13 Rue Madeleine 1946

     This is a spy thriller showing the inner workings of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II.  An OSS training officer learns there is a German mole within the class.  He needs to discover who this is and what can be done about it.  Highly dangerous assignments still need to be completed despite this additional situation.  When one of the men is killed in a parachute jump, they learn the line to his chute had been deliberately cut.  The German is suspected of course.

     This is good and the period cars are spectacular.  James Cagney is very good as the lead training officer.  The 66 years between the release of this film and the present doesn’t hinder this film and I would like to see more of Cagney’s movies.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

95 min, Action directed by Henry Hathaway with James Cagney, Annabella, Roland Belanger, Richard Conte, Frank Latimore, Walter Abel, Melville Cooper, Sam Jaffe.

Note:  Imdb 6.9 out of 10, 83% critic 49% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Turner Classic Movies 2.5 out of 4 stars. 

Euopa Report 2013

     Astronauts travel to the moon of Jupiter known as Europa in the spacecraft Europa One funded by a private company.  They are investigating the possibility of life on Europa since water has been discovered on this moon.  There is a communication breakdown with their home base because of sun storm activity.  Two of the men go outside to repair the system but one has his suit contaminated with Hydrazine and the other tears his glove.  The man with the torn suit is pushed into the airlock but the second man is lost in space.  Katya goes outside the ship to gather samples but she’s also lost.  The remaining crew members try to launch the spacecraft from the surface but there is a problem with the engines.  One crew member is killed inside the ship during the attempted launch.  A man goes outside to fix the fuel line but he doesn’t come back.  There is only one crew member left inside the ship.

     This film is a combination of Alien, Gravity and Prometheus.  The fictional story is based on real life events.  Water was discovered beneath the ice of Europa on November 2011.  The editing is in not in chronological order so you are given some of the ending in the beginning.  The scenery is beautiful but you know everything is computer generated.  3* (This movie is OK)

90 min, Sci-Fi directed by Sebastian Cordero, with Sharlto, Copley, Michael Nyqvist, Christian Camargo, Karoina Wydra, Anamaria Marinca, Embeth Davidtz, Isiah Whitlock, Jr., Dan Fogler.

Note:  Imdb 6.5 out of 10, 80% critic 57% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*.

Special Note:  It was announced on 4 April 2014 that salt water was discovered on Saturn's moon Enceladus.  There is an ocean as large as Lake Superior buried under 18-24 miles of ice.  

American Hustle 2013

     This film is fictional but based on a stunning scandal in the United States.  Irving Rosenfeld teams up with Sydney Prosser to hustle people out of $5000 with the promise they will give them a $50,000 loan.  Sydney claims to British Lady Edith Greensley with ties to London banking.  They are caught by the FBI and forced to work up a scam to bring in some New Jersey power brokers and mafia members.  They need to nap four white-collar criminals to keep Sydney/Edith from doing time.  One of the key figures is Carmine Polito, he is a political operator caught up in their scheme with an Arab sheik.  Irving’s wife almost blows their carefully crafted cover to one of the scam victims.

     This starts out slowing and then builds.  There are so many moments that are hilarious, especially the hair of both the men and the women.  The cars of the 1978 period are wonderful.  Bale, Adams, Cooper and Lawrence nail their roles and you can see why there were all nominated for Academy Awards.  4* (I really liked this movie)

138 min, Crime directed by David O. Russell with Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, Louis C.K. Jack Huston, Michael Pena, Shea Whigham, Allesandro Nivola, Elisabeth Rohm, Paul Herman, Said Taghmaoul, Matthew Russell, Thomas Matthews.

Note:  Imdb 7.5 out of 10, 93% critic 77% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 4*.

Special Note:  A better life and dissatisfaction with their current life is the drive behind all the characters in this film.  Each person is working it out in their own way.

Jayne Mansfield's Car 2012

     Jim Caldwell raises his family in the 1940’s of Alabama after his wife leaves him for an Englishman.  She left because she wanted to travel, she came back to Alabama to get a divorce from Jim and then moved to England.  When she died in 1969, she requested to be brought back to Alabama to be buried.  Jim hasn’t seen her for 30 years.  The two families will have to try to get along for the funeral.

     A lot of good actors in the ensemble cast but the family problems wear out their welcome.  They just bog this movie down like swamp water.  Less characters and less problems could have made this a very good movie.  Also, sometimes, Billy Bob is just too weird to watch!!  2 ½* (This movie is so-so)

122 min, Drama directed by Billy Bob Thornton with Tippi Hedren, Kevin Bacon, Ray Stevenson, Robert Duvall, John Hurt, Robert Patrick, Frances O’Connor, Katherine LaNasa, Marshall Allman, Shawnee Smith, Ron White, Billy Bob Thornton.

 

Note:  Imdb 6.3 out of 10, 35% critic 40% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2*.

Special Note:  I think the title is unfortunate for the relatives left behind by Jayne Mansfield.

  Her car is just a tiny speck in this movie and a different title would have been more respectful and kind.

Violet & Daisy 2013

     Daisy is eighteen years old, Violet is worried Daisy can be tried as an adult for crimes committed in their job as hit women.  They wear nun habits to take out a group of men on one of their jobs.  They want a vacation and decide not to take their next job but then they decide they need the money.  They are sent to see Michael, he’s a thief who dared to steal from a criminal kingpin.  Nothing goes as they planned on this hit.  They fall asleep and he makes them cookies.  They especially like the cookies and wonder if he can also make brownies.

     There is something off about this movie, like it’s not real and just pages from a comic book?  Would two young women both about eighteen, be hired killers for gangsters?  Thin and weak material for all the actors.  2 ½* (This movie is so-so)

88 min, Action directed by Geoffrey Fletcher with Saoirse Ronan, Alexis Bledel, James Gandolfini, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Danny Trejo, Tatiana Maslany, Cassidy Hinkle, Lynda Gravatt, Cody Horn, John Vetigmiglia.

Note:  Imdb 6.2 out of 10, 23% critic 39% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2*.

Gasland Part II 2013

     This is the second part of a study of fracking and the practices surrounding this method of natural gas extraction.  Josh Fox lives in a home his father built in the year Josh was born along the Delaware River.  He decided in Gasland Part I that he would not sign up for drilling on his property.  It doesn’t matter what he wants, the companies are fracking around him.  Some towns in Pennsylvania, Texas and Wyoming are having so many drills that they can’t use their water.  EPA tested the water in Dimock, Texas and originally they were supposed to get a pipeline paid for by the gas company to deliver water.  Then the EPA started delivering water.  After the gas companies went over the EPA, they are getting nothing and many people are leaving their homes.  Fracking is happening all across the US and even in LA where the San Andreas Fault Line is located.  There was a recent strong earthquake in LA and fracking can cause earthquakes.  Frack the fault!!

     It’s amazing how the politicians are lined up for this and when they retire from office, they go to work for the gas companies.  The gas companies have hired the same public relations company that tried to convince people smoking isn’t bad for you.  The usual speech is it’s never been proved that fracking chemicals will get into the ground water but the water contains the same chemicals used in the fracking process?  We have enough natural gas to last for 100 years but we must ship this gas to foreign markets because they will pay more for the gas?  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

125 min, Doc directed by Josh Fox with Steve Lipsky, Lisa Jackson, Jeff Eshelman, Mike Markham

Note:  Imdb 7.6 out of 10, 80% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Film Crave 2.67/4.

Special Note:  Follow the money trail, it always tells the truth!!

Headwinds (Des vents contraires) 2011

     This film is based on a best-selling novel by Olivier Adam.  Sarah and Paul are having problems in their marriage.  They have two children, a young son and a younger daughter.  Sarah is a doctor and Paul is a writer.  Sarah would like Paul to watch the children and write but he would like the children to go to day care so he can write.  Sarah leaves for a night shift at the hospital and she doesn’t come home.  Paul calls asking about her but he can’t find out anything and Sarah doesn’t come home.  Time passes, Paul runs out of money since he wasn't the breadwinner and he gets a job with his brother.  The family moves to a new place to be near his job as a driving instructor.  Everyone is the family is having a difficult time without Sarah plus they don’t know what happened to her?

     This has a surprising ending and I didn’t see it coming?  It seems like the police are always investigating Paul but they never find new information about Sarah?  Being a single parent is tough and more so if you don’t know how to move forward.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

91 min, Drama directed by Jalil Lespert with Audrey Tautou, Benoit Magimel, Isabelle Carre, Antoine Dulery, Ramzy Bedia, Bouli Lanners.

Note:  Imdb 6.5 out of 10, 66% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Special Note:  The title is taken from the headwinds that blow from the sea at the new home.  The actual translation is the winds contrary.