Califormia Suite (1978)

 

Misadventures of four groups of guests at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

From memory: Similar to the previous Plaza Suite (1971), but set in L.A. instead of N.Y.C., this episodic comedy is fast-paced and witty, with some good performances, especially by Jane Fonda, but otherwise it's not much more than some simple entertainment.

Halliwell*: "Two hits, two misses; closer intercutting might have helped. No doubt that Maggie Smith and Michael Caine come off best, with bitcheries about the Academy Awards."

Maltin***: "Oscar-winning Smith and husband Caine...come off best; Pryor and Cosby...are the worst. Pleasant time-filler..." 

Lady Sings the Blues (1972)

 

The story of the troubled life and career of the legendary Jazz singer, Billie Holiday.

The big surprise in this conventional biopic is Diana Ross' great empathetic portrayal of Billie Holiday (although one may argue whether her singing style can match up with the jazz legend); otherwise this is a straightforward, but highly simplified and cliche-ridden depiction of the artist's life.

Halliwell*: "Old-fashioned showbiz biopic with new-fashioned drugs, sex and squalor."

Maltin**1/2: "Black version of Hollywood cliche-biography, sparked by superb performance by Ross...Valueless as biography, but OK as soap opera..."

Lost Highway (1997)

After a bizarre encounter at a party, a jazz saxophonist is framed for the murder of his wife and sent to prison, where he inexplicably morphs into a young mechanic and begins leading a new life.

A wonderful Noir dream adding more facets to the Lynch universe and leaving the audience even more puzzled than ever before.

On renewed viewing: It's fascinating to see that Lynch has every aspect of this tale (images, sound, characters) tightly knit into his vision, which sets reality and phantasm into a dreamlike loop.

Halliwell*: "An exploration of four characters in search of each other that leaves them, and the audience, too often stranded in limbo."

Maltin**1/2: "Bizarre Lynchian story that makes Twin Peaks seem as easy to follow as a Sesame Street episode...Lynch fans will have fun trying to figure it out; others will find it incomprehensible. Blake is particularly enigmatic ..."

Blue Collar (1978)

On the set: Paul Schrader, Harvey Keitel, Yaphet Kotto & Richard Pryor