Creature (1985)

 'Creature' is a very derivative sci-film about the crews of American and West German spaceships being hunted by a creature released from suspended animation on Saturn's moon Titan. It's a bad movie with a sprinkling of ridiculous and thus entertaining moments. One character suggests that they try electrocuting the creature because she saw that work in the movie 'The Thing'. Not much to say for the cast other then that Ferris Buller's dad is in this, and Klaus Kinski steals every scene he is in. This movie should be reedited to be just the Kinski scenes and some of the special effects shots. *1/2

Audrey (2020)

 'Audrey' is a documentary on the life of screen legend Audrey Hepburn. The only child of a British diplomat and an aristocratic Dutch mother Audrey's parent divorced when she was six, and when she was ten the Nazi's invaded her country, her childhood was not easy. A love of dance lead to being a ballerina, which eventually lead to small parts in British films during the early 50's. Director William Wyler came to Britain looking for a fresh face to star in 'Roman Holiday', Audrey tested extremely well, got the part, held her own with Gregory Peck, and won the Oscar for her first major film role. There followed 15 years of major screen successes, as well as two failed marriages. Audrey found much purpose late in life as an ambassador for UNICEF, but succumbed to cancer at age 63 in early 1993. She was famously unpretentious, and too often betrayed by people she loved, her life was often sad, something that seemed to resonate through her fragile beauty and speak to people the world over, even today. ***1/2

Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)

 'Judas and the Black Messiah' tells the true story of William O'Neil (Lakeith Stanfield) who infiltrated the Black Panther Party in the late 1960's as an FBI mole. O'Neil, who had previously been pretty non political agreed to do this in order to avoid jail time for, among other things, impersonating an FBI agent. Trouble is that the plant came to sympathize with the people and cause he was sent to undermine, and his tortured inner-self is at the core of the film. Daniel Kaluuya ('Get Out') plays Panther leader Fred Hampton, Jesse Plemons ('Bridge of Spies') plays O'Neil's FBI handler Roy Mitchell, and Martin Sheen (American stage, film and television 1961 on) plays FBI director J. Edger Hoover, and he's creepy. ***1/2

The Sound of Metal (2020)

 'The Sound of Metal' tells the story of a heavy metal drummer going deaf. Strong performance from lead Riz Ahmed, who learned both sign language and how to drum from this film. The sound design is stand out, allowing you to approximate what the experience of hearing loss must be like. A strong lead and presenting an experience I don't recall seeing before in film were really pluses, though my lack of interest in heavy metal music may have held me back some. I loved the name of Ahmed's band however, 'Blackgammon'. ***1/2. 

The Father (2020)

With his role as the conveniently named Anthony, 83 year old Sir Anthony Hopkins became the oldest person every nominated for an Oscar as Best Actor. Adapted from French playwright Florian Zeller's 2012 play "Le Père" , "The Father" has Hopkins playing a man succumbing to dementia. The 'Trick' of the film is that it is presented from Anthony's ever changing point of view. Sometimes the flat he lives in is his own, sometimes it is said to belong to his daughter, sometimes his daughter is played by Oliva Coleman, sometimes she is played by Oliva Williams, sometimes she's divorced, sometimes she is married, and when she is married sometimes it's to one man, and sometimes it's to another. It's an effective way of conveying the disoriented state that dementia is, and how freighting it must be to live in it, never quite able to get ones bearings. It's a heck of a performance and inventive film.  The movie reminded me of the last years of my grandfathers life, when he was suffering from many of the same symptoms. ****

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

'Godzilla vs. Kong' is a silly movie, in addition to it's giant monster's the existence of a cavernous "hallow Earth" is central to its plot, but it's leaps and bounds better then the miserable 'Godzilla: King of the Monsters' from two years ago. This movie is really two movies that bump up against each other occasionally before really meeting at the end. Each sub movie follows one of the two monsters and each has three human characters principally concerned with said creature, Team Godzilla and Team Kong so to speak (Godzilla has the funnier team). While groan worthy in places at least I was entertained this time. **

My Week with Marilyn (2011)

 Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne) was a 23 year old 3rd assistant director (glorified gofer) on the set of 'The Prince and the Show Girl' in 1956, when it's star Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams) took a shine to him. 'My Week with Marilyn' is the story of the best week in the mans life.  Though based on a true story the film is a mix of wish fulfilment fantasy and legitimate character study, Redmayne is fine, Williams proves once again that she is one of our best and most under apricated actresses, and the strong supporting cast ranges from Kenneth Branagh to Emma Watson. ***

Back Page (1934)

Released by long forgotten Pyramid Pictures 'Back Page' stars the ill fated Peggy Shannon (might be worth googling) as a woman reporter fired from her job at a big city paper for stepping on political toes, who winds up editor of a small town rag and uncovers an oil fraud scheme. Serviceable and short. ** 

Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)

'Beverly Hills Ninja' was released the same year that it's star Chris Farley died and I thought that would make watching it sad. Now it's not a good movie, one of the worst he was in, but it's actually not that bad and I did laugh. I imagine that the 'Kung Fu Panda' movies take some inspiration from this. Nicollette Sheridan is the unlikely love interest. **

A Night in Casablanca (1946)

 'A Night in Casablanca' is the first post war and second to last Marx Brothers movie. Some funny gages but not one of the brothers better outings. Dullish story does have the virtue of pitting the Marx's against Nazi's. **

Unhinged (2020)

 I remember that 'Unhinged' was one of the first films to get a theatrical release after phase 1 of Covid, back August-ish. It's an exploration movie, 'Duel' meets 'Falling Down'. A dad-bodied Russell Crowe goes Ape on an unfortunate commuter (the South African born Caren Pistorius). A rather paint by numbers script but still fun, lots of chase sequences and at least one earned jump scare. **

Extremely, Wicked, Shocking & Vile (2019)

This is the Netflix Ted Bundy film. Zack Efron is great, Lily Collins is all right, but it's basically just a TV movie with a better then average cast. 'Extremely, Wicked, Shocking & Vile' very **.  

The Black Hole (1979)

I finally made it through 'The Black Hole', Disney's first attempt to piggy back off the success of 'Star Wars', it didn't work so eventually they had to buy 'Star Wars' (and it still didn't completely work). Very wooden and very slow, some nice special effects, but solid cast generally wasted (though Maximilian Schell seems to be enjoying himself). Surprisingly 'hard' in its sci-fi, not much action until near the end, this is a variant on '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' and classic 'mad scientist' films. WTF ending wants to be '2001: A Space Odyssey'. I was impressed by the high sights the film makers set for themselves, but it ultimately comes off as pale imitation, and very boring. *1/2 

Yes, God, Yes (2020)

 'Yes, God, Yes' is an often awkward coming of age comedy focusing on religious sexual hypocrisy. 'Stranger Things' Natalia Dyer stars as Alice, a Junior at a Catholic High School somewhere in middle America. Alice is a good kid who is just tentatively starting to explore her sexuality, and this is set during the 2000-2001 academic year so that means re-watching the make out scene from Titanic on VHS and AOL chat boards. Alice goes to a four day Church camp and encounters rampant hypocrisy, an empathetic girl she comes out of it a much more centered person then those who were supposed to be trying to help her. It's 'Lady Bird' meets 'Easy A'. ***

Hardcore (1979)

 I knew going in that 'Hardcore' was going to be a tough watch, but I'd long been interested in seeing the film anyway. Written and directed by Paul Schrader the film tackles his long preferred theme of characters out of sink with the values of the larger society of which they are a part. 

George C. Scott plays Jake Van Dorn, the owner of a successful wood furniture business, he's a single father with a teenage daughter, and a pious and active member of the local Dutch Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His daughter Kristen (Ilah Davis, good in her sole screen appearance) goes on a Church sponsored trip to California shortly after Christmas, where she disappears from Knotts Berry Farm. Jake and his brother-in-law Wes (Dick Sargent) travel to California to look for her and hire private investigator Andy Mast (Peter Boyle) to help. After a time the two go back to Michigan and wait on the detective. 

After months of searching Mast shows up in Michigan to show Jake a movie he found and confirm the identity of the girl. It is hard core pornography, and the degree of Kristen's willing participation is uncertain. Sometime later Jake goes back to California himself, dissatisfied by the slow progress of Mast's efforts he decides to conduct a search himself. His direct appeals for information from adult book store employees, prostitutes and pimps encounters much resistance and the police prove no help, so he choses to try a different strategy. 

Jake changes his look and pretends to be a man casting for an adult film, he puts out an open casting call in the hopes of finding one of the men who was in the movie with his daughter, thinking they may be able to help him find her. He does encounter one of the men, but he is no help and Jake beats him up. He eventually encounters Nikki, the classic 'hooker with a hear of gold' (played by Season Hubley, who was Kurt Russell's wife at the time). Nikki, for a fee, agrees to help Jake navigate the seemy underworld of the the 1970's California porn scene as they search for his daughter, who may or may not want to be found. 

Scott, always strong, gives one of his greatest performances, in lesser hands Jake Van Doran could have been an unlikable prude, but here he is a desperate parent whose piety is sincere, and love for his daughter clear. He and Nikki, characters whose worldviews are extremely different, have respectful and intelligent conversations about important issues and the dialogue, indeed all the writing, is excellent. It is important to remember that at the time this movie was made and set changes in obscenity laws and such were relatively recent, and exactly where the legal lines were on some of these thing seemed uncertain to many. It's kind of like recent changes in drug laws, pot may be legal in Colorado, but nationally it's still illegal, so people in that business are in a weird place when it comes to certain liabilities. 

This is strong film, in more then one sense of the term and obviously not for all audiences. Parts may seem exploitive but the core of what this movie is going for is substantive, contemplative, and notably non judgmental towards its main characters, both those who support and oppose pornography. ***1/2 

True Lies (1994)

I'd never seen 'True Lies' before, and had forgotten that it was a James Cameron film. It's an interesting beast of a movie, in looking into it I found an article online (which was behind a pay wall so I didn't have a chance to read it) speculating that 'True Lies' was perhaps the last fully un PC action comedy, and I think a strong case can be made for that distinction. There's a lot in here you couldn't/wouldn't do today, and though a mid 90's film it evokes an even earlier ethos. 

Schwarzenegger's a spy whose family thinks he's some kind of boring software salesman. He and his comic relief partner Tom Arnold are on the trail of some Muslim terrorists, but Arnold (not Tom) becomes distracted when he learns that his wife (a 35ish year old Jamie Lee Curtis) may be having an affair. 

Upon this realization Schwarzenegger misappropriates government resources from tacking the terrorists to figuring out what his wife is up to. It turns out she's mostly just bored with her life, and is ironically falling for a rouse by a used car salesman (Bill Paxton) pretending to be spy in an effort to lure her into bed. Then for around 35 minutes the film becomes chiefly about Schwarzenegger playing the wronged husband, which is admittedly entertaining, and rather ironic given what we found out about the man later. 

This movie makes a number of tonal shifts, and fortunately Arnold's efforts to mess with his wife end up reconnecting things to the main plot in a way that happens so seemingly quick that I couldn't quite follow it. 

One of the things this movie is most famous for is Curtis's sexy dance sequence, which is surprisingly racy. I was vaguely aware of this from when the movie first came out during my Middle School years, and remember being kind of shocked that Jamie Lee would do something like this on film. I was not yet familiar with her heavy earlier involvement in the horror film genera and what I would have mostly known her from at that time was 'Forever Young' and the 'My Girl' films. The means by which Schwarzenegger tricks his wife into this performance is one of the more uncomfortable dated moments in the film. 

The climax of this movie is exactly the sort of thing that Arnold was pocking fun at the previous year in 'Last Action Hero'. My brain working the way it does I couldn't help but wonder how the terrorist standoff on the uncompleted skyscraper would negatively effect the leasing situation in the building upon completion. Though at times problematic this is an entertaining film that I'm glade I finally saw. ***

Judy (2019)

'Judy' is a Garland biopic focusing on the last few years of the performers life, but with counterpoint flashback to the young ingénues work horse days at MGM, and if ever a person could be said to have been abused by a studio it's Judy Garland. The flashback's provide an important context for why Judy became the wreck she became, and also how despite her ambivalence about her fame and performing she could never quite give it up. 

It's an excellent lead performance by Renée Zellweger, who all but disappears into the role, she even does her own singing. The periphery of the film is all very standard fair though and unexceptional, except perhaps endearing supporting turns by Jessie Buckley, the actress who plays the young Judy, and the two gay Londoners she befriends on tour. ***. 

In the Line of Fire (1993)

 'In the Line of Fire' stars Clint Eastwood as a veteran secret service agent, still haunted by his failure to save JFK at Dallas, trying to save another president from a willy assassin (John Malkovich on full Malkovich mode). It's what you want in a thriller, especially from this time, and just a little smarter then it absolutely had to be. Dylan McDermott, Rene Russo, and Fred Thompson have supporting parts. One of the things that I enjoyed about this movie is just how mediocre it's president is, he's losing a reelection fight throughout and is seemingly oblivious to the threats on his life and the hard work of those protecting him, still he's the president and respect for the office over the man is a resonate theme here. ***

Molly's Game (2017)

 'Molly's Game' is a biopic about Molly Bloom, an Olympic skiing hopeful who after an accident side lined her from that career, kind of fell into organizing illegal high stakes poker games that brought her into contact with celebrities', the rich and powerful, and ultimately the Russian mob. Honestly not the kind of story I have much natural interest in, but the combination of Aaron Sorkin (scripting of course, though this was also his directorial debut) and Jessica Chastain sold me. It's compelling, not really something I've seen before, an unexpected treatise on integrity full of Sorkin verbal play and great outfits on Ms. Chastain. Idris Elba is also very good. This is a tale of rising above expectations, that rises above expectations. I was surprised just how well the whole thing worked. Perhaps a little better even then 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'. ****