Wednesday, 31 January 2018
The Congress (2013)
An aging, out-of-work actress accepts one last job, though the consequences of her decision affect her in ways she didn't consider.
Interesting but a bit confusing adaptation of Stanislaw Lem's classic sci-fi novel does skillfully add animated sequences to indicate virtual reality - until you don't know what is real or not.
Tuesday, 30 January 2018
The Furies (1950)
A firebrand heiress clashes with her tyrannical father, a cattle rancher who fancies himself a Napoleon; but their relationship turns ugly only when he finds himself a new woman.
Larger-than-life Western epic in which all figures (and especially Barbara Stanwyck) are tough and ruthless in a world where only these traits seem to count.
Halliwell*: "Interesting but heavy-going Western, more solemn than stimulating despite its Freudian excesses."
Maltin***: "Operatic-style Western saga of love and hate..."
Mystery Train (1989)
Three stories are connected by a Memphis hotel and the spirit of Elvis Presley.
Wonderfully connected episodes offer humour and drama as a matter-of-fact part of life; great cast and beautifully photographed vignettes of Memphis.
Halliwell**: "Rambling, leisurely film that contains a multitude of small pleasures."
Maltin***: "Typically quirky slice-of-life from Jarmusch...Jarmusch's minimalist style results in some slow stretches, but there are enough genuinely funny moments to make this worth seeing."
Sunday, 28 January 2018
White Pongo (1945)
Hunters and scientists venture into the jungle to track down a savage albino gorilla, which they believe could be the missing link between man and ape.
Saturday, 27 January 2018
Last Man Standing (1996)
A drifting gunslinger-for-hire finds himself in the middle of an ongoing war between the Irish and Italian mafia in a Prohibition era ghost town.
Yet another remake of Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo is an interesting, but not fully satisfying mixture of genres, especially of Western and gangster movie; good star cast and expertise direction make it watchable, though.
Halliwell*: "A Hollywood Western influenced by other schools of film-making. The wit and charm of Kurosawa's original, Yojimbo, has been replaced by a raw energy and gunfights in the style of John Woo; but its glum, conscienceless protagonist lacks the style of Toshirô Mifune or even Clint Eastwood in the spaghetti Western version, A Fistful of Dollars."
Maltin**: "...rife with gunplay, but overcome by sheers boredom."
Un Amour de Swann (1984)
When the elegant and educated bachelor Charles Swann falls in love with a courtesan, his friends in the most powerful and fashionable circles of Paris in the 1890's warn him against marriage.
Well produced with top credentials in all departments, the result is a unloving, coldly calculated adaptation of Proust's story; alone Hans Werner Henze's excellent score gives an impression of what this movie could have been.
Halliwell**: "Reasonably successful attempt to film part of an unfilmable book. Comparisons with Letter From an Unknown Woman are inevitable."
Maltin**1/2: "Lavish but lifeless telescoping of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past with Irons surprisingly stiff...Redeemed somewhat by the latter [Ornella Muti] and Delon (as a homosexual baron), a sexy under-the-covers scene, and Sven Nykvist photography. "
Thursday, 25 January 2018
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)
In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen.
A fairy tale is turned into a dark and violent fantasy film in a style more like The Lord of the Rings than a children's movie; one also wonders what was wrong with the classic tale to be expanded into such a heavy Hollywood production.
Maltin*1/2: "Poisonous retelling of the famous fairy tale...Grim in every sense of the word. Theron's performance has no nuance or shading (just shouting) and Stewart has little presence. Novelty of familiar, full-sized British actors as the seven dwarfs offers too little too late in this long, violent, ponderous production."
Argo (2012)
Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979.
Well-crafted, entertaining political thriller with a good cast manages to mix tension and humour; however, the audacity of the true story seems more fascinating than what the movie actually offers.
Maltin***1/2: "Incredible true story...Affleck's sure-handed direction...manages to shift seamlessly from incredible tension in Iran and internecine politics in Washington, D.C., to the absurdity of the scheme in Hollywood. As the old pros in Movieland, Arkin and Goodman are hilarious, and every one of their punch lines scores a bull's-eye. Smart, enormously satisfying entertainment..."
Wednesday, 24 January 2018
Focus (2015)
In the midst of a veteran con man latest scheme, a woman from his past - now an accomplished femme fatale - shows up and throws his plans for a loop.
Despite slick production, a good cast and a plot full of twists and turns, the movie fails to spark any interest, and the two leads create less charm than one would expect.
Tuesday, 23 January 2018
Bullet to the Head (2012)
After watching their respective partners die, a New Orleans hitman and a Washington, D.C. detective form an alliance in order to bring down their common enemy.
Violent, but unoriginal actioner with a buddy team that doesn't fit together too well.
Maltin**: "Old-school action yarn asks you to check your brains at the door, which is the only way to derive any enjoyment from it. Kang is a weak partner for Stallone, a larger-than-life cartoon character in this would-be buddy action film.And most of the "action" is extreme violence."
Sunday, 21 January 2018
The Lost Empire (1984)
In a land in a distant past, three beautiful women, members of a lost
tribe, battle a male genius with diabolical plans to destroy their "Lost
Empire."
Saturday, 20 January 2018
Krampus (2015)
A boy who has a bad Christmas ends up accidentally summoning a festive demon to his family home.
Routinely made, but not quite original Christmas horror tale; folkloristically a very tall tale at that.
The Nice Guys (2016)
In 1970s Los Angeles, a mismatched pair of private eyes investigate a missing girl and the mysterious death of a porn star.
Entertaining, but superficial reimagination of a 70s buddy comedy thriller works well with period detail and Crowe and Gosling surprisingly are up to the task, but the plot is incoherent and not too interesting; Angourie Rice is the true star of the movie playing Gosling's astute daughter.
Thursday, 18 January 2018
The Night Caller (1965)
Mutant humanoids from outer space kidnap young Earth females in order to interbreed and save their species from extinction.
Wild (2016)
An young woman breaks the tacit contract with civilization and fearlessly decides on a life without hypocrisy or an obligatory safety net.
Clinical study of an inexorable descent into animalism, including some unsavory scenes; Lilith Stangenberg's performance is remarkable.
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