BIOGRAPHY - WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: A LIFE OF DRAMA

©1996
studio: A&E Home Video
dir: Rebecca Jones
color and b&w

A made-for-television biography of William Shakespeare.

A nice, "white-bread" bio of the famous playwright. While the bio starts out by letting the viewer know that there isn't much known about the man himself, there doesn't seem to be any serious, in-depth search to discover the man through his words.

There is NO mention of critical response to the suggestion that he didn't actually write some of the works attributed to him.

While I did learn one or two things about Shakespeare, I don't think it was anything more than what an undergrad might pick up in a text book at a community college.

MAX ERNST -- Peter Schamoni, dir

©1991
studio: Image Entertainment
production company: Peter Schamoni Film, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)
dir: Peter Schamoni
cast: Max Ernst, James Greene, Linda Joy, Peter Marinker, Robert Powell, Shelley Thompson
documentary

This video is a documentary on surrealist artist Max Ernst.

This is a very interesting documentary featuring Max Ernst and a host of actors providing the voices to other major players in Ernst's life. I learned a fair deal about Ernst himself, but not much about how he created his works. Still, very interesting over-all.

I've been a "fan" of Ernst's work for some time, so this was of much interest to me, but it might not appeal to most.

WHAT WOMEN WANT -- Nancy Meyers, dir

©2000
studio: Paramount
production company: Centropolis Entertainment, Icon Entertainment International, Paramount Pictures, Wind Dancer Productions
dir: Nancy Meyers
story: Josh Goldsmith & Cathy Yuspa and Diane Drake
screenplay: Josh Goldsmith & Cathy Yuspa
cast: Mel Gibson, Helen Hunt, Alan Alda,Marisa Tomei, Ashley Johnson, Mark Feuerstein

A chauvenistic ad executive gets the power to read women's minds, an ability which helps him secure a lucrative female products contract.

I enjoyed this movie, though the ending really took a nose-dive. Why does Helen Hunt "have" to fire the man after he reveals what he did and what he knew? First of all, does she do so on his word only? What about the contract, which requested him to work on it? It really seemed out of place.

I'm not a huge Mel Gibson fan, but I thought he did a fine job. I actually liked his character somewhat, even though they were setting him up to be completely chauvenistic. The fact that he was gutsy enough to wear the panty-hose and nail polish and try the waxing products ... all BEFORE he gained the ability to read women's minds ... suggests that he was willing to go the extra mile for his career. I never felt like he was given proper credit for this trait.

I'm not sure what it is about her, but I like Helen Hunt. And except for the end, I felt she played the part well. She came across strong, but vulnerable.

Even Alan Alda finally came across as someone other than "Hawkeye" for a change.

I wouldn't recommend this as a "must see," but if a guy must watch a "chick flick" then this is a decent choice.

KIDNAPPED -- Ivan Passer, dir

©2000
studio: UAV Corporation
dir: Ivan Passer
teleplay: John Goldsmith and Michael Barlow
cast: Armand Assante, Brian McCardie
based on the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson

A young man is kidnapped and sent to work on a ship -- all arranged by a cruel uncle hoping to inherit the man's estate, while another man returns to his native Scotland to find that he is a wanted man. The two join forces to fight against injustice.

This was a fair movie, though certainly had the look of a made-for-television flick. Assante does a great job, and the photography is very nice. Unfortunately the film seems to lack any passion, particularly from the young man, played by Brian McCardie. No matter what happens, it all is taken in stride by the cast. Passion, energy, a fire-burning-from-within could have been used by the entire cast.

WATERPROOF -- Barry Berman, dir

©1999
studio: Sony Pictures
production company: Cape Fear Pictures
dir: Barry Berman
screenplay: Barry Berman
cast: Burt Reynolds, April Grace, Jan'net Dubois, Anthony Lee, Whitman Mayo, Orlando Jones, Cordereau Dye, Brandon Crawford

Shot by a child in a robbery attempt, shopkeeper Eli Zeal is kidnapped by the child's mother and brought to a rural black community in the South where the mother comes to grips with her own past.

While I agree with the idea that Hollywood needs more films that aren't all action-based, a film still needs good writing, and this just doesn't have it.

Zeal's presence in the South serves no real purpose, it seems, other than as a catalyst for getting Tyree back home. Why is Tyree back home, after running away 15 years ago? Is it to hide or protect her son, or is it for her own redemption? Both choices would be okay, but neither is fully explored.

The whole idea that Tyree has a hidden secret for which she needs redeption absolutely MUST be hinted at much sooner in the film. As it is, we don't know her secret until quite late in the film, and even at that, it is in a scene of exposition, rather than coming out in bits and pieces and letting us put the puzzle together.
I also didn't understand that Tyree needed to be baptised for her to get some redemption. Again, the whole idea of the Church playing a major role in her (and her son's) redemption didn't come in to play until quite late in the movie.

And...once Tyree has gotten home, the whole idea that she is trying to protect her son and to raise him properly is completely forgotten. When the son skips school and steals a bike, no one seems to react at all (other than that the boy's uncle gets him drunk).

Great performances save this movie, but a meandering script will sadly keep this film in obscurity.

ANATOMY OF A MURDER -- Otto Preminger, dir

©1959
studio: Sony Pictures
production company: Carlyle Productions, Columbia Pictures Corporation
dir: Otto Preminger
cast: James Stewart,Lee Remick, Ben Gazarra, Arthur O'Connell, Eve Arden, Kathryn Grant, Joseph N. Welch, George C. Scott
based on the book by Robert Traver
160 minutes
B&W

A former prosecuting attorney gets his first crack at being a defense lawyer -- for a soldier who admits killing a man after the man had raped the soldier's wife.

Wow, this was a good movie! All the performances were of the highest calibre. I especially liked real-life judge, Joseph N. Welch, as the judge. Remick was wonderfully sumptuous and demure. Gazarra perfectly misleading. Scott appropriately pompous, and Stewart marvelously "earthy" without looking like a "hick."

I can only image how scandalous this movie must have been back in '59 ... they talk candidly about rape, penetration, ejaculation, semen, and refer to a woman's panties (a missing piece of evidence that comes in to play). Even today one might find this kind of discussion "edgy" or at the very least, used for shock value. Here it was taken in perfect clinical and legal stride.

The movie never felt like it was running long, to me, so I was a bit shocked to see that I sat there for nearly two and a half hours watching it. Preminger moves the film along well.

I also greatly enjoy the cool jazz score. The appearance of Duke Ellington in the film seemed out of place, but I appreciated it nonetheless. Having Stewart be a huge jazz fan was a neat, humanizing touch.

I'm very glad that I took the time to watch this highly recommended movie.

BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES -- Ted Post, dir

©1970
studio: 20th Century Fox
production company: Apjac Productions
dir: Ted Post
cast: James Franciscus, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, Linda harrison, Paul Richards, Victor Buono, James Gregory, Jeff Corey, Natalie Trundy, Charlton Heston

An astronaut, on a rescue mission, finds himself in the same, strange planet of apes as his predecessor. Travelling to the Forbidden City to seek out his compatriot, he discover a strange clutch of humans and their object of worship -- a "doomsday" bomb.

What can I say ... I like this movie. Always have. I know it's made on the cheap and it's a little heavy handed with all the war and peace allegory, but I still like the way this was put together.

I'm not sure when I last watched this ... I believe it was in the late 1980's ... but looking at it now I'm still moderately impressed with the make-up. No, the mouths don't move too cleanly, and the dialog that hasn't been dubbed comes across sounding a bit muffled, but all in all it works.

I didn't seek this movie out -- I saw it on the shelf at one of my local libraries and thought I'd take some time out to reminisce.

This still works for me, though I'd never try to argue it's case to anyone who doesn't like it.

LIFE AS A HOUSE -- Irwin Winkler, dir

©2001
studio: New Line Cinema
production company: Winkler Films
dir: Irwin Winkler
cast: Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas, Hayden Christensen, Jena Malone, Mary Steenburgen

After discovery he is terminally ill with cancer, a man tries to reconnect with his angst-ridden son by building a house together.

Okay, I'm a sucker and I liked this film. I thought that Kline did a fantastic job as the man trying to connect with family. The building house metaphor for rebuilding a life worked just fine. Even Hayden Christensen was pretty good here. Strangely, though, Hayden sounded exactly as he did in Star Wars II -- every bit as whiney and pouty -- only here it worked. I believed him as the Goth-looking, nihilistic teenager.

The script was weak and maudlin, but the acting and directing seemed to cover it well. I'm still not sure what the purpose was for Jena Malone to 1) shower with Hayden on more than one occassion, and 2) kiss Kline passionately. None of those scene furthered the story in any way as far as I could tell. If anything, they made me like Malone's character less, and I don't think that was intentional. I also didn't see any point in having Steenburgen's character (Malone's mother) sleep with the teenage boy dating Malone. All it served to do was show that everyone's life was pathetic. It also set up the bit so that the teenage boy could fall off the roof, but that too seemed to serve no purpose in the story.

Not a great film, but I enjoyed my viewing of it. Perhaps, as a father (and, of course, a son), it brought to mind concerns I have about how my children will grow up.

CHOCOLAT -- Lasse Hallström, dir

©2001
studio: Miramax
dir: Lasse Hallström
cast: Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Alred Molina, Lena Olin, Johnny Depp. Carrie-Ann Moss
based on the book by Joanne Harris

A woman moves in to a small French village and opens a chocolate shop during Lent, testing and tempting the morality and spirit of the conservative village.

This is a wonderful movie. I'd heard so much about it, and have been eager to watch it. I truly enjoy movies that hint at a greater, perhaps magical power, but remain rooted on earth. Here that greater power is the woman's ability to know a person's favorite chocolate and how that simple piece of sweet confection has a profound effect on the person's life.

The cast is stellar. Everyone seems to work so well together, with no one looking like the "star" of the film. This (and other of his films) has made me appreciate Johnny Depp as an actor. Alfred Molina is outstanding as the town's mayor, bent on controlling the village in an almost dictatorial style but with seemingly good intentions. His breakdown in the chocolate shop is wonderful.

One thing that strikes me, which I haven't read much about in regards to the film, is how the coming together of the two "sides" of the town is a result of the Church, and the inner strength of the young, American-music-loving priest, and not the magic of the chocolates or the young chocolate-selling woman. It is the young priest who gives his own sermon, and not one written by the mayor, which suggests that open arms, rather than closed doors is the way God would want his people to act. Only than do the villagers openly welcome the chocolaterie. And this works well because most people aren't going to change their habits and moral structure over-night, but if they have been faithful to the church (for whatever reasons), they will continue to do so, and only the church can open them up.

A highly recommended film.

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE -- Andrew Adamson, dir

©2005
cast: Tilda Swinton, Liam Neeson, James McAvoy, Ray Winstone, Dawn French, Michael Madsen, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Jim Broadbent, Elizabeth Hawthorne, James Cosmo
dir: Andrew Adamson
studio: Walt Disney Pictures
based on the book by C.S. Lewis

During wartime in London, England, four children are sent to live with a reclusive professor out in the country. There, the children discover a magical wardrobe, which, when entered, brings them to the land or Narnia. In Narnia, the coming of the four children has been foretold, and together with King Aslan, the must return Narnia to a free world, and not under the control of the White Witch.

Okay, so this isn't a rented video, but actually a film I saw in the theatre today. I thought I might still comment on it.

While this film is visually stunning, and I enjoyed the craftsmenship and the adaptation of this film, and the fight sequences were well done and highly energetic, this film still flat for me. I came away from the theatre with nothing.

I know that there is a large, Christian contingent supporting this movie and it's allegorical implications, but I don't think it worked. perhaps, when the other books are made and it is is seen as a whole, then it may work. Still, I think that I enjoyed the book much more than the movie here.

Will I watch it again when it comes out on video. Yes. I think that my children might enjoy it as well. However, it is certainly not the best film I've seen this weekend.

THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY -- Bobby & Peter Farrelly

©1998
dir: Bobby Farrelly & Peter Farrelly
cast: Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon, Ben Stiller, Lee Evans, Chris Elliott, Lin Shaye
studio: 20th Century Fox

Mary is the girl of every boy's dreams, and Ted can't get her off his mind, even thirteen years after high school, so he goes in search of her, only to discover that he's not the only male to have been so enamored with her.

This movie was rather funny at times, and they did a wonderful job at keeping Mary "perfect."

I am not too crazy about Ben Stiller movies...I find that he's often a bit over the top, though for most of this he was fairly decent. What was the purpose of the homosexuals in the rest-stop scene, or for Ted being arrested for murder? This seemed like it was getting quite a bit off track simply for a laugh or two. They did nothing to further the plot, or even character development.

This was not a good movie for a "first date," unless you don't mind penis humor, masterbation humor, or ejaculate humor.

I'm glad I watched it ... I got a kick out of it ... but more glad that I Netflixed it, rather than owning it.

TUCK EVERLASTING -- Jay Russell, dir.

©2002
studio: Walt Disney
production company: Beacon Communications LLC, Jane Startz Productions, Scholastic Productions, Walt Disney Pictures
dir: Jay Russell
cast: Alexis Bledel, Ben Kingsley, Sissy Spacek, Amy Irving, Victor Garber, Jonathan Jackson, Scott Bairstow, William Hurt
based on the book by Natalie Babbitt

Young Winnie Foster meets the Tuck family, and falls in love with seventeen year old Jessie Tuck. Only...Jessie isn't really seventeen. It appears that the Tucks have a very large secret, and Winnie must make some very tough, life or death choices which will last for eternity.

Okay, this seems like a strange movie for me to have viewed, but it's been in my Netflix queue for some time now. I really enjoyed reading the book a few years ago, and was looking forward to this film adaptation.

I didn't mind the movie too much, though I did find it to be a bit slow, and perhaps over-emphasized the romance between Jessie and Winnie (the scene in the pool under the falls would be a case of dwelling on the romance).

Some things, such as sub-plot of the evil man who has been tracking the Tucks, seem thrown in to the movie to be "faithful" to the book, but instead it really goes nowhere, and is over so quickly, you wonder why they even bothered.

My children enjoyed it...mostly my 10 year old daughter, and my 8 year old son, and I guess that is what this movie is about. It's a decent family movie, based on a wonderful book.

If your kids can sit still, even through the slower moments, then I would recommend this film for the whole family.

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM -- Otto Preminger

©1955
Studio: Delta
Production Company: Carlyle Productions
Dir: Otto Preminger
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak, Arnold Stang, Darren McGavin, Robert Strauss, John Conte
B&W

Frankie Machine has just gotten out of detox and jail and is determined to go straight, with hopes of auditioning as a drummer for area big bands. His heroin addiction catches up to him, as well as his former career as a dealer for illegal card games.

This was a fascinating movie to watch. There was so much to enjoy here. Sinatra does a great job in the role of Frankie Machine, the man with the golden arm (I love the double meaning of the title -- the arm of the dealer, and the arm shot full of heroin). The withdrawl scene is very well done, and certainly must have caused a stir in its day (the report is that the Hollywood Production Code would not give it a seal of approval because of the portrayal of drug use).

Kim Novak is sexy, strong, and bright. You ache for her to get Frankie from the very first moment you see her.

Eleanor Parker is quite good as Frankie's wife, who happens to be lying about her disability because she knows Frankie would leave her in a heartbeat if he didn't think he owed it to her to be there. this part of the story is under-developed, and I don't think it's prominent enough to see that she's making the scrap-book in order to keep the memory of the car wreck right in Frankie's face.

The biggest down-side to this movie is the very distracting shadows that keep popping up. Shadows of the camera across people's chests. Shadows of the boom across the wall. Shadows of crew people moving in a scene, even when the actors are holding still!

I'll sadly admit that I'm not real familiar with Otto Preminger, but his name is recognizable, and I'm surprised that a director of any merit would let this much "wrong" lighting/shadows occur.

Still, it's a movie worth watching if you've never seen it before.

GLORY -- Edward Zwick

©1989
Production Company: TriStar Pictures
dir: Edward Zwick
cast: Matthew Broderick, Carey Elwes, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, Jihmi Kennedy, Andre Braugher

Based on the letters of Colonel Robert G. Shaw, Shaw was placed in command of the first all-black regiment of soldiers during the Civil War. Shaw treated his men with respect, even though he faced obvious discrimination from his Northern compatriots.

I wanted to like this movie more than I did. What I liked was the basic story -- the history lesson (though it's certainly been adapted to be more dramatic). What I didn't like was the acting.

First, there was Broderick... not my favorite, I'll admit, but mostly because I find him dull and boring. Here, he was dull and boring AND trying to add some strange British accent (if it wasn't supposed to be British, it came off that way, [I thought he was supposed to be from Boston]). I feel he is one of the most lackluster "stars" currently working in the industry, and the ridiculous, fake goatee just made him look even more like a weak actor trying to portray something different.

Then there was Carey Elwes. He seemed totally wrong for this part, though admittedly the part had little meat to it. His chewing on the giant cigars made him look like a little kid trying to act grown up. I never believed his cocky, self-assurance, or his ability as a soldier, much less a commander.

And then there was Denzel Washington. I know that he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, but then I haven't had much faith in the Oscars since the mid 1980's. I thought Washington was WAYYY over the top, and trying much too hard to show us his wide variety of emotions during the whipping scene. Even Broderick did a better job of going through the emotional turmoil of the moment while attempting to maintain composure.

The gems in the film were Morgan Freeman, whose understated role was well maintained. I would have liked to have seen more of him and his association with Broderick.

Also, Andre Braugher brought credibility to his role as the educated black man who struggled to keep up with the hard-working, former-slaves-turned-soldiers.

While I'm glad that I finally watched this movie, I can't imagine ever desiring to see it again.

THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY -- Ingmar Bergman

©1961
dir: Ingmar Bergman
cast: Harriet Andersson; Gunnar Björnstrand; Max Von Sydow; Lars Passgard
foreign language/subtitled
B&W

A young woman is on the verge of a nervous breakdown as she suffers from dementia and delusions. Her father writes about her in his journal with typical Scandinavian detachment, her husband (a doctor) regrets his inability to treat her effectively, and her brother is caught up in his sexual desires.

A wonderful, powerful movie. Andersson is remarkable as the suffering young woman. I noted the very small cast, and was not surprised to hear the commentary discuss the issue as well. It was not typical for a Bergman movie, but it certainly helped us to focus on these four souls.

The cinematography was incredible, and although a rather "dark" movie, it was brighter than the popular Seventh Seal.

I understand that some people can't stand "reading" a movie, but watching this with subtitles is the only way to do it. Trying the version of the film with the English dubbing doesn't do justice to the great work of the original actors.

A highly recommended movie.