Wolfen

Wolfen (1981) starring Albert Finney, Diane Venora, Gregory Hines, Edward James Olmos. A previously unknown species of predator is prowling the streets of New York City, and detective Dewey Wilson (Finney) is on the prowl trying to find out what's going on. Suspenseful, occasionally gruesome horror flick has its moments, but fails to fully capture the spirit of the book (The Wolfen, by Whitley Strieber) on which it is based. (English subtitles are available, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B   

Wolf

Wolf (1994) starring Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, James Spader, Kate Nelligan, Christopher Plummer, Richard Jenkins. Mild-mannered book editor (Nicholson), going through personal and professional crises, is bitten by a wolf. Suddenly his senses are heightened and he becomes very aggressive on the job and off. Far from sensational, this movie is a thoughtful examination of what life would be like if you were bitten by a (were)wolf. Nicholson is restrained in his role, and only Spader goes over the top. (Subtitles in English are not offered, but closed captions are.) Grade: B

Seabiscuit

Seabiscuit (2003) starring Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Banks, Gary Stevens, William H. Macy. Set in the late 1930s, this movie tells the true story of how a horse named Seabiscuit provided inspiration to a nation going through the Great Depression. Three men -- jockey Red Pollard (Maguire), owner Charles Howard (Bridges), and trainer Tom Smith (Cooper) -- came together and took a horse that everyone had given up on and made him into a champion. The movie can't measure up to the book, of course, but writer and director Gary Ross makes a valiant effort to bring the spirit of the story to the screen. I found that, having read the book by Laura Hillenbrand (who also acted as an advisor on the film), I was able to appreciate the movie more than I did the first time I saw it. It makes for very enjoyable viewing. (English captions for the hearing-impaired are available on the disc.) Grade: A-    

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (1997) starring Steve Coogan, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Antony Sher, Nicol Williamson. Children's movie in which Rat, Mole and Badger team up to save Mr. Toad from losing his estate to the weasels, who want to blow it up and replace it with a slaughterhouse. I found that this film had little to offer for adults, and was mostly just silliness. Fans  of the Monty Python troupe might be more amused, as practically all the Python members make appearances in this movie. (Subtitles for the hearing-impaired are available, as well as closed captions.) Grade: C

The Witches

The Witches (1990) starring Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling, Jasen Fisher, Rowan Atkinson, Brenda Blethyn. After his parents die in an accident, young Luke (Fisher) and his grandmother (Zetterling) go on vacation to a seaside hotel in England. But not before Luke's grandmother tells him all about witches, and how they love to do harm to children. Much to Luke's dismay, the hotel is hosting an all-England witches' convention, and the Grand High Witch (Huston) is in attendance. She has a plot to turn all the children of England into mice, and Luke is one of her first targets. This is essentially a children's movie, based on a book by Roald Dahl, and it takes twists and turns that adults probably won't buy. I know I didn't. It's not even one of those children's movies that is fun for adults -- it's strictly for the kiddies. (Subtitles in English are not offered, but closed captions are available.) Grade: B-

Witness for the Prosecution

Witness for the Prosecution (1957) starring Charles Laughton, Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich. Directed by Billy Wilder. Based on an Agatha Christie play, this movie tells the story of a man (Power) accused of murder. It's a courtroom drama, with Laughton as Wilfrid Robarts, the defense attorney, and Dietrich as the wife of the accused. The twist is that the wife of the accused takes the stand against him and gives damning testimony. It's a great performance by Dietrich, and Laughton is also excellent as the barrister, who is recovering from a heart attack. In the final analysis, though, all the parts didn't fit together for me, and I felt ever so slightly manipulated. (English subtitles are not offered, but closed captions save the day for the hearing-impaired.) Grade: B  

The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz (1939) starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Frank Morgan, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton. Directed by Victor Fleming. A great American movie, in which Dorothy (Garland), a young teen from Kansas, goes "over the rainbow" to the magical land of Oz. Grade: A

Hitler's Children

Hitler's Children (2012) Documentary. Descendants of Himmler, Hans Frank (governor general of occupied Poland), Hermann Goering (founder of the Gestapo), Amon Goeth (commandant of Plaszow concentration camp), and Rudolf Hoess (of Auschwitz) come forward and are interviewed about what it is like to carry such a heavy heritage. It turns out that it is not an easy thing, in fact can be very painful. The descendants of these Nazi monsters feel, largely, a profound sense of guilt, even though it was not they who carried out the evil acts of their fathers or grandfathers. This is an effective, though brief, documentary which has the power to make you cry. (Subtitles in English, as well as closed captions, are available.) Grade: A-

Wise Blood

Wise Blood (1979) starring Brad Dourif, Daniel Shor, Amy Wright, Harry Dean Stanton, Ned Beatty. Directed by John Huston. Southern Gothic story, based on a novel by Flannery O'Connor, in which Dourif plays a military man returning home from duty who decides that he will become a preacher of the "Church of Jesus Christ Without Jesus," or something like that. He travels to the nearest large town, where he meets up with various weird characters. Wright plays the young girl who initially falls for him, and Stanton and Beatty play rival preachers. It's all very amusing, in an odd sort of way, and if nothing else it's watchable. (Subtitles in English are available for the hearing-impaired.) Grade: B 

Winchester '73

Winchester '73 (1950) starring James Stewart, Shelley Winters, Dan Duryea, Stephen McNally. Directed by Anthony Mann. Classic Western in which Stewart plays Lin McAdam, a man who is searching for the man (McNally) who killed his father. He rides into Dodge City and enters a shooting contest, in which he wins a prize rifle called a Winchester '73. The priceless gun is soon stolen from him, and his search now becomes two-fold: find the gun and the man who stole it. In 1950, Westerns were on the wane, and this movie is credited with giving the genre a big boost, giving rise to the many great Westerns that were made in the '50s. Winters supplies Stewart's love interest, and it's interesting to see her in an early movie, before she lost her looks. This movie is beautifully photographed and directed, and the acting is fine. (English subtitles are available, but not closed captions.) Grade: A- 

Angels in the Outfield

Angels in the Outfield (1951) starring Paul Douglas, Janet Leigh, Keenan Wynn, Donna Corcoran. The Pittsburgh Pirates are sinking towards last place in the league, but fortunately for them a little orphan girl (Corcoran) has been praying for them. Their manager, Guffy McGovern (Douglas), is visited by an angel who tells him that if he cleans up his language and stops slugging people, the Heavenly Choir will help out his team. Meanwhile, a lady journalist (Leigh) has been assigned to cover the team. This is a feel-good movie in which everything works out for the best. It's a lot of fun to watch, and it's also good family entertainment. (Subtitles in English are available on the disc, as well as closed captions for the hearing-impaired.) Grade: A- 

The Witches of Eastwick

The Witches of Eastwick (1987) starring Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer. Three women in a picturesque New England town summon the man of their dreams and -- surprise! -- he turns out to be the Devil (Nicholson, of course). This movie was one of the most sloppily made I have ever seen. The stars are first-class, but the script is a mess. The magic that takes place isn't adequately explained, and scene follows scene in a disconnected, chock-a-block fashion. It really wasn't enjoyable to watch. (Subtitles in English are available, as are closed  captions.) Grade: C

The Terminator

The Terminator (1984) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton. Arnold is perfectly cast as a cyborg from the future who is sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor (Hamilton), mother-to-be of the leader of the future human resistance to the rise of the machines. Biehn is a standout in his role as Kyle Reese, the soldier from the future sent back to defend Sarah Connor from the terminator. This is a classic science-fiction movie made on a small budget but very tightly scripted and directed by James Cameron. (Subtitles in English are available, as well as closed captions.) Grade: A- 

Winning

Winning (1969) starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Richard Thomas, Robert Wagner. Frank Capua (Newman) is a race-car driver who meets and marries a woman (Woodward) and adopts her son (Thomas). He is so focused on winning that he neglects his wife and she ends up in another man's (Wagner) arms. Big climax of the film (and much screen time) is provided by the running of the Indianapolis 500, with Capua trying to win and beat the man who took his wife. This is a pretty good movie, with the impact somewhat diluted by the knowledge that Newman and Woodward are happily married in real life. (English subtitles for the hearing-impaired are available.) Grade: B  

Broken Arrow

Broken Arrow (1950) starring James Stewart, Jeff Chandler, Debra Padget. In 1870 in Arizona, war rages between the white man and the Apaches. One white man, Tom Jeffords (Stewart), becomes intrigued with the idea of making peace with Cochise (Chandler), the great Apache leader. Along the way, Jeffords falls in love with an Apache girl (Padget). Sincere film has authentic feel, is said to be based on true events. All that's lacking is a truly happy ending. (Subtitles are available, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B

Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?

Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957) starring Jayne Mansfield, Tony Randall, Betsy Drake, Joan Blondell. Directed by Frank Tashlin. A convincing case can be made that this is a clever satire of 1950s morals, television, sex and business. In fact that seems to be the prevailing opinion. However, I can't help but treat it as a viewing experience, and from that angle I find it highly lacking. It's a silly movie, and Mansfield is supremely irritating with her constant squealing. I really just didn't enjoy it, although I found it memorable. (Subtitles in English are offered, as are closed captions.) Grade: C  

Wings of Desire

Wings of Desire (1988) starring Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Otto Sander, Curt Bois, Peter Falk. A pair of angels wander around the streets of Berlin and wonder what it would be like to be human. One of them (Ganz) finally decides to take the plunge and takes human form, falling in love with a beautiful human woman. The movie has many good parts, switches back and forth between black-and-white and color, and shows people at their best and worst. But it didn't really work for me. Perhaps it was all that translation from German to English that threw me off. It's mostly in German, with English subtitles. Grade: B-

The Wind That Shakes the Barley

The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) starring Cillian Murphy, Padraic Delaney, Liam Cunningham, Orla Fitzgerald. In the 1920s in Ireland, a young doctor (Murphy) is radicalized by the fight against the British oppressors, and gradually goes over to being a Republican guerilla fighter. Frankly, I found the politics hard to follow, and the uniforms of the British hard to distinguish from the later uniforms of the Irish. This is an intense drama, with deep feelings on both sides, but here we are clearly supposed to sympathize with the Irish. I did. (Subtitles in English for the hearing-impaired are available.) Grade: B+

Will Penny

Will Penny (1968) starring Charlton Heston, Joan Hackett, Donald Pleasence, Lee Majors, Bruce Dern, Ben Johnson. Aging, loner cowboy Will Penny (Heston) is thrown together with a woman (Hackett) and her young son in a remote cabin. They fall in love, but can Penny change his ways at this late stage in his life? The answer may surprise you. Well written, well acted movie hardly sounds a false note; cowboys and the cowboy life are as accurately portrayed as is possible for us in modern movies. One of the great films about cowboys on the frontier. (Subtitles in English are available, as well as closed captions.) Grade: A- 

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick. A "good" terminator (Schwarzenegger) is sent back in time to protect John Connor (Furlong) against the bad terminator (Patrick) that Skynet has sent back to kill him. The action is practically non-stop, and the movie almost lives up to the original "Terminator" film. What it lacks in freshness it makes up for with special effects, especially the liquid-metal terminator effects of Patrick. (Subtitles in English are available for the hearing-impaired, but not closed captions.) Grade: A- 

The Bravados

The Bravados (1958) starring Gregory Peck, Joan Collins. Jim Douglass (Peck) rides into a small town to witness the hanging of the four men who raped and killed his wife. But the four who are to be hanged manage to escape, and Douglass joins the posse that is chasing them. As he hunts them down, the truth slowly emerges, and after he kills three of them, he learns that reality is more morally ambiguous than he had imagined. An interesting movie with a thought-provoking ending. (Subtitles are available in English, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B+

Willow

Willow (1988) starring Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Warwick Davis, Jean Marsh. A little person named Willow (Davis) becomes the protector of a baby who is destined to overthrow the Evil Queen (Marsh). Of course the Evil Queen is pursuing the baby throughout her kingdom with the object of killing her before she can grow up. Willow gets the help of a human-sized person named Madmartigan (Kilmer), who turns out to be a great warrior. He also has magical help from the queen of the fairies. This film is targeted mostly at a young audience, not adults, but suffers from the flaw of having some scenes that might be too intense for younger viewers. For adults, it is a little too silly to be taken seriously. The movie's main distinction is that it contains the first known instances of morphing, wherein a character changes shape onscreen -- e.g., from a human to a tiger, or the like. The Extras  make much of this fact, but of course it seems rather passé now. (Subtitles in English are available, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B

Wild Reeds

Wild Reeds (1994) starring Elodie Bouchez, Gael Morel, Stephane Rideau, Frederick Gorny. Four young students at a rural French boarding school in 1962 come of age and explore their sexuality. Set against the backdrop of the Algerian war, the students experience ideological and emotional turbulence related to the war. Frankly, I didn't totally "get" this movie. I think it's because it involves so much of French politics in the 1960s, a subject which I am totally unfamiliar with. The film is in French, with English subtitles. Grade: B- 

Broken Lance

Broken Lance (1954) starring Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner, Jean Peters, Richard Widmark. So-so Western in which Tracy plays the patriarch of a cattle empire, and his four sons fall out with him and among themselves. Shades of King Lear! Tracy is in fine form as the father of the clan; Widmark is especially good as the ungrateful son who turns out to be evil. (Subtitles in English are available, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B