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.