Bananas (1971)

One of his early funny ones. Woody Allen is a college drop out who works as a products tester (the kind of job that makes for a ready supply of gags and comic moments), who in an effort to win back the love of his political activist girlfriend, travels to the small (fictional) Latin American nation of San Marcos, joins the resistance, and unintentional ends up the head of state. Allen is well suited to this kind of comedy, one that is firmly routed in the old Marx Brothers/Bob Hope ethos. It's a string of gags attached to a minimal plot, it doesn't ask much of you, and is consistently amusing if not hysterical. It also helps that its short. Notable for a rather funny Howard Cosell cameo, and the appearance of a young, unbilled Sylvester Stallone as a subway thug. More accessible then much of the directors work, not as funny as Love and Death. Still, verdict: Good

Trial (1955)

Adapted by Don Mankiewicz from his novel of the same name. Set in the late 1940's, Glenn Ford is an instructor at a law school who do to his service in the Second World War has never actually practiced law. A policy change at the institution for which he works necessitates that Ford get some actual court room experience to be able to continue teaching, so he looks for a summer internship among college alumni, and finally finds one with Arthur Kennedy. Kennedy is a splashy lawyer who has just taken a publicity generating pro-bono case defending a Latino youth (Rafael Campos) accused of the rape murder of a teenaged white girl (he had consensual sex with her that day, but the cause of death was natural owing to a weak heart). Kennedy insists Ford handle the court room stuff with the aid of his assistant, and Ford love intrest, Dorothy McGuire, while Kennedy heads out to raise funds for the defence. Turns out that Kennedy is a communist, and not actually interested in saving Rafael Campos, he'd rather the Latino youth be convicted and serve 'the cause' as a martyr, the better with which to raise money, even Campos mother gets into this for a while. It's up to the inexperienced Ford, and of course Dorothy, to try and save Campos's life.

There is some good stuff in this movie, the case is intriguing, and the issues raised fairly provocative, but its also too often flat, and feels padded and unfocused, is this about racism, communist subversion, idealism vs the jaded legal establishment, a little of all of these but not enough of any. Preminger and Kramer did this kind of stuff much better. It tries, but a mixed bag. Fair

Hatfields & McCoys (2012)

I think this is the first true mini-series that the History Channel actually aired, after all that hullabaloo about The Kennedy's. Anyway Hatfields and McCoys, we've all heard of them but you probably know very little about them. I knew basically nothing beyond the fact that they were famously feuding family's in the mid 19th century American south. In fact its kind of schocking how little I knew. This is a three part miniseries, with a good cast including Kevin Costner as 'Devil Anse Hatfield (his standard typecast cowboy), and Bill Paxton as Randell McCoy (his standard typecast religious nut). Tom Berenger, Powers Booth, and Jena Malone are also in this, as is Mare Winningham.

The stories and origins of the feud are complicated, though in the end I put the bulk of the blame on the McCoys. This series looks great (I believe its eastern Europe or Russia standing in for Kentucky and West Virginia), it's brown, and dirty all about, the houses, people and everything look appropriately rough, its almost sepia toned. This is tragedy, Shakespearean really, with blood for blood exchanged to a truly revolting degree. Though I suspect they took some liberties I know the History Channel strives for accuracy, hence there refusal to run The Kennedy's, so I think the history here is about as good as your going to get in a TV movie. I didn't really plan to watch this in its initial run, but the first part really got me interested, and it sustained throughout the whole. Solid work History Channel. Verdict: Good

The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)

Based on the Eric Ambler adventure novel of the same name. Dutch mystery writer Cornelius Leyden (Peter Lorre) is visiting Istanbul on vacation, while at a party he meets police Colonel Haki (Kurt Katch). Haki is a fan of Leyden's work and thinks he might interest him in the recent discovery of the body of a man he's being trying to bust for sixteen years (the story is set in 1937). The man's name is Dimitrios Makropoulos (Zachary Scott) and Leyden becomes so fascinated with him that he sets off across Europe in an effort to back track the criminals career and maybe find out why he washed up dead in Istanbul. But Leyden isn't the only person interested in what happened to Dimitrios, a certain 'Mr. Peters' (Sydney Greenstreet) also has an interest and tails Leyden, they later come to an agreement to work together and determine if it really was Dimitrios whose body was found in Turkey. Various characters who have had business with Dimitrios in the past are interviewed by Leyden and there stories are told in flashback. A final reckoning occurs in Pairs.

The Leyden character is an interesting one, hard to upset, you pull a gun and threaten him, and he'll laugh and make a deal with you. Much of the film is built around exploitation of the fabled Greenstreet/Lorre chemistry. Some sequences work better then others but on the whole a nice little period thriller. Good

Golden Salamander (1950)

Archaeologist Trevor Howard journeys to a small north African town to catalogue the cargo of a downed ship for a British museum, said cargo including one golden salamander. There Trevor meets an eighteen year old Anouk Aimée, who he romances despite being 19 years her senior, and battles a crime syndicate whose bought off Miles Malleson and is using Herbert Lom as an enforcer. Nice exotic setting, a couple good chase scenes, and stock characters. Fair.

Bullets or Ballots (1936)

Edward G. Robinson is a long time veteran of his city's police force, who agrees to a plot by the new police commissioner to be summarily dismissed from his position, so that he can cosy up to a crime lord who likes him (Barton MacLane) in the hopes of bringing down a city wide racket and exposing its mysterious backers. Joan Blondell is Robinson's love interest while Humphrey Bogart is gangster who is suspicious of him. An unremarkable gangster film with a paint by numbers plot, still a good representative of the genera. Fair

Bridesmaids (2011)

Kristin Wigg is probably the most promising female comedian to come out of Saturday Night Live since the 1970's. Here she anchors a Judd Apatow produced ensemble comedy, and if you read this blog you know I'm very much pro most anything Judd Apatow. Wigg's character Annie Walker is a down on her luck former bakery proprietor, whose childhood best friend Lillian Donovan (Maya Rudolph) has just gotten engaged, hence she is destined to be a bridesmaid. Lillian has an eclectic assortment of other friends, comic talents all, who are also to serve as bridesmaids. Chief among them clingy new friend Helen Harris III (Rose Byrne), a depressed and needy trophy wife. Annie and Helen have a kind of proxy war over Lillian, and comic hi jinx ranging from the effects of bad Indian food when trying on dresses, to a drunken plane flight to Vegas ensue. Of course being an Apatow production the gross out humor must be anchored in human pathos and is, and Annie gets a very charming love interest in the form of a Wisconsin State Highway Patrol office with an Irish accent (Chris O'Dowd). The strongest women's comedy I've seen in a long time. Forty-one year old Melissa McCarthy was kind of the films break out star. Verdict: Good

Note: This was Jill Clayburgh's last film.

My Dinner with Andre (1981)

Odd, and rather famous art film starting actor/writer/director Andre Gregory and actor/writer/comedian Wallace Shawn as fictional versions of them selves having dinner. That's it, they have dinner, and a long conversation, consisting largely of extended monologues by Andre concerning experimental theater and life altering spiritual experiences. The conversation was not on the surface as interesting as I'd both expected and wanted it to be, it did however become kind of hypnotic, owing largely to Andre's delivery. The dichotomy in the film appears to be Gregory's high fluting, fanciful, existentialism as contrasted with Shaw's practical humanism. Anyway your not going to understand it but if your into film literacy you should probably see it it just to see it, you'll get to sound more film snobbish if you do.

Fair

I Was a Communist for the FBI (1951)

Adapted from the autobiographical writings of Matt Cvetic, a  Pittsburgh man of Slovenian decent who spent nine years in the 1940's as an FBI plant in the American Communist Party. This cost Cvetic dearly in his personal life, as the film is apt to point out, though fictionalizes in the form of a love interest played by Dorothy Hart. I thought the movie started out kind of dull and plodding, but it steadily improved. Overtly patriotic and propagandistic, that's part of why it works, I'd have really loved this in my comically anti-communist phase in High School. Today though I must just call it Fair.

See also: The FBI Story (1959)

Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons (2009)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints operates under a lay priesthood, one too which all 'worthy' male members over the age of 12 are entitled. That is since June of 1978, prior to that time, and stretching back into the middle of the 19th Century, members of black African decent, even those with only trace amounts of black ancestry, were bared from the priesthood. This meant that blacks could not service as missionaries, bishops, or hold most any leadership position in the Church. It also meant that they were not able to receive temple endowments, and as a consequence could not enter into eternal marriage. The origins of the black priesthood ban are debated, but it is known that during the life time of Church fonder Joseph Smith (1805-1844) a number of black men were ordained to the priesthood and allowed to service in various church offices including Elder and Seventy. This practiced changed early in the administration of Smith's successor Brigham Young (1801-1877), and the priesthood ban stayed in place until a revelation received by Church president Spencer W. Kimball in 1978.

Given this history being a 'black Mormon' comes with a lot of baggage and that is what this documentary aims to explore. The movie is co-produced by Darius Aidan Gray, who starting in the early 1970's had served as head of 'The Genesis Group' the Church's then auxiliary for black members. The documentary thus comes from a faithful perspective, but does not just wash over a complicated history, there would be little point to the movie if it did. Though the black priesthood ban was global in scope the film concentrates on the United States, telling stories of black Mormon pioneers in both the 19th and the 20th century's. Of particular interest are the stories of those blacks who joined and remained faithful too the LDS Church prior to the priesthood revelation, particularly during the racialy charged 1960's. The flotsam of various racist folk beliefs that churned up attempting to justify or explain the priesthood ban are also explored. Today the Church has no official explanation for the ban, and neither has it apologized for this past practice. The story of black Mormons thus in many ways remains untold.

Good

M*A*S*H (1970), Day of Wrath (1943)

M*A*S*H (1970)

This is the movie on which the iconic television series was based, and its self is an adaptation of a book. Growing up in the 1980's reruns of the show M*A*SH were everywhere and the series remains one of my earliest pop culture memories, and my dad was a huge fan. Owing to all the nostalgic, pop culture and sentimental baggage M*A*S*H has for me its a little hard to assess the film independently, you can't help but compare it to the series, and to a lesser extent Catch 22. First off the whole thing is better suited to a television show format rather then a movie one. The movie's just a bunch of stuff that happens to a group of doctors during a one year rotation in the Korean War. There's no beginning, middle or end really, at least not in the traditional sense. It's just a glimpse at these characters lives. Which isn't bad and the movie is actually fairly funny, but it just puts you in mind of the series, like your not enjoying it so much independently, but rather as curio associated with the TV Show. I recognize it must have been somewhat bold for its time, but I hesitate to say revolutionary, there are other films and books from its period that have a stronger claim on that designation. In the end I'll just say its Good, but better things were to come.

Day of Wrath (1943)

The most impressive thing about this film is probably that it was a movie about Witch hunts made in Nazi occupied Denmark. Having seen the film I don't know if I can really see a point by point comparison that can be made to Nazism in the plot, but you can't help but think there has got to be a veiled reference in there at least, or maybe that's just The Crucible talking (I understand director Dreyer had to flee the country shortly after this film was made, but so far I can't find anything to collaborate that on the Internet). Something that may also throw off giving a traditional Nazi metaphor reading to the film, is  the fact that witchcraft appears to be a real thing in this story, though mostly benign until agitated. There's really no good guy or bad guy in this, mostly people being petty in there own ways and to varying degree's. Witch's like Herlof's Marte and Anne can be vindictive when they feel cornered, but pastor Absalon Pedersson does both those characters wrong, even when trying to do right. Martin is too easily manipulated, though he does feel bad about it, while Meret isn't going to like Anne no matter what she does, even when she was just her sons seemingly loyal submissive wife. Dryers point seems to be that no one is really morally clean, no one is truly fit to cast the first stone (despite the moral denouncement ending). And perhaps that is all it would take to make this a movie of which the Nazi Party wouldn't approve. Great costums and unusual setting. Good