La Luna (1979)

The Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci has made some wonderful films, but this is not one of them.  Shot in English this tells the very overboiled saga of an opera singer played by Jull Clayburgh and her teenaged son who is seeking a father figure and who looks for solace in drugs.  She in turn seems to be looking for solace in an incestuous relationship with her son -- she doesn't quite get there but she sure as hell tries.  At the best part of two and a half hours one wonders what the film is really saying.  Not much I reckon.  Beautifully photographed however, like all of the director's films.

The Howards of Virginia (1940)

It is not very often that I have the opportunity of viewing a Cary Grant film that I have never seen before and I was hoping for the best.  Sadly this was a disappointment, being something of a potboiler of the years before and during the American Revolutionary War.  Grant was too much a man of his time and costume dramas just do not work for him.  Objectively he looked great but one could sense that he was uncomfortable in the role of a backwoodsman mixing in high society.  He also adopted the most un-Cary Grant voice I have ever heard him use, sounding more like a West Country bumpkin than a southern would-be gent. It is really only worth seeing for completists (but I guess that includes me!)

The Other Side of the Bed (2002)

This little sex comedy was apparently a big hit in its native Spain and there is some quiet charm in this tale of friends having it off with their friends' partners.  There are even one or two laugh-out-loud moments. However I could have done with the story proceeding in its more and more complicated way without the cast bursting into song at every opportunity, with six backing dancers performing some very samey moves.  Dennis Potter has a lot to answer for. 

Love Don't Cost a Thing (2003)

This film is a remake of the little-remembered 1987 Patrick Dempsey starrer "Can't Buy Me Love" but with a mainly black cast.  This seems to be something of a trend, and while there is nothing wrong with fashioning new releases for a black audience, the makers might have found material that was less cliched.

Having said that, the film (while in no way memorable) had pleasant enough leads in Nick Cannon and Christina Milian as respectively the high school nerd who thinks he can buy popularity by "paying" a gal from the in-crowd (Ms. Milian).  To make it clear that she was not a "ho" no money changed hands -- he repaired her mother's car which she had crashed.  And surprise, surprise he learns that popularity is not the end-all and she learns that love can be found when least expected.

What I actually found most offensive about this movie was the token use of white characters in much the same way as films used to have token blacks.

Batman (1989)

With "Batman Begins" now in cinemas I thought the time had come to re-evaluate the first of the modern Batman films.  Of the two Tim Burton-directed movies, I have always preferred "Batman Returns" to the original -- and watching it again did not change my mind.  The star of the film is the impressive production design which did win an oscar but the dark and oppressive city is less effective on the small screen. The picture did not win any kudos for its story and is little more than a series of unconnected scenes.  Among the actors the most watchable remains Jack Nicholson's Joker who is still good fun.  Michael Keaton while far preferable to Val Kilmer or George Clooney in the third and fourth outings is not really that impressive; he is capable of wild interpretations, but I think he was restrained by the inhibitions of his double role.  It will be interesting to see if Christian Bale brings more life to his enactment.

Something the Lord Made (2004)

I was expecting this made-for-cable movie to be little more than "worthy" -- and worthy it was, but surprisingly involving and interesting.  It tells the (true) story of a poor black youth who dreams of becoming a doctor but who never realises this aim for various reasons.  Instead he becomes the research assistant of a famous surgeon who became the first doctor to perform heart surgery successfully.  The doctor, played by Alan Rickman, is happy to accept the fame and accolades without admiting that he owed his success to the work and talent of his helper who has no medical qualifications at all but a fine mind.   He in turn faces the prejudice and thoughtless treatment of the time. (The film starts in 1930 and continues to the 1960s when he finally receives recognition).

The role is taken by Mos Def who I think is the most versatile of the actors that started off as rappers or in hip-hop.  He was also excellent as the high-handed police inspector of "The Woodsman" and he brings a quiet dignity to this role as he ages from 20 to 60.  When he finally receives an honourary doctorate, I too cheered his achievement.  

Germaine Dulac short films (1927/8)

What a treat to see these two 40-minute films recently restored by the Netherlands Film Museum.  The first, "L'Invitation au Voyage" tells the story of an unhappy housewife who seeks love and/or escape in the nightclub of the title.  She doesn't find it but we feel her despair and taste her dreams in the scenes of her imagination. This short, told without intertitles and enhanced by a modern score, was far more straightforward than the second, "The Seashell and the Clergyman".

I would be hard-pressed to summarise the film or to tell you what it was about since it was no more than a series of surreal scenes caught by a whirling camera.  It was fascinating, however -- a non-stop barrage of wonderful images and trick photography, as the hapless clergyman was caught up in the logic of dreams.

The Big Bounce (2004)

This is a remake of the pretty awful 1969 movie of the same title.  I read recently that Elmore Leonard who wrote the original book was asked which of the movies based on his books was the worst; he replied that the first movie was the second worst and that the remake takes the number one spot.

Well, it's not quite as bad as all that although I see no reason for making the film again.  Owen Wilson assumes the Ryan O'Neal role of the amoral but charming thief, a part he could play in his sleep, but the rest of the heavyweight casting is mis-used.  Morgan Freeman, Gary Sinise and Bebe Neuwirth are totally wasted and there is even one scene featuring Willie Nelson and Harry Dean Stanton where all they do is play cards (if they figured in the action, it must have ended up on the cutting room floor.)  There is also a female lead that I never heard of previously whose sole function seems to be to be seen in a constant change of skimpy outfits. But that is not the big bounce of the title!!

Kill Cruise aka Der Skipper (1990)

Now here's a bit of eurotrash for you -- a mainstay of German TV -- made there I think.  The lead is Juergen Prochnow who is an excellent actor and who should have known better than to team up with Elizabeth Hurley and Patsy Kensit who play feckless friends tarting it up in Gibraltar -- their "nightclub act" has to be seen to be believed.  Anyhow he is a captain of a small vessel and agrees to sail them to Barbados.  En route he starts an affair with Hurley which sends Kensit 'round the twist until the action takes a totally unexpected turn which comes right out of left field.  I think "stupid" describes this film best.

Waiting for Happiness (Heremakono) (2002)

This film from Mauretania  focuses on a disparate group living or biding their time in a small coastal town -- some will leave, some will stay, some will die.  There is no linking story but we do get to know many of them in a very small way -- whether we really wish to know them is another matter.  However the look, feel and sound of the encounters leaves an indelible image that lingers on.

Alex & Emma (2003)

I can't really review this film since I gave up on it after about an hour and am surprised that I stuck it that long, as I found it a complete embarrassment.  Ever since Goldie's little girl, Kate Hudson, was nominated for an oscar for "Almost Famous", the powers that be seem to have decided that she is a  fascinating lead and will come across with her mother's trademark kookiness.  Wrong.  I have seen all of her follow-up films and am yet to be convinced that she can carry a film.  Pairing her with Luke Wilson who has little of his brother's laid-back charm doesn't help.

I gave up when the stories within the story (she is helping him write a novel) started featuring her as the various characters speaking in funny accents or in old-age make-up.  Enough already -- a dire failure from Ron Reiner who has directed some of the more successful light comedies of recent years.

 

Open Hearts (2002)

This Danish film was supposedly made under the strict Dogme conventions so I was  somewhat surprised to see the flashy abstract camerawork that bookended the story. While the movie held my attention, thinking about it in retrospect I feel that it was a singularly unpleasant film.  It concerns a young woman whose fiance is disabled in a car accident and how she takes up with the doctor-husband of the woman who ran him over.  By the end four lives have been ruined and there is little indication as to what will eventually become of them.  I like my endings a little more satisfying.

Abouna (2002)

If you want a viewing experience that will leave you truly miserable, this is the film for you.  The title which translates as "Our Father" is from Chad in Africa and traces the story of two young brothers whose father has deserted the family and whose mother is reduced to dumping them in a strict charity Koran school.  After failing to escape from the school in search of their father, they receive a poster from him (he is now in Morocco) of the sea which they have never seen and which I suppose represents some form of hope to them-- short-lived, as the younger brother dies after his medicine is stolen.  I'm not too worried about spoilers here.

The remaining brother eventually gets away, followed by a mute woman (five years his senior) who fancies him, and manages to steal his mother from an asylum where she had been committed.  At the end we are left with this rather impossible family unit.  Some people might label this life-affirming -- not me.

The Medallion (2003)

It is easy to knock Jackie Chan's recent US-made films as being dumbed-down for the  market and by feeling the need to pair him with a comic side-kick.  Well as far as I can tell this film was actually made in Hong Kong, starting life as "Highbinders".  From the number of deleted scenes on the DVD it was obviously then chopped into little pieces and put together again before its US release with the new title. And some idiot felt he still needed the side-kick, in this case Lee Evans, probably the worst one yet. 

I assume the film was made in English since most of the cast ARE English, but who in their right mind decided to give him a love-interest.  Jackie Chan, even at his advancing age, is not known for kissing his female co-star (Claire Forlani -- no comment).  While it is always good fun to watch Jackie's athleticism, one could have done without the idiotic dialogue, the incoherency at times of the chopped script, and the surfeit of special effects.  There was a time when Jackie was a sufficient special effect in himself; however since he was one of the film's producers he must share the responsibility for its failure.

The Magician aka The Face (1958)

Far less dour than many of Ingmar Bergman's films, this still has its serious and at times even scary moments, but the overall tone is of someone laughing behind their sleeve and having a jolly good time -- hence the upbeat and unexpected fairy-tale ending.  Filmed in stunning deep-focus black and white. the story focuses on a travelling troupe of (probably) charletons -- Max von Sydow as a supposedly mute mesmerist, Ingrid Thulin as his cross-dressing wife, his "200-year old" grandmother and an amorous manager.  They are on the run from the law and face exposure or worse at the stately home where they take refuge.

In particular they are humiliated by a local examiner who wants no more than to perform an autopsy on von Sydow to discover what makes him tick.  (Lovely shot at one stage of an eyeball in an inkwell!)  However the tables are turned and it is the official who faces the final humiliation.

Black Day, Blue Night (1995)

I think this must be the third time I have viewed this straight-to-video film since I can never quite remember it and recall it as being somewhat better than it is.  It's a sorry tale of cross and double-cross, love and loss.  It's largely a C-list group of actors but all of them do well enough, among them Mia Sara.  She never quite made it as an A-list leading actress despite a promising start in the 80's,but she is strangely watchable.  Also watchable and at times terrifying is the much-missed character actor, J. T. Walsh.  Just when one hopes that there will be a happy ending after some needless bloodshed, the rug is pulled out which takes one by surprise-- no happy ending here.  

 

Laws of Attraction (2004)

This romantic-comedy (and I use the word comedy very loosely) is about competing lawyers falling in love -- the sort of story that Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn could complete before breakfast.  The trouble is that Pierce Brosnan is no Tracy although he does have a certain self-effacing charm and that Julianne Moore is very definitely no Hepburn.  In fact I wonder if she is capable of playing comedy at all. I have no complaints at all about her abilities in dramatic roles but she seemed to be almost embarrassed at trying to create a lighter persona.  Frances Fisher as her mother (and surely the age gap between them is insufficient) could have given her lessons in quirky charm.

Satyricon (1969)

This film is normally referred to as "Fellini's Satyricon" to differentiate it from Polidoro's film of the previous year. I've not seen that one but I doubt it could be as surreal a phantasmagoria as this one.  Working from the fragments of the ancient Latin novella, Fellini has constructed an elaborate dreamworld full of homoerotic imagery and grotesque tableaux.  The movie is a series of vignettes in which there are occasionally tales within tales which makes for rather disjointed viewing and a test of one's patience over the two hour plus running time.  However as one of the great visual masters of cinema, Fellini's extravagances deserve the attention of any one who is really interested in film as art.

50 First Dates (2004)

Adam Sandler -- dear dear dear.  The hero of immature boys does seem to be trying to smarten his act and this rom-com with Drew Barrymore is just about watchable and is even touching in part, as his love for her tries to overcome her daily loss of memory.  More's the pity that he maintains his loyalty to his mate Rob Schneider and tries to find a role for this singularly annoying and spectacularly untalented actor.  After "Punch-drunk Love" I felt that there might be some hope for Sandler, but this film is one step forward, two steps backward.

Primal Fear (1996)

Another re-viewing but a rather more successful one.  It was fun to see Richard Gere's smart-ass lawyer have the rug pulled out from under him.  Edward Norton, I think in his mid-twenties at the time but playing 19 and in his first major role, brings a sly intelligence to his part and was completely believable in his duplicity.

When I saw the film the first time I probably did not know who Laura Linney was playing the main female role, but she definitely gave a solid performance with the promise of more to come.  The cast was heavy with top actors in supporting roles but none of them really stood much of a chance since Gere hogged the camera in the same way that his character hogged the courtroom. Only Norton gave him a run for his money.

The Usual Suspects (1995)

A second viewing for this film after about eight years and frankly I didn't feel that it held up, perhaps because I knew the twist that was coming.  But that can't be the whole answer since I have a pretty good memory of most films I have seen and knowing the storyline does not necessarily ruin it for me.  I think the problem here is that the film is a colossal cheat; there are no clues to pick up en route to lead one to the conclusion -- it frankly comes out of the blue.  Having said that I do not begrudge Kevin Spacey his supporting oscar since he played the role well, but I still feel cheated at not being able to bring my own intelligence to the tale.

And I still couldn't understand a word of what Benicio del Toro said!!!

Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)

This is the follow-up to "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" (see below) and like many a sequel it is not a patch on the original.  While Vincent Price remains a camp wonder in the lead role (I particularly liked his eating fish through his neck and pulling out a bone!), there is not enough coherent story for a satisfying film.  There are several imaginative murders but without a unifying theme.  A number of characters return but what I really found annoying is that two actors from the first film reappear in different roles.  Hugh Griffith was a rabbi in the original film and an Egyptologist here (an Egyptian rabbi?) and Terry-Thomas who was bled to death in the original plays a shipping line executive for some reason -- a waste of a character actor.  It goes to prove that moviemakers seldom learn to leave well enough alone. 

Thoughtcrimes (2003)

I'm not certain if this is a real movie that went straight to video or a cable television movie -- it certainly felt like a TV pilot.  I'd never seen either of the leads previously (and it is interesting that the female was of some ethnic minority -- Indian perhaps -- although she was playing an ordinary American).  Well not ordinary insofar as the point of the story was that she heard everyone's thoughts; the undisciplined noise drove her to be committed for some years until the FBI or some such rescued her, gave her special training to focus on individual voices, and utilised these skills to trap criminals.  Mildly interesting although with occasional glaring holes in the logic.

The Draughtsman's Contract (1982)

Peter Greenaway's films are definitely an acquired taste which I haven't quite acquired.  I think I've seen nearly all of them now and while I have four of them in my collection, they are not an easy watch.  Greenaway has a labyrinthine artistic mind and it takes an effort to get on his wavelength.  It is some 20 years since I last viewed this one and I think I saved it for the formal sumptuousness of its visuals -- it can't have been for the storyline of a draughtsman agreeing to create 12 vistas of a country estate (back in the 17th Century) in exchange for sexual favours.  One is led to believe that it is he who controls the situation but eventually one learns that he is just a pawn in a devious game.

As I say, great to look at but very wordy and at times mystifying.  I wonder about the purpose of the naked man who periodically ran about the estate pretending to be a statue!

The Cooler (2004)

The ever-watchable William H. Macy is the lead in this indie film as the perpetual loser employed to pass on his bad luck to others, but who eventually may lead a blessed  existence through the power of love.  This makes the film seem more charming than it is,  since it is a genuinely nasty tale of the ruthless tactics of gamblers and casino-masters.  Much attention was paid to Alec Baldwin in a major supporting role (and oscar-nominated for his effort) as a terrifying force of nature who will do anything to get his way and to preserve the status quo; his brutality in places actually made me cringe.  However this is not a complete about-turn from his leading role days if one recalls "Glengarry Glen Ross".

Personally I would have nominated Macy for his hangdog worm-who-turned.  All in all a very well-constructed and well-acted film but not one that I am in any hurry to see again.

The Bridges of Madison County (1995)

It's confession time: I could never warm to the talents of Meryl Streep when she was busy winning oscars and talking in funny voices.  However she does seem to improve as she (and I) grow older and she really managed to move me in this role for which she received her tenth oscar nomination (and, yes, she does speak with an Italian accent).  Perhaps it's the mitigating influence of her co-star, Clint Eastwood, for whom I have a soft spot -- and in his early roles he managed to barely speak at all.

This tale of once-in-a-lifetime mature love unexpectedly found and then lost is a real lump-in-the-throater.  The chemistry between the leads was both believable and riveting.  One would have liked a different ending, but realistically there could have been no other.  I understand that the novel on which this is based is something of a potboiler, but Eastwood did a stupendous job of directing the story into a  very special and touching movie. 

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

With its art deco sets, over-the-top acting (especially by Vincent Price) and its let's-get-even plot,  basing the killings on the Egyptian plagues, what's not to like?  The film is a lovely bit of Grand Guignol and manages to amuse me every time I see it.  But no one ever accused me of having really good taste!  They really don't make them like this any more.

Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself (2002)

It is a complete mystery to me how certain films come into being.  This is an interesting case in point since it is a Danish production with a Danish director and Danish writers, yet it is set in Glasgow and filmed in English (or rather Scottish brogue) with English-speaking actors.  It is surprisingly watchable and even moving in parts but can't seem to strike a balance between black humour as Wilbur does try to commit suicide (unsuccessfully) at the film's start and the rather bleak denouement which also involves a suicide. Wilbur finds a reason to live but only by our losing a far more likeable character. 

Suzie Gold (2004)

I wonder why I have seen two movies where the American actress Summer Phoenix is cast as an English Jewess and why in the only other movie in which I can recall seeing her she played the daughter of a neo-nazi!  She's not much of an actress either and couldn't really carry the lead in this film.  Mind you the film was something of an embarrassment as well, full of Jewish stereotypes and not particularly lovingly done.  Very little to recommend it even to an ethnic audience.

Suspicion (1941)

The Hitchcock season continues with this movie that was nominated for a best picture oscar.  It didn't win but the female lead, Joan Fontaine, did win best actress.  Of course the best thing in the film is Cary Grant who wasn't even nominated. He only had two nominations throughout his very long career and never won -- but then neither did Hitchcock!

Hollywood rumour has it that he really was meant to be a villain in this film but Hitch knew that the audience would never accept this -- and I can't think of any of his roles where he was anything other than likeable however mean, sarcastic or threatening as he might appear.  The man was a genuine screen star and anyone who says that he only ever played himself missed the nuances. Yes there is a Cary Grant persona but he played it like a virtuoso. No one could really believe that he would actually try to kill sweet insipid Ms Fontaine.

 

Young Adam (2003)

This film has had a lot of press because of its uninhibited sex scenes and indeed Ewan McGregor manages to get his tackle out with every female character.  But the film is not about sex; it is about empty lives where sex is only a surrogate for living beyond the drab immediacy. 

Presented in a non-linear fashion we gradually learn the backstory of the woman fished out of the canal at the film's start  and this turns into a senseless tragedy -- not only because of her accidental death but also because another set of lives will be ruined as a result.  McGregor (who is called Joe, not Adam) is in a position to put this right, but he is not man enough to do so.  Perhaps because he must live with this sin, his character becomes young Adam.  (My ears may have been deceiving me with the strong Scottish accents, but I am sure I heard someone call him that at the very end of the movie).

Shadow of a Doubt (1942)

Continuing my mini-Hitchcock season we have this film which the great man himself placed among his favourites.  While not as showy as some of his films and without any memorable set pieces, it is still a beautifully acted slice of Americana with something very ugly lurking just beneath the surface.  The conflict is between the two Charlies -- Uncle Charlie as played by Joseph Cotton and his niece Charlie, Teresa Wright, who gradually realises that there is a monster behind the mask; both are superb as is the small-town setting.  I could have done without her squeaky younger siblings but there is a nice bit of light relief in the interplay between her father (Henry Travers, Clarence the angel from "It's a Wonderful Life") and a very young Hume Cronyn playing a nerdy neighbour as they play at devising the best ways to murder each other. 

The Man in the Mirror (2004)

This television movie purports to be the Michael Jackson story and having seen it over the period while the jury is out after his recent trial, it feels even more deeply creepy.  The movie's message is that he is just a great big child at heart and wouldn't hurt a fly.  I don't think I want to know.

Jumanji (1995)

I hadn't seen this movie for a while and thought it might be worth another look.  Wrong!  It's hard to believe that this was made two years after "Jurassic Park" since the CGI effects that were so stupendous in that film just look phony in this one.  In fact the whole purpose of the movie seems to be to unleash a run of CGI animals none of which even look like real animals and to marvel at the mayhem they cause.

Robin Williams as the child who returns after 26 years and who must finish the game to undo the damage is not as objectionable as he has become in later years -- just about tolerable.  And Kirsten Dunst was rather sweet in an early role.

Shock aka Beyond the Door II (1977)

The last film by another great Italian horror specialist, Mario Bava, whose output has been far less consistent than Argento's.  He was capable of great style, for example in his early film "The Mask of Satan", but perhaps he worked too broadly or too quickly or in too many genres.  This dubbed idiocy which is a cross between an "Exorcist" rip-off and a gesture to "Hamlet" (why did you kill my father?) features Daria Nicolodi (also to be seen in "Inferno" below) as the troubled and threatened mother.  There are a few good scares -- see her attacked by the furniture!! -- but these are few and far between.  And if I had a creepy son like hers I might have nightmares as well.

Inferno (1978)

One thing is certain about the great Italian horror maestro Dario Argento, you can always count on his style if not his substance -- his films are great to look at but could do with a logic transplant. "Inferno" follows "Suspiria" as the second part of a proposed trilogy (the third has never been made) about possessed buildings in three different cities (here supposedly New York -- as shot in a roman studio) that house the three mothers or the three gates to hell or somesuch.  Lots of deaths and artistic gore but don't for goodness sake ask whodunnit.

City of Women (1980)

This was my second viewing of the Federico Fellini surrealist fantasy and I'm no clearer now as to how I can explain it in a few sentences.  I suspect that it is either one of those films where the choice is to go with the flow or to hit the "off" button since it is certainly self-indulgent, patchy and overlong.  However being a sucker for all things felliniesque, I fall into the first category.

There is no real story and the framing device is the old hoary "it was only a dream" ploy, but the film is like one long dream-cum-nightmare as Fellini's alter ego, Marcello Mastroianni, finds himself in one sequence after another with monstrous and murderous women -- feminists one and all.  Man as the hunter has become man as the prey in this brave new world.

Respiro (2002)

I do worry sometimes why a film that has been widely-praised can leave me absolutely cold.  That is the case with this Italian picture which apparently won three awards in Cannes (I know not what). The story is set on a small and scenic fishing island near Sicily and the heroine played by Valeria Golino, a mother of three, is considered tetched because she swims naked in the sea and occasionally has a fit of the screaming habdabs; the villagers think she should go to Milan (why Milan?) for treatment.  After she disappears (with the connivance of her elder son) and is thought dead everyone feels rotten and they are overjoyed when she is found to be alive. Frankly I thought the whole village were a few sandwiches short of a picnic.

I have previously seen Ms. Golino in English-speaking roles and was never taken  with her as a talent, but my indifference to  this film is not really down to her. The whole exercise seemed a little pointless to me -- perhaps it was an attempt to recapture the realist films of the Italian post-WW2 period. 

Sin City (2005)

This journal is not the first place to look if you want reviews of current releases and blockbusters since I probably see about a dozen at the cinema in any one year; I do go to the pictures more often than this but mainly for art-house and repertory.  Most of my viewing is via tv, satellite or DVD.  However there is no denying that some movies (in fact maybe most movies) are best viewed initially at least on the big screen; Sin City falls into this category.

I am not a comic book buff so I am not familiar with the source material for this film, but the multi-talented Robert Rodriguez has undoubtedly remained true to the original and brought it to vibrant life (his co-director -- nominally I assume -- is the graphic comic's writer).  The film is absolutely amazing to look at in stylized black and white highlighted with splashes of colour -- lips, eyes, dresses and blood, although the latter can be white or yellow as well as red. And there is one heck of a lot of blood and violence and sexy women to turn on the presumably largely male audience -- but so what; it is well worth seeing regardless.  A large cast some of whom like Mickey Rourke are nearly unrecognizable under heavy make-up are more than up to the task of holding the viewer's attention during the three somehow interlocked tales.  And it is certainly one way to avoid type-casting for Mr. Frodo to play a mute cannibalistic killer!

L'Inferno (1911)

And now for something completely different as Monty Python might say.  This film was the first full-length Italian feature and had not been seen for 80 years before its 2004 restoration.  No original copy survived so this version was pieced together from film stock stored in the Library of Congress and the British Film Institute to achieve something approximating the original.  Since the sources are English-speaking the intertitles were also in English which certainly suited me.

And how was it?  Primitive in part but absolutely riveting as one joined Dante and Virgil on their journey through the circles of hell.  The effects were charming and imaginative and to the CGI-jaded eye very refreshing.

My only quibble was the new score by Tangerine Dream.  One doesn't know what the original score (if there was one) was like but I'm sure it didn't include high-voiced female vocals.  I'm fussy about my silent film music and I think this is a classic case of an instance where it would be better to mute the sound and to select something more appropriate to play in the background.

 

The City of Lost Children (1995)

This French film jointly directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro of "Delicatessen" fame is a visual feast nearly impossible to describe.  The basic storyline involves a grotesque old man (part of a family of a midget, six cloned sons and a brain that lives in a tank) who is unable to dream and who therefore steals children to purloin theirs.  The hero is Ron Perlman, the strange-looking American who has had the most eclectic international career; I have a lot of time for his bravery. The costumes are by Gaultier and both they and the art design are inspired; I shall always remember a troop of scary Santas descending on a poor toddler.  But forget my ravings, try to see it.  For subtitle-haters, it is also available in a dubbed version.

And by the way there is a scarifying pair of villainous Siamese-twin sisters sharing three legs between them.  They're not real but nothing in this film could be real other than the fantastic imaginations behind it. 

Saboteur (1942)

I'm having a mini-Hitchcock season this month watching some of the lesser-known films that I've not seen for a while. This one apart from the stupendous ending atop the Statue of Liberty was something of a disappointment and featured one of his least charismatic casts.  Robert Cummings is just too lightweight to engage one (and although he appears in a later Hitchcock picture, "Dial  M for Murder", all he has to be in that one is a lightweight actor).  The only character actor of note is Otto Kruger, but there is not enough of him to help.

One bit that I had forgotten was the hero's hiding out while on the run with a group of circus sideshow freaks which included  pair of Siamese twins (not real) which seem to be haunting me this week (see the next entry).

Chaos (1999)

I was rather looking forward to this Japanese film which I'd been told (incorrectly) was a horror film by the director of the original "Ringu".  It was OK but neither  horrifying nor suspenseful and I only hope American producers can resist remaking this one, since everything Japanese seems to be grist to their mill at present.

Too late: just discovered that a remake with de Niro and del Toro is awaiting release. 

Chained for Life (1951)

I have wanted to see this classic exploitation pic for a long time but have never managed to locate a copy previously.  It was sheer perverse curiosity on my part to want to view a film starring (real) Siamese twins -- Daisy and Violet Hilton out of "Freaks" made nearly 20 years earlier.  While the Farrelly Brothers can get some cheap laughs out of conjoined twins in "Stuck on You" (best line: "We're not Siamese, we're American") there is nothing even vaguely amusing in this film.  A large part of the footage is made up of filmed vaudeville acts (sharing the bill with the singing sisters) and one can only regret that the ladies were lured back into a movie with no artistic merit whatsoever.  A sad, sad business -- so shame on me for watching it in the first place.

The Sin Eater (US: The Order) (2003)

Brian Helgeland may have been the oscar-winning writer of "L.A. Confidential" but in his third outing as a director (dare I say his films have become progressingly worse), he would be more in the running for the Golden Raspberry.  He probably thought it a super idea to reunite three of his "Knight's Tale" stars (if in fact any of them had any star quality); Heath Ledger is an over-rated plank of wood and Shannyn Sossamon and Mark Addy have a great future in straight-to-video features. No point summarising the nonsensical plot -- just remember if you run into the film in a dark alley to escape as fast as you can.

My Life Without Me (2003)

Rather surprisingly this is a Spanish-Canadian coproduction (one of the producers is Pedro Almodovar).  A young trailer-dwelling mother of two learns she has only 2-3 months left to live but can not bring herself to tell her husband (Scott Speedman) or her mother (Deborah Harry/Blondie).  Instead she resolves to do certain things before she dies which include finding a potential wife for her husband, visiting her father in jail (an uncredited Alfred Molina), and discovering what it is like to make love with another man -- Mark Ruffalo who falls in love with her (he too does not know that she is ill).  Parenthetically I think he is a fine actor but I wish he didn't always look so dirty and/or scruffy.

Sarah Polley a super actress who has been in films since childhood plays the lead without mawkishness.  In other hands this might have been an obvious tearjerker but she manages to leave the viewer simply deeply deeply sad.

 

The Fan (1981)

A sleazy exercise in stalker gore propped up by a singularly starry cast including Lauren Bacall, James Garner and Maureen Stapleton.  One wonders what drew any of them to the pic other than a paycheck as Michael Biehn's nutter first worships and then comes to hate his idol stage star (Bacall) attacking and/or killing anyone that he feels is coming between them.

Fifty-seven at the time but playing 50 Bacall had just come off a run of Broadway musical successes in real life and the movie becomes schizoid itself featuring her in high-tech musical rehearsals counterpointed with Biehn's bloody vendetta.  I had seen this before many years ago and should have remembered to give it a miss. 

Alone/Horton Foote's Alone (1997)

A cable movie mixing sadness and hope held together by Hume Cronyn's doughty survivor.  A widower he manages to muddle through without any real help from his family who are all too invovled with their own problems.  The prospect of oil being found on his land brings greed to the fore as his nephews played by Chris Cooper, lumbered with a totally disfunctional family and no great success himself, and Frederic Forrest,  with a remarkably chubby Shelly Duvall for a wife, hope for great riches.  So do his two married daughters.  No oil is found and all hopes are dashed. Even Cronyn admits disappointment but one know that he will soldier on.  The film also features a remarkably subdued turn from James Earl (I am your father) Jones.

Foreign Correspondent (1940)

Far from showing its age this Hitchcock film which ends urging America to involve itself in the war in Europe remains fresh and riveting, full of set pieces that remain in the mind's eye -- the chase through a sea of umbrellas, the windmill moving against the wind.  Since he is remembered for his Western roles during the second half of his career, one forgets that Joel McCrea started as a light leading man in romantic comedies back in the 30's, and he becomes the reluctant action hero here.  Hitch has more fun with his casting of a group of memorable character actors. In particular, Herbert Marshall the most debonair of leading men makes the suavest of villains, George Sanders - often a villain - plays a stalwart good-guy and Edmund Gwenn forever associated with Kris Kringle turns up as a Cockney assassin. 

Assassination Tango (2003)

It must be Robert Duvall week -- the second film in three days, but oh dear what can I say about this vanity piece co-produced, written and directed by Duvall.  I have a lot of time for him as an actor and his previously directed "The Apostle" was a tour de force.

I have read that he is obsessed with the Tango and I think he was trying to express his love for the dance while making a non-thrilling thriller of his character biding time in Buenos Aires while waiting to make a hit. Most of the dance sequences were pleasant enough except for those where he was dancing.  He looked and moved like the 72-year old that he was and probably enjoyed himself (especially since his partner in these sequences was his present gal-friend) a lot more than the audience.  I think everyone should have at least one hobby that they love but that doesn't necessarily make for an interesting film.

Prelude to a Kiss (1992)

It's a good 10 years since I last viewed this film and while I clearly remembered the central conceit of the story, I might as well have never seen it previously for all I could recall. For a high concept story-line of personalities changing bodies (the young bride Meg Ryan -- as ditzy as she was in "The Doors" and the old codger, Sydney Walker becoming each other) the end product was oddly charmless.  Walker apparently originated the role in the original Broadway show and was probably the best thing in the movie; the romantic lead, Alec Baldwin, was also in the original but apart from looking very young was nothing special.  I think I could resist watching this again in another 10 years.

The Captive Heart (1946)

This was a re-view of a film not seen for some years as I replaced an old Beta copy with a DVD.  However all of the stiff-upper-lip sentiment remained undiminished as a stalwart cast of British character actors went through their POW paces. Michael Redgrave was very moving as the czech concentration camp escapee posing as a British officer and the end scenes framed over joyful celebrations on V-E Day managed without any dialogue to produce the remembered lump in the throat.  What is it about some movies that they can make us weep even 'though we know that it is all pretend?

The Five People You Meet in Heaven (2004)

This made for cable film is based on  a popular book which I have not read but which was adapted for film by the author so I must assume it is fairly faithful which means I will probably never read it after sitting through this twaddle.

It stars Jon Voight in old-age make-up which makes him look like a spotted toad. He has just died having tried to save a little girl from falling machinery at the amusement pier where he has worked all his life. He then must meet five people from his past not all of whom he has actually ever met (although I counted six) before they can find their own heavens and he can find his -- or some such rubbish.

The stand-out among these is Jeff Daniels as a blue-skinned man (I kid you not) who died in a car accident when the Voight character as a child ran in front of his car.  Having advised Voight that he was the cause he is free to lose his blue skin and go off to his personal nirvana.  Groovy.