rate the last movie you saw

[Paul MacLean]

I saw it mainly because I want to keep up with current movies (especially those that have won acclaim). Scorsese has been more miss than hit with me, and I've never been a big fan of DeCapprio either, so my expectations weren't exactly stratospheric.

I can't argue any of your points Andy. Yeah, DeCapprio still looks like a kid, but I knew that going in, so I just tried to glance past that (as I did in all his other films) and I really do think this was one of his best performances (certainly better than Body of Lies, The Aviator or Romeo + Juliet!). And the more disgusting scenes actually seemed mild to me, in light of DeCapprio's sensationalistic description of the film as “a modern-day Caligula.” (it was nowhere near as revolting).

I totally agree about the CGI "locations", which didn't "look fake" exactly, but felt fake (the phony backgrounds in The Ghost Writer were far-more convincing). And yeah, maybe it got a little a little redundant, and cutting it down would not hurt it.

But what can I say? I guess it just "worked" for me. Not the best film I ever saw (nor destined for my collection), but I found it solid and successful within the confines of its intentions. And I was still laughing hysterically for five minutes after the "Popeye" scene!

Andy, I guess we now have four movies we disagree on!

[Monterey Jack]

Tell me -- at what point was I supposed to care about what was going on?

Did you really "care" about Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull or Henry Hill in Goodfellas? They were characters every bit as despicable and obsessive as DiCaprio's Jordan Belfort, yet equally fascinating to watch in a squirmy, analytical sort of way. To quote Roger Ebert, "A movie is not what it is about but how it is about it".

[Monterey Jack]

And I was still laughing hysterically for five minutes after the "Popeye" scene!

That and the scene where DiCaprio are negotiating their dwarf-tossing deal and start in on the "Goople-gopple one of us!" chant from Freaks had me howling with laughter.

[AndyDursin]

Tell me -- at what point was I supposed to care about what was going on?

Did you really "care" about Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull or Henry Hill in Goodfellas? They were characters every bit as despicable and obsessive as DiCaprio's Jordan Belfort, yet equally fascinating to watch in a squirmy, analytical sort of way. To quote Roger Ebert, "A movie is not what it is about but how it is about it".

In Goodfellas, Hill is swept up in the surroundings of the mafia lifestyle essentially from boyhood -- so the audience could identify with the glamour and the thrill of the world he becomes part of, and how easily people are lured into it, even if it had an underbelly of corruption and violence beneath its surface. Hill may not have been "sympathetic" but I could at least identify with his situation, and his becoming part of a surrogate "family" -- not to mention some of the worst crimes seemed to be out of his control (like when he watched in horror at some of Pesci's actions).

By comparison, I just hated Belfort, who is just an absolute prick from the time the movie starts. He's never identifiable or sympathetic in any degree, some of which I place on DiCaprio -- his whole performance is one-note posturing. And if you're going to take a viewer into a 3-hour orgy of sex and drugs, I would hope to care to a degree about what was going on. In this movie, I never did, once, to any person in it. As far as what it's about -- I got the message, that every Wall Street trader or big business type is a coke-snorting dick who abuses women and robs the poor, in about 10 minutes. Rinse and repeat.

[AndyDursin]

THE SWIMMER
8/10

I was forced to read John Cheever's short story THE SWIMMER not once or twice, but several times between 7th grade and high school graduation. While that may be somewhat of a damning indictment of growing up in the ‘80s and early ‘90s (between that and the handful of Toni Morrison novels I was forced to endure, you can understand why kids today have no familiarity with classic literature), Cheever's story was an interesting read, and one that made for an equally fascinating 1968 film starring Burt Lancaster. The movie – a commercial failure that eventually gained a cult following – is now available on Blu-Ray from Grindhouse Releasing in a sensational package that’s an early candidate for the year’s best.

Regularly described as a story worthy of "The Twilight Zone," “The Swimmer” probes the fragmented psyche of a wealthy townie who swims from one pool to the next in a wealthy Connecticut suburb, gradually reliving his failed personal and professional life along the way. Lancaster stars as Ned Merrill, and gives a tremendous performance as a guy experiencing his past and re-experiencing his downfall, which is partially revealed in a series of mostly ambiguous run-ins with a series of neighbors. From teenager Janet Landgard to his former mistress (Janice Rule), it's clear something has happened to Ned's job and (possibly) family, and yet director Frank Perry and screenwriter Eleanor Perry (the director’s then-wife) do a remarkable job retaining enough of the mystery from Cheever's story so it's never completely explained. Lancaster, meanwhile, is superb in a demanding role that ranges from a sexist, cheating, demeaning louse to a sympathetic loser who's fallen from grace (look also for Joan Rivers as a party guest Burt hits on late in the film!).

“The Swimmer” is a weird, poetic, powerful film from the late '60s – a vivid portrait of a upper-middle class man overly (and seemingly) swept up in the fast lane of life, who receives his comeuppance as the picture progresses. It’s nearly like “Ordinary People” meets “The Twilight Zone,” though even that description doesn’t quite capture the film’s offbeat eccentricities and its central theme, which is as valid today as ever.

Originally shot on-location in Connecticut, “The Swimmer” had a rocky post-production period, with an uncredited Sydney Pollack called in to re-shoot scenes involving, among others, Lancaster and Janice Rule. Secondary roles originally fleshed out by the likes of Billy Dee Williams were re-cast and re-shot in California, often obviously so, with character actors including Kim Hunter added into the cast.

It’s possible that these alterations only added to the movie’s strange atmosphere and tone, but either way, the film’s legacy and its fascinating behind-the-scenes story have been captured in a spectacular Blu-Ray/DVD release from Grindhouse. Available March 25th, “The Swimmer” not only includes a phenomenally fresh, and DNR-free, 1080p transfer from the Sony vaults, but also a full isolated stereo track of Marvin Hamlisch’s memorable dramatic score (his first) and a bevy of extras.

Chief among them is an extensive, 2½ hour documentary from Oscar-winning film editor Chris Innis. Though many of the principals have since passed, Innis managed to assemble Janet Landgard, Joan Rivers, editor Sidney Katz, Burt’s daughter Joanna Lancaster, and assistant directors Michael Hertzberg and Ted Zachary. All share their recollections of working on the film, particularly Lancaster’s generosity and his conflicts with the Perrys, along with producer Sam Spielgel’s problems with the film in post-production. The latter lead to Frank Perry being fired and Pollack brought in at Lancaster’s insistence, along with Katz extensively recutting the picture. Though the Perrys were obviously unhappy with Spiegel’s actions, there’s little that disappoints in the released version – and the fact that Frank Perry worked with editor Katz on numerous subsequent projects indicates that perhaps the director was satisfied, ultimately, with how the picture turned out after all.

Also included in the documentary is a 2010 conversation with Marvin Hamlisch, who details his hiring on the film (his first big break) and eloquently sums up the movie’s pleasures, as well as Marge Champion, who can be seen in the film’s opening sequence. The elderly Champion also appears in a 2013 TCM screening interview conducted by filmmaker Allison Anders, likewise included here in the bonus features.

Grindhouse has also included stills from Barbara Loden’s discarded scene in the role that Rule ultimately played. This is also brought up in the documentary with the revelation that Loden’s husband at the time, director Elia Kazan, conspired with Spiegel to have her sequence removed – going behind the backs of the Perrys, who thought Kazan was acting as an advocate for them.

Additional still galleries, full trailers and TV spots, a recording of Cheever reading his original story, and booklet notes from B-movie auteur Stuart Gordon and Innis make for a dynamite package that’s my favorite release so far in 2014. Unquestionably recommended!

[Jedbu]

IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD (Roadshow version-Criterion Collection): 7.5/10

Having grown up with this film (I vaguely recall seeing in at the drive-in with my parents in the mid-60's and countless times on TV over the years) and only being familiar with the general release (163 minute) version to actually sit down and view in watchable condition, I was really looking forward to finally seeing Stanley Kramer's epic comedy in a version as close as you could get to what premiered at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood back in 1963. I had owned the older widescreen VHS tape and the deluxe laserdisc that MGM/UA brought out in 1991-I was a good friend of technician Rennie Johnson, who did the monumental work on both this and THE ALAMO for the company, and he was still recovering from all the work putting the pieces back together from these films when they came out. My memories of watching the LD are somewhat vague, only remembering how battered and faded a lot of the footage was and how the content really was not that memorable to me. I later had the MGM/UA DVD and Blu-Ray, and while I did enjoy them, knowing that these were not truly complete and that the footage was out there left me with a not-quite-satisfying experience. When it was announced that Criterion was bringing out their super-deluxe package with BOTH versions, I finally breathed a sigh of relief and the parcel arrived yesterday, and I watched it last night.

To be direct-after finally watching the longer version, I think I prefer the general release version more. While it is good to see the film that Kramer originally envisioned, I can also see why he took out what he did-the restored footage is interesting (and in one case adds some dimension to Tracy's character while finally giving more screen time to one of my faves, Buster Keaton) but if you had never seen the longer version and/or did not know one had existed, you really would not find yourself lamenting its loss that much. No major gags are missing and no set-ups or payoffs for others appear to have been removed so there don't appear to be any plot holes created by the cuts. It mostly consists of a few seconds off the beginnings and ends of scenes, more stuff with the cops and at the Santa Rosita police station and more with Barrie Chase who actually had some dialogue and an explanation about her character. To me, the shorter version flows better and the pacing is a bit faster, and with a long comedy that includes overture, intermission, entr'acte and exit music, it helps.

The cast is stellar-Tracy has a kind of thankless role as the police captain who has had this open case for 15 years and sees both a low with the death of the crook who committed the crime (Jimmy Durante, in a role evidently originally written for Buster Keaton) but salvation in the people who witnessed the death and who might be able to lead him to the hidden loot and crown his career with triumph. Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Mickey Rooney, Buddy Hackett (some of the best lines in the film are his) and Jonathan Winters (giving the best comic performance, IMHO) play the men who hear Durante's last words and with wives (Edie Adams and Dorothy Provine) and monster-in-law (Ethel Merman) in tow, pretty much do a scorched earth scramble to get to the money buried under a "Big W," whatever that could be. Along the way they drag Phil Silvers (my candidate for the funniest character in the film), Terry-Thomas and Dick Shawn into it, along with a ton of comedic guest stars and cameos along the way. Is it the greatest comedy ever made-no; the wackiest-possibly; the longest-probably. Compared to other "super-comedies" of the era it is much better than some (THE HALLELUJAH TRAIL in particular) and as good as or slightly inferior to others (THE GREAT RACE, THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES). The legendary "police calls" that were heard during intermission on this longer version are interesting, however, you hear them while a black screen is shown and you have no idea how long the times between the calls are, so I have to admit I found myself getting a little impatient waiting for them but they do advance the plot enough to set up part 2.

Picture quality on the Blu-Ray is amazing-the clarity is such that perspiration that just seemed to shine in earlier versions now is seen as individual beads of sweat, and details such as clothing textures and seeing that Tracy is probably the only actor not wearing any makeup produce a visual richness that more than likely has not been seen since the film was originally shown. The sound is exceptional-they were able to use a complete soundtrack for the film so the restored pieces have full sound and for scenes where the picture image is lost B/W stills were used to fill in. There are instances where some sound was lost-that is remedied with subtitles to fill in missing words and phrases. Ernest Gold's score really gets the proper showcase here and you really get the full sound of the 110+ piece orchestra that he used.

I have only watched a little over an hour of the film with the commentary (which is only on the roadshow version), but already I can pick it as one of my all-time favorites-the enthusiasm that Mark Evanier, Michael Schlesinger and Paul Scrabo show and the wealth of information they exhibit on the film makes this package worth it in and of itself. Other extras I have been able to view include Stan Freberg's commercials, the demo on the restoration (a herculean effort on everyone's part but a special tip of the hat to restorer par excellance Robert A. Harris, who probably tore out a lot of what was left of his hair just nursing some of the warped and fragile wide positive print material through the system) and a nice doc on the visual and sound effects conducted by Ben Burtt and Craig Barron. I hope to wade through the other extras within the next few days. The accompanying booklet has a nice essay by Lou Lumenick (which has some new art by the great Jack Davis, who designed the original poster artwork back in 1963) and even a map to the far-flung locations by Dave Woodman.

All in all, this is a worthy purchase and while there may be many who feel that this film just is not funny enough for them, I say this-even if you don't find yourself laughing every second, take pleasure in seeing so much incredible comic talent pretty much in the prime of their careers actually working together, in many cases for the one and only time, and with someone like Tracy there as an inspiration for so many there (Caesar said that he wished he could have traded roles with William Demerest so he could have worked more closely with Tracy), this is one of the better Criterion releases.

Sidenote: in 1988, the Cinerama Dome had it's 25th anniversary, and to lead off the theater was going to show MAD, MAD WORLD for two nights, with a bunch of celebrities connected to the film the first night. Evidently MGM/UA had no showable 70mm prints and the 35mm prints they had were 1.33:1 ratio (I know) so they had to go to the UCLA film archive and borrow their widescreen 35mm print for the first night's showing. Well, the Dome only had a platter system for showing films and when the rep from the archive saw that the theater had "stacked" their print they demanded the print back after the showing and left the theater hanging for the second night. I was there for the second night and when the film started and both I and the sold-out crowd saw that we were being shown what consisted of a TV version (I was almost expecting to see "Edited for Television" superimposed at the bottom of the screen) there was a huge howl of rage and the lobby was stormed by a huge number of us demanding refunds and answers as to what was going on. Considering that the following year we got Columbia's magnificent restoration of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA in 70mm, I think that night at the Dome was perhaps the end of the "be grateful the film even exists so sit back and watch the film in dusty pink/wrong ratio/with lots of footage missing" period, and the beginning of the studios finally realizing what treasure they were letting rot away. Now, if someone could just convince MGM to fully restore John Wayne's THE ALAMO...

[Eric Paddon]

I agree that the added scenes don't add much in the way of laughs so much, but they do at least make the film seem more fleshed out and as a result I enjoyed seeing them (as well as hearing the police calls for the first time, but I do agree they were a little too widely spaced. The explanation is they were just letting the reel they were on unspool in the same length they originally did which included those gaps).

It was a great task putting things back together and they are to be commended for doing so. As an archival project, I've seen few efforts surpassed.

Barrie Chase, BTW does have a line in the general cut. She answers the phone and tells Dick Shawn its for him.

[Paul MacLean]

The Dallas Buyers Club

Compelling -- and devastating -- film about rodeo performer and uber redneck Rob Woodroof, whose promiscuous womanizing catches-up with him when he contracts the AIDS virus. Told he has at best 30 days to live, Woodroof travels to Mexico in search of medications unapproved in the US, and after testing them on himself, radically improves his health. Despite an antipathy towards gays (and revulsion at having caught "the gay disease" himself) he forms an unlikely business partnership with a transexual named Rayon (Jared Leto), and the two form "The Dallas Buyers Club" -- which provides these unapproved medications "free of charge" to club members (the membership however costing $400).

Matthew McConaughey unquestionably delivers one of his finest performances, and certainly deserved the Oscar. As Rayon, Jared Leto's work is equally Oscar-worthy (and arguably the more impressive of the two stars). The visual style is appropriately coarse and gritty (though there is perhaps a bit too much hand held camerawork) but it serves the tone of the story appropriately and effectively. The Dallas Buyers Club also gets points for exploring an oft-politicized subject without becoming preachy or propagandistic. It is rarely an easy to watch, but it is dramatically potent and enormously effective.

[Paul MacLean]

Twelve Years A Slave

A watchable but clunky and generally unremarkable picture. It's a shame because the subject is important, and the basic story is great -- but the film itself just isn't very impressive. I get a sense that the filmmakers felt the subject matter was so intrinsically potent that the film would just "take care of itself". But it doesn't. It is well-acted, but is also sometimes stilted, especially the overly genteel, flowery dialog in the early scenes in Saratoga (like they were working overtime to show how refined New Yorkers are).

The film is also excesively graphic at times. Of course it's important to not to shy away from depicting historic atrocities, but there are moments in this film -- such as the scene where a slave woman is stripped naked and brutally whipped (as her flesh peals from her back) -- that border on voyeuristically sadomasochistic.

Trendy casting doesn't help either, with overexposed actors like Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Fassbender in prominent roles. They do a perfectly decent job, but I'm kind of tired of seeing them in everything these days. Even Brad Pitt shows up toward the end -- as a man from Canada with a southern accent.

Hans Zimmer's score is perfectly risible, and one of his worst ever. He does provide a serviceable theme for the protagonist (scored for small ensemble), but the cue for the river journey to Louisiana is embarrassingly bad, and quite literally sounds like someone repeatedly blowing a raspberry. A later cue, when the protagonist runs afoul of a taskmaster, sounds like repeated blasts of a foghorn. What a missed opportunity, because this film is crying out for the kind of emotional resonance only a strong score can provide (a real score would also have smooth-over the film's many rough edges).

It's a shame that such an important story, with such profound dramatic -- and educational -- possibilities, is presented in such a dispassionate, awkward (and sometimes vulgar) fashion.

Twelve Years A Slave is great disappointment, and is sadly more Mandingo than Amistad.

[sprocket]

I'm surprised to see your negative review on 12 Years a Slave, as I've heard only good things about it.

It does make me wonder how much marketing colours our perception of today's films as opposed to actual content.

[Jedbu]

Paul, I think your last line about 12 YEARS being more MANDINGO than AMISTAD is so off the mark. The De Laurentiis/Fleischer film is one of the worst pieces of trash ever filmed and is so much more exploitative than many of those "blaxploitation" films of the 70's, with perhaps only Maurice Jarre's music rising above what it has to accompany. I never felt that the whipping scene in 12 YEARS...was anywhere near as overdone as the flaying in PASSION OF THE CHRIST-at least in the McQueen film you did not see every lash hit the woman's back: you see it from in front of her so you are looking over her shoulder as it happens or the camera moves to see a few of them. And with the exception of Fassbinder forcing himself on her the one time, the sexual exploitation of slaves is not really touched upon in this film anywhere near as much as it is a plot point of MANDINGO. Lastly, at least 12 YEARS...is adapted from an autobiography of an actual slave; MANDINGO is nothing more than a trashy, wallowing potboiler.

[Paul MacLean]

The De Laurentiis/Fleischer film is one of the worst pieces of trash ever filmed...

It is, but to me both films offer an unrelenting barrage of gut-wrenching scenes of persecution (and psychopathic plantation owners) which just became desensitizing after a while.

I never felt that the whipping scene in 12 YEARS...was anywhere near as overdone as the flaying in PASSION OF THE CHRIST-at least in the McQueen film you did not see every lash hit the woman's back: you see it from in front of her so you are looking over her shoulder as it happens or the camera moves to see a few of them.

To me it was worse than The Passion (if admittedly less-prolonged), because it was a woman, and she was naked. There's a tactful way to depict the distasteful (and even horrific) but McQueen's depiction was simply excessive and sadomasochistic.

Lastly, at least 12 YEARS...is adapted from an autobiography of an actual slave; MANDINGO is nothing more than a trashy, wallowing potboiler.

I never criticized Twelve Years' actual source material (which in fact I praised), but McQueen's direction.

That said, films based on eyewitnesses to historic events don't necessarily equate into great storytelling. Platoon is inspired by Oliver Stone's first hand experiences as a soldier in Vietnam, yet the film mostly falls back on Samuel Fuller cliches, and soapy, overwrought melodrama.

Further on the misguided casting of Twelve Years, the appearance of Paul Giamatti actually made me smirk a bit, as he was playing the same character he played in Planet of the Apes!



"Your name is Platt!"

[Eric Paddon]

The Tamarind Seed (1974) 8 of 10

-Got the R1 release at long last today and am enjoying this underrated gem once again.

[Paul MacLean]

The Tamarind Seed (1974) 8 of 10

-Got the R1 release at long last today and am enjoying this underrated gem once again.

Have never seen more than a bit of this film, but I love John Barry's score, which contains one of his loveliest themes.

[Jedbu]

WOLF OF WALL STREET 4/10

In brief, not one of my favorite Scorsese films. I like the look of it and DiCaprio and Rob Reiner, but when it was over I was 'meh." I don't hate it like I do CAPE FEAR, which had absolutely no character that I liked and I really was hoping that EVERYONE died in the end of that one. The scene where DiCaprio takes a drug that causes him to be almost totally paralyzed is funny at first but after a while I kept hoping that Steve Martin would show up and really do that part the right way. I felt about Jonah Hill the way I felt about Eric Roberts in THE POPE OF GREENWICH VILLAGE, in that I really wanted DiCaprio to either kill him or put out a hit on him-his character was so clueless and moronic that I really wanted him to die.

I thought that DiCaprio did a much better take on a similar character in CATCH ME IF YOU CAN where you at least had an understanding of why he did what he did. Here, he is a fairly nice guy in the beginning, then the next scene and from then on, he's an a**hole. The language did not bother me and after a while the drug stuff was so overdone to just blend into the scenery for me, by the end, I just did not care.

And there were no extras on the Blu-Ray, which really sucked!