GOOD LITTLE KNOWN MOVIES

                                                         Part 4

I guess we always realized there was a person inside that costume. I Am Big Bird (2015)  is the true story of Caroll Spinney, who invented and played the giant creature for more than 40 years. This fascinating documentary shows in detail how the magic was done and managed to captivate the hearts of children of all ages. Big Bird was the kind, slightly off-center friend we all wanted.  Goofy and yellow, yes, but kindness personified. By the way, Mr. Spinney also voiced the hilarious Oscar The Grouch!

   Being Elmo (2012 ) One of the most popular Muppets, a late-comer to Sesame Street, was the red and fuzzy Elmo. (Remember tickle-me Elmo?) Being Elmo is a film about the invention and staging of this puppet. Though made in 2011, this movie wasn’t released until 2012. Kevin Clash, who moved and voiced Elmo,  rose from an humble beginning in Baltimore to become the biggest star in Jim Henson’s huge stable of life-size puppets.

  Two Days, One Night is one of those films with a fairly unpromising story line that turns out to be really good. Marion Cotillard misses a considerable time from her job in a solar panel factory because of illness. While she is gone, the other workers discover they can cover her duties by each working a little longer. The boss offers each of them a substantial bonus if they will continue to do the extra work and render Marion’s job superfluous. She begs the boss to let her stay. He tells her she has through the week-end to convince the others to forego the bonus and let her come back. She must visit each one and convince them to help her. To find out how it comes out, you’ll have to watch it. 

The Wrecking Crew is one of the most fascinating documentaries I have ever seen. It is about a group of musicians who play back-up for some of the most famous acts. Almost no one has ever heard of them- except the singers they play behind. In the music business, they are legendary. They have backed up The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, the Mamas and the Papas, Frank Sinatra, Sonny & Cher, and others. They are absolutely the go-to, call them first, back-up group

    And finally, I just must mention Amour (2012). Having won Oscar as Best Foreign Film, it is hardly a sleeper. But it is a wonder, featuring French icons Jean Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva as an artistic elderly couple and Isabelle Huppert as their pushy daughter. It is not easy to watch and the plot is too complicated to spin out here. But this is a masterpiece.

The first two are fine for all ages. The rest are for grown-ups. For sure, they are all available on DVD. 

                                                     ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

Recent political shenanigans in California defy satire, or even description. Is it possible they would actually  elect a slightly off-kilter radio talker? Of course it’s possible-hey, this is California. And yet  embattled Governor Newsome survived with a healthy margin. But there were many nervous moments before the votes were in. After all, they already elected a B movie actor as governor (actually twice!)  Well, what about the last guy to ride in on the wave of a recall?  Has Arnold Schwarzenegger made any good movies? Well, maybe...

Terminator 3 (2003) is available for home viewing  and is probably the end of a very successful franchise. In the first Terminator (1984) Arnold is an indestructible bad guy sent from the future to find and kill an innocent woman who will one day have a child who will save the world. The special effects are dazzling; Arnold is wooden. Terminator 2 (1991) is even better. Now Arnold is a good guy sent to save the kid who will one day lead a revolution against the machines. His nemesis is a blank-faced Edward Furlong, who can assume absolutely any form at all. Wonderful special effects. And in the third installment Arnold is again sent back to save the kid and this time his enemy is a woman who can assume any shape and is apparently indestructible. Arnold’s stiff delivery and failure to catch on to American slang add to the fun.  

In True Lies (1994) wife Jamie Lee Curtis thinks her husband is a wussy bureaucrat, when actually Arnold is a CIA killing machine. He is much more effective as the latter. This film has some serious story problems in the middle, but the slam-bang ending is worth the wait. There are some wonderful stunts.

In The Sixth Day (2000) bad guy Tony Goldwyn wants helicopter pilot Arnold rubbed out, so clones a copy of him to do the job. Then it’s Arnold vs. Arnold, which is better than it sounds because this one has a funny screenplay that covers over the potholes in the plot.

The Long Goodbye (1973) is Robert Altman’s tongue-in-cheek send up of film noir detective flicks, with Elliott Gould as a seedy Phillip Marlowe. This is one of Arnold’s first films, and he has a bit part as (what else?) a muscleman. Blink and you’ll miss him, though he is rather large.

Arnold and diminutive Danny DeVito are unlikely Twins (1988) who discover each other when they’re 35. This is arguably Arnold’s best effort, as he and Mr. DeVito are hilarious and play very well off each other. At first it might seem like a one-joke movie, but Twins has a sterling script and is genuinely entertaining throughout.

All of the films in this column are available on  DVD. All are ok for 10 and over.

                                                           THE HOME FRONT

Everyone in a country at war is impacted. Life goes on at home, but is drastically changed. Hollywood has done quite well with movies about the home front.

The latest entry in this genre is quite a good one. Thank You For Your Service (2017) takes on the story of three young men damaged in different ways by their service in the Middle East. Miles Teller, Scott Haze and Beulah Koale are back in the U.S. after a frightful tour. The clueless folks back home and the silent suffering of the soldiers is memorable. And the shoddy treatment by the VA is even worse. It is, as they say, based on a true story. 

A fairly recent film with a different slant is The American Sniper (2014) with Bradley Cooper as the title character who just can’t let the war go until a traumatic event after his fourth tour sends him home for good. He seems to be gradually adjusting to home life. This film is also based on a true story. 

The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946) grabbed eight Oscars, including Best Picture. It features the often difficult time when the boys come home and the war is over. Best Years is nearly 50 years old, but retains its power and relevance.

Since You Went Away (1943) is not nearly so famous, but is almost as good. It is concerned more with the home folks while the war is still raging, and their desperate attempts to hang on to routine and to hope. Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, Monty Wooley, Joseph Cotten and Shirley Temple lead a fine cast.

Sunday Dinner For A Soldier (1944) is much less ambitious. It is the simple story of a family, whose father is away at the war, entertaining a soldier they do not know for a Sunday dinner. Anne Baxter as the hostess and John Hodiak as the soldier are quite winning in this very good “little” film.

The scene shifts to England for the wonderful Mrs. Miniver (1942). Greer Garson (Oscar, Best Actress) is just right as the title character, trying to hold her world together as bombs land at home and her husband is at the front. This film built lots of American support for our British allies. Another fine film about the British home front is the under-rated Hope And Glory (1987).

There were several fine films about the American home front during the Viet Nam war. First and foremost is The Deer Hunter (1978). This memorable movie garnered five Oscars, including Best Film. It follows some Pennsylvania steel workers before, during and after the war, with great effect. Christopher Walken with a pistol at his head, and our boys in tiger cages, are images burned into our memories

Other good films covering the Viet Nam era include In Country (1989) with Bruce Willis as a shell-shocked vet, and Coming Home (1978) with Bruce Dern, Jane Fonda and Jon Voight as people damaged in different ways by the war. 

All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. The WWII films are fine for eight and up; the others are for adults only.

                                                                      POWs

By any measure, they are one of the dreariest (and scariest) places on earth, and yet, prisoner of war camps have been the subject of many good movies. 

Let’s start with the outstanding Stalag 17 (1953). Billy Wilder directed fellow director Otto Preminger (really good as the Nazi commandant), William Holden, and an excellent ensemble cast. The film blends comedy and drama nicely, and makes the boredom of the prisoners’ everyday lives very watchable. Mr. Holden is suspected of collaborating with the Germans. Find out for yourself!

Mr. Holden also appears in Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), which won a half-dozen Oscars including Best Picture.  Alec Guiness, as the ranking Allied Officer, won for Best Actor. He becomes enamored with the task of building a bridge for the Japanese, one that Mr.Holden et al want to blow up. This is one of the most suspensful movies ever made!

Steve McQueen, in a role that made him a star, heads a stellar cast in The Great Escape (1963), including  Richard Attenborough, James Garner, Charles Bronson, and James Coburn. The title says it all. Mr. McQueen’s motorcycle ride is as thrilling as the prisoners’ escape attempt. This film is tremendously exciting!

King Rat (1965) features George Segal, Tom Courtenay, John Mills and James Fox in James Clavell’s story of the effect of being a POW on the inmates. More cerebral and less cliched than most of the genre, this one still has plenty of excitement. 

POWs are not a big part of The Deer Hunter (1978), yet the infamous tiger cages are not easily forgotten. This one took Best Movie and a host of other Oscars.It is the compelling story of young Pennsylvania steelworkers before, during and after their stint in Viet Nam. Robert DeNiro and Meryl Streep head a fine cast. The image of Christopher Walken playing Russian Roulette for money sticks with you. 

Frank Sinatra is an Allied Colonel leading an escape from a Nazi prison camp in Von Ryan’s Express (1965). It’s not giving too much away to tell you the plot involves hijacking a German train. The scene with Mr. Sinatra racing to catch up to the end of the train is splendid. 

More recently there is The Mauritanian (2021) with Jodie Foster as good as she has ever been as a lawyer determined to get justice for an innocent man held in the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison camp. This one is on us, folks. She finally gets him released after 14 years in detention, never having been charged. She is aided by Army attorney Stuart Couch (from Asheboro!) ably portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch. 

And finally, there is Unbroken (2014) with a virtually unknown cast in a true story of a horrible Japanese prison camp and the redemption of an inmate.

All of the films in this column are available on DVD. All are ok for ages10 and up.