Mr. Movie’s Best of 2018
Here’s the article you’ve all been waiting for (okay, maybe one or two of you). I thought 2018 was a mediocre movie year. Mr. Movie logged 74 films released in 2018 and rated two 10s and two 9s. The top 30 are listed below. There are 27 films rated 7 (out of 10) not included, but I will send upon request. I disagreed with most of the Oscars except Best Movie, which nobody else liked as much as I did. Films rated 8 and up are listed in order below. Comments, even from those who dare to disagree, are welcome!
1-Won’t You Be My Neighbor? 10
2- Far From The Tree 10
3- Searching 9
4- Green Book 9
5- Christopher Robin 8
6- Can You Ever Forgive Me? 8
7- RBG 8
8- On The Basis Of Sex 8
9- The Wife 8
10- Vice 8
11- The Old Man and the Gun 8
12- First Man 8
13- Don’t Worry He Won’t Get Far On Foot 8
14- A Star Is Born 8
15- Shoplifters Jap 8
16- Blackklansman 8
17- Ben Is Back 8
18- The Rider 8
19- On Chesil Beach 8
20- The 12th Man 8
21- Eighth Grade 8
22- Equalizer 2 8
23- Farenheit 9/11 8
24- Love, Simon 8
25- Mission Impossible: Fallout 8
26- The Favourite 8
27- The King 8
28- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society 8
29- The Hate U Give 8
30- What They Had 8
ALBERT FINNEY
Part One
It’s hard to know where to start in detailing the career of the late Albert Finney, who left us recently at 82. He was one of those Brits who could do American accents perfectly. He was nominated for Oscar five times and never won. Not even one of those Lifetime Achievement award deals. Perhaps the fact he never went to the Oscars and publicly disdained awards had something to do with it.
He first appeared on moviegoer radars as Arthur in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960). In the 60's the British were churning out darkish dramas they named Kitchen Sink Movies and this was one of the best ones. This one, like most, dealt with a working man trying to make it under trying circumstances. It was, again like most, in black and white and uniformly grim.
But for something completely different, Mr. Finney lit up the screen as Tom Jones (1963), the raunchy Henry Fielding hero who tries to overcome his humble birth. The film has unusual features. It starts as a silent with no talking, then has the actors break the “fourth wall” and speak directly to the audience. It also contains probably the sexiest eating scene ever portrayed on the screen. It won four Oscars, including Best Movie. Mr. Finney was nominated, but struck out.
Another big change of pace for Finney came seven years later when he played the title character in Scrooge. There are lots of versions of A Christmas Carol and this is frankly not one of the best. But Finney is splendid as the miserly Ebenezer.
Another losing Oscar nomination came Albert Finney’s way in the 1974 version of Agatha Christie’s Murder On The Orient Express. Finney appears as Belgian detective Hercule Poirot surrounded by a stellar cast including Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman and John Gielgud. The detective must sort out a murderer among dozens of suspects on a snowbound train. The 2017 version of this film is just as good, by the way.
Though not up to the standard of the Broadway play, the movie version of Annie (1982) is pretty good. Albert Finney plays Daddy Warbucks and he can actually sing a little. Quite honestly Carol Burnett virtually steals this movie as the much put-upon head of the orphan school, Ms. Hannigan. Unfortunately, Aileen Quinn just isn’t very good in the title role- where was Andrea McCardle when they needed her?
All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are fine for 12 and up. More Albert Finney highlights next time.
THE REAL SOUTH?
Not all of us Southerners are redneck gun-toting bigots with green teeth and red eyes. Not all of us are inbred cretins in love with our sisters. And yet it seems to me that too often that is the treatment we get on the silver screen. So, are there any movies that try to show us as we really are? A few.
The Member of the Wedding (1952) is an absolutely wonderful film that shows us at our best. Julie Harris just glows as the awkward Frankie, trying to come to grips with her brother’s impending marriage. Brandon De Wilde, as the pesky little boy next door, and Ethel Waters, as the black mother-substitute, are both just superb. Fred Zinneman gets every ounce out of the Carson McCullers story, and as we dry our tears we are proud of where we come from.
Driving Miss Daisy (1989) explores a seldom-portrayed corner of the South- the Jewish family of means, trying to fit in. Jessica Tandy is much more the Southern lady than she is Jewish; Dan Ackroyd is her well-off son still not comfortable with his religious heritage. Morgan Freeman is the chauffeur hired to drive Miss Daisy, and the relationship between these too is exactly right.
The Apostle (1997) is Robert Duvall’s project from start to finish- he wrote it, directed and stars as the red dirt, born-again Holy Roller preacher carrying his message to the boondocks. The film is outstanding in its even-handed treatment of people that are mostly laughed at, and its willingness to take the preacher and his flock quite seriously.
While Tennessee Williams is generally noted for hysterical Southern women and their childish men, he gets it all just right in The Glass Menagerie. A fading Southern belle momma, a pretty crippled daughter, an idealistic son and a level-headed Gentleman Caller turn this recipe into something majestic. And you can have your pick of versions, all excellent: (1987 with Joanne Woodward and John Malkovich), (1973 with Katherine Hepburn and Sam Waterston), or (1950 with Jane Wyman and Kirk Douglas, my favorite).
Many moviegoers (mostly Northerners) contend that To Kill A Mockingbird (1962) is too noble. Well, they need to get over it. Gregory Peck’s inspired portrayal of attorney Atticus Finch, defending an innocent black man against impossible odds and personal danger, has echoed down the years. We can be better; we can be noble and thanks to this fine film for thinking so.
All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. All are suitable for children 12 and up.
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MEN TAKING CREDIT
It’s no secret that in many cases, famous and otherwise, men have taken credit for the work done by women. Mostly they got away with it. But the movies have taken some of these guys to task, and given credit where it is due.
A recent example is last year’s Collette. Keira Knightley plays the famous writer, whose popular work was claimed by her husband Willy for many years.
While it is true that Willy pushed Collette to write novels about the life of Claudine, it is also true that he took credit for most of them, inserting his own byline. The books were wildly popular in France. They even inspired products, such as perfume, based on the stories. Befriended by Mathilde de Mornay (Denise Gough), a very modern woman of any time, Collette gradually escaped her husband’s dominance and became her own artist. Dominic West is just right as the controlling husband and Miss Knightley lights up the screen.
Another fairly recent example is the aptly named Big Eyes (2014). Margaret Keane was an outstanding pop artist, the inventor of the paintings in the 60's featuring children with abnormally large eyes. Amy Adams plays the artist and the eternally creepy Christoph Waitz appears as her husband Walter. He convinces her to do the painting and let him do the selling (and taking the credit). But she eventually tires of being the doormat, escapes his dominance, sues to get proper credit and carries the day.
Hidden Figures (2016) brings to light the untold contribution of a group of mathematicians who were principally responsible for NASA’s early space flights. These incredibly smart and dedicated workers were women and they were black! Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae portray these unsung heroes. Kevin Costner is quite effective as the project head whose epiphany releases the women from ridiculous restrictions. Kirsten Dunst has a nice turn as the highly prejudiced supervisor.
The conditions they were originally required to work under, and the work they did, make for fine cinematic drama. The NASA bigwigs blithely took credit for everything that went right until a book by Margot Shetterly in 2010 told the story. A highlight of the film is the installation of a gigantic new computer which none of the men can even start up. The women figure it out!
The most recent example is last year’s The Wife in which The Husband (Jonathan Pryce) receives the Nobel Prize for Literature. Glenn Close is superb in the title role. As the film unwinds it becomes increasingly clear that the wrong spouse got the Nobel. The wife is the actual writer of a slew of outstanding novels, though most people think of her as only the supporter of the genius.
And guess what? I have not discovered a single film where a woman took credit for the work of a man!
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. All are for grown-ups.
BERNARDO BERTOLUCCI
He was the consummate Italian film guy. He had his finger in lots of cinematic pies. He wrote, directed, produced and even acted. Bernardo Bertolucci has lots of movie credits.
He first crosses the American film radar when Before The Revolution (1964) appears on U.S. screens. He wrote the story on which the film is based, and he wrote the screenplay. It provides a perfect snapshot of the condition of the populace before the uproar of the 60's. Young Italians of both sexes struggle with their hatred of bourgeois life and their desire for change.
He even had a hand, admittedly small, in one of Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns with Henry Fonda acting way against type as the bad guy. Yes, Once Upon A Time In The West (1967) is based on a Bertolucci story, and he is listed in the credits. Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale and Jason Robards are also in the cast. The complicated plot involves revenge for a murder, a fight over a railroad and the land it crosses, and lots of gunplay. Bertolucci’s story is lots simpler and, ok, maybe better.
The Conformist (1970) was written and directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, and the screenplay got an Oscar nomination but didn’t win. I think you would have to be familiar with Italian politics in the 60's to follow this, but maybe I’m just thick.
Bertolucci shocked the world with the wildly erotic Last Tango In Paris (1972) featuring Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider. You probably have to be over 40 and have a note from your parents to see this one. There’s lots of full frontal nudity and a famous scene involving a dairy product. The story seems incidental to all the coupling, but folks still watch this one nearly 50 years later. Bertolucci wrote the screenplay and directed. His direction garnered an Oscar nomination but he lost to George Roy Hill for The Sting.
Bertolucci wrote the screenplay for the extremely long (317 minutes!), 1900 (1998) a film about the battle for Italy’s soul between the Fascists and Communists. I have to say it really isn’t worth the time you invest in a viewing.
Bernardo Bertolucci hit the jackpot in 1987 when he wrote and directed The Last Emperor. It won Oscars for best picture and best director. It is the really interesting story of the last emperor of China, Puyi. As a toddler, he had the misfortune to become emperor at the time of the Chinese Revolution. After years as a political prisoner, he is allowed to become an ordinary Chinese citizen. John Lone (another “whatever happened to” actor) appears as the emperor as a grown man.
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. The last one is okay for all ages. The rest are for grown-ups.
PENNY MARSHALL
Penny Marshall died recently at 75. Her first big acting break was as Oscar Madison’s secretary Myrna on The Odd Couple (1970). Then she appeared with Cindy Williams as dates for The Fonz and Richie Cunningham on Happy Days (1974). The chemistry between the two girls was so good that fans fell in love with them. So a spin-off was developed, called Laverne And Shirley. Penny was Laverne to Cindy’s Shirley. They were tough no-nonsense working girls who gave as good as they got from bosses and other men. It was a tremendous hit that ran for seven years (1976-83).
She was a legendary sports fan. Who else would have season tickets to the LA Lakers and the LA Clippers?
Penny Marshall developed into one heck of a good director, and she helmed three enormous hits.
The first of these was Big (1988). Tom Hanks stars as a kid who just always wanted to be big, or grown up. He encounters a creepy fortune telling machine in an amusement park, and his wish is granted. So he become as big as a grown man, but still has the personality and mind of a youngster. His encounters with the real world are both funny and trenchant. His famous dance on the giant piano at FAO Schwarz is a highlight of this delightful film. Because of his ideas, his toy company employer prospers greatly and he lands a dream job as a toy tester. Elizabeth Perkins plays Susan Lawrence, a co-worker who becomes his girlfriend. But he misses his childhood self, and his parents. The ending is semi-sweet and you won’t get it here.
Awakenings (1990) was nominated for an Oscar as Best Movie, losing to Dances With Wolves. Robin Williams plays Dr. Malcolm Sayer, who discovers the drug L-Dopa can bring catatonic patients back to normalcy. Robert DeNiro is one of the first to break out of his comatose condition, and he slowly begins to develop a normal life. But the drug turns out to be fool’s gold, providing only temporary recoveries. Both Williams and DeNiro are excellent in this heart-breaker.
Penny Marshall’s final big hit was A League Of Their Own (1992) with Tom Hanks as the manager of a team playing in the All-American Girls Baseball League. Among the players are Geena Davis, Madonna, and Rosie O’Donnell. This is a real feel-good movie for anyone who likes baseball or movies, and it features Tom Hanks’ famous quotation, “There’s no crying in baseball.”
Other Penny Marshall directed films that don’t quite rise to the level of the above include Renaissance Man (1994) and The Preacher’s Wife (1996). And it should certainly be mentioned that she produced the excellent Cinderella Man (2005) with Russell Crowe as heavyweight champion James J. Braddock. His torturous climb from obscurity is well done and Rene Zelwegger is just fine as the wife who never gives up on him.
All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are fine for 10 and up.
WILLIAM GOLDMAN
He wrote the screenplay of Mr. Movie’s all-time favorite and won an Oscar for it. He won another Oscar for perhaps the finest political movie ever made. And that’s not all William Goldman, who died recently, accomplished.
Harper (1966) features Paul Newman as hard-nosed private eye Lew Harper in a convoluted plot about a millionaire who has vanished, either on purpose or not. Janet Leigh is on board as Harper’s ex and Pamela Tiffin, Arthur Hill, Lauren Bacall and Robert Wagner compose a cast that follows the twists and turns better than I did. William Goldman’s noir dialogue is worth the trip.
Yep, Mr. Movie’s favorite movie is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). Chock full of great lines from William Goldman’s pen: “Who are those guys?”, “The fall alone will kill you”, “Think you used enough dynamite, Butch”? “If there aren’t any rules, let’s start the fight,” etc. With two of the handsomest actors ever to grace the silver screen (Paul Newman and Robert Redford) as the principals, a dynamite plot which is by turns funny and suspenseful, this is one fine flick. The scenes about robbing banks in South America where neither speaks Spanish are hysterical.
As current as today’s newspaper, All The President’s Men (1976) features Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford as Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the Washington Post reporters who broke open the Watergate story and brought down a president. No, the film doesn’t tell you who Deep Throat was, he’s kept in the shadows. But the gradual development of the story, handled with great skill by screenwriter Goldman, is just really good. Another gold statue for Mr. Goldman!
William Goldman was also a fine novelist, and his creepy novel Magic was made into a creepy thriller in 1978 with a screenplay by himself. Anthony Hopkins plays failing magician Corky Withers. He hits upon a very successful gimmick, a ventriloquist dummy named Fats whose foul language is a hit. It turns out that Withers is really crazy and perhaps kills people. And may it be that Fats is not a dummy?
The Princess Bride (1987) is a charming fairy tale again adapted by Goldman from his own novel. The film is presented as a story being read by a grandfather (Peter Falk) to his ill grandson (Fred Savage). Robin Wright is the title character, who falls in love with her father’s lowly farmhand Westley (Cary Elwes). He leaves to seek his fortune so they can marry, and the plot thickens, seasoned by encounters with The Dread Pirate Roberts. There are lot of laughs along the way.
And finally, Goldman’s screenplay for Misery (1990) features James Caan as a famous author who slowly recovers from a coma after an accident. He finds himself in a bed in the home of huge fan Kathy Bates. He thinks everything will be fine. It won’t. She is nothing short of a homicidal maniac, willing to keep him forever. He tries various ways to escape and she makes him write the book she wants to read. You will not find the ending here...
All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are for grown-ups.
