The Last of Robin Hood 2013

     This film is based on real events.  During the last years of Errol Flynn, he was swimming in vodka and unwilling to face aging and mortality.  He had always gone against convention and he began an affair with aspiring actress Beverly Aadland.  She was fifteen years old when they met and her fame-obsessed mother supported their relationship.  Florence traveled with the couple to add propriety to their being together.  There was a tornado of publicity when Errol passed away and Beverly was with him when he died.

     I didn’t think this film was true until I checked the information about the story.  It was still hard to believe it was true but it is.  Florence wanted so badly for Beverly to move up the ranks in Hollywood that she scarified her marriage to divorce.  Her husband left her rather than condone the relationship.  Florence had the typical mindset of this period but usually it was for the daughter to go to college to get a Mrs. Degree.  Beverly needs a successful husband and they need to do what is needed to accomplish this.  Reason seems to enter this film when it’s way beyond too late? 2 1/2*  (This movie is so-so)

94 min, Bio directed by Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland with Kevin Kline, Susan Sarandon, Dakota Fanning, Max Casella, Bryan Batt, Jason Davis, Ric Reitz, Matt Kane.

Note:  Imdb 5.6 out of 10, 29% critic 28% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert ½*.

Special Note:  Errol Flynn was born in 1909, he became an international star in 1938 after the release of Captain Blood and he died in 1959.  He was seriously ill in 1952 with hepatitis because of liver damage from alcohol.  Before his death, he had been suffering from back pain.  On the day of his death, he consulted a doctor and received a shot for back pain relief.  His death was probably due to a pulmonary embolism due to deep venous thrombosis in one or both of his legs.  (A blood clot traveled from his legs to his lungs.)

Augustine 2012

     This film is based on actual events in France of the 19^th century, Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot is treating women with hysteria.  Typically, any presentation of behavior found confusing or objectionable to society was deemed to be hysteric.  Augustine’s cousin brings her to the all female Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital in Paris.  They both work as housemaids in the same household and Augustine is nineteen years old.  Augustine has been having seizures about a couple of times a month.  Her latest episode has left her paralyzed on her left side.  It’s not noticeable to anyone except her left eye remains closed.  She feels it makes her look hideous but she’s hopeful she will leave the hospital quickly.  This doesn’t happen and Dr. Charcot believes Augustine is the perfect example of this type of hysteria condition.  Charcot is known as the father of modern neurology and he pioneered treatments of various ailments from Parkinson’s disease to multiple sclerosis.   He needs funding for his work and he wants to show Augustine off to his colleagues to obtain support.

     A slow paced and subtitled French film focusing on one patient and her experiences.  Augustine begins to grow weary of always hearing there is a cure when she isn’t seeing any progress.  The only change is that her paralysis moves from the left side to the right.  She can now see out of her left eye but her right hand is useless.  There isn’t enough about the real cause of Augustine’s problems and the real treatment for her illness.  It’s all about viewing her illness instead?  2 ½* (This movie is just OK)

102 min, Drama directed by Alice Winocour with Vincent Lindon, Soko, Chiara Mastroianni, Olivier Rabourdin, Roxane Duran, Lise Lametrie, Ange Ruze, Stephan Wojtowicz, Gregory Gadebois, Valentine Herrenschmidt.

Note:  Imdb 6.0 out of 10, 73% critic 52% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2 ½*.

Special Note:  This film reminded me of the film A Dangerous Method released in 2011 with 6.5 on Imdb.  Directed by David Cronenberg with Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley and Viggo Mortensen.  It is about Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis.  Jung and Freud also treated hysteria in women.

Land Ho! 2014

     Mitch is a former physician but he’s retired now.  Colin, his former brother-in-law, is also retired.  Mitch gets the idea to go to Iceland and he invites Colin to travel with him.  Colin isn’t sure about going because he can’t afford the trip.  Mitch is just interested in having a traveling companion and he doesn’t care about the money, he’s willing and able to pay for everything.  Both of the men are in there 60’s and they were formerly married to sisters.

     The beautiful countryside is the real star of this film.  Mitch is a dominant and overbearing type of personality with a very deep booming voice.  Colin is a little depressed but he’s much easier to get along with.  How can I get one of these gigs?  All expense paid trip to an interesting country and I just get filmed enjoying being there!!  I would like to go with someone a little more laid back than Mitch!!  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

95 min, Adventure directed by Aaron Katz and Martha Stephens with Earl Lynn Nelson, Paul Eenhoorn, Daniel Gylfason, Karrie Crouse, Elizabeth McKee, Alice Olivia Clarke.

Note:  Imdb 6.0 out of 10, 80% critic 54% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3 ½*.

Special Note:  This film won the John Cassavetes Award for Best Feature under $500,000 at the 2015 Independent Spirit Awards.  Filming took 16 days from September to October 2013 and 2 days in Kentucky over Memorial Day weekend 2013.  The film has earned $727,594 as of 11/13/14.

Everly 2014

     A woman decides to kill herself to get out of her sex slavery situation.  Asian mobsters have held Everly against her will for years in a luxury high-rise apartment.  She has hidden a gun and a phone in the water tank of the toilet in the bathroom.  She suddenly changes her mind and she kills the hit men sent to kill her instead.  Women with guns begin to pour into the apartment seeking money and to kill Everly to get it. She calls her mother to warn her to leave right away with Everly’s young daughter before someone comes there to kill them.

     This film starts out bad right away but you think it might get better.  It doesn’t get better and its just rack up the body count as the minutes go by.  Salma Hayek has a lot of talent and I don’t know why she agreed to take this role?  Maybe it looked better on paper?  2* (I didn’t like this movie)

92 min, Action directed by Joe Lynch with Salma Hayek, Hiroyuki Watanabe, Laura Cepeda, Togo Igawa, Akie Kotabe, Gariella Wright, Caroline Chikezie, Jennifer Blanc, Jelena Gavrilovic, Aish Ayamah.

Note:  Imdb 5.0 out of 10, 29% critic 30% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2*.

Special Note:  This movie was filmed in Simanovci, Belgrade, Serbia and Rotterdam, Zuid0Holland, Netherlands.

 

Bachelorette 2012

     Becky is getting married to Dale and she is the first one of her high school group to wed.  Her three bridesmaids reunite for the bachelorette party and the wedding in New York.  Unfortunately, they ruin Becky’s wedding dress and they spend the night before the wedding and the morning of the wedding trying to get the dress back to Becky.

     I thought I would be able to handle this but it’s not funny!!  It’s just a bunch of BAD jokes and underneath there is a much darker vibe.  One bridesmaid is a former bulimic and she is a control freak, the second struggles with drug addiction and her relationship with an ex and the third abuses drugs, alcohol and she has low self esteem.  2* (I didn’t like this movie)

87 min, Comedy directed by Leslye Headland with Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplan, Paul Corning, Andrew Rannells, James Marsden, Adam Scott, Ella Rae Peck, Kyle Bornheimer, Hayes MacArthur.

Note:  Imdb 5.3 out of 10, 56% critic 34% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 2.9* out of 5* with 468 reviews.

Peeping Tom 1960

     Mark Lewis was the subject of experiments in the psychology of terror conducted by his scientist father.  Mark now works as an assistant cameraman for a London film studio.  Also, he is working on his own documentary film and he takes photos of women for a local shop.  Mark has a lot of physiological problems because of his unusual childhood.  He starts to kill women and he films the process.  Later, he reviews and edits the films in his home darkroom.  He tries to film the police investigations of the crimes too. 

     The creep factor of this film is very high and it’s slightly dated.  You wonder how this is going to end for Mark and his neighbor Helen Stephens and her blind mother.  Sometimes he seems OK so you don’t know in what situations he will begin to snap.  3* (This movie is OK) 

101 min, Drama directed by Michael Powell with Karlheinz Bohm, Anna Massey, Moira Shearer, Maxine Audley, Brenda Bruce, Miles Malleson, Esmond Knight, Martin Miller, Michael Goodliffe, Jack Watson, Pamela Green.

Note:  Imdb 7.8 out of 10, 96% critic 86% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 4*.

Special Note:  This film was so reviled on the first release that it was pulled from theaters and the director’s career ended.  Director Michael Powell and writer Emric Pressburger made many films together in the 1949’s and 1950’s.  This list includes The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus and Stairway to Heaven.  Martin Scorsese studied their films to learn about directing.

Heat and Dust 1983

     Anne has traveled to Satipur Town in India of 1982 to investigate the past of her grandaunt Olivia.  Anne has the letters Olivia wrote about her experiences in India of the early 1920’s.  Olivia has recently married Douglas, a civil servant for the British Empire in the colonial administration.  While Douglas is busy with his duties, Olivia starts to spend her abundant free time with the Nawab, a local ruler.  There has recently been a lot of trouble in the region caused by bandits and there is opposition to the British community.  Anne is researching this period of history in Olivia’s life.

     I usually prefer films done in a chronological order.  This film always goes back and forth between the 1920’s and 1982.  The way to tell the difference is the scenes with Greta Scacchi are in the 1920’s and the scenes with Julie Christie are in 1982.  There is a mystery here too about the choices Olivia made and why.  I really enjoy films pertaining to the Raj rule in India.  4* (I liked this movie)

133 min, Drama directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant with Julie Christie, Greta Scacchi, Christopher Cazenove, Julian Glover, Susan Fleetwood, Patrick Godfrey, Jennifer Kendal, Shashi Kapoor, Madhur Jaffrey, Nickolas Grace, Barry Foster, Zakir Hussain, Tatna Pathak, Tarla Mehta, Charles McCaughan.

Note:  Imdb 6.7 out of 10, 57% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger 3*.

Special Note:  Merchant and Ivory spent 20 years working on films about the British in India.  On Wikipedia, there is a category of films set in the British Raj and an alphabetical listing of all the films pertaining to this subject.