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Synecdoche, New York (2008)
The Joy of Suffering
Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a dumpy, sickly, middle-aged playwright/director has received a "genius grant" to stage a magnificent, original, brilliant production about...himself! To realize this ambition, he creates a microcosm of New York City within a warehouse, where characters from his life come and go, where women express their desire to have sex with him, and where he can bemoan his loneliness. As for what is to be taken for reality and what Cotard has constructed, this is given to the audience to decipher; screenwriter/director Charlie Kaufman has other fish to fry. For some reason, this highly praised film was largely ignored by moviegoers.
The Amityville Horror (1979)
A Waste of Raspberry Syrup
An attractive, likeable couple buy a house near Long Island Sound for themselves and their children, that, unbeknownst to them, was the scene of the murder of a family a year earlier. Odd things begin happening to suggest it is haunted by some malevolent force. Most people would move out with much less provocation than what James Brolin and Margot Kidder have to endure, but the story is based on actual events that have inspired several books, movies and thousands of tourists to visit Ocean Avenue in Amityville, NY. The slow going is somewhat alleviated by some good actors working very, very hard and is probably most entertaining for true believers.
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood (2019)
The Thin Red Whine
Nothing is more satisfying to a child than to correct an error by the one who says, "Brush your teeth" or "Finish your spinach," by pointing out that the capital of Illinois is Springfield, not Chicago. Now that we live in "a national household," it is time for left-liberals to point out that the USA did not live up to its founding principles for everyone at all times. They cannot say that the differences between peoples are so negligible that Orson Welles as Othello or Gale Sondergaard as Mrs. Hammond or Akim Tamiroff as Gen. Yang is as inoffensive as the characterization of Mickey Rooney as Mr. Yunioshi is odious, so much so that both the actor and director apologized. To throw another log on the fire, we are reminded of the unjust incarceration of Japanese-Americans after Pearl Harbor, irrelevant to a film about the occasional casting of European-American actors in Asian roles. Hopefully, a day will come when left-liberals can recognize our many similarities rather than harp on our petty differences.
A Hidden Life (2019)
Masterpiece
Human beings, in Aristotle's view, were distinguished from beasts in their ability to act based on principles rather than mere drives. When the Nazis arrive in an Austrian village, where its men are required to swear an oath to the Fuhrer and the Reich, Franz Jagerstratter (August Diehl) refuses, despite much pressure from the Germans and his community. Writer/director Terrence Malick is not bashful about the message, citing George Eliot: "...for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unheroic acts; and that things are not so ill with you or me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs." The modesty, dignity, and courage of the main character is honored by this production.
The New World (2005)
Brilliant
The anthropology seems valid. This is an exacting presentation of what the first Europeans must have encountered in Virginia at the dawn of the 17th century. Thank you, Terry Malick for taking us there. The language, makeup and costumes are most impressive. The natives, in their innocence, veer between being playful and terrifying. Narration is usually a weakness in a movie, especially when mumbled or whispered. An actor like Christopher Plummer, trained in the theatre, clearly a writer's medium, makes the best narrator, because his voice and diction permits his words to cross the footlights and sail over the orchestra to the cheap seats. In this film, the director may have felt that pretty pictures obscure other problems. Any picture in which Q'orianka Kilcher appears as Pocahontas is a pretty one: her performance is as affectless and natural as her character. This movie is unimaginable without her. The portrait of the first slaves, street urchins exiled to the New World as "indentured servants" by King James VI, is brief but accurate. Malick seems devoted to the study of people, who usually pass notice and offers a strong curative to the bygone Hollywood fierce "injuns" on the warpath, speaking broken English.
White Heat (1949)
"Maybe I Am Nuts."--Cody Jarrett
By the middle of the McCarthy Period in 1949, economic (Marxist) accounts of social deviance would no longer be acceptable; psychological (Freudian) explanations were now required. What we learned from Dr. Freud is that early childhood is largely determinative, dreams have a language, and boys are often too closely attached to their mothers, like Oedipus who unwittingly married Jocasta. In this crime story, James Cagney, a crazed psychopath with an extreme devotion to his mother/mentor is tricked by an undercover cop, Edmond O'Brien. Director Raoul Walsh is in top form and the cast is well chosen. The most important part of a movie, which the audience has waited 114 minutes for, is the ending. It is what we take home with us when the show is over, what we will most remember. And this picture certainly gives us that.
Black Swan (2010)
NYC Ballet, the Wes Craven Version
Evidently, the story of an ambitious young ballerina, her stage mother, her heartless, sexually harassing ballet master, her rivals in the corps de ballet, superb direction, cinematography, editing, and design was not considered by these filmmakers to be sufficient--in this age that considers Stephen King to be the new William Shakespeare--to intrigue a mass audience. Therefore, the decision was made to "go all the way." It takes almost superhuman devotion for these artist/athletes to achieve Fonteyn/Ulanova level excellence, so that onlookers may consider them crazy. The idea of the dedicated dancer subsumed by their commitment to a fantastic role, leading to their destruction, was handled brilliantly in the past: "Specter of the Rose" (1946) and "The Red Shoes" (1948). But, here, the need to amp up the yarn with William Castle gimmickry and icky gore diminishes the results. Still, Natalie Portman's Oscar winning performance is magnificent.
Agatha (1979)
A World Gone By
The star of this movie is DP Vittorio Storaro, who, shooting in Techniscope, has performed brilliantly. His co-stars on this modestly budgeted film must have worked like dogs: Production Designer/Costume Designer Shirley Russell and Art Director Simon Holland succeeded in offering us a world of elegance and grace not likely to be seen again. The clothing, furnishings, decor, modes of transportation (trains, planes, automobiles, carriages), and even the smoke (from tea cups, cigarettes, locomotives) are absolutely beautiful. Beautiful, as well, is lead actress Vanessa Redgrave, with her flaming red hair and sky blue eyes. Her portrait of a fragile woman, shocked by the harsh dismissal of her unfaithful husband, is vivid. The plot, which is largely irrelevant, is a speculation about the 11 day disappearance of famous author Agatha Christie in 1926. Evidently, she suffered a nervous breakdown, having lost touch with reality, a subject too painful for explanation. Since the movie has a lead actress, convention requires a lead actor. Dustin Hoffman, a "bankable star," was enlisted to play a rival to her distant husband. A weak script has been deftly obscured by production values.
Leatherheads (2008)
ZZZZZZZZ
This tiresome melange of genres was budgeted to ensure that everyone made out like bandits and banditry certainly explains its raison d'etre. Why is it assumed that because of Chaplin, Keaton, Laurel & Hardy, Lloyd, Turpin, Arbuckle and the Keystone Kops, that everything that happened in the1920s must have been hilarious? The constant Mickey Mouse music and slapstick brawls brought a frown, not a smile, to my face. No, the development of the National Football League was probably not this funny. George Clooney is good-looking, charming and very much too cute. In truth, brutal games and fistfights probably led to the loss of at least one tooth.
The Night of the Iguana (1964)
The Male Sexpot
The Rev. T. Lawrence Shannon (Richard Burton) has been "locked out" of his Episcopal Church because he succumbed to the advances of "a very young Sunday school teacher" and, somewhat improbably, finds himself working as a tour guide in Mexico. Judith Fellowes (Grayson Hall) is a censorious rooster in the "crate of wet hens," that includes her niece (Sue Lyon), a pretty teenager, determined to grab "Larry" as her souvenir. In defense, he drives their bus to an obscure beach hotel, run by earth mother Ava Gardner, from whom he appeals for help. Soon they are joined by an English woman (Deborah Kerr), born and raised in Nantucket, and caring for "the world's oldest living poet" (Cyril Delevanti). Exaggeration is an important element of comedy, but this late effort by Tennessee Williams, seems to go too far. Despite some affecting late scenes, the misogynistic portrayal of women, who just can't leave men alone, amplifies the exaggerations even further. And over the cliff.
Love Letters (1945)
Rostand Ripoff
A soldier (Joseph Cotten) writes love letters to another soldier's girl (Jennifer Jones) back home. Imagine her disappointment when she marries him; in the meantime, Cotten is beset with guilt when he learns of it. Conveniently, she soon becomes a widow and Cotten must find her. The search is stretched across 101 tiresome minutes, complicated by the weak plot device of amnesia and the necessity to keep the past from her to protect her sanity. Director William Dieterle and DP Lee Garmes are visually talented enough to keep us seated until we get The Big Message: 'No one can build happiness on a lie," from romance writer Ayn Rand.
Portrait of Jennie (1948)
Brilliant
An obscure, impoverished artist meets an engaging young girl in Central Park and does a drawing from memory, which sells instantly to a gallery. He searches for her to paint her portrait and learns that she died somewhere in time. She is a ghost, who only he can see. For those who lost loved ones in accidents or, perhaps, in the recent war, there is a consoling message: "There is no life, my darling, until you love and been loved. And then there is no death." David O. Selznick, who loved Jennifer Jones, spared no expense: everything was shot on location and the final portrait in the black & white film astonished in three-strip Technicolor. Oscars for Best Special Effects and a nomination for DP Joseph H. August. Dmitri Tiomkin's score uses themes by Debussy. Director William Dieterle was at his best. Unforgettable.
Election (1999)
Everybody Cheats Somebody Sometime
A bright, energetic, ambitious Omaha high school girl (Reese Witherspoon) aspires to be elected Student Council President in this movie by a bright, energetic, ambitious Omaha film writer/director (Alexander Payne). Her efforts are thwarted by a resentful teacher (Matthew Broderick), but there is, fortunately no censorious producer. Like the leading lady, the movie is determined to entertain: there's never a dull moment. The electoral gamesmanship and numerous sexual peccadillos keep the characters and the audience on their toes in this satirical look at a passionately committed super achiever.
The Ugly American (1963)
The MacWhite Man's Burden
Ambassador Harrison Carter MacWhite (Marlon Brando) endures a rigorous and hostile Senate hearing to be assigned to a southeast Asian country, where he fought during World War II and where his old buddy, Deong (Elji Okada), is very influential. Although it's not in the dialogue, MacWhite demonstrates his intellectual acumen by wielding a pipe in the early scenes. He plays the martinet with his subordinates to complete the construction of an engineering project called "Freedom Road," which will bring prosperity. Prosperity for whom? It's a good question, which is best answered eventually in "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" (2004) by John Perkins. In the meantime, we'll have to settle for these old worries about communists, typical of that era and prescient about the upcoming war.
Three Faces East (1930)
Suspenseful Early Spy Yarn
During World War I, two determined German spies (Erich von Stroheim and Constance Bennett) manage, as a butler and houseguest, to penetrate the home of the First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Winston Churchill? Er-no, it's "Sir Winston Chamberlain," played by the original "William Holden." His son, Capt. Arthur Chamberlain, falls for the beautiful Ms. Bennett, as she races through the house to the safe, where intelligence may be found as to the time and place of the landing of American troops in Europe. Is there a way for the writers to arrange for the handsome young man and the lovely young lady to overcome their political differences? Let us hope.
Escape (1940)
Good Nail Biter
By 1940, escape from Germany was very difficult for prominent people. Nazimova plays a famous actress sent to a concentration camp and sentenced to death; her son (Robert Taylor) is determined to rescue her and bring her home to the USA. He receives help from a camp doctor (Philip Dorn), who since boyhood was a fan of hers, and a countess (Norma Shearer). The elaborate plan is nearly thwarted several times as roadblocks (literally) appear. The screenplay by two top writers (Arch Oboler and Marguerite Roberts) has many twists and turns that keep the tension going, from scene to scene and line to line. Adolf Hitler did not like this movie.
Soldier in the Rain (1963)
Smelling of Money
Movies often get made simply because the money is there. Steve McQueen became a star playing cool, laconic tough guys. Here, he plays broad comedy as a naive southern hustler of the Andy Griffith type. Mistake. One supposes that it was greenlighted because of a much better picture, "No Time for Sergeants" (1958), but it falls very flat. An adult version of a sharp hustler in the service was yet to be made: "King Rat" (1965). The point seems to be to demonstrate the likeable dopey-ness of the average joe, especially if he has a drawl, but McQueen occasionally lapses into being McQueen. As Jackie Gleason's squeeze, Tuesday Weld is as ditzy as necessary, while villain Ed Nelson menaces well. Blake Edwards was a genuine talent, with good credits. Why did he not direct? Did he jump ship before it sank? The actors brought in an audience, but this silly project should have been shelved.
Les diaboliques (1955)
Brilliant
After inheriting a boarding school, Christina (Vera Clouzot, wife of the writer-director Henri-Georges Clouzot), oppressed by her cruel husband (Paul Meurisse), becomes friends with his mistress, Nicole (Simone Signoret), who is sympathetic. The two women devise a plan to deal with the brute. This movie was box office gold, in part due to a clever word-of-mouth campaign: at the end, the audience reads a title card asking them not to spoil the film for friends by betraying the shock ending. Drew Barrymore recommended seeing the film a second time to fully appreciate Signoret's performance. Vera Clouzot appeared in only three films, all directed by her husband. In this one, her character is described as having a "weak heart" and she often clutches her chest. Vera Clouzot died of a heart attack at age 46. Did life follow art?
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Brilliant
The Great Depression of the 1930s impoverished millions, but, before social welfare programs were in place, even worse, it instilled a fear of poverty in tens of millions. James M. Cain's 1934 novel, possibly inspired by Emile Zola's 1868 novel "Therese Raquin," developed these themes and was the basis of many films. Frank (John Garfield) and Cora (Lana Turner) both need money and Nick, an older man, (Cecil Kellaway), who owns a highway lunch counter, can provide them with what they both need. But they soon discover that they need one other thing: each other. And they realize that they don't need Nick. Perfectly cast and staged, with a wonderful score by George Bassman, it becomes, with its ironic, suspenseful plot twists, an epic tragedy of the doomed Everyman. I'm not sure that we would have gotten "Champion" (1949) or "A Place In the Sun" (1951) without it.
The Wind (1928)
An Orphan of the Storm
It may be difficult to believe now, but a century ago, a young woman, without money or education, was virtual chattel. Letty (Lillian Gish) journeys from Virginia to an appallingly windy region in the Midwest to live in the home of her cousin and his wife, who is immediately jealous of their familial intimacy. Several male suitors appear who may offer stability, in contrast to the constant wind, symbolic of the vagaries of nature, men and circumstance. What can she do? The silent acting, especially that of Gish, and the directing by Victor Sjostrom, is excellent. Distributors required a happy ending, which, after a re-shoot, was of no box office help.
Et Dieu... créa la femme (1956)
Ooo-La-La!
At age 22, Bardot appeared in her 18th motion picture, which was written and directed by her husband, Roger Vadim. While Hollywood presented the "Blonde Bombshell," Marilyn Monroe, France responded with Bebe, the "Sex Kitten." While Monroe appeared in major studio productions, surrounded by makeup artists, camera and lighting experts, costume designers and an acting coach, Bardot appeared in her "birthday suit," playing herself. If beautiful women were one of the primary attractions of movies, France had one of the greatest. In this show made before Women's Lib, daring, frank, self-interested Bardot is torn between three men in Catholic France: will she sink into depravity or be redeemed by love? Vadim answers.
Play of the Week: Waiting for Godot (1961)
Masterpiece
This shocking play received its perfect interpretation in this televised version. Starring Burgess Meredith as a scheming Didi, Zero Mostel as a flustered Gogo, Kurt Kasznar as pompous Pozzo, and Alvin Epstein as his beleaguered servant, no better production is conceivable for this "tragicomedy," which revolutionized modern theatre and was much responsible for Samuel Beckett's Nobel Prize. In the intimate circle of fellow Irish author James Joyce in Paris, Beckett joined the Resistance and, when he learned that he was soon to be arrested by the Gestapo, he and his wife, Suzanne, fled in a long walk towards Vichy France. This play catalogued their immiseration and the search in farmer's fields for some sort of root vegetable on which they might dine. The Irish Potato Famine of the previous century may have also contributed to a sort of ethnic memory of extreme deprivation, which Beckett ably addresses with mocking humor. All writing is autobiographical and the ability to delineate its universal elements is testimony to Beckett's genius. This production does it due service.
Late Night with the Devil (2023)
The Devil Is In the Details
Although it seems to be a rather long, anticlimactic 93 minutes, this low budget horror/comedy is clever and innovative enough to hold interest in its portrait of a TV talk show host, locked in a losing battle against Johnny Carson, who believes that, with help from a parapsychologist and her weird patient, an interview with Satan on his Halloween special, during ratings sweeps week, might keep his show alive. We're treated to all the usual horror movie tropes of the past half century and David Dastmalchian, who resembles Les Crane, is convincing as someone who could keep us around for 93 minutes.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
Inspired Silliness
Right next to a metropolis inhabited by human beings is a jungle, aswarm with apes. Can they co-exist? The books are cooked in that the apes are humans in ape outfits. The lead ape has the facial expressions (very well done) of a human and, by and large, all the apes have the political and social concerns similar to those of humans. "Can't we all just get along?" as Rodney King once asked. The very serious message of "Planet of the Apes" (1968) cannot be matched by these dreams of human/ape friendship; a grownup treatment of our commonalities and differences was offered in a far more insightful, intellectually stimulating, suspenseful and realistic movie by the great Cy Endfield in "Sands of the Kalahari" (1965). Special effects and costumes are excellent.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Masterpiece
George Miller challenges us to blink. There have been movies with a "cast of thousands;" this film seems to have a crew of thousands that have joined to make, arguably, the richest, most visually fascinating film ever made. A world in which humans interact and blend in with machinery was brilliantly presented in "Metropolis" (1927), but it was largely static; this film combines a similar vision, but one that is always on the move. The chase is a time-tested cinema crowd pleaser. Here, the chase seems never to end. The meticulous attention to detail is marvelous; the plot is of secondary importance. A wealth of imagination, special effects, stunts and actors who sometimes resemble those in "Freaks" (1932) offer a riveting visual feast.