High and Low (1963)

An Ed McBain police detective novel adapted by the great Kurosawa and the finished project is a thrilling film noir, another brilliant film from a master storyteller.  This isn't your typical kidnapping story.  There's the CEO of a shoe company having his morals tested.  There's the entire police squad scouring the city for clues.  It's extremely enjoyable watching these kind of films where a group of professionals must come together to solve a mystery.  I can't recommend this enough, it's just a classic detective story with solid direction.  Grade: A

The Flamingo Kid (1984)

This coming of age film set in 1963 focuses on Jeffrey Willis (played by Matt Dillon), a young teenager who gets a job working at a Long Island Beach Resort.  Impressed by all the rich vacationers, especially a car salesman named Mr. Brody who takes him under his wing, Jeffrey distances himself from his more humble father.  This is Gary Marshall's first success in film after years of success on television.  If you look at Mr. Marshall's filmography, he really hasn't done anything that great.  This might be his best film.  Besides some obvious cliches, it's an entertaining film with a strong lead role for Matt Dillon.  Grade: B+

This Is 40 (2012)

Judd Apatow and clan (wife, Leslie Mann and his children) along with Paul Rudd bring us a sort of spin-off to Knocked Up where we follow the mid-life crisis' of a husband and wife turning forty.  I really had low expectations and felt like this would be a rambling mess.  The first fifteen minutes set me up to believe I was going to be right.  Surprise!  This is actually a fantastic comedy.   It's funny when it needs to be funny and engaging with real meaning when it turns serious.   Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd have great chemistry and I don't know if there has been a married couple on screen more likable than this one.  Albert Brooks, Jason Siegel, Melissa McCarthy and Chris O'Dowd pop up as hilarious side characters all of which enhance the film.  Even Megan Fox turn in a funny performance.   Here's hoping for a This is 50.  I'd love to see visit this family again.  Grade: A-

Hemlock Grove (Season 1)

To be blunt this Netflix original horror series is garbage.  Basically it's a teenage murder mystery with the character archetypes of Wolf man, Dracula and Frankenstein mashed up in a world ruled by an evil crazy queen/mother.  Sure it has probably the best werewolf transformation I've ever seen (end of episode 2) and the Frankenstein-inspired character Shelly Godfred is outstanding on so many levels, you wish the show was only about her most of the time.  I'm not sure if the acting is bad or if the actors are struggling with awful dialogue.  I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.  Friends of mine recommended this one and at first I saw a lot of promise.  The pacing was a bit off but not in a bad way (or so I thought at first).  The second episode isn't much better but it ends on a high note (see above).  Then nothing really happens for nine episodes.   Nine episodes of meandering about to prepare for a climax in the last two episodes in which I was completely let down.  And it's not just that nothing happens, it becomes increasingly clear the more you watch this show the more you hate everyone in it.  There really is only one redeeming character and that's Peter, but not because he actually does anything, he's so passive it's hard to care about him.  I could go on and on about how terrible this show is, how Brian McGreevy should have just developed this with Eli Roth as a movie, that way he could cut out all the unnecessary stuff in the middle, but instead I'm going to stop here.  Just do me a favor and skip this embarrassing, could have been great show.  Grade: C-

My Night At Maude's (1969)

This is the fourth film in Eric Rohmer's Six Moral Tales series and he really excels with this one.  Like all of the films in this series it's about a man torn between two women, the one he's supposed to be with and the one he covets.  This one deals with a devout man named Jean Louis who through a friend meets Maud, a divorcee and free spirit.  He obviously finds her attractive and is tempted to toss his morals away to be with her, except he's in love with another women he met as well, one more suited to him.  Yet you get the feeling he wishes he was capable of being with Maud more, the kind of woman that would open him up and help show him a more unexpected side of himself.   Françoise Fabian who plays Maud is perfect, she's sexy and mysterious without being over the top.   I really loved this film and think it's Mr. Rohmer's best so far.  Grade: A

Klute (1971)

Full disclosure: I'm not a Jnae Fonda fan.  She's a good actress and has done some excellent work in a handful of films but there's something about her voice that just annoys me.  So I was completely surprised to find her performance strong enough not to focus on her talking.  Cast her alongside Donal Suthoerland and we have ourselves a tightly constructed thriller about a detective working with a prostitute to locate a business man who has been missing for some time.  Alan J. Pakula directs years before his more famous film, All the President's Men. Grade: A-

Love (1971)

Károly Makk's film about the wife of a Hungarian political prisoner who lies to her dying mother-in-law that her son is in America.  An excellent film on many levels if a bit slow, I recommend this one for those with patience and who enjoy human drama more than spectacle.  Grade: A-

Star Trek In Darkness (2013)

I'm conflicted with this one.  In many ways this is a thrilling science fiction adventure with high quality visuals, wonderful acting and slick directing from J.J. Abrams.  On the other hand it's basically a tribute film, a fan-boy riff on the popular The Wrath of Khan.  Being an homage to a previous creation makes it dependent on that previous film.   To me that's what weakens this film and will keep it from standing apart as a film worthy of the Star Trek brand.  Instead of taking the franchise on an adventure where no one has gone before, we're given a terrorist drama without the element of exploration I had hoped to see.  It's especially disappointing after such a promising start where the crew must risk everything including the Prime Directive to keep a volcano from killing the inhabitants of a world.  Then the story becomes one of catching a bad guy instead of seeing new worlds.  In fact the Enterprises only travels to a Klingon world and back to Earth.   That's like a sea voyage film having the ship float from England to Paris and back again.  Boring.  Worse, we're supposed to become emotionally involved with a crew we've only seen one other time now.  I'm just supposed to accept that Spock and Kirk's relationship has been fully formed.  Add on top of that a bit of sexism and the original Spock showing up again for pointless anchoring from the previous time line and this one left me flat.  Sure, I'm a Star Trek fan but I'm not a purest and would love to see this new version become something great.  Change things up, break the rules, but please take me on an actual "trek" through space and deal with a conflict that's more intellectually stimulating than a baddie wanting to destroy the Federation.  It's a little frustrating to watch reruns of Star Trek the television show to find they're more engaging than the new film.  Grade: B

Love in the Afternoon (1957)

I usually don't care for films where older men fall in love with younger women but in the hands of Billy Wilder it somehow works.   It helps that the man is Gary Cooper, the kind of handsome movie star you could believe a young woman, even the delightful Audrey Hepburn, would fall for.  Certainly not a masterpiece like other Wilder films, this story of an American in Paris being courted by a younger French cellist is a fine example of a romantic comedy.  I really enjoyed the physical comedy bit with the passing a tray on wheels back and forth from one room to the next and the list of imaginary boyfriends Audrey uses to make Cooper jealous.  Hepburn's father is played wonderfully by the legendary French singer and actor Maurice Chevalier.  Grade: B+

Winter Light (1962)

Ingmar Bergman was cinema's great philosopher and here he delves into a priest that has lost his faith,  What so impressed me about this film is how complex and meaningful it is, yet it's able to pull us into this one man's struggle with such a simple plot.  It's not so much an earth shattering film as it is a deeply personal one and it's impossible to ignore. There's one scene for example where a woman reads a letter facing us, the audience.  It's an incredible scene and in it Bergman is forcing us to listen.  A brilliant film and a must see for anyone with thoughts on spiritual purpose.  It may not lead one to answers but it will certainly reinforce the questions.  Grade: A

The Match Factory Girl (1988)

Aki Kaurismäki's last film of his trilogy is a story about a simple young woman with strict parents and a love interest that doesn't love her back.  A much darker story, it's still funny and poignant like the other two films with an ending that is just as satisfying a reward.  It's easy to dismiss this kind of a film as simple, but like the main character that would be a mistake.  Grade: A- 

Two of Us (1967)

A Jewish couple leave their son with an older couple living in the French Countryside during WWII.  The anti-Semitic old man doesn't know the young boy is Jewish and quickly forms a long lasting bond with the child.  This is one of the best love story between a boy and a grandfather figure I've seen.  Michael Simon is superb as the old man, in a role that would define an already brilliant career.  This is Claude Berri's feature film debut and forecasts greatness to come.  What I especially appreciate about this film is how simple and understated it is.  It's never overly sentimental or melodramatic.  Grade: A

One Hour With You (1932)

This Ernst Lubitsch film starring Maurice Chevalier is a film about a loyal husband getting seduced by his wife's good friend.  Meanwhile his wife's being admired by his close friend.  You can see why this subtle swinger romantic comedy is based on a play called the Marriage Circle.  It's a strange moral dissecting film because it celebrates marriage while at the same time is loose on sex.  Very provocative during its time and worth seeing.  Grade: A-

Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)

Mankiewicz directs Tennessee Williams' story about a woman in a crisis and the doctor who must help her recover her memories to save her from a lobotomy .  Elizabeth Taylor is the crazy woman and Montgomery Clift is her hero/ doctor.  The villain in the story is played by Katherine Hepburn, the girl's mother in law who wants her operated on to protect a secret about her dead son.   If not for the writing this one would be dud for me.  And when you finally decode the "secret" that so sends Taylor's character into despair it's hard to believe.   Of course this was the '50s so maybe it's not so hard to believe after all   Grade: B-       

La Collectionneuse (1967)

The next film in Eric Rohmer's Six Morale Tales series follows Patrick Bauchau as he spends his holiday in a remote villa becoming obsessed with his friend's girlfriend who's staying there too, played by a very beautiful Haydée Politoff.   His obsession with her is both contempt for her using of men and sexual jealously for he'd like to be one of those she uses.  It's not the best of the series so far but still a remarkable work for creating such distinctive characters.  Grade: A- 

Hair (1979)

Hippies and more Hippies, dancing and singing and protesting the Vietnam war.  Who would have thought this one would be so entertaining?   I really didn't think something so dated and corny could hold up.  Maybe it's because Milos Foreman directs or because the Broadway musical it's based on by James Rado , Gerome Ragni and Galt MacDermot still hits a truth.  I don't know why but I fell under its tie-dye colored spell.  Treat Williams steals the show as the ring-leader of a group of hippies who befriend a confused John Savage, a farm boy about to join up for the Army.  It's not for everyone with its free love, anti-war and anti-establishment themes.  Still if you enjoy musicals and you want a taste of what the sixties and early seventies was like, sit back and just go with it.  I did and I'm glad I did.  Grade: B+   

Divorce Italian Style (1961)

If the title of this movie was a question the answer would be murder.  Ferdinando Cefalù played by Marcello Mastroianni (in probably my favorite role I've seen him in) is in love with his cousin.  Besides the fact that she's his cousin and so much younger than he is, there's his wife standing in his way.  Except as a good Catholic he can't just leave her, he must find a way to kill her so he can move on to the innocent young virgin of his dreams.  It sounds like the idea of a thriller but with a script written by Alfredo Giannetti, Ennio De Concini, Pietro Germi, and Agenore Incrocci and directed by Peitro Germi a devilish comedy is born.  I loved this film.  It's a constant dark little story with Marcello brilliant showing off his comedic chops.  Grade: A

True Love (1989)

An indie comedy that turns serious about an Italian/ American couple getting married.  Annabella Sciorra and Ron Eldard star and give break out performances.   I wouldn't call this one a romantic comedy since these two love birds don't really love each other, they're more in love with the idea of being in love and getting married because it's the thing to do at their age.  I haven't seen any other films directed by Nancy Savoca and I'll have to check something else of hers out.  Overall I enjoyed this film for its energy and messy, unpredictable characters.  Grade: B+ 

Conquest of Everest (1957)

This documentary follows the first expedition to the summit of Mount Everest by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay back in 1953.  It's narrated by Alec Guinness with footage that follows each stage from the preparation and testing of equipment to the ascent up icy cliffs.  While it certainly feels like a '50s documentary, think of those old retro science films you might have watched in elementary school (if you're my age that is) and you get what I mean.  Winner of the Academy for best documentary feature that year for the accomplishment of following men accomplishing the seemingly impossible.  Grade: B+

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man and this third entry makes it clear it will be hard to replace him if Marvel ever wishes to look for another actor.  A superhero film with wit and pleasurable action, I was reminded of the first time this hero showed himself on screen.  What I loved most about this one is that there is some real suspense.  Tony Stark must investigate and fight even without the suit.  At times you really feel like he's in danger.   It helps that the director and writer, Shane Black, selected such an evil villain to spare with.  Pepper Potts even gets in on the fun, being more than just the girl who gets in the way.  While the Iron Man Trilogy will never be as a monumental as the Dark Knight Trilogy by Christopher Nolan this one does help close a loop for a quality trilogy of its own.  Grade: A-

Luminarium by Mark Shaker (Novel) 5/5

A complex book stuffed with so many ideas I felt like Lucy trying to keep up at the Candy factory. Yet it's well worth slowing down and trying to grasp it all because this is a wonderful brain-hurting whirlwind of storytelling. I will certainly need to go back and re-read this uber-intelligent book. The main character is a computer programmer named Fred, a co-founder of a virtual reality company, who receives emails from his twin brother who is in a coma. Mr. Shaker writes a dense prose with gre...more A complicated novel jammed with so many ideas I felt pleasantly overwhelmed.  Yet it's worth slowing down and trying to grapple with it all because even if it will strain your brain you can tell it is a good thing.  I plan to add this to my read-again pile.  It's the story of Fred, a computer programmer, who receives emails from his twin brother who happens to be in a coma. Mr. Shaker is a very strong writer deserving of the praise, one being the  LA Times Book prize for fiction.  Grade: A-

Downton Abbey (Season 2) 5/4

The second season of this British television show about an imaginary country estate and the people who live there, whether as masters or servants ,in the early 1900s is as good as ever.   The Great War pushes on and the Crawleys must rise up and do their part.  This classy soap opera continues to impress with a cast seemingly perfect and a storyline that is as unexpected as life.  Julian Fellows must be extremely proud.  Grade: A

Ariel (1988) 5/3

After Aki Kaurismäki's film Shadows in Paradise, I couldn't wait to watch the next film in his trilogy.  An expertly crafted tale of a coal miner who abandons his life for something different, falls in love only to be sent to prison where he must strive even harder to escape his fate and find a happy ending.  Equally as good as his first film, what I will say is better is that it has a more conventional, albeit old fashion Hollywood-esque, story. which most would find a tad bit more inviting.  Another gem which most out there don't know about, I hope more people check these out.  They're so very entertaining and deceivingly simple.  Grade: A   

Boardwalk Empire (Season 2)

This show is so ambitious and complex that I feel annoyed at myself that I'm not as excited by it as with other shows.  The writing is brilliant and the acting is on par with the best of film and television; why do I feel I only watch it because I should instead of because it's great storytelling?  It doesn't help that the main character Nucky Thompson played by Steve Buscemi is so erratic.  One episode you like him and the next he's so unlikeable.  This can be said about Margaret Schroeder played by Kelly MacDonald too.  I love her character a lot but I found her character quite frustrating this go around.  The big plot of this second season is to see how Nicky Thompson survives a trial and gains back all the power he was set up to lose at the end of season one.  Jimmy Darmody is rising up in the crime world with his father, the Commodore, helping to pull the strings.  I absolutely despise the Irish up-and-comer Owen Sleater played by Charlie Cox and hope he dies in the next season.   This season wasn't really as good as the first one but like I stated before I'll keep watching, hoping for an improvement.   Please writers, it's okay to make Nucky and Margaret bad people just make them the kind of characters I want to root for.  Perhaps Terence Winter can call up Vince Gilligan and ask what he'd do.  Grade: B+

The Walking Dead (Season 3)

Forever this series will be tainted for me.  Ever since AMC cut Frank Darabont from running this show the quality just isn't the same .  It's still good and there's a lot about this third season to praise but it just doesn't have the same depth.  Regardless I'm still watching it and I really enjoyed the introduction of the Governor and seeing Rick's crew continue to thrive in their new home.  It still doesn't answer enough questions about Zombies to completely satisfy me but I'm looking forward to see another season anyway.  Grade: B+