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Triangle of Sadness (2022)
this is sure to jolt you out of your ignorance
If ever you were looking for a movie to jolt you out of your ignorance about the world (and about class structure), then look no further than Ruben Östlund's Academy Award-nominated "Triangle of Sadness". This story of a cruise that runs amok addresses just about every political issue. In addition to the politically-charged stuff, there's even bodily function humor! Once they get marooned, the power structure gets inverted, a bit like in Lina Wertmüller's "Swept Away".
The point is that we have here a story that points out every elephant in the room, even making you realize occasionally, there are "nice" people who just happen to do evil things. I doubt that you'll forget the movie any time soon. Definitely not like most movies that you've seen.
Lucky Star (1929)
like many movies of the era, it shows the period's mindset about war
Frank Borzage's "Lucky Star" was for many years believed lost until a copy got found in the Netherlands. A good thing that it did. Like many movies from the late '20s and early '30s, this film gives us an insight into that era's attitude about war. While it doesn't openly condemn war the way that "All Quiet on the Western Front" and "No Greater Glory" do, its protagonist is a man (Charles Farrell) who goes off to fight in World War I and ends up handicapped. Even so, the woman (Janet Gaynor) he knew still loves him and him alone.
This must've also been one of the first movies to focus on someone with a disability. Obviously it would've been more effective had they actually cast a disabled person, but the acting and direction make up for the movie's shortcomings.
All in all, this is a fine piece of classic cinema. If you think movies should just be about superheroes, aliens, etc, then you should avoid this movie like the plague. This is about the characters and their love for each other. I don't know if it's available on any streaming service, so you'll have to check your local video store.
Felix the Cat Flirts with Fate (1926)
Felix's first trip to space
Felix the Cat is probably most recognizable to today's audiences from the 1950s-1960s TV show where he has a magic bag of tricks, and is surrounded by the Professor, Poindexter, and others. It turns out that Felix originally appeared in a cartoon series starting in 1919. In the original cartoons, he looked a bit different than he did on the show.
Anyway, 1926's "Felix the Cat Flirts with Fate" has him falling for a cat who lives on Mars. This was probably the first time that he went to space, as the TV show had him and Poindexter occasionally go to the moon, where they met the evil Master Cylinder (who turned out to be one of the Professor's former students).
The most impressive parts of this particular cartoon is the dance sequence. Otherwise, it's nothing spectacular. Cartoons in the '20s didn't have complex plots. It wasn't until the late '30s that Warner Bros. Started making satirical cartoons that the medium really evolved.
Body and Soul (1925)
interesting plot, but one thing makes it unpleasant
I learned of Oscar Micheaux from Melvin Van Peebles's documentary "Classified X", about the history of cinema produced and directed by African-Americans. I recently saw Micheaux's "Veiled Aristocrats", and have now seen his "Body and Soul".
For the most part, it's a good movie, with Paul Robeson playing a con artist posing as a clergyman. However, there's one thing that's grating about it, and this might just be a 21st-century view of it: the dialogue on the intertitles. It sounds like stereotyped depictions of African-Americans. Maybe Micheaux was writing the actors' actual dialects, but to me it sounded like it came from a minstrel show. On that subject, after Willie Mays died recently, Keith Olbermann recalled a phone that he'd had with Mays, where Mays affected what sounded like a minstrel show voice (Olbermann didn't imitate it, noting that for a white person to do so would sound incredibly racist).
Anyway, it's an okay movie on its own, with fine performances all around. Just remember that the dialogue on the intertitles sounds cringey nowadays.
Wicked Little Letters (2023)
Curse it loud!
Okay, so it sounds as though Thea Sharrock's "Wicked Little Letters" took a lot of creative liberties, but you gotta love the overall story, with a town in 1920 England suddenly filled with obscene letters and blaming an abrasive Irish immigrant.
The movie at once both addresses distrust of the "other" (especially considering how the English viewed the Irish) and people's tendency to dumb down their language to sound "appropriate". One scene in particular seems to say "well that felt good". I wouldn't call it a masterpiece - especially when you read about the inaccuracies - but it's got some funny stuff. I suspect that deep down, a lot of Christians wish that they could spout all the profanities they want.
In addition to stars Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley, it also has Anjana Vasan (from last year's season finale of "Black Mirror"), Timothy Spall (Wormtail in the Harry Potter movies) and Alisha Weir (the title character in the recent "Abigail").
A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)
an acceptable continuation
The first two movies were undeniably going to be a hard act to follow. "A Quiet Place: Day One" is simultaneously a spinoff and prequel, with Lupita Nyong'o as a cancer patient whose trip to New York gets interrupted by the aliens.
This installation - with John Krasinski on only as producer - focuses more on the people than the aliens, with the former having to navigate the now abandoned Big Apple. It doesn't quite live up to the other two (almost feeling more like fan fiction than like an installment in the series), but I'd say that it passes muster. Djimon Hounsou is the only returning cast member from either of the previous movies, while Joseph Quinn (Eddie on "Stranger Things") also co-stars.
Ondskan (2003)
between this and "If...", boarding schools look like the most sadistic places ever
I happened to read about Mikael Håfström's "Ondskan" ("Evil" in English) because it received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. I've only now gotten around to seeing it. I took from it exactly what I took from Lindsay Anderson's "If...": boarding schools are just about the most sadistic places. There's a hierarchy with nonstop hazing. One would assume that it wouldn't be as severe in Sweden as in the UK, but this makes the boarding school system out to be one sick institution.
I definitely recommend the movie. Mind you, it's like a kick in the gut the whole way through. The cast includes Andreas Wilson, Henrik Lundström, Gustaf Skarsgård, Linda Zilliacus and Jesper Salén.
Dog Soldiers (2002)
I see the clever moon rising
Neil Marshall's directorial debut portrays a British platoon on a training mission in rural Scotland, when a bunch of werewolves target them...but that's only the start! "Dog Soldiers" knows exactly what sort of movie it is, and embraces it every step of the way. The commanding officer says that he wants gratuitous violence, and this flick gives us all the gut-busting violence that we could ask for.
Among the cleverest scenes are those depicting the lycanthropes' point of view (they can see in the dark). But I'd say that what I like most about it is the use of practical effects for the werewolves. If you like horror flicks, then this is one that you're sure to enjoy.
As for the cast, Liam Cunningham is best known as Davos on "Game of Thrones", while Sean Pertwee is the son of Jon Pertwee, one of the portrayers of Dr. Who; I recently saw the 1933 romcom "Sleeping Car", scripted by Jon's father Roland.
Hell Harbor (1930)
Just "the Caribbean"?
If you want to view Henry King's "Hell Harbor" simply as a form of entertainment, then you'll probably enjoy it. Otherwise, it seems kind of flat, with Lupe Vélez playing a woman whose father wants to marry her off, but she hopes to flee to Havana with a sailor from the US.
I guess the fact remains that most movies out of Hollywood don't have the most complex plots. One thing about this one is that it got released before the Hays Code, and there's a scene or two that couldn't have gotten filmed a few years later.
It's somewhat entertaining, if nothing special. Vélez's co-star Jean Hersholt was the paternal half-uncle (by marriage) of Leslie Nielsen.
City Streets (1931)
Sgt. York meets Juno
One of the relics from the days before the Hays Code homogenized cinema casts Gary Cooper as a man who joins a gang to help get his lover out of jail. Rouben Mamoulian's "City Streets" shows the criminal underworld in all its grittiness (or as much as could get shown in 1931). No one in the movie is really a good guy or bad guy, just people faced with tough choices.
Naturally the movie didn't get shown much after the Hays Code came into effect; no telling how many movies got suppressed under the code. I don't know whether or not its available on any streaming service, so you'll have to find a video rental store to find the DVD.
Sylvia Sidney is probably most recognizable to today's audiences as the case worker in "Beetlejuice" and the grandmother in "Mars Attacks!". Also watch for an uncredited appearance of Paulette Goddard, who co-starred with Charlie Chaplin in "Modern Times" and "The Great Dictator".
Veiled Aristocrats (1932)
I don't know what the issue is
When we think of old cinema, we think of all-white casts, with non-white people relegated to servants and entertainers. What you might not have known was that there was a group of African-Americans who had their own movie industry.
I learned of Oscar Micheaux from Melvin Van Peebles's documentary "Classified X" (whose title referenced the rating slapped on Van Peebles's "Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song"). Van Peebles noted Micheaux's importance in cinema, despite the general neglect of his work for most of history.
I've finally seen one of his movies. "Veiled Aristocrats" is a partially lost film, with only two reels surviving. It focuses on an African-American man who has managed to pass as white, now returning home to hook up with a woman.
While it has a good plot, a lot of the acting comes across as stilted. As for the lousy production value, we can forgive that, as Micheaux simply didn't have the resources that Hollywood did. I guess that I would recommend the movie as a historical reference, but it's not the sort of movie that leaves you feeling satisfied.
Sleeping Car (1933)
Betcha don't know who Ivor Novello was, do you?
I first learned of Ivor Novello from Robert Altman's "Gosford Park", wherein Jeremy Northam played him. I think that I may have eventually seen a movie of his before this one, but Anatole Litvak's "Sleeping Car" is the first one that I can fully register.
I have to admit that I don't know what the general vibe was in British comedy flicks of the '30s; when I think of British comedy, Monty Python comes to mind. Anyway, this romcom is an okay way to spend seventy-five minutes, but it's not the sort of movie that you'll remember easily.
Madeleine Carroll is probably best known for Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 movie "The 39 Steps". I seem to recall that Hitch also directed Ivor Novello in something and made a comment about him that sounded homophobic.
Anyway, it's okay, not great.
Dali in New York (1965)
surrealism comes to the Big Apple
Without a doubt, Salvador Dalí was one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. His surreal paintings surprised and entertained art lovers the world over. The surrealism extended to him personally, with his handlebar mustache. Someone once asked Dalí if he used drugs and he answered "I am drugs."
Jack Bond's 1965 documentary "Dali in New York" looks at the painter's trip to the Big Apple, where he put on some projects and schmoozed with the beautiful people (some of the women reminded me of those depicted on "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans").
The documentary isn't much to call home about, as it's only an hour and calls into question the relationship between artist and fan. Even so, it's interesting to see this brief period when the king of surrealism spent some time in the city that never sleeps. I think that it's available on DVD, but I watched it on YouTube.
El Alamein - La linea del fuoco (2002)
only the dead have seen the end of war
Here in the US, we mostly get the Hollywood view of World War II: a glorified, heroic image. That makes it all the more interesting when we get the view from another country. A view that we rarely get is the Italian one. That's exactly what we have in "El Alamein - La linea del fuoco" ("The Line of Fire" in English).
Basically, the gist of the movie is that war is hell. The focus is a platoon in 1942 Egypt. Ordered by Mussolini to fight heroically for their country - and die heroically, if they must - these men soon find out that there's no glory in this endeavor. Not only do they experience all sorts of hell, but they realize that - in the words of one cadet, the dead didn't die heroically, they're just dead.
"The Thin Red Line" presented itself as the counterbalance to "Saving Private Ryan". The latter drew controversy for making heroes out of its protagonists. The former turned out to be three hours of nothing (as have all of Terrence Malick's movies during the past thirty years). Enzo Monteleone's movie is the proper counterbalance. Definitely check it out (you might have to find a neighborhood video rental place, since I don't know if it's available on streaming).
Romance on the High Seas (1948)
Janis Paige, RIP
I happened to pick up Michael Curtiz's Academy Award-nominated "Romance on the High Seas" not knowing anything about it. I didn't realize that it stars Janis Paige, who died recently.
Well, in addition to a plot that tries too hard to be funny, what really stuck out to me was the whole sequence in Cuba. I don't know whether the movie ever got shown in Cuba, but if so, then the Cubans must've rolled their eyes at its depiction of the island as a bunch of singing and dancing (specifically, the movie thinks non-white people exist to entertain white people). I recommend reading the history of the US's meddling in Cuba's affairs, even long before the 1959 revolution. Harry Belafonte noted that under Batista, Cuba was basically an apartheid state.
But this shouldn't be surprising, since it's a Doris Day movie. My mom recalls how, growing up, Day's movies were her least favorite movies: Day always played the wholesome virgin. This is part of what made the James Bond movies so great when they arrived on the scene: we finally got to see some sex!
Basically, it's one of the most pointless movies ever. The DVD actually stopped working about halfway through, and I didn't bother trying to restart it. As far as I'm concerned, the only interesting thing about the movie is that Paige's character is named Elvira, which of course makes me think of the horror hostess with a pair of giant, ahem, pumpkins. Interestingly, the movie has an uncredited Maila Nurmi, best known as Vampira; she sued Elvira for stealing her act. Also appearing are Eric Blore (the voice of Disney's Mr. Toad) and Sandra Gould (the second Gladys Kravitz on "Bewitched"); is there a way to see her and not want to shout "Stop spying on the Stephenses!"?
All in all, not one that I recommend. I don't remember where it was that I read this, but someone called Doris Day the embodiment of 1950s hypocrisy. I couldn't have said it better myself.
Les maudits (1947)
enclosed with evil
With the Nazi occupation still fresh in everyone's minds, it was no surprise that France made a movie about the Nazis. To be certain, René Clément's movie is one of the all-time masterpieces. "Les maudits" ("The Damned" in English) is about a group of Nazis and their sympathizers who board a submarine to South America towards the end of WWII, hoping to escape the consequences of Germany's defeat. But when an accident forces them to make a stop and pick up a doctor, things take a different turn.
This is one of the most claustrophobic movies that I've ever seen. Other reviewers have noted the similarities to "Das Boot". Whatever the case, the movie brings up the issue of responsibility. One could make the argument that the doctor has enabled these Nazis' crimes, even if he acted unwillingly. After all, the people aboard this submarine were very much committed to fascism.
Anyway, a fine piece of work. I intend to see more of Clément's movies now.
The Killers (1946)
that's an unusual pronunciation of Betelgeuse
Burt Lancaster's film debut casts him as a murder victim whose killing sparks an investigation into his recent past. "The Killers" is one of the few movies that truly manages to keep you on the edge of your seat all the way through. What's really clever is how each bit of commentary from the various and sundry characters provides a little more information about this individual, and why someone wanted him dead. Equally impressive is Ava Gardner as a mistress whose sexy allure masks something.
All in all, Robert Siodmak's Academy Award-nominated classic, based on a short story by Ernest Hemingway, is among the best that cinema has to offer. In addition to the aforementioned stars, Edmond O'Brien, Albert Dekker and Sam Levene give fine support. Steven Schneider listed this as one of the 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, and you'd better believe that you have to.
Seriously, who pronounces Betelgeuse like that?
What Comes Around (2022)
not much goes around
I happened to come across "What Comes Around" on Hulu. Having no idea what it was, I decided to check it out. It had a routine plot (a girl hooks up with a boy who isn't exactly what he seems), but a twist saved it from being a total washout. Even so, it seemed like not much happened in the movie. Not terrible - there were some intense scenes - but an hour later I felt like I hadn't gotten anything out of the movie.
It's probably worth mentioning the nepotism behind the movie: director Amy Redford is Robert's daughter, while star Grace Van Dien is Robert Mitchum's great-granddaughter. Summer Phoenix is the younger sister of River and Joaquin.
Inside Out 2 (2024)
I had wondered about extra emotions after the first movie
After watching the first movie, I wondered about additional emotions that Riley could have along with joy, sadness, anger, disgust and fear. So, with "Inside Out 2", we get some new ones as Riley hits puberty. I hadn't thought of these particular emotions - I posited cynicism as an extra one - but these are certainly feelings that most of us tend to have as we reach the teenage years.
As for the overall plot, I wouldn't call it the greatest, but I did like the depiction of Riley developing a more complex understanding of the world, and how her emotions deal with it. I think that the movie is worth seeing.
A little side note. I saw Lewis Black (Anger's voice) in concert a few years ago. Commenting on so-called "fake news", he said "It's not fake news, it's news reported (adverb that IMDb won't allow here)!" I also saw the 1990 suspense thriller "Jacob's Ladder" and was surprised to see Black in a brief appearance in the movie.
As Above, So Below (2014)
If you see something, is it really there?
I knew practically nothing about "As Above, So Below" when I started watching it. That made it all the more interesting. It's understood to be an allusion to a famous literary work. Even beyond that, one might interpret it as having the same gist as "Poltergeist": we don't know what horrible secrets lie buried beneath our feet.
A lot of the stuff about symbology reminded me of "The Da Vinci Code". I wonder if the director and screenwriter took any inspiration from that.
All in all, it might scare you out of your wits, or it might interest you in Paris's catacombs. Either way, this is not a movie that you're likely to forget anytime soon.
Blue Jasmine (2013)
one of the rare instances when the Woodman leaves New York
After making a couple of movies outside the US, Woody Allen returned to the states and made the comedy-drama "Blue Jasmine", an updated version of "A Streetcar Named Desire". In an Academy Award-winning role, Cate Blanchett plays a New York socialite whose world comes crashing down when her husband gets arrested. Moving to San Francisco, she insinuates herself into her sister's life and starts seeking out relationships.
One of the things that I noticed is the problematic cast. The bespectacled one is only behind the camera, but in front of it we have Louis C. K. (later MeToo'd) and Alec Baldwin, whose mismanagement of a movie set got a woman killed in 2022. As for Andrew Dice Clay, I've only heard stories about him, mainly that his humor has a misogynistic streak.
Whatever the case, it's not Allen's worst movie by a long shot (that dishonor goes to the crime against humanity that was 1996's "Everyone Says I Love You", one of the few movies so bad that it needs to get unmade). Blanchett puts on an intense performance, as does Sally Hawkins as her sister. The rest of the cast includes Bobby Cannavale, Peter Sarsgaard and Michael Stuhlbarg (with whom Hawkins later co-starred in "The Shape of Water"). Worth seeing, although Allen's best movies remain his stuff from the early '70s.
A Song to Remember (1945)
Hungarian rhapsody of a Pole
OK, so "A Song to Remember" took a number of creative liberties with Frederic Chopin's life, but Charles Vidor's movie is still a fine piece of work. I suspect that the depiction of him championing his homeland's resistance to a foreign occupation was an allusion to the Nazi occupation of Poland at the time that the movie came out.
Although it focuses on a Pole, star Cornel Wilde and co-star Stephen Bekassy - as well as the director and some of the crew - were from Hungary (the movie also depicts Hungarian composer Franz Liszt). Obviously the Magyar Republic - part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire when they were born - was the homeland of a number of immigrants at the turn of the last century.
Anyway, it's worth seeing, despite the historical inaccuracies. The rest of the cast includes Paul Muni (as Józef Elsner) and Nina Foch (as George Sand).
If you're not familiar with Franz Liszt, probably his best-known work is "Hungarian Rhapsody #2", frequently used in cartoons, as well the scene in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" where Daffy Duck and Donald Duck play the pianos.
Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)
we all need someone to look up to
With World War II in full swing, it made sense that Hollywood movies were going to reference it. Preston Sturges's Academy Award-nominated "Hail the Conquering Hero" makes full use of this. Eddie Bracken's character is what one might call an accidental hero, with his hometown misinformed of his bravery and wanting him for mayor.
Admittedly, some of the humor is a little outdated - not to mention the ethnic slurs - but the movie still manages to be funny. Overall it's a political satire, but still finds time for plain old silly humor (such as when the bands try to play at the wrong time). I guess that the gist of the movie is that our heroes might not be exactly what they seem; if you don't believe me, just watch Barry Levinson's movie about Joe Paterno.
In the end, there's no denying that this is one of the all-time comedy classics. If the name Eddie Bracken sounds familiar to you, you might've seen him in "National Lampoon's Vacation" (as the theme park owner) and in "Home Alone 2" (as the toy store owner).
Vredens dag (1943)
all that it takes is an accusation
The idea of witch hunts occasionally appears in cinema. Most famous is probably "The Crucible", written as an allusion to McCarthyism. Other movies include "Witchfinder General" (aka "The Conqueror Worm") and the overrated - by which I mean truly awful - "Hocus Pocus".
A lesser known one these days is Carl Theodor Dreyer's "Vredens dag" ("Day of Wrath" in English). This focuses on witch hunts in 1600s Denmark. I should note that it's the sort of movie that tests your attention span. Long scenes usually in one location, consisting of dialogue. If you're used to movies full of explosions, car chases and CGI, then you'll want to avoid this one like the plague. Otherwise, I recommend it as one of the all-time classics.
Am I the only one who thinks Lisbeth Movin looked like Elizabeth Montgomery?
In a Violent Nature (2024)
Canadian cinema gets brutal
It might surprise us Yanks to learn that our northern neighbor has made horror flicks, but they have. Horror movies made by the Canucks in previous decades include "The Clown Murders" (starring a young John Candy) and "The Brain".
We now have a new slasher from Canada. "In a Violent Nature" has gotten described as an ambient slasher. The plot sounds typical of these movies - a boy who died an unnatural death gets resurrected when someone disturbs his grave - but a lot of the movie gets told from the killer's point of view. Not POV shots, mind you, but it follows him around as he seeks out those who desecrated his burial place.
And then of course there's the kills. One kill in particular is one of the most shocking things ever put on screen (you'll know it when you see it). The practical effects make it all worthwhile.
At the same time, I should note that the movie tests your attention span. It deliberately movies slowly - think a Jim Jarmusch movie - and there's no music until the end credits. I guess that adds to the realism.
All in all, I enjoyed it. This is one horror flick that you won't soon forget.