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Game Night (2018)
Need a bunch of belly-laughs? Go see this movie.
I'm incredulous at some of the negative reviews. They must simply have had their funny bones surgically removed. As you can see by my used of "incredulous", I'm a interleckchewal, and the audience was a nice demographic cross-section here in Oakland, CA, and EVERYONE was roaring, almost crying. And it was consistent right through the movie. And it was done intelligently, without "recourse to the coarse"; no kaka-dooty potty humor, VERY clever dialogue eliciting barks of laughter with a one word response or just a reaction shot. I haven't laughed so loud and long for a decade or more. Do yourself a favor and lighten your life with a bout of shared public laughter; it's a tonic.
War Horse (2011)
Beating a Dead War Horse
Despite being a Spielberg AND a horse fan, almost walked out of the theater on this one. "Trojan Horse" would have been a more apt title (tho' there were no surprises to be had in this one), since every aspect of the movie was wooden, especially the acting. It really seemed the work of an old "B" movie director; every emotion was a haymaker, telegraphed at that, that missed its mark every time (Please cry here). It seemed a pastiche of scenes we've seen in other movies. None of the actions of the characters seemed natural or even sensible (even a city boy knows you can't plow a field til you've removed the rocks! By all means shoot the horse your lives depend on when it shies from the collar the first time. Etc., etc). If it had succeeded in evoking any emotion in me I might call it mawkish or maudlin, but it never rose to that level. And a terrible screenplay to go along with the treacly, intrusive scoring. Tried, but failed to re-create similar films from the Golden Years, as he did so wonderfully with Indiana (heck, I was more touched by the monkey in "Lost Ark" than the horse here)
Something the Lord Made (2004)
A film that operates on the heart
The film could have stood on its own had it simply been a compelling account of the genesis of an historic, baby-saving surgical procedure. Its treatment of the racial dimension renders it an important film, to match the importance of the lives upon which it was based. From a purely filmic perspective, the disparity of experience and eminence as between Alan Rickman and Mos Def in the acting domain, is beautifully mirrored in the relationship between the Doctor and Vivien. We watch as Mos/Vivien rises in our esteem, as their unlooked-for skill reveals itself in the operating and movie theaters.
The subtle, almost off-handed, treatment of the prejudice that obtained at that time in history reveals that racist systems can only exist when the injustices are almost invisible to those on either side of the divide; accepted as a matter of course a hundred times a day. So many of the greatest scenes in this movie involve what is left unsaid, from stifled outrage to touchingly laconic "regrets". The highly emotional (for me - every time I see it) quality of this film is that the viewer knows that now the injustices portrayed are no longer invisible, and that what was unsaid to Vivien for so long was finally said, both in his recognition as a pioneer in real life and the tribute that was this film about a life that, appropriately, speaks for itself.
The Groove Tube (1974)
The first, and perhaps quintessential, raunchy skit comedy compilations.
Interspersed with incredibly well-produced and hilarious faux commercials (later emulated on "snl") to preserve the conceit that it is an evening of strange TV, It presaged the "r" rated fare one can now find on cable. I was surprised to learn that its writers did not go on to write for the early "saturday night live" episodes, which it foreshadowed and perhaps outshone.
I rented it about 17 yrs after my initial viewing on its release, and was amazed that I had not falsely exaggerated in memory its quality and its hilarity. It held up brilliantly.
Of course, Chevy Chase was unknown at the time and, upon the reviewing, I noted the strangely expressive hand acting in the "lardo" and "let your fingers do the ***king" scenes, and until I saw chase later in the film as an actor, was convinced that he had ripped off this film for his similar efforts on "snl".
The slow pan-in on the frog "puppet" who warns of the dangers of STD's afforded a test of the audience's eyesight and attention span as those possessed of those traits were the first to start laughing in the theater. Pay close attention!
I personally blew the mind of Buzzy Linhart (the hitchhiker) sometime in the 90's when he alluded to his role as the first featuring full-frontal male nudity in an American film and, after imagining him without the now bald pate and gray hair, immediately guessed "Groove Tube." He said I was the first to recognized him in all those years. He also informed me that the "Geritan girl" was porn-star Jennifer Welles, and that she was, pardon the pun, stiffed on her salary for the film.
I am deeply puzzled that its writers were not more prolific, except by was of emulation. A truly seminal piece in the genre and a must for any collection.
Two for the Road (1967)
A Tapestry of a Movie
A tapestry of a movie, showcasing the directorial skills of Stanley Donen. Perhaps no other director has the breadth of Mr. Donen's success, comprising classics in the genres of big studio musicals, romantic comedy, drama and thrillers.
The thread of the roads traveled by the Audrey and Albert in their various ages and incarnations is skillfully interwoven, providing a bittersweet and funny picture of an all-to-human marriage, the success of which seems perversely inverse to their material success.
What a great match of two beautiful and charismatic stars. He plays the perfect rogue and imperfect husband to the hilt, and she, well, she is Audrey.
Look for a young and lovely Jacqueline Bisset early in the film.
And don't forget your passport.
Cannot recommend highly enough the following Donen films: Bedazzled, Indiscreet and Charade
Bullitt (1968)
Upshifting experience
It only took me about 30 yrs to realize it: after the spin-out to avoid hitting the biker (Bud Ekins, recently deceased, who alos drove the hill-leaping scenes, and also the fence-leaping scene in "Great Escape" for McQueen), I always though that there were too many downshifts. They were punctuated by that great "baw-baw"of the big 390 ci engine. The number of downshifts, the fours speed gearbox and the geometry of the roads did not make sense, until I realized that he was double up shifting as well as doubling down. Appartently, the gearboxes of the day required racing up shifts at the speeds required during the scene. Listen and look next time you view it.
Good Neighbor Sam (1964)
who wrote the theme music.
Does anybody know who wrote the theme song? Did they live in Danville, or do I misremember? Since I have to pad this out a bit: has anyone else heard the Dorothy Provine had somethingon the order of a 160 IQ? Does naybody know why there is a minimum of ten lines required for comments? It smacks of mandatory loquaciousness. What of the laconic types among us who are cinct-suckers (I'd love to see what spell-check would make of that last word)? I do recall that, for its time, it was considered a bit risqué when it first came out. Well, I've run out of things to say and it's still a line or so short. But if you like this film, check out "How to Murdre Your Wife" and a very sexy Inger Stevens as Matthau's wife.
Match Point (2005)
This film is drek!
The only Woody Allen film I've ever even thought about walking out of. Gave it one hour, thought maybe there would be a redemptive great ending, but realized I didn't care! Unappealing characters in a dull, desultory pot-opera (combo of potboiler and soap opera)
Wasn't expecting comedy, but this is devoid of wit, style or any other of Allen's staple traits. Actively called friends to warn them not to even rent this piece of drek! Should add that opinion seems to split along the sexual fault-line, but not even the charms of Ms. Johanssen were proof against the dull, uninspired script, zipless dialogue and actively distasteful characters.
The Avengers (1961)
Emma as proto-feminist
No other woman did more to advance the cause of feminism than Diana Rigg as Mrs. Peel. The presumptive widow was anything but helpless and dependent on men, except as punching bags or targets. She was tougher, smarter, better-educated and usually wittier than the males on the show and let's not even get into her leather jumpsuits (though, I must admit that this was not my attitude as a young man in the '60's!).
The show itself was one of the first doses of the classy, dry British wit on US TV. However, it tanked for me with the introduction of Tara Thorson, which was tantamount to replacing a Jaguar with a Rambler. I'll never forget a roomful of college males gathered round for the final episode, all shouting "Don't go, Emma!" Imagine how Steed felt.
Gigot (1962)
Supremely tender film; great for kids of all ages
Saw it in theater, aged 12 and not given to emotional display, and it was the first film I recall that squeezed out a tear. Filled with the small kindnesses that affect me more than overblown tragedy. Highly recommended for kids inasmuch as it shows the triumph of tenderness over prejudice and disability. Kudos to Gene Kelly for even taking the unlikely project, and for Gleason for a one- man "role reversal" in shades of oxy-maroon: from the brash, harsh and outspoken man he (and Ralph) was to the timid, gentle mute of Gigot. Perhaps he felt that he could have been a star even in the silent era, and he was right. A performance powerful in its portrayal of the powerless, yet never forgetting its comedic core.