Heavenly Creatures

Heavenly Creatures (1994) starring Melanie Lynskey, Kate Winslet, Sarah Peirse, Diana Kent, Clive Morrison. Directed by Peter Jackson. Based on a true story, two teenage girls in New Zealand (Lynskey, Winslet) form an obsessive, exclusive friendship. They develop their own little fantasy world, and feed off each other until they reach a state of hysteria,  ending up collaborating on a murder. It's a beautifully made movie, with the girls' fantasy life vividly shown. The fact that it's a true story makes it all the more chilling. (English subtitles are supplied for the hearing-impaired, and are very legible and well done -- even the songs are subtitled.) Grade: A-   

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) starring Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Orlando Bloom. The Hobbit Bilbo Baggins and his company of dwarves journey through Middle Earth, through Mirkwood and through wood-elves territory, to the dwarves ancestral mountain -- under which dwells the dragon Smaug. It is there that Bilbo -- the "burglar" of the company -- is designated to steal the Arkenstone, which will enable the dwarves to re-establish their kingdom under the mountain. The movie is the second in a planned trilogy, and thus all the stories are left in suspension at the end. In that way it is unsatisfying to watch, but in every other way it is superb. The film was shot in New Zealand, and the unspoiled landscapes make a beautiful backdrop for the story as dwarves and hobbit are pursued by a relentless (but not too bright) band of filthy Orcs on their journey to the Lonely Mountain. It's a propulsive tale with scarcely a quiet moment. Although it is two hours and 40 minutes long, it does not seem overlong, and it is difficult to find a flaw in this story based on the J.R.R. Tolkien book. (English subtitles for the hearing-impaired are available on the disc.) Grade: A- 

The Angel Levine

The Angel Levine (1970) starring Zero Mostel, Harry Belafonte. Morris Mishkin's (Mostel) wife is on her deathbed, and God sends a probationary angel (Belafonte) to help him. The angel has some unresolved issues that he has to work on, too. This movie has not aged well, and I didn't care for it too much. Belafonte's not much of an actor, and I found the soundtrack irritating. (English subtitles are available for the hearing-impaired.) Grade: C 

Angel on My Shoulder

Angel on My Shoulder (1946) starring Paul Muni, Anne Baxter, Claude Rains. Gangster Eddie Kagle (Muni) is killed by one of his henchmen, goes straight to Hell. But Mephistopheles (Rains) has a use for him, and Kagle gets to return to Earth and take on the identity of an honest judge. The judge is loved by a good woman (Baxter) and she turns Kagle from evil to good. The problem with this disc is that it has no subtitles for the hearing-impaired, and also lacks closed captions. As a result, many passages of dialogue were unintelligible to me, and this disc earns a Grade: F   

Camelot

Camelot (1967) starring Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave, Franco Nero, David Hemmings. I recall really liking this movie when I saw it in 1968. Oh what a difference 45 years make. It now strikes me as a surprisingly bad movie musical, with Harris being rather weak in the lead role of King Arthur, and Redgrave not really that beautiful as Queen Guenevere. The scene where Nero, as Sir Lancelot, kills his opponent in a jousting match, then brings him back to life, stands out as extremely phony. The songs are generally pretty good, but the  singing isn't strong. The introduction of Hemmings as Arthur's illegitimate son Mordred, and the subsequent downfall of the Round Table, is just a downer. Not enjoyable at all. (English subtitles are available for the hearing-impaired.) Grade: C  

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) starring Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, George Sanders. A lonely widow (Tierney) is romanced by the ghost of a dead sea captain (Harrison) in her cottage by the sea. The movie sustains its charm by allowing the characters to maintain their decorum (the sea captain never touches the widow, although he is shown touching other characters in the movie). When the widow falls for a flesh-and-blood man (Sanders), the sea captain voluntarily fades out of the picture to let events go where they will. It's a well mounted film, with scarcely an off note. (Subtitles in English are available for the hearing-impaired.) Grade: B

Alice in Wondreland

Alice in Wonderland (1951) starring the voices of Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn, Richard Haydn, Sterling Holloway, Jerry Colonna. Episodic animated rendering of the Lewis Carroll classic, with memorable sequences including the Cheshire Cat, the unbirthday party, the hookah-smoking caterpillar, and the Queen of Hearts. Although truly weird, the movie does little to engage the heart, and thus fails a achieve high art. Entertaining pretty much all the way through, though. (Subtitles are available, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B

After Life

After Life (1998) starring Aarata, Erika Oda, Susuma Terajima. Japanese fantasy film about workers at a way station for the dead, who spend one week with the newly deceased and help them choose one best memory from their lives, which the agents will then film and send on with the dead to the afterlife. The dead will then spend eternity experiencing this memory, and forget about the rest of their lives. It's an interesting conceit, but I found this movie to be pretty limp and not terribly engaging. It's in Japanese, with English subtitles. Grade: C

Back to the Future

Back to the Future (1985) starring Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson, Christopher Lloyd, Crispin Glover. Young Marty McFly (Fox) accidentally travels back in time from 1985 to 1955, in a time machine built by Doc Brown (Lloyd). In 1955, he encounters his own parents (Thompson, Glover) -- when they were young. He gets enmeshed in their lives, and realizes that he must go back to the future after he manages to get them together. Although this movie is riddled with paradoxes and inconsistencies, it is nevertheless one of my favorite movies. There is so much good stuff here that it cancels out the bad. (Subtitles in English are available, but not closed captions.) Grade: A-   

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989) starring John Neville, Eric Idle, Sarah Polley, Oliver Reed, Charles McKeown, Jonathan Pryce, Uma Thurman, Sting, Robin Williams. Directed by Terry Gilliam. Typical Gilliam fare has Baron Munchausen (Neville) riding in to save a city from the depredations of the Turks in the late 18th century. Everything about the film is fanciful, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I found it to be a mildly diverting evening's entertainment, certainly not one of the great films, but worth watching for the most part. (The supplied English subtitles are very legible, and the disc also offers closed captions.) Grade: B

Adaptation

Adaptation (2002) starring Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Tilda Swinton, Cara Seymour, Brian Cox, Judy Greer. Directed by Spike Jonze. In a unique melding of screenwriter's and director's sensibilities, Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief is brought to the screen -- in unrecognizable form. Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman becomes a character in his own screenplay, as he struggles to adapt The Orchid Thief into a movie. The book is a nonfiction account of John LaRoche, a real-life orchid collector who lives in Florida, and has scarcely any plot to speak of. It's beautifully written, however, which is probably why it got optioned to be made into a film. Kaufman apparently struggled with finding a way to convert the book into a movie, and ended up writing his struggles into the plot of the film. Jonze, to his credit, goes with the idea and enthusiastically directs it into this twisty, turny, weird movie. This is a crazy mixed-up film, and it won't be to everyone's taste. As for me, I was somewhat disappointed. (Subtitles are available in English, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) starring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Andy Serkis. Directed by Peter Jackson. Frodo Baggins (Wood) continues his quest to destroy the evil One Ring, accompanied by Sam Gamgee (Astin) and Gollum (Serkis). Meanwhile, the forces of men, led by Aragorn (Mortensen) and Gandalf (McKellen), take on the armies of Sauron in battle after battle. It's hard to say enough about this movie, which is so beautifully rendered and faithfully adapted from the book by J.R.R. Tolkien. It won 11 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. It's long at three hours and twenty minutes -- something I usually object to strenuously -- but in this case I think every minute is justified. This movie has no boring stretches, and I would gladly sit through it at a theater if my bladder would hold out. (Subtitles in English are available on the disc for the hearing-impaired, as well as closed captions.) Grade: A   

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-

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

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-

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

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

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 Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises (2012) starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Batman (Bale) comes out of retirement to fight the ultra-evil Bane (Hardy). Bane seems to have the best of him early on, but who knows how this will turn out? This movie is the end of a Batman trilogy, so anything is possible. I found Bane's mask to be a bit of a distraction -- and it made everything he said hard to understand. I'm not a big Batman fan, so there was some mythology from earlier films that I wasn't clear on. This is a big, rousing superhero movie, and fans of the Batman will be pleased. (Closed captions are not offered, but English subtitles are.) Grade: B+

Freaky Friday

Freaky Friday (2003) starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, Mark Harmon. Directed by Mark Waters. Lohan has become a Hollywood pariah, and I don't care much for Curtis, but this movie really worked for me. Curtis and Lohan play a mother and daughter who magically switch bodies, then must deal with the confusions, misunderstandings, and general hassles of being each other. Both actresses do an excellent job of acting like someone of a different age. Harmon, in the role of Curtis's fiance, brings gravitas and solidity to the film as well. The script deserves credit, because there are no wasted scenes or unbelievable happenings -- it all just flows so well. It's hard for me to understand why an old fart like myself likes this movie so much, but I do. This is that rare case when a remake (the original came out in 1977) is better than the original film. (Subtitles are available for the hearing-impaired, as well as closed captions.) Grade: A-