Silver Linings Playbook

Silver Linings Playbook (2012) starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert DeNiro, Jacki Weaver. Pat (Cooper) comes out of a mental hospital after being institutionalized for eight months for beating up his wife's lover. He meets Tiffany (Lawrence) and they seem to clash, while also seeming to be attracted to each other. Meanwhile, Pat's father (DeNiro) has become a bookie, and believes that Pat is his good-luck charm. Complicating everything is the fact that Pat is bipolar, and refuses to take his medication. He longs to get back together with his wife, Nikki, but she has a restraining order out against him. This movie deserves credit for treating mental illness with neutral respect. Lawrence won an Oscar for her portrayal of the maybe-crazy Tiffany. Grade: B+  

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) starring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm. Frodo Baggins (Wood), a hobbit, sets off on a quest to destroy the evil One Ring. He is joined by Gandalf, the wizard (McKellen); Aragorn, son of Arathorn (Mortensen); a dwarf, an elf, a man, and three other hobbits. They journey through dangerous lands to find shelter in elf lands, then through the mines of Moria, where Gandalf battles with a balrog. It's all executed with the greatest of the cinematic arts, and the movie's only flaw is that it is so long, at three and a half hours. Yet even at that length, I never grew bored.  Grade: A

Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken

Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken (1991) starring Gabrielle Anwar, Michael Schoeffling, Cliff Robertson. Based on the real-life story of Sonora Webster, a teen-age girl (Anwar) during the Depression runs away from her aunt's house to apply for a job as a girl who rides diving horses. Through pluck and persistence, she gets a job with the man who owns the act (Robertson), and when the regular diving-horse riding girl quits, Sonora gets the job. She also falls in love with Al (Schoeffling), the son of the owner. I found this movie, in the beginning, to be off-putting, but as I watched it grew on me. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good, inspiring family movie. The plot takes some unexpected turns, so it is definitely not boring. (Subtitles in English for the hearing-impaired are available, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B+  

The Wild One

The Wild One (1954) starring Marlon Brando, Mary Murphy, Robert Keith, Lee Marvin. A motorcycle gang, led by Johnny (Brando), roars into a small town, bent on raising hell. Strangely enough, it is Johnny who ends up seeming like the victim, as a mob of townspeople chase him down and beat him up. This is the original biker movie, but it doesn't follow the trajectory one would expect. The bikers seem really tame compared to today's breed. The film is worth watching to see the young Brando. (Subtitles in English are available, as are closed captions.) Grade: B 

The Wide Blue Road

The Wide Blue Road (1957) starring Yves Montand, Alida Valli. An Italian fisherman (Montand) persists in the practice of dynamite fishing, even though it is against the law and the other villagers don't approve of it. This movie is a lovely slice-of-life style flick in which the lives of the people in an isolated Italian fishing village are portrayed. The focus is on Montand and his family -- his wife Rosetta (Valli), his beautiful  daughter Diana and his two young sons, whom he takes with him when he goes fishing. It's shot in expressive color, and the photography is striking. I really got absorbed in this movie, and found it highly entertaining -- even though it ends tragically. (In Italian, with English subtitles.) Grade: A-

The Impossible

The Impossible (2012) starring Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland. A family, consisting of husband Henry (McGregor), wife Maria (Watts) and their three young sons, is vacationing at a resort in Thailand in 2004 when the tsunami strikes. This movie tells the story of how they survived and were (eventually) reunited. The focus of the first part of the film is on Maria and her oldest son Lucas (Holland), who get swept away but somehow hold on to each other. But they are separated from the rest of the family, and the bulk of the movie consists of the different parts of the family searching for each other in Thailand, a land where they don't know the language. I found this film to be pretty much a standard disaster movie, well executed but with not much original to distinguish it. Still, it made for a tolerable evening's entertainment. (Subtitles in English are available on the disc, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B+

Les Miserables

Les Miserables (2012) starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried. This movie was a big disappointment. Of course, I've listened to the London stage  production soundtrack for years, so my expectations were that this film would measure up. Unfortunately, it doesn't. Director Tom Hooper's decision to record the actors as they sing just doesn't work. Crowe and Seyfried, in particular, don't seem to have the chops to sing in a musical, while Jackman is just passable. Also, a lot of detail had to be left out to get the film to a watchable length, and the plot suffers because of it. And yet ... despite my criticisms, the movie did bring me close to tears a couple of times, especially in Valjean's (Jackman) death scene. All in all, I can't recommend this film. (Subtitles for the hearing-impaired are offered, but not closed captions.) Grade: C+ 

Django Unchained

Django Unchained (2012) starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Johnson. Directed by Quentin Tarantino. In 1858, two years before the Civil War, a slave named Django (Foxx) is bought and later freed by a bounty hunter named Schultz (Waltz). Django learns how to handle a six-shooter, and they go into business together as bounty hunters. But Django's one overriding concern is to get his wife, Broomhilda (Washington), out of the hands of an evil slaver named Calvin Candie (DiCaprio). Schultz and Django concoct an elaborate scheme to buy Broomhilda from Candie, but in the end they have to resort to violence to free her. The violence in this film is trademark Tarantino -- when somebody gets shot, blood spurts or sprays out of him. And a lot of people get shot, mostly by Django. It's an extremely violent movie, but Django and Broomhilda have been badly mistreated and the shooting seems justified. Basically, it's a revenge flick and can be enjoyed on that level. (Subtitles are available for the hard of hearing, but not closed captions. There are several songs in the movie that could have profited by being subtitled, but they are not.) Grade: B+

South Pacific

South Pacific (1958) starring Rossano Brazzi, Mitzi Gaynor, John Kerr, Ray Walston. In the early days of World War II, on a Polynesian island, American sailors and nurses and French plantation owners pursue romance. Every once in a while, someone breaks out into song. The cast gives it their best shot, but the star wattage is low. You'd almost hardly know there's a war on, since about 90 percent of the movie is about two romances. The songs, by Rodgers and Hammerstein, are fine (highlights include "Some Enchanted Evening," "There is Nothing Like a Dame"). This is a likable movie, just not quite as great as it could have been. (Subtitles in English are available, as are closed captions.) Grade: B  

The Professionals

The Professionals (1966) starring Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Woody Strode, Burt Lancaster, Jack Palance, Ralph Bellamy, Claudia Cardinale. Rich man (Bellamy) hires four mercenaries (Marvin, Ryan, Strode and Lancaster) to save his wife (Cardinale), who has been kidnapped by the Mexican bandit Raza (Palance). Unfortunately, when the gringos get to Raza's camp, they discover that the lady does not wish to be rescued.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) starring Martin Freeman, Ian Mckellan, Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis, Ian Holm, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Elijah Wood. Directed by Peter Jackson. The decision was made by Jackson to turn The Hobbit, a fairly long novel, into a three-movie extravaganza. This first installment proves to be a slight disappointment, since we've seen many of the tricks in previous Lord of the Rings films. Jackson does manage to get to the crucial encounter between Bilbo Baggins (Freeman) and Gollum (Serkis), in which Bilbo acquires the One Ring around which the entire set of books revolves. There are also some good action scenes, mostly battles with Orcs, but for my taste the fight scenes were a bit too "busy." They might have looked better in a movie theater, rather than on my 22-inch TV screen, so I can't really hold that against him. All in all, I love the Hobbit and all things Middle Earth, so this movie succeeded in pleasing me despite its shortcomings. (English subtitles for the hearing-impaired are available on the disc; closed captions are not.) Grade: B+   

The Wild Bunch

The Wild Bunch (1969) starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien, Warren Oates, Ben Johnson. Directed by Sam Peckinpah. A gang of outlaws, led by Holden, works the Texas-Mexico border during the time of the Mexican Revolution. The movie is marked by several big shoot-outs between the outlaws and the "good guys," who really aren't all that good. The film generated controversy when it was released because of the realistic depiction of violence, but doesn't seem so bad today. My problem with the movie was that there really aren't any "good guys" -- nobody with whom we can identify and root for. But that is only a minor complaint about what is a rip-roaring classic of a Western, and I would recommend that you see this movie and decide for yourself. (Subtitles in English are available; closed captions are also offered.) Grade: B+ 

Judgment at Nuremberg

Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) starring Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, Maximilian Schell, Montgomery Clift, William Shatner. Directed by Stanley Kramer. A judge, played by Tracy, journeys to Nuremberg, Germany in 1948 to preside over a tribunal passing judgment on several German judges. The judges presided over trials in Nazi Germany in which innocent people were sentenced to be sterilized or put to death, or were sent to concentration camps. The movie has a powerful impact, although perhaps its power has been reduced somewhat with time. The performances of all the principles are good, and the script is top-notch. The film won two Academy Awards. (Subtitles in English are available, as are closed captions.) Grade: A- 

The Wicker Man

The Wicker Man (1973) starring Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento. Upright Scottish policeman (Woodward) travels to an isolated island to investigate the disappearance of a 12-year-old girl. He is shocked to discover that the people on the island are pagans who no longer practice Christianity. Continuing his investigation, he searches the entire island for any sign of the missing girl. The people of the island seem to be curiously unwilling to cooperate in his search, and he finds increasingly disturbing evidence as he keeps on investigating. The ending of the movie has a surprising twist. I found the film disturbing but ultimately satisfying, in a perverse sort of way. (Subtitles are not provided, but closed captions are available.) Grade: B+

Life of Pi

Life of Pi (2012) starring Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Rafe Spall, Adil Hussain, Tabu. Directed by Ang Lee. Life of Pi is the curiously disappointing story of a boy named Pi (Sharma) who survives a ship's sinking and is stranded on a lifeboat with a tiger named Richard Parker. We know that he is going to survive, because the story is told in flashback by his adult self. The section of the film that covers the time spent at sea in the lifeboat is great -- lyrical and richly imagined -- but the last part of the movie, which is a sort of coda, dilutes the power of the story and brings it back to earth with a thud. While I enjoyed the film, I was not transported. (Subtitles for the hearing-impaired are provided, and closed captions are also available.) Grade: B 

Manon of the Spring

Manon of the Spring (1986) starring Yves Montand, Emmanuelle Beart, Daniel Auteuil. Ten years after his death, Jean de Florette's daughter, Manon (Beart), still lives and tends goats on the land where he died. When she learns that the source of water was cruelly hidden from her father by her neighbors (Montand and Auteuil), she is heartbroken. But then one of her goats wanders into a cave, and she finds the secret source of the spring -- giving her the power to exact revenge, not only on her two neighbors, but on the whole village which helped them carry out their plan. In its last third, the film takes an additional twist which absolutely blows away all that went before. Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring, taken together, make up one of the most powerful and moving movie-viewing experiences I have ever had. They are simply two great films. (In French, with English subtitles.) Grade: A 

Jean de Florette

Jean de Florette  (1986) starring Yvez Montand, Gerard Depardieu, Daniel Auteuil, Elisabeth Depardieu. When Jean de Florette (Depardieu) and his small family move to the farm he has inherited, he is unaware that his evil neighbor (Montand) has secretly blocked his spring so that he cannot get water. Jean ends up praying for rain when the dry season hits, but rain does not come. This is a beautifully shot, well scripted story that really has the power to draw the viewer in. It's continued in Manon of the Spring, so don't be disappointed that the end of this movie isn't the end of the story. (In French, with English subtitles.) Grade: A-

What a Way to Go!

What a Way to Go! (1964) starring Shirley MacLaine, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin, Gene Kelly, Bob Cummings, Dick Van Dyke. MacLaine stars as serial widow who marries four different men for love, each of whom ends up dying and leaving her ever richer. All she wants is the simple life, and she tries to give her money away. But this gets her sent to a psychiatrist (Cummings), to whom she narrates her marriages in flashback. Fairly entertaining movie, with film parodies thrown in to enhance the experience, but suspense is nonexistent since we know each husband will die. The four husbands are played by Van Dyke, Newman, Mitchum and Kelly. (English subtitles are available for the hearing-impaired, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B

Whose Life Is It Anyway?

Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981) starring Richard Dreyfuss, John Cassavetes, Christine Lahti, Bob Balaban. A talented sculptor (Dreyfuss) is injured in a traffic accident and ends up paralyzed from the neck down. After six months in the hospital, receiving the best of care, he realizes that he is, for all intents and purposes, already dead. He decides to fight for his right to be released from the hospital and allowed to die. Well acted drama features plenty of humor as Dreyfuss interacts with hospital staff, fellow patients. In fact, he doesn't seem depressed, although the court case deciding whether he should be freed hinges on that question. This is an excellent film about a serious subject, and I liked it a lot. (English subtitles are available on the disc, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B+ 

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) starring Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy. Humans and cartoons co-exist in the universe of this noir comedy, which has Hoskins playing Eddie Valiant, a Los Angeles detective who "doesn't work for toons" after a toon killed his brother. Delightful mixture of live action and animation has you really believing the the animated characters are as real as the humans. Many funny sequences and inside jokes make for a most enjoyable evening's entertainment. (Subtitles for the hearing-impaired are available, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B+

Lincoln

Lincoln (2012) starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Day-Lewis won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in this movie, which is mostly about the passage in the House of Representatives of the 13th Amendment, outlawing slavery. Sometimes the subject matter of a movie elevates it to greatness, and I think that is what happened here. Though it is mostly about parliamentary maneuvering and the procurement of votes, this film shows Lincoln's greatness and highlights a moment in out history which will always stand out as a proud one. A thoroughly enjoyable movie. (English subtitles are available, as well as closed captions.) Grade: A