Vacation from Marriage 1945

     Robert and Catherine Wilson have a quiet marriage in London until the beginning of WWII.  Robert enlists in the Navy and Cathy becomes a W.R.E.N, this stands for Women’s Royal Enlisted Naval Service.  It was formed in 1917 for WWI and was disbanded in 1919 and revived in 1939.  They serve three years in their positions and then they are given leave.

     Both Robert and Catherine are tested as individuals during their long separation during the war.  Robert believes he has had to do everything for Cathy and he doesn’t want to continue this way.  Cathy feels that Robert is a timid man and she doesn’t want to carry his dreary load anymore.  They don’t realize they are thinking exactly the same thing??  They both would like to get a divorce and start a new lives.  I thought this was interesting on the home front and also in their duties in the Navy.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

102 min, Drama directed by Alexander Korda with Robert Donat, Deborah Kerr, Glynis Johns, Ann Todd, Roland Culver, Elliott Mason, Eliot Makeham, Brefni O’Rorke, Ivor Barnard, Henry B. Longhurst, Bill Shine.

Note:  Imdb 7.1 out of 10, 64% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, 4.4* out of 5* with 41 reviews, Leonard Maltin 3* out of 4* user rating 42.8* of 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamsthire, England.  The film debut but uncredited of Sir Roger Moore.  This film was first shown November 1, 1956 on KTTV Channel 11 from Los Angeles, California.

The Stranger 1946

     FBI Agent Wilson is an investigator for the War Crimes Commission and he is seeking Franz Kindler.  He was the German mastermind of the Holocaust during WWII.  He has erased his identity but Wilson has arranged for his former Conrad to be released.  Wilson has followed Meinike to Harper, Connecticut.  Four other Germans have traveled to Harper.  Meinike is killed so Wilson will need to find another way to identify Kindler.  Antique clocks are a fascination for Kindler and there is one in Harper.  Wilson thinks he is closing in on an identification and he also thinks Kindler will start to sweat if he feels his past closing in on him.

     Franz Kindler is using the assumed name of Professor Charles Rankin and he has just married Mary Longstreet.  Mary doesn’t know anything about Charles except that he is a teacher.  After their ceremony, Charles goes out into the woods to bury a body?  Isn’t that what everyone does after they get married?  Wilson tries to talk to her but she doesn’t want to listen or believe anything he says.  Her father and her brother are more willing to listen and believe.   Orson Wells plays going crazy very well!!  He has the wild look on his face and his eyes.  He doesn’t want to consider that what Wilson says about him is true?  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

95 min, Crime directed by Orson Welles with Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young, Orson Welles, Philip Merivale, Richard Long, Konstantin Shayne, Byron Keith, Billy House, Martha Wentworth.

Note:  Imdb 7.4 out of 10, 96% critic 80% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, 4.1* out of 5* with 235 reviews, Leonard Maltin 3* out of 4* user reviews 3.2 out of 5, Slant Magazine 3* out of 4*.

Special Note:  Filmed at United Artists Studios, 7200 Santa Monica Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.  Originally Agnes Moorehead was to play the FBI agent.  This is the only film directed by Welles to show a profit in original release.  There is a scene of Loretta Young dangling dangerously many feet above a church floor.  This is not a special effect and she is being held by one hand.  The term Carthaginian peace is used and this means any peace treaty demanding total subjugation of the defeated side.  It is based on the defeat and total destruction of Carthage by Rome.  There are many poor versions of this film on the market because the original copyright was not renewed.  The New England town exterior sets were constructed on the back lot of the United Artists studio.  Life Magazine took some production shots of these sets for publication.  Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list edited by Steven Schneider.

Wind River 2017

     This film is based on actual events.  Cory Lambert is a veteran tracker with the Fish and Wildlife Service.  He works on a remote Native American Reservation.  He tracks wolves killing sheep, mountain lions killing cattle and men killing women.  He is divorced from a Native American woman and they have a son.  They had a daughter but she was kidnapped and killed.  A crime has been committed on the reservation and FBI agent Jane Banner responds to investigate.  She’s from Florida and she doesn’t know about the cold, ice and snow of this area.

     This is a tough movie and the crime is tough too.  Jane and Cory work together on this crime and that’s probably the only way they could solve it.  All the problems about who has jurisdiction are true because the crime is on reservation land.  I didn’t know how this was going to play out and how the investigation would culminate?  4* (I really liked this movie)

107 min, Crime directed by Taylor Sheridan with Kelsey Asbille, Jeremy Renner, Julia Jones, Teo Briones, Apesanahkwat, Graham Greene, Elizabeth Olsen, Tantoo Cardinal, Eric Lange, Gil Brimingham, Althea Sam, Tokala Black Elk, Martin Sensmeier.

Note:  Imdb 7.8 out of 10, 87% critic 90% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, 4.6* out of 5* with 1154 reviews, Metacritic 73 out of 100 with 44 critics 7.7 out of 10 with 244 reviews, Roger Ebert 3*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Park City Studios and Coalville, Utah; Wind River Reservation, Fremont County and Lander, Wyoming.  Shoshone tribal leaders visited Writer-director Taylor Sheridan on the set.  They related to him that at the time of filming there were 12 unsolved murders of young women on the reservation of about 6,000 people.  There is a quagmire about arrest and prosecution rights between native and non-native peoples.  The Wind River Reservation is the 7^th largest Indian reservation in the US.  An 8-minute standing ovation was received at the end of the premiere in the Un Certain Regard competition of the Cannes film festival.  This film is the third and final installment in Taylor Sheridan’s American Frontier trilogy.  The other films are Sicario of 2015 and Hell or High Water of 2016.  Elizabeth Olsen experienced snow blindness during filming.  Snowmobiles and snow cats were used and many times the snowy landscape had to be groomed afterwards.  The estimated budget was $11 million and gross US was $33,800,859 on 12/7/17.  There is another film with the same title from 2001.

Flatliners 1990

     Nelson, Rachel, David, William and Randy are medical students.  They begin to try to have near death experiences.  They each have their heart stopped and then they are revived.  Each one has a different experience but they start to deep memories of their childhood.  It’s something that they did or something that happened to them.  Their experiences begin to intensify and they begin to physically suffer from the memories. 

     Even thought this really didn’t happen, I thought it was rash and very dangerous to go to the brink of death and come back.  There seemed to be too many risks of not coming back.  When they started to experience problems, they didn’t talk about it or stop another person from doing the death procedure.  All their work to become doctors could’ve been shattered by these experiments.  I don’t think it was worth it!!  It was interested to see the actors when they were all young. 3* (This movie is OK) 

115 min, Drama directed by Joel Schumacher with Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, Julia Roberts, William Baldwin, Oliver Platt, Kimberly Scott, Joshua Rudoy, Benjamin Mouton, Aeryk Egan, Kesha Reed, Hope Davis.

Note:  Imdb 6.6 out of 10, 48% critic 59% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 301 reviews, Metacritic 55 out of 100 with 10 critics 7.8 out of 10 with 8 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Chicago and Bensenville, Illinois; Cotati, Los Angeles and Burbank, California.  Also filmed on the campus of Loyola University in Chicago.  The students were hoping to see what accident victims report, a tunnel leading to a beautiful white light and friendly voices but this didn’t happen.  People attempting suicide report troubled, emotionally painful near-death experiences.  Michael Douglas was the producer of this film.  There is a remake of this film with Ellen Page and Diego Luna released in 2017.  The estimated budget was $26 million with a gross of $61 million in the US.  Kevin Bacon was 31, Kiefer Sutherland was 23, Julia Roberts 22, William Baldwin 27 and Oliver Platt was 30.

When I Find the Ocean 2008

     The time frame of this film is 1965 in Alabama when marches promoting civil rights were taking place.  Lily Strickland is ten years old and she has gone with her mother to live with her grandparents.  Her father was a sailor and he was lost at sea.  He was never found and that adds to their feelings of loss.  They didn’t get to bury him and pay their last respects.  Lily’s mother is planning to marry Dean.  What Lily’s mother doesn’t know is that his father abused Dean, he was raised with very strict discipline and he had severe punishments for mistakes.  Dean thinks Lily needs to be raised the same way.  He thinks her mother and grandparents are not correcting her enough for her mistakes.  Lily learns that the river by her grandparents’ house leads to the ocean.  She decides to take a small boat with her dog and her pet bunny.  She wants to see the ocean where her father sailed.
     This film is good but it can also try to force ideas down your throat instead of just presenting and talking about the ideas.  That’s my only complaint and I also wanted to do a LOT of beating on Dean!!  Lily’s mother needs to open her eyes and see what’s really going on.  It was nice to see Lee Majors in the role of Lily’s grandfather and Diane Ladd as Lily’s grandmother.  Author and actor Graham Greene is a friend of the grandparents.  George Lindsey has a role as Ed Barker and this is his final film.  There is at least one scene where you can tell Lily's bunny is a stuffed animal?  3* (This movie is OK)

104 min, Drama directed by Tonya S. Holly with Dan Beene, Sara Biddle, Anthony Brooks, Natalie Canerday, Bernie Casey, James Chambliss, James Chapman, Kenny Davis, Timothy Eddy, Dorian Flemming, Trent Friday, Joan Ghrigsby, Edie Hand.

Note:  Imdb 4.1 out of 10, 42% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 3.9* out of 5* with 179 reviews.

Three Billboards Ouside Ebbing, Missouri 2017

     Mildred Hayes is protesting the lack of police action on a crime that was committed in Ebbing.  To give the police a jump-start, she arranges for three billboards on the way out of Ebbing to show a message about the stalled investigation.  William Willoughby is the town’s chief of police and a lot of townsfolk know he has pancreatic cancer.  The town has a majority of the people against Mildred and for William.  There is a dark spot in the police department.  Officer Dixon likes to use violence and he’s very mad about the billboards.  He’s even mad at businessman Red Welby for taking money form Mildred to create the billboard notices.

     I thought this movie was very good, both McDormand and Rockwell deserved Oscars for their roles.  It was nice to not know what this was about at the beginning of viewing.  I didn’t have any expectations or ideas about the plot.  I don’t want to give a lot of details to cheat other viewers from their open-minded experience.  I didn’t know where this was going or how it was going to turn out?  4* (I really liked this movie)

115 min, Crime directed by Martin McDonagh with Frances McCormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Caleb Landry Jones, Kerry Condon, Alejandro Barrios, Jason Redford, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Abbie Cornish, Riya May Atwood.

Note:  Imdb 8.3 out of 10, 92% critic 87% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 3.9* out of 5* with 237 reviews Video 3.7* out of 5* with 282 reviews, Metacritic 88 of 100 with 50 critics 7.6 of 10 with 589 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Sylva, Black Mountain, Asheville, Maggie Valley, Dillsboro, Cullowhee and Clyde, North Carolina.  No scenes were filmed in Missouri and there isn't a town named Ebbing.  McDormand is married to director Joel Coen, the brother of Ethan Coen.  She was reluctant to take the role of Mildred but Joel convinced her it was a good part.  Martin McDonagh wrote the screenplay with Frances in mind.  The local people were welcome to watch the outdoor scenes as long as they were not disruptive.  Some residents were cast for background roles and some as stand-ins.  Often, there were nearly 100 people watching, the actors would sign autographs and take pictures during breaks.  Sam Rockwell wore padding to give his character a more stocky appearance.  Some of the businesses were closed shops that were made into other shops or given facades.  The Police Department building was formerly a consignment furniture store. 

A Woman Under the Influence 1974

     Nick Longhetti is a blue-collar worker in Los Angeles.  He’s a construction foreman and his wife Mable has mental instability.  They have three young children and Nick’s mother Margaret helps Nick with the children and Mable.  Nick is supposed to come home but he’s held up at work.  Mable goes out to a bar and she drinks a LOT.  Nick brings the workers home with him and Mable makes spaghetti.  This should be a normal activity but Mable isn’t normal and she makes the workers feel uncomfortable. 

     At times I wonder if it’s Mable with the mental problems or is it Nick?  There are moments when they are both unstable.  Nick reacts with a LOT of yelling.  Mable reacts with unusual behavior.  3* (This movie is OK)  

155 min, Drama directed by John Cassavetes with Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, Fred Draper, Lady Rowlands, Katherine Cassavetes, Matthew Labyorteaux, Matthew Cassel, Christina Grisanti, Geroge Dunn, Mario Gallo, Eddie Shaw, Angelo Grisanti, Charles Horvath, James Joyce.

Note:  Imdb 8.2 out of 10, 95% critic 92% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 4*, Amazon 4.0* out of 5* with 88 reviews,

Special Note:  Filmed in Los Angeles, California.  A restored print was screened at the Castro Theater in San Francisco on April 26, 2009 as part of the San Francisco International Film Festival.

Awards:  Golden Globe Best Actress Gena Rowlands, Grand Prix de I’UCC, KCFCC Best Actress Gena Rowlands, National Board of Review Best Actress Gena Rowlands, National Film Preservation Board, San Sebastian International Film Festival OCIC Award and Silver Seashell John Cassavetes, Best Actress Gena Rowlands.  Cassavetes and Rowlands are married.  John originally wrote this film as a play but Gena talked him into making a film.  She felt it was too harrowing and exhausting to play this role night after night.  Katherine Cassavetes is John’s mother.