An Unfinished Life (2005)

 

 

A down on her luck widow, desperate to provide care for her daughter, moves in with her father in-law from whom she is estranged, because he gives her the fault for his son's death.

A deliberately simple tale is well produced and the cast in great form, but the movie is slow-paced and not too exciting.

 

ON renewed viewing: I still agree with my first assessment, but it is a likable movie.

Maltin***: "Warmhearted, embracing story about family ties and the need for forgiveness. It's a treat to watch Redford and Freeman as two old codgers with an unshakable bond of friendship."

 

 

Elizabeth Taylor

Pieta (2012)

A loan shark is forced to reconsider his violent lifestyle after the arrival of a mysterious woman claiming to be his long-lost mother.

Intense and complex tale of love, guilt and redemption, competently directed with good lead performances.

 

Robert Redford

Bio:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Redford

Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)

A frustrated circus magician from Kansas is transported to a magical land called Oz, where he will have to fulfill a prophecy to become the king, and release the land from the Wicked Witches using his great (but fake) powers.

Likable and entertaining fantasy offers some nice moments, but doesn't have the magic one would expect considering all the credentials, and it's a bit too long.

Maltin**1/2: "Elaborate, eye-filling production...can't be compared to the 1939 THE WIZARD OF OZ, aside from some winks in its direction. Fairly entertaining on its own terms but overlong and, frankly unmemorable. Braff provides consistent laughs as a talking monkey."

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Profondo rosso (1975)

 

 

After witnessing the murder of a famous psychic, a musician teams up with a feisty reporter to find the killer while evading attempts on their lives by the unseen assailant bent on keeping a dark secret buried.

 

Creepy horror thriller in classic Argento style: dark atmosphere, bizarre murders and an irritating soundtrack; the original uncut Italian version is - in parts - bit too talkative.

 

Halliwell**: "Slick, stylish, decadent, suspenseful thriller, with a disquieting atmosphere that continually puts its audience, like its victims, off-balance. Hemmings's character owes much to his role in Antonioni's Blow Up." 

Maltin**1/2: "There's style to burn in senseless horror thriller...Flashy, bizarre murders set to pounding rock soundtrack."

 

 

Elle (2016)

A successful businesswoman gets caught up in a game of cat and mouse as she tracks down the unknown man who raped her.

On the surface a simple rape-revenge story is ingeniously turned into a complex and at times riddling study a woman dealing with the adversities of her life;  and Isabelle Huppert delivers an impeccable performance.

Audrey Hepburn

Empire of the Sun (1987)

A young English boy struggles to survive under Japanese occupation during World War II.

Grandiose epic of a child's coming-of-age amidst the horrors as war, both adventure and affecting drama, full of detail and made with cinematic expertise; and Christian Bale's performance is sensational.

Halliwell***: "Intelligent and thought-provoking movie about the loss of childhood innocence through the horrors of war. Bale, as the boy, gives an extraordinarily believable performance."

Maltin**: "Strawling, ambitious, but emotionally distant and loaded with cinematic crescendos (replete with crane camera shots and overbearing music by John Williams) that simply don't have the emotional content  to warrant all that fuss."