Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Pay It Forward

Pay It Forward (2000) starring Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, Haley Joel Osment, Jay Mohr. A social studies teacher (Spacey) gives an assignment to his class, in which Trevor (Osment) is a student. The assignment is to do something to change the world, and when Trevor brings a homeless man home with him, Trevor's mother Arlene (Hunt) goes ballistic. Unfortunately, Arlene is also an alcoholic who keeps bottles of booze hidden around the house. The movie was disappointing to me because it failed to follow through enough on Trevor's "Pay It Forward" idea, while at the same time the ending was needlessly downbeat. This was a near miss, but it didn't quite work. Good subtitles and captions. Grade: B-

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Scream

Scream (1996) starring Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Drew Barrymore, Rose McGowan, Matthew Lillard, Jamie Kennedy, Courtney Cox, David Arquette. Directed by Wes Craven. A killer in a ghost costume pursues high-school kids in a small town -- starting with Casey (Barrymore), a girl who has the misfortune to answer the phone. The movie plays with movie conventions, referencing other films continuously -- especially other horror films. If nothing else, it's entertaining to watch. The plot resolution, however, left me a little disappointed. This movie might reward repeat viewings. Good subtitles, as well as closed captions. Grade: B

Friday, May 27, 2011

Say Anything

Say Anything (1989) starring John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney, Lili Taylor. Written and Directed by Cameron Crowe. Lloyd Dobler (Cusack) has been longing for brainy Diane Court (Skye), but when he finally gets up the nerve to ask her out, she's on her way out of the country -- she has won a fellowship to a university in England. They go to a party together and hit it off, but her father (Mahoney) opposes the relationship because Lloyd lacks ambition. This is the film that features the iconic scene of Lloyd standing outside Diane's house, holding a boom box aloft. The script in this movie takes some unexpected turns, and some main characters turn out to be other than you think. It makes for a satisfying viewing experience. Subtitles are furnished, as well as closed captions. Grade: B

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Sawdust and Tinsel

Sawdust and Tinsel (1953) starring Harriet Andersson, Ake Gronberg. Directed by Ingmar Bergman. A traveling circus comes to town. The owner of the circus (Gronberg) goes to visit his ex-wife and children, who happen to live in the town. This prompts a drastic reaction from his mistress (Andersson). This much-lauded film by Bergman no doubt has depths that I was unable to perceive. I wasn't too thrilled. In Swedish, with English subtitles. Grade: B

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Run Silent, Run Deep

Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) starring Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster. Gable and Lancaster play the captain and the executive officer of an American submarine during World War II. Lancaster has the loyalty of the crew, but Gable has a single-minded obsession -- revenge on the Japanese destroyer that sank the sub he commanded a year ago. He takes the submarine into the dangerous Bungo Straits, where he hopes to sink the Japanese ship with an unorthodox bow shot. There are several complications to the story, but it all ends satisfactorily. This movie has subtitles in English, as well as closed captions. I rather enjoyed it. Grade: B+

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Rocco and His Brothers

Rocco and His Brothers (1960) starring Alain Delon, Renato Salvatore, Annie Girardot, Katina Paxinou, Claudia Cardinale. An Italian family consisting of a mother and five brothers migrates from the south of Italy to Milan, in the north. Rocco (Delon) and his brother Simone get in a fight over a girl (Cardinale), and Simone acts in a beastly manner toward his brother. Although this film plays with heavy themes of sibling rivalry and even murder, it impressed me as an overwrought soap opera without gravitas. Plus, it's almost three hours long. In Italian, with English subtitles. Grade: B

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan (1998) starring Tom Hanks. Directed by Steven Spielberg. In 1944, during the D-Day invasion of Normandy, three brothers are killed. The fourth brother, Private Ryan, is designated by the authorities to be found and brought home safely. Hanks is the captain in charge of an eight-man squad tasked with penetrating deep into the battlefield and saving Private Ryan. This movie won well-deserved Oscars for Best Director and Best Cinematography. The subtitles are good. Grade: A

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Sansho the Bailiff

Sansho the Bailiff (1954) starring a cast of Japanese actors you've never heard of. In medieval Japan, a governor is punished for being too liberal with the peasants he has responsibility for. He is banished, and his wife and two children end up being sold into slavery. After 10 years in slavery, her son escapes and journeys to Kyoto seeking help from imperial authorities. Surprisingly, he succeeds. But is it too late to save his family? It's a beautifully photographed (in black and white) and emotionally resonant story which suffers only slightly by requiring subtitles. The Japanese consider it a classic film. Grade: A

Friday, May 20, 2011

Safe Conduct

Safe Conduct (2002) starring Jacques Gamblin, Denis Podalydes. Set in 1942 in Paris, this movie tells the true story of French filmmakers struggling to continue to work during the German occupation. Conflict arises when some film artists try to go along with German dictates about how movies should be made, and others strive to rebel and survive. The film is darkly humorous, with many striking visuals. The "Safe Conduct" of the title refers to the papers the French were required to carry to move about freely in the German-occupied zone. In the end, however, I found this epic film (almost three hours long) had lost something in the translation. The movie is in French, with English subtitles. Grade: B

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Robocop

Robocop (1987) starring Peter Weller, Nancy Allen. Near-future Detroit cop Murphy (Weller) is killed by bad guys, but takes on new life when doctors give him a robotic body. This movie is filled with dark humor as the Detroit police department is taken over by a corrupt private company. There's lots of cartoonish violence as Robocop pursues bad guys, all the while suffering from flashbacks to memories of his former life when he had a wife and child. Allen provides appealing support as Lewis, the female cop who figures out that it's Murphy inside the Robo-suit. An enjoyable outing, though lacking in subtlety. Grade: B+

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Saint Ralph

Saint Ralph (2005) starring Adam Butcher, Campbell Scott, Jennifer Tilly. Fourteen-year-old Catholic-school student Ralph Walker (Butcher) convinces himself that the only way to save his comatose mother is to win the Boston Marathon. Set in 1953-54 in Canada, this movie tells the story of how young Walker, through his own belief in himself, acquires a coach (Scott) and wins the sympathies of the nurse (Tilly) who tends his mother. The script is splendid throughout. The subtitles are good. Grade: A-

Friday, May 13, 2011

Sailor of the King

Sailor of the King (1953) starring Jeffrey Hunter, Michael Rennie, Wendy Hiller. British sailor (Hunter), saved from drowning when his ship is sunk, escapes from German ship which has put in for repairs. Stealing a rifle, he hides in the hills above the German ship and delays its repairs by firing on its crew. Rather unusual war film is framed by ironic back story, which has the admiral he serves (Rennie) as his illegitimate father. A bit talky at times, but when the action starts there's not much letup. Not much in the believability department. Good subtitles, plus closed captions. Grade: B

Blue Valentine

Blue Valentine (2010) starring Michelle Williams, Ryan Gosling. A marriage, once happy, has turned sour. Cindy and Dean (Williams and Gosling) argue almost non-stop, and it's mostly because Dean is a big fat loser. In flashbacks, we see their courtship, and frankly it's a little hard to believe -- what did she ever see in him? I felt the chemistry between the stars was not believable, and this whole movie was just too depressing. The subtitles are adequate. Grade: B-

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (2010) starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson. The final book in the Harry Potter series is brought to the screen in two parts. In this, the first part, Harry Potter (Radcliffe), accompanied by Hermione Granger (Watson) and Ron Weasley (Grint), is pursued relentlessly by death-eaters as he searches for the horcruxes which contain parts of Voldemort's soul. Harry must destroy the horcruxes, but the horcrux he finds has a poisonous effect on the trio of wizards, who are hiding out in the wilderness. It's been a while since I read the book, so I am unable to evaluate how well the movie follows the book, except to say that it seems to hew pretty closely to the spirit of what Rowling wrote. The film is uniformly dark, which I suppose was intentional -- but the darkness makes it a little less enjoyable to watch -- especially on video. The subtitles are OK. Pottermaniacs may give this movie an A, but I give it a Grade: B

Monday, May 09, 2011

Sahara

Sahara (1943) starring Humphrey Bogart. Sergeant Joe Gunn (Bogart) commands a tank in the north African desert in 1942. He has two American crewmen left, but takes on five British soldiers, a Frenchman and a Sudanese soldier with an Italian prisoner of war. Their first order of business is to look for water, then fight the Germans. The final battle of the movie -- nine Allied troops hold off 500 Nazis, who desperately want the water -- is a rousing one. Not surprisingly, for a movie made in the middle of World War II, this one is filled with patriotic fervor and speechifying. Still, entertaining. The subtitles are good. Closed captions are available. Grade: B

Saturday, May 07, 2011

Saddle the Wind

Saddle the Wind (1958) starring Robert Taylor, Julie London, John Cassavetes. A man rides into town looking for Steve Sinclair (Taylor), but gets shot by Steve's kid brother Tony (Cassavetes). Tony has just returned from a cattle drive, bringing with him a fiancee named Joan Blake (London), a former saloon singer. Only trouble is, Tony also brought back a gun, and he's all too eager to use it. When squatters arrive on the Sinclair ranch, trouble ensues. The screenplay was written by Rod Serling, of Twilight Zone fame. Unfortunately, the script is the weak spot in this Western. Taylor and London are solid in their lead roles (although London has little to do but sing the title song), but Cassavetes overacts in the extreme. This was not a very satisfying viewing experience, particularly the lame ending. The title of the movie has no relation to the events therein. The subtitles are adequate. There are no closed captions. Grade: B-

Thursday, May 05, 2011

Sabrina

Sabrina (1954) starring Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, William Holden. Directed by Billy Wilder. Sabrina (Hepburn), the chauffeur's daughter, has a crush on David Larrabee (Holden), scion of an American industrial dynasty, and son of her father's boss. When she goes away to Paris for two years, she matures and, upon her return, David suddenly grows interested in her. This alarms the Larrabee family, and David's brother Linus (Bogart) sets out to break up the budding romance. Naturally, Sabrina and Linus fall in love -- more movie magic, since Bogart was 54, Hepburn 25 when the movie was made. But that aside, this is a rather thoroughly charming movie, and Hepburn especially captures the heart. The subtitles and captions are both good. Grade: A-

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Rushmore

Rushmore (1998) starring Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams. A wunderkind named Max Fischer (Schwartzman) at a private school named Rushmore falls for a teacher named Rosemary Cross (Williams). He seeks the help of industrialist Herman Blume (Murray), but Blume ends up falling in love with Rosemary also. The two end up in a demented competition for her affections, with neither of them having a chance in hell. To my surprise, Max got thrown out of Rushmore rather early in the movie. This is a curiously likable little film, with interestingly drawn characters who really seem to care about each other. The subtitles and captions are good. Grade: B+

Monday, May 02, 2011

Running on Empty

Running on Empty (1988) starring Christine Lahti, River Phoenix, Judd Hirsch, Martha Plimpton. A pair of seventies radicals named Annie and Arthur (Lahti and Hirsch), continually on the run from the authorities, drag their son Danny (Phoenix) with them every time they pull up stakes. But this time promises to be different, as Danny has met a girl named Lorna (Plimpton) who he likes. Also, Danny has a chance to go to Juilliard and pursue a career in music. Arthur insists that the family must move on as a unit, but Annie wants to let Danny go and pursue his dream. Phoenix received a well-deserved Oscar nomination for his acting in this movie. The script is mostly very ingenious. This film makes for a very absorbing evening of entertainment. The subtitles and captions are good. Grade: A-