THE END OF THE WORLD
The disintegration of the Soviet Union allowed us to take a step back from the brink of nuclear holocaust. I grew up during the Cold War, when the doomsday clock at one time showed one second to go. Alas, the present resident of the White House seems bent on scaring the hell out of us with threats and bluster about nuclear warfare. And on that cheerful note, here’s a post about End Of The World movies.
There are dozens of Armageddon movies and most of them are pretty bad. Mr. Movie has diligently cherry-picked the best ones just for you.
The Bedford Incident (1971) has Richard Widmark as a gung-ho submarine commander tracking a Russian sub near the North Pole. Sidney Poitier and Martin Balsam add to a fine cast, but it’s James MacArthur whose misunderstanding of a simple order completes the circuit, and convinces us it would be all too easy to start the Last War.
In Testament (1983) the missiles have already flown and a small town in California awaits the certain end. Jane Alexander is the mother of a tightly knit family dealing with the apocalypse in this restrained and very moving film.
Likewise Stanley Kramer’s On The Beach (1959) details waiting for the end. Australia is the site, spared from the nuclear war only by its distance, but now awaiting inevitable death by radiation. Gregory Peck, Fred Astaire, Ava Gardner and Anthony Perkins head a dynamite cast. One plot line follows a last ditch effort to find other survivors in the world, but the main story involves the reactions of those facing the end.
Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) is quite simply one of the funniest films ever made. Peter Sellers (in multiple roles), George C Scott, Keenan Wynn, Sterling Hayden and Slim Pickens all add
merriment to this laugh-out-loud classic. Stanley Kubrick paints with the broadest of brushes, and only when you stop laughing hours later do you realize the world has ended because of rampant stupidity. I have seen it many times; it’s always a scream and I always find something new.
I’ve saved the worst for last. When Worlds Collide (1951) isn’t about nuclear disaster, but rather about another planet smashing into ours. The cheesy special effects don’t really travel well across 50+ years, and the cast consists of unknowns not about to get their big break. Scientists try to convince earth’s rulers to take this collision seriously and go about collecting a gene pool to send to another planet. Okay- but if you can manage to just sit back and let this one wash around you, it is fun.
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. The subject matter is adult.
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Sunday, October 22, 2017
IT’S MAGIC!
Do magicians really do magical things? Or is it all just an illusion? Does it matter? There are some fine movies about magicians; you can make up your own mind about the questions above.
John Malkovich is The Great Buck Howard (2009), a “mentalist” whose time in the sun is long gone. But he hangs on to the act, and a young man (Colin Hanks, Tom’s son) drops out of law school to tour with him. His greatest trick is to hypnotize an entire roomful of people. So did he do it nor not? You decide. Malkovich is, as always, just really good.
The Prestige (2006) is any magician’s one great trick that nobody else can do. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale are rival magicians, employing spies, artifice, and all sorts of bad stuff to steal the other’s big trick. Michael Caine is on hand as an old pro at all things magic. The tricks are super and the ending either proves (or does not?) that there really is magic in the world.
The redoubtable Emma Thompson is the nanny from heaven in the strange but terrific Nanny McPhee (2005). Summoned to straighten out some of the worst brats on the planet, she makes her way inch by inch to do just that. She knows lots of tricks, but the best magic here is that Nanny starts out as ugly as homemade sin and gradually gets better looking as her wiles begin to work. A sequel is also quite good.
The Illusionist (2006) is a wonderful film filled with romance, mystery, intrigue and incredible magic tricks. Edward Norton is the magician. He is in love with the fiancee of the dreadful Crown Prince. When she refuses to marry the prince (and his plans to overthrow his father), he reacts violently against her. Mr. Norton hatches a whole new act in which he appears to bring back people from the other side in full view of sold-out audiences. One of the apparitions (?) is Jennifer Biel, the woman who refused the Crown Prince. Chief Inspector Paul Giamatti arrests the illusionist for creating a public disturbance. But where is he? That’s all I can really tell.
Now You See Me (2013) has a stellar cast and is loads of fun. Jesse Eisenberg, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Mark Ruffalo and Woody Harrellson are on board in a fascinating flick. A group of four magicians seems to perform impossible tricks, such as looting a Paris bank vault while doing a show in Las Vegas and spraying the stolen money into the crowd. More hi-jinks follow and there’s a stunning twist. But- beware the tepid sequels.
OK, I did not save the best for last. Ingmar Bergman’s The Magician (1989) certainly isn’t to all tastes. It wasn’t to mine. It’s sort of a horror comedy that doesn’t really work as either. Don’t say you weren’t warned!
All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. All are for grown-ups.
Do magicians really do magical things? Or is it all just an illusion? Does it matter? There are some fine movies about magicians; you can make up your own mind about the questions above.
John Malkovich is The Great Buck Howard (2009), a “mentalist” whose time in the sun is long gone. But he hangs on to the act, and a young man (Colin Hanks, Tom’s son) drops out of law school to tour with him. His greatest trick is to hypnotize an entire roomful of people. So did he do it nor not? You decide. Malkovich is, as always, just really good.
The Prestige (2006) is any magician’s one great trick that nobody else can do. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale are rival magicians, employing spies, artifice, and all sorts of bad stuff to steal the other’s big trick. Michael Caine is on hand as an old pro at all things magic. The tricks are super and the ending either proves (or does not?) that there really is magic in the world.
The redoubtable Emma Thompson is the nanny from heaven in the strange but terrific Nanny McPhee (2005). Summoned to straighten out some of the worst brats on the planet, she makes her way inch by inch to do just that. She knows lots of tricks, but the best magic here is that Nanny starts out as ugly as homemade sin and gradually gets better looking as her wiles begin to work. A sequel is also quite good.
The Illusionist (2006) is a wonderful film filled with romance, mystery, intrigue and incredible magic tricks. Edward Norton is the magician. He is in love with the fiancee of the dreadful Crown Prince. When she refuses to marry the prince (and his plans to overthrow his father), he reacts violently against her. Mr. Norton hatches a whole new act in which he appears to bring back people from the other side in full view of sold-out audiences. One of the apparitions (?) is Jennifer Biel, the woman who refused the Crown Prince. Chief Inspector Paul Giamatti arrests the illusionist for creating a public disturbance. But where is he? That’s all I can really tell.
Now You See Me (2013) has a stellar cast and is loads of fun. Jesse Eisenberg, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Mark Ruffalo and Woody Harrellson are on board in a fascinating flick. A group of four magicians seems to perform impossible tricks, such as looting a Paris bank vault while doing a show in Las Vegas and spraying the stolen money into the crowd. More hi-jinks follow and there’s a stunning twist. But- beware the tepid sequels.
OK, I did not save the best for last. Ingmar Bergman’s The Magician (1989) certainly isn’t to all tastes. It wasn’t to mine. It’s sort of a horror comedy that doesn’t really work as either. Don’t say you weren’t warned!
All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. All are for grown-ups.
Sunday, October 15, 2017
BOXING
News of the death of Jake LaMotta put me in mind of a landmark film centered around boxing, Martin Scorcese’s Raging Bull (1980). Robert DeNiro (Oscar, Best Actor) is solidly convincing as LaMotta. Shot in black and white, it is perhaps the first movie to show boxing as it really is. This is the story of a certain type of man who happens to be a boxer, and a fascinating film bio of an American legend. The kitchen scene with wife Cathy Moriarity is not soon forgotten.
An earlier film based on the life of a boxer (Rocky Graziano) is Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956). It launched the career of a very good looking young actor named Paul Newman. Pier Angeli (remember her?) is the love interest.
The sport of boxing has fallen a long way since the days of Joe Louis or Mohammed Ali. It’s hardly a blip on the sports page radar these days. And yet, Hollywood continues to turn out wonderful movies with boxing as the centerpiece.
One of the best movies of 2005 (or any year) came out too early and was predictably ignored at Oscar time. But Cinderella Man is a splendid film, based on the true story of New Jersey fighter James J. Braddock. Russell Crowe may be a total jerk in real life, but he sure can act and he is just right in this film. His stalwart wife is perfectly played by Renee Zelwegger and Paul Giamatti is surprisingly good as his manager. Unabashedly sentimental, this film will lift you up no matter how down you may be.
A truckload of Oscars deservedly went to Clint Eastwood’s gripping Million Dollar Baby (2004). Hillary Swank is the determined protégé, Eastwood her trainer, and Morgan Freeman is Morgan Freeman. There is far more than boxing going on here, including determination, readjusting preconceptions and what true love may be.
Another excellent film about female boxers is the overlooked Girlfight (2000). Michelle Rodriguez is stunning as a young woman determined to fight her way out of the ghetto with her will and her fists. Her performance carries this film; the ensemble cast is effective, but largely unknown.
I know the Rocky series became a rather lame joke after the fifth or sixth one, but please remember that the very first film in 1976 is the stuff American dreams are made of. Talia Shire is winning as the love interest and Sylvester Stallone is really quite good before he became a caricature of himself. And then in 2015 came Creed, with Michael B. Jordan as the son of Rocky’s old nemesis, Apollo Creed, and Stallone as his trainer. And it is actually pretty good.
Also worth a look is Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956) which is more about the advantage taken of boxers by others, and what is left when they age out. Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason and Mickey Rooney are all quite good here.
All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are for 12 and up.
News of the death of Jake LaMotta put me in mind of a landmark film centered around boxing, Martin Scorcese’s Raging Bull (1980). Robert DeNiro (Oscar, Best Actor) is solidly convincing as LaMotta. Shot in black and white, it is perhaps the first movie to show boxing as it really is. This is the story of a certain type of man who happens to be a boxer, and a fascinating film bio of an American legend. The kitchen scene with wife Cathy Moriarity is not soon forgotten.
An earlier film based on the life of a boxer (Rocky Graziano) is Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956). It launched the career of a very good looking young actor named Paul Newman. Pier Angeli (remember her?) is the love interest.
The sport of boxing has fallen a long way since the days of Joe Louis or Mohammed Ali. It’s hardly a blip on the sports page radar these days. And yet, Hollywood continues to turn out wonderful movies with boxing as the centerpiece.
One of the best movies of 2005 (or any year) came out too early and was predictably ignored at Oscar time. But Cinderella Man is a splendid film, based on the true story of New Jersey fighter James J. Braddock. Russell Crowe may be a total jerk in real life, but he sure can act and he is just right in this film. His stalwart wife is perfectly played by Renee Zelwegger and Paul Giamatti is surprisingly good as his manager. Unabashedly sentimental, this film will lift you up no matter how down you may be.
A truckload of Oscars deservedly went to Clint Eastwood’s gripping Million Dollar Baby (2004). Hillary Swank is the determined protégé, Eastwood her trainer, and Morgan Freeman is Morgan Freeman. There is far more than boxing going on here, including determination, readjusting preconceptions and what true love may be.
Another excellent film about female boxers is the overlooked Girlfight (2000). Michelle Rodriguez is stunning as a young woman determined to fight her way out of the ghetto with her will and her fists. Her performance carries this film; the ensemble cast is effective, but largely unknown.
I know the Rocky series became a rather lame joke after the fifth or sixth one, but please remember that the very first film in 1976 is the stuff American dreams are made of. Talia Shire is winning as the love interest and Sylvester Stallone is really quite good before he became a caricature of himself. And then in 2015 came Creed, with Michael B. Jordan as the son of Rocky’s old nemesis, Apollo Creed, and Stallone as his trainer. And it is actually pretty good.
Also worth a look is Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956) which is more about the advantage taken of boxers by others, and what is left when they age out. Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason and Mickey Rooney are all quite good here.
All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are for 12 and up.
Sunday, October 8, 2017
NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand is the site of some wonderful films. Almost all of Lord of the Rings was shot there; the scenery is simply breathtaking. But that trilogy is science fiction; let’s look at films not only in, but about, this little-known country.
Hunt For The Wilderpeople (2016) is billed as a New Zealand adventure comedy-drama. I could not have said it any better. Left an orphan, Ricky goes to live with foster mother Bella and her taciturn husband Hec. Bella dies, and the child welfare people want Ricky back. Neither he nor Hec are keen on this, so they take to the woods and for most of the movie hide out from the authorities and meet interesting people. Aussie Sam Neill is good as Hec and newcomer Julian Dennison is just fine as Ricky. Oh, by the way: Who or what are the Wilderpeople? I have no idea.
Whale Rider (2003) is a terrific film that was in my top 10 for 2003. It is the life-affirming story of a young girl growing up in the Maori culture, which does not allow girls much room to grow. The young heroine fights back with courage and elan. It is a heart-warming film that should be seen by every young (and not-so-young) woman (and man!)
Once Were Warriors (1994) is a devastating look at what increasing urbanization has done to the Maori culture and New Zealanders in general. The father’s traditional role as unquestioned head of the house has to give a little when he’s not making the living. With universal application, this fine little film gives us enough to think about for weeks.
Heavenly Creatures (1994) is directed by Ring Cycle’s Peter Jackson. Two young girls form a perilous friendship including a dangerous private world inhabited only by them. When their parents try to separate them, the girls take extreme measures.
Melanie Lynskey and the better-known Kate Winslett (Titanic) are superb as the two girls. Trivia note: One of these girls grew up to be British mystery writer Anne Perry!
Angel At My Table (1990) is director Jane Campion’s affecting study of New Zealand poet and author Janet Frame, a quiet child misdiagnosed as mentally ill and sent to an institution for eight years! That it is a true story only adds to the emotional wallop of this excellent movie.
Finally, there is the intriguing and utterly weird The Piano (1993), also directed by Jane Campion. Sam Neill and Harvey Keitel join Oscar winners Anna Paquin and Holly Hunter in the story of a mail-order bride (Hunter) who is apparently mute by choice and who loves only her piano and her daughter (probably in that order).
All of the films in this article(including the whole Lord of the Rings cycle) are available on DVD. The Ring cycle is fine for 8 and up. All the rest are for adults only.
New Zealand is the site of some wonderful films. Almost all of Lord of the Rings was shot there; the scenery is simply breathtaking. But that trilogy is science fiction; let’s look at films not only in, but about, this little-known country.
Hunt For The Wilderpeople (2016) is billed as a New Zealand adventure comedy-drama. I could not have said it any better. Left an orphan, Ricky goes to live with foster mother Bella and her taciturn husband Hec. Bella dies, and the child welfare people want Ricky back. Neither he nor Hec are keen on this, so they take to the woods and for most of the movie hide out from the authorities and meet interesting people. Aussie Sam Neill is good as Hec and newcomer Julian Dennison is just fine as Ricky. Oh, by the way: Who or what are the Wilderpeople? I have no idea.
Whale Rider (2003) is a terrific film that was in my top 10 for 2003. It is the life-affirming story of a young girl growing up in the Maori culture, which does not allow girls much room to grow. The young heroine fights back with courage and elan. It is a heart-warming film that should be seen by every young (and not-so-young) woman (and man!)
Once Were Warriors (1994) is a devastating look at what increasing urbanization has done to the Maori culture and New Zealanders in general. The father’s traditional role as unquestioned head of the house has to give a little when he’s not making the living. With universal application, this fine little film gives us enough to think about for weeks.
Heavenly Creatures (1994) is directed by Ring Cycle’s Peter Jackson. Two young girls form a perilous friendship including a dangerous private world inhabited only by them. When their parents try to separate them, the girls take extreme measures.
Melanie Lynskey and the better-known Kate Winslett (Titanic) are superb as the two girls. Trivia note: One of these girls grew up to be British mystery writer Anne Perry!
Angel At My Table (1990) is director Jane Campion’s affecting study of New Zealand poet and author Janet Frame, a quiet child misdiagnosed as mentally ill and sent to an institution for eight years! That it is a true story only adds to the emotional wallop of this excellent movie.
Finally, there is the intriguing and utterly weird The Piano (1993), also directed by Jane Campion. Sam Neill and Harvey Keitel join Oscar winners Anna Paquin and Holly Hunter in the story of a mail-order bride (Hunter) who is apparently mute by choice and who loves only her piano and her daughter (probably in that order).
All of the films in this article(including the whole Lord of the Rings cycle) are available on DVD. The Ring cycle is fine for 8 and up. All the rest are for adults only.
Sunday, October 1, 2017
NUNS
Nuns are women who dedicate themselves to a lifetime of service, piety and obedience, and they have been the basis of many fine movies.
A good place to begin is Doubt (2008). Meryl Streep is the Mother Superior at a parochial school, Amy Adams is a young and naive teacher and Phillip Seymour Hoffman is the good-natured parish priest suspected of unnatural behavior. This is heady company indeed, but virtual unknown Viola Davis almost steals the movie as the mother of the possible victim. The tension builds almost to the breaking point and to a frankly surprising ending. All four of the principals were nominated for Oscars, along with writer-director John Patrick Shanley. None of them won.
Perhaps no Hollywood film has captured what it must be like to become a nun as well as The Nun’s Story (1959). This fine movie captured eight Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director (Fred Zinnemann). Audrey Hepburn also won for her portrayal of Sister Luke. Her training, discipline and service make a very good story. She becomes a medical nun in Africa under the tutelage of agnostic Dr. Fortunati (Peter Finch).
From the sublime to the ridiculous, Whoopi Goldberg is on the run from her murderous mobster boyfriend and hiding out in a convent in Sister Act (1992). She shakes things up quite a bit as the hip new choir director and the laughs are plentiful. Not exactly a slice of life, but lots of fun. Beware the weak sequel.
A young nun may have become pregnant and may have murdered the baby in the enigmatic Agnes of God (1985). Jane Fonda, Meg Tilly and Anne Bancroft are all very good in a film with no easy answers. The opaque nature of the story line may turn some off, but the performances make it worth a look.
A nun is the central figure in perhaps the best movie about capital punishment ever made, Dead Man Walking (1995). Susan Sarandon is Sister Helen Prejean, a devoted opponent of the death penalty. Sean Penn is the unlikeable object of her efforts. Actually quite fair and balanced on a sensitive subject about which everyone has an opinion. Ms. Sarandon won the Oscar as Best Actress.
And finally I have to mention the wonderful off-Broadway play, Nunsense (1992), a howlingly funny send up of a very off-beat convent. None of the sequels are very good.
Oh, and we must remember that the accomplished Sally Field (Oscar winner for Norma Rae) got her start as The Flying Nun!
All of the films in this article are for grownups, and all are available on DVD.
Nuns are women who dedicate themselves to a lifetime of service, piety and obedience, and they have been the basis of many fine movies.
A good place to begin is Doubt (2008). Meryl Streep is the Mother Superior at a parochial school, Amy Adams is a young and naive teacher and Phillip Seymour Hoffman is the good-natured parish priest suspected of unnatural behavior. This is heady company indeed, but virtual unknown Viola Davis almost steals the movie as the mother of the possible victim. The tension builds almost to the breaking point and to a frankly surprising ending. All four of the principals were nominated for Oscars, along with writer-director John Patrick Shanley. None of them won.
Perhaps no Hollywood film has captured what it must be like to become a nun as well as The Nun’s Story (1959). This fine movie captured eight Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director (Fred Zinnemann). Audrey Hepburn also won for her portrayal of Sister Luke. Her training, discipline and service make a very good story. She becomes a medical nun in Africa under the tutelage of agnostic Dr. Fortunati (Peter Finch).
From the sublime to the ridiculous, Whoopi Goldberg is on the run from her murderous mobster boyfriend and hiding out in a convent in Sister Act (1992). She shakes things up quite a bit as the hip new choir director and the laughs are plentiful. Not exactly a slice of life, but lots of fun. Beware the weak sequel.
A young nun may have become pregnant and may have murdered the baby in the enigmatic Agnes of God (1985). Jane Fonda, Meg Tilly and Anne Bancroft are all very good in a film with no easy answers. The opaque nature of the story line may turn some off, but the performances make it worth a look.
A nun is the central figure in perhaps the best movie about capital punishment ever made, Dead Man Walking (1995). Susan Sarandon is Sister Helen Prejean, a devoted opponent of the death penalty. Sean Penn is the unlikeable object of her efforts. Actually quite fair and balanced on a sensitive subject about which everyone has an opinion. Ms. Sarandon won the Oscar as Best Actress.
And finally I have to mention the wonderful off-Broadway play, Nunsense (1992), a howlingly funny send up of a very off-beat convent. None of the sequels are very good.
Oh, and we must remember that the accomplished Sally Field (Oscar winner for Norma Rae) got her start as The Flying Nun!
All of the films in this article are for grownups, and all are available on DVD.
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