The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1948

     This film is an adaptation of B. Traven’s 1927 novel with the same title.  The setting of this film is the Mexican oil town of Tampico in 1925.  Fred C. Dobbs and Bob Curtin were almost cheated out of their promised wages but they beat up the man and took their money.  Dobbs buys a lottery ticket and he wins a small jackpot.  They meet Howard and he’s an old prospector.  The three men decide to prospect for gold and they can use the money Dobbs won to bankroll the project in the remote Sierra Madre mountains.  They take a train into the desert and bandits attack the train.  Howard discovers the gold and he instructs Dobbs and Curtin how to dig a mine and extract the gold.  The rugged country, the isolation and the difficult work starts to take a toll on Dobbs.  He begins to get very worried that the other two men will cheat him or kill him to get his share of the gold.  Dobbs also begins to think about how he can get all the gold for himself.  Curtin goes to the nearest village for supplies and he meets another American, James Cody.  He follows Curtin back to the camp.  They tell Cody that they are hunters but he tells them he knows they are looking for gold.  He wants to join them, the other men don’t like this turn of events and they debate about what to do with Cody.  They decide to kill him but bandits appear and they pretend to be Federales. 

     I didn’t know how this film was going to end?  At first I thought that Bogart was too busy telegraphing the ending during his acting but this isn’t the case.  It doesn’t end at all like I thought?  His character Fred C. Dobbs is not very likable from the beginning.  He’s suspicious, greedy, without feeling, easily enraged, a savage, easily corrupted and a lose cannon waiting to explode!!  He thinks the absolute worst of Howard and Tom Curtin.  Tom has a conscience and he's a better person but he’s uncertain about how to cope with Dobbs.  Howard is a wise old man and he knows all along what could happen.  4* (I really liked this movie)

126 min, Western directed by John Huston with Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt, Bruce Bennett, Barton MacLane, Alfonso Bedoya, Arturo Soto Rangel, Manuel Donde, Jose Torvay, Margarito Luna.

Note:  Imdb 8.3 out of 10, Roger Ebert 4*, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 632 reviews, TCM Leonard Maltin 4* out of 4* user rating 4.5* out of 5*, Slant Magazine 4* out of 5*, Empire Online 5*, Showtimes 5* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Kernville, Mojave Desert, Los Angeles, Burbank, California; Yuma, Mojave Desert, Tucson Mountains, Arizona; Tamaulipas, Sonora, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sierra Madre del Sur, Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico.  This film earned $2.3 million in 1948.  John Huston won an Academy Award for Directing and also for Writing Adapted Screenplay.  Walter Huston won for Best Supporting Actor and this was the first father-son win.  This film was nominated for Best Picture but lost to Hamlet by Laurence Olivier.  Using jet engines from the Mexican Air Force created the windstorm in the final scenes.  Ranked by the American Film Institute as #38 on the list of the Greatest Movies of All Time.  Humphrey Bogart commented on the depth of Walter Huston’s performance.  He said, “One Huston is bad enough, but two are murder.”

If You Don't, I Will 2014

     Pomme and Pierre are a married couple in their forties and they have been together a long time.  They can’t seem to get along anymore?  Predictability and giving the cold shoulder is the norm instead of passion and spontaneity.  Pomme is preparing food for a hike and Pierre says he doesn’t want to go.  She’s disappointed and she’s gone to a lot of trouble with the preparations.  He changes his mind and they go.  They get into an argument on the hike and Pomme stays behind in the Chamoiselle forest near Lyon.  Pierre takes the car and he worries about her but he doesn’t do anything.  Pomme stays several nights in the forest and then she hitches a ride to a nearby city.  She stays in a hotel one night and goes back to the forest.  

      Pomme has been on leave from her job because she is recovering from surgery for a benign brain tumor.  She learns that the company where she works has gone into receivership.  She is probably rethinking everything about her life since her health scare.  She will also need to look for other employment.  These are two intense developments in her life one after the other.  I continued to watch but I wanted to stop viewing in the beginning.  I didn’t know if it would continue to go around an around in arguments.  Pomme’s inner journey in the forest does stop the arguing.  3* (This movie is OK)

102 min, Comedy directed by Sophie Fillieres with Emmanuelle Devos, Mathieu Amalric, Anne Brochet, Josephine de La Baume, Nelson Delapalme, Julia Roy, David Clark, Laurent Poitrenaux, Anthony Paliotti, Alexandre Pous, Damien Gouy.

Note:  Imdb 5.8 out of 10, 71% critic 35% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*, Amazon 3.2* out of 5* with 8 reviews, Metacritic 68 out of 100 with 10 critics.

Special Note:  Filmed in Auvergne and Rhone-Alpes, France.  The original title is Arete ou je continue or translated into Stop or I’ll Continue.  The word pomme in French means apple.  I was surprised that there are only 8 reviews on Amazon and this movie is fro 2014?

The Ardennes 2015

     Dave and Kenneth enlist Kenneth’s girlfriend as a get away driver.  Dave and Kenneth stage a home invasion but Kenneth is caught and sent to prison for four years.  Dave has a job and he’s tried to get his life back on track.  Kenneth’s girlfriend Sylvie is now dating Dave and they don’t know how to tell Kenneth when he gets out of prison?  Dave continued to visit Kenneth every Thursday for the four years but Sylvie stopped after two years.  Kenneth has a hair trigger about everything and he hasn’t changed after the four years.

     This is a tough movie.  Not so much in the beginning but in the later scenes.  Every minute you don’t know what Kenneth is going to do!!  You don’t know how he will take Sylvie dating Dave?  They are afraid to tell him and I can see why!!  I would not watch this movie again!!  2 1/2* (This movie is so-so)

96 min, Drama directed by Robin Prot with Kevin Janssens, Jeroen Perceval, Veele Baetens, Jan Bijvoet, Viviane de Muynck, Sam Louwyck, Peter Van den Begin, Eric Godon, Rachid El Ghazaoui, Nico Sturm, Luck Nuyens, Brit Van Hoof, Caroline Stas.

Note:  Imdb 6.8 out of 10, 54% critic 56% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 1*, Amazon 3.5* out of 5* with 7 reviews, The Guardian Wendy Ide 4* out of 5*, Metacritic 47 out of 100 with 14 critics, Slant Magazine 1 1/2* out of 4*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Ardennes, Flanders, Luxembourg, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium.  Ardennes is also the name of a 1944 battle during the Battle of the Bulge.  This film was the official Belgian submission for the 2017 Academy Awards but it was declined.  Matthias Schoenaerts is from Belgian and he was cast for the role of Kenneth but he dropped out.  On the sound track is the song rigor Mortis by Flesh and Bones.  It was also on another movie Steve+Sky.

The Cat Returns 2002

     Haru is walking with her friend Yuki and she sees a cat crossing the street in front of a truck.  She races to scoop up the cat with her lacrosse stick and move him out of the way.  Unusual things start to happen with cats because the rescued cat is Prince Lune, the son of the King of Cats.  The cats want to repay her and she finds herself in a Cat Kingdom as the soon-to-be bride of Prince Lune.  She gets help from an elegant cat statuette that has come to life and his very fat cat friend. 

     This is very interesting and funny!!  Cats begin talking to Haru and she doesn’t know what to think?  Baron von Gikkingen from the movie Whisper of the Heart of 1995 is a featured character.  The Cat’s Repayment is a more accurate translation of the original Japanese title, Neko no ongaeshi.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

75 min, Animation directed by Hiroyuki Morita with the voices of Anne Hathaway, Cary Elwes, Judy Greer, Andrew Bevis, Kristen Bell, Rene Auberjonois, Andy Richter, Peter Boyle, Elliott Gould, Kristine Sutherland, Tim Curry, Katia Coe.

Note:  Imdb 7.3 out of 10, 89% critic 82% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 375 reviews, Empire Online 2* out of 5*, The Guardian Peter Bradshaw 2* out of 5*,

Special Note:  The idea for this film came from a proposal received from a Japanese theme park to make a 20-minute animation short starring cats.  This film was originally going to be a straight-to-video project until the storyboard was reviewed and plans changed.  Three years were required to finish this film.  All the cats in the human world and in the Cat Kingdom have paws.  The Baron has human-shaped hands covered in gloves.  He has long fingers and visible thumbs.  He is about two-thirds the size of an average cat.  He has these same attributes in Whisper of the Heart.

The Unforgiven 1960

     The Zachary family lives on the Texas frontier.  They are making a good living on their ranch and their neighbors respect them.  Kiowa Indians killed their father Will Zachary.  That leaves the mother Mattilda, oldest son Ben, next oldest son Cash, adopted daughter Rachel and youngest son Charlie.  Mattilda sees old man Abe Kelsley and she doesn’t know if he’s a real man.  He hides in the brush on his horse and he has a saber instead of a gun.  He claims that Rachel Zachary is an Indian as she was stolen as a baby from the Kiowas.  Everyone believes Kelsey is crazy and he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.  Three Kiowa men appear at the cabin and one of them claims to be Rachel’s brother.  The offer to trade horses to Ben in exchange for the return of Rachel.  Ben says he’s not giving Rachel to them for any amount of horses.  Charlie Rawlins comes courting Rachel and Ben agrees that they can marry.  On his way home, Kiowas kill Charlie.  Ben and some of the ranchers track down Kelsey and bring him to the nearby Rawlins ranch.  He’s to be hung as a horse thief.  Kelsey tells everyone about Rachel and Mattilda claims it’s a lie.

     In this time period of the 1850’s, there was complete intolerance between the whites and the Indians.   I was surprised when the ranchers call Rachel a racial slur against Indians?  I have never heard that term before in any other western?  It seems unusual to cast Audrey Hepburn as the possible Kiowa Rachel.  She looks nothing like she could be an Indian?  If Rachel is really a Kiowa, none of the ranchers will accept her or the rest of the family.  I found it surprising that Audrey Hepburn wears obvious false eyelashes while living on a ranch in Durango?  

        

125 min Western directed by John Huston with Burt Lancaster, Audrey Hepburn, Audie Murphy, John Saxon, Charles Bickford, Lillian Gish, Albert Salmi, Joseph Wiseman, June Walker, Kipp Hamilton, Arnold Merritt, Doug McClure, Carlos Rivas.

Note:  Imdb 6.7 out of 10, 58% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, TCM Leonard Maltin 3* out of 4* user rating 4.44* out of 5*, Amazon 4.2* out of 5* with 157 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Durango, Mexico.  One of the top 100 films you must see before you die.  Production was suspended for several months in 1959 after Hepburn broke her back when she fell off a horse.  She believed the accident caused her to have a miscarriage.  She took a year off, successfully had a child and returned to film Breakfast at Tiffany’s of 1961.  Richard Burton, Kirk Douglas and Robert Mitchum were considered for the role of Cash Zachary.  Richard Burtonwas originally cast in the role played by Audie Murphy but he declined.  A fortuneteller predicted he would die at 33 and he did not do any film work at all in 1959.   Natalie Wood was considered for the role of Rachel Zachary.  Bette Davis turned down the role of Mattilda Zachary, she didn’t want to play Burt Lancaster’s mother.  John Huston describes this as the only film he entirely disliked.  There is another film with the same title from 1992.

War for the Planet of the Apes 2017

     This film is a sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes of 2011 and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes of 2014.  The setting is two years after US Military fought with the apes and stated a devastating war.  The Colonel is leading a rogue paramilitary faction knows as Alpha-Omega.  Embedded in this group are service apes called donkeys that previously followed Koba.  Koba hated the humans and he led a failed coup against Caesar.  He started a war after a vengeful attack against human survivors in San Francisco.  There is a conflict with the soldiers using guns and the apes using spears.  The Colonel infiltrates the ape home and kills Caesars’ wife and son.  Caesar begins a new quest to avenge the apes.  Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in a battle that could eliminate one of the species.

     There is a LOT of tension in this film from the beginning to the end!!  Humans tampered with the apes when they tested a cure for Alzheimer’s disease on a female chimpanzee.  She gained heightened intelligent in the process.  Her baby was Caesar.  Now there is a virus spread from the apes to humans.  The virus causes humans to bleed from the nose, lose the ability to speak and also death.  The Colonel’s own son died from the virus and that is what is behind his vengeance against the apes.  The Colonel and all the military are the enemy in this film.  The entire emotion of sympathy by viewers is directed at the apes.  Woody Harrelson must have needed to make some important payments to take this role.  I think everyone in the audience would like to use a spear to take him out in the beginning of the film?  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)   

140 min, Action directed by Matt Reeves with Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Karin Konoval, Amiah Miller, Terry Notary, Ty Olsson, Michael Adamthwaite, Toby Kebbell, Gabriel Chavarria, Judy Greer, Sara Canning Devyn Dalton, Aleks Paunovic Allesandro Juliani.

Note:  Imdb 7.5 out of 10, 93% critic 84% audience, Roger Ebert 3 12/*, The Guardian review by Simran Hans 4* out of 5*, Metacritic 82 out of 10 with 50 critics 8.1 out of 10 with 624 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Vancouver, Tofino, British Columbia and Alberta, Canada; Death Valley National Park, California.  The forests are computer-generated images and the apes are motion-capture images.  The young girl Nova is named after the character played by Linda Harrison in the first and second films in the original ape series.  The name Donkeys refers to Donkey Kong and also use as pack animals.  There is a scene of the Overlook Hotel from the Shining of 1980.  There are 15 mistakes in this film.  The soldiers are standing in the rain at the border camp but they are not wet? Scenes show the apple slice on the Colonel’s knife disappearing without him eating it?  Other mistakes are continuity, crew or equipment visible, factual errors and plot holes.

The Wings of Eagles 1957

     Frank ‘Spig’ Wead is a U.S. Navy pilot.  He loves adventure and getting into trouble.  On the plus side, he is fiercely in favor of Naval aviation.  Spig is married to Min and they have a young son.  Unfortunately, the boy dies two weeks after his first birthday and they separate for a time.  Spig doesn’t have enough left for Min after the Navy gets more than their share.  They reconcile and Min has two daughters.  He’s still away from the family and the girls barely know who he is.  He comes home and he has an accident that paralyzes him.  Spig becomes a screenwriter and his material is based on flying.  When WWII begins, Spig needs to find a way get back into the action.

     It seems difficult to believe that everything in this film is true?  There are fights in a club with cake throwing more than once?  Spig flies a plane and he doesn’t know anything about flying yet?  The plane has the wings torn off and lands in a swimming pool?  This event happened during the Admiral’s tea?  Naval aviation is serious business and the equipment is expensive?  I didn’t like this film.  All the horsing around and the neglect of his family don’t seem like anything to brag about?  I didn’t think their antics were funny either?  2* (I didn’t like this film) 

        

110 min, Bio directed by John Ford with John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Dan Dailey, Ward Bond, Ken Curtis, Edmund Lowe, Kenneth Tobey, James Todd, Barry Kelley, Sig Ruman, Henry O’Neill, Willis Bouchey, Dorothy Jordan.

Note:  Imdb 6.8 out of 10, 57% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, TCM Leonard Maltin 2.5* out of 5* user ratings average 3.2* out of 5*, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 219 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida; MGM Studios, Culver City, California.  John Wayne was 25 years older than Spig.  John Ford stated that everything in the picture was true.  Frank Wead became balder as he grew older.  Wayne wore a toupee and he removed it as he aged in the film.  The character of John Dodge was a fictional version of John Ford.  Many of the props in his office were borrowed from Ford.

Baby Driver 2017

     Baby is a fast driving getaway driver and he has been boosting cars since he was 12 years old.  Every day he has a new playlist and he has several iPods.  He uses a hand held recorder to capture something random that is said to him.  When he goes home, he uses that one short statement to make a soundtrack.  He lives with his foster father and Baby has tinnitus.  He masks the constant sounds in his ears with the music.  He has a cell phone and it's a new one for each job.  When he gets the call, he goes.  It’s usually always a different heist team and a different kind of job.  Baby doesn’t care about the job, the team or the heist.  All Baby needs to do is drive and get away from the police cars.  He never gets rattled and it doesn’t matter how tight the situation is or how many police cars are after them.

     Edgar Wright found inspiration for this film after thinking about a post-heist car chase set to the 1994 song Bellbottoms by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.  I really like the cars and I like the driving.  I would like to know how to spin my tires and be constantly seconds ahead!!  I would also like to test-drive this many cars, speed all the time and get away with it!!  I don’t want even one police car to be behind me at any time!!  I would give this film 5* for the driving and the cars but only 3* for the movie!!

112, Action directed by Edgar Wright with Ansel Elgort, Jon Bernthal, Jon Hamm, Eiza Gonzalez, Micah Howard, Lily James, Morgan Brown, Kevin Spacey, Morse Diggs, DJ Jones, Sky Ferreira, Lance Palmer, Hudson Meek.

Note:  Imdb 7.7 out of 10, 93% critic 86% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3 ½*, Metacritic 86 out of 100 with 53 critics 7.7 out of 10 with 954 reviews, Amazon 3.8* out of 5* with 847 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Atlanta, Dunwoody, New Orleans, Louisiana; Gainesville Georgia.  There was no CGI or green screens used for the car chase sequences.  The Halloween masks were supposed to be of Michael Myers but legal permission could not be obtained and Mike Myers masks were used.  Joseph is Baby’s foster father, he is deaf in the film and also in real life.  They both use American Sign Language to communicate.  Baby’s extensive collection of sunglasses are from the cars he has stolen.  He also obtained many of his iPods from these cars.  There is a slight ringing in the background when music is not being played and this shows Baby’s tinnitus.  Emma Stone was offered the role of Debora but she dropped out to make La La Land of 2016.

Cars used in Baby Driver:  This is not a comprehensive list but only the main vehicles:  2006 red Subaru Impreza WRXSTI (sold for $69,100 after the film), 1979 Lincoln Continental Mark V Collector’s Series, 1959 Chevrolet Impala Convertible, 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche, 2008 Dodge Avenger, 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat (700hp), 1995 Ford Explorer, 2014 Mercedes-Benz S 550 (W222).

Far from the Madding Crowd 2015

     The setting of this film is Victorian England of 1870.  Bathsheba Everdene is helping her aunt by working on her farm in Dorset.  She meets the new neighbor Gabriel Oak and he asks her to marry him.  She believes this is quite sudden and she really doesn’t know what to say?   Soon after, Bathsheba inherits a farm from her uncle and she leaves to take charge of the property.  Oak has a turn of unexpected bad luck when he loses all his sheep and his farm.  He leaves Dorset, he learns that Bathsheba is looking for a farm boss and he goes to apply. 

     I had forgotten that I had already seen this film in 2015.  As soon as the first tragedy occurred, I remembered that there is one tragedy after another.  The word madding means acting madly, frenzied or maddening.  That probably does describe the main thought of this film?  Almost all the characters are constantly near this feeling?  They are struggling against their aims for their lives and their social circumstances.  One small mistake can turn everything completely in a different direction.  I thought this was interesting and good.  I was drawn into the characters and analyzing their mistakes or choices as the film went along.  4* (I really liked this movie) 

119 min, Drama directed by Thomas Vinterberg with Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen, Tom Sturridge, Juno Temple, Bradley Hall, Hilton McRae, Jessica Barden, Harry Peacock, Victor McGuire.

Note:  Imdb 7.1 out of 10, 85% critic 75% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 1205 reviews, Roger Ebert 3*, Metacritic 71 out of 100 with 40 critics 7.5 out of 10 with 59 reviews, The Guardian review by Peter Bradshaw 3* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Dorset, Buckinghamshire, Somerset, Osfordshire, England, UK.  All of the cast members are British except for Matthias Schoenaerts, he was born in Antwerp, Belgium.  This movie was filmed in 53 days.  Thomas Hardy took the title from a line in Thomas Gray’s 1751 poem titled Elegy written in a Country Churchyard.  “Far from the Madding crowd’s ignoble strife.”  The first film version of this novel was a silent film released in 1915, exactly 100 years from this version.  There is a 1909 film with the same title but it’s not based on the book, it’s a Thomas Edison comedy.  Other films from Thomas Hardy books are The Claim, Jude, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Tess of the d’Ubervilles and Under the Greenwood Tree.  The biblical name of Bathseba is pronounced BathSEba but in this film it is pronounced BathSHAba?

The Naked Spur 1953

     Jesse Tate is a prospector and he has set up camp in a wooded area.  Howard Kemp is a bounty hunger and he’s after Ben Vandergroat for a reward.  Ben is wanted for the murder of the marshal in Abilene, Kansas.  Howard talks to Jesse about seeing anything during his recent travels.  Jesse tells Howard that he saw the remains of a campfire and he’ll take him to that location.  Howard and Jesse think Ben is holed up at the top of a rocky hill called the Naked Spur and he’s sending down boulders to create landslides.  Lieutenant Roy Anderson is a recently discharged Union soldier and he offers to climb up the hill.  Ben is there on top of the mountain with his girlfriend Lina Patch.  Jesse and Roy become very interested when they learn there is a $5000 reward for bringing in Ben dead or alive.

     There is danger every minute after the men take Ben into custody.  He could escape at every turn and now there is rivalry between the men for the reward money.  Howard saw Roy’s discharge papers and it says Roy is morally unstable and it is a dishonorable discharge.  Ben is Lina’s father’s friend and she is convinced that Ben is innocent.  It’s possible she will try to set Ben free.  Jesse has been prospecting for a long time, he’s never found much gold and $5000 sounds like a lot of money.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)     

91 min, Western directed by Anthony Mann with James Stewart, Janet Leigh, Robert Ryan, Ralph Meeker, Millard Mitchell.

Note:  Imdb 7.4 out of 10, 100% critic 75% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 154 reviews, TCM Leonard Maltin 3.5 out of 4* user reviews average 4.4* out of 5*

Special Note:  Filmed in Lone Pine, California; San Juan Mountains, Durango, Rocky Mountains, Rocky Outcrop The Naked Spur near Durango, Colorado.  Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See edited by Steven Schneider.  The setting of this film is March of 1868.  The revolver is a mistake because it's the Colt Model 1873 Single Action Army.  The rifle is not a Winchester Model 1866 Yellow Boy but a later model.  The $5000 reward would be $92,000 today.  The DVD cover shows Janet Leigh in a low cut blue dress.  She didn’t wear anything like this in the film?  Leigh started acting with her first film The Romance of Rosy Ridge in 1947 at the age of 20.

Murphy's War 1971

     During the closing days of WWII, Irishman Murphy is one of the crew members of the merchant ship Mount Kyle.  A German U-Boat sinks the Mount Kyle and the Germans kill all the crew members with machine guns except for Murphy and a pilot. Dr. Hayden is pacifist Quaker doctor living in a missionary settlement on the Orinoco in Venezuela.  When Murphy and the pilot arrive separately at the settlement, she treats their wounds.  Later, two rafts bring the German crew to the settlement and they begin looking for any men from the boat.  Murphy is not at the settlement when they arrive and he survives but the pilot is killed.  Murphy is very angry about the deaths of all of these men.  He discovers that the U-Boat is hiding farther up river.  Murphy starts to think of a plan for vengeance.

     Dr. Hayden and Frenchman Louis (also on the island) are telling Murphy that the war is nearly over and he needs to forget about the U-Boat!!  He can’t seem to let any of the atrocities go unchallenged?  There is a bi-plane and two boats in the water near the settlement.  He think he might be able to use them for his plan?   3 ½* (I liked this movie)

107 min, Drama directed by Peter Yates with Peter O’Toole, Sian Phillips, Philippe Noiret, Horst Janson, John Hallam, Ingo Mogendorf, Harry Fielder, George Roubicek.

Note:  Imdb 6.9 out of 10, 59% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 115 reviews, Roger Ebert 2 1/2*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela; Malta; Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK; Twickenham Film Studios, St Margarets, Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK.  There was only one proven case of a U-boat intentionally machine-gunning survivors.  U-852 was on a secret mission and survivors could not be allowed to report the presence of the U-Boat.  Commander Eck gave the order and he was tried and executed for his actions.  Peter O’Toole and Sian Phillips were married at the time of filming.  The U-Boat was actually a Venezuelan submarine, the former USS Tilefish (SS-307).  The amphibious bi- plane was a Grumman Duck that is now on display at the US Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio.

Once Upon a Time in Vencie 2017

     Steve Ford is an LA based Private Investigator.  Ford is involved in a personnel case when his little dog Buddy is stolen.  Unfortunately, it’s a notorious gang holding Buddy.  Ford will need to go against two vengeful brothers, the goons for a loan shark and other shady characters. 

     The best actor in this film is the little dog Buddy.  I was rooting for him all the way and not paying any attention to anything else about this movie!!  Bruce Willis has been making some BAD movies lately?  I also didn't like First Kill of 2017.  He must need to support his lifestyle and maybe he’s worried about getting too old?  1 ½* (I really didn’t liked this movie)

94 min, Action directed by Mark Cullen with Bruce Willis, John Goodman, Jason Momoa, Emily Robinson, Jessica Gomes, Kaleti Williams, Myles Humphus, Famke Janssen, Thomas Middleditch.

Note:  Imdb 5.2 out of 10, 18% critic 15% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2*, Metacritic 28 out of 100 with 9 critics 3.4 out of 10 with 11 reviews, Amazon 2.9* out of 5* with 115 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Venice, Los Angeles, California. 

Father Goose 1964

     The setting of this film is during WWII in the South Sea.  Walter Eckland is spying on Japanese planes flying over Matalava Island.  Catherine Frenau is a French schoolmistress and she arrives on the island with her seven students.  Everyone starts to get very worried when the Japanese planes begin to fire on the island.  Then the Japanese come onto the island using rafts from a ship.

     This is interesting because the characters played by Grant and Caron are complete opposites.  Grant is scruffy with a beard and he likes to drink.  Caron is neat, polite, courteous, well spoken and she doesn’t drink.  Surprisingly, they get into a slapping contest as a result of their dislike of each other!!  Caron also doesn’t want her students to witness this type of behavior.  There is a dangerous possibility that the Japanese will discover them on the island.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

118 min, Adventure directed by Ralph Nelson with Cary Grant, Leslie Caron, Trevor Howard, Jack Good, Sharyl Locke, Pip Sparke, Verina Greenlaw, Stephanie and Jennifer Berrington, Laurell and Nicole Felsette.

Note:  Imdb 7.4 out of 10, 79% critic 86% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 865 reviews, TCM average review 4.64* out of 5*, Letterboxd 3*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Ocho Rios, St. Ann, Jamaica and Stage 19, Universal Studios, Universal City California.  Cary Grant said that this role was the one most like his real personality.  He kept in touch with most of the students in the film as they grew up and had their own families.  Grant was offered the role of Henry Higgins in May Fair Lady of 1964 but he turned it down to star in this film.  He wanted Audrey Hepburn to play Catherine but she was committed to My Fair Lady.  Eights weeks of production were in Hollywood and four weeks on location at a Jamaican coconut plantation.

Strategic Air Command 1954

     Robert (Dutch) Holland is a third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals.  He is with the team for spring training and he sees a B-36 fly over the field.  Dutch is recalled to duty and he leaves for MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa Florida.  He also serves at Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado and Carswell Air Force Base, Texas.  Dutch had recently wed Sally and she is distressed that he will remain in the Air Force and they will not return to St. Louis.  Every time the phone rings, she is petrified that something has happened to Dutch on a mission.  Dutch does go down with a B-36 in the Arctic but he is rescued.  All of the crew members bailed out except Dutch and the radar navigation officer.  They stayed with the plane until it was too late to bail and a rescue helicopter arrived for them later. 

     Everything about this film seems very authentic and the aerial photography of the planes is spectacular.  A special citation by the American National Board of Review was awarded for the aerial scenes.  This film had the full cooperation of the United States Air Force to maintain accuracy.   The planes need a lot of thrust and torque to get into the air and their structure seems too massive to lift!!  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

112 min, Action directed by Anthony Mann with James Stewart, June Allyson, Frank Lovejoy, Barry Sullivan, Alex Nicol, Bruce Bennett, Jay C. Flippen, James Millican, James Bell, Rosemary DeCamp, Richard Shannon, John McKee.

Note:  Imdb 6.4 out of 10, 51% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 606 reviews, Leonard Maltin 2.5* out of 4* user rating 4.5* out of 5*.

Special Note:  James Stewart was a B-17 instructor pilot, B-24 squadron commander and a bomb group operations officer.  He completed 20 combat missions and he was promoted to brigadier general.  He continued to fly in his later years and he did Operation Arc Light missions in Vietnam as a non-duty observer aboard a B52F.  Stewart’s character is based on the real-life military career and an actual mission flown by Brigadier General Clifford Schoeffler.  He crashed his plane on an Arctic mission.  A Boston Red Sox legendary player also inspired the character of Dutch.  Ted Williams was a WWII veteran recalled for Korean War service as a Marine Corps aviator at the height of his baseball career.

My Cousin Rachel 2017

     This film is based on a novel by Daphne du Maurier.  Philip was an orphan and his cousin Ambrose raised him.  They lived in Devon and Ambrose was a landowner.  Phillip loved Ambrose like he was his father.  Ambrose started to have some health issues and his physician advised him to move to a warmer climate.  Ambrose leaves for Tuscany and he meets his half-Italian cousin Rachel.  Ambrose and Rachel get married but Ambrose dies soon after.  Philip is in shock and he wonders what happened?  Rachel comes to live with Philip in the house previously owned by Ambrose.  Phillip has inherited the property owned by Ambrose.  On the fringe are Philip’s godfather and estate lawyer Nick Kendall and his daughter Louise.

     The scenery of this area is very beautiful and so are the horses.  There is some confusion in the script about what is going on and I was uncertain for a moment about the ending?  Philip starts out with a love hate relationship with Rachel and then he starts ignoring any advice from his lawyer?  3* (This movie is OK)    

  

106 min, Drama directed by Roger Michell with Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin, Holliday Grainger, Iain Glen, Pierfrancesco Favino, Simon Russell Beale, Tim Barlow, Bobby Scott Freeman, Tristram Davies, Andrew Havill, Vicki Pepperdine, Poppy Lee Friar.

Note:  Imdb 6.0, 76% critic 46% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 1*, Amazon 3.7* out of 5* with 399 reviews, Metacritic 63 out of 100 with 34 critics 6.1 out of 10 with 31 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Devon, Surrey, Cornwall, England, UK; Anghiari and Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy.  The white horse rode by Rachel Weisz was trained for the TV series Game of Thrones of 2011.  The horse was trained to play dead when the rider tugged hard on the left rein.  Weisz was unaware of this quirk and she was partially trapped under the horse’s left side for a brief period.  This must have been a surprise to everyone?  Filming took place near the Cornwall border but Director Roger Michell avoided filming in Corwall.  This city is featured in the period TV drama Poldark of 2015.  Weisz is 16 years older than Sam Claffin.  This is a remake of a 1952 movie with Olivia de Haviland and Richard Burton. 

A Family Man 2016

     Dane Jensen works for a headhunter company owned by Ed Blackridge.  Ed is thinking of retiring and tells Dane and his work partner Lynn Vogel that there will be a competition between them.  Ed wants to see who can make the most money each month.  The winner will take over as the manager of the firm.  Dane and Lynn arrange jobs for engineers and each team has several workers.  Dane is very driven and determined to win this position.  Elise is his wife and they have three children.  Elise begins to question the amount of time Dane spends at work versus family time.  Dane and Elise receive a real shake up when their ten-year-old son Ryan is diagnosed with leukemia. 

     Dane is ruthless in his job and the bottom line is the numbers every month.  There are a LOT of times you want to shake Dane and tell him he only has one chance with his marriage and his children.  They are growing up every day and he’s not there to be a part of their lives.  How will Dane help Elise or Ryan struggle through the hospital treatments when all he does is work and sleep?  Dane needs to learn that honesty and an authentic life are very important.  3* (This movie is OK)

108 min, Drama directed by Mark Williams with Alison Brie, Gerard Butler, Willem Dafoe, Dustin Milligan, Gretchen Mol, Alfred Molina, Kathleen Munroe, Anupam Kher, Julia Butters, Mayko Nguyen, Mimi Kuzyk.

Note:  Imdb 6.5 out of 10, 13% critic 63% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2*, Amazon 4.2* out of 5* with 101 reviews, Metacritic 21 out of 100 with 7 critics.

Special Note:  Filmed in Chicago and Naperville, Illinois; Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  Gerard Butler used to spend summers as a teenager in Toronto.  He enjoyed working on this project and he thought about living there again.  Butler was also the producer of this film.  The original title was The Headhunter’s Calling.  Screenwriter Bill Dubuque was a corporate headhunter for 12 years.

King Aruthur: Legend of the Sword 2017

     Arthur was next in line to be the King of Britain but he grows up in the back alleys of the realm.  After the death of his parents as a young boy, he was sent away in a small boat and he arrived in Londinium.  His father was the previous King Uther Pendragon and the current King Vortigern is Arthur’s uncle.  King Vortigern killed Arthur’s parents in order to rule as King.  Vortigern has men searching though the male population of a certain age for a man who can pull Excalibur from the stone.  Legend states that this man will be the next King but Vortigern will do anything to prevent this from happening.  Arthur begins to command a group of disgruntled noblemen and men familiar with battle but not allied with the King.  The Mage is a young woman with magic skills she a representative for the wizard Merlin.  She aids the group in their battle with the King.

     There are a LOT of battles, a LOT of CGI but not much background about the actual King Arthur legend.  Many of the scenes are in darkness so you can’t see the real details.  Director Guy Ritchie doesn’t leave a moment of the film without action!!  In some ways, this is like Robin Hood and all the merry men plus thieves.  Everything doesn’t need to fall into place because it's all about the struggle!!  3* (This movie is OK)

126 min, Action directed by Guy Ritchie with Charlie Hunnam, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, Jude Law, Djimon Hounsou, Eric Bana, Aidan Gillen, Freddie Fox, Craig McGinlay, Tom Wu, Kingslely Ben-Adir, Neil Maskell.

Note:  Imdb 6.8 out of 10, 29% critic 69% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 1 ½*, Amazon 4* out of 5* with 1157 reviews, Metacritic 41 out of 100 with 45 critics 7.2 out of 10 with 493 reviews, The Guardian 3* out of 5* review by Peter Bradshaw.

Special Note:  Filmed in Wales, Scotland, England, UK and Fjaorargljufur, Iceland.  This is the first installment of a planned six-film series.  Ritchie was concerned about the 20 pounds Hunnam lost for the last season of Sons of Anarchy of 2008.  Hunnam told Ritchie he would fight the other two actors (Henry Cavill and Jai Courtney) vying for the role and the last one still standing would get the job!!  Felicity Jones, Elizabeth Olsen and Alicia Vikander auditioned for the role of the Mage.  Hunnam patterned his fighting style and bodybuilding after Ultimate Fighting Championship Irish featherweight Conor McGregor.  Hunnam’s personal record for pushups was 1,050 in one day.  The original title was Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur.  Two other versions were started by other directors and actors but were not produced.  There is another film about King Arthur from 2004.

Falling for Vermont 2017

     Angela Young is a best selling author but she feels over her head with publicity and interviews for a movie based on one of her books.  She’s on set for an interview but she sneaks away and drives to Vermont.  She’s caught in a sudden thunderstorm, a tree falls in front of the car and she runs off the road.  She hit her head during the accident and a local Sheriff finds her walking down a road.  She doesn’t know who she is and he takes her to see Dr. Jeff Callan.  Dr. Jeff checks her out and offers her his guest cottage so she has a place to stay to recover.  Dr. Jeff has a daughter Wendy and a son Alex, he was married but his wife passed away two years ago.

84 min, Drama directed by David Winning with Julie Gonzalo, Larissa Albuquerque, Benjamin Ayres, Pewter Benson, Mark Brandon, Ava Grace Cooper, Arpad Balogh, Anthony Bolognese, Kristin York, Christian Michael Cooper, Cate Sproule.

     Right away, I must say that this is a Hallmark Movie.  I haven’t watched one of these in quite a while!!  There is are LOT of predictable scenes but easy to enjoy on a cold and rainy day.  Doesn’t take a lot of thought and doesn’t create any inner tension.  The scenery of this area in the fall is very beautiful.  3* (This movie is OK)

Note:  Imdb 6.8 out of 10, 50% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Letterboxd 3.1 out of 5* with 48 reviews

Special Note:  There is a mistake with the countdown clock for the TV interview.  When Angela leaves, the clock says 2 minutes and 30 seconds remaining until going live.  When it’s discovered that she is missing, the clock says 4 minutes.  Probably, the crashed car was within a short walk from where she was found but the Sheriff doesn’t go back to look for a car?

Wonder Woman 2017

     This film is based on a comic book character created in 1941 by William Moulton Marston.  Princess Diana has grown up on the utopian paradise island of Themyscira with the Amazon women on a sheltered island paradise.  The gods of Olympus created island.  As a young girl, she wants to start training like the women.  Just the idea terrifies her mother Queen Hippolyta.  Diana convinces Antiope to train her without her mother knowing.  Hippolyta is very angry when she finds Diana training.  Antiope convinces Hippolyta that her training is for the best for her future.  Pilot Captain Steve Trevor crashes on their shore and German soldiers follow him.  They use their guns to try to kill Steve and as many of the Amazon women as they can.  The arrows and spears used by the women are a poor substitute for the guns.  Diana talks her mother into letting her go with Steve to allow her see this war to end all wars that he talks about.  It is WWI between 1914-18.  Their first stop is London where they meet Steve's comrades. 

     This film is a LOT better than I expected.  It actually makes sense and it was interesting to watch.  I thought Gadot did a very good job in her role, she has a lot of power and she can fight!!  There isn't any bad feeling among the men when a powerful woman saves them??  One very good thing about this film is that it is not a bunch of costumed men scowling in place of acting!!  4* (I really liked this movie)

141 min, Action directed by Patty Jenkins with Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Connie Nielsen, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Said Taghmaoui, Ewen Bremner, Eugene Brave Rock, Lucy Davis, Elena Anaya, Lilly Aspell, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Ann Wolfe, Ann Ogbomo.

Note:  Imdb 7.6 out of 10, 92% critic 88% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*, Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 3422 reviews, Metacritic 76 out of 100 with 50 critics 7.8 out of 10 with 2170 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Italy, France and England, UK.  Gal Gadot was five months pregnant during re-shoots.  A green screen was placed around her abdomen and removed during post-production.  She trained for nine months prior to filming to gain 17 pounds of muscle.  General Erich Ludendorff was an actual person and he was the supreme commander of the German forces.  He authorized the use of mustard gas, a corrosive agent that melts tissue, inflicts temporary or permanent blindness and causes lasting lung damage.  He supported Adolf Hitler’s failed coup.  Elektra was the first female superhero film in 2005.

47 Meters Down 2017

     Lisa and Kate are sisters and they go together on a trip to Mexico.  Lisa is feeling very down because her boyfriend just broke up with her.  He said she’s too dull and boring?  The sisters meet Javier, Louis, Benjamin and later Captain Taylor.  The men offer to take the women to see sharks from a cage.  Kate is very nervous about this and she thinks it’s a bad idea.  Tourists were advised to book any trips through the hotel?  They take a small boat to the ship and they see that it’s old and rusty.  Two of the men go into the cage first and they have a successful viewing of sharks.  Next up are the two women.  They say they have experience as divers but Kate has never done this before?

     There are a LOT of scenes that would probably never happen and not all at once? There is a LOT of tension when anyone is out of the cage among the sharks.  I thought the ending was ambiguous?  Personally, being in a shark cage is one of the last places I would want to be?  Plus, stay out of the water if you don’t know what you are doing or what you are getting into!!  3* (This movie is OK)   

89 min, Adventure directed by Johannes Roberts with Mandy Moore, Claire Holt, Matthew Modine, Chirs Johnson, Yani Gellman, Santiago Segura.

Note:  Imdb 5.7 out of 10, 55% critic 36% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2*, Amazon 3.3* out of 5* with 239 reviews, Metacritic 52 out of 100 with 24 critics, 4.7 out of 10 with 55 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in the UK and at Pinewood Dominican Republic Studios, Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic for the water tank scenes.  47 meters is equal to 154.2 feet.  The original title was In the Deep.  There is a mistake with the air readings.  At this depth there would be 15 minutes of air for the divers.  Both Moore and Holt had not used scuba gear before.  Finely chopped broccoli was used to replicate the organisms found underwater.  Over time, Moore said it was quite unpleasant and like filming inside soup.  The shark cage and the crane were built on a farm in Kent, UK.