Smooth Talk 1986

      This film is based on a novel by Joyce Carol Oates titled Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been.  Free-spirited fifteen-year-old Connie Wyatt may be too young to drive?  But, she's already driving the boys crazy.  Now she is anxious to escape the boredom of family farm life.  Her suspicious mother wants to keep her safely at home.  But Connie would rather while away the languid summer days hanging out with her friends and flirting with boys at the local burger stand.  She flirts with a handsome and mysterious stranger named Arnold Friend.  She finds herself in dangerous waters and she must prepare herself for some frightening and traumatic consequences.  

     Although filmed in Northern California the look of this movie was also meant to be infused with East Coast imagery.  It is based on Director Joyce Chopra and writer Tom Cole’s home of Kent Connecticut.  Additional inspiration came from photographer Joel Meyerowitz's book "Cape Light" (1979).  This book is a collection of images from Cape Cod Massachusetts.  A scene in the movie where Connie hides from Friend in her home's hallway was specifically modeled after one of Meyerowitz's photos.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

92 min, Drama directed by Joyce Chopra and written by Joyce Carol Oates and Tom Cole with Treat Williams, Laura Dern, Mary Kay Place, Margaret Welsh, Sara Inglis, Levon Helm, Elizabeth Berridge, Geoff Hoyle, William Ragsdale, David Berridge, Cab Covay, Michael French, Joy Carlin, Mark McKay, Carl Mueller.

Note:  Imdb 6.8* out of 10* with 1852 reviews, Roger Ebert 3 1/2*, Rotten Tomatoes 90% with 20 critic reviews 42% with 1000+ audience scores, Slant Magazine 3 1/2* out of 4* Jake Cole, thefilmfile.com 4*, Dustin Putman, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 77 reviews, Metacritic 74 out of 100 with 13 critic reviews.

Special Note:  This novel is often hailed as a literary masterpiece  because of the many motifs and insightful views on modern culture.  This movie was also based on Director Joyce Chopra’s previous documentary 1975.  The documentary follows the everyday lives of three girls for about six months.  Several moments were replicated to establish Connie's character as a typical teenage girl during the first half of the movie.  Director Joyce Chopra knew Laura Dern was right for the role of Connie when she heard "Is That the Way You Look?" from James Taylor playing on Dern's answering machine!!  Ironically and unknown to Dern, Taylor was the movie's music director.  She had suggested using that song in particular as one of the soundtrack's featured songs.

The Greatest Man in the World 1980

     This version of James Thurber's tale tells the story of a young amateur pilot who beats Charles Lindbergh's feat of nonstop flying around the world.  He has his own unique ways of conserving fuel and energy.  Fortified with only a gallon of gin and a salami, Jack Smurch bests even Lindberg.

     During the four days he's airborne, this unknown kid becomes a world hero.  But on the ground a young reporter anxious to tell the world about their new idol learns that Smurch is bad news!!  He is an arrogant, illiterate lout with a police record.  Smurch's only interests are “parties, broads and dough.”  But the reporter is silenced and Smurch is locked up until the press and politicians can make him into their kind of American hero at any cost!!  This in old-fashioned spoof originally broadcast on PBS as part of a series showcasing great American short stories.  It gives us the opportunity to appreciate the work of two somewhat forgotten figures.  James Thurber the wry humorist presents us with Jack Smurch, the Anti-Lindbergh.  Brad Davis, one of the great and explosive young actors of the 1970’s brings Smurch to life.  Thurber and Davis both left this world too soon!!  Watch and remember or watch and forget!!  3* (This movie is OK)    

     You couldn't go wrong making a film that's true to a James Thurber story, could you?  Well, no, but that doesn't mean the movie will be particularly interesting or entertaining?  Once getting over the initial laugh about a world class aviator who sounds and acts like a redneck, where do you go from there?  One major surprise toward the end but it's neither funny nor flattering to the establishment that runs things?  A junior college Freshman class D+ movie at best.  Poor acting and Henry Fonda is NOT in it.  Not one laugh.  No real plot.  Totally pointless story line.  No emotional response of any kind but disappointment!!  Please do yourself a favor and watch anything else!!


51 min Comedy directed by Ralph Rosenblum and written by James Thurber and Jeff Wanshel with Brad Davis, Reed Birney, John McMartin, Henry Fonda, Howard Da Silva, Russell Horton, Carol Kane, Melinda Rosenthal, William Prince, Sudie Bond.

Note:  Imdb 6.4* out of 10* with 38 reviews, Amazon 3* out of 5* with 6 reviews, fandor.com 3.6* out of 5*, hoopladigital.com 2 1.2* out of 5* with 2 reviews.
 

The Young Victoria 2009

      Dominated by her possessive mother and her bullying consort Conroy since childhood, teen-aged Victoria refuses to allow them the power of acting as her regent in the last days of her uncle William IV's rule.  Her German cousin Albert is encouraged to court her for solely political motives.  Following her accession to the throne at age eighteen, she finds he is falling for her and she is dismayed at her reliance on trusty Prime Minister Melbourne.  Victoria is impressed by Albert's philanthropy which is like to her own desire to help her subjects.  Her loyalty to Melbourne, perceived as a self-seeker, almost causes a constitutional crisis.  It is Albert who helps restore her self-confidence.  She proposes and they marry.  Albert is proving himself to be not only a devoted spouse but he is prepared to take an assassin's bullet for her!!  He is also involved in much-needed reform and finally he is endorsed by an admiring Melbourne.

     This period biopic about England's beloved Queen Victoria isn’t just the story of a legendary monarch.  It's also a love story about the loving, committed relationship between Victoria and her husband.  But despite this and the movie's tame PG rating, kids and tweens probably won't be drawn in by the characters' political achievements, particularly in the movie's first half?  Families who watch won't find very much content to object to.  There is one scene that involves shooting, as well as some flirting and kissing but no nudity or strong language.  3* (This movie is OK)

105 min, Biography directed byJean-Marc Vallee and written by Julian Fellowes with Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Paul Bethany, Miranda Richardson, Jim Broadbent, Thomas Kretschmannm, Mark Strong, Jesper Christensen, Harriet Walter, Jeanette Hain, Julian Glover, Michael Maloney, Michael Huisman.

Note:  Imdb 7.3* with 18,194 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 76% with 156 reviews, Metacritic 64 out of 100 with 29 critic reviews, The Guardian 2* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw. Common Sense Media S. Jhoanna Robledo, 3* out of 5*, age 12+, 1* sex, drinking, drugs & smoking, language, violence, 3* positive role models,  

Special Note:  The dress Victoria wears for her first meeting with her council is a copy of the actual dress Queen Victoria wore on this occasion.  It survived and as of 26 March 2012 it is on display at Kensington Palace as part of the new Victoria Revealed exhibition.  It is on public display in the Red Saloon, the actual room of her first Privy Council.  It has since faded to brown as the black dye at the time was not stable.  The very tall green bed cost £25,000 to build.  The Duke and Duchess of Rutland, owners of Belvoir Castle, purchased the bed after filming.  Just before the credits roll, the following text appears: "Victoria remains the longest reigning British Sovereign.  To date:  Queen Victoria was the longest reigning British sovereign as well as the longest reigning female sovereign until 2015.  Queen Elizabeth II now claims both titles.  Emily Blunt’s costumes were insured for £10,000 each.   

Mistakes:  Throughout the film, Lord Melbourne is pronounced 'Mel-burn' like the Australian city.  The title of Viscount Melbourne is derived from Melbourne Hall in Derbyshire and pronounced 'Mel-born'.  The other way did not come to be spoken until much later.  When Albert is given a portrait of Victoria for the first time, she is depicted in a white dress with a tiara set vertically in her hair bun.  By convention, unmarried women royals do not wear tiaras until they are betrothed and more usually married.  This specific portrait was done in 1842, two years after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were married.  Also, Albert designed the tiara she wears in her hair especially for Victoria. 

Additional Note:  Julian Fellowes is also the creator and writer of Downton Abbey, Grosford Park and The English Game.
 

Falling in Love 1984

      During shopping for Christmas, Frank and Molly run into each other.  This fleeting short moment will start to change their lives!!  They recognize each other months later riding on the train going home.  They have a good time together.  Both are married and Frank has two small children.  As they meet more and more often, their friendship is becoming the most precious thing in their lives!!

     There is a genuine chemistry between De Niro and Streep on the screen plus undeniable charisma.  And that is all there is in this movie??  There is not one memorable line of dialogue, not one inventive situation.  It wants to be a 1940’s romance and it makes that very clear in the beginning.  The first encounter between the characters is a meet cute scene?  They bump into each other at a bookstore, drop their packages and bump heads as they bend over to pick them up.  That is exactly how the meet cute works in this movie?  This film could have been a LOT better than meet cute!!  3* (This movie is OK)

106 min, Drama directed by Ulu Grosbard and written by Michael Cristofer with Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Harvey Keitel, Jane Kaczmarek, George Martin, David Clennon, Dianne Wiest, Victor Argo, Wiley Earl, Jesse Bradford, Chevi Colton, Richard Giza, Frances Conroy, James Ryan, Sonny Abagnale.

Note:  Imdb 6.5* out of 10* with 12,855 reviews, Metacritc 55 out of 100 with 12 critic reviews, Rotten tomatoes 58% with 12 critic reviews 63% with 5,000+ audience scores, Roger Ebert 2*.

Special Note:  The place where Frank Raftis and Molly Gilmore met was the commuter train line route between Manhattan, New York City and Westchester County, New York.  On about the time that the movie was released, Robert De Niro said about the teaming with Meryl Streep:  "I was always thinking of something I could do with Meryl, a play, a film, anything?  We had a reading and began to see possibilities in it."  Meryl Streep added “We both wanted something real, something awkward and crumpled."
 

Mistakes:  When trying on clothes prior to meeting Frank in NYC, Molly takes off the striped dress and tosses it in the pile on the bed.  In the next shot the dress is visible on her arm as she continues to look through clothes hanging in the closet.  When Frank is talking to Victor at a construction site, the camera crew is reflected twice in succession in plates of glass that they pass.  During several exterior Metro North run-by's, the film sequences are shown inverted.  Trains coming towards the camera should run on the viewers left (as trains and cars both drive on the right in the US) and the motorman's front window should be on the viewers left, as seen in the sequences shot in Grand Central Terminal. 

Rope 1948

     This movie is adapted from a play written by Patrick Hamilton in 1929.  Brandon and Philip are two young men who share a New York City apartment.  They consider themselves intellectually superior to their friend David Kentley.  As a consequence of their feelings they decide to murder him??  Their only reason is to satisfy a sadistic urge and stoke their intellectual vanity.  Together they strangle David with a rope and place the body in an old chest.  They proceed to hold a small party.  The guests include David's father, his fiancée Janet and their old school teacher Rupert.  It was from Rupert that they they mistakenly took their ideas??  As Brandon becomes increasingly more daring, Rupert begins to suspect something is going on??

     Sir Alfred Hitchcock made a very different Rupert Cadell for this movie.  In the play, Rupert is 29 years old and he had an affair with one of his students.  Rupert is the teacher Wyndham Brandon and Charles Granillo in the play.  In the movie, Rupert was the previous teacher of Brandon Shaw, Philip Morgan, Kenneth Lawrence and David Kentley.  In the movie, Rupert looks like he is at least in his mid-forties, he is currently a publisher and he has a romantic relationship with Mrs. Wilson.  He has plans of marrying her in the future.  In the play, there is no Mrs. Wilson.  Instead of Mrs. Wilson, there is a 35-year-old French servant named Mr. Sabot.  3* (This movie is OK)

80 min, Crime directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by Hume Cronyn, Arthur Laurents, Ben Hecht with Dick Hogan, John Dall, Farley Granger, Edith Evanson, Douglas Dick, Joan Chandler, Cedric Hardwicke, Constance Collier, James Stewart.  

Note:  Imdb 8* out of 10* with 130,697 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 94% with 49 critic reviews 90% audience score with 25,000+ audience scores, Metacritic 73 out of 100 with 10 critic reviews, 8.5 out of 10 with 40 user scores, Roger Ebert 2*, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 1607 reviews, Letterboxd 4* out of 5* with 645 fans.

Special Note:  There was an actual case like this known as the infamous Loeb-Leopold case of 1924!!  Since the filming times were so long, everyone on the set tried their best to avoid any mistakes.  At one point in the movie, the camera dolly ran over and broke a cameraman's foot but to keep filming he was gagged and dragged off.  Another time, a woman put her glass down but she misses the table.  A stagehand had to rush up and catch it before the glass hit the ground.  Both scenes are used in the final cut.  This is Sir Alfred Hitchcock’s first color movie.

Mistakes:  Philip's piano playing does not match the music playing.  When Phillip and Brandon put David in the chest, the rope is clearly around David's neck and completely inside the box.  But in a few minutes, Phillip finds the rope hanging very far and outside the box?  Philip cuts his hand on glass but moments later there’s no blood or wound visible?  During the party, the chest that houses David is tall enough to serve food from.  However, by the end as Rupert crosses to the chair next to it, the chest is only as tall as Rupert's knees.
 

The Blind Side 2009

      This film is based on the true story of Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy.  They take in a homeless teenage African-American, Michael Oher.  Michael has no idea who his father is and his mother is a drug addict.  Michael has had little formal education and he has very few skills to help him learn.  Leigh Anne soon takes charge as this is her nature.  She is going to ensure that this young man has every opportunity to succeed.  When he expresses an interest in football, she goes all out to help him.  She finds a coach and gives  him a few ideas on how best to use Michael's skills.  They not only provide him with a loving home but they hire a tutor to help him improve his grades.  He would like to qualify for an NCAA Division I athletic scholarship.  As a result of their efforts and Michael’s work, he was the first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in the 2009 NFL draft.  

     The Blind Side is a formulaic but uplifting family sports drama based on the true story of football player Michael Oher.  It centers on messages about inclusion, the benefits of hard work and the importance of family.  It sometimes feels as if it glosses over many of the challenges that Oher and Leigh Anne Tuohy must have faced.  It alludes to the prejudice that exists in certain situations.  Aside from a scene or two, it skirts the main topic instead of truly tackling it?  Some scenes depict characters who are blatantly racist.  Oher's life story is very encouraging.  While language and sexual content are quite mild, you can expect a couple of brief violent scenes, references to drug use and social drinking.  4* (I really liked this movie)

129 min, Biography directed and written by John Lee Hancock and based on a book by Michael Lewis with Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Jae Head, Lily Collins, Ray McKinnon, Kim Dickens, Adriane Lenox, Kathy Bates, Catherine Dyer, Andy Stahl, Tom Nowicki, Libby Whittemore, Brian Hollan, Melody Weintraub.

Note:  Imdb 7.6* out of 10* with 195,161 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 66% with 206 critic reviews 85% with 250,000+ audience scores, Metacritic 53 out of 100 with 29 critic reviews, 7.4 out of 10 with 385 user scores, Common Sense Media S. Jhoanna Robledo, 3* out of 5*, age 12+, 2* role models, violence, sex, language, consumerism drinking, drugs & smoking, 3* positive messages, Amazon 4.9* to of 5* with 15,046 reviews.

Special Note:  Collins Tuohy, an A student, rearranged her schedules and dropped out of several advanced placement classes in order to share more classes with Michael and to help him graduate.  When Quinton Aaron auditioned for this film, he was working as a security guard between acting gigs.  After his audition, he left a card with his contact information.  He offered to work as a security guard on the set in case he wasn't selected to play Michael Oher.  Julia Roberts was offered the role of Leigh Anne Tuohy before Sandra Bullock.  Sandra turned down this role three times before changing her mind.  During the first couple of weeks of shooting, Bullock thought her acting was so bad she considered dropping out.  John Lee Hancock had worked so hard on the project and she didn't want to ruin it.  She didn't quit and won the Best Leading Actress Oscar for her performance.  She also took a pay cut to make the film and agreed to a percentage of the film's profits, which turned out to be considerable.

Mistakes:  When coach Phil Fulmer finishes making his presentation to S. J. and Michael, he stands up and says C.J, instead of S.J.  After they make the U-turn to pick up Michael, Sean asks, "Where to?" Leigh Anne points straight-ahead and says, "home".  Home would have been behind them and they would have needed to make another U-turn.  On the History test paper, the question, "Where did the Battle of Waterloo take place?" has been answered (d) Germany and this has been marked.  This is incorrect and the correct answer should have been (c) South of Brussels in Belgium.

Inglorious Basterds 2009

     The setting of this film is in German-occupied France.  It was inspired by the 1970’s B-movie Quel Maledetto Treno Blindato (The Damned Armoured Train).  A young Jewish refugee, Shosanna Dreyfus witnesses the slaughter of her family by Colonel Hans Landa.  Narrowly escaping with her life, she plots her revenge several years later.  When German war hero Fredrick Zoller takes a rapid interest in Shosanna, he arranges an illustrious movie premiere at the theater she now runs.  With the promise of every major Nazi officer in attendance, the event catches the attention of the “Basterds”.  This is a group of Jewish-American guerrilla soldiers led by the ruthless Lt. Aldo Raine.  As the relentless executioners advance, the conspiring young girl's plans are set in motion.  Their paths will cross for a fateful evening that will shake the very annals of history.

     There are fantasies in very bad taste about Nazi Germany and its greatness?  There are scenes that seem to be about a bunch of nothing?  Why is the head of the Basterds not jewish but a good old boy from Tennessee?  There is boringness and then there it is nothing else but boring?  The violence isn’t shocking but it is just out there and not tasteful?  It is entertaining but it’s not really about war?  If that is so, what is it about?  Is it about exaggeration?  You will need to set aside expectations and just go along for the ride!!  Like all of director Quentin Tarantino’s work, this film is thought provoking, it's also brutally violent, bloody and full of harsh language.  Expect cringe inducing beatings, shootings and more.  There is a non-stop barrage of language, constant smoking and plenty of drinking.  The film also takes lots of liberties with history and it is very chatty.  This means that teens who watch might alternate between being bored to death and very shocked by the scenes of the gory parts.  3* (This movie is OK)
 
153 min directed and written by Quentin Tarantino with Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Eli Roth, Melanie Laurent, Christopher Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Daniel Bruhl, Til Schweiger, Gedeon Burkhard, Jacky Ido, B.J. Novak, Omar Doom, August Diehl.

Note:  Imdb 8.3* out of 10* with 1,278,191 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 89% with 332 critic reviews 88% audience scores with 250,000+ reviews, Roger Ebert 3*, The Guardian 1* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, Common Sense Media James Rocchi, 4* out of 5*, age 18+, 1* consumers, 4* drinking, drugs & smoking, 5* violence, language.

Special Note:  Tarantino was considering abandoning this film while casting searched for someone to play Colonel Hans Landa.  He thought he may have he'd written a role that was unplayable?  After Christoph Waltz auditioned, both Tarantino and producer Lawrence Bender agreed they had found the perfect actor for this role.  This is the only movie Brad Pitt made as a leading actor for The Weinstein Company or its previous iteration Miramax.  He has said it had everything to do with wanting to work with Quentin Tarantino and nothing to do with Harvey Weinstein.  His animosity for Weinstein stems from an incident in the 90’s.  Pitt physically threatened the producer upon learning of Weinstein's unwanted sexual harassment of his then-girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow!!  This is the first Tarantino film to win an Oscar for acting, Christoph Waltz won for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.  Waltz also won another Oscar for Tarantino’s Danjo Unchained 2012.

Mistakes:  The Gestapo officer in the tavern is shown wearing a M1932 Allgemeine-SS uniform.  This was made famous by the SS in the 1930s.  A Gestapo agent would not have worn one especially in 1944 as its use had been abolished in 1942?  He would have appeared either in civilian attire or in an SS-style gray field uniform similar to Landa’s?  After Sgt. Donowitz ("The Bear Jew") kills the German soldier with a bat, he struts about shouting a "play-by-play" account of his action.  During this, he uses the phrase "Donowitz goes yard!", meaning hitting a home run.  The term "goes yard" was not used for a home run until the 1990’s.