The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968) - 7/10 - Anthony Quinn plays an Archbishop who has been in a Siberian labor camp for 20 years. He is suddenly set free and sent to Rome where the Pope makes him a Cardinal. When the Pope dies, the Cardinals are deadlocked in the election of a new Pope and settle on a compromise candidate. I enjoyed the movie, though I thought it could have been cut down a bit more. There were some nice scenes, but also some that kind of dragged a bit.
War and Peace (1965-1968) - 9/10 - Sergey Bondarchuk's masterpiece does justice to Leo Tolstoy's classic novel about the Napoleonic War. It's beautifully shot and has great battle scenes. The acting is very good and the long runtime allows the film to cover a lot of ground. It's broken up into four parts with a different emphasis in each and Bondarchuk himself plays Pierre, one of the main characters. My favorite part was the one that focused on Natasha Rostova. I think it was very deserving of winning the Academy Award for foreign film, though it had very good competition with The Firemen's Ball, The Boys of Paul Street, Stolen Kisses, and The Girl with a Pistol (all of which I liked and in that order after War and Peace).
Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Eat Drink Man Woman (Ang Lee, 1994) 10/10
Ang Lee's exquisite little film is a riveting and often humourous look at the importance of family and the chaos that is part and parcel of relationships. The screenplay charts the lives of an ageing celebrated chef - a widower - and the muddled sex lives of his three daughters. The eldest is a spinster school teacher, turned Christian, pining for a lover who dumped her nine years before and who ends up causing a ripple with her love life. The middle combative daughter is a sexually liberated airline executive and is most like her father in temperament and has inherited his love for cooking and food. The youngest works in a fast food restaurant and gets involved with the boyfriend of her best friend. Lee smartly balances the various relationships including the old man's best friend and associate, a divorced neighbour with a daughter and her garrulous dragon of a mother just returned from the United States. The bond that holds these characters together is food mixed with lashings of sex. Food and sex go hand in hand in life and while scenes in the film depicting sex are discreetly handled Lee goes all out in his depiction of food. The chef's elaborate Sunday meal, prepared for his family, is an orgasmic ode to the art of cooking as the camera sensually snakes through the kitchen as meat and vegetables are sliced, cut mashed and fried in sizzling oil. Dishes upon dishes are spread across the dining table as soup, meat, salads and deserts are savoured and critiqued. While the characters suppress their sexual desires nobody enjoys food and the original family structure disintegrates. Once everyone gets what they want the old chef, who had lost his sense of taste, finds it has returned and he can once more savour the taste and aroma of food. Sihung Lung is outstanding as the finicky old chef and is surrounded by a superb ensemble cast. Like Lee's previous film ("The Wedding Banquet") this too was nominated for an Academy award in the foreign film category. Outstanding film and a must-see.
Slaves of Babylon (William Castle, 1953) 2/10
Low budget biblical sword and sandal story, courtesy of the Old Testament, is set during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. He of "Hanging Gardens" fame who destroyed Jerusalem and put all the jews in captivity between the high walls of his mighty city - which apparently was not true as the jews lived under happy conditions. Daniel, the disgruntled jewish advisor to the King, summons a slave (Richard Conte) to go seek the shepherd Cyrus - prophesised as the great King Cyrus of Persia - so he can defeat the Babylonians and set the jews free. Meanwhile Daniel gets fed to the lions but survives thanks to his belief in the right god. Sad to see Conte reduced to appearing in such a schlocky poverty row epic. Silly hokum.
Ang Lee's exquisite little film is a riveting and often humourous look at the importance of family and the chaos that is part and parcel of relationships. The screenplay charts the lives of an ageing celebrated chef - a widower - and the muddled sex lives of his three daughters. The eldest is a spinster school teacher, turned Christian, pining for a lover who dumped her nine years before and who ends up causing a ripple with her love life. The middle combative daughter is a sexually liberated airline executive and is most like her father in temperament and has inherited his love for cooking and food. The youngest works in a fast food restaurant and gets involved with the boyfriend of her best friend. Lee smartly balances the various relationships including the old man's best friend and associate, a divorced neighbour with a daughter and her garrulous dragon of a mother just returned from the United States. The bond that holds these characters together is food mixed with lashings of sex. Food and sex go hand in hand in life and while scenes in the film depicting sex are discreetly handled Lee goes all out in his depiction of food. The chef's elaborate Sunday meal, prepared for his family, is an orgasmic ode to the art of cooking as the camera sensually snakes through the kitchen as meat and vegetables are sliced, cut mashed and fried in sizzling oil. Dishes upon dishes are spread across the dining table as soup, meat, salads and deserts are savoured and critiqued. While the characters suppress their sexual desires nobody enjoys food and the original family structure disintegrates. Once everyone gets what they want the old chef, who had lost his sense of taste, finds it has returned and he can once more savour the taste and aroma of food. Sihung Lung is outstanding as the finicky old chef and is surrounded by a superb ensemble cast. Like Lee's previous film ("The Wedding Banquet") this too was nominated for an Academy award in the foreign film category. Outstanding film and a must-see.
Slaves of Babylon (William Castle, 1953) 2/10
Low budget biblical sword and sandal story, courtesy of the Old Testament, is set during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. He of "Hanging Gardens" fame who destroyed Jerusalem and put all the jews in captivity between the high walls of his mighty city - which apparently was not true as the jews lived under happy conditions. Daniel, the disgruntled jewish advisor to the King, summons a slave (Richard Conte) to go seek the shepherd Cyrus - prophesised as the great King Cyrus of Persia - so he can defeat the Babylonians and set the jews free. Meanwhile Daniel gets fed to the lions but survives thanks to his belief in the right god. Sad to see Conte reduced to appearing in such a schlocky poverty row epic. Silly hokum.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Dear John (1964) - 8/10 - This Swedish film focuses on the brief romance between a seaman and a young waitress in one of the ports. The waitress also has a four year old daughter from a previous relationship and the three spend a day together at the zoo. Much of the story is told in flashback and it is pretty well done.
House of Flying Daggers (2004) - 8/10 - in 9th Century China, the government is trying to destroy the rebel group known as the Flying Daggers. A blind dancer is thought to be the daughter of the former leader of the Flying Daggers and the government wants to use her to find their leader. This is a pretty cool martial arts romance and I enjoyed it a lot.
The Family (1987) - 7.5/10 - The film follows 80 years in the lives of an Italian family with the entire picture taking place at their very large family apartment in Rome. It starts with the birth of Carlo before the first World War and stops at different points over the years as Carlo and his family age, get married, have kids, etc. It's a nice film that kind of meanders through and we get to see the changes in the family along with some of the high and low points along the way.
House of Flying Daggers (2004) - 8/10 - in 9th Century China, the government is trying to destroy the rebel group known as the Flying Daggers. A blind dancer is thought to be the daughter of the former leader of the Flying Daggers and the government wants to use her to find their leader. This is a pretty cool martial arts romance and I enjoyed it a lot.
The Family (1987) - 7.5/10 - The film follows 80 years in the lives of an Italian family with the entire picture taking place at their very large family apartment in Rome. It starts with the birth of Carlo before the first World War and stops at different points over the years as Carlo and his family age, get married, have kids, etc. It's a nice film that kind of meanders through and we get to see the changes in the family along with some of the high and low points along the way.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
En man som heter Ove / A Man Called Ove (Hannes Holm, 2015) 9/10
Character study of a retired widower (Rolf Lassgård) who is a cantankerous curmudgeon with a truckload of pet peeves and annoyances. A man with an extremely short fuse, with set routines who goes around making life hell for his neighbors. As the film progresses we gradually discover his past life with a loving wife. He daily visits her grave and talks to her, and through flashbacks, we get to see his entire life unfold with many tragedies as well as happy moments. Not willing to go on without his wife he unsucessfully keeps trying to commit suicide which keeps getting interrupted by new neighbors. His life suddenly starts changing as he begins to interact with the folks next door - a pregnant woman from Iran and her two kids - begins to look after a mangy cat and suddenly shows great sensitivity by taking in a young gay man who has been kicked out of his house by his family. Based on the bestselling swedish book by Fredrik Backman, the film is a poignant look at loneliness and ageing and shows that one should not judge a person from his outward demeanor. People have many layers hidden inside which they often hide due to life's many vicissitudes. The story could easily have tipped into treacly sentimentality but is superbly held together by the gruff performance of Rolf Lassgård who manages to create a very flawed character and gradually reveals his many hidden strengths. Hit film was nominated for an Academy award in the foreign film category as well as for its makeup.
Uncharted (Ruben Fleischer, 2022) 7/10
As with most films today this too is strictly for the youth market with material that lazy Hollywood regurgitates over and over again. The film is based on a video game which in turn was ripped off from the "Indiana Jones" franchise - which by the way Spielberg ripped off from the adventure serials of the 1930s. Take a young hot actor. Check. Pair him off with an older star - a formula done to death with the buddy-cop films of the 1980s - and have them banter throughout. Check. And then put them through a roller coaster ride of outrageous set pieces. Check. A street smart teenage pickpocket (Tom Holland) is hired by a crooked treasure hunter (Mark Wahlberg) to join hands with him in search of a 500-year old treasure. There is a map and two important keys that need to be stolen before they can get to the treasure. And there is also the young man's long-lost brother (who also coveted the treasure) and becomes a reason for him to join the crook on the hunt. Hollywood's mania for diverse casting is followed ad nauseum - the two female leads, playing two-timing, back-stabbing villains are Pakistani-American Sophia Ali and African-American-Korean Tati Gabrielle, both high on the "hot babe" scale. Compared to them the third villain played by Antonio Banderas seems like such a damp squib - a boring white man, even if he is Spanish, and hence different to the two white english-speaking leads. I was kinda surprised there was no gay character. Wonder how they missed out on that. The success of all such films depends on its action-packed set pieces. This has two. The one where Holland falls out of a plane, hanging on to a trail of large containers, followed by a red Mercedes convertible also nose diving out of the plane,
has been done to death many times in the past but the one where two helicopters raise two Spanish galleons, fly away with them while allowing the cast to swing between the two dangling ships as they battle it out to the death is eye-popping and exciting. The beautiful Barcelona cathederal plays an important role as the cast skirmishes deep down below its catacombs in search of clues. Despite the familiarity of its plot and situations and the excessive use of CGI the film is great fun and manages to entertain. Of course the minute you leave the cinema you forget it all. However, the end conveniently sets things up for a sequel.
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (Zoya Akhtar, 2011) 9/10
Three friends go on a roadtrip in Spain just before one of them is about to get married. Shot entirely on location in sunny Spain the film perfectly captures the joys and anguish of friendship. Pragmatic Abhay Deol, the groom-to-be, discovers to his horror the annoying possessive nature of his fiancé (Kalki Koechlin) - she pays him a surprise visit during the roadtrip - while uptight and workaholic Hrithik Roshan is given lessons in how to live in the present from a beautiful scuba diver instructor (Katrina Kaif), and happy-go-lucky Farhan Akhtar hides his pain behind his buffoonery as he visits with his estranged father (Naseeruddin Shah) who abandoned him and his mother (Deepti Naval). The perceptive screenplay (by Zoya Akhtar & Reema Kagti) is spot-on in accurately capturing the nuances found in long term friendships with lovely poetry (by Javed Akhtar) used as voiceover revealing hidden depth within the characters. The film incorporates many iconic Spanish touches - Running of the bulls in Pamplona, flamenco dancing during the "Señorita" number shot in Alájar, the La Tomatina festival held in Buñol where participants throw tomatoes and get involved in a tomato fight purely for entertainment purposes. In addition there are scenes shot underwater with Roshan and Kaif deep-sea diving at Costa Brava and later the three men go sky-diving in Sevilla. The film suceeds with its masala mix of road trip, romcom and buddy-buddy action. The film, Zoya (for direction), Farhan (for supporting actor & dialogue), the cinematography, and choreography won Filmfare awards while Roshan, Deol, Koechlin, Javed Akhtar for the lyrics to "Señorita", the music direction (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy) and Alyssa Mendonsa's playback singing (for the song "Khwabon Ke Parindey") were all nominated.
Character study of a retired widower (Rolf Lassgård) who is a cantankerous curmudgeon with a truckload of pet peeves and annoyances. A man with an extremely short fuse, with set routines who goes around making life hell for his neighbors. As the film progresses we gradually discover his past life with a loving wife. He daily visits her grave and talks to her, and through flashbacks, we get to see his entire life unfold with many tragedies as well as happy moments. Not willing to go on without his wife he unsucessfully keeps trying to commit suicide which keeps getting interrupted by new neighbors. His life suddenly starts changing as he begins to interact with the folks next door - a pregnant woman from Iran and her two kids - begins to look after a mangy cat and suddenly shows great sensitivity by taking in a young gay man who has been kicked out of his house by his family. Based on the bestselling swedish book by Fredrik Backman, the film is a poignant look at loneliness and ageing and shows that one should not judge a person from his outward demeanor. People have many layers hidden inside which they often hide due to life's many vicissitudes. The story could easily have tipped into treacly sentimentality but is superbly held together by the gruff performance of Rolf Lassgård who manages to create a very flawed character and gradually reveals his many hidden strengths. Hit film was nominated for an Academy award in the foreign film category as well as for its makeup.
Uncharted (Ruben Fleischer, 2022) 7/10
As with most films today this too is strictly for the youth market with material that lazy Hollywood regurgitates over and over again. The film is based on a video game which in turn was ripped off from the "Indiana Jones" franchise - which by the way Spielberg ripped off from the adventure serials of the 1930s. Take a young hot actor. Check. Pair him off with an older star - a formula done to death with the buddy-cop films of the 1980s - and have them banter throughout. Check. And then put them through a roller coaster ride of outrageous set pieces. Check. A street smart teenage pickpocket (Tom Holland) is hired by a crooked treasure hunter (Mark Wahlberg) to join hands with him in search of a 500-year old treasure. There is a map and two important keys that need to be stolen before they can get to the treasure. And there is also the young man's long-lost brother (who also coveted the treasure) and becomes a reason for him to join the crook on the hunt. Hollywood's mania for diverse casting is followed ad nauseum - the two female leads, playing two-timing, back-stabbing villains are Pakistani-American Sophia Ali and African-American-Korean Tati Gabrielle, both high on the "hot babe" scale. Compared to them the third villain played by Antonio Banderas seems like such a damp squib - a boring white man, even if he is Spanish, and hence different to the two white english-speaking leads. I was kinda surprised there was no gay character. Wonder how they missed out on that. The success of all such films depends on its action-packed set pieces. This has two. The one where Holland falls out of a plane, hanging on to a trail of large containers, followed by a red Mercedes convertible also nose diving out of the plane,
has been done to death many times in the past but the one where two helicopters raise two Spanish galleons, fly away with them while allowing the cast to swing between the two dangling ships as they battle it out to the death is eye-popping and exciting. The beautiful Barcelona cathederal plays an important role as the cast skirmishes deep down below its catacombs in search of clues. Despite the familiarity of its plot and situations and the excessive use of CGI the film is great fun and manages to entertain. Of course the minute you leave the cinema you forget it all. However, the end conveniently sets things up for a sequel.
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (Zoya Akhtar, 2011) 9/10
Three friends go on a roadtrip in Spain just before one of them is about to get married. Shot entirely on location in sunny Spain the film perfectly captures the joys and anguish of friendship. Pragmatic Abhay Deol, the groom-to-be, discovers to his horror the annoying possessive nature of his fiancé (Kalki Koechlin) - she pays him a surprise visit during the roadtrip - while uptight and workaholic Hrithik Roshan is given lessons in how to live in the present from a beautiful scuba diver instructor (Katrina Kaif), and happy-go-lucky Farhan Akhtar hides his pain behind his buffoonery as he visits with his estranged father (Naseeruddin Shah) who abandoned him and his mother (Deepti Naval). The perceptive screenplay (by Zoya Akhtar & Reema Kagti) is spot-on in accurately capturing the nuances found in long term friendships with lovely poetry (by Javed Akhtar) used as voiceover revealing hidden depth within the characters. The film incorporates many iconic Spanish touches - Running of the bulls in Pamplona, flamenco dancing during the "Señorita" number shot in Alájar, the La Tomatina festival held in Buñol where participants throw tomatoes and get involved in a tomato fight purely for entertainment purposes. In addition there are scenes shot underwater with Roshan and Kaif deep-sea diving at Costa Brava and later the three men go sky-diving in Sevilla. The film suceeds with its masala mix of road trip, romcom and buddy-buddy action. The film, Zoya (for direction), Farhan (for supporting actor & dialogue), the cinematography, and choreography won Filmfare awards while Roshan, Deol, Koechlin, Javed Akhtar for the lyrics to "Señorita", the music direction (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy) and Alyssa Mendonsa's playback singing (for the song "Khwabon Ke Parindey") were all nominated.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
La venganza (1958) - 7.5/10 - Juan returns home to his Spanish village after 10 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. His sister makes him swear an oath to kill the man she thinks is responsible for framing him, but later regrets that oath when she falls in love with the man. This is a nice film with pretty good acting overall.
Youth (2015) - 8/10 - Michael Caine is a retired composer and conductor who is vacationing in the Swiss Alps along with a film director friend (Harvey Keitel) and others. An emissary of the Queen wants him to conduct a special performance, but he isn't interested. His daughter is also having some marital problems. Caine gives a very nice performance and I certainly enjoyed this a lot more than the other Sorrentino picture I watched recently, The Great Beauty.
A Simple Story (1978) - 8/10 - Marie is 39 and is divorced with a 16 year old son. She finds out that she is pregnant about the same time that she has decides to leave her current partner, seeing no future with him. The film follows Marie and her friends and family over the next few months. It's a very nice film.
The Time Machine (1960) - 7.5/10 - I liked this adaptation of the H.G. Wells classic. The special effects were a bit primitive in places, but it was decent overall.
Youth (2015) - 8/10 - Michael Caine is a retired composer and conductor who is vacationing in the Swiss Alps along with a film director friend (Harvey Keitel) and others. An emissary of the Queen wants him to conduct a special performance, but he isn't interested. His daughter is also having some marital problems. Caine gives a very nice performance and I certainly enjoyed this a lot more than the other Sorrentino picture I watched recently, The Great Beauty.
A Simple Story (1978) - 8/10 - Marie is 39 and is divorced with a 16 year old son. She finds out that she is pregnant about the same time that she has decides to leave her current partner, seeing no future with him. The film follows Marie and her friends and family over the next few months. It's a very nice film.
The Time Machine (1960) - 7.5/10 - I liked this adaptation of the H.G. Wells classic. The special effects were a bit primitive in places, but it was decent overall.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Flower Drum Song (1961) - 7.5/10 - Mei Lee and her father arrive in San Francisco illegally to meet Sammy Fong, a nightclub owner whose mother set up an arranged marriage. However, Sammy is in love with one of his singers and Mei Lee soon meets someone else as well. This is a decent musical and I'm glad that they used a mostly Asian cast for the film.
Incendies (2010) - 8.5/10 - When their mother dies, French-Canadian twins Jeanne and Simon are given envelopes from to be delivered to the father that they thought was dead and the brother they didn't know existed. They travel to the Middle East to track them down and learn who their mother was and what she went through before emigrating to Canada. It's an excellent film.
Incendies (2010) - 8.5/10 - When their mother dies, French-Canadian twins Jeanne and Simon are given envelopes from to be delivered to the father that they thought was dead and the brother they didn't know existed. They travel to the Middle East to track them down and learn who their mother was and what she went through before emigrating to Canada. It's an excellent film.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Bells are Ringing (1960) - 7.5/10 - Judy Holliday stars as a lady who works at an answering service. She is really popular with the customers, but is very shy with guys in real life. She decides to help out an out of work actor, a dentist with musical aspirations, and a playwright with writer's block. It's a fun musical, thought its stage roots are pretty obvious.
A Man Called Ove (2015) - 8.5/10 - Ove is a grumpy old man who is very particular about things. He used to run the condominium association where he lives until he got voted out. He is strongly affected by his wife's recent death and is looking forward to joining her. His life changes when a young woman named Parvaneh and her family move in. I enjoyed this one a lot.
A Man Called Ove (2015) - 8.5/10 - Ove is a grumpy old man who is very particular about things. He used to run the condominium association where he lives until he got voted out. He is strongly affected by his wife's recent death and is looking forward to joining her. His life changes when a young woman named Parvaneh and her family move in. I enjoyed this one a lot.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Moonfall (Roland Emmerich, 2022) 7/10
The world and especially Hollywood should be eternally grateful that once upon a time Karen Black, playing a stewardess, proved such an expert in avionics when she effortlessly (if a little cross-eyed) flew and landed (with a tad help from "Moses") a crippled Boeing 747. That moment became a defining moment and allowed so many ordinary folks to take on the mantle of Ms Black and prove to be experts at flying planes, trains, automobiles and even a spaceship as in this film. A nerd and conspiracy theorist (John Bradley) by chance discovers that the moon is no longer moving around on its own set axis and could come tumbling down and hit earth. Of course nobody believes him until tidal waves sweep onto land destroying cities along with showers of moon debris causing more mayhem. It becomes a desperate race for a disgraced astronaut (Patrick Wilson) and his former co-pilot (Halle Berry) to try and reach the moon - which they now see has developed a huge crater from which emerges an alien-like substance that is the menace causing all the destruction. While the two take off in a derelict space ship to try and destroy the alien - with the nerd nervously along for the ride - their children are on their own on earth struggling to reach a government shelter in Colorado while being chased by gun-toting yahoos. The plot keeps getting more and more outrageous as earth begins to crumble with an explanation of what's really on the moon a real doozy. Hilariously camp film easily joins so many such ridiculously over-the-top films and nestles comfortably on one's list of films that are guilty pleasures. Wilson, Berry and especially Bradley prove to be heroic in a bat-shit crazy kinda way. Great fun.
The Reivers (Mark Rydell, 1969) 7/10
Old fashioned road film, based on the Pulitzer prize-winning novel by William Faulkner, is also a coming-of-age story. A dimwitted but high-spirited handyman (Steve McQueen) and a young boy (Mitch Vogel) decide to journey from Mississippi to Memphis in a new 1905 Winton Flyer car which they take from the boy's grandfather (Will Geer) who happens to be out of town to attend a funeral. Stowing away with them is a wily black worker (Rupert Crosse) from their farm. The story follows their adventures on the road, their stay in a brothel where the handyman's girlfriend is a prostitute (with a heart of gold), the kid discovers the joys of seeing bare female breasts and discovers what happens inside a brothel, the black man sells the car to buy a temperamental horse (that loves sardines) and their attempt to buy back the car for their return journey by making the horse win a race. McQueen is no comedian but its an interesting change of pace role from his usual bag of brooders. Crosse is delightful as the happy-go-lucky bumpkin who has a few tricks up his sleeve and was nominated for an Academy Award as was John Williams wonderful music score. Charming Americana with many familiar character actors - Clifton James, Ruth White (as the bordello madam), Michael Constantine, Juano Hernandez, Lonny Chapman, Diane Ladd, Dub Taylor - in brief but colorful roles.
Outrage (Ida Lupino, 1950) 6/10
Groundbreaking film - never before tackled by Hollywood due to censorshio - handles the subject of rape in a sensitive if rather bland manner. A girl (Mala Powers) with everything in her favour - youth, beauty, good job and a marriage just around the corner - is followed by a man after work and raped. The attack is not shown but its repercussions on the girl are hard as she tries to adjust to life but filled with shame and guilt (she keeps blaming herself) moves to another town. She is not harmed physically but psychologically she is maimed for life not helped by society's sexism. The plot then takes on a preachy mode as her isolation from family results in meeting new people who remain unaware of her trauma until one day she has a breakdown on the dance floor and attacks a man who comes on a bit too strong. Melodramatic film is now remembered as one of Lupino's many directorial forays into noir territory. This was starlet Mala Powers' first big film.
Ordinary People (Robert Redford, 1980) 9/10
Casting Mary Tyler Moore as the mother in this film was a stroke of genius although it was only Redford who saw her in the part quite contrary to her sunny tv persona. It's to her credit that she does not make her character into a villain although she treads a thin line. She's the most believable character in the film - a woman who does not think that personal feelings should be laid bare in front of others. Keep it churning inside, suppress it forcefully and brush it under the carpet or wherever it cannot be seen. A traumatic event has a family treading on egg shells refusing to face the tragedy as an emotional three-way standoff ensues between a man, woman and their son. Parents lose their elder son in a drowning accident while the younger son (Timothy Hutton) tried to save him but couldn't. So grief and guilt combine to bring on a suicide attempt which fails but results in a lot of confusion and suppressed anger. Not only by the young teenager but also his distant, cold mother (Mary Tyler Moore) who deep down resents that her favourite son died. Confused and worried the father (Donald Sutherland) tries to bring some semblance of peace between his wife and son. Redford uses picture postcard shots of the Chicago suburb while manoeuvring his camera through the lives of this broken family. Intimate, intelligent but jarring look at a family in crisis is beautifully acted by the entire cast including Judd Hirsch as an upbeat psychiatrist, and Elizabeth McGovern and Dinah Manoff as two of Hutton's friends. The movie famously defeated Martin Scorsese's "Raging Bull" at the Oscars, winning Best Picture, for Hutton's debut performance, for Redford's direction and for Alvin Sargent's screenplay adapted from the novel by Judith Guest. Both Moore and Hirsch received nominations while Sutherland, magnificent as the father, was snubbed. The film's soothing score has Pachelbel's Canon by the German Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel.
Fly By Night (Robert Siodmak, 1942) 6/10
Snappy little "B" film takes pointers from Hitchcock's "The 39 Steps" with its man-on-the-run who takes a woman along with him at gunpoint. An escaped patient from a mental asylum seeks aid from a medical intern (Richard Carlson) and tells him that he was being held prisoner in order to get information out of him on a secret military invention. When he is murdered the police suspect the intern who then makes a run for it taking along a sketch artist (Nancy Kelly) from the apartment next door. The screenplay mixes elements of screwball within the noir plot and adds Nazis into the mix which made it topical coming right after Pearl Harbor during WWII.
The world and especially Hollywood should be eternally grateful that once upon a time Karen Black, playing a stewardess, proved such an expert in avionics when she effortlessly (if a little cross-eyed) flew and landed (with a tad help from "Moses") a crippled Boeing 747. That moment became a defining moment and allowed so many ordinary folks to take on the mantle of Ms Black and prove to be experts at flying planes, trains, automobiles and even a spaceship as in this film. A nerd and conspiracy theorist (John Bradley) by chance discovers that the moon is no longer moving around on its own set axis and could come tumbling down and hit earth. Of course nobody believes him until tidal waves sweep onto land destroying cities along with showers of moon debris causing more mayhem. It becomes a desperate race for a disgraced astronaut (Patrick Wilson) and his former co-pilot (Halle Berry) to try and reach the moon - which they now see has developed a huge crater from which emerges an alien-like substance that is the menace causing all the destruction. While the two take off in a derelict space ship to try and destroy the alien - with the nerd nervously along for the ride - their children are on their own on earth struggling to reach a government shelter in Colorado while being chased by gun-toting yahoos. The plot keeps getting more and more outrageous as earth begins to crumble with an explanation of what's really on the moon a real doozy. Hilariously camp film easily joins so many such ridiculously over-the-top films and nestles comfortably on one's list of films that are guilty pleasures. Wilson, Berry and especially Bradley prove to be heroic in a bat-shit crazy kinda way. Great fun.
The Reivers (Mark Rydell, 1969) 7/10
Old fashioned road film, based on the Pulitzer prize-winning novel by William Faulkner, is also a coming-of-age story. A dimwitted but high-spirited handyman (Steve McQueen) and a young boy (Mitch Vogel) decide to journey from Mississippi to Memphis in a new 1905 Winton Flyer car which they take from the boy's grandfather (Will Geer) who happens to be out of town to attend a funeral. Stowing away with them is a wily black worker (Rupert Crosse) from their farm. The story follows their adventures on the road, their stay in a brothel where the handyman's girlfriend is a prostitute (with a heart of gold), the kid discovers the joys of seeing bare female breasts and discovers what happens inside a brothel, the black man sells the car to buy a temperamental horse (that loves sardines) and their attempt to buy back the car for their return journey by making the horse win a race. McQueen is no comedian but its an interesting change of pace role from his usual bag of brooders. Crosse is delightful as the happy-go-lucky bumpkin who has a few tricks up his sleeve and was nominated for an Academy Award as was John Williams wonderful music score. Charming Americana with many familiar character actors - Clifton James, Ruth White (as the bordello madam), Michael Constantine, Juano Hernandez, Lonny Chapman, Diane Ladd, Dub Taylor - in brief but colorful roles.
Outrage (Ida Lupino, 1950) 6/10
Groundbreaking film - never before tackled by Hollywood due to censorshio - handles the subject of rape in a sensitive if rather bland manner. A girl (Mala Powers) with everything in her favour - youth, beauty, good job and a marriage just around the corner - is followed by a man after work and raped. The attack is not shown but its repercussions on the girl are hard as she tries to adjust to life but filled with shame and guilt (she keeps blaming herself) moves to another town. She is not harmed physically but psychologically she is maimed for life not helped by society's sexism. The plot then takes on a preachy mode as her isolation from family results in meeting new people who remain unaware of her trauma until one day she has a breakdown on the dance floor and attacks a man who comes on a bit too strong. Melodramatic film is now remembered as one of Lupino's many directorial forays into noir territory. This was starlet Mala Powers' first big film.
Ordinary People (Robert Redford, 1980) 9/10
Casting Mary Tyler Moore as the mother in this film was a stroke of genius although it was only Redford who saw her in the part quite contrary to her sunny tv persona. It's to her credit that she does not make her character into a villain although she treads a thin line. She's the most believable character in the film - a woman who does not think that personal feelings should be laid bare in front of others. Keep it churning inside, suppress it forcefully and brush it under the carpet or wherever it cannot be seen. A traumatic event has a family treading on egg shells refusing to face the tragedy as an emotional three-way standoff ensues between a man, woman and their son. Parents lose their elder son in a drowning accident while the younger son (Timothy Hutton) tried to save him but couldn't. So grief and guilt combine to bring on a suicide attempt which fails but results in a lot of confusion and suppressed anger. Not only by the young teenager but also his distant, cold mother (Mary Tyler Moore) who deep down resents that her favourite son died. Confused and worried the father (Donald Sutherland) tries to bring some semblance of peace between his wife and son. Redford uses picture postcard shots of the Chicago suburb while manoeuvring his camera through the lives of this broken family. Intimate, intelligent but jarring look at a family in crisis is beautifully acted by the entire cast including Judd Hirsch as an upbeat psychiatrist, and Elizabeth McGovern and Dinah Manoff as two of Hutton's friends. The movie famously defeated Martin Scorsese's "Raging Bull" at the Oscars, winning Best Picture, for Hutton's debut performance, for Redford's direction and for Alvin Sargent's screenplay adapted from the novel by Judith Guest. Both Moore and Hirsch received nominations while Sutherland, magnificent as the father, was snubbed. The film's soothing score has Pachelbel's Canon by the German Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel.
Fly By Night (Robert Siodmak, 1942) 6/10
Snappy little "B" film takes pointers from Hitchcock's "The 39 Steps" with its man-on-the-run who takes a woman along with him at gunpoint. An escaped patient from a mental asylum seeks aid from a medical intern (Richard Carlson) and tells him that he was being held prisoner in order to get information out of him on a secret military invention. When he is murdered the police suspect the intern who then makes a run for it taking along a sketch artist (Nancy Kelly) from the apartment next door. The screenplay mixes elements of screwball within the noir plot and adds Nazis into the mix which made it topical coming right after Pearl Harbor during WWII.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
No (2012) - 8/10 - Gael García Bernal stars as an advertising executive in Chile who is brought in to worth with the 'No' campaign in the 1988 plebiscite to determine whether Pinochet would rule for the next 8 years. He doesn't think that a sober look at atrocities and problems under Pinochet's regime will work and is determined to have a brighter, happier, and more upbeat campaign to win over those who are undecided whether to vote. It's a very good film and mixes in archival footage pretty seamlessly.
The Nest (1980) - 7.5/10 - Don Alejandro (Hector Alterio) is a wealthy widower who leads a somewhat lonely life. One day in the woods, he is left notes by a bright 13 year old girl named Goyita (Ana Torrent) that give him clues that he follows. This starts a (platonic) relationship between the two that is dominated by the girl. Alterio and Torrent are both really good here and the film is also very good, even if it doesn't rise to the level of The Spirit of the Beehive and Cria Cuervos.
The Nest (1980) - 7.5/10 - Don Alejandro (Hector Alterio) is a wealthy widower who leads a somewhat lonely life. One day in the woods, he is left notes by a bright 13 year old girl named Goyita (Ana Torrent) that give him clues that he follows. This starts a (platonic) relationship between the two that is dominated by the girl. Alterio and Torrent are both really good here and the film is also very good, even if it doesn't rise to the level of The Spirit of the Beehive and Cria Cuervos.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Psychiatric Nursing (1958) - 7.5/10 - A surprisingly good film for its age about taking care of mental patients in a women's ward.
The Face of Genius (1966) - 7/10 - This documentary was Jason Robards and covers the life of playwright Eugene O'Neill. It's fairly standard, but is decent enough.
The Gates of Paris (1957) - 7.5/10 - Juju likes to drink and spends much of his time hanging around the local bar and with his friend, Artist. A search starts for a criminal who is suspected to be in the neighborhood and the two meet him at gunpoint in Artist's house. Soon, they help him of their own accord when he becomes ill.
Tlayucan (1962) - 8/10 - Most of the people in this small Mexican town are mired in poverty, but get by somehow. The church shames them to give more than they actually have to give. One man is driven by desperation to steal when his son is deathly ill, but it doesn't turn out as expected. There's a wealthy and lecherous old man, a blind beggar, and others as well who add to the drama and humor of the story.
Madame Rosa (1977) - 8/10 - Simone Signoret plays a retired jewish prostitute who survived Auschwitz and now cares for the children of prostitutes, though money can be a bit of a challenge. The oldest child in her care is an Algerian boy nicknamed Momo who has been with her for 11 years. I liked this version more than the recent version with Sophia Loren, though that was a good movie too.
The Face of Genius (1966) - 7/10 - This documentary was Jason Robards and covers the life of playwright Eugene O'Neill. It's fairly standard, but is decent enough.
The Gates of Paris (1957) - 7.5/10 - Juju likes to drink and spends much of his time hanging around the local bar and with his friend, Artist. A search starts for a criminal who is suspected to be in the neighborhood and the two meet him at gunpoint in Artist's house. Soon, they help him of their own accord when he becomes ill.
Tlayucan (1962) - 8/10 - Most of the people in this small Mexican town are mired in poverty, but get by somehow. The church shames them to give more than they actually have to give. One man is driven by desperation to steal when his son is deathly ill, but it doesn't turn out as expected. There's a wealthy and lecherous old man, a blind beggar, and others as well who add to the drama and humor of the story.
Madame Rosa (1977) - 8/10 - Simone Signoret plays a retired jewish prostitute who survived Auschwitz and now cares for the children of prostitutes, though money can be a bit of a challenge. The oldest child in her care is an Algerian boy nicknamed Momo who has been with her for 11 years. I liked this version more than the recent version with Sophia Loren, though that was a good movie too.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Sherni (Amit Masurkar, 2021) 7/10
Fascinating look at wildlife conservation as seen through the eyes of a Divisional Forest Officer in India. The screenplay is a strong critique on government bureaucracy and the different hinderances that staff have to face - from local political goons hoping to get elected by getting votes from villagers, hunters on a rampage and the villagers themselves who find themselves, their livestock and livelihood at stake due to predators in the jungle. The screenplay is broadly based on "Avni", a tigress that was preying on humans and livestock in a forest in Maharashtra (although the film was shot in Madhya Pradesh). The Forest officers, led here by a female (Vidya Balan) - the character is based on a real person - face many problems but diligently work as a team trying to capture the animal in order to release it on a reserve. She forms a team of female forest guards who are in touch with the villagers. She also laid out camera traps in order to tackle the tigress and track her movements. Tracking becomes a problem as villagers want it dead, politicians provoke the simple (and frightened) villagers for votes in exchange for the tiger's death at the hands of a professional hunter (Sharat Saxena), while the officers try to stick to the law in conserving wildlife. The film highlights the ground problems of foresters and the landscape management issues. Balan, in an understated performance, is the soul of the film - the word "sherni" also refers to her pluck in dealing with patriarchal attitudes amongst her male colleagues, many of whom kowtow to politicians, as she balances her job while also trying to promote the skills of women in the villages - weaving bamboo baskets - so that they are not only dependent on farming. Vijay Raaz, as a college professor and her ally, provides good support. Beautifully shot film captures the stillness of a forest as the camera moves through bushes and trees catching glimpses of insects and animals along the way.
Air Force One (Wolfgang Peterson, 1997) 8/10
This is one prepostrous action film and an incredible guilty pleasure. Air Force One is hijacked by a Russian radical (Gary Oldman) and his goons who hold hostage the U.S. President (Harrison Ford), his wife, daughter and members of his staff who are all on board. The hijackers demand the release of a political prisoner (Jürgen Prochnow) who is held in Moscow. While the Vice President (Glenn Close), the Defence Secretary (Dean Stockwell) and the Attorney General (Phillip Baker Hall) attempt to negotiate with the hijackers the President acts with the dexterity of James Bond (he got his skills while in Vietnam) and proves to be a wily foe on board. The Americans are all incredulous that such a thing could happen to their President and someone says with great arrogance, "No one does this to the United States". Clearly the screenplay or that thought did not anticipate 9/11 which was just a few years on. Ford makes a perfect action hero as he tussles both verbally and physically with Oldman and even flies the plane â la Karen Black (who did it just as well in "Airport '75"). The film's various action set pieces are completely over-the-top as the giant 747 dodges missiles, a mid-air refueling takes place, hostages jump out of the plane with parachutes, the President hangs out of the plane's hatch held only by his hand and the final escape using a wire between two airborne planes. The film's erratic effects and all the holes in the screenplay can be ignored as the non-stop action and suspense hold you by the neck and take you on this roller coaster ride of thrills. Great fun.
Marry Me (Kat Coiro, 2022) 4/10
This corny-cute film takes off from where "Notting Hill" left off - superstar marries ordinary joe and a bumpy life begins. Here the superstar is not a movie star but a singer (Jennifer Lopez) who, on her planned gaudy concert-wedding on stage, discovers toyboy lover (Colombian reggaeton Maluma - who he?) has betrayed her so she gets married to ordinary joe divorced-single dad-math teacher (Owen Wilson) who just happens to be in the audience at her concert. The pop duo make more hits - Lopez sings - and hubby wonders if he has lost wifey to toyboy. And there is a mathalon where his kid participates which Lopez crashes just in time wiggling her butt in a tight red dress and hobbling on Louboutin stilletos. All rather tiresome actually.
Twice Round the Daffodils (Gerald Thomas, 1962) 5/10
A lot like one of the Carry On films but with less smut. In fact based on the same play, "Ring for Catty", as Carry on Nurse. Comedy set in a sanatorium where five male patients arrive to be treated for tuberculosis. They soon find themselves in a lather over the nurses - Juliet Mills (as Nurse Catty), Jill Ireland and Amanda Reiss. Amusing amongst the patients are the woman-chasing RAF pilot (Donald Sinden), the supercilious bachelor (Kenneth Williams) with the timid letter-writing sister (Joan Sims) and the sensitive trainee chef (Ronald Lewis) in love with Reiss. Playing two of the visiting wives are Sheila Hancock and Nanette Newman. Typically tame British sex farce which has more talk and barely any sex.
Fascinating look at wildlife conservation as seen through the eyes of a Divisional Forest Officer in India. The screenplay is a strong critique on government bureaucracy and the different hinderances that staff have to face - from local political goons hoping to get elected by getting votes from villagers, hunters on a rampage and the villagers themselves who find themselves, their livestock and livelihood at stake due to predators in the jungle. The screenplay is broadly based on "Avni", a tigress that was preying on humans and livestock in a forest in Maharashtra (although the film was shot in Madhya Pradesh). The Forest officers, led here by a female (Vidya Balan) - the character is based on a real person - face many problems but diligently work as a team trying to capture the animal in order to release it on a reserve. She forms a team of female forest guards who are in touch with the villagers. She also laid out camera traps in order to tackle the tigress and track her movements. Tracking becomes a problem as villagers want it dead, politicians provoke the simple (and frightened) villagers for votes in exchange for the tiger's death at the hands of a professional hunter (Sharat Saxena), while the officers try to stick to the law in conserving wildlife. The film highlights the ground problems of foresters and the landscape management issues. Balan, in an understated performance, is the soul of the film - the word "sherni" also refers to her pluck in dealing with patriarchal attitudes amongst her male colleagues, many of whom kowtow to politicians, as she balances her job while also trying to promote the skills of women in the villages - weaving bamboo baskets - so that they are not only dependent on farming. Vijay Raaz, as a college professor and her ally, provides good support. Beautifully shot film captures the stillness of a forest as the camera moves through bushes and trees catching glimpses of insects and animals along the way.
Air Force One (Wolfgang Peterson, 1997) 8/10
This is one prepostrous action film and an incredible guilty pleasure. Air Force One is hijacked by a Russian radical (Gary Oldman) and his goons who hold hostage the U.S. President (Harrison Ford), his wife, daughter and members of his staff who are all on board. The hijackers demand the release of a political prisoner (Jürgen Prochnow) who is held in Moscow. While the Vice President (Glenn Close), the Defence Secretary (Dean Stockwell) and the Attorney General (Phillip Baker Hall) attempt to negotiate with the hijackers the President acts with the dexterity of James Bond (he got his skills while in Vietnam) and proves to be a wily foe on board. The Americans are all incredulous that such a thing could happen to their President and someone says with great arrogance, "No one does this to the United States". Clearly the screenplay or that thought did not anticipate 9/11 which was just a few years on. Ford makes a perfect action hero as he tussles both verbally and physically with Oldman and even flies the plane â la Karen Black (who did it just as well in "Airport '75"). The film's various action set pieces are completely over-the-top as the giant 747 dodges missiles, a mid-air refueling takes place, hostages jump out of the plane with parachutes, the President hangs out of the plane's hatch held only by his hand and the final escape using a wire between two airborne planes. The film's erratic effects and all the holes in the screenplay can be ignored as the non-stop action and suspense hold you by the neck and take you on this roller coaster ride of thrills. Great fun.
Marry Me (Kat Coiro, 2022) 4/10
This corny-cute film takes off from where "Notting Hill" left off - superstar marries ordinary joe and a bumpy life begins. Here the superstar is not a movie star but a singer (Jennifer Lopez) who, on her planned gaudy concert-wedding on stage, discovers toyboy lover (Colombian reggaeton Maluma - who he?) has betrayed her so she gets married to ordinary joe divorced-single dad-math teacher (Owen Wilson) who just happens to be in the audience at her concert. The pop duo make more hits - Lopez sings - and hubby wonders if he has lost wifey to toyboy. And there is a mathalon where his kid participates which Lopez crashes just in time wiggling her butt in a tight red dress and hobbling on Louboutin stilletos. All rather tiresome actually.
Twice Round the Daffodils (Gerald Thomas, 1962) 5/10
A lot like one of the Carry On films but with less smut. In fact based on the same play, "Ring for Catty", as Carry on Nurse. Comedy set in a sanatorium where five male patients arrive to be treated for tuberculosis. They soon find themselves in a lather over the nurses - Juliet Mills (as Nurse Catty), Jill Ireland and Amanda Reiss. Amusing amongst the patients are the woman-chasing RAF pilot (Donald Sinden), the supercilious bachelor (Kenneth Williams) with the timid letter-writing sister (Joan Sims) and the sensitive trainee chef (Ronald Lewis) in love with Reiss. Playing two of the visiting wives are Sheila Hancock and Nanette Newman. Typically tame British sex farce which has more talk and barely any sex.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Badhaai Do (Harshavardhan Kulkarni, 2022) 5/10
A cop (Rajkumar Rao), who is a closet homosexual, and a physical education teacher (Bhumi Pednekar), who is a closet lesbian, decide to get married to shut up their families who nag them persistently to marry the conventional way. They find it a perfect situation where each can live their life according to their preference. The film passionately advocates for inclusivity and acceptance but unfortunately does not know where to go once the premise is set. Corny jokes, lovers that cause problems, family pressure to produce a child, patriarchy rearing its ugly head and adoption as an answer to their problem are some of the plot points churned out by the screenplay. Interspersed are unnecessary song and dance sequences which take the film to an inordinate length. The two stars are good as always but they don't have good material to play with and the film just drones on and on.
Vacation From Marriage / Perfect Strangers (Alexander Korda, 1945) 7/10
A dull marriage gets a kick of adrenalin after a couple part for three years when war breaks out. A mousy accountant (Robert Donat), married to a sickly, timid young woman (Deborah Kerr), go through the motions of marriage while living in their drab London apartment. When war breaks out he joins the Royal Navy and she joins the Wrens. For three years they are apart as their holidays never coincide. While away from each other both experience great change. He is heroic, gets wounded and finds a bit of platonic romance with a nurse (Ann Todd) while she gains confidence in her job and at the urging of her friend (Glynis Johns) forms a sort of platonic attraction to an officer (Roland Culver) who is in love with her. Their gradual transformation into completely changed individuals results in both not wanting to go back to their previous lives and decide that divorce is the best option. When they finally meet face to face both confront their feelings and much to their surprise discover the drastic change in each other. Clemence Dane won the Oscar for Best Original Story which is an interesting time capsule vividly capturing London during the Blitz with blackouts and showing the bravery and comraderie of the British people during an intense period in their lives with bombed out London a metaphor for the couple's marriage. Both Donat and Kerr are sublime. He was at the end of his tenure at MGM while this was the start of her stardom and eventual life in Hollywood.
Patriot Games (Phillip Noyce, 1992) 7/10
The one where rogue IRA members come after Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) after he "interrupts" a terrorist attack on a member of the Royal family (James Fox) in London. He kills a young terrorist and has the boy's brother (Sean Bean) captured. When he escapes prison with the help of the rebel head (Patrick Bergin) of an IRA splinter group it is only a matter of time before they retaliate which they do by attacking Ryan's wife (Anne Archer) and daughter (Thora Birch). Clancy disowned the film, fans complained it was different to the book, yet the film was a boxoffice success. This is by no means a premium Ford actioner although he plays cat-and-mouse with the trio of Bean, Bergin and Polly Walker as they lay siege to his home which later segues into a boat chase to the death during a storm at sea where he displays the best of Indy Jones. Many familiar faces - Samuel L. Jackson, James Earl Jones, Richard Harris - appear in brief roles. Alec Baldwin, who had created the part of Jack Ryan in a previous Clancy adaptation, chose instead to play Stanley Kowalski on Broadway and so Ford got the part.
Clear and Present Danger (Phillip Noyce, 1994) 6/10
The one where Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) takes on the President of the United States and a Colombian drug lord. With help from a rogue CIA agent (Willem Dafoe) and their dying mentor (James Earl Jones) they both not only rescue trapped soldiers but Jack brings down the National Security Advisor (Harris Yulin) who under instructions of the President initiates illegal covert operations in Colombia to destroy the cartel. Ford, in his second outing at Ryan, is stiffly stoic while Anne Archer is wasted in a nothing role as his devoted wife. Lots of loud jungle action with bombs going off brought the film two Oscar nominations in the sound department.
A cop (Rajkumar Rao), who is a closet homosexual, and a physical education teacher (Bhumi Pednekar), who is a closet lesbian, decide to get married to shut up their families who nag them persistently to marry the conventional way. They find it a perfect situation where each can live their life according to their preference. The film passionately advocates for inclusivity and acceptance but unfortunately does not know where to go once the premise is set. Corny jokes, lovers that cause problems, family pressure to produce a child, patriarchy rearing its ugly head and adoption as an answer to their problem are some of the plot points churned out by the screenplay. Interspersed are unnecessary song and dance sequences which take the film to an inordinate length. The two stars are good as always but they don't have good material to play with and the film just drones on and on.
Vacation From Marriage / Perfect Strangers (Alexander Korda, 1945) 7/10
A dull marriage gets a kick of adrenalin after a couple part for three years when war breaks out. A mousy accountant (Robert Donat), married to a sickly, timid young woman (Deborah Kerr), go through the motions of marriage while living in their drab London apartment. When war breaks out he joins the Royal Navy and she joins the Wrens. For three years they are apart as their holidays never coincide. While away from each other both experience great change. He is heroic, gets wounded and finds a bit of platonic romance with a nurse (Ann Todd) while she gains confidence in her job and at the urging of her friend (Glynis Johns) forms a sort of platonic attraction to an officer (Roland Culver) who is in love with her. Their gradual transformation into completely changed individuals results in both not wanting to go back to their previous lives and decide that divorce is the best option. When they finally meet face to face both confront their feelings and much to their surprise discover the drastic change in each other. Clemence Dane won the Oscar for Best Original Story which is an interesting time capsule vividly capturing London during the Blitz with blackouts and showing the bravery and comraderie of the British people during an intense period in their lives with bombed out London a metaphor for the couple's marriage. Both Donat and Kerr are sublime. He was at the end of his tenure at MGM while this was the start of her stardom and eventual life in Hollywood.
Patriot Games (Phillip Noyce, 1992) 7/10
The one where rogue IRA members come after Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) after he "interrupts" a terrorist attack on a member of the Royal family (James Fox) in London. He kills a young terrorist and has the boy's brother (Sean Bean) captured. When he escapes prison with the help of the rebel head (Patrick Bergin) of an IRA splinter group it is only a matter of time before they retaliate which they do by attacking Ryan's wife (Anne Archer) and daughter (Thora Birch). Clancy disowned the film, fans complained it was different to the book, yet the film was a boxoffice success. This is by no means a premium Ford actioner although he plays cat-and-mouse with the trio of Bean, Bergin and Polly Walker as they lay siege to his home which later segues into a boat chase to the death during a storm at sea where he displays the best of Indy Jones. Many familiar faces - Samuel L. Jackson, James Earl Jones, Richard Harris - appear in brief roles. Alec Baldwin, who had created the part of Jack Ryan in a previous Clancy adaptation, chose instead to play Stanley Kowalski on Broadway and so Ford got the part.
Clear and Present Danger (Phillip Noyce, 1994) 6/10
The one where Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) takes on the President of the United States and a Colombian drug lord. With help from a rogue CIA agent (Willem Dafoe) and their dying mentor (James Earl Jones) they both not only rescue trapped soldiers but Jack brings down the National Security Advisor (Harris Yulin) who under instructions of the President initiates illegal covert operations in Colombia to destroy the cartel. Ford, in his second outing at Ryan, is stiffly stoic while Anne Archer is wasted in a nothing role as his devoted wife. Lots of loud jungle action with bombs going off brought the film two Oscar nominations in the sound department.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Call Me Madam (1953) - 8/10 - Ethel Merman is a socialite who is appointed as ambassador to Lichtenburg, a small European duchy. I saw the stage musical many years ago and this was a lot of fun. My favorite scene is the one with Donald O'Connor and the balloons.
Qivitoq (1956) - 8/10 - A teacher travels from Denmark to surprise her fiance, a doctor, in Greenland only to find that he is now in a relationship with his nurse. She is embarrassed and wants to get home as quickly as possible, but the next ship is at least a week or more away. She ends up spending her time in a small fishing village and gets to know the manager of the trading post there. There is a lot of great scenery, including glaciers and icebergs, and it is a decent story as well.
Nine Lives (1957) - 8/10 - Jan Baalsrud was a Norwegian commando who was trained in England and was part of a commando team into Norway in 1943 on a mission that went wrong. He was the only one to escape the Germans and survived with the aid of Norwegian patriots while also battling against snow, ice, frostbite, gangrene, and having to cross mountains and water to get to safety in Sweden. The movie does a good job depicting his ordeal.
Qivitoq (1956) - 8/10 - A teacher travels from Denmark to surprise her fiance, a doctor, in Greenland only to find that he is now in a relationship with his nurse. She is embarrassed and wants to get home as quickly as possible, but the next ship is at least a week or more away. She ends up spending her time in a small fishing village and gets to know the manager of the trading post there. There is a lot of great scenery, including glaciers and icebergs, and it is a decent story as well.
Nine Lives (1957) - 8/10 - Jan Baalsrud was a Norwegian commando who was trained in England and was part of a commando team into Norway in 1943 on a mission that went wrong. He was the only one to escape the Germans and survived with the aid of Norwegian patriots while also battling against snow, ice, frostbite, gangrene, and having to cross mountains and water to get to safety in Sweden. The movie does a good job depicting his ordeal.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Belfast (2021) - 9/10 - Kenneth Branagh wrote this based on his memories growing up in Belfast in 1969/1970. The Troubles are in full swing and start to affect the street where Buddy, our protagonist, lives. It's a mixed neighborhood of Protestants and Catholics and they seem to get along fairly well until agitators show up with their ultimatums. I thought it was a very nice film with solid performances all around, especially Caitriona Balfe as Buddy's mother. Jude Hill, Jamie Dornan, Judi Dench, and Ciaran Hinds were all really good as well. There was actually a pretty good crowd in the theater for a Monday afternoon showing of a movie that has been out for three months.
It Should Happen to You (1954) - 8/10 - Judy Holliday stars as Gladys Glover, a model who recently lost her job. She meets Pete (Jack Lemmon), a documentary filmmaker and strikes up a friendship while walking in Central Park. Soon after, she gets the idea to rent a billboard and put her name on it, thus setting off a series of events that get her pretty well known in the city. I thought Holliday and Lemmon did a very nice job and this is a pretty entertaining film.
It Should Happen to You (1954) - 8/10 - Judy Holliday stars as Gladys Glover, a model who recently lost her job. She meets Pete (Jack Lemmon), a documentary filmmaker and strikes up a friendship while walking in Central Park. Soon after, she gets the idea to rent a billboard and put her name on it, thus setting off a series of events that get her pretty well known in the city. I thought Holliday and Lemmon did a very nice job and this is a pretty entertaining film.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Death on the Nile (Kenneth Branagh, 2022) 6/10
Walking out of the movie my 85-year old dad said, "they've certainly jazzed up this film version". Indeed they have.......starting, or rather ending with Poirot in love with a *gasp* black blues singer. That's not all. The screenplay fiddles around with a number of characters, adding new ones - a sapphic couple, a renowned painter (Annette Bening) and her son (Tom Bateman). The character of romance novelist Salome Otterbourne and her daughter (played in the previous film version by Angela Lansbury and Olivia Hussey) here become a black blues singer (Sophie Okonedo) and her niece/manager (Letitia Wright) who are invited aboard the Nile steamer "Karnak" as part of the wedding party of a rich heiress (Gal Gadot) who has stolen the boyfriend (Armie Hammer) of her best friend (Emma Mackey). Also on board are the bride's maid (Rose Leslie), her former fiancé (Russell Brand), her cousin/lawyer (Indian actor Ali Fazal), her communist godmother (Jennifer Saunders) and her maid/traveling companion (Dawn French). When the bride is found dead of a gunshot wound to the head every passenger becomes a suspect. But never fear because Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) and his little grey cells are also on board to solve the mystery. Shot in Morocco all the Egyptian historical sites, including the three pyramids, the sphinx and Abu Simbel are courtesy of CGI which gives the film a terribly fake feel throughout - even the flaura and fauna (a snapping crocodile) alongside the Nile are CGI. Luckily the old steamer is authentic and a marvel of production design allowing the cast members to flit about the endless state rooms and corridors either murdering each other or trying to avoid being killed. Compared to the gorgeous 1978 version, with its magnificent cast, none of the actors here stand out. Agatha Christie's story remains fool proof so its worth sitting through although its all too ridiculous of Branagh to add all the changes - its so obvious that he ticked off assorted boxes in his head and added them all into the plot to appease today's woke audience - a white man in love with a black girl, a gay couple and two black ladies traveling on a first class steamer down the Nile in 1937. Pleasing to one's sensibility, wishful thinking but hardly authentic.
Dil Bechara (Mukesh Chhabra, 2021) 4/10
Maudlin, relentlessly downbeat film, based on the novel " The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green about terminal cancer patients. Girl (Sanjana Sanghi), fighting thyroid cancer, meets boy (Sushant Singh Rajput) who is in remission from Osteosarcoma. He wants her to co-star with him in a film being directed by his buddy (Sahil Vaid) who is suffering from glaucoma and already blind in one eye. I think that's enough said about the plot as no amount of lightness these three characters try to conjure up via jokes and crazy antics is actually enough to put the audience into a receptive mood. Saif Ali Khan cameos as a reclusive lyricist living in Paris - allowing the two leads to traipse all over the city of lights and in particular up the Eiffel Tower - who turns out to be a wacky asshole. This was Rajput's last film released many months after his tragic suicide. The film received Filmfare nominations for Rajput, A.R. Rehman's music and for Farah Khan's choreography of the title tune where Rajput dances solo with Michael Jackson-like movements. Skip this one.
A Very British Scandal (Anne Sewitsky, 2021) 7/10
Scandal amongst the high society crowd as a couple go hammer and tongs at each other in a highly public divorce that was then the longest, nastiest and most prurient divorce case in British history. Ian Campbell, the Duke of Argyll (Paul Bettany), an alcoholic, emotionally cruel, pill popping layabout with violent tendencies, divorces his third wife Margaret, the Duchess of Argyll (Claire Foy) when she finally refuses to give him more money - she has already spent a fortune renovating his family estate up in Scotland. So he accuses her of salacious behavior with 88 men - she does like to have sex and is very good at it - and hits the roof when he discovers some polaroid pictures of his wife, dressed only in her signature pearls, fellating a naked man who's face cannot be seen. The photos were presented in court during the trial and there was much speculation in London of the 1960s as to the identity of the mysterious man - rumors were rife that it was either a famous actor, a politician or even someone from the Royal family. Foy superbly goes through the story dressed to her teeth and a string of pearls around her neck as the presiding judge passes judgement on her saying she "was a completely promiscuous woman whose sexual appetite could only be satisfied with a number of men". The Duchess got her divorce but never revealed the name of her lover which to this day has caused constant speculation amongst an assortment of suspects.
Walking out of the movie my 85-year old dad said, "they've certainly jazzed up this film version". Indeed they have.......starting, or rather ending with Poirot in love with a *gasp* black blues singer. That's not all. The screenplay fiddles around with a number of characters, adding new ones - a sapphic couple, a renowned painter (Annette Bening) and her son (Tom Bateman). The character of romance novelist Salome Otterbourne and her daughter (played in the previous film version by Angela Lansbury and Olivia Hussey) here become a black blues singer (Sophie Okonedo) and her niece/manager (Letitia Wright) who are invited aboard the Nile steamer "Karnak" as part of the wedding party of a rich heiress (Gal Gadot) who has stolen the boyfriend (Armie Hammer) of her best friend (Emma Mackey). Also on board are the bride's maid (Rose Leslie), her former fiancé (Russell Brand), her cousin/lawyer (Indian actor Ali Fazal), her communist godmother (Jennifer Saunders) and her maid/traveling companion (Dawn French). When the bride is found dead of a gunshot wound to the head every passenger becomes a suspect. But never fear because Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) and his little grey cells are also on board to solve the mystery. Shot in Morocco all the Egyptian historical sites, including the three pyramids, the sphinx and Abu Simbel are courtesy of CGI which gives the film a terribly fake feel throughout - even the flaura and fauna (a snapping crocodile) alongside the Nile are CGI. Luckily the old steamer is authentic and a marvel of production design allowing the cast members to flit about the endless state rooms and corridors either murdering each other or trying to avoid being killed. Compared to the gorgeous 1978 version, with its magnificent cast, none of the actors here stand out. Agatha Christie's story remains fool proof so its worth sitting through although its all too ridiculous of Branagh to add all the changes - its so obvious that he ticked off assorted boxes in his head and added them all into the plot to appease today's woke audience - a white man in love with a black girl, a gay couple and two black ladies traveling on a first class steamer down the Nile in 1937. Pleasing to one's sensibility, wishful thinking but hardly authentic.
Dil Bechara (Mukesh Chhabra, 2021) 4/10
Maudlin, relentlessly downbeat film, based on the novel " The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green about terminal cancer patients. Girl (Sanjana Sanghi), fighting thyroid cancer, meets boy (Sushant Singh Rajput) who is in remission from Osteosarcoma. He wants her to co-star with him in a film being directed by his buddy (Sahil Vaid) who is suffering from glaucoma and already blind in one eye. I think that's enough said about the plot as no amount of lightness these three characters try to conjure up via jokes and crazy antics is actually enough to put the audience into a receptive mood. Saif Ali Khan cameos as a reclusive lyricist living in Paris - allowing the two leads to traipse all over the city of lights and in particular up the Eiffel Tower - who turns out to be a wacky asshole. This was Rajput's last film released many months after his tragic suicide. The film received Filmfare nominations for Rajput, A.R. Rehman's music and for Farah Khan's choreography of the title tune where Rajput dances solo with Michael Jackson-like movements. Skip this one.
A Very British Scandal (Anne Sewitsky, 2021) 7/10
Scandal amongst the high society crowd as a couple go hammer and tongs at each other in a highly public divorce that was then the longest, nastiest and most prurient divorce case in British history. Ian Campbell, the Duke of Argyll (Paul Bettany), an alcoholic, emotionally cruel, pill popping layabout with violent tendencies, divorces his third wife Margaret, the Duchess of Argyll (Claire Foy) when she finally refuses to give him more money - she has already spent a fortune renovating his family estate up in Scotland. So he accuses her of salacious behavior with 88 men - she does like to have sex and is very good at it - and hits the roof when he discovers some polaroid pictures of his wife, dressed only in her signature pearls, fellating a naked man who's face cannot be seen. The photos were presented in court during the trial and there was much speculation in London of the 1960s as to the identity of the mysterious man - rumors were rife that it was either a famous actor, a politician or even someone from the Royal family. Foy superbly goes through the story dressed to her teeth and a string of pearls around her neck as the presiding judge passes judgement on her saying she "was a completely promiscuous woman whose sexual appetite could only be satisfied with a number of men". The Duchess got her divorce but never revealed the name of her lover which to this day has caused constant speculation amongst an assortment of suspects.