rate the last movie you saw

[Jedbu]

1941 (Extended edition): 7/10

Having seen both versions of this first misfire from Steven Spielberg (saw the original version opening day and even owned a 16mm anamorphic print for a while) I find this one a bit more cohesive and actually better paced once it gets rolling. I will give the director props for attempting something out of his comfort zone (although I am not sure if there was anyone back then being able to handle such a sprawling production with any assurance) but after it is all over you are really left with nothing but a movie made of set-pieces and a plot that reminds me of Stan Laurel describing the first feature he and Oliver Hardy made-PARDON US-as "a 3-story movie on a 1-story base," although you would have to change that to 13 stories here. The main story involves Bobby DiCicco and Dianne Kay, his wanting to win a dance contest and possibly a movie contract through that, and a LOT of complications that surround them-that is pretty much it when you think about it-the others are just characters whom they meet along the way or her case, her family. A really good comedy has a good enough basic story that you can hang gags from that work well enough that you still care about the characters in the story. Well, from the "Making Of" doc that accompanies the film on the Blu-Ray, it sounds like neither the director, the producer or the writers remembered that and just kept on piling stuff on because they had the money and they just kept brainstorming stuff.

Which is too bad because watching the film again last night I found myself enjoying the little tangents less and less as they went on and wanting to stick more with the boy and girl and how that would resolve itself. When you think about it, almost the whole section with Matheson and Allen could be taken out without really missing it, which would also reduce a lot of Stack's great performance as Stilwell and eliminate Oates and even some of Belushi. Also, the section with the Japanese sailors/3 Stooges homage is cute, but the timing is way off and the resolution is just OK. The interplay between Mifune and Lee is interesting, but the latter is perhaps the whiniest Nazi in movie history (and we never do find out how he ends up in the final shot along with Pickens, who when he leaves would have been miles from Santa Monica) and I actually could not wait for his exit. I also love Stander's droll delivery-his gesture to Gary to move back a bit is priceless-and Hamilton and Deezen's section on the ferris wheel is still fun, although Hamilton actually makes those scenes with his exasperation and looks of terror (a little Deezen goes a long way). I had the opportunity to ask Bob Gale about the continuity flub where Hamilton and Deezen manage to switch places on the wheel at one point with no explanation-he told me that it was a simple mistake and that they could not come up with a gag in time to fix it long after discovering it. I told him that they should have had Deezen rock the car as a goof so much that it spun around and they switched that way-he paused for a second and asked "Where were you when we needed you?" with a laugh.

As for the "money shots," the crash landing of Belushi's plane is quite awe inspiring, as is the destruction of the amusement park (that rolling ferris wheel is still mighty cool) and Beatty's house sliding off the cliff (Ackroyd's remark "Oh, hey-that's great" pretty well sums it up) is still one of my favorite gags, but the whole paint factory crash just looks like a reason to spill paint and have an explosion of color-evidently DOP Bill Fraker's favorite bit was that section-go figure. The whole USO dance/riot is still beautifully choreographed and shot, although Spielberg's comments about wishing he would have made the film as a musical makes me wonder how he would have set a musical number on the sub or the Barstow scenes. Williams' score is still one of my favorites-I have had pretty much every incarnation of it since the Arista LP and treasure the LaLaLand 2-CD set I own-and it really fits the film well, with the underscore for Belushi's entrance and the dogfight over Hollywood being the standouts for me along with "Swing, Swing, Swing."

The film is still a glorious, gorgeously photographed mess (the Blu-Ray from the Universal box set is gorgeous, although the added scenes definitely appear one generation removed photographically, with one shot during the shooting down of the ferris wheel really looking murky), and I'm glad Spielberg and so many who made it now look back on it with fondness-I remember the reviews just shredding the film and Universal had so little faith in both this and THE JERK that they mastered both for laserdisc even before they were released in case they had to do a quick release in January of 1980 to do any recouping of costs, but since the Steve Martin film was a huge hit they breathed a sigh of relief but barely broke even on 1941. I remember a friend who used to attend exhibitor screenings in the Cleveland area attending the one for this film-the exhibitors brought their families and even friends expecting another monster hit from Spielberg. According to him, by the time it was over he could hear them nervously saying to each other "How long do you have this for?" "I got for 8 weeks-how big of a bath are we gonna take??!!"

Well, I still enjoy it despite its problems and I can only imagine Stanley Kramer and Blake Edwards commiserating during production and wondering if they should give the wunderkind any advice and deciding "Nah-he needs to learn on his own."

[Eric Paddon]

Westworld (1973) 7 of 10

-This was my choice of alternate viewing this evening. This also may rank as the oldest commercially released DVD of a film I still own since this was released in 1998 and was one of the few MGM catalog titles to be released on DVD under the MGM label before Warner Video took them over completely. I've been meaning to upgrade to the Blu-Ray but have just never had the time to do so.

-Anyway, I love the concept of the film and the climactic chase in the tunnels of the complex evoke some eerie chills. I think though the gaping plot hole of all the staff personnel being conveniently killed because their doors only open automatically and somehow this also cuts off their air sticks out as a little too pat for my tastes and needed to be done better.

[AndyDursin]

While I'm obviously not a big remake fan, I'm very interested in seeing HBO's WESTWORLD series coming later this year. They have an excellent cast and top flight talent lined up, and I'd imagine will do a better job developing the premise into something more dramatically sound than the film (which I would agree with your assessment Eric)

[AndyDursin]

PREDESTINATION
6/10

If the idea of crossing “12 Monkeys” with “Orlando” sounds like fun, then the Aussie import “Predestination” might be for you.

This unbelievably odd sci-fi time travel story is essentially a two-character piece wherein time traveler Ethan Hawke – sent back to stop a mad bomber in the 1970s – tends a New York City bar and listens to the sad story of an androgynous looking man with quite a history to tell.

Australian filmmakers Peter and Michael Spierig wrote and directed this adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein’s short story “All You Zombies,” which is strange, only somewhat satisfying and yet oddly – and improbably given its premise – compelling throughout. Sarah Snook really delivers the breakout performance in the film as a girl who goes through more than a few changes as she grows up in the restrictive 1960s – saying anything more would spoil the plot, though it’s safe to say most seasoned genre viewers will put all of the pieces together long before the film’s eventual “big reveal.”

Sony’s Blu-Ray includes a lengthy, feature-length documentary on the low-budget film plus bloopers, a 1080p (2.35) transfer and 5.1 DTS MA audio.

[jkholm]

2014 Oscar Nominees for Best Animated Short Film
8/10

I try to watch the animated short nominee program every year. There’s always a wide range of animation styles and stories and this year was no exception. This category is always difficult to predict. It is not true that the most-seen film always wins and usually it doesn’t.

This year “Feast” is the most seen short since it was shown before Big Hero 6. It’s one of several shorts that take a “cycle of life” approach and depicts a series of life events in an extremely short time-frame. “Feast” shows a relationship between a man and a woman as seen through the eyes of the man’s always hungry dog.

My favorite short was “The Dam Keeper,” an 18-minute film made by two former Pixar art directors. It’s set in a town populated by animals, one of whom is a young pig whose job is to keep the windmill running, lest darkness and poisonous air invade the town. The pig is an outcast, bullied at school until a new student arrives, a clever fox who befriends the pig. Both the storytelling and the animation are superb. It also has a nice score. Check it out.

Another notable short is “The Bigger Picture,” which uses an unusual style of animation to tell the story of two brothers who must take care of their dying mother. The animators took life-size wall paintings of the characters and merged them with various 3D effects. The story was just OK but the animation was unusual and striking.

The other nominees were good too as were the honorable mentions that didn’t make the final cut. Among these was a short called “Duet,” created by legendary Disney animator Glen Keane. This is yet another “life-cycle” short and, like “Feast,” shows the growing relationship between a man and woman, this time from infancy to adulthood.

This program is well-worth seeking out if its playing in your area.

[Monterey Jack]

The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005): 10/10

Happy Valentine's Day...

[Eric Paddon]

Octopussy (1983) 8 of 10

-Louis Jourdan's passing gave me an excuse to revisit what was for me, my first Bond movie. The nostalgia factor is heavy for me, but looking at it with a more detached eye, I think it still holds up quite well even though I will freely admit its not a classic Bond film in the mode of the early ones. Where I think it succeeds though is that it is perfection from the standpoint of Bond as a comic book style adventure. Or put another way, if "Moonraker" was at times too much like a third season "Batman" episode, "Octopussy" is like a first season "Batman" episode. Yes, it's far more outsized than a classic 007 spy adventure, and yes it has a couple low moments of humor but it also manages to maintain a serious tone for the right moments so that unlike "Moonraker" it's not like the silliness took center stage ultimately and there was a greater sense of balance.

-Admittedly it would have been nice if Adams' Octopussy had remained more of a threat or adversary to Bond for much of the film. It kind of takes a second viewing to realize that Jourdan's initial deference to her is because he needs her circus operation as a cover for his separate scheme with Orlov, though it's somewhat odd that Octopussy hasn't severed her tie with him after the buzzsaw attack on her and Bond (unless Jourdan sold her a line about how he had nothing to do with that which we never saw?)

-Also, how wonderfully refreshing it is to see after so many Hollywood clichés of the crazed superpatriot American general out to start a war, we *finally* see the tables turned and get a crazed General Ripper of the USSR in Steven Berkoff's Orlov.

-Barry's score might overdo the Bond theme, but that helped me connect with its importance to the series as a whole. There are moments when the score also calls to mind "Raise The Titanic" and I wish we would finally get an expanded CD of this for the several cues still MIA (especially the arrival in India, but also the arrival in East Berlin).

-Checked a couple of the bonuses. The James Brolin screen tests give new meaning to the expression, "What were they thinking????" More fun was seeing for the first time the "James Bond In India" featurette from 1983 which let us see an alternate version of the scene when Vijay says snake-charmer was the wrong cover for him.

-Still a winner for me after 30 years provided I see it as more a "comic book Bond" and less a "spy Bond".

[Paul MacLean]

I like Octopussy a lot, though Bond's "Tarzan" scream makes me cringe and compromises what is otherwise a very effective action sequence.

I have to admit it's also always bothered me that a Bond film set in India has virtually no Indian women in it!

[AndyDursin]

Some quick takes of titles new on Blu-Ray that will be up in this (and next) week's column:

FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD
8.5/10

I really enjoyed this film now far more than I did when I was younger -- probably no shocker there-- and preferred it to, say, "Ryan's Daughter," which has similarly impressive widescreen cinematography but a story less engaging than this Thomas Hardy adaptation. Julie Christie looks great, the Nicolas Roeg cinematography is spectacular and Richard Rodney Bennett's score is sublime. Basically a slow-burn, melancholy romance like "Tess" but with a happy ending. What's wrong with that? Warner's Archive Blu looks great even if it's been derived from what looks like a bit of a faded print, and the 5.1 DTS MA audio is basically mono all the way through too.

THE NIGHT THEY RAIDED MINSKY'S
5.5/10

Pretty feeble late '60s serio-comic musical about the invention of the striptease -- as fictionalized by writer-producer Norman Lear and director William Friedkin. A box-office disappointment that spent months in post-production where the film editor labored to jazz up and make what was apparently a total dog into a watchable, if fragmented and predictably disjointed, period piece. Similarly uneven Charles Strouse score too, worth a look for buffs but not much else. (Olive)

THE ST. VALENTINE'S DAY MASSACRE
7.5/10

Twilight Time unearthed this highly entertaining Prohibition gangster saga, dramatizing the days leading up to Al Capone's brutal slaughter of the Moran gang, his rivals from the North Side of Chicago. Jason Robards might have been down on the list of casting choices to play Capone (Orson Welles was the first choice but was vetoed by Fox), but he's quite good in the film, and loads of character actors mix with up-and-comers like George Segal, Bruce Dern and a quick cameo from Jack Nicholson rounding out the rest of the cast. Probably director Roger Corman's strongest cinematic work outside the AIP Poe pics, capably shot in Panavision and narrated in a no-nonsense manner by Paul Frees.

[Paul MacLean]

FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD
8.5/10

This is one I have to revisit. I've only seen it on pan & scan VHS! Agreed on Bennett's score, which is one of his best (the flute soloist on the score was actually James Galway, before he was famous).

[AndyDursin]

BIRDMAN
5/10

Blech.

Alejandro G. Inarritu’s acclaimed “Birdman” is undisputably brilliantly shot – but also a mean-spirited, strident, obnoxious show-business story of a former super-hero actor (Michael Keaton) trying to mount a Broadway play based on Raymond Carver short stories. Keaton’s attempts at bringing his artistic vision to life are fraught with problems both on-stage – where his hot-tempered co-star (Edward Norton) poses constant challenges – and off, where his ex-wife (Amy Ryan) and troubled daughter (Emma Stone) criticize the actor’s every move. “Birdman” is precisely the kind of overpraised, pretentious indie that critics love to rave about but is, on nearly every level save its cinematography (where Inarritu shoots in beautifully flowing, continuous takes), a picture that’s difficult to like. Keaton gives a strong performance all things considered, and is likely to walk away with the Oscar, but the caustic characters are off-putting and the “comedy” mostly self-indulgent, thinly veiled references to the lead actors’ real-life backgrounds (Norton’s diva-esque behavior, Keaton’s Batman past, etc.). Fox’s Blu-Ray isn’t packed with extras but admirers of the film are likely to appreciate the few supplements that are here, including a talk with Inarritu and Keaton, a gallery and “All Access” behind the scenes footage. The 5.1 DTS MA audio is brilliantly mixed with constant directional activity, and the 1080p (1.85) transfer is flawless. A digital copy rounds out the release.

[Eric Paddon]

Miracle On Ice (1981-TV) 7.5 of 10

-For the 35th anniversary of one of the greatest moments in sports history I broke out this sadly forgotten and underappreciated gem that was made just one year after the event and IMO is a million times better than "The Miracle". Despite the fact that it has at times a "by the numbers" quality of instant-TV movie histories of a just recent event that was common to that era, and despite the fact that it has a totally miscast Karl Malden in the part of Herb Brooks (30 years too old!), it still works because ultimately it has a quality of authenticity that "The Miracle" lacked. "Miracle On Ice" filmed at key locations like the old Met arena in Minnesota, Madison Square Garden (I got a chill seeing the scenes filmed outside the Garden during the days when I went to so many Ranger games on Sunday nights) and most importantly at the Lake Placid arena itself. This allowed the stock footage of the game action to blend seamlessly and also they used the authentic Al Michaels PBP calls of the Olympic games rather than the awful recreated ones of the latter film. Also, it touches on some key stories that the latter film incredibly missed or skipped, the most important being Mike Eruzione's decision not to turn pro. Good performances from Andrew Stevens (Eruzione), Steve Guttenberg (Jim Craig) and I'll even give Malden points for being a convincing coach even if he's not a convincing Herb Brooks (Robert Conrad would have been the perfect choice).

-My own recording is a late 1980s off-air recording that aired overnight on WNYW-Channel 5. A 16mm print that looked faded then. It'd be nice to see a good DVD release of this. The movie was produced by Filmways which would make it an MGM property now and they alas aren't releasing their old catalog in things like this (if it were Warner, there would have been a chance through their Archive program).

[Eric Paddon]

61* (2001) 7.5 of 10

-Although the sincerity of the project and the period recreation continues to bowl me over I have to confess over time, I've deducted a point from this as I revisit it because repeated viewings I think tend to highlight some flaws that could have been avoided though one was a totally unforeseen one.

-The biggest flaw which Crystal could not have foreseen was the framing device of McGwire's 62nd HR. Time has not been kind to this but it could have been avoided if we hadn't had to see the real footage of McGwire closing the film, especially if one has seen his confession interview and apology to the Maris family years later. With hindsight I think Crystal should have used a different framing device for the movie. He could have shown Maris's first return to Yankee Stadium in 1978 when he and Mantle raised the championship banner and how he was stunned by the ovation he got, which meant that the fans in New York now genuinely embraced him as a hero. Or he could have used Maris's funeral as the framing device which Crystal on the commentary track (which I'm going to revisit later) said he was at first considering.

-As for the things Crystal could have avoided, I really wish he had toned down the language. I freely admit that the language of ballplayers was exactly the way he depicts it, but the problem is that by overdoing it so much it keeps the film from being something one could share with a younger generation of baseball fans about the history of the game and why it resonates so much with those of us who have been fans for so long.

-Crystal also overcaricatures Phil Rizzuto too much. Crystal wrote and has Joe Grifasi play Rizzuto like the Rizzuto of the 80s and 90s and not the Rizzuto of 1961 in the booth. Ironically, Grifasi was much better as Yogi Berra in "The Bronx Is Burning". But the one who I thinks get the worst treatment is Yankees PR director Bob Fishel (whose name in the credits is misspelled "Ficshel"). A viewer who doesn't understand what his role with the team was would come away thinking he was this doofus who failed to look after Maris during the tense moments of the season.

-I still like the film a lot and its one of the best baseball history movies ever made but over time, if one knows the real story too much, it can make one start to self-consciously look more for the flaws than the strengths. Any way, having revisited this dramatization of Yankees history I'll now be moving on to a new look of "Bronx Is Burning" soon.

[Jedbu]

2 films today...

WHIPLASH: 8/10

Engrossing film about a young music school student (Miles Teller) who has dreams of being a great jazz drummer and the tyrannical instructor (J. K. Simmons, in a brilliant Oscar-winning performance) who torments, harangues, bullies and draws out the talent he hopes the young man has. Nothing terribly ground-breaking here storywise, but you have two characters and two actors who CREATE those characters onscreen that stay with you a long, long time. The impression I have always had is how free-form and improvisational jazz music is, when in many ways it is (to many) one of the most structured forms of music, with the musicians functioning as finely tuned cogs in a machine, with the rhythm section the part that holds it together. I will never listen to jazz recordings the same way after watching this film, or look at the leader of a jazz group the same way. Even Paul Reiser, as Teller's father, does not dampen my admiration for this film. I have been a fan of Simmons ever since OZ, and that he is able to have such a range from sympathetic (the father in JUNO, the shrink on LAW & ORDER) to bastard (both in this film and in a cartoony way in the Raimi SPIDER-MAN films) yet makes it seem effortless just makes me more of a fan of the man, and I was fortunate enough to meet him at a theater in Hollywood and tell him how really great he is. He was kind enough to thank me and tell me how much he appreciated that I noticed him and his work and when I said that it was character actors like him that make TV and movies still work, he gave me a smile and replied "That is why we do the work."

THE ELEPHANT MAN: 9.5/10

One of my favorite films of the 80's, and perhaps my favorite film from David Lynch, who got this gig because executive producer Mel Brooks (whose company Brooksfilms, had a production deal with EMI) loved ERASERHEAD, and got producer Jonathan Sanger to hire him. It may be Lynch's most conventional film-it's straightforward story line and occasional dips into sentiment are rarely seen in his other works-but it is also his most accessible and emotionally satisfying, IMHO. Based on the life of John Merrick, who in 19th century London was known as "The Elephant Man"-one of the most famous "freaks" of the time, this also tells about Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins), probably one of the most brilliant surgeons of the time, and his fascination with Merrick which begins with condescension-his use of Merrick (in a heartbreaking performance by John Hurt) as a study for one of his classes is wince inducing, and he refers to him as "It"-but when he discovers the man under the deformities, it changes something in him. One scene has Treves confessing that he might be just like Merrick's business partner Bytes (Freddie Jones)-an exploiter of a human being.

When I originally saw this film in 1980 I was a bit concerned as to what the title character would look like (I had read a book about his life and the pictures inside were a bit horrifying) but the way Lynch gradually reveals Merrick takes the horror out but does not play down how he actually looked. That the make-up was so strenuous to Hurt that he could only shoot every other day (it took hours to apply) makes the greatness of his portrayal all that more astounding, and I would have been hard put to choose between his work in this film and DeNiro's in RAGING BULL for both integrity in performance but also in just how far both men went in building their characters. I was terribly disappointed that it won none of the Oscars it was nominated for (as far as I am concerned it was and still is vastly superior to that year's winner ORDINARY PEOPLE) with Freddie Francis' brilliant B/W photography and John Morris' beautiful score what should have won (I have always ranked the score to FAME beating this out for the Oscar as one of the great f*ckups in the history of the Oscars). My opinion of the film has not changed a whit, and the Region A Blu-Ray from Panorama Corporation Limited is just gorgeous. Sadly, not one extra on the disc, but one difference from the Paramount US DVD release-the film is divided into chapters here, while director Lynch did not allow those on the DVD. One really great addition to my collection.

[Monterey Jack]

-Cinderella (2015): 8.5/10

Sparkling new version of the oft-told tale is easily the best live-action take on a classic Disney animated feature to date...it has none of the dour joylessness of Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland or the disturbing "All men are evil rapists or useless puppets" subtext that severely marred last year's Maleficent, instead telling the story with a blissful lack of revisionism and with a great deal of charm, grace and impeccable production values. The costumes, sets and cinematography are all top-drawer, and Patrick Doyle's lush score recalls his 90's prime. Lily James is a lovely, beatific "Ella", Cate Blanchet is a suitably/hissably aristocratic Evil Stepmother, and Helena Bonham Carter's turn as the Fairy Godmother brims over with Bibidi-Bobbidi-Boo bubbliness. There's no egregious padding, no attempt to fashion the title character into some kick-ass "updated" heroine, it's just what you'd expect from the animated version, but when it's done this well, why carp? Maybe more could have been made of the supporting animal characters, but otherwise, this is charming, and family audiences should eat it up.