Malcolm1980's 2016 Movie Review Thread

[malcolm1980]

2/1

Side Street (Anthony Mann) *** - A mail carrier and father-to-be finds a bag full of money, $30,000 to be exact and decides to steal it, not knowing he gets himself in the middle of a web of corruption and murder. This is another one of Anthony Mann's B-noirs. He's a great filmmaker but this isn't exactly one of his top-tier work. Frankly, I find films that rely on the protagonist's stupidity (and not in a funny way) often frustrating. But he did manage to win over me in the end. It is a good enough film for a solid recommendation.

Un Chant d'Amour (Jean Genet) ***1/2 - Again this is a short film. I don't usually review short films but this is one of those exceptions. This is French writer's Jean Genet's first and only film. It's only 25 minutes long but it breaks so much taboos. It's basically a gay erotica film....and it's made in 1950! It's quite graphic, even by today's standards. But it's a fascinating and beautiful film about homosexual love and homosexual repression about a prison guard spying on inmates. Shot completely without dialogue but contains some pretty unforgettable imagery. If Bunuel was a gay man, he'd probably make something like this, I bet.

[malcolm1980]

2/2

The Blues Brothers (John Landis) ***1/2 - Again, one of those Why Haven't I Seen That? films. Two hoods try to get their old band back together in order to get the money to save their orphanage from closing down and on the way, somehow gets chased down by the police, a neo-Nazi group and a country band. The plot is blah, of course (like many movie musicals) but I didn't care about the plot at all. However, the soundtrack is fantastic, the musical numbers are great (I mean, Aretha Franklin? Ray Charles? Cab Calloway? James Brown? Can't go wrong there!) and absolute insanity and absurdity of the climactic chase scene is hilarious. It won't be in my all-time favorites list like it's in a lot of other people's but it's definitely a very good musical-action-comedy.

[malcolm1980]

2/3

Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (Kenji Misumi) **1/2 - This is the first in a series of films based on the manga about a samurai and his toddler son roaming around Japan on the trail of vengeance after he is betrayed and his wife is killed. The film is very entertaining and the samurai action scenes are pretty fun to watch. But the plot is strictly B-movie level and unlike, say, Lady Snowblood never quite rises above that. This was a pretty fun movie but I don't know if it's enough for me to continue on with this series though I am open to it.

[malcolm1980]

2/4

Devil's Doorway (Anthony Mann) ***1/2 - A Native American civil war hero returns to his hometown and finds that he must fight for the right to own his land after a crooked, racist lawyer declares that technically he has no right to it. Apart from the fact that the Native American lead character is played by Robert Taylor, a white man in brown face, this is quite a progressive film for its time. It depicts Native Americans as fully fleshed out character and the "good guys" of the story which in itself makes for fascinating and compelling watch since it's so unusual for a film from this particular period in history to do. It extends to the fact that a woman is a lawyer which is also kind of unusual. It's not a perfect film by any means. But the action scenes are fantastic. It's a definite recommendation from me.

[malcolm1980]

2/5

Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (John Landis) *** - It's the Emmy-winning documentary/variety special which is a retrospective of insult comedian Don Rickles' career interspersed with footage of recent live performances as well as interviews with fellow comedians and colleagues. Personally, I was a bit disappointed there wasn't more of the live performances. Those were among the best parts. That's not to say this documentary is bad, not at all. It's still a fascinating look into the career of veteran comedian. Sure, it's a bit of a puff piece but it's still worth seeing.

Stromboli (Roberto Rossellini) ***1/2 - At the end of World War II, a Lithuanian woman in an interment camp in Italy marries an Italian in order to get out. He takes her to his hometown in the titular island. She finds life there much more difficult than what she's used to and add to the judgmental treatment by the conservative populace who don't approve of her more liberal nature. This stars Ingrid Bergman and she gives one of her career-best performances here. It takes a while to get going but it slowly wins you over. Apparently, a lot of footage of island life being depicted in this film are real so it adds a unique sensibility to the drama.

[malcolm1980]

2/6


The Revenant (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu) ***1/2 - Based on a true story of fur trapper Hugh Glass who gets attacked by a bear. He gets left for dead by his men but still managed to survive and make his way back. The film is a rather fictionalized account of this story. First off, it is a BEAUTIFUL film. All caps. I saw this on IMAX 2D (I didn't have to pay because I had enough advantage points in my card for a free ticket) and Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography on IMAX is breathtaking. Yes, Leonardo DiCaprio is terrific. He really throws himself into the role. But something has to be said for Tom Hardy who matches him as the traitorous Fitzgerald. The film itself though is rather flawed. It's best when it's an action adventure survival film but when it tries to go for spirituality a la Terrence Malick (or Andrei Tarkovsky), it stumbles. But the rest of the film is so good, it's forgivable. It's very good but not quite a masterpiece. Best Picture? Nah.

Wagon Master (John Ford) *** - A guy is hired to be a wagon master to help a group of Mormons cross the desert plains to their promised land. Along their journey, they meet up with a gang of hoodlums and other trouble. It's directed by John Ford but it is a far, far cry from the similar-ishly themed Stagecoach. However, it's still an entertaining and solid Western with some great moments and even manages to surprise you. One surprise is that for a film about helping Mormons, the film manages to sneak in a couple of vaguely racy jokes. It's not top-tier John Ford but it's still worth checking out.

[malcolm1980]

2/7

Pride + Prejudice + Zombies (Burr Steers) ** - I actually read the source material for this film. It's basically Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice with zombies added on it. I actually read that and the original Jane Austen at the same time. It was a fun couple of reads. Author Seth Grahame Smith pretty much stayed true to the material while adding zombies and action on it. I was curious to see what the film version has to offer. How are they going to translate this? Sadly, the results are largely disappointing. There are a few fun moments but it's largely just big "meh". It's not silly enough to be enjoyable as a comedy but a little too silly to be a straight-up zombie action horror flick. And I happen to like zombie movies and I like Jane Austen. I guess in cinema form, it just doesn't work.

The Danish Girl (Tom Hooper) **1/2 - This is of course the fascinating true story of the first ever recorded transgender to undergo gender reassignment surgery, Lili Elbe and the relationship she had with her wife (when she was a man) Gerda. This is a fascinating story and I think a great film can be made about it. This is not it. It's not an awful movie. Alicia Vikander is absolutely marvelous as Gerda, the woman coming to terms with her husband's condition. Eddie Redmayne looks the part (he looks quite pretty as a woman) but his performance occasionally borders on "LOOK AT ME! I'M ACTING" scale. Despite the subject matter, the film is quite old-fashioned (i.e. "Oscar-baity") and seems to be tailor-made so that old straight people can comprehend what being transgender is in a manner that will be appealing to them.

[malcolm1980]

2/8

Stars in My Crown (Jacques Tourneur) **** - Oh, I kind of loved this film. It's a sort-of Western about a preacher that arrives in town after the Civil War and makes a life for himself, just trying to do the right thing and he comes into conflict with some of the townspeople. It's old-fashioned Americana and a pro-faith message movie. But it's done right. It's a beautiful, humane film that never becomes too preachy nor alienating to anyone with its message. It has an aura of sincerity and warmth that never goes away. It features beautiful performances from its ensemble cast led by Joel McCrea and Dean Stockwell. It's one of those films that I can't believe are not bigger, well-known classics. Definitely something more people should see. Highly recommended.

Kon-Tiki (Thor Heyerdahl) *** - Thor Heyerdahl is the Norwegian explorer who, together with a few scientists, set out to prove that the Polynesian people came from Peru and that it's possible for them to build a seaworthy raft by actually doing it themselves. They called it Kon-Tiki. This is the documentary of the actual expedition. It's a fascinating story and a fascinating documentary. Though the film itself never rises above the level of a really interesting National Geographic special that you find yourself watching one day. This is not meant as a knock against it. Sometimes, documentaries just need to be just that.

Le Grande Amour (Pierre Etaix) *** - A womanizer finds himself married to a woman and working for his father-in-law. Then years down the line, he falls in love and wishes to have an affair with his 18 year old secretary. With this, I've finally seen all five feature films from director Pierre Etaix. This is nowhere near the level of his masterpieces The Suitor and Yo-Yo but it's a solid comedy about infidelity. It is worth watching for a magnificent dream sequence scene featuring floating beds (and I must say, it seems to have been shot in the same place as the infamous traffic jam from hell scene from Jean Luc Godard's Week End).

[malcolm1980]

2/10

The Furies (Anthony Mann) ***1/2 - A strong-willed woman butts heads over her equally stubborn and strong-willed cattle rancher father over the ownership and the future of their large piece of land. Both Barbara Stanwyck and Walter Huston are both fantastic as the father and daughter locking horns and savagely feuding over each other's business practices and love lives. It's a Western but it's also a surprisingly thorny family drama and almost borders into a Douglas Sirk-type melodrama at times. And it largely works. Stanwyck plays probably one of the most complicated and exceptionally conceived female characters for a Western at this point in film history and I think it's one of my favorite performances from her. And Walter Huston matches her scene for scene. Definitely a film that must be seen. Anthony Mann is definitely a major filmmaker.

[malcolm1980]

2/11

Variety Lights (Federico Fellini/Alberto Lattuada) ***1/2 - A director/producer of a traveling variety show troupe meets and falls for a young ambitious actress/dancer. This is an early work from Federico Fellini. Even though he co-directed this with someone else, you can definitely see the style and themes he would be exploring further in later works. It is an excellent film, featuring terrific performances including one from Giuletta Masina, who once again plays a wronged wife/girlfriend of the protagonist in her real-life husband's film and she practically steals the film. She seems to specialize in those. Definitely worth checking out and not just for Fellini completists.

No Way Out (Joseph L. Mankiewicz) ***1/2 - A couple of racist criminals are brought to the hospital for injuries after a shootout. One of them dies under the care of a black doctor and this incident incites a series of events involving race and racism. This film features a trio of very impressive performances: Sidney Poitier, in one of his first major roles as the doctor (I'm not a complete expert on Hollywood and race but this has to be one of the first, no?), Linda Darnell as the dead man's widow and Richard Widmark is the film's racist antagonist, who manages to find some semblance of humanity within his character. It's not a perfect film but it's still a compelling, fascinating drama on race relations in a time when these things are considered a bit radical.