Green for Danger (1946)

A world war II medical mystery with a few surprises in its wake.  I must admit to having trouble getting into the film but when the Scotland Yard Insector Cockrill, and narrator, arrive the plot starts to thicken.  It's a fun movie to watch and it will keep you guessing.  If you enjoy British mysteries this is not to be missed.   What's especially fun is the ending which was perfect.  Grade: B+.

Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon (Trailer)

The rule that you should avoid judging something you haven't seen applies here.  I never intend to see the third Transformer movie and so you'll not find a review of it on this blog.  But I have just finished watching the trailer and I must write about it.  When did films stop being stories?  The premise is good, there's some bad Transfomer robots on the moon and they're coming to Earth to take over.  Not bad.  But that's the only positive thing I can think of.  What a mess?  Special effect overload in what looks more like a disaster film.  I expect much of this film's climax has robots battling robots (neither interesting enough to care about) and humans running around like ants trying to survive the destruction.  Excuse me as I yawn.  While the spectacle is impressive it lacks substance and plot.  It's more like watching some stranger play a video game, a loud video game with slow motion Michael-Bay style.   At the theater I was at, many young men in the audience expressed their enthusiasm for this juggernaut of a film.   A "hot" babe helped add to the hype as well.  I was horrified and I can't believe that Spielberg would put his name to this garbage.  But I haven't seen the film, so maybe it's entertaining.   Maybe I am taking things too seriously, may it's just a movie and deserves the hundreds of millions its going to make.  I'll not find out.  Why?  Because the trailer assaulted me with its atrocious simplicity.  Grade: C-.

Super 8 (2011)

J.J. Abrams writes and directs a love letter to Steven Spielberg.  It's Goonies meets E.T. and he succeeds at doing what he set out to do: make a fun summer movie.  Teen filmmakers, Joe and Charles, sneak away at night to film a scene from the Zombie movie they're making.  They have their new actress, Alice, who is their transportation too, and their dreams of Hollywood glory.   But during the shoot they witness an incident that leads them on a mystery and an adventure beyond their imaginations.  Lots of heart and laughs combine for a good time and I was jazzed.  Is it more than a nostalgic nod to movies of the '80s, meaning does it hold up on its own as a film?  I think it does but I would be interested to talk with someone who never watched the very movies that inspired J.J. Abrams.   I suspect most people will be as entertained as I was though and I recommend this highly.  Grade: A-

Spoiler: Okay, but before I move on to the next blog on my list I should add my frustration with some of the silliness of this movie.  Joe and company run through a neighborhood with bombs and guns blazing like it's WWII?   Who are the soldiers fighting?  There's no monster out there and even if it was out there how is blowing up a bunch of houses going to kill it.  If it weren't for a plot point about how the monster somehow can put people into trances and confuse them I would say this could have ruined it for me.  I didn't but come on, all that bedazzling destruction for a monster that lives underground?  At the same time this film isn't about logic, it's about childhood wonder and logic is shoved aside.  I'll swallow that pill I guess.

Anna Christie (1930)

What's this, another movie based on a play written by an amazing playwright?  It's almost like I planned it out that way.  Here the legendary Garbo plays Anna Christie from Eugene O'Neill's play.  Anna Christie and her father, a sea captain, reunite.  Then comes her father's arch nemesis to woe her.  But what secret is Anna Christie keeping from her dark past and will the two men dueling for her affections shun her when they learn it.   Old films like these are examples of how timeless film is.   Sure it feels rustic and slow but its as engaging as ever.  I invite anyone to view this film like a time traveler and remember how films used to tell stories first and spectacle later.   Grade: B+.

Major Barbara (1941)

An adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's play, starring the terrific duo (from Shaw's other works) Wendy Hiller and Rex Harrison, we are introduced to two complex and interesting personalities.  Barbara, the dedicated Major of the Salvation Army whose from a wealthy family and the man who falls for her, Adolphus Cusinsj, who must prove to her family that he's worthy not just of her hand but of being the heir to the family business.  There's great social commentary on both sides of the argument and at the same time an entertaining movie.   Its themes are still as relevant as ever.  Grade: A.

Spoiler:  My favorite scene is when Barbara witnesses her beloved Salvation Army sell itself for her father's donation.   To see her strength and high morals get crushed is a devastating transformation.  What a fantastic performance!

Junior Bonnar (1972)

Peckinpaw directs a modern day western about a bull rider starring the tender-eyed, soft-spoken, tough guy Steve McQueen.  Junior is a rodeo man, content to follow the rodeo circuit striving to ride a bull in eight seconds.  Distant from his family, he arrives to his home town rodeo and reunites with them, especially with his father played with friskiness by Robert Preston.   There are some really great moments in this movie along with some fun characters.  In many ways there's nothing like it, so it feels fresh even with its dated appearance.   If you like films where the town it's filmed becomes a character, where the citizens of said town are as interesting as the main characters, you'll probably love this movie.  I did.  Grade: B+

Edvard Munch (1979)

Very slow and with a stream of conscious editing style that's a bit too repetitive at times, this might be the most interesting film about an artist I've ever seen.   Directed by Peter Watkins, this biography of painter Edvard Much (celebrated Impressionist of the Scream) explores memory and the documentary-like voyeurism of film in a provocative, yet long-winded way.  Narrated by the director himself in a historian-like authority, it's as if you're watching a documentary during a time when such a film could never be made, edited as if memory, but it works somehow.  The actors even glance up and break the fourth wall, opening up their souls while at the same time condemning us for invading their space.  The average film-goer will not like this film.  It's three hour running time alone would bore most people to sleep.  Its unconventional way of telling a story about a character that mostly paints and mopes about the screen will annoy the casual viewer.  I'm on the fence though.  I was almost bored but always fascinated by it.  It's a true work of art that is easy to admire.  I only wish we lived in a world where such artistic risks were celebrated by the masses than just the intellectual folk out there.  Grade: B+