Gentleman's Agreement

Gentlemen's Agreement (1947) starring Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, John Garfield. Phil Green (Peck), a professional writer, gets an assignment to do a series on anti-Semitism. The angle he chooses is to pretend that he is Jewish, and he soon runs into prejudice. It's probably important to remember that this movie came out in 1947, just a couple of years after the Holocaust was revealed to a shocked world. But the film itself, which was probably rather daring in '47, seems tame by today's standards. The message is good, but the script contains more than a few clinkers. (The DVD offers both English subtitles and closed captions.) Grade: B

Young Goethe in Love

Young Goethe in Love (2010) starring Alexander Fehling, Miriam Stein. Young Goethe (Fehling) is a failure at literature, and at law school, so his father sends him away to the boondocks to serve an apprenticeship as a lawyer. While there, Goethe falls in love with Charlotte (Stein) and has an ardent romance with her. But her father promises her to another man, because the family needs the money the other can provide. In the end, Goethe produces his first, immensely popular novel but loses the girl. The movie, as it turns out, is largely fictional -- not a true biopic at all. It takes it till the halfway point to get interesting, and even then it is only marginally involving for American tastes. It's a German film, after all, and it is in Germany that Goethe has a literary reputation second only to Shakespeare. To me, the movie seemed rather stiff and Germanic. It's in German, with English subtitles. Grade: B-

Monsieur Lazhar

Monsieur Lazhar (2011) starring Fellag, Sophie Nelisse, Danielle Proulx. Canadian film about a classroom full of kids who are bereft when their teacher kills herself, and the replacement teacher (Fellag) who comes to take her place. Big problem, as it turns out, is that Monsieur Lazhar, although he is a good teacher, does not have a teaching credential, nor teaching experience. In Algeria, where he came from, he ran a restaurant. He is a political refugee, who came to Canada to escape persecution, and applied for the teaching job opportunistically. Most of the drama takes place in the classroom, however, and it's handled well. The film is in French (mostly), with English subtitles. It was nominated for an Academy Award in the Foreign Language category. Grade: B

Barefoot in the Park

Barefoot in the Park (1967) starring Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Charles Boyer, Mildred Natwick. Redford and Fonda play Paul and Corie, a newly married couple who take up residence in a 5th-floor walkup in New York. She's a free spirit, he's a stuffed-shirt lawyer. They fight and make up. That's basically the plot. This is a trifle of a movie, scripted by Neil Simon from his Broadway play of the same title. It's nice to see a young Redford and a young Fonda together on the screen, and the side plot with Boyer and Natwick is charming. (The disc offers English subtitles for the hearing-impaired, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B

Troy

Troy (2004) starring Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, Diane Kruger, Eric Bana, Rose Byrne, Peter O'Toole, Sean Bean. "Inspired by" Homer's Iliad, Troy tells a story that will be familiar to anyone who was paying attention in school. Prince Paris of Troy (Bloom) steals Helen (Kruger), the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta, and takes her back to Troy with him. The furious Menelaus gathers the forces of Greece to sail across the Aegean Sea and attack Troy, a city whose walls have withstood all assaults for untold hundreds of years. Pitt plays Achilles, the nearly invulnerable warrior who fights for the Greeks, and Bana plays Hector, elder prince of Troy, who ends up fighting Achilles. It's an epic movie told on a grand scale, and as I recall it lost money at the box office. I found it pretty entertaining, though a little long at two hours and forty-three minutes. (English subtitles are furnished on the disc, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B+

In Darkness

In Darkness (2011) starring Socha Wieckiewicz, Mundek Furmann, Klara Grochowska. In the Polish city of Lvov, during the dark days of World War II, a group of Jews hide from the Nazis in the city's sewers. Based on a true story, the movie tells of how they are assisted by a Polish sewer worker who is just in it for the money -- at first. Unfortunately, most of the movie takes place, literally, in darkness. The only light is from flashlights, and much of the time the viewer is left to squint and try to make out what's going on. I found the movie both oppressive and depressing to watch, but in the end inspiring. The film was nominated for an Oscar in the Foreign Language movie category. It's in Polish and Yiddish, with English subtitles. The subtitles are very readable. Grade: B

A Separation

A Separation (2011) starring Leila Hatami, Peyman Moadi. When an Iranian husband and wife (Hatami and Moadi) ask for a divorce, the judge refuses on the grounds that they don't agree on everything. The wife wants to emigrate from Iran and take their daughter, while the husband insists that he must stay in Iran and care for his father, who has Alzheimer's. So they separate, but both stay in Iran. The husband has to work during the day, so must hire someone to take care of his father while he is at work. This goes disastrously bad when he comes home one day to find his father on the floor, one hand tied to the bedpost. He fires the caregiver, and shoves her out the door. She (claims) to fall down the stairs, causing a miscarriage. The husband is then charged with murder because the fetus was 19 weeks old. This movie clearly illustrates how the backward social conventions and legal system of Iran can lead to terrible consequences. It's like an Iranian Kramer vs. Kramer. This film won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. The movie is in (I believe) Farsi, with English subtitles. The subtitles are very legible. Grade: A-

Woman in the Dunes

Woman in the Dunes (1964) starring Eiji Okada, Kyoko Kishida. Entomologist (Okada), gathering insects in the sand near the shore, misses the last bus home and is invited to stay in a house with a woman (Kishida) who lives in a sand pit. He soon learns that he is a captive, and tries desperately to escape. A short time later, he finds himself making love to the woman. Always, the sand encroaches. Will he ultimately escape? Or will he be held captive forever? Or, alternatively, will he accept his fate, fall in love with the woman, and decide to stay? We are left wondering until the very end. The DVD includes a "video essay" which discusses all the analysis of the film, which I'd rather not go into. The simple question: Did I like the movie? I have trouble answering. It was awfully gritty. But it did win the jury prize at Cannes and two Oscar nominations. (In Japanese, with English subtitles.) Grade: B-

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games (2012) starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Stanley Tucci. In a dystopian future, the United States has been replaced by Panem, a country made up of 12 districts and the Capitol. Every year, two "tributes" from each district are chosen to come to the Capitol and engage in the Hunger Games, which involve fighting to the death until only one Victor is left. Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) volunteers to be District 12's tribute to save her little sister from having to go. It's the ultimate extension of today's reality TV shows, and it illustrates the questionable nature of these shows. It makes for a pretty entertaining movie, although the director's choice to use a shaky camera during fight scenes feels like somewhat of a cop-out. It may have been done to downplay the violence and keep the movie's PG-13 rating, since the contestants in the Hunger Games are all teenagers. (The film features available English subtitles, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B+

Triumph of the Will

Triumph of the Will (1935) directed by Leni Riefenstahl. Fascinating, yet scary, propaganda film shot by Riefenstahl on Adolf Hitler's orders in 1934. The movie is almost two hours long, and shows the gigantic Nazi party rally held in Nuremburg in that year. Riefenstahl is a masterful filmmaker, and this film really packs a wallop. I tried to imagine what it might have been like to see it in 1934, before we knew what a monster Hitler would become. It shows the Fuhrer only in the best light, and would surely have been inspiring to any patriotic German. The night rally features lighting effects designed by Hitler's architect, Albert Speer, and is truly inspired in its mania. The joy on the faces of the common German citizens who greet Hitler is enough to convince the viewer that he will be, perhaps already is, the supreme power in Germany. I couldn't help but think, if he had only not been a psychopath, how differently things would all have turned out. Hitler, of course, gets an F, but the film gets a Grade: A.

Tropic of Cancer

Tropic of Cancer (1970) starring Rip Torn. Henry Miller's 1936 novel about an American in Paris in the '20s is brought to the screen, with Torn pretty good as Miller. Only problem with this disc is, it has no English subtitles and no closed captions. Grade: F

The Trip to Bountiful

The Trip to Bountiful (1985) starring Geraldine Page, John Heard, Carlin Glynn, Rebecca De Mornay. Set in 1947, The Trip to Bountiful tells the story of elderly Mrs. Watts (Page), who longs to take one more trip to her home town of Bountiful, Texas before she goes back to living with her son and daughter-in-law in Houston. Only trouble is, the daughter-in-law (Glynn) wears the pants in the family, and she rides herd remorselessly on Mrs. Watts. Finally, Mrs. Watts manages to sneak out and run away, headed for Bountiful. The story takes its time, but I didn't mind, as I found myself caught up in the lives of these mid-century Texans. This is an entertaining, if low-key, movie. (Subtitles are provided, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B+

The Tree of Wooden Clogs

The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1978) starring Luigi Ornaghi, Francesca Moriggi. A year in the lives of four Italian peasant families at the turn of the century -- the 20th century. The film encompasses a birth, a marriage, a harvest, and numerous details from the lives of the peasants. At the historical time, they were tenant farmers, and the landowner was not a pleasant man. The central story of the movie involves a boy who is privileged to go to school, and his grandfather, who cuts down a tree to make a clog to replace the boy's broken clog. The film, which spans an entire year, also has a running time of three hours, which is way too long for my taste. It's in Italian, with English subtitles. The subtitles are quite good. Grade: B+

My Man Godfrey

My Man Godfrey (1936) starring William Powell, Carole Lombard. This disc is a total disaster. The sound and picture quality are poor. The disc is meant to have subtitles, but they don't work, and it doesn't have closed captions, either. Worst of all, it is not indexed, so that if you stop the disc to take a break, when you come back you can't find the place where you left off. Grade: F

21 Jump Street

21 Jump Street (2012) starring Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum. Seven years after high school, two diametrically opposed men (Hill, Tatum) go to the Police Academy and become friends. After they screw up their first arrest, they are placed in an undercover unit trying to bust a drug ring at a local high school. The movie tries an interesting role-reversal trick where the nerd (Hill) has to become the cool guy and the cool guy (Tatum) has to become a nerd, and it kind of works. There's plenty of comic action -- perhaps too much. The film feels a bit over-stuffed. But for an evening's entertainment, it's not bad. (The subtitles included on the disc are excellent, but there are no closed captions.) Grade: B

Divorce, Italian Style

Divorce, Italian Style (1961) starring Marcello Mastroianni, Daniela Rocca, Stefania Sandrelli. Italian comedy about a man (Mastroianni) who, weary of his clinging wife (Rocca), plots to catch her in an infidelity so that he can kill her "to protect his honor." He's in love with his lovely niece (Sandrelli), and somewhat surprisingly, she's in love with him. The only way for them to be together is to get his wife out of the way, and since Italy is a Catholic country, divorce is not allowed under any conditions. This is a clever film, full of in-jokes and irony, and ends with a wicked twist. (In Italian, with English subtitles.) Grade: A-

Trekkies

Trekkies (1999) hosted by Denise Crosby. Crosby, who played Tasha Yar briefly on Star Trek: The Next Generation, conducts a tour of the fan phenomenon. Some Trekkies, by the way, prefer to be called Trekkers. It's a whole controversy which a lot of fans just avoid by saying, "I'm a Star Trek fan." The depth and breadth of the Trek movement, as shown in the film, is surprisingly great. What the movie barely touches on, but what I feel to be central to the phenomenon, is that all versions of Star Trek portray a future in which hunger and poverty have been eliminated, and in which humans are treated humanely by the authorities at all times. The Trekkie movement gets an "A" from me, but not the film. (Hard-to-read subtitles are available, but the preferable closed captions are also offered.) Grade: B+

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) starring Humphrey Bogart, Tim Holt, Walter Huston. Directed by John Huston. Morality tale in which three men go prospecting for gold in Mexico, only to find that one of them (Bogart) goes mad with greed and paranoia. Walter Huston won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor, and his son John won for Best Director and Best Screenplay. For the record, the three prospectors ended up with $105,000 worth of gold dust, at a time when that was a lot of money. (The movie is set in 1925.) But of course, they don't get to keep it. (The disc comes with English subtitles, as well as closed captions.) Grade: A-

The Train

The Train (1964) starring Burt Lancaster, Paul Scofield, Jeanne Moreau. In the waning days of World War II, French resistance fighters try to stop a train laden with precious art works from getting to Germany from Paris. Exciting film gains momentum as it goes along, with Lancaster starring as the French engineer who single-handedly prevents the train from making it the final few miles. Luckily, he doesn't even try to put on a French accent. In fact, everyone in this film speaks English, except for the occasional German. (With subtitles and closed captions both.) Grade: B+

Treasure Island

Treasure Island (1950) starring Bobby Driscoll, Robert Newton, Basil Sydney, Walter Fitzgerald. Disney takes a shot at the Robert Louis Stevenson classic, turning it into a pretty good family entertainment -- probably enjoyed most by young boys. In 1765, young Jim Hawkins (Driscoll) is recruited to be cabin boy on a voyage in search of buried treasure. The cook on the voyage is Long John Silver (Newton), who turns out to be capable of both loyalty and treachery. Many dramatic events take place on the voyage, most of them faithful to the book. Only the ending is changed drastically, but not badly enough to ruin the movie. This is one Disney movie that has aged well. (The English subtitles supplied on the disc are quite good, and closed captions are also available.) Grade: B

Trancers

Trancers (1985) starring Tim Thomerson, Helen Hunt. Low-budget sci-fi has future cop traveling back in time 300 years to 1985 to chase a time-traveling crook. Only trouble is, this movie has no subtitles, and no closed captions. Not that that would improve things much. Grade: F