REAL SPACE FLIGHT

We went to see First Man (2018) recently and it occurred to me to wonder if there are many movies about space flight that are non-fiction. I have found four other good films that are about true events in our space program. 
The first entry is aptly named The Right Stuff (1983) taken from the fine book of the same name by Tom Wolfe. It begins with pilots testing the supersonic F1, in which Chuck Yeager (played by Sam Shephard) becomes the first man to break the sound barrier. The film then tracks the progress of the Mercury spacecraft program with Alan Shepard (played by Scott Glenn) the first American to fly a rocket. Then comes John Glenn (played by Ed Harris) who becomes the first American to orbit the earth. All of the astronauts become national heroes, and their stunning expertise and bravery are in full display in this film. It was nominated for eight Academy Award, and won four, all in technical categories.
Ron Howard’s achievement in directing Apollo 13 (1995) is considerable, because everyone in the world knows the ending- Apollo 13 did not crash and burn, but returned safely to earth. And yet, this is one of the most edge-of-your-seat, suspense-filled movies ever made. A stellar cast includes Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise and Ed Harris. The special effects are extremely convincing, and this movie will leave you gasping in spite of yourself!
Hubble (2010) was produced exclusively for IMAX but you can rent it. Granted, it loses a lot in the smaller screen format, but is still a worthwhile hour. It is the true story of the attempt to repair the damaged Hubble space telescope by astronauts in zero gravity. It features incredible pictures of galaxies and nebulae, sometimes allowing the viewer to fly through the middle of them. The film is narrated by Leonardo DeCaprio and provides a special journey for the movie-goer. 
Hidden Figures (2016) is a terrific film about African-American women who just happened to be mathematical geniuses, and who provided the data that allowed the space program to go forward. They were treated badly by the brass, and the film shows this happening. It also shows project director Kevin Costner destroying a racially offensive sign, and astronaut John Glenn insisting the women be consulted to solve a thorny problem the program encounters. Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae play the math whizzes. Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons and Mr. Costner provide able support. 
And we’re back to First Man, which stars Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong. This film zeroes in on the life of Armstrong, and the families of the astronauts. Claire Foy is excellent as Armstrong’s wife and Gosling is just right as Armstrong. As in Apollo 13, you already know the ending. The Gemini rocket does just fine and Armstrong walks on the moon (not the Arizona desert!). 
All of the films (except First Man of course) in this article are available on DVD. All are fine for 10 and up. 

                                                                ACTORS
Almost all movies have actors. But are there any good movies about actors? Well, yes!
Looking For Richard (1996) was a labor of love for director-actor Al Pacino, and we are the grateful recipients of his dedication. This wonderful film features an actor’s dissection of each scene of Shakespeare’s darkly beautiful Richard III. Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Spacey, Winona Ryder, Alec Baldwin, and many more, are on hand to provide a marvelous viewing of the play on film, which could only have been made by a consummate actor. 
Vanya On 42d Street (1994) is director Louis Malle’s original take on Chekov’s Uncle Vanya, in which the actors rehearsing that play somehow become the characters right before your eyes. Wallace Shawn, Andre Gregory and Julianne Moore (almost ten years before her Oscar in The Hours) provide a fascinating glimpse of what actors do and how it affects them- and us.
One of the best films ever made about acting and actors is the oldest in this article. In A Double Life (1947), Ronald Coleman finally becomes the character he is playing, much to the despair of his family and friends in real life. This still-convincing film shows how actors can go over the edge. Many professional actors have said that this movie is very perceptive about their craft.
The actor in The Dresser (1983) is the superb Albert Finney and the title character is his jack-of-all-trades lackey Tom Courtenay. The actor’s every whim is satisfied by the dresser, who seems to exist only to appease his master. There is a scene where the aging actor commands a rushing train to stop that is unforgettable, as 
are the performances of the two principals.
Topsy-Turvy (2000) is much, much more than a biopic of operetta composers Gilbert & Sullivan. It takes us behind the scenes as no other film has quite done and shows us the world of producers, directors, writers and actors. Jim Broadbent and Allan Corduner are very good as the writers of famous plays. But the story of, and performance of, Timothy Spall as the Mikado, is simply memorable. 
A TV movie called Who Am I This Time? (1982) was right on the money in showing how the line between an actor’s part and his real life can begin to blur in disturbing ways. A very young Christopher Walken is the chameleon-like actor and Susan Sarandon his confused friend.
All of the films in this article are available on DVD, and all are for grown-ups.

                                                        Charlie Chaplin

As instantly recognizable as the Washington Monument or Mount Rushmore, Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp is a true American icon. In this day of computerized special effects, are Mr. Chaplin’s movies still worth a look? Oh, yeah!
All of the silents are good, from the early shorts right through the beginning of sound. It’s hard to pick the top few, but here goes:
City Lights (1931) is simply one of the best movies ever made by anybody. Charlie loves a blind flower girl and will sacrifice all so that she will be able to see again. His friendship with a drunken millionaire is fun and funny. Witty, touching and gripping throughout, this 86 minute gem is a must-see for any film fan.
In The Gold Rush (1925) Charlie joins in the race for riches with his own comic touches. Perhaps his funniest film, this one features the famous dancing shoes scene and many other delightful moments. 
Modern Times (1936) is Charlie’s gentle, but quite effective, battle with the machine age. He teams with Paulette Goddard to try to maintain man’s individuality in ingenious, and always comical, ways. This was his last silent film.
Charlie is The Great Dictator (1940) Adenoid Hynkel in a hilarious spoof of you-know-who that holds up remarkably well almost 80 years later. Everyone in Hollywood tried to talk Chaplin out of making this film; fortunately he had enough clout to ignore them and do it anyway. Paulette Goddard is back as his lady friend, and Jack 
Oakie has a hilarious turn as Benzino Napoli of neighboring Bacteria.
       Chaplin joins The Circus (1928) by accident (don’t ask) and takes on any job they’ll put him to, with very funny results. He, of course, falls in love with the beautiful bareback rider.
The Kid (1921) is a very impressive six-year-old Jackie Coogan, a street kid wise beyond his years who Charlie raises for lack of alternatives. It’s funny as heck and remarkably moving. 
A funny serial killer is Monsieur Verdoux (1947), which is either years before its time or a complete waste of time, depending on your point of view. I’m somewhere in between, but to me this is not great Chaplin. 
The 1992 biopic, Chaplin, is, alas, not very good. Robert Downey, Jr. does a creditable job in the title role but the screenplay is a mess. It dwells way too long on Chaplin’s private problems, without explaining them at all, and does very little in showing or explaining his magic.
All of the films in this column are available on DVD. And all are suitable for any age.

                                          MIYAZKI’S LAST (OR FIRST) HURRAH
                                             JAPANESE ANIME
I mostly like Disney animation products, especially Pixar. But there’s a completely different kind of animation that will bedazzle the biggest Disney fan.
Many people are not familiar with the Japanese form of animation called Anime. I knew nothing about it until Spirited Away won the Oscar as best animated feature in 2002. The finest practitioner of the art is Hayao Miyazaki. He is now 77 and has said he’s retiring. He personally writes, directs and produces each of his screenplays.  Every frame of every movie is hand drawn. The lush beauty and exacting detail is simply amazing!  There just isn’t anything remotely like it.  And to top it off, these are wonderful stories. 
Just recently, Studio Ghibli released for the first time in America the first of their features, Only Yesterday (1991). Taeko, a young woman with a good job in Tokyo, decides to spend the summer on her grandmother’s farm. The main crop is saffron, and the story of how it is grown and harvested is fascinating in itself. While working on the farm Taeko has memorable flashbacks to “my fifth grade child.” The ending is a real upper, and the drawing is just marvelous.
Castle In The Sky (1986) is a magical floating island called Laputa. It is sought by our heroine Sheeta and her intrepid sidekick Payu. Unfortunately, it is also the target of vicious (but extremely dull-witted) pirates, and of the military. The spaceships and gardens and the resolution of the story are all quite wonderful.
In My Neighbor Totoro (1988) sisters Satsuki and Mei have just moved with their father (their mother is ill and in the hospital) to their new house near an enchanted forest. The film features two amazing creatures: the Cat Bus, with eight legs for wheels and glowing eyes for headlights, and Totoro, a huge nondescript forest creature who is charmingly protective of all little people.  The girls cope with their new home, their new friends and their mom’s illness amid scenes of eye-popping beauty.
The title character in Kiki’s Delivery Service (1998) is a 13-year-old witch just 
starting out. In this world witches aren’t bad. Kiki blends her budding talents (including, of course, flying!) into the perfect business- a delivery service!
A young prince sets out to discover what’s wrong in the forest, why men and nature can no longer peacefully co-exist.  On his travels, he meets and befriends Princess Mononoke (1999) a spirited girl raised by wolves. The prince slays an incredible forest beast which has fur made of live snakes. They battle the evil foundry workers, who will stop at nothing less than totally destroying nature. 
Chichiro and her parents are on their way to their new home when they encounter a strange and quiet amusement park. The parents are turned into pigs and disappear. They have been Spirited Away (2002) to a magical city. Their brave little daughter has all sorts of adventures and meets all sorts of creatures in attempting to reunite with her folks. 
As a bonus, I’ll throw in When Marnie Was There (2014), a wonderful film that may be Studio Ghibli’s last. Mr. Miyasaki was not involved in this one, but it is nonetheless absolutely fine. 
Now, all of these films have plenty of dramatic tension, but none is really scary like a slasher movie. Any child who can handle fairy tales will be fine. All other ages will enjoy them tremendously. And all are available on DVD.

                                                      BURT REYNOLDS

Burt Reynolds left us recently at 82. He was still charming and still working. He was a genuine football star at Florida State and some of his movies have a football motif. He was first famous (notorious?) for posing for a Cosmopolitan centerfold in 1972. It was quite a cause celebre at the time, and that issue of Cosmo quickly sold out. Reynolds greatly regretted doing this. But he had quite an interesting movie resume’ mostly in the 1970's.
Reynolds’ break-out part was the role of Lewis Medlock in the haunting Deliverance (1972). He and three friends, played by Ned Beatty, Jon Voight and Ronny Cox, decide to take a canoe trip through the northern Georgia wilderness. Things go horribly wrong, and the Beatty character is savagely raped by local hillbilly thugs. There is then murderous retribution, and a scary and fateful encounter with the river’s rapids. The lives of all the participants are forever changed (one fatally) and the fun outdoor adventure of the four city boys has become a nightmare.
In The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973) Reynolds plays Jay Grobart, widowed husband of Cat Dancing. He sets out to avenge her murder and has many adventures along the way. This includes saving Sarah Miles from her abusive husband and joining forces with Jack Warden and Lee J. Cobb to rob a train. Then it gets complicated.
Burt Reynolds plays Paul “Wrecking” Crewe, a disgraced and imprisoned NFL quarterback in the unlikely but enjoyable The Longest Yard (1974). The sadistic warden (is there any other kind in the movies?) gets up a football game between the prisoners and the guards. He orders Crewe to throw the game and the guards go ahead by 24 points. But hey, this is a Hollywood movie and the final score won’t really surprise you. There are several pallid remakes of this movie, some foreign, some domestic, none much good. 
Another Reynolds football film is 1977's Semi-Tough, based on Dan Jenkins’ hilarious novel and featuring Burt and Kris Kristofferson as teammates on a fictional Miami pro team. There is a love triangle between those two and Jill Clayburgh, and a lot of satirical stuff about the self-help movement. The book is more about football and far better than the film (so what else is new?).
The Smokey And The Bandit “franchise” was custom-made for Burt Reynolds, and he played the Bandit (Bo Darville) with a wink and a grin. I’m not a big fan of these films, but I guess the best one is the first one if you like that sort of thing. 
Burt Reynolds was actually nominated for an Oscar for his part in Boogie Nights (1997) a fairly rough film about the porn industry. I guess it’s good of its kind but be advised it is very graphic. 
Reynolds has a cameo as himself in Mel Brooks’ very funny Silent Movie (1976). He also has a good turn in Starting Over (1979) with Jill Clayburgh.
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. All are for adults.

                                                       WAR BONDS
When I mention “war bonds” as a type of movie, I’m not talking about the bonds the government once urged us to buy. (Okay, you’re probably too young to remember that).  War bonds movies are about the incredibly strong connections between men (and women) in uniform under fire. Most who have experienced this say there is nothing quite like that bond. 
HBO’s exquisite Band Of Brothers (2001) is an 11-part series about one platoon of men going though World War II in Europe. There is no one in the series you’ve ever heard of, which is a strength. The men come and go, but a few are left standing at the end. The last episode consists of interviews with the living veterans who went through the experiences on which the series is based. 
A superb movie about the interrelationships shared war experiences create is the little-known Big Red One (1980). Lee Marvin and Mark Hamill belong to a squadron of men who become convinced their lives are charmed and that they can make it through absolutely anything together.  With one of the best screenplays ever written on this subject, Big Red One is truly a film to cherish.
We Were Soldiers (2002) is a strong entry in this category. Mel Gibson is a Harvard-educated, urbane and intuitive Colonel. Sam Elliott is a career Sergeant, tough and profane. Both are experienced professional soldiers fighting in a war (Viet Nam) that refuses to fit into any known category. The strength of the film is the connection between the soldiers. “In the end,” we’re told, “they fought for each other.”
Black Hawk Down (2002) is about a supposedly routine American strike in Somalia gone terribly wrong. It is either a strength or weakness of the film (you pick!) that it’s often hard to tell the soldiers apart. It is a cautionary tale about often-fuzzy American intentions and often-wrong American assumptions about other places. Director Ridley Scott’s action shots are fantastic, but the movie is really about war bonds. One of the soldiers sums it up: “It’s about the man next to you. That’s all it is.”
Saving Private Ryan (1998) is Steven Spielberg’s towering war epic, one of the best movies of our time of any kind. Tom Hanks heads a stellar cast. Here the story is about a very close group of Normandy survivors whose mission is to find and rescue someone they don’t even know (Private Ryan, of course).  When you are surrounded by hell on earth, the thing you cling to (and depend on) is the other guy.
The more recent Last Survivor (2014) features Mark Wahlberg as the title character in an Afghanistan mission doomed by bad luck. The title unfortunately gives too much away, but it’s still quite a trip. 
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. All are for grown-ups.

                                                   NEIL SIMON
Neil Simon, who died recently at 91, wrote one Broadway hit play after another in the 60s and 70s. He had three hits running on the Great White Way at one time! Mr. Simon cut his writing teeth working for Sid Caesar, Gary Moore and Phil Silvers. Though his plays were considered sophisticated fluff by serious critics, the public loved them. So did Hollywood. At least a dozen Simon plays made the silver screen, with varying degrees of success. The snappy one-liners that made “Doc” Simon rich are still present and still snappy. I’ve listed some of the best.
Leading the parade is the wonderful The Odd Couple (1968) with neat-freak Jack Lemmon sharing digs with sloppy Walter Matthau. The difference is the running joke, but it somehow stays funny. It is not hard to understand why both are divorced. This work led to a long-running TV series of the same name, with Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. 
The Goodbye Girl (1977) stars Mr. Simon’s wife, Marsha Mason, as a recent divorcee forced to share an apartment with dancer Richard Dreyfus. It’s the standard Hollywood plot in which the couple starts out hating each other and gradually this turns to love (of course!), but the screenplay pushes this way above the usual.
Most of Mr. Simon’s work is autobiographical, and none more so than Biloxi Blues (1988). Matthew Broderick stars as a Jewish kid from Brooklyn washed up on the shore of darkest Mississippi for 10 weeks of grueling boot camp. Christopher Walken is on board as the drill sergeant from Hell (was this his first maniacal role?). The first two-thirds are genuinely funny. I thought the last part faded rather badly.
Barefoot In The Park (1967) doesn’t really have a plot, but doesn’t need one. It has one of the most engaging young married couples in cinematic history, Jane Fonda and Robert Redford. They are just so cute you’ll fall in love with them. Their first apartment is a fifth-floor walk-up and they have no money. But they have each other and love. Ain’t Hollywood wonderful? It’s interesting that this same cute couple shows up as wonderful senior citizens in Our Souls At Night (2015) and they’re still super.
In Max Dugan Returns (1983) a father who ignored his children until they were grown tries to make amends, which at first is creepy but then turns nice. More and more expensive presents are showered on his struggling single-mom schoolteacher daughter. Where the money came from is part of the fun. Jason Robards is the recalcitrant dad, Marsha Mason is his daughter. Also along are Donald Sutherland and Matthew Broderick. 
Some other good Neil Simon flicks include Lost In Yonkers (1973), Star Spangled Girl (1971) and The Sunshine Boys (1975).
All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are okay for 10 and up.

                                                     FUNNY WESTERNS
For lack of a better term, I’ll call this category Funny Westerns, and there is no better place to start than Cat Ballou (1965) . It seems incredible to me that 53 years have passed since Jane Fonda’s wide-eyed portrayal of the naive Cat captured the nation. Cat is a schoolmarm who not so reluctantly turns outlaw. Lee Marvin earned an Oscar in a dual role as Cat’s gunfighter-protector and his evil twin who sports a metal nose. Stubby Kaye and Nat King Cole add just the right whimsical touch as strolling minstrels. This is a funny, original movie.
For outright belly laughs, few movies of any kind can top Blazing Saddles (1974). Arguably Mel Brooks’ best film, it is the story of a small frontier town tired of being pushed around by outlaws. Cleavon Little is hired as probably the only black western sheriff in history. Little’s ingenious use of whatever materials are at hand to fend off the bad guys is hysterical. Brooks stalwarts Madeleine Kahn, Harvey Korman,  and Gene Wilder add to the mix. Not for the squeamish, but an absolute barrel of fun. Former Chicago Bear Alex Karras’ knockout punch on a horse is a scream.
City Slickers (1991) won Jack Palance a Best Supporting Actor Oscar as the tough old trail boss on a dude ranch. Billy Crystal is always funny and the screenplay is a gem. Lots of laughs and a little heart, too. Give the sequel a miss.
In Destry Rides Again (1939) James Stewart is a nonviolent sheriff in a wild frontier town and Marlene Dietrich is the dance hall girl with a heart of bronze. This film is now over 60 years old and is still fresh and funny and loads of fun.
The endlessly facile James Garner is the centerpiece of Support Your Local Sheriff (1969) as another nonviolent sheriff with more brains than brawn. But he has lots of help from Bruce Dern as an outlaw brat, Walter Brennan as the basic Old Man, and Joan Hackett as the ditzy heroine.
Some other genuinely funny westerns include Bronco Billy (1980) with Clint Eastwood as the owner of a small western circus; The Rounders (1965) with Glen Ford and Henry Fonda as two cowboys with a feisty horse; and Bob Hope’s best movie, Son of Paleface (1952).
All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are suitable for children 12 and up.

                                                 FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD
Most of us like to eat well. (A glimpse in a full-length mirror rather distressingly confirms this). Here are some excellent movies featuring glorious, mouth-watering food. Do not watch any of these on an empty stomach!
In Babette’s Feast (1987) two very religious spinsters take in a young maid (Stephane Audran). She is able to show her love, and bring tears to the eyes of the most Whopper-hardened junk food freak, by preparing a wondrous meal. A lovely, simple movie that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. The feast is to die for. 
Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci are Italian-American brothers who own a classy (and failing) restaurant. Shalhoub is the perfectionist, no-compromise chef and Tucci is the more business-like manager who wants to lighten up and attract more customers. A banquet for Louis Prima and his band is to be their Big Night (1995). The preparation of this sumptuous meal consumes (!) almost the whole film. Not without serious moments, but lots of fun. 
Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) is about a Chinese master chef whose three unmarried daughters still live at home. Everyone has difficulty expressing affection by any other means than the preparation and serving of incredible meals. Wry touches (the chef has lost his sense of taste; one of the daughters works at Wendy’s) add to the enjoyment. But the food is the real star. An underappreciated jewel.
In Tom Jones (1963) , Tony Richardson brings Henry Fielding’s wry and raunchy story of English life in the 1700's to glorious flower. It won a passel of prizes, 
 including the Oscar for Best Picture. The food scene between Albert Finney and Joyce Redman is the sexiest one ever filmed. It puts romantic dining in a whole new light.
The magical Like Water For Chocolate (1993) is about the youngest of three daughters condemned to stay home and look after Mama. Her thwarted love is expressed through cooking, and ,Lord, can she cook. Delicious movie. 
The search for the perfect noodle to save a floundering cafe is the hilarious background for the weird and wonderful Tampopo (1986). Not for all tastes; you’ll know in the first 20 minutes.
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. None are really suitable for children under 10 because they wouldn’t like them. Bon appetit!

                                                  GEORGE AXELROD
Young folks today (okay, anyone under 60) weren’t around when the Motion Picture Code forbade nudity, sex and dirty words. Now we have the ratings system and most anything goes. A few screen writers became expert at working around the Code and pushing it to its limit. Nobody was better at this than George Axelrod.
Three Axelrod screenplays were based on his own stage plays, and the best known of these is The Seven Year Itch (1955).  Though watered down quite a bit from the stage version, it features a bewildered Tom Ewell smitten with an impossibly sexy Marilyn Monroe, and is still lots of fun. This movie contains the famous MM “blown skirt” scene.
Phhht! (1954) is another Axelrod stage play become screenplay and features incredibly young Judy Holliday and Jack Lemmon as a divorced couple who discover they made a terrible mistake- not when they married but when they split!
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957) is the final George Axelrod stage play to screenplay and is probably the best. Tony Randall, Jayne Mansfield, Betsy Drake and Groucho Marx (!) join in a spirited and humorous send-up of advertising, sex and morals. This film is still really funny and dead-on lots of targets.
Mr. Axelrod was also expert at adapting the works of other writers for the silver screen. The Manchurian Candidate (1962) is still as good a thriller as was ever made, with Frank Sinatra, Lawrence Harvey and a not-so-loveable Angela Lansbury in a real nail biter. Mr. Harvey has been programmed by the North Koreans as an assassin and Mr. Sinatra tries to deprogram him before he acts. Beware the cheesy 2004 remake!
Truman Capote’s Breakfast At Tiffany’s (1961) features the elegant and effervescent Audrey Hepburn as the delightfully off-the-wall Holly Golightly, a stranger in a Manhattan paradise. The late Buddy Ebsen has a minor role and if I tell you who he plays it would spoil it for you. George Axelrod won the Oscar for his sparkling screenplay. 
William Inge’s Bus Stop (1956) has Don Murray as a lonesome cowboy absolutely besotted by saloon singer Marilyn Monroe (who really gets to act up a storm in this). He decides to marry her but sort of forgets to ask her first. 
Lord Love A Duck (1966) is an extremely dark comedy starring Roddy McDowell as, perhaps, Satan since he is able to grant all of the wishes of teenager Barbara Ann Greene (Tuesday Weld). The wishes and their granting get further and further out until the ending you won’t see coming. This movie is somewhat dated, but still a lot of fun. 
All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. All are suitable for ages 10 and up.

                                                                 ANNE BANCROFT
If she were a baseball player, you would say that Anne Bancroft could run, throw, hit, hit with power and field any position. Still gorgeous at 67, she was in over 40 movies. She was nominated for an Oscar five times, won once, and picked up two Tonys for her stage work. She died in 2005, leaving a bushel of fine performances. 
After a series of mediocre to awful films, Ms. Bancroft broke through in The Miracle Worker (1962). She is Annie Sullivan, the hard-as-nails teacher of blind and deaf Helen Keller (Patty Duke). Annie cuts poor Helen no slack; her unsentimental approach increases the impact of this wonderful film. Both Ms. Bancroft and Ms. Duke won Oscars. 
The part that has etched Ms. Bancroft on the American memory is Mrs. Robinson in Mike Nichols’ The Graduate (1967). She is absolutely perfect as the symbol of jaded maturity’s seduction of youthful innocence, as she lures the bumbling Dustin Hoffman to her bed. This film, perhaps more than any other, defined the 60's. Ms. Bancroft’s no-big-deal attitude toward her amoral lifestyle still shocks as it amuses. To young people, who were told to trust no one over 30, Mrs. Robinson was the embodiment of THE ENEMY. Oh, and by the way, at the time this film was made Ms. Bancroft was only 35 and Mr. Hoffman was 30!
A complete change of pace is 84 Charing Cross Road (1985), a very under-appreciated little gem. Anne Bancroft is an American teacher who strikes up a lively friendship, by mail, with cultivated British bookseller Anthony Hopkins. Ms. Bancroft’s savvy New Yorker is a perfect foil to Hopkins’ soft-spoken Londoner. A film for the mind and the heart.
Neil Simon’s Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) is a comedy with tears in its eyes. As the suddenly unemployed Jack Lemmon’s sympathetic but wise-cracking wife, Anne Bancroft makes the very most of a difficult part. And of course any Neil Simon effort has lots of laughs along with the sadder parts. 
The enigmatic Agnes of God (1985) is about a young nun who may or may not have murdered her own baby. This movie is certainly not for all tastes, but the performances by Meg Tilly as the young nun, Jane Fonda as a psychiatrist and Anne Bancroft as the Mother Superior are fine.
What if your troubled daughter told you she planned to end her life before morning? This is the dilemma faced by Thelma Cates (Anne Bancroft) in the haunting, nail-biting ‘night Mother (1986). Sissy Spacek is, as always, outstanding as the daughter, but to me Ms. Bancroft carries the film. 
Ms. Bancroft was married to director Mel Brooks until her death. The only film of his in which she appears is the hilarious and clever Silent Movie (1976). Making a modern comedy without any dialogue is quite a challenge, but Mr. Brooks is certainly up to it and Ms. Bancroft’s presence is a real plus. 
All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. All are suitable for children over 12.

                                                        CROSS-DRESSING
In spite of all the furor about transgender people, allow me a little political incorrectness. I just think a man dressing up like a woman is somehow innately funny. In none of these films does the man actually convince us he really looks like a woman, but that’s part of the fun- we are in on the joke and the other actors are not. 
Absolutely no one in the world would believe Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis in drag are women, but that doesn’t stop Some Like It Hot (1959) from being one of the funniest movies ever made. This is director Billy Wilder at the top of his game. Throw in a luscious Marilyn Monroe and Joe E. Brown as a millionaire smitten with the tarted-up Lemmon and it is a merry mess. 
Dustin Hoffman has stretched plenty in his distinguished career, but never further than in Tootsie (1982). Unable to land an acting job as himself, Hoffman dresses as a woman and finds jobs aplenty. He also finds himself to be a better person! A very sharp screenplay makes this a splendid film, and Hoffman is perhaps the most convincing of all the cross-dressing men in the movies. 
We do not for a moment believe that Robin Williams’ wife and children would not recognize him dressed as a woman in Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), but this being a movie, they do not. When he’s divorced and can’t live without being near his children, Williams dons female attire and hires on as the kids’ nanny. Hijinks follow. 
The very idea of the urbane Cary Grant dressed up as a woman is both ludicrous and funny, and is both in I Was A Male War Bride (1949). At the end of an extremely convoluted plot, Grant has to pass as a woman in order to get back to America. And it’s much fun getting to and beyond that point. 
The World According To Garp (1982), based on John Irving’s marvelous book features two separate men-in-drag sequences. John Lithgow was nominated for a supporting actor Oscar for his role as Roberta, “the old tight end”. And Robin Williams (playing the title role) visits a women’s rights rally in drag. This is a pretty good movie but nowhere near as good as the book (surprise!). 
I’m throwing in the Australian Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert (1994) with Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce and Terrence Stamp as unlikely drag queens because it was a huge hit and was also made into a Broadway musical. But I didn’t much like it. 
It’s interesting that the only movies I can think of where the tables are turned and women dress up like men are miles from being comedies. In Yentl (1983) Barbra Streisand dresses as a male in order to get a good education. And in Boys Don’t Cry (1999) Hillary Swank dresses as a boy to pass in the street culture she chooses. Frankly, the charm of this movie eludes me, but it was hugely popular and Ms. Swank won an Oscar. There’s also Albert Nobbs (2011) with Glenn Close very convincing as a woman pretending to be a man so she can get a good job. Not funny!
All of the movies in this article are available on  DVD. The first four are ok for all ages; the last five are for mature audiences only.

                                                            2017 SLEEPERS
                                                           Part 7

This is, I promise, the last article about good 2017 films missed by most fans. I finally found a DVD of The Insult I could watch, and decided to do just one more article on last year’s sleepers. 
The Insult is a Lebanese film that is a cautionary tale for the world in general and the Middle East in particular. It is of course in Arabic and for a long time I could only find it with Arabic subtitles. Asheboro library to the rescue, with English subtitles! This movie got an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film but lost to A Fantastic Woman (from Chile).A Lebanese man carelessly insults a Palestinian worker. Then he won’t apologize. Then things escalate. It is altogether possible this could happen. Note that it does not involve the Israelis; all the combatants are Arabic. Well, the Middle East is a real mess and this film helps to show why. 
Wakefield is very weird story starring Brian Cranston of Breaking Bad fame. What if you could observe your family without yourself being present? That’s the premise and while it gets a little hard to believe, it is engaging. The main character unwittingly discovers that from the attic of his garage he can observe his wife and family without their knowledge. He decides to stay there and is reported missing. Some of what he sees is good and some not so good. 
Last Flag Flying features Lawrence Fishburne, Brian Cranston (he’s everywhere!) and an underrated Steve Carrell. They are Vietnam vets who served together. Carrell plays Doc Shepherd, who reveals to the others that he is widowed and that he has lost his only son in an Iraq battle. He does not want the young man to be buried in Arlington, but in the hometown where his Mom has been laid to rest. They decide to go get his body and take it home.  They encounter miles of red tape but don’t give up. 
There were at last count three films about Winston Churchill last year. Darkest Hour was nominated for an Oscar and so was Dunkirk. The third is named simply 
Churchill and features Brian Cox as the Prime Minister. This is the imagined story of Sir Winston’s misgivings about the Normandy invasion and while it isn’t up to the first two films, it is interesting and well played by Cox. 
And finally, there is the intriguing biofllick, Bombshell, about actress Hedy Lamarr, . She was a great beauty and played in various movies in the 40's and 50's. She also had a mostly secret life as an inventor! She invented “frequency hopping” which I frankly don’t understand, but I can tell you that it is a device still used in cell phones and other technology. Like many Hollywood idols, Ms Lamarr did not have a happy life. She was married six times and in her last years became a recluse. And yet- who knew she was this brilliant scientist? 
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. All are for grownups. 

                                                       BEAUTY PAGEANTS
Beauty pageants are ingrained into our national fabric, whether we like it or not. There are several excellent films using beauty contests as a backdrop, most of them with tongue firmly in cheek.
Smile (1975) is a hilarious spoof of the whole idea of beauty contests, presented here as a symbol for middle class emptiness. Bruce Dern and Barbara Feldon lead a good cast in a well-written film that is almost painfully funny at times.
Holly Hunter marvelously recreates her stage role in the charming Miss Firecracker (1989). Miss Hunter convinces us she is lonely and pitiful (that’s acting!) and she sees the local beauty pageant as a way to escape her drab existence. Gentler and sweeter than Smile, but also lots of fun.
Sandra Bullock plays a tomboy klutz who is somehow an FBI agent and who goes undercover as a beauty contestant in Miss Congeniality (2000). The cast is fine, especially Michael Caine, but the screenplay gives them very little to work with.
Happy, Texas (1999) is the site of a kiddie beauty contest, run by Jeremy Northam and Steve Zahn. They are actually escaped convicts trying to keep a low profile. But they have stolen the van of the contest operators and the townspeople expect them to put on a pageant. Very funny.
Abigail Breslin is the youngest member of a seriously dysfunctional family in Little Miss Sunshine (2006). The whole group is headed for California in an ancient VW bus so she can appear in a beauty contest for tots. Alan Arkin won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and the screenplay also won. Hilarious and wildly inventive!
Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) is one of those hidden gems Mr. Movie loves to find for you. Although the story is somewhat over the top, it has its charms. For one thing, it is Amy Adams’ first movie. For another, it has a great cast with Kirsten Dunst. Allison Janney, Kirstey Alley and Ellen Barkin. The small town of Mount Rose, Minnesota, is preparing for its annnual Sarah Rose Cosmetics Mount Rose American Teen Princess Pageant (whew). Amber Atkins (Ms. Dunst) aspires to be the next Diane Sawyer and sees the pageant as a good springboard. Strange things , including death, start happening to contestants and their backers. One contestant is killed when her cut-rate parade float blows up. 
Actually, the best movie about beauty pageants isn’t about people at all, it’s about dogs. Best In Show (2000) is a laugh-out-loud send-up of big dog shows.  Fred Willard is just incredibly funny as a dim sportscaster who knows absolutely nothing about dogs but does not let that stop him from incessantly blabbing stupid comments.


     All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. All are suitable for children 10 and over.

                                                        ANNETTE BENING
Annette Bening turned 70 this year. And like a fine wine, she just keeps getting better.
She is currently appearing in the nice adaptation of Chekov’s The Seagull (2018) in the key role of Irina. Irina is an aging actress whose best days are over, but she gamely hangs on to her ebbing career. The movie, and play, take place at a summer cottage in Russia, owned by Irina’s brother. In this absorbing story, everyone wants something he or she can’t have. Brian Dennehy, Saoirse Ronan and Elizabeth Moss are additional parts of a fine cast. Since it is based on a stage play, it is a little talky, but director Michael Mayer has opened it up nicely. Bening’s performance alone is worth the price of admission.
In the strangely but aptly named Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool (2017) Annette Bening gets to go full out in a semi biography of Oscar winner Gloria Grahame’s last days with a much younger man. 
Annette Bening owns Being Julia (2004) lock, stock and barrel, but that’s ok because she is absolutely super as an aging actress who still knows a trick or two. She seems always “on stage” to her college-aged son and her producer-husband (Jeremy Irons). She is roughly pushed aside by a director and young ingenue. Then she pushes back! What fun!
American Beauty (1999) won the Best Picture Oscar and Kevin Spacey also won for Best Actor.  Annette Bening was nominated but lost to Angelina Jolie (for Girl, Interrupted). Ms. Bening’s portrayal of the wife and mother whose values have crumbled over time is stunning. I will not soon forget her interrupting a moment of tenderness with her husband to shriek, “That’s a $4,000 couch!” She is a microcosm of what it is too easy for us to become in this society.
Ms. Bening was also nominated for an Oscar for The Grifters (1990), losing out to Whoopi Goldberg for Ghost. In The Grifters she and Anjelica Huston are hustlers without a speck of morals who vie for John Cusak’s soul. None of these people have a shred of decency about them and will stop at nothing to get what they want. The movie has nice u-turns that fit the plot perfectly but keep us guessing.
A complete change of pace for Annette Bening is The American President (1995). She is a lovely lobbyist courted by storybook president Michael Douglas. He is a widower, she is unattached, this is pure Hollywood hokum (and enjoyment). The idea of a president of the United States getting back into dating is a funny concept and director Rob Reiner makes the most of it.
The unjustly ignored Richard III (1995) certainly belongs to Ian McKellen in the  
title role. But Annette Bening is captivating as Queen Elizabeth, whose husband and
sons are murdered by Richard’s agents of evil. Daringly updated to the 1930's, and abounding in Nazi thugs,  this is a splendid version of a very dark but captivating Shakespeare play. 
Ms. Bening played opposite her husband Warren Beatty in Bugsy (1991). She is the love interest of the gangster with the foresight to realize Las Vegas can be a goldmine for the Mob and especially for him. The couple emit plenty of sparks.
All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. None are suitable for children under 14. 

                                                        ROBERT ALTMAN
Robert Altman died at 81, about six months after they finally gave him an Oscar (honorary, at that) after five fruitless Best Director nominations. 
Like most great artists, Altman always went his own way, taking risks and being willing to fail.  But when he scored he left deep marks on cinematic history.
M*A*S*H (1970) is uproariously funny, and is much darker than the TV sitcom it fathered. Elliott Gould, Sally Kellerman, Donald Sutherland, Tom Skerritt and Robert Duvall lead a fine cast composing a medical unit in Korea. The episodic screenplay by Ring Lardner, Jr., won the Oscar. In this landmark film, Altman pushed way beyond the edge of the envelope and changed comedy forever. 
Altman’s brilliant snapshot of America in Nashville (1975) is unlike anything before or since. It’s a crazy quilt of seemingly unrelated incidents, with a great ensemble cast (Keith Carradine, Henry Gibson, Karen Black, Geraldine Chaplin, Lily Tomlin), which somehow coalesce into a picture of how we were and how we are. A combination political rally and country music show is the backdrop.
Actors pushed and shoved for the chance to be in an Altman film, regardless of their usual asking prices. Another fine cast (Carol Burnett, Paul Dooley, Mia Farrow, Lillian Gish)  carries A Wedding (1978) well past the usual Hollywood treatment of the rite of marriage. Altman comes at weddings and families from new and untried angles and winds up with a film unlike any other on this familiar subject.
Hollywood itself is the subject, or target, of The Player (1992). Hollywood ethics, an oxymoron if there ever was one, are poked and pushed unmercifully in this very hard-edged comedy. Tim Robbins is the ultimate, and literal, back-stabber whose sole aim is his own advancement. There are dozens of cameos of well-known stars, which adds to the enjoyment. 
Brewster McCloud (1970) is about a boy who lives in a bomb shelter under the Astrodome, and whose goal in life is to fly under the dome. There are a series of unsolved murders in the Houston area, and the evidence points toward the wannabe flyer. As the cops close in, the boy finally realizes his dream to fly. Bud Cort plays the boy, and is ably backed by Sally Kellerman and Shelly Duvall.
The Gingerbread Man (1997) with Kenneth Branagh, is a fairly standard good-lawyer-in-a-jam movie, and Cookie’s Fortune (1999) is a very accessible black comedy about the importance of propriety in a Southern family.
Some other Altman films worth a look include McCabe And Mrs. Miller (1971) with Warren Beatty and Julie Christie in the most unconventional of Westerns, Gosford Park (2001), Altman’s original take on a British manor whodunit, and Prairie Home Companion (2006) a fine tribute to the long-running NPR Garrison Keilor show. 
All of the films in this column are available on  DVD. None are suitable for children under 12.

                                                              ALCATRAZ
Today it is only a tourist attraction. But Alcatraz is still probably the most famous prison in the world. It is located on an island some one and a half cold, swirling miles from San Francisco. There was only one “successful” escape in its history. The escapees were never seen again and are presumed drowned. Hollywood used Alcatraz’s appeal to crank out lots of movies about it, including some really good ones.
Escape From Alcatraz (1979) features Clint Eastwood as the ring leader of the only escape ever made from the legendary San Francisco prison. The taciturn Eastwood is perfect for this role, and the planning and execution of the incredibly difficult escape make quite a good story. 
The intriguing Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) features Burt Lancaster in a signature role as a lifer who puts his time to good use by learning enough about birds from reading and observation to become a world-renown expert in the field. Director John Frankenheimer’s ability to hold our interest in a film with basically one set and one character is remarkable.
In Point Blank (1967) Alcatraz is the setting for Lee Marvin being left for dead by his faithless wife and her mobster boyfriend. The movie is really about his revenge and is a real thriller.
Kevin Bacon is a 19-year-old kid who stole five dollars to feed his sister and winds up among the killers, rapists and bombers on Alcatraz in the riveting Murder In The First (1995). He is charged with murdering another inmate, and his ordeal puts the entire U.S. prison system on trial. Christian Slater is excellent as his lawyer. Assorted bad guys include Gary Oldman, Brad Dourif and R. Lee Ermey.
The Rock (1996) has a strong cast including Sean Connery, Nicholas Cage and Ed Harris. The screenplay is a bit of a stretch, though. A crazy general seizes Alcatraz and threatens to blow up San Francisco. Cage is a biologist, Connery a career criminal, and these two lead a foray onto the island to save the day. Will they? Hey, this is Hollywood!
If you’re really interested in the fabled island prison, there is also Alcatraz Prison Escape (2015) featuring a supposed (and really shaky) deathbed story of what really happened to the cons that swam away. The B-list includes Alcatraz Island (1937). Oh, and there’s even a fairly cheesy 2012 TV series named Alcatraz. All of the films in the article are available on DVD, though the last two are pretty hard to find. Everything herein is for 12 and up.

                                                        DIFFERENT ANIMALS
There are hundreds of movies about dogs and horses and even cats. Let’s take a look at some of the best movies about not-so-familiar animals.
I’ll start with last year’s Jane, a fascinating documentary about Jane Goodall. A secretary with no education in zoology (and hence no preconceptions) is selected to photograph and study the wild chimpanzees of Gombe,Tanzania. She exceeds everyone’s expectations, including her own, as she gains more and more of the trust of the animals until she is accepted by them and virtually lives among them. This film, shot mostly in the 80's,  was believed lost and was only rediscovered and made available in 2014.
      A somewhat similar film, though not a documentary, is Gorillas In The Mist (1988). It features Sigourney Weaver as zoologist Dianne Fossey, whose study of mountain gorillas in the Congo and Rwanda probably saved the species from extinction. Bryan Brown plays her photographer and lover. Her discoveries about the gorillas dispelled many erroneous assumptions that had been made. But she really rubbed poachers and several government officials the wrong way, and was murdered under mysterious circumstances by persons unknown. 
There are dozens of bear movies, and most of them are frankly pretty bad. Depending on your tolerance for craziness, Grizzly Man (2005) is a wonder. It is the story of Timothy Treadwell, who studied and lived with grizzly bears in the Alaskan wilderness. He and his girlfriend were killed and eaten by grizzlies, which to me seemed inevitable. The film he shot before his death was discovered later and made into this interesting documentary. No blood and gore in the film.
The Wild Parrots Of Telegraph Hill (2003) is the incredibly true story of a flock of cherry-headed parrots who presumably escaped (or were released) as pets, and live and thrive in the trees on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco. Mark Bittner is an unemployed musician who lives in a cabin atop the hill. He feeds and interacts with the parrots. While they look virtually identical to us, he can tell them apart. He has named them all and can tell each’s characteristics in this fascinating film. 
Another utterly entrancing bird documentary, March Of The Penguins (2005), details the life of Anarctica’s Emperor Penguins. Every year those of breeding age leave the ocean and walk (waddle?) many miles to their ancestral breeding grounds. After chicks are born, the parents take turns caring for the baby and going for food. How the French cinematrogaphers got these scenes, and survived, is interesting in itself. 
Big Miracle (2012) is a fictionalized version of the freeing of grey whales trapped under the ice near Point Barrow, Alaska. Drew Barrymore and John Kracinski are oceanographers who hatch a seemingly loony plan to get the trapped whales back to open water before the ice permanently freezes over. They gradually win over the natives who wind up helping the effort. Did it work? Well, if they had failed this wouldn’t be much of a movie, now would it? 
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. The last three are fine for all ages. The first three are for grown-ups.

                                                                2017 SLEEPERS
                                                               Part 6

Are you up for a sixth helping of 2017 sleepers? Well, here they are anyway. There’s some gold in these hills!
I will admit to being absolutely smitten with Charles Dickens. The Man Who Invented Christmas is a fictionalized account of how he came to write A Christmas Carol. Almost everyone is at least familiar with the basic outline of the story. Each set-piece in the film shows how it could have happened that he wrote this scene. Little-known Dan Stevens is Dickens. Miserly, miserable Ebenezer Scrooge is brilliantly portrayed by the unmatchable Christopher Plummer. 
Victoria And Abdul is about the unlikely but true story of how the queen became fast friends with an Indian servant. Surrounded by sycophants and ungrateful children (9 of them, waiting for her to die), the queen is really lonely. Enter a handsome Indian sent to England to present the monarch with a commemorative coin. Soon they are fast friends and he is teaching her Urdu and Hindi as well as cultural matters. Her court is outraged. Too bad, she’s still the queen! This movie is worth watching for Judi Dench’s performance alone, but it’s an interesting story of an interlude no one would have predicted.
A physician at a not-for-profit clinic in Belgium is ready to go home after a long, hard day when the buzzer from the street goes off. She considers, looks through the peephole and sees a young woman outside. Then she decides against opening the door and goes home. The next day she matches up the picture on the intercom with that of a murdered girl in the newspaper. Stricken with guilt, she wants to find out the identity of the girl and what happened to her. And that is the plot line of the very intriguing The Unknown Girl. The story takes twists and turns and keeps your interest to the end. The doctor is played by Adele Haenel, well-known in France but not here. 
He was known for playing hangdog losers in a host of movie but Harry Dean Stanton’s crowning effort is displayed in last year’s Lucky. The movie begins with a long shot of Lucky’s surroundings- desert sand and cactus, and a tortoise named President Roosevelt. Lucky hits the bars and diners downtown and just sits and talks a lot. His face looks carved from stone through which lots of water has run,  and he moves about like the tortoise. It is a bravura performance, admittedly not to all tastes. But it is one of stellar acting performances of the past few years. 
I’ll end this with another outstanding performance, this one by an actor who started his movie life as a pretty-boy star. Richard Gere was born to play Norman. I don’t think anyone else could pull this off. He is a hustler, down on his luck, looking for the main chance. He is whoever he needs to be at any particular moment. He’s not exactly likeable, but he is complicated and somehow we relate to him. 
All of the films in this article are available on DVD. The first two are fine for all audiences. The rest are for adults. 

                                                 MICHAEL ANDERSON

Does the name Michael Anderson ring a bell? Well, it didn’t to me either, but then I looked him up and found a distinguished directing career including an Oscar nomination. 
London born, Anderson later moved to Canada in the 1970's and lived there until he died recently at the age of 98. His early work was as an assistant director to Peter Ustinov, David Lean and Noel Coward.
He had made a few feature films, but really hit the big time with the outstanding British war drama The Dam Busters (1955). Based on true wartime events, the film brilliantly portrays the RAF’s destruction of several key Axis dams. The method used is both original and effective. The film started Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave, and was the most popular film in England in 1955.
Following that success, Anderson directed the first film version of George Orwell’s 1984 (1956). Many later versions garnered more attention, and Anderson’s was not well-received at the time of its release. But with Edmund O’Brien (as the famous Winston Smith), Jan Sterling and Michael Redgrave it is quite good. A decent argument could be made that this black-and-white film is the best of the litter about the iconic sci-fi novel.
Because of his earlier successes and his signature visual style, producer Mike Todd hired Michael Anderson to direct the huge hit Around The World In 80 Days (1956). The film won five Oscars, including Best Movie. It was nominated for three more, including Best Director. But Anderson lost the award to George Stevens for Giant. It is adapted from Jules Verne’s classic of the same name, and it starred Cantinflas (who?) and David Niven. The story involves a hot air balloon trip and is visually stunning for that time. 
Operation Crossbow (1965) is at least a partly true story. The complicated plot involves the German effort to invent and manufacture the V-2 rocket, and the British attempt to stop them. There are lots of big names scattered through the film, including Sophia Loren, John Mills, Tom Courtenay and George Peppard. Michael Anderson successfully handles the large cast and elaborate plot. 
An even better Anderson effort is The Quiller Memorandum (1966). George Segal plays an American agent sent to Berlin to find and infiltrate a neo-Nazi organization. The film also stars Alec Guiness, Max Von Sydow and Senta Berger. The somewhat complicated screenplay was penned by playwright Harold Pinter and it is a good one. 
Michael York and Jenny Agutter are the featured actors in Logan’s Run (1976), which is Michael Anderson’s last good feature film. It takes place in 2774 in a world where everyone is eliminated on reaching the age of 30, because of the scarcity of sustaining materials. The main characters had been among those assigned termination duty, but decide to kick the traces and run away together. This film developed a cult following that is still around today.
Other Michael Anderson directorial efforts worth a look are Pope Joan (1972) and Conduct Unbecoming (1975). 
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD, and all are just fine for 10 and up.

                                                        2017 SLEEPERS
                                                        Part 5

Logan Lucky has a fine ensemble cast and local color since it involves a heist from the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Channing Tatum and Adam Driver are the planners and operators of the very complicated robbery. It involves the use of the speedway’s vacuum tube system to channel receipts from the right place to the wrong one. There are lots of personal stories involved also, but the daring robbery is the main event. I know it is unlikely (okay, impossible) but just go with it and you’ll have fun. 
Most of us around these parts don’t know very much about the talented and incredibly brave forest fire fighters in the western US. Only The Brave is based on a true story and a fascinating object lesson about these people. Josh Brolin plays Eric Marsh, head of the Prescott Fire and Rescue team. When the film starts, they are rated as a 2 squad, which means they are secondary to 1 squads, which are called Hotshots. They of course want to be Hotshots, and when their leader correctly calls a fire direction missed by a California Hotshot crew, they are on their way. They successfully fight several fires and their methods and efforts are very entertaining. 
Professor Marston And The Wonder Women is the true (more or less) story of the life of Professor William Marston. This guy was all over the place breaking through convention. He invented a very workable lie detector. While conducting research with his wife and a young student, the three fall in love and decide to become a threesome. This is in the 1920's! He has children by both women and they live happily in a New York suburb, most people none the wiser as to what’s going on. Marston then invents the character of Wonder Woman (yep, that one) and though he has trouble selling the idea, it eventually catches on.
Molly’s Game is Jessica Chastain’s show wire to wire. It is based on Ms. Bloom’s autobiography. As the film begins, she is a world-class moguls skier, pushed unmercifully by her overbearing father. At the 2002 Olympic try-outs she suffers a career-ending injury. She moves to LA and as a cocktail waitress finds out about and serves at her boss’ high-stakes poker games. The players like her. She decides to stop being the middle man of the operation and starts her own game, which is highly successful. Things crash badly when she is arrested by the FBI. She is offered a plea deal in which she can name her players and walk. She refuses to do so and goes to trial.
Beatriz At Dinner gives diminutive Salma Hayek a chance to shine. She plays a massage therapist with her own business. When her car breaks down after a session with super rich Kathy, she is invited to stay for dinner. The other guests include Doug Strutt (aptly named and played to the hilt by John Lithgow). When Beatriz enters the room, Doug assumes she is a servant and acts accordingly. Even when he discovers otherwise, he continues to be the quintessential bigot. My daughter and I both loved everything about this film except the ending. What do you think? 
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. All are for adults. 

                                                          MILOS FORMAN

     There has been quite a flood of great directors coming to America from other places. Ang Lee is from Taiwan, David Lean and Alfred Hitchcock were from the UK,  Billy Wilder was from Austria, Frank Capra was from Sicily, Elia Kazan was from Turkey. High on any such list would be the name of Milos Forman, who hailed from Czechoslovakia.
Forman died recently at the good old age of 86, and his film resume is splendid.
The Loves Of A Blonde (1965) was his first effort, shot in his home country. It is the story of a young woman working in a shoe factory and dreaming of a great romance. Forman used a real shoe factory and amateur actors to achieve a gritty realism that impressed film fans and critics. 
The Fireman’s Ball (1967) was also made in a small Czech town, using amateur actors (mostly firemen) to great effect. The plot, such as it is, involves a small town fire department planning a ball and a beauty contest to follow. The hijinks involved in the selection of candidates and in things that happen to call the firemen away are quite funny.
Both of the two films above are part of the Czech New Wave, quite a thing at the time. But then the Russians ended the growing liberalization of the Czechs by military invasion in 1968. Milos Forman fled the tanks and jackboots and came to America. His exile lasted until his recent death, but he found a welcoming film community and made great movies. 
In his first at bat in the US, he hit it out of the park with the wonderful One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975). He won the Oscar for Best Director, and the film won four more Oscars: Best Picture, Best Actor (Jack Nicholson), Best Actress (Louise Fletcher) and Best Screenplay. The film is taken from Ken Kesey’s marvelous book about the inmates of a mental institution rebelling against the tyrannical Nurse Ratched (Ms. Fletcher). This is a very great movie!
Milos Forman’s next effort I would call a noble failure. He tried to bring the Hippy-Dippy musical Hair (1979) to the silver screen. A good effort, but just not a real good movie. 
But then Forman scored again with his adaptation of E.L.Doctorow’s Ragtime (1981). Forman famously talked the legendary James Cagney to come out of retirement to play the fire chief. The film’s several story lines include immigrants, civil rights, the beginning of the movie industry, and women’s place. It went on to become a huge Broadway musical hit with a fabulous score.
In 1984, Milos Forman brought Peter Schaeffer’s hit play Amadeus to the silver screen, and it won a boatload of Oscars. Forman got another for Best Director, F. Murray Abraham won for Best Actor as Mozart’s insanely jealous nemesis Antonio Salieri. This fictionalized account of the boy genius’ career is loads of fun. The actor who played Mozart, Tom Hulce, was alas destined to be one of those “whatever happened to” people. 
Forman got another Oscar nomination for The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) but lost to Anthony Minghella for The English Patient.
All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are for adults.

                                             2017 SLEEPERS
                                              Part 4

Herewith a fourth helping of 2017 movies most people (including critics) missed. I bet you can find a couple you would like.
Crown Heights is one of the best innocent-man-sent-to-prison films I’ve ever seen. It is based on a true, and unbelievable, story. There is no one in it you’ve ever heard of, but that’s to the good. Colin Warner was no Boy Scout. He had a long rap sheet and was up to no good the night Mario Hamilton was shot and killed. But he had nothing to do with the murder although an eye witness says that he did. His best friend loses his job and his family to gather proof of Colin’s innocence. It takes a while. Like 21 years. Spellbinding film!
When the Nazis came to power in Germany in the 30's, the titular leader of the country, Kaiser Wilhelm II, fled to Holland. The Exception is the (probably) fictional story of his exile. There he waits, hoping to be asked to resume the throne. Christopher Plummer is, as always, quite good in this part. There is a complicated subplot involving a Dutch spy (played by Lilly James) and a German soldier (played by Jai Courtney). And there is a surprise ending well worth watching for. 
The Hero features Sam Elliott, he of the golden bass voice, as an aging Western star living out his days smoking dope and reminiscing about his glory days. When he is diagonosed with a terminal condition, he changes focus, hoping for one final great role before it’s too late. He also attempts to reconnect with his estranged daughter (played by Kristin Ritter). An on and off romance with a stand-up comic (played by Laura Prepon) is by turns funny and endearing. 
All The Money In The World is based on the true story of the kidnaping of J. Paul Getty’s grandson by Italian thugs. It’s interesting to note that Kevin Spacey was to play Getty before Spacey’s fall from grace, and the movie had practically wrapped. But the clever director, Ridley Scott, reshot all of Spacey’s scenes with the iconic Christopher Plummer. It is a seamless job and I defy you to notice the switch! You may recall that the kidnapers mailed Getty one of the grandson’s ears (a nice touch). The kidnaping victim’s mother, played by Michelle Williams, spends much of the film trying to talk the old man into ransoming her son. No more about the plot here!
As a practicing Christian, I have to admit that most movies made with a religious motif are not very good. A notable exception is last year’s All Saints. There are no big names in the cast, but it is uniformly good.  Michael Spurlock, ably portrayed by John Corbett, leaves his sales job to become a pastor.  Unfortunately, the Episcopal power sends him to a small, failing rural church with instructions to shut it down and sell it. When the church begins to welcome Burmese refugees, the pastor decides to try something different. Heartwarming without being smarmy, this is a real upper of a film. All of the films in this article are available on DVD. Only the last one is okay for kids.