The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir (1975) - 7.5/10 - In 1973, Shirley MacLaine took a somewhat diverse group of women to China as part of a cultural exchange. They were accompanied by a film crew consisting of four women to document their journey. At first, the people in China were not sure what to make of these foreigners, but they soon became friends, The group got to interact with many people, see a lot of sights, and get to know the way many of the Chinese people lived. They also got to ask questions about a number of topics to see how life in China was different or the same as life in the U.S. It was interesting and I especially enjoyed seeing the various activities rather than the question and answer sessions.
Sound and Fury (2000) - 8/10 - This documentary is about a family where one son (Peter) is deaf and his wife (Nita) and three kids are also deaf. His brother (Chris) is hearing, but has a wife (Mari) who is a child of deaf adult. Chris has infant twin boys where one of the twins is deaf. He and his wife look into getting a cochlear implant for their son, but Mari's parents are against it. Peter's oldest child (5 year old Heather) asks about getting a cochlear implant, but Peter and his wife are afraid that she will lose her deaf culture. Peter's mother pushes for the implant. There is a lot of debate and conflict here as the two families have to decide what to do. It was pretty well done. I also watched the short documentary that updates the situation six years later.
Murnau’s 4 Devils: Traces of a Lost Film (2003) - 7/10 - This film uses stills, excerpts from the script, and storyboards along with narration to recreate this lost film about four orphans who become circus trapeze artists. There were some interesting bits of information as well. I hope that a print of the original version of the film turns up some day.
A Queen is Crowned (1953) - 5/10 - Laurence Olivier narrates the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and the associated parades. There is a lot of colorful pageantry and it is somewhat interesting from a historical perspective, but the film itself is pretty boring.
For All Mankind (1989) - 8/10 - This film is narrated by Apollo astronauts and uses actual footage from missions to the moon during the 1960s and 1970s. I thought it was pretty cool.
Daughter from Danang (2002) - 8/10 - Heidi Bub was born in Vietnam in 1968 to a Vietnamese mother and an American father. She was part of Operation Babylift when she was six years old and ended up adopted by a single mother in Tennessee where she became fully Americanized. She sought more information about her birth mother 22 years after her adoption and was able to locate her. A film crew accompanied her on a visit to Vietnam to reunite with her mother, siblings, and other family. Things don't go totally as expected and this is a pretty good film.
Crèvecoeur (1955) - 6/10 - A young French lieutenant arrives in Korea to serve in a French battalion of UN forces. He is initially assigned as a liaison officer to the Americans, but is later given his own command and has to lead his men in battle. It didn't really seem like a documentary, but was labeled as such. The film itself was only so-so.
There is a documentary challenge on another film site that I follow so I'll be busy catching up on a lot of Oscar nominated documentaries this month.
Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
The Circle (James Ponsoldt, 2017) 3/10
A techno-thriller devoid of any thrills. Young girl (Emma Watson) gets a job at a powerful internet company - The Circle - and soon finds herself amongst the company's innermost circle, the co-founder (Tom Hanks), who takes a shine to her and persuades her to go "live" via 24-hour camera so viewers can watch her every move at any given time. Of course she gets private time when in the loo although she invades the privacy of her parents (Bill Paxton and Gleanne Headley) when she looks in on them and they are having sex which goes out live to all her viewers much to her parents' polite annoyance. The tricky evil of the tech company - getting people to expose their lives while upbending privacy laws - falls flat as the screenplay follows this boring girl - Watson was nominated for a Razzie as worst actress of the year - who wanders in a trance-like state without realizing the ramifications of the experiment she is involved with. The screenplay starts out by making it clear that this girl is a brainiac so for her to not get what she is doing as something wrong makes the whole story implausible. When she manages to turn the tables on her boss the smiley-faced Hanks merely mutters "we are so fucked". The element of danger and suspense is totally missing hence it makes for a rather dull film with nowhere to go.
Passing (Rebecca Hall, 2021) 8/10
Neither Tessa Thompson nor Ruth Negga can pass for white women yet both play characters, in this exquisite adaptation of Nella Larsen's novel, who do. One moreso than the other. A light-skinned black woman (Tessa Thompson) with a black husband (André Holland) and two young sons runs into a platinum blonde childhood friend (Ruth Negga) at a local hotel in New York. She is not only passing herself off as white but also happens to be married to a white man (Alexander Skarsgård) who not only hates black people but is also unaware of his wife's true ancestry. Hall, who is herself of mixed ancestry, took on this project to settle whatever demons were plaguing her own mind about colour and race. The central concept of "passing" for white remains sort of suspended in the air as the plot takes off on other tangents - the black couple trying to explain racial slurs to their two confused boys, the husband wanting to leave racist America and settling down abroad away from violence and the wife growing suspicious of her husband's growing interest in the flighty friend who seems to be fed up of her white husband and appears to be on the verge of moving back to a life in black Haarlem. Actually none of these topics gets a full run-through as the plot moves in a dream-like haze flitting from scene to scene - Eduard Garu's stunning black and white cinematography helps to achieve the dreamy mood of the characters and the plot. Despite the film's low budget the production and costume design are visually elegant giving the film a marvelous period sheen. The entire cast is impressive with Negga a standout as the bold and dramatic head-turner who seems to be equally comfortable whether living a lie in a white world or getting downright rambunctious in her own black world.
A Boy Called Christmas (Gil Kenan, 2021) 7/10
Little Nikolas (Henry Lawful), fed up with his nasty babysitter aunt (Kristen Wiig), sneaks off with his pet mouse in search of his woodcutter father who has gone on a quest to bring back hope in order to win money in return from the King (Jim Broadbent). Using a map he discovers inside the hat his late mother (she was devoured by a bear - like all good kids' stories death is always presented in the most horrific of manner) left him he treks off in the snow in search of the kingdom of Elfhelm. A reimagining of the Santa Claus story is built around another babysitter (Dame Maggie Smith), grand aunt to three African-American kids (its 2021 so we are in the usual "diversity" territory) who no longer believe in or celebrate Christmas (their mother is also dead while dad is in a confused quandy), so she tells them the bedtime story of little Nikolas as a means to prove the importance of Santa and Christmas. Meanwhile we get to go on the magical journey and meet a reindeer, a troll and a winged pixie and get to see the origin of various Christmas customs built around lessons of kindness and courage. Charming film for kids and grownups who still have the fire of childhood burning inside them. All others who puke at the sight of cute kids and magic may refrain from entering this kingdom of schmaltz. Dame Maggie is her usual vinegary self which makes all her moments on screen count.
A techno-thriller devoid of any thrills. Young girl (Emma Watson) gets a job at a powerful internet company - The Circle - and soon finds herself amongst the company's innermost circle, the co-founder (Tom Hanks), who takes a shine to her and persuades her to go "live" via 24-hour camera so viewers can watch her every move at any given time. Of course she gets private time when in the loo although she invades the privacy of her parents (Bill Paxton and Gleanne Headley) when she looks in on them and they are having sex which goes out live to all her viewers much to her parents' polite annoyance. The tricky evil of the tech company - getting people to expose their lives while upbending privacy laws - falls flat as the screenplay follows this boring girl - Watson was nominated for a Razzie as worst actress of the year - who wanders in a trance-like state without realizing the ramifications of the experiment she is involved with. The screenplay starts out by making it clear that this girl is a brainiac so for her to not get what she is doing as something wrong makes the whole story implausible. When she manages to turn the tables on her boss the smiley-faced Hanks merely mutters "we are so fucked". The element of danger and suspense is totally missing hence it makes for a rather dull film with nowhere to go.
Passing (Rebecca Hall, 2021) 8/10
Neither Tessa Thompson nor Ruth Negga can pass for white women yet both play characters, in this exquisite adaptation of Nella Larsen's novel, who do. One moreso than the other. A light-skinned black woman (Tessa Thompson) with a black husband (André Holland) and two young sons runs into a platinum blonde childhood friend (Ruth Negga) at a local hotel in New York. She is not only passing herself off as white but also happens to be married to a white man (Alexander Skarsgård) who not only hates black people but is also unaware of his wife's true ancestry. Hall, who is herself of mixed ancestry, took on this project to settle whatever demons were plaguing her own mind about colour and race. The central concept of "passing" for white remains sort of suspended in the air as the plot takes off on other tangents - the black couple trying to explain racial slurs to their two confused boys, the husband wanting to leave racist America and settling down abroad away from violence and the wife growing suspicious of her husband's growing interest in the flighty friend who seems to be fed up of her white husband and appears to be on the verge of moving back to a life in black Haarlem. Actually none of these topics gets a full run-through as the plot moves in a dream-like haze flitting from scene to scene - Eduard Garu's stunning black and white cinematography helps to achieve the dreamy mood of the characters and the plot. Despite the film's low budget the production and costume design are visually elegant giving the film a marvelous period sheen. The entire cast is impressive with Negga a standout as the bold and dramatic head-turner who seems to be equally comfortable whether living a lie in a white world or getting downright rambunctious in her own black world.
A Boy Called Christmas (Gil Kenan, 2021) 7/10
Little Nikolas (Henry Lawful), fed up with his nasty babysitter aunt (Kristen Wiig), sneaks off with his pet mouse in search of his woodcutter father who has gone on a quest to bring back hope in order to win money in return from the King (Jim Broadbent). Using a map he discovers inside the hat his late mother (she was devoured by a bear - like all good kids' stories death is always presented in the most horrific of manner) left him he treks off in the snow in search of the kingdom of Elfhelm. A reimagining of the Santa Claus story is built around another babysitter (Dame Maggie Smith), grand aunt to three African-American kids (its 2021 so we are in the usual "diversity" territory) who no longer believe in or celebrate Christmas (their mother is also dead while dad is in a confused quandy), so she tells them the bedtime story of little Nikolas as a means to prove the importance of Santa and Christmas. Meanwhile we get to go on the magical journey and meet a reindeer, a troll and a winged pixie and get to see the origin of various Christmas customs built around lessons of kindness and courage. Charming film for kids and grownups who still have the fire of childhood burning inside them. All others who puke at the sight of cute kids and magic may refrain from entering this kingdom of schmaltz. Dame Maggie is her usual vinegary self which makes all her moments on screen count.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
tick, tick... BOOM! (2021) - 7.5/10 - It's 1990 and Jonathan Larson is a struggling writer trying to get his rock musical produced and he's about to turn 30. This is years before Rent would become a huge hit. Andrew Garfield is excellent as Larson and the supporting cast is pretty good. I also liked many of the songs, but I did feel that the film dragged a bit from time to time. It's still a good film, though.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Song of the Islands (Walter Lang, 1942) 3/10
Spectacular color in a corny studio-bound film set in tropical Hawaii where everybody repeats "aloha" ad-nauseum. Pretty Betty Grable - blonde hair, pink cheeks and white teeth - falls in love with a stranger (Victor Mature). When she discovers he is there to buy out the property of her father (Thomas Mitchell) the relationship flounders. Jack Oakie is around trying to be funny but proving to only be a nuisance. Lots of songs and dances where Grable gets to wear grass skirts gyrating her hips while showing brief glimpses of the famous million dollar legs. Yet another hit at the boxoffice after which the studio kept making more musicals with Grable.
Roughshod (Mark Robson, 1949) 8/10
A rancher (Robert Sterling in a white hat) and his teenage brother (Claude Jarman Jr.) lead a small herd of horses towards a farm where they hope to settle. They are chased by a cold-blooded killer (John Ireland in a black hat) and his two henchmen just escaped from prison. Complicating the journey is an encounter with four stranded saloon women led by their worldly madam (Gloria Grahame). A love-hate relationship develops between the two just when the killers arrive for the obligatory shootout. Excellent noir western is beautifully shot by Joseph Biroc on location in California with Grahame, Myrna Dell, Jeff Donnell and Martha Hyer all memorable as the ladies of easy virtue - one runs off with a man, one returns pregnant to her parents, one has a deadly encounter with the three killers and one manages to find respectablilty in the eyes of the one she loves. Sterling is tight-lipped throughout but has great chemistry with Jarman Jr., who is a delightful presence throughout. Robson skillfully sustains tension during the cat and mouse chase sequences using the night's darkness to create eerie silhouettes. Ireland creates a chilling character who disposes off his victims with casual viciousness. A sleeper.
The Thrill of Brazil (S. Sylvan Simon, 1946) 6/10
Fast paced but predictable B-Musical does not step away for a second from an indoor set - so all we know we could be in Timbuktu and not Brazil - with nary a fake sight of old Rio. Snappy divorced couple - a revue producer (Keenan Wynn) and his former wife and star (Evelyn Keyes) - meet up again and its a scramble to see how much that hate returns to love and they inevitably get back together. Tap dancing second lead (Ann Miller) is in love with the producer while he has his eyes only on the ex-wife he can't wait to get back. Allyn Joslyn is the chump who is about to get married to the ex-wife and is prevented from doing so. With all the non-stop music, dance and song - Tito Guízar sings three - one almost misses the fact that this is a remake of "The Front Page" / " His Girl Friday", minus the newspaper setting ofcourse. Silly but fun. Ann Miller steals every scene with her spectacular hoofing.
Song of Surrender (Mitchell Liesen, 1949) 7/10
A naive waif (Wanda Hendrix) finds her life with a much older husband (Claude Rains) changes dramatically after she discovers the music of Enrico Caruso and the loving attention by a visitor (Macdonald Carey) from New York. Her controlling husband forbids her to listen to the music but she continues to in secret when he is away attending his conventions. A brief night out for a meal, a glass of champagne and dancing with her friend changes her perspective about life but she is forced to take a drastic step after being accused of adultery in church by her jealous husband. Formulaic plot is delicately handled by Liesen with Hendrix heartbreaking as the sad woman who finds brief happiness through music. Rains has played this role before but through sheer dint of his voice and mesmerizing screen presence manages to make it all seem fresh. The film's ironic ending is perfectly plotted.
Sombrero (Norman Foster, 1953) 5/10
Odd mixture of comedy and drama is also often very silly but a handsome cast, Mexican locations and Ray June's color cinematography makes it bearable. MGM puts its Latino / Italian contract actors to good use in this adaptation of the 1945 book "Mexican Village" by Josefina Niggli - a collection of 11 short stories. The plot revolves around two feuding villages and three pairs of star-crossed lovers caught in between. A wealthy young man (Vittorio Gassman), dying of a brain tumor, gives up his peasant lover (Yvonne De Carlo) and forced by duty and class position to marry a socially acceptable lady (Nina Foch) approved by his father. Meanwhile the boistrous village prankster (Ricardo Montalban) carries on an affair with the daughter (Pier Angeli) of a rich man from the rival village. The third couple is a poor candy peddler (Rick Jones) who falls in love with the pretty sister (Cyd Charisse) of a famous matador (José Greco) who has weird incestuous feelings for her. Montalban sings, Greco dances the flamenco and Charisse performs a solo dance which are memorable moments in what is otherwise a rather tedious overlong film with far too many unfunny moments of Montalban being endlessly chased by the villagers.
711 Ocean Drive (Joseph M. Newman, 1950) 7/10
Convoluted but atmospheric B-noir sees the rise of a telephone repairman (Edmobd O'Brien) by using his knowledge of electronics to help a bookie set up a betting operation. When his boss is murdered he steps in and greed and the love of his partner's wife (Joanne Dru) leads him into the inevirable path of destruction. The film's memorable climax is set on and around the Hoover dam. The two stars are both very good.
South of St. Louis (Ray Enright, 1949) 4/10
Three Texas ranchers and close buddies - each wear signature bells on their spurs - seek revenge when their ranch is burnt down by a sneering guerilla raider (Victor Jory). The Civil War is raging and one friend (Douglas Kennedy) joins the Confederate army, another (Joel McCrea) leaves his fiancé (Dorothy Malone), takes up with a saloon girl (Alexis Smith) and goes into partnership with the third friend (Zachary Scott) as gunrunners. Striking color is the film's only saving grace in what is pretty much a dreary film.
Spectacular color in a corny studio-bound film set in tropical Hawaii where everybody repeats "aloha" ad-nauseum. Pretty Betty Grable - blonde hair, pink cheeks and white teeth - falls in love with a stranger (Victor Mature). When she discovers he is there to buy out the property of her father (Thomas Mitchell) the relationship flounders. Jack Oakie is around trying to be funny but proving to only be a nuisance. Lots of songs and dances where Grable gets to wear grass skirts gyrating her hips while showing brief glimpses of the famous million dollar legs. Yet another hit at the boxoffice after which the studio kept making more musicals with Grable.
Roughshod (Mark Robson, 1949) 8/10
A rancher (Robert Sterling in a white hat) and his teenage brother (Claude Jarman Jr.) lead a small herd of horses towards a farm where they hope to settle. They are chased by a cold-blooded killer (John Ireland in a black hat) and his two henchmen just escaped from prison. Complicating the journey is an encounter with four stranded saloon women led by their worldly madam (Gloria Grahame). A love-hate relationship develops between the two just when the killers arrive for the obligatory shootout. Excellent noir western is beautifully shot by Joseph Biroc on location in California with Grahame, Myrna Dell, Jeff Donnell and Martha Hyer all memorable as the ladies of easy virtue - one runs off with a man, one returns pregnant to her parents, one has a deadly encounter with the three killers and one manages to find respectablilty in the eyes of the one she loves. Sterling is tight-lipped throughout but has great chemistry with Jarman Jr., who is a delightful presence throughout. Robson skillfully sustains tension during the cat and mouse chase sequences using the night's darkness to create eerie silhouettes. Ireland creates a chilling character who disposes off his victims with casual viciousness. A sleeper.
The Thrill of Brazil (S. Sylvan Simon, 1946) 6/10
Fast paced but predictable B-Musical does not step away for a second from an indoor set - so all we know we could be in Timbuktu and not Brazil - with nary a fake sight of old Rio. Snappy divorced couple - a revue producer (Keenan Wynn) and his former wife and star (Evelyn Keyes) - meet up again and its a scramble to see how much that hate returns to love and they inevitably get back together. Tap dancing second lead (Ann Miller) is in love with the producer while he has his eyes only on the ex-wife he can't wait to get back. Allyn Joslyn is the chump who is about to get married to the ex-wife and is prevented from doing so. With all the non-stop music, dance and song - Tito Guízar sings three - one almost misses the fact that this is a remake of "The Front Page" / " His Girl Friday", minus the newspaper setting ofcourse. Silly but fun. Ann Miller steals every scene with her spectacular hoofing.
Song of Surrender (Mitchell Liesen, 1949) 7/10
A naive waif (Wanda Hendrix) finds her life with a much older husband (Claude Rains) changes dramatically after she discovers the music of Enrico Caruso and the loving attention by a visitor (Macdonald Carey) from New York. Her controlling husband forbids her to listen to the music but she continues to in secret when he is away attending his conventions. A brief night out for a meal, a glass of champagne and dancing with her friend changes her perspective about life but she is forced to take a drastic step after being accused of adultery in church by her jealous husband. Formulaic plot is delicately handled by Liesen with Hendrix heartbreaking as the sad woman who finds brief happiness through music. Rains has played this role before but through sheer dint of his voice and mesmerizing screen presence manages to make it all seem fresh. The film's ironic ending is perfectly plotted.
Sombrero (Norman Foster, 1953) 5/10
Odd mixture of comedy and drama is also often very silly but a handsome cast, Mexican locations and Ray June's color cinematography makes it bearable. MGM puts its Latino / Italian contract actors to good use in this adaptation of the 1945 book "Mexican Village" by Josefina Niggli - a collection of 11 short stories. The plot revolves around two feuding villages and three pairs of star-crossed lovers caught in between. A wealthy young man (Vittorio Gassman), dying of a brain tumor, gives up his peasant lover (Yvonne De Carlo) and forced by duty and class position to marry a socially acceptable lady (Nina Foch) approved by his father. Meanwhile the boistrous village prankster (Ricardo Montalban) carries on an affair with the daughter (Pier Angeli) of a rich man from the rival village. The third couple is a poor candy peddler (Rick Jones) who falls in love with the pretty sister (Cyd Charisse) of a famous matador (José Greco) who has weird incestuous feelings for her. Montalban sings, Greco dances the flamenco and Charisse performs a solo dance which are memorable moments in what is otherwise a rather tedious overlong film with far too many unfunny moments of Montalban being endlessly chased by the villagers.
711 Ocean Drive (Joseph M. Newman, 1950) 7/10
Convoluted but atmospheric B-noir sees the rise of a telephone repairman (Edmobd O'Brien) by using his knowledge of electronics to help a bookie set up a betting operation. When his boss is murdered he steps in and greed and the love of his partner's wife (Joanne Dru) leads him into the inevirable path of destruction. The film's memorable climax is set on and around the Hoover dam. The two stars are both very good.
South of St. Louis (Ray Enright, 1949) 4/10
Three Texas ranchers and close buddies - each wear signature bells on their spurs - seek revenge when their ranch is burnt down by a sneering guerilla raider (Victor Jory). The Civil War is raging and one friend (Douglas Kennedy) joins the Confederate army, another (Joel McCrea) leaves his fiancé (Dorothy Malone), takes up with a saloon girl (Alexis Smith) and goes into partnership with the third friend (Zachary Scott) as gunrunners. Striking color is the film's only saving grace in what is pretty much a dreary film.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
King Richard (2021) - 8/10 - This is a pretty solid film about Richard Williams and the early tennis years of Venus and Serena Williams. Will Smith is very good in the title role, but Aunjanue Ellis is just as solid as Oracene Williams. Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton are also good as Venus and Serena with Sidney having a larger role as the older of the two sisters. In many ways it's a fairly standard sports biopic, but it manages to be pretty entertaining as well.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
The Secret in Their Eyes (2009) - 7/10 - A retired legal counselor decides to try and write a book based on a rape/murder case from 25 years earlier. He meets up with his former boss, a woman that he was in love with, but was unable to act on his feelings. The film flashes back to the case for much of the film. I thought it was good, but not great.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
O Quatrilho (1995) - 6/10 - Two newly married couples decide to pool their resources and purchase a farm in Brazil early in the 20th Century. They live in the same large house and build a mill. Angelo is practical and married to Teresa, who wants romance. Massimo seems cultured, but has a wandering eye and is married to Pierina who is practical. Their lives get upended when Teresa and Massimo fall for each other. It was a decent film, though perhaps a bit too plain and straightforward, sort of like Angelo and Pierina.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
King Richard (Reinaldo Marcus Green, 2021) 6/10
Sports film, true story, African-American biography which falls in the "against all odds" genre of stories. Richard Williams (Will Smith), a tennis enthusiast with a brood of daughters, vows to make his daughters Venus and Serena into tennis champions. And he does. Using an assortment of unconventional methods he succeeds in creating two huge stars in the world of tennis. The film, of course, is really about Will Smith and how the star - who received $40 million for the film - is being prepped to win his first Oscar after years of being a very successful movie star. The difference between Smith and Tom Cruise is that the latter is stuck in an action groove while the former alternates his crash-bang films with smaller films all about the heart. So we get to see Smith win his Oscar come spring while Cruise and his smirk will need to learn the tricks of the Oscar trade in order to win one for himself. Also shining as Smith's wife and the girls' equally tough mother is Aunjanue Ellis. Heartwarming inspirational but unnecessarily overlong tennis tale is not really my cup of tea but I'm perfectly fine with the idea of the uber-cool Smith as an Oscar winner.
Stand By For Action (Robert Z. Leonard, 1942) 4/10
The first naval war film made by MGM during WWII. The story is set in the Pacific on a beat-up old ship lying derelict since the last War which is put into order after Pearl Harbor is bombed and sent out to protect convoys of allied ships from Japanese attacks. The ship is run by an up-from-the-ranks Commander (Brian Donlevy) who clashes with his well-connected Harvard educated Masterman (Robert Taylor). The Admiral (Charles Laughton) who puts together these two in charge of the old vessel is a combination of a strict blowsy martinet and a fussy maiden aunt. Laughton certainly rises to the challenge giving an amusing performance. Walter Brennan is the old crew member from the ship's previous tenure who wants to enlist in this war as well. Lots of action, back projection and special effects which were nominated for an Academy Award. Slow dull film.
White Feather (Robert D. Webb, 1955) 5/10
Handsome production in Cinemascope and in stunning color unfortunately has a bland script although mostly based on historical fact. The United States government and the Cheyenne sign a peace treaty whereby the Indians agree to move from their hunting grounds so the white settlers can move in and prospect for gold. An Army Colonel (John Lund) and a land surveyor (Robert Watch) are in charge of ensuring a peaceful settlement. When the daughter (Debra Paget) of the Indian Chief (Eduard Franz) decides to dump her fiancé (Hugh O'Brien) and move in with the white surveyor she is ostracised by her father and her tribe. Her former fiancé and brother (Jeffrey Hunter) threaten the peace process when they challenge the army and refuse to leave their land. Good cast is wasted in slow film.
Sports film, true story, African-American biography which falls in the "against all odds" genre of stories. Richard Williams (Will Smith), a tennis enthusiast with a brood of daughters, vows to make his daughters Venus and Serena into tennis champions. And he does. Using an assortment of unconventional methods he succeeds in creating two huge stars in the world of tennis. The film, of course, is really about Will Smith and how the star - who received $40 million for the film - is being prepped to win his first Oscar after years of being a very successful movie star. The difference between Smith and Tom Cruise is that the latter is stuck in an action groove while the former alternates his crash-bang films with smaller films all about the heart. So we get to see Smith win his Oscar come spring while Cruise and his smirk will need to learn the tricks of the Oscar trade in order to win one for himself. Also shining as Smith's wife and the girls' equally tough mother is Aunjanue Ellis. Heartwarming inspirational but unnecessarily overlong tennis tale is not really my cup of tea but I'm perfectly fine with the idea of the uber-cool Smith as an Oscar winner.
Stand By For Action (Robert Z. Leonard, 1942) 4/10
The first naval war film made by MGM during WWII. The story is set in the Pacific on a beat-up old ship lying derelict since the last War which is put into order after Pearl Harbor is bombed and sent out to protect convoys of allied ships from Japanese attacks. The ship is run by an up-from-the-ranks Commander (Brian Donlevy) who clashes with his well-connected Harvard educated Masterman (Robert Taylor). The Admiral (Charles Laughton) who puts together these two in charge of the old vessel is a combination of a strict blowsy martinet and a fussy maiden aunt. Laughton certainly rises to the challenge giving an amusing performance. Walter Brennan is the old crew member from the ship's previous tenure who wants to enlist in this war as well. Lots of action, back projection and special effects which were nominated for an Academy Award. Slow dull film.
White Feather (Robert D. Webb, 1955) 5/10
Handsome production in Cinemascope and in stunning color unfortunately has a bland script although mostly based on historical fact. The United States government and the Cheyenne sign a peace treaty whereby the Indians agree to move from their hunting grounds so the white settlers can move in and prospect for gold. An Army Colonel (John Lund) and a land surveyor (Robert Watch) are in charge of ensuring a peaceful settlement. When the daughter (Debra Paget) of the Indian Chief (Eduard Franz) decides to dump her fiancé (Hugh O'Brien) and move in with the white surveyor she is ostracised by her father and her tribe. Her former fiancé and brother (Jeffrey Hunter) threaten the peace process when they challenge the army and refuse to leave their land. Good cast is wasted in slow film.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Son of the Bride (2001) - 8.5/10 - Rafael spends a lot of his time running the restaurant he took over from his parents. This leads him to neglect a number of his family relationships at times. He has a company interested in purchasing the restaurant, but is hesitant to sell. Life events lead to him reconsidering his priorities. I enjoyed this one a lot.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Wild Tales (2014) - 8/10 - Six stories are told here that generally center on revenge in this Argentinian black humor film. I liked most of the stories, though I don't think the one with the hit and run quite fit with the rest and I didn't really buy the ending of the tow truck story. Still, it is an entertaining film and moves at a pretty good pace.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Anina (2013) - 7.5/10 - A young girl isn't sure whether she likes her name because she gets teased about it at school. All three of her names are palindromes. She gets into a bit of a fight with another girl on the playground and the girls are given a sealed envelope to hold on to for a week before learning their punishment. The animation takes a bit of getting used to, but I thought it was a very nice movie and I enjoyed it more as it went along.
Landfill Harmonic (2015) - 7.5/10 - A music director decides to offer free music lessons to children of families who live near a giant landfill in Paraguay. This leads to one of the parents helping build violins and other instruments out of materials found in the landfill and the formation of a small orchestra. Eventually, the orchestra gets invited to play in various places around the world, but a number of things still make life difficult back home. This is a pretty nice documentary.
Landfill Harmonic (2015) - 7.5/10 - A music director decides to offer free music lessons to children of families who live near a giant landfill in Paraguay. This leads to one of the parents helping build violins and other instruments out of materials found in the landfill and the formation of a small orchestra. Eventually, the orchestra gets invited to play in various places around the world, but a number of things still make life difficult back home. This is a pretty nice documentary.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
La Antena (2007) - 7.5/10 - The people of a city have had their voices taken away from them by Mr. TV, except for one woman known as The Voice (and her son, but they are keeping it secret). Now Mr. TV is plotting to take their words as well. This is an odd film with a sort of retro futuristic style, but I enjoyed it.
Punch the Clock (2016) - 7/10 - The patent office in Brazil is filled with extremely lazy workers who rarely get any work done. When the office becomes the subject of ridicule in a magazine article, the boss decides to do something about it. In a case of fortuitous timing, he becomes aware of a working time machine prototype that was just filed with the bureau and hatches a plan to use it to force his employees to catch up on the backlog. It's not a great movie, but it was fun.
Punch the Clock (2016) - 7/10 - The patent office in Brazil is filled with extremely lazy workers who rarely get any work done. When the office becomes the subject of ridicule in a magazine article, the boss decides to do something about it. In a case of fortuitous timing, he becomes aware of a working time machine prototype that was just filed with the bureau and hatches a plan to use it to force his employees to catch up on the backlog. It's not a great movie, but it was fun.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Tango (1998) - 7/10 - A director is recovering from a broken leg and from his wife leaving him while also trying to put together a film featuring tango music and dance. He also has to put up with requests from the investors in his film. Quite a bit of the film features the rehearsals and planning of the film with a somewhat thin story of a romance with a young dancer. There is plenty of good music and dance and I enjoyed the film, certainly a lot more than Blood Wedding and more than Carmen as well. Those films were also directed by Carlos Saura and have similarities to Tango in terms of structure. This film is much more polished than those two films, though.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
La tregua (1974) - 7/10 - The film starts on Martin's 49th birthday. He's been a widower for 20 years and lives with his three grown children. He works in an office, but has a pretty dull life overall. Things perk up for him when he starts dating a woman half his age. I was somewhat bored through the first part of the film, but it picked up after he started dating the young woman and it became more interesting after that.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Rocky Mountain (William Keighley, 1950) 8/10
The downbeat tone of Flynn's last Western is probably why he decided to take on the role - he was never fond of all the action oriented roles he had played in this genre. The theme of the film also fits in with the mood prevailing back then when heroes were less than perfect and endings weren’t always happy. During the dying days of the Civil War a weary captain (Errol Flynn) in the Confederate Army is sent west to California to raise a rebel army in order to create enough heat to deflect from their forces back east. The small group finds themselves stranded on a mountain top waiting for a bandit warlord to provide an army. Their gallant rescue of a stagecoach from Indians backfires as the sole survivor (Patrice Wymore) turns out to be the fiancé of a Union officer stationed nearby who also turns up with his men and taken prisoner on the mount. It becomes a tense waiting game as Indians around them go on the warpath leading to the film's very realistic finalé. Despite Wymore's presence there is not even a hint of romance with Flynn - although offscreen she became his third and last wife. Despite Slim Picken's screen debut there is no corny comic track in the film (unlike boistrous comic scenes in previous Flynn Westerns) keeping up with the bleak storyline. Keighley shoots with great precision - both the action scenes as well as the talky scenes on the mount using the outdoor location to great effect.
Royal Wedding (Stanley Donen, 1951) 8/10
This is the one where Astaire dances with a coat rack and later on the walls and ceiling of a room which decades later Lionel Richie re-created in the hit video of his song "Dancing on the Ceiling". A brother (Fred Astaire) and sister (Jane Powell) dance act (mirroring Astaire's own former act with his sister Adele) opens in London on the eve of the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip. The partners also find romance along the way - he with a chorus girl (Sarah Churchill - Winston's actress daughter) and she with an impoverished Lord (Peter Lawford). Keenan Wynn tries to arrange two marriages while the royal one is on. The ballad "Too Late Now", sung by Powell to Lawford, was nominated for an Oscar, Alan Jay Lerner wrote all the lyrics, first choice Judy Garland was fired by MGM (she apparentley tried to slash her throat in response), second choice June Allyson dropped out due to pregnancy so Powell got the role playing sister to Astaire who was 30-years older. Memorable film, a sort of filler, before Astaire's masterpiece "The Band Wagon" which was just around the corner. Nobody could really equal the color and A-list pizzazz of musicals like MGM. This may have been minor compared to many other musicals yet still manages to maintain a classic status with some of Astaire's best hoofing.
Red Notice (Rawson Marshall Thurber, 2021) 4/10
Utterly predictable heist yarn that tries to revive memories of "Charade", "Gambit", "How to Steal a Million" and many others before it. They forgot that the charm of Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Michael Caine, Shirley MacLaine and Peter O'Toole is missing from this rather tired recipe. An FBI agent (Dwayne Johnson) is forced to partner with a famous art thief (Ryan Reynolds) to take on an up-and-coming criminal (Gal Gadot) in their quest to retrieve three ancient Egyptian fabergé-like gold eggs which were a wedding gift from Marc Antony to his wife Cleopatra. The chase is on with the three double crossing each other from one end of the world to another as they go from Rome to Bali to a Russian prison to the jungles of Argentina where a Nazi bunker houses the missing third egg. Blatant rip-off moments from Spielberg's "Raiders of the Lost Ark" - at one stage Reynolds cheekily whistles John Williams' "Raiders March" tune as he sets foot in an underground cavern full of stolen Nazi treasures. The three stars seem to be having a ball passing quips as they torture each other in their quest for one-upmanship. However, it comes off terribly forced and since none of the characters show any redeemable qualities one doesn't care either way for them. Looks like there will be a sequel as the set up is in place at the end.
Rogue's March (Allan Davis, 1953) 3/10
British soldiers with veddy stiff upper lips. One (Peter Lawford), a promising young soldier just betrothed to an officer's daughter (Janice Rule) and on the verge of sailing to India, gets framed as a traitor and is court-martialed. Enlisting again on the sly he turns up in the North Western Frontier under the command of his own dad (Leo G. Carroll), goes on the lam on the Khyber Pass after the Russians (villains de jour) with his fiancé's current boyfriend (Richard Greene). Rousing action against the pathans who shout out a lot of their speeches in pushto. And a rare glimpse of the Khyber Pass, circa 1953, passing off as early century. It's mixed in with footage shot in Southern California and on the studio lot. Interesting to see the Ruskies as the bad guys even back then as they "interfered" with the politics of Afghanistan against the Brits. A poor man's "Four Feathers" with heavy doses of the Dreyfuss Affair. A rather weak affair overall.
The downbeat tone of Flynn's last Western is probably why he decided to take on the role - he was never fond of all the action oriented roles he had played in this genre. The theme of the film also fits in with the mood prevailing back then when heroes were less than perfect and endings weren’t always happy. During the dying days of the Civil War a weary captain (Errol Flynn) in the Confederate Army is sent west to California to raise a rebel army in order to create enough heat to deflect from their forces back east. The small group finds themselves stranded on a mountain top waiting for a bandit warlord to provide an army. Their gallant rescue of a stagecoach from Indians backfires as the sole survivor (Patrice Wymore) turns out to be the fiancé of a Union officer stationed nearby who also turns up with his men and taken prisoner on the mount. It becomes a tense waiting game as Indians around them go on the warpath leading to the film's very realistic finalé. Despite Wymore's presence there is not even a hint of romance with Flynn - although offscreen she became his third and last wife. Despite Slim Picken's screen debut there is no corny comic track in the film (unlike boistrous comic scenes in previous Flynn Westerns) keeping up with the bleak storyline. Keighley shoots with great precision - both the action scenes as well as the talky scenes on the mount using the outdoor location to great effect.
Royal Wedding (Stanley Donen, 1951) 8/10
This is the one where Astaire dances with a coat rack and later on the walls and ceiling of a room which decades later Lionel Richie re-created in the hit video of his song "Dancing on the Ceiling". A brother (Fred Astaire) and sister (Jane Powell) dance act (mirroring Astaire's own former act with his sister Adele) opens in London on the eve of the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip. The partners also find romance along the way - he with a chorus girl (Sarah Churchill - Winston's actress daughter) and she with an impoverished Lord (Peter Lawford). Keenan Wynn tries to arrange two marriages while the royal one is on. The ballad "Too Late Now", sung by Powell to Lawford, was nominated for an Oscar, Alan Jay Lerner wrote all the lyrics, first choice Judy Garland was fired by MGM (she apparentley tried to slash her throat in response), second choice June Allyson dropped out due to pregnancy so Powell got the role playing sister to Astaire who was 30-years older. Memorable film, a sort of filler, before Astaire's masterpiece "The Band Wagon" which was just around the corner. Nobody could really equal the color and A-list pizzazz of musicals like MGM. This may have been minor compared to many other musicals yet still manages to maintain a classic status with some of Astaire's best hoofing.
Red Notice (Rawson Marshall Thurber, 2021) 4/10
Utterly predictable heist yarn that tries to revive memories of "Charade", "Gambit", "How to Steal a Million" and many others before it. They forgot that the charm of Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Michael Caine, Shirley MacLaine and Peter O'Toole is missing from this rather tired recipe. An FBI agent (Dwayne Johnson) is forced to partner with a famous art thief (Ryan Reynolds) to take on an up-and-coming criminal (Gal Gadot) in their quest to retrieve three ancient Egyptian fabergé-like gold eggs which were a wedding gift from Marc Antony to his wife Cleopatra. The chase is on with the three double crossing each other from one end of the world to another as they go from Rome to Bali to a Russian prison to the jungles of Argentina where a Nazi bunker houses the missing third egg. Blatant rip-off moments from Spielberg's "Raiders of the Lost Ark" - at one stage Reynolds cheekily whistles John Williams' "Raiders March" tune as he sets foot in an underground cavern full of stolen Nazi treasures. The three stars seem to be having a ball passing quips as they torture each other in their quest for one-upmanship. However, it comes off terribly forced and since none of the characters show any redeemable qualities one doesn't care either way for them. Looks like there will be a sequel as the set up is in place at the end.
Rogue's March (Allan Davis, 1953) 3/10
British soldiers with veddy stiff upper lips. One (Peter Lawford), a promising young soldier just betrothed to an officer's daughter (Janice Rule) and on the verge of sailing to India, gets framed as a traitor and is court-martialed. Enlisting again on the sly he turns up in the North Western Frontier under the command of his own dad (Leo G. Carroll), goes on the lam on the Khyber Pass after the Russians (villains de jour) with his fiancé's current boyfriend (Richard Greene). Rousing action against the pathans who shout out a lot of their speeches in pushto. And a rare glimpse of the Khyber Pass, circa 1953, passing off as early century. It's mixed in with footage shot in Southern California and on the studio lot. Interesting to see the Ruskies as the bad guys even back then as they "interfered" with the politics of Afghanistan against the Brits. A poor man's "Four Feathers" with heavy doses of the Dreyfuss Affair. A rather weak affair overall.