GOOD MOVIES YOU MAY NEVER HAVE HEARD OF
Part 6
Herewith the sixth installment of really good movies that attracted little notice when they came out. I hope you will find one or more to rent, or stream, and enjoy.
The Straight Story (1999) is the late, great Richard Farnsworth’s swan song, and what a delight it is. He plays an old man who journeys halfway across America on a riding lawnmower to see his dying brother, from whom he has been estranged for years. He meets lots of people on the way, and this is one wonderful film. Sissy Spacek as his mildly retarded daughter and Harry Dean Stanton as the brother are as good as they always are, but it is Mr. Farnsworth’s film. He lost out to Kevin Spacey for American Beauty for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, but the nomination was high cotton for him. He died at 80 the next year.
Clare Danes is one of our best, and least appreciated, actresses. She did yeoman work in the TV serial Homeland for which she has won two Emmys. Temple Grandin (2010) is an HBO made for TV movie but is readily available to rent or stream. Temple Grandin is a real person, still living today. She is afflicted with autism, a complicated neurological condition that makes sufferers react oddly to social situations and often appear mentally disturbed. But Temple is also a genius at figuring out how to make the rounding up and slaughtering of cattle more humane and more lucrative. Ms. Danes is just stunning in this complex and difficult role. What a good movie!
A Very Long Engagement (2004) stars the winsome French actress Audrey Tatous (much loved for Amelie). Her fiancé has been given up for dead by the government and his family, but she refuses to give up hope. The ending will satisfy the hardest of hearts.
Waking Ned Devine (1998) is one of the funniest, most charming films from the charming Irish. Ned Devine has won the lottery. The only problem is Ned is dead and the winner must claim the award in person. The townspeople conspire to make this happen, somehow. Their antics in doing this and fooling the lottery judges is just about as funny as anything you’ll ever see.
The Wrong Box (1966) is Michael Caine’s first big movie break, but it also features a bunch of famous Brits. John Mills, Ralph Richardson, Dudley Moore, Peter Cook and Peter Sellers are also on board in a film about British inheritance and the highjinks employed by those who hope to get rich from it. The plot is simply too complicated to spell out here but is easy enough to follow when viewing it. It is really funny!
All of the films in this column are available on DVD and for streaming. And actually all are fine for any age, factoring in the boredom quotient for littlies.
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Sunday, December 11, 2016
THE MARX BROTHERS
A lot of younger (than me!) film fans are not familiar with the Marx Brothers. After all, their last film wrapped in 1950. Their unique brand of comedic chaos, gratuitous insults, sight gags and general merriment is still lots of fun. They used a script only as a starting point, much preferring to make it up as they went along. Their films were so popular they were allowed to get away with this (and lots more!) They always seemed to be having a ball.
Groucho is the one with the funny walk, ridiculous big moustache, outrageous puns and insults. In the 1950's Groucho had a half-hour TV show, You Bet Your Life. It had its funny moments and was nearly always pushing the censorship envelope.
Harpo never speaks but blows his horn and carries around an entire junk shop in his coat. Chico translates for Harpo and mispronounces simple words to our delight. Zeppo is bland, boring and a prime example of sibling loyalty.
The problem with The Boys isn’t the funny parts of their films, it’s the rest of them. Most have the mandatory harp solo by Harpo, voice solo by the wretched Zeppo (who is absent after 1933), and piano solo by Chico. These set pieces do nothing at all for the movie except to grind it to a halt. So, a player with fast-forward is the perfect vehicle for a Marx Brothers movie. Zap the boring parts and you have about an hour of great comedy!
A good starting point for the uninitiated is The Marx Brothers in a Nuthshell (1990) which contains many of the great gags and little of the boring stuff. This film shows up on TV fairly often and many video sites usually have it. If you like it you’re ready for the hard stuff.
For my money, the Marxs’ crowning achievement is Duck Soup (1933) with Groucho as the ruler of a mythical country, poking fun at diplomacy, patriotism and lots of other sacred cows. It may also ring a few bells about our current situation! A very close second is A Night At The Opera (1935) in which the boys invade the world of Grand Opera and leave it in a shambles.
If you like either of those, you should also enjoy Monkey Business (1931) [the boys on a luxury liner], A Day At The Races (1937) [Marxian havoc at a sanatorium], and Horse Feathers (1932) [Groucho as Dean of a college]. A step below these would be The Cocoanuts (1929), Animal Crackers (1930), Room Service (1938), and A Night In Casablanca (1946). The remaining Marx Brothers films are for real Marx fanatics only.
By the way, Monkey Business contains a famous scene in which about a hundred people are somehow wedged into a tiny stateroom. I have never figured out how they did that!
All of the movies in this column are available on DVD and for streaming. All are suitable for children 10 and up.
A lot of younger (than me!) film fans are not familiar with the Marx Brothers. After all, their last film wrapped in 1950. Their unique brand of comedic chaos, gratuitous insults, sight gags and general merriment is still lots of fun. They used a script only as a starting point, much preferring to make it up as they went along. Their films were so popular they were allowed to get away with this (and lots more!) They always seemed to be having a ball.
Groucho is the one with the funny walk, ridiculous big moustache, outrageous puns and insults. In the 1950's Groucho had a half-hour TV show, You Bet Your Life. It had its funny moments and was nearly always pushing the censorship envelope.
Harpo never speaks but blows his horn and carries around an entire junk shop in his coat. Chico translates for Harpo and mispronounces simple words to our delight. Zeppo is bland, boring and a prime example of sibling loyalty.
The problem with The Boys isn’t the funny parts of their films, it’s the rest of them. Most have the mandatory harp solo by Harpo, voice solo by the wretched Zeppo (who is absent after 1933), and piano solo by Chico. These set pieces do nothing at all for the movie except to grind it to a halt. So, a player with fast-forward is the perfect vehicle for a Marx Brothers movie. Zap the boring parts and you have about an hour of great comedy!
A good starting point for the uninitiated is The Marx Brothers in a Nuthshell (1990) which contains many of the great gags and little of the boring stuff. This film shows up on TV fairly often and many video sites usually have it. If you like it you’re ready for the hard stuff.
For my money, the Marxs’ crowning achievement is Duck Soup (1933) with Groucho as the ruler of a mythical country, poking fun at diplomacy, patriotism and lots of other sacred cows. It may also ring a few bells about our current situation! A very close second is A Night At The Opera (1935) in which the boys invade the world of Grand Opera and leave it in a shambles.
If you like either of those, you should also enjoy Monkey Business (1931) [the boys on a luxury liner], A Day At The Races (1937) [Marxian havoc at a sanatorium], and Horse Feathers (1932) [Groucho as Dean of a college]. A step below these would be The Cocoanuts (1929), Animal Crackers (1930), Room Service (1938), and A Night In Casablanca (1946). The remaining Marx Brothers films are for real Marx fanatics only.
By the way, Monkey Business contains a famous scene in which about a hundred people are somehow wedged into a tiny stateroom. I have never figured out how they did that!
All of the movies in this column are available on DVD and for streaming. All are suitable for children 10 and up.
Sunday, December 4, 2016
ALICE DRUMMOND
Alice Drummond was the quintessential character actor. She was in over 50 movies and well over 100 TV shows. She was the woman the casting director sent for to fill an essential, but non-starring, role. You probably can’t remember her face, but if she turns up in a film you will immediately know you’ve seen her before. She worked well into her 80's and lived to be 88. Like most character actor careers, hers is chock full of mediocre to really bad films. But I was astonished by the number of really good films in her resume’.
Do you remember the frightened little librarian at the beginning of the original Ghostbusters (1983)? I didn’t either, but that was Ms. Drummond. Far superior to the 2016 remake, the original featured Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray and Sigourney Weaver. It gave us the memorable line “Who you gonna call?” as well as one of the friendliest looking monsters ever on the silver screen.
Running On Empty (1988) features Christine Lahti and Judd Hirsch as peacenik parents on the run. Their bombing of a napalm factory went horribly wrong. A janitor who wasn’t supposed to be there was blinded and nearly killed by the blast and the police are after the perpetrators. The late River Phoenix has a major role as their son, a gifted pianist who gets tired of their clandestine lifestyle and wants out. Alice Drummond is just fine as Mrs. Powell, admittedly a very minor character.
Awakenings (1990) is the heartbreaking story of the experimental treatment of catatonic patients with a new medication, L-Dopa. Robin Williams is the lead physician of the experiment and Robert De Niro is the first patient tested. At first he makes amazing progress and is practically back to normal. But then he gradually sinks back to his original catatonia. Alice Drummond is featured as one of the patients receiving the treatment. She and the other patients realize by watching De Niro regress that the same thing will happen to them. And it does.
Pieces Of April (2003) stars Katie Holmes as a rather angry young woman living in a small New York apartment. She decides to make Thanksgiving dinner for her dysfunctional family in an effort at reunion. Patricia Clarkson plays her mother, terribly sick with breast cancer but who decides to attend the gathering anyway. Oliver Platt plays her father, a nice guy hoping for the best. And Alice Drummond plays Grandma Dottie, who is in fact quite dotty, sinking into dementia. The film has its funny moments as well as quite a few more serious ones.
Doubt (2008) features blockbuster performances in the story of how a priest may or may not be a child molester (hence the title!) Meryl Streep plays the headmistress of the parochial school, Amy Adams plays a naive young nun teacher, Phillip Seymour Hoffman is the suspected priest and Viola Davis is the young boy’s mother. All give A+ performances and all four were nominated for Oscar but didn’t win. Alice Drummond has a nice turn as Sister Veronica.
You can also catch Alice Drummond (but don’t blink) in Nobody’s Fool (1994), Joe Gould’s Secret (2000), and After Life (2009).
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD and for streaming. All but Doubt are okay for all ages.
Alice Drummond was the quintessential character actor. She was in over 50 movies and well over 100 TV shows. She was the woman the casting director sent for to fill an essential, but non-starring, role. You probably can’t remember her face, but if she turns up in a film you will immediately know you’ve seen her before. She worked well into her 80's and lived to be 88. Like most character actor careers, hers is chock full of mediocre to really bad films. But I was astonished by the number of really good films in her resume’.
Do you remember the frightened little librarian at the beginning of the original Ghostbusters (1983)? I didn’t either, but that was Ms. Drummond. Far superior to the 2016 remake, the original featured Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray and Sigourney Weaver. It gave us the memorable line “Who you gonna call?” as well as one of the friendliest looking monsters ever on the silver screen.
Running On Empty (1988) features Christine Lahti and Judd Hirsch as peacenik parents on the run. Their bombing of a napalm factory went horribly wrong. A janitor who wasn’t supposed to be there was blinded and nearly killed by the blast and the police are after the perpetrators. The late River Phoenix has a major role as their son, a gifted pianist who gets tired of their clandestine lifestyle and wants out. Alice Drummond is just fine as Mrs. Powell, admittedly a very minor character.
Awakenings (1990) is the heartbreaking story of the experimental treatment of catatonic patients with a new medication, L-Dopa. Robin Williams is the lead physician of the experiment and Robert De Niro is the first patient tested. At first he makes amazing progress and is practically back to normal. But then he gradually sinks back to his original catatonia. Alice Drummond is featured as one of the patients receiving the treatment. She and the other patients realize by watching De Niro regress that the same thing will happen to them. And it does.
Pieces Of April (2003) stars Katie Holmes as a rather angry young woman living in a small New York apartment. She decides to make Thanksgiving dinner for her dysfunctional family in an effort at reunion. Patricia Clarkson plays her mother, terribly sick with breast cancer but who decides to attend the gathering anyway. Oliver Platt plays her father, a nice guy hoping for the best. And Alice Drummond plays Grandma Dottie, who is in fact quite dotty, sinking into dementia. The film has its funny moments as well as quite a few more serious ones.
Doubt (2008) features blockbuster performances in the story of how a priest may or may not be a child molester (hence the title!) Meryl Streep plays the headmistress of the parochial school, Amy Adams plays a naive young nun teacher, Phillip Seymour Hoffman is the suspected priest and Viola Davis is the young boy’s mother. All give A+ performances and all four were nominated for Oscar but didn’t win. Alice Drummond has a nice turn as Sister Veronica.
You can also catch Alice Drummond (but don’t blink) in Nobody’s Fool (1994), Joe Gould’s Secret (2000), and After Life (2009).
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD and for streaming. All but Doubt are okay for all ages.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)