Dead of Winter 1987

      Katie McGovern is a struggling actress living with her husband and her visiting student brother.  She attends an audition that she found advertised in the paper.  She is selected to shoot a short video which will be sent to a director for his approval.  Mr. Murray is the man holding the audition.  He takes Katie to a remote mansion where they will shoot the video.  Katie is selected to replace the previous lead in the film.  The previous actress looks a lot like Katie.  Within a short about of time, things begin to look as if they are not what they seem.  Katie soon realizes she is in danger and she attempts to escape.

      The plot is not really the point in a movie like this. Thriller plots are written to be manipulated and then forgotten.  What counts is the architecture of the house.  The exact locations of the one-way mirrors and the hidden staircases. The existence of a working telephone in the attic.  There are alarming moments and the heroine knows that something is going on in the background here?  The plot is simply a device to convey us from one heart-stopping moment to the next.

Special Note:  This movie is based upon the film My Name is Julia Ross (1945) staring Nina Foch.  One of the film’s co-writers, Mark Malone also has a small role at Katie McGovern’s brother, Roland.  This film was released 42 years after the original film.  Malcolm McDowell is the celebrity whose photograph Dr. Lewis is "autographing" to add to his display.  At the time of filming, McDowell was married to star Mary Steenburgen.

Mistake:  When Katie's driver's license is burning in the fireplace, a part of portion of the already burned license appears intact in a subsequent shot? 

Note:  Imdb 6.2* out of 10* with 3691 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 77% with 13 critic reviews 46% with 1000+ audience scores, Letterboxd 3* out of 5*, Metacritic 55 out of 100 with 12 critic reviews, Roger Ebert 2 1/2*, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 202 reviews.

100 min, Drama directed by Arthur Penn and written by Marc Shmuger and Mark Malone with Mary Steenburgen, Roddy McDowall, Jan Rubes, William Russ, Ken Pogue, Wayne Robson, Mark Malone, Michael Copeman, Sam Malkin, Pamela Moller, Dwayne McLean, Paul Welsh.

The Sheltering Sky 1990

     This film is based on a novel written by Paul Bowles.  The American artist couple Port and Kit Moresby travel aimlessly through Africa.  They are searching for new experiences that could give a new sense of meaning to their relationship.  But, the flights to distant regions lead them both only deeper into despair.

     The book is definitely a work of great art and also is the movie.  They tend to blend together in the mind.  There is powerful imagery when viewing it in a theater and not on DVD.  I was chilled by the psychological harshness of the plot.  I was charmed the first time I saw the film but appreciated it more when I saw it a second time after I read the novel.  Maybe this means that the film doesn't make it on its own?  And, if you are gripped by the movie, reading the novel will reveal even more in depth. 

     Some people seem to think that there is no plot or just a very thin one?  Actually, it is not thin but it’s not directly at the surface.  You will  need to concentrate and pay attention to further dig into the film.  If as a viewer, you don’t like that or feel that a movie should just willing present itself to you, this is not your type of movie?  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

138 min, Adventure directed by Bernardo Bertolucci and written by Paul Bowels and Mark People with Debra Winger, John Malkovich, Campbell Scott, Jill Bennett, Timothy Spall, ERic Vu-An, Amina Annabi, Philippe Morier-Genoud, Sotigui Koyate, Tom Novembre, Mohamed Ben Smail, Kamel Cherif.

Note:  Imdb 6.8* out of 10* with 11,917 reviews, Roger Ebert 2*, Rotten Tomatoes 50% with 26 critic reviews 79% with 5000+ audience scores, Letterboxd 3/4* out of 5* with 26 fans, Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 266 reviews.

Special Note:  Natasha Richardson said she wrote Bernardo Bertolucci a long letter pleading for the role of Kit!  Instead the role was given to Debra Winger.  John Malovich’s character, Port Moresby has the same name as the capital city of Papua New Guinea.  Nicolas Roeg wanted desperately to get the chance to direct  reportedly he was very disappointed when he was not chosen.  Paul Bowles, author and thinly disguised subject of the autobiographical novel on which the film is based said, "It should never have been filmed?  The ending is idiotic and the rest is pretty bad."  This quote comes from a rare interview that was part of the film Let it Come Down:  The Life of Paul Bowles 1998.  Ellen Barkin was considered for the role of Kit Moresby and in the end the role was given to Debra Winger.  British actress Jill Bennett, former wife of British playwright and actor John Osborne, committed suicide shortly after filming ended on The Sheltering Sky.  This picture is narrated by the film's own source novelist Paul Bowles.

Mistakes:  During the final sequence, when Kit is back at the Grand Hotel and she is waiting in the car, she is wearing white shoes.  But just after, when she escapes and is walking in the streets, she is wearing brown sandals.  There is a moment when Port is with Kit in her room, she is sitting and he is caressing her belly.  A good deal of pubic hair is notoriously visible but immediately follows a closer shot in which she is completely covered.  The crew is reflected in the mirror when Kit gets out of bed alone and the crew is reflected in the bus window before Port bites his tongue. 

Paranormal Activity 2007

          A young, middle class couple move into a suburban 'starter' tract house.  They become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be somehow demonic?  It is certainly most active in the middle of the night?  Especially, when they sleep or try to sleep?  All it takes is one bedroom door to move 12 inches on its own and you feel like running out of the theater and also screaming while you are running??  And, there are moments when you think you should have definitely used the facilities!!  Could it be that your clothing may need to be professionally incinerated by a bio-hazard disposal team??

     Newcomers Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat give subtly authentic performances as Katie and her rugged boyfriend Micah.  They live together in a pleasant apartment.  As the movie begins, we see what Micah sees, his girlfriend driving up to their apartment in a cool convertible.  This is first and last time we will see the normal world ­outside their home.  Katie is not sure she is liking Micah filming her?  Not with just any old camcorder but he has bought a big professional-quality digital movie camera!!  It is complete with the fixed spotlight which in restricted light creates a harsh light-halo in the middle of the frame.  It is like the halo in Blair Witch from 1999.  This spotlight picked out the dense foliage with disorientating clarity and also showed the glistening mucus and tears on Heather's gibbering face!!!  I thought this film was good but it is definitely scary!!  3* (This movie was OK)

 
86 min, Horror directed and written by Oren Pell with Katie Festherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs, Amber Armstrong, Ashley Palmer.

Note:  Imdb 6.3* out of 10* with 22,167 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 83% with 204 critic reviews 57% with 250,000+ audience scores, Metacritic 68 out of 100 with 24 critic reviews, 5.9* out of 10 with 680 ratings, The Guardian 4* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, 4* out of 10* The Rich review by Cameron Richardson, Common Sense Media Jeffrey M. Anderson, 4* out of 5* age 16+, Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 4096 reviews.

Special Note:  Steven Spielberg consulted with the filmmakers and convinced them to change the original ending.  Spielberg had to stop watching the film halfway through on a home screener because he was genuinely spooked by his viewing experience!!  He completed it in daylight hours the next day and he loved it.  The actors weren't given scripts but were given guidelines on how to behave or what to discuss in their scenes.  The entire movie was filmed in Oren Pell’s home.  Dreamworks wanted to remake the movie with a bigger budget and better known actors rather than release the film as it was. They would use the original film as a DVD extra.  During the first test screenings, people started leaving the theater?  Originally, the crew thought this was because the film wasn't going over very well with its audience?  Later they discovered that people left the auditorium because they couldn't handle the intensity of the film??  

Mistakes:  In the original Director's cut of the film, the name of the dermatologist recommended by the psychic is Dr. Johan Abrams.  In the theatrical version, every time his name is mentioned it is noticeably re-dubbed as "Dr. Johan Averies”?  At 39:39 we hear a door opening sound as Micha goes out to the porch but there is no door?  A little over 2 minutes into the movie, Micah is making dinner.  There is clearly a bottle of red pasta sauce and a take out coffee cup on the counter.  Katie pours them both a glass of wine.  In the next cut, his wine glass is gone?  Katie is drinking a bottle of water?  On the counter is a bag of lettuce or some other vegetable  (not part of their dinner) and two bottles of vitamins?  Then they are eating dinner and she has her wine glass back?

Extract 2009

     Joel Adler is the owner of an extract manufacturing plant.  He constantly finds himself in precarious situations that steadily worsen by the minute.  First, his soon-to-be floor manager has a serious injury in a machine malfunction accident that endangers the well being of his company.  

     Joel's personal life isn't much better when he takes the advice of his bar tending friend Dean.  This was during a drug-induced brainstorming session on how to test his wife's faithfulness?  Finally, compounding these catastrophes is new employee Cindy.  She turns out to be a scam artist intent on milking the company for all its worth!!  Now, Joel must try to piece his company and his marriage back together while trying to figure out what he really wants in life?  3* ( I liked this movie)
 
92 min, Comedy directed and written by Mike Judge with Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Ben Affleck, J.K. Simmons, Clifton Collins Jr., Dustin Milligan, David Koechner, Beth Grant, R.J. Miller, Javier Gutierrez, Lidia Porto.

Note:  Imdb 6.1* out of 10* with 45,653 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 62% with 189 critic reviews 38%, Rotten Tomatoes 100,000+ audience scores, Deep Focus 3* out of 4* Brian Eggert, Roger Ebert 2 1/2*, Metacritic 61 out of 100 with 33 critic reviews, 6.1 out of 10 with 99 user scores, reelviews.net 2 1/2* James Berardinelli, Letterboxed 2.8* out of 5*, Common Sense Media age 16+ 2* age 15+.

Special Note:  The pawn shop where Cindy sells the stolen guitar was the same store used for the infamous pawn shop scenes in Pulp Fiction (1994).  Joel Adler is a nod to attorney Jim Adler and his “have you been injured?! television commercials.  After Office Space (1999), Mike Judge wanted to make a follow-up companion piece to that movie.  It would be about his experiences owning a small independent company and it would be sympathetic to the boss.  Joel Adler is also referred to on Beavis and Butt-Head (1993) and this was also created by Mike Judge.  The handbag that was stolen was made by the Barcelona company  TOUS. Their logo is a teddy bear, which appears on the handbag.

Mistakes:  Boom microphones are clearly visible in several early house interior scenes.  Dominos sells Coke products, not Pepsi clearly visible in several early house interior scenes.  When Joel comes home from being punched at the bong session, he has a monster of a black eye!!  When he leaves the house the next morning, the shiner has completely vanished?  It reappears briefly, but in milder form, by the time he arrives at work?    
 

500 Days of Summer 2009

        After It looks as if she's left his life for good this time, Tom Hansen reflects back on the just over one year ago that he knew Summer Finn.  For Tom, it was love at first sight when she walked into the greeting card company where he worked.  She had a new job as the administrative assistant.  Soon, Tom knew that Summer was the woman with whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life. Although Summer said she did not believe in relationships or boyfriends, real life will always ultimately always seem to get in the way?  Tom and Summer became more than just friends.  Through the trials and tribulations of Tom and Summer's so-called relationship, Tom could always count on the advice of his two best friends, McKenzie and Paul.  It is Tom's adolescent sister, Rachel, who is his voice of reason.  After all is said and done, Tom is the one who ultimately has to make the choice to listen or not.  4* (I really liked this movie)

     At the start of the movie it states that “This is not a love story” and it really is not?  It’s a story about Tom and Summer.  She doesn’t want a serious relationship and she states that this is her goal for their friendship.  But Tom totally falls in love with Summer.  The movie is about how a man with an obsessive personality deals with loss in his life.  The movie accents Tom’s obsession running into reality.  When Summer eventually ended the friendship with him, his whole world collapsed.  It is because he could only think about her as his dream girl and not about her as a real person.  The question is, can he ever get over her and pull his life back together?  That might sound very depressing and there is plenty of that in this film!!  It shifts back and forth between the 500 days that he is with her.  There’s also romance and some laughs.  Obviously that means this movie isn’t for everyone because a lot of people won’t enjoy a story like this but it is worthwhile to see.  4* (I really liked this movie)

95 min, Comedy directed by Marc Webb and written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber with Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Geoffrey Arend, Chloe Grace Moretz, Matthew Gray Gubler, Clark Gregg, Patricia Belcher, Rachel Boston, Minka Kelly, Charles Walker, Ian Reed Kesler, Darryl Alan Reed, Vante Rodriguez, Yvette Nicole Brown, Nicloe Vicius.

Note:  Imdb 7.7* out of 10* with 576,566 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 85% with 233 critic reviews 84% with 250,000+ audience scores, Common Sense Media S. Jhoanna Robledo, 4* out of 5* age 14+, Roger Ebert 4*, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 3950 reviews, Metacritic 76 out of 100 with 36 critic reviews 8.1* out of 10* with 870 user scores.

Special Note:  According to the DVD commentary, one of the film's writers estimates that 75% of the film actually happened to him?  During the flashback to Summer's job selling ice cream, Tom can be seen waiting in line.  The film's blue-centric color scheme was done to bring out Zooey Deschanel’s eyes.  Around the time of the movie's release, director Marc Web shot a short video for the Internet, which featured Zooey Deschanel as Sid Vicious and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Nancy Spungen.  This was a referenced in a conversation in this movie.  

Mistakes:  On day 303 early in the film, Tom receives an e-mail from Summer that she can't meet him that week and hopes that means he's ready to be friends.  The e-mail is dated May 7, 2008.  On Day 500, Tom awaits an interview and the narrator says it was May 23.  This is inconsistent with the rest of the movie which seems to be set in 2006 and early 2007.  Tom and Rachel are shown playing on a Nintendo Wii game console on day 11.  Near the end of the film, the narrator says day 500 is Wednesday, May 23.  The last time May 23 was a Wednesday was in 2007.  Counting back, this means day 11 would have been January 18, 2006.  The Nintendo Wii was not released until November 19, 2006.  At the beginning, Day 8 during the office party Tom asks Summer about moving "here" and how long she has been “here."  She answers "since Saturday" which doesn't make sense as it is Day 8 since they met which is more than a week.
 

District 9 2009

     Violence ensues after an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth.  They find a kindred spirit in a government agent exposed to their biotechnology.  In 1982, a massive star ship bearing a bedraggled alien population, nicknamed "The Prawns," appeared over Johannesburg South Africa.  Twenty-eight years later, the initial welcome by the human population has faded.  The refugee camp where the aliens were located has deteriorated into a militarized ghetto called District 9, where they are confined and exploited in squalor.  In 2010, the munitions corporation, Multi-National United is contracted to forcibly evict the alien population with operative Wikus van der Merwe in charge.  In this operation, Wikus is exposed to a strange alien chemical and must rely on the help of only his two new 'Prawn' friends.

     There is a more personal story about the bureaucrat named Wikus (Sharlto Copley) accidentally exposed to a DNA-altering substance.  As he begins metamorphosing into one of the creatures, Wikus goes on the run from scientists.  They want to harvest his evolving new parts but the aliens see him as a threat.  He teams up with an extraterrestrial secretly planning an escape from Earth.  What should be a fascinating relationship story becomes a series of firefights and explosions.  Nuance is lost to numbing violence and the more interesting potential of the film is muddied.  For a while District 9 is a powerful movie with a unique story to tell.  The seamless special effects alone are worth seeing.  There are often brutal exchanges between aliens and humans.  4* (I really liked this movie)

112 min, Action directed and written by Neill Blomkamp and also written by Terri Tatchell with Sharlto Copley, David James, Jason Cope, Nathalie Boltt Sylvaine Stirke, Elizabeth Mkandawie, John Sumner, William Allen Young, Greg Melvill-Smith, Nick blake, Morena Busa Sesatsa, Themba Nkosi, Mzwandile Nqoba, Barry Strydom, Jed Brophy, Lousi Minnaar.

Note:  Imdb 7.9* out of 10* with 642,385 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 90% with 314 critic reviews 82% with 250,000+ audience scores, Roger Ebert 3*, Common Sense Media James Rocchi, 4* out of 5*, age 17+, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, Metacritic 81 out of 100 with 36 critic reviews 8.1* out of 10* with 1494 user scores, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 3,656 reviews, Letterboxd 3.7* out of 5* with 717 fans, RollingStone 3 1/2* Peter Travers.

Special Note:  After the feature film based on the Halo: Combat Evolved 2001, the 2001 video game series was to have been directed by Neill Blomkamp but this fell through.   Producer Peter Jackson went to Blomkamp and offered him $30 million to make whatever he wanted, although this would be Blomkamp's first feature as a director.  The result is this film.  A large number of actual South African weapons were used in the film.  Quite a few of them were designed by Tony Neophytou and are marketed by Denel.  This includes the NTW-20 20mm anti-materiel rifle, white painted CR-21 bullpup assault rifles and a Neopup PAW-20 hand-held grenade launcher.  Koobus uses this when he shoots the battle suit with the black hand-held grenade launcher.  The language used by the aliens (clicking sounds) was created by rubbing a pumpkin.  The first documentary style film to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.

Mistakes:  When the MNU workers first walk up to Christopher Johnson's shack in order to evict him, the radio operator identifies the shack as "Yankee Foxtrot Five Three Zero," or YF530.  However, the number on the shack itself is FY530.  When Wikus is having his bandage removed at the hospital, the doctor is not wearing rubber gloves.  Any medical professional would be gloved (and probably masked) when cutting off a bloody bandage.  As the interviewed people are talking, their titles and names were placed on the screen. When one of the MNU officers is talking, LIAISONS is misspelled LIASONS.
 

Dirigible 1931

      A French explorer enlists the help of the US Navy in an expedition to the South Pole.  There is a competition between the airship division and fixed wing fliers and there are also triumphs and disasters.  This film is loosely based on the crash of the airship Italia flown by Umberto Nobile around May 25 1928 near the North Pole.  The international rescue effort cost early Polar explorer Roald Amudson his life.
 
     The Pilot who rescued Nobile also crashed when returning to rescue more survivors and had to be rescued himself.  The production was shot during a California heat wave.  To form vapor on the breath and give the impression that the pilots were in the Antarctic, the performers were given lumps of 'dry ice' (frozen carbon dioxide) in metal boxes to put in their mouths.  Unfortunately, Hobart Bosworth found the box cumbersome and simply put the ice in his mouth.  This action caused him to lose his tongue and most of his lower jaw!!  

     The Motion Picture Herald reported that the rough cut before final editing consisted of 28 reels.  125,000 feet of film were shot at the Naval Air Base at Lakehurst New Jersey.  The estimated cost of production of $1,000,000 made it the most expensive Columbia film to that date.

100 min, Adventure directed by Frank Capra and written by Frank Wead with Jack Holt, Ralph Graves, Fay Wray, Hobart Bosworth, Roscoe Karns, Harold Goodwin, Clarence Muse, Emmett Corrigan.

Note:  Imdb 6.3* out of 10* with 554 reviews, Rotes Tomatoes 57% audience score with less than 50 ratings, Letterboxd 3.2* out of 5*, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 5 ratings, pre-code.com Danny’s rating: Indifferent, kqek.com very good.

Special Note:  Also titled Das Luftschiff and released 4 April 1931 in the US.  Filmed at Naval Air Station Lakehurst New Jersey and San Gabriel Valley California for the South Pole scenes.  The box office takes was estimated to be $1,000,000.

Mistakes:  In the opening scene, the Capitol Dome is shown outside of Admiral Martin's window.  The Navy Yard is over 2 miles from the Capitol and it would not be seen from inside his office.  At 57:23, when Clarence and Sock are talking, lighting equipment is visible in the reflection of Clarence's glasses.  The name of this Dirigible was the USS Pensacola but there was already a USN heavy cruiser of the same name that was in service since 1928 when this movie was made.  The Navy does not assign duplicate names to ships/air ships in service at the same time. 

Enchanted April 1992

      This a slow moving film about the civilizing influence of Italy on beleaguered Londoners both male and female.  It is based on a novel by Elizabeth von Armin.  It also has a civilizing influence on viewers.  It's almost like taking a little mini-trip to Italy with gorgeously filmed enchantment.

     Rose Arbuthnot (Miranda Richardson) and Lottie Wilkins (Josie Lawrence) are both British women and they are both married.  They decide to take a break in post WWI England from their respective spouses.  They stay at a castle in Italy for a quiet holiday.  Joining the ladies is Caroline Dester (Polly Walker) a young socialite and Mrs. Fisher (Joan Plowright) an older aristocrat.  Liberated from their daily routines, the four women ease into life in rural Italy and each finds herself transformed by the experience.

     There are moments of superior character insight, deep feelings and high comedy.  It’s optimistic from beginning to end and avoids  involvement with anything that might even hint at bleakness or despair.  Similar in tone to A Room with View and it is a standout in its genre.  It's a feel good movie that doesn't manipulate, overrun, underestimate or otherwise dupe its audience.  Viewers looking for a captivating film will like this movie.  4* (I really liked this movie)
 
95 min, Drama directed by Mike Newell and written by Elizabeth von Armin and Peter Barnes with Alfred Molina, Joan Plowright, Miranda Richardson, Polly Walker, Stephen Beckett, Matthew Radford, Davide Manuli, Vittorio Duse, Adriana Facchetti.

Note:  Imdb 7.4* out of 10* with 6094 reviews, Metacritic 78 out of 100 with 24 critic reviews, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 1644 reviews, Common Sense Media S.Jhoanna Robledo, 3* out of 5*, sage 13+, Rotten Tomatoes 84% with 32 critic reviews 83% 5000+ audience scores, relies.net 4* James Berardinelli.

Special Note:  The Italian castle scenes were filmed at Castello Brown in Portofino, Italy.  This is the same castle where Elizabeth von Arnim stayed in the 1920s when she wrote the novel this movie was based on and with the same title.  The scene in Mrs. Fisher's London home was filmed in a museum of Victorian life in Kensington, London.  This film was made for British television in 1991 but well-produced enough to be released in theaters in the United States in 1992.  Some of the flowers, especially the Wisteria (which forms an important part of the story) were not real?  The producers speak about this in the DVD commentary.  Alfred Molina was the only member of the cast and crew who could speak Italian and communicate with the Italian actors and locals during the shoot in Italy.  Because of his knowledge he ended up acting as a general interpreter for the production.  Featured Dame Joan Plowright’s only Oscar nominated performance.

Mistakes:  Near the beginning of the film, the vase of flowers at the dining table repeatedly changes between shots.  Rose selects a spray of pink flowers to place in her hair.  When she puts the flowers back into the vase, the straight plastic stems reveal them to be artificial.

Flight into Darkness 1928

      Charles Vanel and Annabella star as a daring WW I aviator and his loving but neglected wife.  Ostracized by the other pilots because of his recklessness and standoffish behavior, Vanel befriends a young pilot who is in love with Vanel's wife.
 

     Maurice Tourneur has said that making pictures is a commercial business and the same as making soap?  To be successful, a commodity must be made that will sell.  We have a choice between making bad, silly, childish and useless pictures that make a lot of money and make everybody rich.  Or nice stories, which nobody wants to see?  The American film producers will have to change their machine-made stories.  They will have to come to a closer and truer view of humanity in order to make good successful stories.”  Maurice Tourneur commented in Shadowland, May 1920.  This was an American monthly magazine about art, dance and film.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

114 min Drama, silent, black and white directed and written by Maurice Tourneur, based on a WWI novel by Joseph Kessel with Georges Charlia, Claire de Lorez, Jean Dax, Pierre de Guingand, Daniel Mendaille, Camille Bert, Charles Barrois, Robert Astruc, Robby Guichard, Mitchell, Rene Donnio, Monteaux, Belleville, Thevenet.

Note:  Amazon gives the book 4.5* out of 5* with 151 ratings, DVD 4.6* out of 5* with 9 reviews.  Produced by Lutece Films, Society de Generale de Films and released 30 March 1928.

L’Euipage or Gentlemen at Arms 1928

     This is the first adaptation of Joseph Kessel’s World War I novel.  An aviator falls in love with a woman who turns out to be the wife of one of his flying comrades.  L’equipage was filmed in France and the language is also in French.  The release date was 30 March 1928 in France.  
     There is also a French version from 1935 directed by Anatole Litvak.  And there is another version titled Last Flight 1935 directed by Frank Capra.  The Frank Capra film was dedicated to United States Marine Corps and the production was greatly aided by their participation.

     The 1935 L’Equipage film is directed by Anatole Litvak and he is a Ukrainian born director.  He is best remembered today for the films he made during his prolific time in Hollywood.  Classics such as All This and Heaven Too 1940, The Snake Pit 1948, Decision Before Dawn 1951 and Anastasia 1956.  This film is primarily a melodrama concerned mainly with a moral dilemma faced by the three leading characters.  There is a convincing depiction of combat in WWI.  The battle sequences may last a few minutes but they are stunningly realized and vividly convey the frenzy and savagery of modern warfare.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)
 
Note:  Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 141 reviews, French films.org review 4*, Goodreads gives the book 3.63* out of 5* with 183 ratings.
 

Last Flight 1929

      Two Marine pilots are in love with the same woman, Lila Lee.  They are assigned a mission to find a notorious bandit in Nicaragua.  This is an early talkie from director Frank Capra released in 1929 and staring Jack Holt, Ralph Graves and Lila Lee.  This time period is the beginning of sound in films.  Aerial filming is a popular type of movie in this time period and there were so many made that it's hard to set them apart from each other.  

      Ralph Graves has the lead here and he did two aerial films in 1929, Flight and The Flying Fleet.  Many times they were much the same story over and over again.  The acting with a  sound track was less than natural.  But, you get a sympathy card for the backwards man Graves because Jack Holt is doing his best to build up his confidence.  Not among Capra's best releases but it's decent enough.  It could have been a lot worse when you take into account the date of the release.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

110 min, black and white, Action directed by Frank Capra and written by Ralph Graves, Howard j. Green and Frank Capra with Jack Holt, Lila Lee, George Irving, Ralph Graves, Alan Roscoe, Harold Goodwin, Jimmy De La Cruze, Joe Bordeaux, Walter Brennan, Eddy Chandler, Edgar Dearing.

Note:  Imdb 6* out of 10* with 268 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes fewer than 50 ratings, Letterboxd 3.1* out of 5*, Amazon 4* out of 5* with 124 reviews.
   

Bird People 2014

     The synopsis of this film caught my attention.  It seemed like a weird but beautiful romantic movie about a man in crisis and a maid who helps him.  In an airport hotel on the outskirts of Paris, a Silicon Valley engineer abruptly tosses his job, breaks things off with his wife and holes up in his room.  Soon, fate draws him and a young French maid together.  It is a sweet movie but slow moving.  The film is 1/2 English & 1/2 French subtitles.  The first half of movie is trivial and too descriptive of everyday people's thoughts and mundane living.  Boring!  The second half is a bit fantasy and sort of kind of sweet.  It's often basically boring?  There is nature study of all forms of life from birds, bugs, animals to humans.  Not really a fantasy or fairy tale, not a real love story either.  Possibly just an acquaintance story?

      Twenty minutes of random and unnecessary footage.  Still, in it's portrayal of characters who are not perfect it manages to show beauty and good in life in a weird way.  It's a slow movie where things of little to no significance happen, but it's all worth for the last 3 minutes.  If you get that and what it means, you will like this movie. It isn't perfect.  It isn't for everybody.  It tries too much to be artistic but fails.  I still liked it and recommend it, at least for one watch but not a repeat.  3* (This movie is OK)

127 min, Drama directed and written by Pascale Ferran and also written by Guillaume Bread with Josh Charles, Anais Dmoustier, Roschdy Zem, Taklyt Vongdara, Geoffrey Cantor, Camelia Jordana,Radha Mitchell, Mohand Saci, Ali Ben Amar, Corallie Majouga, Sonia Bouquet, Aurore Sooudieux, Khalil Yahya.

Note:  Imdb 6.1* out of 10* with 1919 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 60% with 35 critic reviews 40% with 150+ audience scores, Roger Ebert 2*, Amazon 48 out of 5* with 42 ratings, Letterboxd 3.3* out of 5*, Metacritic 70 out of 100 with 12 critic reviews, 7.1 out of 10 user scores, IndieWire Oliver Lyttelton Grade C.
 

Lost in Austin 2008

      Amanda Price is dissatisfied with her life in modern London.  Her favorite escape is getting lost in the pages of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.  One night, Amanda is startled to come face to face with the novel's protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet.  A small door in Amanda's apartment mysteriously links their worlds.  Eventually, she becomes trapped on the other side while Elizabeth remains in the modern world.  Now, as the events of her favorite book unfold in all the wrong ways, Amanda tries desperately to set things straight.  But inevitably she makes things worse!! 

     Will this fractured version of a classic tale lead Amanda to her own happily-ever-after?  I found a large amount of enjoyment in this film.  Darcy is at least a foot taller than Elizabeth but don't let this distract you.  Hugh Bonneville and Alex Kingston as Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are very good in their roles.  They both act like and look like they are the real deal.  Mrs. Bennet is particular is far less silly and more certainly streetwise.  She knows what she wants for her daughters and nothing will stand in her way.  5* (I really liked this series)

180 min, TV series, 4 episodes, with Jemima Rooper, Elliot Cowan, Hugh Bonneville, Florence Hath, Alex Kingston, Moven Christie, Perdita Weeks, Tom Mison, Ruby Bentall, Christina Cole, Tome Riley, Guy Henry, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Daniel Percival.

Note:  UK Imdb 7.4* out of 10* with 10,245 reviews, Letterboxd 3.2* out of 5*, Amazon 4.4* out of 5*, netflix.com 4 1/2* out of 5* with 525,560 reviews, 7.

Special Note:  The house used to represent Longbourn, the Bennets' home was an empty and derelict building called Bramham Biggin.  It is located on the Bramham Park Estate in West Yorkshire England.  The building had not been in use for a long time so the film crew were allowed to make many alterations to the property.  There was the addition of a porch over the front entrance and the planting of a new garden.  At the ball, the Bennet sisters tell a story of how they have a wager to get Mr. Darcy to say three words to them.  They fail when he responds with "You lose." This exchange is supposed to have actually happened in history and the famous response was uttered by United States President Calvin Coolidge.  The story has also been attached to the British Prime Minister Clement Attlee.  Lady Ambrosia, the Bennets' pig was scripted to make an appearance on screen but an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease prevented the shooting of this scene.

Mistakes:  When Mrs. Bennet and the girls' carriage has broken down, just as Wickam arrives, you can see an airplane or helicopter in the distant sky over Mrs. Bennet's head.

Mad Men 7 seasons 2007-2015

     The professional and personal lives of those who work in advertising on Madison Avenue - self-coined "mad men" - in the 1960s are presented in this series.  The stories focus on those at one of the avenue's smaller firms, Sterling Cooper and its various incarnations over the decade.  At the heart of these stories is Donald Draper, he is the creative genius of the company.  That professional creative brilliance belies the fact of a troubled childhood.  One that he would rather forget and not let anyone know about except for a select few.  But the past is what shaped who he is as an adult and as an ad man.  He needs not only to sell products but sell himself to the outside world.  His outward confidence also masks many insecurities as evidenced through his many vices, such as excessive smoking, drinking and womanizing.  Seeing other women despite being a family man and how he deals with the aftermath of some of the negative aspects of his life.

     Filming locations were Los Angeles Center Studios, Pasadena California and New York City.  According to an October 2013 article in Esquire Magazine, one of makeup artist Lana Horochowski’s responsibilities was to make sure that Jon Hamm was clean shaven at all times.  Hamm's facial hair grew exceptionally fast and during long shooting days, it would regrow to the point that stubble would become visible on camera.  It wasn't unusual for Horochowski to shave Hamm three times during the course of one day of filming.  In response to this revelation, Dr. Peter Hino a dermatologist cautioned viewers not to try shaving multiple times a day in emulation of Hamm!!  It could prove irritating and damaging to the skin of a man with an average rate of beard growth??  5 1/2* (I really liked this series)

TV-14 each episode 47 min, Drama created by Matthew Weiner with Jon Hamm, Elizabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones, Christina Hendricks, Aaron Staton, Rich Sommer, John Slattery, Kieran Shipka, Robert Morse, Christopher Stanley, Jessica Pare, Jay R. Ferguson, Michael Gladis, Bryan Batt, Alison Brie.

Note:  Imdb 8.6* out of 10* with 210,269 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 94% average tomato meter 96% average audience scores, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 835 reviews, Common Sense Media Sierra Filucci, 4* out of 5*, age 17+.

Special Note:  According to Jon Hamm, production's pursuit of historical accuracy was such that series researchers would insist on knowing weather conditions, news items and popular culture for a particular period related to the script's time frame.  The actors do not smoke real cigarettes.  They smoke Ecstacy herbal cigarettes and they are tobacco and nicotine free.  Show creator Matthew Weiner said in a New York Times article, "You don't want actors smoking real cigarettes.  They get agitated and nervous.  I've been on sets where people throw up because they've smoked so much."  When asked what it's like to smoke herbal cigarettes, Jon Hamm (who plays Don Draper) told Vulture, "Terrible. They taste like a mixture between pot and soap."  Nearly a year elapsed between the filming of the pilot, Mad Men: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (2007) and the second episode, Mad Men: Ladies Room  (2007).

Mistakes:  Episodes from Season 1 to Season 3 feature rotary phones with clear plastic finger wheels.  These episodes take place before 1964 when the plastic wheel was introduced.  Before that, the finger wheels were black and metal.  IBM Selectric IIs are shown used in the offices.  They weren't available until the 1970’s.  Mad Men takes place in the 60’s.  There is a scene where Don and Roger are using urinals in the Men's Room, and the urinals have a privacy divider between them.  These dividers did not appear until the 1990s or 1980s at the very earliest.
 

Invictus 2009

     This movie is based on a book titled Playing the Enemy by John Carlin and the screenplay was written by Anthony Peckham.  It is about the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the Captain of South Africa's rugby team, Francois Pienaar to help unite their country.  Newly elected President Mandela realizes his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of Apartheid.  He believes he can bring his people together through the universal language of sports.  Mandela rallies South Africa's rugby team as they make their run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match.

     The meaning of the word invictus is unconquerable or undefeated in Latin.  Also Invictus was an inspirational poem written by William Ernest Henley in 1975.  Fans of Mandela would find it interesting to read the book Playing the Enemy.  Morgan Freeman is very good in his role as Mandela.  Matt Damon is only 5'11" compared to Francois Pienaar's 6’4" and his portrayal of the Springbok captain us also very good.  Plus, his excellent Afrikaans accent compensates for his lack of height.  In the special feature, "Matt Damon plays Rugby" Matt did his own rugby and earned Francois' admiration and friendship.  So what more can be said about the Rugby?  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

134 min Biography directed by Clint Eastwood and written by Anthony Peckham and John Carlin with Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Tony Kgoroge,Patrick Mofokeng, MattStern, Julian Lewis Jones, Adjoa Andoh, Marguerite Wheatley, Leleti Khumalo, Patrick Lyster, Penny Downie, Sibongile Nojila, Bonnie Mbuli.

Note:  Imdb 7.3* out of 10* with 151,305 reviews,    Rotten Tomatoes 76% with 246 critic reviews 75% with 100,000+ audience scores, Metacritc 74 out of 100 with 34 critic reviews 7.1 out of 10 with 211 user scores, Roger Ebert 3 1/2*, The Guardian 2* out of 3* Xan Brooks, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 2590 reviews.

Special Note:  Nelson Mandela said that only Morgan Freeman could portray him and Freeman was the first actor cast.  Morgan Freeman is left-handed but to portray Nelson Mandela as accurately as possible it was very important to him to use his right hand.  He trained himself to use his right hand when he was seen writing in this movie since Mandela was right-handed.  The prison cell that the South African rugby team visited was the actual prison cell on Robben Island where Mandela stayed for eighteen years of his prison sentence.  

Mistakes:  In the shot of the 747 pilot looking over the stadium, the shot includes a Vodacom advertisement on top of the tall Ponty Building.  In 1995, there was a Coca Cola sponsorship on top of the building.  The 4 engine Airbus A340 with the Chester Williams photo on the fuselage was only introduced to South African Airways in 2000.  In the film the scrums word means scrummage and the purpose of a scrum is to restart play with a contest for possession after a minor infringement or stoppage.  This command was added to the laws of rugby in 2007 to make scrums safer.  When Francois Pienaar leaves the bus on the beginning of their tour of South Africa in 1994, a closeup on his feet shows the triple stripe logo of Adidas on his shoes.  That logo was used at least since the 1960's and afterwards the logo was the Trefoil.  When the Springboks are on their way into the township for the PR exercise, a 2008 election poster for Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille can be seen.
 

La Fille du RER 2009

     This film is based on a play written by Jean-Marie Besset and it is also based on actual facts.  The title in English is The Girl on the Train.  Jeanne is a young woman, striking but otherwise without other qualities.  Her mother tries to get her a job in the office of a lawyer, his name is Bleistein and he was her lover years ago.  Jeanne fails the interview but begins a new relationship with Franck.  He is a wrestler with dreams and he has claims to be in a legitimate business partnership.  Jeanne is only too happy to believe whatever Bleistein tells her.  When Franck is arrested, he scolds Jeanne for her naivety.  She's terribly stung and she seeks attention by making up a story of an anti-Semetic attack on a train?  This accusation causes Jeanne to receive media attention because of the sensation it creates.  Is there any way out for her now?  In a subplot, Bleistein's grandson Nathan, prepares for his bar mitzvah.  Through an encounter with Jeanne he experiences his first realizations of manhood.

     This film tells the true story of a young woman who claimed to be the victim of a crime on a Paris suburban train.  She was exposed as a liar when her story failed to add up.  In a city fraught with ethnic tensions, her tall tale opened up fault lines between races, religions and political affiliations running far deeper than the lie itself.  It is a film that pulls off the tricky feat of moving quickly while taking its time.  Like its rollerblading protagonist, it is constantly on the move. Hurtling headfirst into a series of interlocking relationships.  Yet the director, Andre Techine is less interested in his story’s destination than he is with the journey his characters take to get there.  There are various circumstances that lead them to make life-altering and often inexplicable choices.  Possibly, they need head examinations due to their thinking processes??  3* (This movie is OK)

97 min, Drama directed and written by Andre Techine and also written by Odile Barski and Jean-Marie Besset with Emilie Dequenne, Michel Blanc, Catherine Deneuve, Mathieu Demy, Ronit Elkabetz, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Jeremie Quaegebeur, Djibril Pavade, Alain Cauchi, Amer Alwan, Melaine Leconte.

Note:  Imdb 6* out of 10* with 1477 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 76% with 62 critic reviews 43% with 1000+ audience scores, Roger Ebert 3*, Metacritic 68 out of 100 with 21 critic reviews, 5.3 out of 10 with 4 user scores, Amazon 4.2* out of 5* with 3 reviews, Letterboxd 2.9* out of 5*, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw.

Special Note:  Filming locations were Paris Charles de Gaulie Airport, Roissy-en-France, Val-d’Oise, France.
 

Extraordinary Measures 2010

     This film is based on a book written by Geeta Anand.  A Portland couple have two children with Pompe disease.  This is a genetic anomaly that kills most children before their tenth birthday.  John is the husband/father and he is an advertising executive.  He decides to contact Robert Stonehill, he is a researcher in Nebraska.  He has done innovative research for an enzyme treatment for Pompe disease.  He has little money to fund his laboratory and he has a thorny personality that drives away colleagues and contributors.  John and his wife Aileen raise money to help Stonehill's research and fund the required clinical trials.  John takes on the task full time, he’s working with venture capitalists and then rival teams of researchers.  Time is running short, Stonehill's angry outbursts hinder the company's faith in him.  The for profit motive may upend John's hopes.  The researchers race against time for the children who have this disease.

     This medical drama features the kind of mature themes and strong language usually associated with PG-13 movies.  The movie focuses on a couple dealing with their children's life-threatening genetic disease.  Consequently, several scenes depict sick children who are near death and their inconsolable parents. This might be too heavy for tweens and young teens?  The film's overall messages are positive because viewers see parents doing everything they possibly can to find a way to save their children.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

106 min, Drama directed by Tom Vaughn and written by Robert Nelson Jacobs and Geeta Anand with Brendan Fraser, Harrison Ford, Keri Russell, Meredith Droeger, Diego Velazquez, Sam M. Hall, Jared Harris, Patrick Bauchau, Alan Ruck, David Clennon, Dee Wallace, Courtney B. Vance, Ayanna Berkshire.
 
Note:  Imdb 6.4* out of 10* with 16,342 reviews, Common Sense Media Sandie Angulo Chen, age 14+, 2* out of 5*, 1* violence, drinking, drugs & smoking, 2* consumerism and sex, 3* language and positive messages, Rotten Tomatoes 28% with 144 critic reviews 53% with 50,000+ audience scores, Metacritic 45 out of 100 with 33 critic reviews 6.6 out of 10 with 39 user scores.
 

The Messenger 2009

         While on a recent deployment to Iraq, US Army Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery is injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) goes off within close proximity to him.  He is back in the States recovering from the more serious of his injuries, including one to his eye and leg.  He has resumed a sexual relationship with his long time girlfriend Kelly despite the fact that she is now engaged to another man that Will knows.  With the few months Will has left in his enlistment, the army assigns him to the Casualty Notification Team in his area.  Not having a background in this type of work including counseling, psychology or grief management, he is unsure if he is well suited to this job?  He is partnered with a career soldier, Captain Tony Stone who teaches Will the precise protocol involved in this job.  Tony tells Will, who quickly learns by on the job experience, that this job has its own dangers.  As Will learns to adapt to the range of emotions of the next of kin, he is unprepared for the reactions of Olivia Pitterson.

     This is an intense but thoughtful drama about a wounded Iraq War veteran.  Will has been assigned the very difficult task of informing people of their loved ones' deaths.  It's a grim subject that certainly won't appeal to everyone.  Families with mature teens whose lives have been touched by war may find it very emotional but also rewarding.  It brings up some fascinating topics, including the ways that war changes people.  This movie doesn't shy away from the raw aspects of soldiers' lives.  There is strong language, fighting, heavy drinking, sex (including full-frontal nudity) and sex talk.  It offers a lot to talk and think about.  3* (This move is OK)

113 min, Drama directed and written by Oren Moverman and also written by Woody Harrelson with Ben Foster, Jena Malone, Eamonn Walker, Woody Harrelson, Yaya DaCosta, Portia, Lisa Joyce, Steve Buscemi, Peter Francis James, Samantha Morton, Paul Diomede, Jahmir Duran-Abreau, Gaius Charles.
 
Note:  Imdb 7.1* out of 10* with 34,050 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 90% with 163 critic reviews 75% with 10,000+ audience scores, Metacritic 77 out of 100 with 32 critic reviews, 7.5 out of 10 with 56 user scores, Roger Ebert 3 1/2*, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, Eye for Film 4* out of 5*, Adam Micklethwaite, Common Sense Media Jeffrey M. Anderson, age 17+, 4* out of 5*, 1* positive role models, 2* violence, 4* sex, language, drinking, drugs & smoking.  

Special Note:  The scene where Will and Olivia speak to each other in her kitchen is eight minutes long and was shot in one take.  Co-writer and director Oren Moverman allowed actors and actresses to improvise in certain scenes.  The soldiers in the film wear a unit patch with a large "22" on it.  This is a fictional unit.  The actual 22nd Infantry Division was a "Phantom Division" that never actually existed.  It was created in World War II to fool German intelligence. The patch that was created is different from the one in the film.  Despite its critical acclaim and Oscar nominations, this movie didn't receive a theatrical release in the UK for nearly two years.
 

Valentine’s Day 2010

     More than a dozen people who live in Los Angeles navigate Valentine's Day from early morning until midnight.  Three couples awake together but each relationship will sputter in different ways? Are any worth saving?  A grade-school boy wants to get flowers for his first true love; two high school seniors plan first-time sex at noon; a TV sports reporter gets the assignment to find romance in LA; a star quarterback contemplates his future; two strangers meet on a plane; grandparents, together for years, face a crisis; an "I Hate Valentine's Day" dinner beckons the lonely and the lied to.  Can Cupid finish his work by midnight?

     The structure of this film involves a large number of couples and additional characters who are not in couples.  They wake up on the morning of February 14 and all of their stories are completed by midnight?  In reality, there’s a lot of explaining needed?  Several formulas are used:  (1) Best friends who don't realize they're really in love.  (2) Guy who thinks she loves him but she doesn't.  (3) Girl who thinks he loves her but he's married.  (4) People sitting next to each other on an airplane strike up a conversation.  (5) Guy misunderstands phone call and draws wrong conclusion.  (6) Fifth grader's first crush.

     This film is an ensemble romantic comedy that features relationships in various stages, from sweet childhood crushes and hormone-driven teen match-ups to confusing adult connections and mature enduring love.  Characters kiss, teens talk about having sex, unmarried couples are seen in bed together and a man cheats on his wife.  There’s a sense that you're incomplete without a partner and that finding true love isn’t easy?  Yet everything has a fairy-tale feel in the end.  Expect some swearing and a few raunchy conversations.  3* (This movie is OK)

125 min, Comedy directed by Garry Marshall and writer my Katherine Fugate with Julia Roberts, Jamie Foxx, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Alba, Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Hector Rlizondo,, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Carter Jenkins, Ashton Kutcher.

Note:  Imdb 5.7* out of 10* with 114,977 reviews, Metacritic 34 out of 100 with 33 critic reviews 5.1* out of 10* with 135 user scores, Roger Ebert 2*, Rotten Tomatoes 18% with 190 critic reviews 47% with 250,000+ audience scores, Common Sense Media S. Jhoanna Robledo, age 15+, 2* out of 5*, 1* positive messages, drinking, drugs &  smoking, 2* role models, consumerism, 3* sex, language, The Independent Critic grade C 2* Richard Propes, Amazon 4,6* out of 5* with 2609 reviews.

Special Note:  Julia Roberts turned down a role from David Tyler in order to appear in this movie.  Ironically, Sandra Bullock turned down Roberts' role in this film and then stared in The Blind Side.  Julia Roberts was paid $11,952 for each word she says in this film: 251 words in return for reportedly a $3 million paycheck?  During the credits, the chauffeur mentioned to Kate they are passing Rodeo Drive asking her if she had ever shopped there.  This refers to Julia Roberts’ role in Pretty Woman (1990) and she says "I did once.  It was a big mistake!! "Big and Huge."  In Pretty Woman (1990), Roberts' Vivian tells the shop assistants, "big mistake."  Big. Huge." In the same tone.

Mistakes:  At the flower market, when Reed meets Kelvin and at the agents office when Paula initially speaks to Liz, the characters speak and we distinctly see their mouths move but it is very clear that they are not saying the words that we hear?  At the beginning of the movie, Reed puts the ring on the middle finger of Morley's right hand.  He should have put it on the ring finger of her left hand.     Julia does get on the plane to San Francisco but when she goes to the hospital to ask about Dr. Copeland, the nurse answering the phone says "LA Hospital”?
 

Purple Noon 1960

     Ripley in the later novels has become a committed hedonist, he is devoted to great comfort, understated taste and civilized interests.  He has wonderful relationships with women and they never fully understand who or what he is.  He has friendships, real ones with many of his victims.  His crimes are like moves in a chess game.  He understands that as much as he may like and respect his opponents, he must end with a checkmate.  This film is based on the novel Plein soleil written by Patricia Highsmith and adapted by Rene Clement.  

     Tom Ripley is sent to Europe by Mr. Greenleaf to fetch Philippe, his spoiled playboy son and bring him back home to the States.  In return, Tom will receive $5,000.  Philippe toys with Tom, pretending he will go back home but has he no intention of leaving his bride to be, Marge.  He also will not honor his father's wishes.  After some time passes, Mr. Greenleaf considers this mission a failure and cuts Tom off financially.  Now Tom will need all his con man abilities to keep afloat financially.

     The best thing about this film is the way the plot devises a way for Ripley to create a perfect cover-up!!   There is a substitution of bodies for which a second corpse comes in handy.   Ripley's meticulous timing, quick thinking and brilliant invention snatch victory out of the hands of danger.  This earlier treatment is definitely European in its sensibilities and its movie making technique.  In the beginning it glosses over the Hollywood version covered in depth (like Ripley having been hired by the father to get his son to come home).  The homo-erotic aspect is more subtle and less of a feature.  Still, this film might be even better than the Hollywood release.  Plenty of tension with the three onboard the boat.  Alain Delon is excellent as Ripley and really good acting all around.  *Despite the comments later made by Marie Laforet in the role of Marge Duval.  A memorable, gripping film.  3 /12* (I liked this movie)

118 Min, Crime directed by Rene Clement and written by Patricia Highsmith with Alain Delon, Maurice Ronet, Marie Laforet, Maurice Ronet, Erno Crisa, Frank Latimore, Billy Kearns, Ave Ninchi, Viviane Chantel, Nerio Bernardi, Barbel Fanger, Lily Romanelli, Nicolas Petrov, Elvira Popesco.

Note:  Imdb 7.8* out of 10* with 14,487 reviews, Roger Ebert 3*, reelviews.net 4* James Berardinelli, Rotten Tomatoes 95% with 37 critic reviews 92% with 2500+ audience scores, basement rejects.com 8.5* out of 10* (8/10 story, 9/10 acting, 9/10 visuals) JP Roscoe, Letterboxd 3.9* out of 5* with 103 fans, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 299 ratings

Special Note:  Alain Delon’s then girlfriend Romy Schneider appears in the very first scene as a friend of Freddie Miles.  Author Patricia Highsmith expressed satisfaction with this film and she called it "very beautiful to the eye and interesting for the intellect,”  With Alain Delon’s performance as Tom Ripley, she was disappointed with the film's ending.  She called it "a terrible concession to so-called public morality.”  The yacht “Marge" is a key character in this film.  It is a 60ft yacht called "Lasse" designed by Johan Anker and built in Denmark in 1940.  It was restored in the 70s and then completely rebuilt about 10 years later.  Jacques Charrier turned down the role of Philippe Greenleaf because he had just married Brigitte Bardot.  He did not want to go alone on location in the South of Italy and Maurice Ronet replaced him.  *In an interview of 1966, Marie Laforet said that she regretted taking her role in this film.  She said she felt she was too young then and she'd let herself "be influenced by too many things around her?”  She said she also missed her chance to perform it well.  

Mistakes:  While sitting in a hotel room, Tom takes an envelope and licks it before putting it in his coat pocket.  But he acutally never sealed the envelope and he left the flap open.  Ripley's belt goes over the middle belt loop on the back of his white Levis about eight minutes into the film.  A couple of minutes later, the belt goes through the loop though the action was continuous with no possibility of him having removed his belt to correct this fashion fumble?  The position of the boom on the sailboat is inconsistent.  The name of composer Nino Rota is misspelled "Nino Rotta" in the opening titles.  Onlookers are clearly visible in the background in the fish market scene.
 

Sorority Row 2009

     A group of sorority sisters try to cover up the death of their house-sister after a prank gone wrong.  Cassidy, Jessica, Ellie, Claire and Megan are sorority sisters and true-blue friends to the end.  That is until a prank results in Megan's death!!  Rather than risk their futures by reporting the crime, the friends agree to cover it up.  Cassidy and company come to regret this decision a year later!!  Someone begins sending them videos of the night Megan died and they become the victims of a deadly stalker!!  This college-set slasher bloodbath is full of gory deaths by impalements.  Sexual and erotic elements are graphic and lurid, beginning with a drugged-up "date rape" situation.  Continuing with casual references to sex as a tool for revenge, status, exploitation and even commerce such as trading sex for pills. Drinking is frequent and one victim is killed with a shattered liquor bottle.  College level "education" is depicted as one alcohol, sex and drug-saturated party after another.  Profanity is the movie's least raw element but you can still expect plenty of uses of language.

    In a 2012 interview, director Stewart Hendler said that he knew nudity was a major staple of the slasher movie genre.  For teenage boys growing up in the '80s, horror movies were the prime place to get a T&A fix and he wanted to pay homage to that. "Certainly, making an R-rated horror movie, you have that expectation," he said.  Problem was, instead of casting actresses for the lead roles who had no issue being naked, producers cast actresses who refused to remove their clothing.  So Hensley had to resort to hiring background extras and bit players to supply the nudity.  One of the main stars Leah Pipes who plays Theta Pi queen bee Jessica said that she is "all for showing boobies to the audience,”  But she didn't want to be nude because she's flat chested.  "So we had to hire other women with beautiful breasts," she said.  But she joked that she still did her part in helping provide nudity.  

     In one scene she makes a female underclassman drop her towel and reveal her body just to assert her own authority.  "For you, for all of you," she said referring to fans of naked women.  "So you're welcome." Some of the stars did perform scenes where their characters were supposed to be naked but they don't show anything.  In a shower scene, the camera films Jamie Chung from behind and above the waist only.  In a Jacuzzi scene strategically placed bubbles hide Chung's body.  She wouldn't even disrobe for this scene.  She wore a nude bodysuit under the water.  2* (I didn’t like this movie)

101 min, Horror directed by Stewart Hendler and written by Josh Stolberg, Pete Goldfinger and Mark Rosman with Teri Andrez, Adam Barrie, Megan Wolfley, Robert Belushi, Briana Evigan, Zack Garrett, Margo Harshman, Rumor Willis, Jamie Chung, Leah Pipes, Adrian Patridge, Matt O’Leary, Julian Morris, Debra Bordon, Matt Cannon.
 

Note:  Imdb 5.1* out of 10* with 38,856 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 25% with 81 critic reviews 32% with 150,000+ audience scores, Common Sense Media Charles Cassady Jr. 1* out of 5*, age 18+, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 526 ratings, Letterboxd 2.4* out of 5* with 13 reviews, Metacritic 24 out of 100 with 11 critic reviews, 8.5 out of 10 with 255 user scores.

Mistakes:  When the girls and Garrett are driving to the mine shaft Jessica says "Look at me" three times.  The second time her mouth does not move.  When Jessica is killed her eyes are open.  When the shot pans out her eyes are closed.  Then when the killer removes the tire iron from her mouth her eyes are open again.  Maggie is barefoot when she is running around the house.  However, when Maggie, Cassie and Ellie leave the house she is wearing boots.   

Zombieland 2019

      One long decade after the post-apocalyptic events in Zombieland 2009, there is a resilient quartet of survivors.  The tough-as-nails zombie exterminator, Tallahassee; his rule-making comrade, Columbus; the free-spirited huntress, Wichita and her younger sister, Little Rock, find themselves living in the now-derelict White House.  In a rabid world still overrun by multitudes of walking dead and mutated strains of evolved animated corpses, a premeditated separation will send the team back to square one.  They will be searching, once more, for the promised land.  Now, all hope rests on Babylon, an entirely organic commune of blissful vegetarian pacifists who love to party.  Is this the final end of the road?

     The story that Tallahassee tells in the hotel about his Elvis impersonation is the true story of how Woody Harrelson got into acting.  The Elvis Presley song "Burning Love" that is played during the end credits was performed by Woody Harrelson.  Jesse Eisenberg said that it was very difficult to keep a straight face while filming scenes with Zoey Deutch?  Director Ruben Fleischer said that he was inspired to make Zombieland (2009) after seeing Shaun of the Dead (2004).  The scene in Zombieland: Double Tap where Columbus and Tallahassee meet their 'counterparts' Albuquerque and Flagstaff may have been inspired by a scene in Shaun of the Dead?  Shaun's group of zombie apocalypse survivors meet another group that consists of remarkably similar characters?

     In keeping with its title, Zombieland is full of zombie violence, whether it's the zombies dispatching humans or being dispatched themselves.  Although much of the mayhem is played for laughs and the film's overall tone is lighthearted, there's tons of gore (shootings, bludgeonings, stabbings, flesh eating and more). Also, there are scary depictions of the end of the world.  Expect frequent strong language, some drinking and one scene of drug use.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)  
    
99 min, Action directed by Ruben Fleischer and written by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Dave Callaham with Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Zoey Deutch, Avan Jogia, Rosario Dawson, Luke Wilson, Thomas Middleditch, Victoria Hall, Victor Rivera, Ian Gregg, Devin Mojica, Rachel Luttrell.

Note:  Imdb 6.7* out of 108 with 143,999 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 89% with 257 critic reviews 86% with 250,000+ audience scores, Roger Ebert 2* Christy Lemire, CommonSenseMedia James Rocchi, 4* out of 5*, age 17+, 2* sex, 3* consumerism, drinking, drugs & smoking, 4* language, 5* violence.

One Deadly Summer (L’Ete meutrier) 1983

     Emitting strong sensuality, the seductively alluring Eliane Wieck arrives with her demure German mother and her disabled father in a rural southern French town.  She is wearing a frilled dress and carrying a small suitcase.  Pin-Pon is a local car mechanic and volunteer firefighter.  He instantly falls for the charms of the mysterious newcomer!!  Soon after their meeting, they get married.  Was it love at first sight for Eliane too or just for Pin-Pon?  What links her enigmatic presence to the family's old and dust-covered mechanical piano in the barn?  It seems that the stage is set but what is it that drives this cryptic young woman?  Is it curiosity or could it be something possibly far more sinister?

     The setting is in a small village in the south of France.  It is a place filled with colorful characters and likely suspects.  It's also filled with various people's memories.  The director insists on showing the audience in more detail than is always necessary?  The plot is less complicated than devious.  The earnest young mechanic Pin-Pon marries Elaine and their marriage does not go well emotionally?  A deaf elderly woman is one of the few people in the village who understands the multitude of problems Elaine is carrying around with her.  4* (I really liked this movie)

     
133 min, Drama directed by Jean Becker and written by Sebastien Japrisot (adaptation) with Isabelle Adjani, Alain Souchon, Suzanne Flon, Jenny Cleve, Maria Machado, Evelyne Didi, Jean Gaven, Francois Cluzet, Manuel Gelin, Roger Carel, Michel Galabru, Marie-Pierre Casey, Cecile Vassort, Edith Scob.

Note:  Imdb 7.3* out of 10* with 4307 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 60% with 5 critic reviews, 77% audience scores with 500+ ratings, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 235 reviews, Slant Magazine 3 1/2* Clayton Dillard, Letterboxd 3.5* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Isabelle Adjani turned down the part of Elle, then the role was offered to Valérie Kaprisky and she accepted.  Later, after reading the book by Sébastien Japrisot, Isabelle Adjani changed her decision and she was again given the part.  This is the second collaboration of Isabelle Adjani with Alain Souchon.  Both actors also formed a couple in All Fired Up (1982) from French director Jean-Paul Rappeneau.  Originally, this film was almost three hours long.  The director was gently persuaded to trim forty minutes before the release.  
 

The Day I Became a Woman 2000

      This film contains three interconnected vignettes that depict women at three stages of their lives in Iran.  The first part centers on a young girl on her ninth birthday.  She is told that she can no longer play with the boys she usually played with only the day before because she is now a woman.  It is told from the perspective of the 9-year-old girl who does not feel like or know what the word "woman" means?  We see how devastatingly this affects both the girl and the boy who has been her friend.  She is now forced to wear the chador and enter into enforced modesty.
 
     The second part is about a young woman who decides to enter a bicycle race against her husband's wishes.  Ahoo is not riding alone wearing her chador but there are many women in the race.  At first, her husband and then increasing numbers of men from her village ride beside her on horseback to convince her to return home.  The race begins to symbolize a freedom that she desperately wants from the limitations that have been placed on her.  Finally, the third part shows us an elderly woman who has come into some money and she is now free to do what she wants.  The way she chooses to use this money reflects on how she has lived her life.

     Meshkini shows the typical life style in the Makhmalbaf house.  She demonstrates this with a light and personal touch.  Her movie has a dreamy surrealism but it is firmly grounded in the waking world.  There is an urgent advocacy for women's rights and this has not been considered fashionable or relevant in European or Anglophone cinema for many years.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

74 min, comedy directed and written by Marzieh Makhmalbag and also written by Mohsen Makhmalbag with Fatemeh Cherag Akhar, Hassan Nebhan, Shahr Banou Sisizadeh, Ameneh Passand, Shabnan Toloui, Sirous Kahvarinegad, Moharram Zaynalzadeh, Norieh Mahigiran, Azizeh Sedighi, Badr Iravani.

Note:  Imdb 7.3* out of 10* with 1639 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 88% with 59 critic reviews 83% audience scores with 500+ ratings, Roger Ebert 3 1/2*, reelingreviews.com Grade B, Metacritic 84 out of 100 with 24 critic reviews,  Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 13 ratings.

Special Note:  This is the first film directed by Marzieh Makhamalbaf.

Mistakes:  In the first sequence, the lollipop that Hava and Hassan pass between them grows and shrinks in size without regard to the passage of time.

Quotes:  Spoken by Osmann:  Ahoo, why have you become rebellious?  Have you had too much sun?  Get off that!  What you're riding is not a bicycle.  It's the devil's work!  Get off that bike, dear. You really shouldn't be riding it.  Spoken by Grandmother:  You mustn't play with Hasan or any boy.  You're all grown up now.  You have to cover up your hair from now on.  Hava, come on down. Come on down.  You're a woman now.  You can't go on the roof.  You can't play with boys any longer.  Spoken by a young boy:  Tell me exactly what you need, madam.  Then I'll take you to the right place.  Spoken by Hoora:  Household goods, you know.  Household goods.  Top priority is a fridge which I've never had.  All my life I wanted cold water.  Now which one was it?  Ah, this one was the fridge.  Let's buy that first.
 

Iron Curtain 1966

      Professor Michael Armstrong is heading to Copenhagen Denmark to attend a physics conference accompanied by his assistant and fiancée Sarah Sherman.  Once they arrive, Michael informs Sarah that he may be staying for awhile and she should return home alone?  She follows him and realizes he's actually heading to East Germany and behind the Iron Curtain.  She is shocked when he announces that he's defecting to the East because the US government cancelled his research project!!  Michael is actually there to obtain information from a renowned East German scientist.  Once he has the information he needs they will make their way back to the West.

     In the book “It’s Only a Movie” Sir Alfred Hitchcock said, "There was an ending written which wasn't used but I rather liked it.  No one agreed with me except my colleague at home (his wife Alma).  Everyone told me that you couldn't have a letdown ending after all that went on previously?  Paul Newman would have thrown the formula away!!  After what he has gone through, after everything we have endured with him and he just tosses it?  It speaks to the futility of it all and it's in keeping with the kind of naiveté of the character.  He is in no way a professional spy who will certainly retire from this type of nefarious business!!

     Looking at these films today, they present a compelling case that Sir Alfred Hitchcock was aware that world cinema had galloped into the future without him.  Luis Buñuel, Ken Russell, Lindsay Anderson, Robert Bresson, Jean-Luc Godard, Bob Rafelson, Agnes Varda, John Frankenheimer, Mich Nichols and many more directors  were smashing barriers every week.  Hitchcock's tried and true methods of tension building and explosive release had lost a bit of their charm because cinema could show audiences anything it pleased.  Was there still a place for his slightly old fashioned experimentation?  He gave it the old college try with "Torn Curtain" and "Topaz," but mainly his audience was unmoved.  And yet, there's absolutely something to these beguiling late-career works.  They lack the immediacy of Frenzy and the jagged humor of  Family Plot but they show a director who had created thousands of people's ideal cinema and unafraid of looking ahead into an uncertain future.  2 1/2* (This movie is so-so)

128 min, Drama directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by Brian Moore with Paul Newman, Julie Andrews, Lila Kedrova, Hansjorg Felmy, Tamara Tourmanova, Ludwig Donath, Wolfgang Kieling, Gunter Strack, David Opatoshu, Gisela Fischer, Mort Mills, Carolyn Conwell, Arthur Gould-Porter, Gloria Govrin.

Note:  Imdb 6.7* out of 10* with 24,958 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 67% with 30 reviews 53% with 5009+ ratings, Letterboxd 3.1* out of 5*, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 544 ratings, Metacritic 55 out of 100 with 8 critic reviews, 7.3 out of 10 with 8 user scores, Roger Ebert, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 544 reviews.  

Special Note:  In a conversation with Francois Truffaut, Sir Alfred Hitchcock said that he included the fight scene deliberately.  He want to show the audience how difficult it can be to kill a man!!  This is because several spy thrillers at this time made killing look effortless??  Sir Alfred Hitchcock was so unhappy with this movie that he decided not to make a trailer with his appearance in it!!  One of the reasons Sir Alfred Hitchcock did not want to use Paul Newman and Dame Julie Andrews because of their high fees!!  For the rest of his career, Hitchcock would never hire performers with the same level of fee or more.  

The Boys are Back 2009 3*

     The Boys Are Back is a confessional story about fatherhood.  It is about a witty, wisecracking and action-oriented sportswriter.  After his wife's death, he finds himself in a sudden and stultifying state of single parenthood.  Joe Warr throws himself into the only child-rearing philosophy he thinks has a shot at bringing joy back into their lives.  “Just says yes is his parenting style?”  Joe is raising two boys, a curious six year-old and a rebellious teen from a previous marriage. This is in a household devoid of feminine influence.  There is a lack of rules but life becomes exuberant, instinctual, reckless and on the constant verge of disaster.  The three multi-generational boys of the Warr household, father and sons alike must each find their own way whether it is wrong or stressful trying to grow up.

     There's something a little too absent about Joe as the father?  It may or may not be selfishness?  With his son Artie, Joe needs to look and listen more closely.  Just because Joe thinks things are fine doesn't mean they really are?  Clive Owen can be a likable actor but the character he is playing is working against him.  The movie Shine directed by Scott Hicks remains a moving experience but in this film he has all the pieces in place (cast, cinematography, music) but he doesn't quite have the story he thinks he has?  Please, give us a break from the scenes where the ghost of the departed turns up and starts talking as if she's not dead!!!  3* (This movie is OK)

     This is a moving drama about profound loss experienced by both adults and children.  The subject matter could easily overwhelm younger kids and tweens.  A mother’s death is depicted onscreen.  Also is her family's unraveling soon after she's gone.  But, though the journey to healing is messy, a widower makes some questionable parenting choices in the wake of his loss but healing does happen.  It is affecting to watch.  Expect some swearing with only one word used, drinking, kissing and flirting between adults.  3* (This movie is OK)

104 min, Drama directed by Scott Hicks, based on a novel by Simon Carr and  Adapated by Allan Cubitt with Clive Owen, Emma Booth, Laura Fraser, George MacKay, Nicholas McAnulty, Julia Blake, Chris Haywood, Erik Thomson, Natasha Little, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Nakie Pires, Emma Lung, Daniel Carter.

Note:  Imdb 6.8* out of 10* with 9915 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 73% with 126 critic reviews 61% with 10,000+ audience scores, Metacritic 57 out of 100 with 28 critic reviews 5.6 out of 10 with 23 user scores, Roger Ebert 2 1/2*, Common Sense Media S. Jhoanna Robledo age 13+, 4* out of 5*, 1* violence, 1* consumerism, 2* sex, language, drinking, drugs & smoking, 3* positive messages,

Special Note:  Tiger Aspect Pictures producer Greg Brenman had director Scott Hicks in mind as the director from the onset.  One of the reasons he wanted Scott was once we had the script he thought back to Shine 1996.  The nine songs by Sigur Ros in the film were initially used as a temporary score.  But, director Scott Hicks felt the music was perfect for the film.  He personally traveled to Iceland to get approval from Sigur Rós to feature the music in the.  The house in the film was built on property in Myponga Beach, South Australia and the plan was to take the house down after filming.  The owners of the property persuaded the producers to leave the house and surrounding areas intact.  It has now been converted into the successful Bed and Breakfast "Brooklyn Farm - Joe's House.”
 

Mary White 1977

     This film is based on the writings of William Allen White.  It is the true story of the relationship between famed author White and his teen aged daughter Mary.  She died in a horseback riding accident at age 16.  It is about the powerful effect the tragedy had on the life of her father.  Both Mary and her father fought against segregation and they were in favor of Women’s Suffrage.   

     In this film about Mary and her family the fact of her death is established right away.  A first‐rate horsewoman, Mary was killed in a freak accident while on a casual ride.  Her brief biography is narrated by her father sometimes directly addressing the camera and sometimes using excerpts from the editorial he wrote about Mary.  It was published in 1921 and featured in the The Emporia Gazette of Emporia Kansas.  White was also the renowned editor of The Emporia Gazette.  This film does not contain sentimentality and it is a moving story and inspirational story about Mary White.  3* (This movie was OK)

102 min, Drama directed by Jud Taylor and written by William Allen White and Caryl Ledner with Ed Flanders, Fionnula Flanagan, Tim Matheson, Donald Moffat, Diana Douglas, Kathleen Beller, Howard McGillin, Kaki Hunter, William Kuhlke, Henry Strozier, Valier Cotton, Paul Frederickson, Jack Meyer.

Note:  Imdb 7.3* out of 10* with 86 reviews, Amazon 3.9* out of 5* with 13 ratings.

Special Note:  In the scene where Mary drives to school, a window air conditioner can be spotted on one of the houses.  In real life, Mary was a high school junior when she died and not a senior.  The White family home was known as "Red Rocks” and it was used in filming.  The Whites were not living there at the time of Mary's death.  A fire earlier that year had destroyed the top floor and the family moved to a nearby house until repairs were completed.

 

Hidden Places 2006

      This film is based on a teleplay by Robert Tate Miller and a novel written by Lynn Austin.  Eliza Wyatt is a widowed California farmer with two children.  She struggles against the odds of the Great Depression to bring in her orange crop and save the only home she's ever known.  When a drifter offers to help, she feels he's the answer to her prayers.  But his polite and well-spoken manner raises questions as well.

      Widowed with two children and beginning to lose her faith, Eliza must bring in the harvest before the bank forecloses on her family’s home.  Just when things can’t get any worse, fate brings along hope in the form of Gabe Harper.  He is a handsome and down-on-his-luck veteran.  Together Eliza and Gabe overcome the odds to save the Wyatt Orchard with the help of stubborn but lovable Aunt Batty and a few generous townsfolk. 

     This is a triumphant tale of faith, family and commitment.  It is a moving drama that exhibits the theme that when people have a need something will happen to satisfy it.  After loosing her husband, Eliza takes in a drifter to help with the harvest.  As the two of them become closer by working together, a question arises?  Are we products of our past or projections of our future?  With the looming prospect of losing her farm to her creditors, Eliza learns that praying can change things!!

86 min, Drama directed by Yelena Lanskaya and written by Robert Tate Miller and Lynn Austin with Sydney Penny, Jason Gedrick, Shirley Jones, Logan Arens, Carlie Westerman, Barry Corbin, Gene Davis, Tom Bosley, Jane Fleiss, John Diehl, Time Winters, James Keane, Donn Markel.

Note:  Imdb 6.4* out of 10* with 474 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 59% with 250+ audience scores, Dove.org 1* sex, violence, nudity, a death, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 180 reviews, The Movie Scene 3* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Both Barry Corbin and Sydney Penny starred in The Thorn Birds 1983.  

Mistakes:  In the beginning, as the camera pans on the homestead, there is an air conditioner in the upstairs window.  It was spotted during production and the intention had been to remove it in post-production but it was not removed?

Mr. Wonderful 1993

     Electrician Gus gets the chance to fulfill a childhood dream by buying an old bowling-alley with some of his friends.  Unfortunately, due to the alimony payments he has to make to his ex-wife Leonora, the bank refuses to loan him the down payment.  Knowing that when she marries again she loses her alimony rights, Gus tries to speed things up by bringing Leonora together with all the potential husbands he can find.  Although this approach isn't very successful, it awakens feelings in both of them they didn't know they still had.     

     To believe in the scheme Gus has going on and Lee’s willingness to go along with it is a strain on audience intelligence?   Vincent d’Onofrio, Brooke Smith and Bruce Kirby are especially fine in smaller roles.  But, they have to play this nonsense as if it really made sense?  Without a lot of cast effort and Dillon’s easy charm, Mr. Wonderful could easily be mistaken for Mr. Potatohead instead!!

     Mr. Wonderful is not a dynamic film by any means but it is a semi-sweet, semi-love story with adequate performances.  In spite of the film’s romantic promise, it is clouded by sexual involvement outside of marriage.  It does show but unintentionally, how shallow such involvement is and how it destroys trust and undermines true intimacy.  Without this element, as well as some frank sexual discourse and a few obscenities, this film could be a very pleasant and enjoyable selection. Too bad it is not!!  3* (This movie is OK)

Note:  Imdb 5.9* out of 10* with 3135 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 52% with 21 critic reviews 43% with 2,500+ audience scores, Letterboxd 2.8* out of 5*, 1 1/2* Roger Ebert, movieguide.org language moderate, violence none, sex light, nudity, light, Mr. Wonderful 4.7* out of 5* with 312 reviews.  

Special Note:  Actress Annabella Sciorra would later play James Gandolfini’s love interest for 7 episodes on The Sopranos (1999).  Bruce Altman and Fran Pellegrinow would also appear on The Sopranos.  

Mistakes:  As a hired public-works servicemen, Gus and his co-worker would have been wearing OSHA-approved safety-goggles when servicing the fuse-bank, since there were such large sparks present?  The bright-sparking flash that represents electrical-arcing and it only occurs after Gus completely removes the fuse.  There would only be a spark during the actual "removal moment" while the fuse was in the act of breaking the electrical circuit.
 

Tetro 2009

     The week of his 18th birthday, Bennie is working as a waiter on a cruise ship that has a layover in Buenos Aires.  He looks for his older brother Tetro and he hasn't seen him in years.  Tetro lives with Miranda and he is a person that is burned out?  He's hot and cold toward his brother and he introduces him as a “friend?"  He refuses to talk about their family and he tells Bennie not to tell Miranda who their father is?  Thoughts about their father cast a shadow over both brothers.  Who is he and what kind of past has Tetro left behind?  Bennie finds pages of Tetro's unfinished novel.  He pushes both to know his own history and to become a part of his brother's life again.

     What result can come because of Bennie's pushing?  This is certainly a strangely conceived film where some product placements land with a thud?  The festival's trophy happens to be designed by the jeweler Swarovski.  It is here that the final revelatory twist is unveiled.  It is a twist that is actually less interesting than what has gone on before?   Entering a "competition" is a pretty hokey plot device and one more associated with urban dance movies?   But this movie's bigger problem is being weighed down with what it evidently considers to be its sheer mythic potency?   But it is overwrought, baffling and unexciting.  The flashbacks to their father are in color but the rest of the movie is in monochrome?  The switch is not particularly effective but instead it is very disconcerting?  Carlo's father and bespectacled brother Alfie are also played by Brandauer and yet it is not made clear that Alfie is Carlo's twin?  This effect is almost like one actor playing different family members in a movie without any explanation?

     Coppola has done better with father-son and quasi-father-son relationships in the past.  Compare the dullness and pedantry of the characterization in Tetro with Vito and Michael Corleone in the Godfather movies or Willard and Kurtz in Apocalypse Now?  The very redundancy of the motif points to an evasive fictional rendering of the director's own issues and a kind of public family therapy?   It is uncomfortable to notice that the second-unit director here is Coppola's son, Roman?  He is a talented film-maker whose feature film CQ made a real impression at Cannes almost 10 years ago but he has not been very prominent since then.  The way ahead could be for Coppola to stay away from personal themes.  Family isn't  always everything?

 
127 min, Drama directed and written by Francis Ford Coppola and and also written by Mauricio Kartun with Vincent Gallo, Alden Ehrenreich, Maribel Vrdu, Silvia Perez, Rodrigo De la Serna, Erica Rivas, Mike Amigorena, Lucas Di Conza, Adriana Mastrangelo, Leticia Bredice, Sofia Gala Castiglione, Jean-Francois Casanovas, Carmen Maura, Francesca De Sapio.

Imdb 6.8* out of 10 with 12,543 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 71% with 109 critic reviews 70% with 10,000+ audience scores, Roger Ebert 3*, The Guardian 1* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, Metacritic 65 out of 100 with 26 critic reviews 6.7 out of 10 with 32 user scores, Amazon 4.2* out of 5* with 127 reviews.

Special Note:  Francis Ford Coppola claimed that this is the kind of film he set out to make as a young man before he became sidetracked by fame and fortune.  In September 2007, thieves broke into Coppola’s home studio in Buenos Aires and stole all the electronics.  This included his computer with the film's script but it didn't affect production.  Coppola said "Anyone who's gotten robbed, it's always depressing and I did lose some data but I didn't lose the script.  It was said that the script was gone but I had other copies.  Obviously, I had to send copies to actors and staff plus I was astonished that it got such news coverage.”

Mistake:  Early in the movie Tetro stumbles into the kitchen with a broken leg?  He knocks over some furniture while lighting a cigarette using a burner on the stove.  He ignites the burner by just turning the knob on the stove.  A few minutes later, Miranda must use a match to light a burner on the same stove-top?