How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967) starring Robert Morse, Michele Lee, Rudy Vallee. Based on the Broadway musical, I recall seeing this movie in 1967 and rather liking it. Unfortunately, the DVD is totally devoid of subtitles for the hearing-impaired, and I found it too tedious to watch all the way through. Grade: F

The Rules of the Game

The Rules of the Game (1939) starring Marcel Dalio, Nora Gregor. Directed by Jean Renoir. In the introduction to this movie, Renoir says that he wanted to make a film that would be pleasant to watch, but which would uncover the rottenness of society. The movie shows the romantic foibles of an assortment of French men and women at a country estate, and under the cover of light comedy manages to satirize the follies, rituals and class distinctions of the bourgeoisie. I found the film to be for the most part entertaining and at times funny. It's in French, with only adequate English subtitles. Grade: B+   

Repo Man

Repo Man (1984) starring Harry Dean Stanton, Emilio Estevez. Repo Man is a cult film, which by definition means it has a small, rabid following, while everyone else is indifferent to it. Put me in the "indifferent" group. While the movie has some interesting scenes, and the basic premise is kind of fun, it doesn't hang together very well, the script is weak, and most of the acting is so-so. This is a low-budget film, with only one  interesting special effect. The premise of the film: A man is driving a 1964 Chevy Malibu to Los Angeles from Area 51, and he has something in the trunk (supposedly four dead aliens) that is lethal to anyone who opens the trunk of the car. Bud (Stanton) and Otto (Estevez) play two repo men whose job it is to find the car and collect the $20,000 reward. The film has a punk sensibility that I found off-putting, and a lot of scenes that go nowhere. Like I said, it's a cult film. (Subtitles in English for the hearing-impaired are available, but closed captions are not.) Grade: C   

The Stunt Man

The Stunt Man (1980) starring Peter O'Toole, Steve Railsback, Barbara Hershey. Vietnam veteran Cameron (Railsback) is on the run from the police when he stumbles onto the set of a movie directed by megalomaniac Eli Cross (O'Toole). Cameron is recruited to replace the film's stunt man, whom he has accidentally killed. I saw this movie at the theater and recall enjoying it immensely. Only problem is, this disc has no subtitles, no closed captions, nothing. Grade: F

American Beauty (DVD)

American Beauty (1999) starring Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Mena Suvari. Spacey stars (and won an Oscar) as Lester Burnham, a middle-class suburbanite facing a midlife crisis who becomes infatuated with the cheerleader friend Angela (Suvari) of his daughter Jane (Birch). Meanwhile, Lester's wife Carolyn (Bening) embarks on an affair with a real estate salesman. This movie won five Oscars, including Best Picture. I think it deserved to win. The captions are good. Grade: A

Micmacs (DVD)

Micmacs (2009) starring Dany Boon. A man named Bazil (Boon) is the victim of a drive-by shooting, which leaves a bullet lodged in his head. After his recovery, he finds himself homeless and hooks up with a ragtag gang of street people. They agree to help him take revenge against the arms manufacturer who made the bullet that is stuck in his skull -- and, incidentally, made the mine that killed Bazil's father 30 years earlier. The gang of misfits are like a league of heroes, each with a special skill which can be used in getting revenge on the weapons dealers. They develop a Rube-Goldbergesque plot to bring down the bad guys, and therein lies the movie's problem. It's just too complicated to be enjoyed. Though the film is visually inventive, it seems too overtly political to suit its plot. It's in French, with English subtitles that are not very good. Grade: B-

The President's Analyst (DVD)

The President's Analyst (1967) starring James Coburn. Dr. Sidney Schaefer (Coburn) is plucked from obscurity to be psychoanalyst to the President of the U.S. The job comes with lots of perks -- but also heavy responsibilities. It's not long before the president's analyst is driven crazy by the pressures of the job, and ends up on the run. Much silliness ensues as every foreign government, plus the "CEA" and the "FBR," try to chase Dr. Schaefer down. The ultimate is when he takes up with a band of hippies, the 1967 movie version, to avoid capture. The film spins off into lands of fantasy from there. Some pretty funny touches, but I found it ultimately unsatisfying. The captions are very good. Grade: C+

A Face in the Crowd (DVD)

A Face in the Crowd (1957) starring Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, Anthony Franciosa, Walter Matthau, Lee Remick. Directed by Elia Kazan. Small-town radio producer (Neal) plucks drunken bum (Griffith) from jail, makes him a star. Turns out he has a talent for manipulating audiences, even on TV. Unfortunately, when he hits the big time, he also turns out to be an unscrupulous womanizer, and the power of being a TV star goes to his head. "A Face in the Crowd" is a sharp observation of the growing strength of television as a medium, and its power to make or break a man -- or a woman. As such, it is a cautionary tale, still relevant today. The subtitles on this disc are pretty good. Grade: B+

Network (DVD)

Network (1976) starring Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, Robert Duvall, Ned Beatty, Beatrice Straight. Written by Paddy Chayefsky. Directed by Sidney Lumet. Prophetic movie about Number Four TV network that will put anything on the air for ratings, including the ravings of a news anchor (Finch) who has gone slightly mad. This movie features one of the most famous quotes in film, as people stick their heads out the window and yell, "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore." Chayefsky, Finch, Dunaway and Straight won Oscars. The subtitles are just barely adequate -- but essential. Grade: A

In the Loop (DVD)

In the Loop (2009) starring Tom Hollander, James Gandolfini, Anna Chlumsky. In the run-up to a war in an undisclosed Middle Eastern country, British and American officials fumble their way toward an agreement on the conduct of the conflict. Turf battles, personal animosity and general ineptitude do battle as the one-liners fly. The script is razor-sharp, and the only challenge is catching all the jokes as they zoom past in both British and American accents. Luckily, the subtitles help with this. Grade: B+

Bruno (DVD)

Bruno (2009) starring Sacha Baron Cohen. As a flamboyantly gay Austrian TV star, Bruno (Cohen) tries to stir up trouble with the people he interviews. After failing in Europe, he comes to Los Angeles to "become a celebrity." In the process, he tries to make fools of real celebrities, with mixed results. I felt conflicted while watching this movie -- like, did I really think it was funny, or was it just offensive? There are a number of raunchy sex scenes, and the film required strategically placed black boxes to escape with an R rating. I thought the movie was just awful, yet it did provide a few laugh-out-loud moments for me. Not quite a worthy follow-up to Cohen's "Borat," but still worth seeing. Grade: B-

Mon Oncle (DVD)

Mon Oncle (1958) starring Jacques Tati. Directed by Jacques Tati. Tati plays the title character, Monsieur Hulot, a rather simple man who finds it difficult dealing with all the gadgetry at his sister's ultramodern home. This movie, which has little dialogue, has been called a "masterpiece." It won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for 1958. It certainly has its Gallic charms, but much of the humor was lost on me. Yet another let-down from a film that was given four stars by the usually reliable Leonard Maltin. This movie is 50 years old -- that may account for some of its loss of appeal. The subtitles are only adequate. Grade: B

The Milky Way (DVD)

The Milky Way (1969) starring Paul Frankeur, Laurent Terzieff. Two men on a religious pilgrimage through France find their faith put to the test by the zealots and apostates they meet along the way. Directed by Luis Bunuel, who delights in making fun of organized religion and hypocrisy. It's a mystifying film, and there's a good Extra on the disc which helps explain what it's all about. But in general, it will be of interest only to theologians and film historians. Grade: B-

American Psycho (DVD)

American Psycho (2000) starring Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Reese Witherspoon, Samantha Mathis, Chloe Sevigny. Bale stars as Patrick Bateman, Wall Street businessman by day, serial killer by night. Set in the 1980s in New York City, the movie features a main character who is supremely obsessed with the surface of things, especially of himself, yet who is hollow inside. He commits several murders in gory ways, and this film definitely isn't for the faint of heart. It's a wicked satire on '80s materialism, though, and fascinating to watch. Grade: B+

The TV Set (DVD)

The TV Set (2007) starring David Duchovny, Sigourney Weaver, Ioan Gruffudd, Justine Bateman, Lucy Davis. Duchovny stars as the writer who has his script picked to be made into a network TV pilot; Weaver plays the network executive who screws with his vision for the show. Based on real-life experiences of writers and producers of TV shows, "The TV Set" is more amusing in concept than in execution. It's a kind of inside joke that people outside the movie-making business cannot entirely appreciate, but can still enjoy. Grade: B