Superior thriller directed by Polanski. Just a superior thriller.
HARRISON FORD, BETTY BUCKLEY, EMMANUELLE SEIGNER
Solid if plodding (true) story about two men working for U.S. intelligence who decide to sell secrets to the Soviets-- one out of principle (when he discovers the U.S. are just as amoral in foreign policy as the Soviets) and the other to sustain a cocaine habit. Well-acted and written and sometimes forceful.
TIMOTHY HUTTON, SEAN PENN
Catherine Deneuve as the director of a Theatre Company in Nazi-occupied Paris. Intelligent, engrossing film that fizzles a little towards the end.
CATHARINE DENEUVE
Tight thriller about a DA who has an affair with an assistant and then discovers she has been murdered, making him the prime suspect. Not overly memorable, but well-acted and generally well-written.
Striking and memorable drama about an intelligent prostitute, Bree Daniels, (Jane Fonda) who is the only link to a missing businessman being sought by a private detective, John Klute (Donald Sutherland). Klute, from a small town, is not intimidated by the sophistication and danger of the big city, and he gradually wins Bree's trust in his determination to solve the case. In voice-overs and sessions with her psychiatrist, we get Bree's angle on events, and it is the most intriguing element of the film. Bree is ambivalent about her "work", but she likes being in control, and she sees men at their basest and ugliest. She sees what she believes is the truth about men: that they are completely vulnerable to their own strange desires. But what does she want? She doesn't know. When she begins to feel attracted to Klute, she simultaneously desires to sabotage the relationship, to withdraw from him. If you don't care, you can't be hurt. She is shocked at Klute's incorruptibility: he is the first man she has known who couldn't be easily manipulated sexually. Early in the picture, when she still thinks of him as a country bumpkin, she asks him what he thinks about her associates and herself, and the sophisticated life-style of the big city. He tells her she and her friends are pathetic, and she is surprised to be stung by his put-down. Bree makes it her challenge to corrupt him, to prove that he is really the same as the other men she knows. This is easily Fonda's best performance ever. Rarely has any actress so completely inhabited such an intriguing role. Powerful, brilliant, haunting film. Kael calls Bree one of the strongest roles for women ever. The ending is Hollywood but it's not what you will remember about this film. A christian website discussed the film in terms of dramatizing the exploitation of women. That's a bit like saying "Apocalypse Now" is about helicopters. At the center of "Klute" is Bree Daniels talking at length about how she, as a woman, empowers herself by manipulating men's desires. I suppose in a perverse way that affirms that women have no other avenues for controlling their own lives-- other than prostitution. But Bree is psychologically complex. She never proffers her life as an escort as an alternative to a career in, for example, plastics. Her other avocations are to be a model or actress. If you told her, you are being oppressed by men, I suspect she would laugh.
Hilarious documentary about Moore's attempts to meet Roger Smith, president of General Motors, to tell him what the effects of GM's layoffs are on families of workers, interspersed with interviews of families.
Strange story about relationship between rich Polish farmer and Jewish woman refugee he takes into his home in 1943. Somewhat obscure and sensitive.
Moving, faithful adaptation of Harper Lee's novel about race relations in the old South. Peck plays a lawyer who breaks unwritten rules by defending black man accused of raping a poor white woman. Though occasionally stiff, gracefully filmed, lyrical, and affecting. That is indeed Robert Duvall making film debut as Boo Radley. But this is a film whose sum value adds up to more than that of it's parts. Mary Badham is very uneven as Scout, and some of the scenes with Boo Radley are nearly cringe-worthy (as when he sits with her on the rocking bench on the porch). The ending is really quite over the top in terms of contrivance, and this may be the original "white savior" film. On the other hand, at least one outcome, the fate of Tom Robinson, certainly resonates today with what we know about police and race.
Amiable, rather pointless comedy about detective and salivating dog. Hanks is okay, but crippled by rather thin concept.
Conventional sci-fi thriller, with some above average special effects. Set in South American where Schwartzenegger and company take on some weird alien of some kind.
Dumb usual Disney fare. Junk and unfunny.
Why does Hollywood consistently reserve its worst excesses for movies with rock music as the subject? Since when is Bette Midler a worthy personification of a rock star? What pure crap! Hollywood confuses loud and brassy with artistry and imagination. Shit. Pure shit.
Good movie version of a book that was an interesting concept, but not entirely satisfactorily worked out. Cliff Robertson is excellent. Based on Daniel Keyes "Flowers for Algernon".
Okay suspense thriller, but nothing special, and, like several Hitchcock "classics", doesn't stand up all that well to the test of time.
Typical John Hughes fare: likeable, misfit teens, struggle for mutual self-acceptance. Molly Ringwald is charming. Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson moderately effective. Unfortunate stereo-type of frustrated, oppressive teacher. The five brat-packers are summoned for Saturday detention and gradually develop a sense of mutual respect and understanding for each other. Or do they just realize they have a common enemy in the caricatured teacher?
Brilliantly atmosphereic medieval mystery. Connery plays a sort of private eye monk, who uncovers a plot to do away with Aristotle's theories of humour. Exactly. Beautifully filmed, intriguing, and provocative.
Fairly interesting story about girl learning to "dirty" dance at a summer resort. A bit contrived and definitely precious, but forgivably hackneyed (the innocent young girl is forced to step in at the last minute as a replacement); benefits from some strong performances in secondary roles, lively music, and veneer of nostalgia... that doesn't quite wash.
Based on story by Joyce Carol Oates, about a young girl's sexual awakening. Fabulous performance by Dern. Moody, introspective, quiet, but packs a punch.
LEVON HELM
Moderately interesting fantasy about a boy who plays video games brilliantly, recruited to pilot star fighter against invading aliens. Preston is funny and interesting.
Funny, witty, honest fable about integration at a television dance show in Baltimore, c. 1962. Lots of celebrity cameos including James Brown as a rhythm and blues record store owner.
Fine science fiction, but to rate this higher is to be seduced by technology over substance. No matter how polished and slick, it is still a B-Grade movie.
Some reviewers rave about this film. I'm not sure what it is they see in it. Guthrie can be funny but he is a stilted screen presense, and the film is shamelessly shoddy, sloppy, and tawdry. An interesting artifact of the 1960's, but I found the record version of this story funnier and more satisfying.
Ringwald is charming (can she not be) as lower-class girl who thinks everyone's forgotten her birthday, forced to choose between her "prince" and class clown who really adores her.
Fun, amusing, and some interesting scenes, with a tad of socially redeeming values.
Good suspense drama about police detective trying to solve mysterious girl (Novak). Shocking twists and turns; masterful suspense story.
Good film, but fatally flawed by dangerous presumptions and pretensions about high art, truth, etc. Great companion-piece to "Prime of Miss Jean Brodie", for a contrasting point of view of same subject. Robin Williams plays a charismatic English teacher (one of the reasons for the popularity of this film among high school English teachers is probably the flattering self-image) who fires up his students with the idea of "carpe diem"-- seize the day, translated, apparently, as live life with passion and feeling. Unfortunately, some of his students come into conflict with their parents and other authorities. The last scene is an adolescent fantasy, a stinkingly improbable, cheap gesture: the teacher is fired and the principal takes over the class and the students, in protest, stand on their desks. So? Just leave them there for a few moments and see what happens. Nothing.
Unexpectedly brilliant, ironic, incisive thriller about cop reconstructed as robot, forced to compete against a fully computerized monster from future private enterprise police force. On the way, he uncovers corruption in police department. Ronny Cox plays one of the most interesting villains in quite some time. The ending is capital!
Not very shocking today anymore, is it? Well, actually, in tribute to the film and the book, it is. Very well scripted and directed, and very good performances all around. I miss Nabokov's prose, and the movie does descend into a kind of aimlessness near the end, rescued by the reappearance of Sellers' Quilty. Shelly Winters shows qualities that were brilliant at the time but later descended into self-parody. The film was shot in Britain to avoid potential trouble from the censorious Americans.
Over-rated, somewhat tedious study of dislocated reform school youth who sublimates fury at society into distance running. I found it an effort to sit through, I respected the intent.
Breathtaking and astonishing. Modernized version with rock score is especially powerful, intriguing, surprisingly sensual and provocative. The story is a futuristic fable about the very rich living above the earth in luxury while drone workers toil in excruciating oppression below. The "Master's" son investigates life of the working class, discovers a woman leader, becomes sympathetic. But a mad scientist replaces the woman with an identical robot, to sow conflict and chaos, and so justify the Master's renewed oppression. Spectacular special effects and sets. Some scenes rise to the level of visual poetry. Metropolis (Fritz Lang, Germany, 1926, rescored and tinted by Giorgio Moroder in 1984) Stunning, expressionistic German film depicting a futuristic society in which the fabulously wealthy live on the natural surface of the planet, while scores of oppressed drones slave away at steam-powered behemoths beneath the surface. There is an attempted revolt, a diversion by a charismatic religious leader, and a pivotal confrontation between the oppressed and their oppressors. This is simply one of the most visually stunning films ever made, and one of the most poetic and allusive. The ending is somewhat unsatisfactory-- if only owners and workers could work together to share the fruits of their labours, all would be well-but it would be interesting to explore how the events of the 20th century have changed the meaning of this film to modern viewers, with whom it has had a resurgence in popularity. (Why, for example, is The Grapes of Wrath, not as interesting to contemporary viewers, though it too is a powerful, artistic film?)
I caught this late one night, in French. Looked absolutely brilliant.
Intriguing, strange story about a manipulative, detached psychiatrist (Garfunkel) who destroys a free-spirited young girl (Russell). Disturbing, haunting. Last scene is memorable, biting.
Powerful and moving version of Maxwell Anderson's play?? Not Shaw, I guess.
Harmless flick about robots from outer space helping residents of an old brownstone resist development.
Suffers from preposterous casting of Douglas as the sensitive, withdrawn, shy Vincent VanGogh. What a waste! Douglas confuses intense convulsions with passion. He grunts and whines his way through leaving you the impression that Vincent would have been a good cop if he'd had the chance.
Entertaining version of the story, hi-lighted by lucious Daryl Hannah's presense. Some strong points, especially the story-- Cyrano DeBergerac revisisted.
Sappy but reasonably attractive version of the classic.
Amusing, witty, highly original fairy tale, enlivened with cameos by Billy Crystal and others, but especially endearing because of the great performances by Wallace Stevens as the Sicilian and Andre' the Giant as his sidekick. The only flaws-- and they are significant-- is the uninspired casting of Cary Elwes and Robin Wright as the principals. Why do the bad guys get to have all the colour?
CARY ELWES, ROBIN WRIGHT, PETER FALK, MANDY PATINKEN, CHRISTOPHER WALKENS
Good, tuneful, children's film, good animation, granted Disney's sexist stereo-types.
Very good, but not as brilliant as some have it. Beautifully filmed. Beautifully acted. Very sympathetic to the Native Peoples, shows brutality of U.S. expansionism in 19th century. However, once again we have the conceit of a film that makes a hero of an enlightened European who understands and sympathizes with Native North American Culture. In other words, we won't sympathize with exotic cultures unless we first care about a hero who is like us and realize that he sympathizes with it. So, in a sense, we are learning to sympathize with ourselves. At the end of this movies, most of the audience will be quite happy to hold the same bigotted views they held before the movie, but they'll like the Kevin Costner character.
KEVIN COSTNER
Very good. Not brilliant, but very good. Honest, amusing, and original. O'toole is great. Hemingway plays a horny teenager in love with O'toole. O'toole is trying to recreate his dead wife with genetic code from her blood cells. Hemingway is sweet and devoted, but ambivalent about the experiment, and the mental health of O'toole.
MURIEL HEMINGWAY, PETER O'TOOLE
Interesting thriller, but, typical Hitchcock: not much of a discernible idea.
Judah Rosenthal is a successful optometrist with a wonderful wife and children and a tremendously successful practice in New York. But he also has a mistress, Dolores, who is becoming increasingly determined to marry Judah, something that can only take place if Judah divorces his wife. Judah, not surprisingly, doesn't want to end his marriage. He is finally compelled to turn to his brother, Jerry, who has underworld connections, for a drastic solution. But Judah is an intelligent, moral man, and he struggles with the question of whether life is just, if he will be punished for this evil act. In a parallel story, Cliff Stern (Allen) is a documentarist who consistently eschews the cheap, the vulgar, and the commercial, at personal and professional expense. He pursues a woman, Halley Reed, whom he thinks shares his high principles. But she is involved with a callow television producer, Lester (Alan Alda). Cliff meditates on the injustice of this, and Allen delicately brings the two parallel stories together at a wedding reception. This is Allen's usual witty way of raising fundamental questions about life, morality, and truth. There is a very powerful scene when he recognizes that the woman he has been idolizing has fallen for the shallow Lester, and all he can do is stare in wonder. Is life just? Answer: no. So how can we live? Resign yourself to the intolerable and find joy in the things you can. This is about as modern a sentiment as you can get.
Ambitious, but what, exactly, is the point? That war is bad? That America is obsessed with illusory macho images of war? Or merely that veterans were treated badly when they returned from Viet Nam? A disappointing film in many ways.
Beautifully filmed but marred by archaic dramatic style, like Bridge on the River Kwai.
The classic about lost love, war, and human dignity. You can't completely forget that this is a B movie as you watch, but the entertaining performances, the witty script, and Bergman's allure sure make you wish you could. Possibly the most misquoted movie line of all time: "Play it again, Sam" was actually "Play it, Sam." Also the source of some of the wittiest. The Vichy French police officer finds a murdered Nazi and orders his men to "arrest the usual suspects".
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