her own volume. Michael Caine feels like a pussycat next to her and Susannah York? She makes sense in a rather senseless character. An added charm is the appearance of the spectacular Margaret Leighton.
Victim
(1961)
Dirk Bogarde Comes Out
3 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I though it was important to remind myself that Victim was made in 1961, when homosexuality was still a crime in many civilized countries. That's partly why I think Victim belongs in a class of its own. Basil Dearden, the director of The Blue Lamp is a personal favorite of mine and Dirk Bogarde, well Dirk Bogarde is an actor who also belongs in a class of his own. Courageous is the first word who comes to mind. He was a hugely popular actor in 1959's England. Beautiful to look at on top of that. A matinée idol who was also gay in real life. Imagine the courage it took to play a secret gay in this movie and he doesn't shy away from giving a face, his face to the truth of his tortured character. - Kudos also to Sylvia Syms who plays his wife. Sylvia Syms who also played the Queen Mother to Helen Mirren's The Queen in 2006 is a real standout and her reaction to her husband's revelation is worthy of study. Superb. Dirk Bogarde with a successful career behind him, started, with this film a new and spectacular career, starring in films directed by Luchino Visconti, Joseph Losey, Reiner Werner Fassbinder, Alain Resnais and others.
Julia
(1977)
Julia Forty Years Later
20 April 2017
To rediscover Julia in 2017 is an absolute thrill. It was thrilling the first time round but, as it happens, nine times out of ten, thrills don't travel well. Here is the exception. Time, through Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave has added an extra coat of guts and truth. They were magnificent then and they are magnificent now. As actresses, as women. The friendship of Lilli and Julia is a landmark of historical, artistic and human proportions. Fred Zinnemann, the director, clearly knew what he was dealing with, brilliantly. Julia also counts with the extraordinary Jason Robards as Dashiel Hammett and, my goodness, Meryl Streep! in a small but memorable part, making her film debut. I believe this is one of those rare films that will be relevant for ever.
Tell Them Who You Are
(2004)
Father and Son
29 July 2009
One can't help but feel sorry for Mark Wexler. Goodness gracious me. To have a genius for a father. Not an easy thing. Rita Hayworth after her marriage with Orson Welles say "Being married to a genius is exhausting" Imagine being the son. Naturally Mark is a sucker for punishment. He gets himself in the lions cage knowing that he's the lion's favorite dish. In any case. Bravo Mark! I don't think we'll ever have a more realistic, balanced and fair portrait of Haskell Wexler. The documentary is unavoidably manipulated by its subject but even that shows a private side of the man and his amusingly enormous ego that couldn't have come to the fore if it wasn't for Mark Wexler. I enjoyed, with certain moments of real discomfort, this wonderful documentary about one of the greatest pains in the ass that ever lived. His work will live forever and this film signed by his son will travel in time as a perfect companion.
What Just Happened
(2008)
Hollywood in Hollywood about Hollywood
19 October 2008
Strange feeling for a French person to sit at a Hollywood movie theater to watch a movie about Hollywood. People around me laughed more than me because, presumably, the joke touches a lot of local nerves. The story is introduced by a score resembling the Nino Rota of "La Dolce Vita" but the similarities with "La Dolce Vita" end there. There is nothing new here other than Robert De Niro's performance, the first in a long time in which there is a notable commitment. I found the characters tiresome and far too familiar. I couldn't care less about any of them. The predicament of De Niro's Ben (a thinly veiled producer, writer Art Linson) left me cold. Living the times we're living, to concern myself with this was too much to ask.
Not that it matters but ...why?
31 May 2008
Warning: Spoilers
The film is making zillions all over the world so what does it matter that it's just a mediocre attempt to recapture the energy, the youthfulness and the innocence of the previous installments? Love of cinema, that's what made me react the way I did. How can it possibly be that the most powerful people in the film world could agree that this was the script that everyone was waiting for? Shallow, opportunistic, over long, over crowded and implausible in a way the other films weren't regardless of their own implausibilities because one was connected tho the soul of the enterprise. There is no soul here to cling to. It's all by the numbers, odd numbers at that. Karen Allen returns! But look at the clumsiness of her re introduction. I was bitterly disappointed but maybe it's just me.
Away from Her
(2006)
Julie Christie's face
9 February 2008
Everything about Julie Christie is different, it always was. So, there shouldn't come as a big surprise that she has recruited her age as a great allied. To say that she glows and that she's as beautiful as ever seems idiotic and banal, but the fact is that she glows and that she's as beautiful as ever. Then, as an actress, she continues to grow and to surprise us. The idea of losing one's memory its a devastating blow and to see that awareness in Julie Christie's face made it doubly so. I understand better the illness I feel nearer to its sufferers. It is extraordinary that for people of my generation - I was born in 1958 - Julie Christie was a sort of symbol. To see the newer generations fall in love with her and not only in her old movies but in her new ones, it's the most marvelous reassuring feeling in the world.
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