REMARKABLE REMAKES

        Recently Mr. Movie was taking the movie producers to task for their slavish reliance on sequels. He even found a few that are worth your time. Those same producers also rely way too much on remakes. “The first one was good; lets remake it and sell it again”. Rremakes mostly suck. Mr. Movie is here for you to separate the wheat from the chaff. 

Ikiru  (1952) is a Japanese classic. It’s the story of an aging bureaucrat who stolidly stamps form after form, then gets the bad news that he has six months to live. Although he wants to use his time differently, he realizes he doesn’t know how. Great stuff! Then came Living (2022) with Bill Nighy absolutely knocking it out of the park with one of the great performances. Well, he was nominated for Oscar but lost to Brendan Frazier for Whale. Frazier was very good and lucked into the Academy’s preference for handicapped roles. But Nighy’s peformance is one for the ages. 

True Grit (1969) is a dead-on winner featuring John Wayne’s only Oscar winning performance as retired sheriff Rooster Cogburn. Kim Darby is just right as Mattie Ross, who hires Rooster to track down outlaw Tom Chaney, who killed her father. Glen Campbell plays Texas Ranger La Boeuf who is also pursuing Chaney and his gang. He joins up with Mattie and Rooster and the hunt is on. I dreaded the release of the 2010 remake, but I was wrong. Jeff Bridges makes a splendid Rooster and Matt Damon and Hailee Steinfeld are also good. This one is directed by the Coen brothers and is every bit as good as the original. These would make a gread double feature!

The original West Side Story (1961) is a joy with the great music of Leonard Bernstein, great dancing and the lovely Natalie Wood as Maria. This one is almost ruined by the dreadful Richard Beymer as Tony, who virtually disappeared after this film. It is, of course, the Romeo and Juliet story played out on the mean streets of New York by rival gangs. The 2021 remake is even better, with mostly unknown actors in Tony Kushner’s sparkling screenplay and the sure-handed direction of Steven Spielberg. The best known cast member is Rita Moreno who also appeared in the 1961 version and is still fabulous forty years later. 

The original film of All Quiet On The Western Front won the Best Picture Oscar in 1930, as did director Lewis Milestone. The only familiar name is Lew Ayres, as the story is told from the German side of World War I. The title comes from Erich Marie Remarque’s novel: “The day he fell, the dispatches read ‘all quiet on the western front’” The 2022 remake was also nominated for Best Picture Oscar but didn’t win. The updated version is just as good as the original, though. Again the cast is made of actors not known to American audiences. Neither movie pulls any punches about the grimness and pointlessness of World War I. 

All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are for adults. And yes, Mr. Movie has more remarkable remakes up his sleeve!

                                        ROBIN WILLIAMS: SERIOUSLY, FOLKS

Multi-talented Robin Williams  joined a sad list of actors who died too young. He was only 64. He went from struggling stand-up comic to TV star of Mork and Mindy (remember “nanu nanu”?) to lots of good films.  His movies are divided between those where the director runs the show, and those where Mr. Williams appears to be in charge. The latter scenario results in horrors like Patch Adams, Shakes The Clown, and Death To Smoochy, all agonizingly bad.

But Mr. Williams could act up a storm when a good director reined him in. We tend to remember what a good story Good Will Hunting (1997) is, and that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck won an Oscar for their screenplay. We tend to forget that Robin Williams won the only acting Oscar for that film, playing the professor who nurtures the janitor-mathematical genius in his school.

In 2002 Mr. Williams was in two movies that showcased his considerable acting talents. In Insomnia he is a clever killer always one step ahead of the cops, and he holds his own against Al Pacino. Mr. Williams is the whole show in One-Hour Photo. He is a photo tech in a big discount store with no family (and no life) and he “adopts” a local family whose pictures he develops. He is a truly creepy character and it is his underplayed, in-control acting that makes this engine go.

Robin Williams’ first big role was as the title character in the marvelous The World According To Garp (1982). The 30-year-old standup comic seemed a very weird choice for this role at the time, but he is splendid in a difficult part. In fact, Mr. Williams is one of the saner characters in a film featuring a cross-dressing tight end and a mother who becomes spokesperson for liberal causes while in her nurse’s uniform.

Awakenings (1990) is based on the true story of catatonic patients who are miraculously returned to normal life by a controversial experimental drug. I thought Mr. Williams’ portrayal of the doctor carried this interesting movie.

Robin Williams is excellent as an ingenious disc jockey for the troops in Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) and as a funny Russian defector in Moscow On The Hudson (1984).

And the exception that proves the rule is when Mr. Williams was given his head as the voice of the genie in Aladdin (1992). His mostly ad libbed lines are awfully funny and what makes the film so much fun. 

If you can buy Robin in drag as a housekeeper in his former wife’s home, you might like Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). The story is that he does this for access to his children after a bitter divorce. And that somehow nobody notices. You can decide if this charade really works.

The handful of Williams films that came out after his death in 2013 are, frankly, dogs. 

All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. The complete Mork And Mindy series is also available. All but One-Hour Photo (grown-ups only) are suitable for 10 and up.

                                                               JAMES GARNER

James Garner always seemed like the kind of guy you’d like to have a beer with, the sort of man you’d want for a brother-in-law. He died at 86. The handsome, laid-back actor made a good living in the niche he solidly carved out for himself.

The character he played so well first surfaced in The Great Escape (1963) with Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and Richard Attenborough. Garner is Hendley, called “The Scrounger” by the other prison camp inmates, for his ability to con the Germans and get whatever is needed. This is a great WWII movie. McQueen’s motorcycle ride is worth the price of admission.

In Support Your Local Sheriff(1969) and Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971) James Garner is the easiest-going and funniest lawman the wild west ever saw. Rather than using a gun or his fists, he makes great use of his charm to defuse violent situations. And he somehow gets you to believe that he could make this approach work.

The little-known but excellent TV series Nichols ran from 1971 to 1972 for only 24 episodes. It was one of my favorites, as the laconic Garner played the sheriff of a small western town, eschewing a gun or any other display of violence. 

So when the powers-that-be decided to make Maverick into a TV series, there was no other choice for the easy-going con man brother Bret than James Garner. This very successful series ran from 1978-79 and 1981-82 and spawned a mediocre movie in 1994 with Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster.  

And when the TV networks wanted a detective show with an easy-going laid-back lead who would rather talk than fight, they of course settled on James Garner to play the main guy in The Rockford Files, which ran from 1974 to 1980, and led to a couple of so-so made for TV movies with pretty much the same cast and crew.  

If you dial back to 1961 you can find Mr. Garner in a more serious role in The Children’s Hour, also starring Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine. The two women are teachers at a girls’ school and their careers are in shambles after untrue gossip is spread by a disgruntled student. Mr. Garner is the long-suffering fiancé of one of the teachers, and one of the few who stands by them. 

James Garner was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his role as a middle-aged man in love with a much younger women (Sally Field) in Murphy’s Romance (1985). This is an endearing movie with good and likeable actors. Mr. Garner lost to William Hurt for Kiss Of The Spider Woman.

All of the movies and TV series in this column are available on DVD. Only The Children’s Hour is unsuitable for under 12.

                                                                   Melinda Dillon

        Her name was never really a household word, but Melinda Dillon had quite a good run until 1999. After that, she continued to work, with over 100 credits, until she died at 83. She was nominated for Oscar twice, but was 0 for 2. 

Her first Oscar nomination came for Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). She lost to Vanessa Redgrave for Julia. Ms. Dillon  portrayed Jillian Guiler, the awestruck Mom of the abducted child Barry. She and electrician Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) dream of a strange mountain, which turns out to be the landing area for a UFO. As the US Army tries to cover up the landing and abductions, the UFO lands anyway and Jillian and Roy are there. Barry is returned to his Mom along with dozens of abductees. The aliens select Roy to travel with them (voluntarily) and head out. 

Melinda’s second Oscar nomination was for Absence of Malice (1981). This time she lost to Maureen Stapleton for Reds. Ms. Dillon’s role as Teresa Perrone cast her with heavyweights Paul Newman I(Michael Gallagher)  and Sally Field (Megan Carter). Carter is a reporter who writes an altogether fake story about Gallagher committing a murder,  causing him to lose his business and almost his life. Carter also includes in a later story the fact that Teresa Perrone claims to be Gallagher’s alibi in the fake murder charge because he took her out of town to get an abortion on the crucial date. Perrone is a  devout Catholic who had pleaded with Carter not to reveal her name but Carter uses it anyway. Perrone subsequently kills herself. 

Slap Shot (1977) is a fun movie about a minor league hockey team on its last legs. Paul Newman stars as  player-coach Reggie Dunlop. Melinda Dillon has a minor, but revealing, part as his girlfriend Suzanne. Beware the dreadful sequel. 

In 1983 Ms. Dillon landed the plum part of Mother Parker in Jean Shepard’s A Christmas Story. Her oldest son Ralphie wants just one thing for Christmas- a Red Ryder BB gun. He is repeatedly told by everyone, especially his Mom, that he will “shoot his eye out”. This charming film later became a pretty good Broadway musical. 

In the semi-biographical Bound For Glory (1976) Melinda Dillon has a double role. She plays Woody Guthrie’s long-suffering wife Mary and is also the radio voice of country singer Memphis Sue. Keith Carradine is quite good as Woody. 

Melinda Dillon’s last important roles were fairly minor, but she is very good in The Prince of Tides (1991) and Magnolia (1999).

All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. All are for adults. 

                                                             BETTER SEQUELS

        Boy, Hollywood loves sequels. I don’t. Most of them really suck. The studios get a winner and decide to ride it into the sunset. But- there are exceptions!

We saw Paddington 2 because we loved the first one. The bear from darkest Peru who lands in London and is adopted by a typical British family is just so much fun and so dear. Believe it or not (I was amazed) the second one is even better. Sally Hawkins is back as the family’s Mom and Hugh Bonneville as Father. She was up for an Oscar for The Shape Of Water (2017) and he was fabulous as Robert Crawley, Lord of Grantham, in the PBS smash hit Downton Abbey. And Paddington 2 features the most unlikely of actors as the villain- Hugh Grant. Through a misunderstanding (of course) Paddington gets sent to prison. Where he quickly wins over the hardened cons and guards (and us). 

Godfather (1972) is almost the best movie ever made about gangsters. With Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Al Pacino and James Caan, it is terrific. But- the very best is the first sequel, Godfather 2 (1974). No Brando- he got his nose out of joint about his treatment by Paramount and refused to play nice with others. But it carries on the ascendancy of Vito Corelone (Pacino) and most of the rest of the original gang. Shoot, it even has Troy Donahue in a bit part! And it is the first sequel to win the Best Picture Oscar! Now be warned- Part 3 is right much of a dud. 

Another sequel that won Best Movie might puzzle you. It’s Silence Of The Lambs (1991). Okay, great movie- but what was the prequel? Thought you’d never ask. It is a consummate loser called Manhunter (1986). It is actually also based on Red Dragon by Thomas Harris, but it’s pretty lame. Silence is one of the scariest, nail-bitingest films ever. It features Jodie Foster as very much at risk FBI agent Clarice Starling. And it stars Sir Anthony Hopkins as the terrifying Hannibal Lecter. “I’m having a friend for lunch” gets a whole new meaning. 

Terminator (1984) made Arnold Schwarzenegger a star and is really good. He plays a cyborg killer sent back from the future to kill an innocent waitress whose son will save the world in the future. But Terminator 2 (1991) is much better. Arnold is back, but this time as the protector of the future savior. And this one features Robert Patrick as the T-1000 a metallic shape-shifting killer who seems to be indestructible. Another warning: these Terminator things just keep coming- number 6 came out in 2019. Can 7 be far behind?. These sequels are okay, but not up to the first two. Some other sequels that are arguably better than the originals include Toy Story 2 (1999) featuring Pixar at the top of its game, and The Dark Knight (2008) the best of the Batman franchise

All of the films in this article are available on DVD. Kids will love Paddington 2 and Toy Story 2. The rest  are for adults. 

                                                        TENNESSEE WILLIAMS

Not all stage plays adapt well to the silver screen. Consider the recent out-of-control August: Osage County (2013). Tennessee Williams was arguably our greatest playwright. And- what a bonus!- almost all of his wonderful plays adapt really well into movies. It helped that he wrote the screenplay for most of them. 

My all-time favorite is the delicate Glass Menagerie. There are several good adaptations, but I like the 1950 the best. Jane Wyman just glows as the shy, beautiful Amanda Wingfield, and Kirk Douglas is superb as the Gentleman Caller. Gertrude Lawrence as the hopeful mother and Arthur Kennedy as the brother are fine as well. I like the slightly upbeat ending better than the darker version in the play. 

Marlon Brando became a superstar by yelling “Stella” over and over, and his character just drips macho sex appeal in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). Vivian Leigh, Karl Malden and and Kim Hunter all won Oscars. Brando was nominated, but strangely enough lost to Humphrey Bogart for The African Queen. I think Marlon was robbed.

And speaking of sex appeal, you won’t do much better than Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958) with Elizabeth Taylor as the sultry Maggie The Cat, and Paul Newman as washed-up athlete Brick. Burl Ives is on hand as the legendary Big Daddy, and Jack Carson is Brick’s brother Gooper. Maggie calls his obnoxious children “little no-neck monsters.” She is right. 

Marlon Brando brings method acting to a rolling boil as a rebellious drifter in The Fugitive Kind (1958). This film is somewhat loosely based on Williams’ Orpheus Descending. When asked what he is rebelling against, Brando famously answers “Whatta you got?”. Voluptuous Anna Magnani is somehow plugged into this Southern drama, and it works. 

Summer And Smoke (1961) has Geraldine Page and Laurence Harvey as troubled lovers with different lifestyles, but is fairly low key for a Williams play. 

Sweet Bird Of Youth (1962) features Paul Newman , Geraldine Page, Shirley Knight and Ed Begley in a romantic drama based on two Williams plays that morphed into one. It had long runs in New York and London; the movie is not the most successful of Williams adaptations. 

Suddenly Last Summer (1959) is not for the faint of heart. Elizabeth Taylor is a young Southern woman traumatized by viewing the death of her cousin while they are in Spain. In an extremely questionable attempt to help her, she is given a drug to help her remember the details of his death. Those details involve not only homosexuality, but also cannibalism. She seems to recover (go figure!). This one is definitely not for all tastes. 

All of the films in this column are available on DVD.  All are for grown-ups.

                                                        JILL CLAYBURGH

By the time of her early death at 66, Jill Clayburgh was largely forgotten. But in a six-year span bridging the late 70's and early 80's she was about as hot as it gets, starring in five excellent films. 

While Silver Streak (1976) largely belongs to Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor, Ms. Clayburgh has a nice turn as the love interest and holds her own against those two superstars. This is a clever movie that deftly combines comedy and suspense. Mr. Wilder is on a trans-continental train ride and for some reason someone wants him dead. Mr. Pryor is, as always, hilarious. 

In Semi-Tough (1977), Jill Clayburgh is again matched with two heavyweights, Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson. They are professional football players and she is sort of their mutual girlfriend. Adapted from Dan Jenkins’ hilarious novel, this is a winning combination of comedy and drama. While most of Ms. Clayburgh’s duties involve being straight woman to the two stars, she is darn good at it. 

An Unmarried Woman (1978) pulls no punches in its depiction of real people in real life. Ms. Clayburgh’s bravura performance as a dutiful wife abandoned by her feckless husband for another woman earned her an Oscar nomination. She lost to Jane Fonda for Coming Home, but her performance is a masterpiece. Michael Murphy is the deserting husband, Alan Bates the guy who picks up the pieces. 

The next year brought Jill Clayburgh another Oscar nomination for her stellar performance in Starting Over (1979). This time she lost to Sally Field for Norma Rae. Ms. Clayburgh is the new love interest of recently divorced Burt Reynolds, who can’t seem to get over his ex-wife (Candace Bergen). James L. Brooks’ sparkling screenplay from Dan Wakefield’s novel gives the cast plenty to work with. Very funny. 

In First Monday In October (1981) Jill Clayburgh is the first female Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The film lost some sting when Sandra Day O’Connor was named to the court for real just before the release date. But, Ms. Clayburgh plays a stanch conservative whose frequent battles with curmudgeonly Walter Matthau and Barnard Hughes provide plenty of laughs. 

Ms. Clayburgh is a Valium addict who quits cold turkey in the harrowing I’m Dancing As Fast As I Can (1982). She is very good, but the movie really isn’t. After this film, Jill Clayburgh pretty well drops off the map. 

All of the films in this column are available on DVD. All are for grown-ups.