Silk Stockings (1957)

The musical remake of the classic Garbo romantic comedy Ninotchka staring Fred Astaire and the beautiful Cyd Charisse is a wonderful entertainment with many great songs by Cole Porter and dance sequences typical of the Golden Age of Musicals.  The story is about a movie producer named Burt hiring a Russian composer in Paris only to have to deal with a Russian Commissioner named Nina come to make sure her country's composer returns home.  The best moment of the film is when Cyd Charisse dances out of her Russian dress and into the more elegant French gown she yearns.  My favorite duet is between Astaire and Janis Paige who sing about film needing to be in Technicolor, Widescreen and use Stereophonic Sound.  While I'd recommend seeing Ninotchka first if you haven't seen it, this is a fun remake to check out.  Grade: B+

The Butcher Boy (1998)

This is one of those movies I've attempted to watch a couple times but would either fall asleep or find myself with a faulty disc.  Yet I kept on and can finally say I've seen this film about Francis Brady, evil twelve year old living in Clones, Ireland in the '60s who slowly turns violently insane over the course of a few years.  Director Neil Jordan adapts from a novel by Patrick McCabe and I have to say this film makes me want to read the book someday.  One of reasons I always had trouble getting into this film was the thick Irish dialect.  But the dialect is important and I'm glad it's difficult to follow sometimes, even if it means having to concentrate that much more.  Many of the surreal moments work so well that I almost wish there was more of them but I guess that could have been a distraction too.  For such a disjointed soundtrack and dark voice over it's easy to see why this film isn't for everyone but in the end I do admire it's unique style and almost underlining tenderness for such a brutal bully.  Grade: B+

Topaz (1969)

Watch Leonard Maltin's interview on this film's DVD featurette and you'd think this is Hitchcock's worst film. (Couldn't the producers of the DVD find a critic who actually liked the film?)  Yet it's actually an impressive work from a storyteller expanding his scope and trying something a little different.  In many ways this adaption of Leon Uris's book is a fine example of Hitchock at his best.  I love the fact that he cast the film without any big names and the overall European-feel of the film.  It's still very much a Hitchock film with many memorable scenes (such as a entire exchange of dialogue muted because the characters are in a sound proof flower fridge).   Its ending is a bit weak but regardless I would recommend this for anyone who enjoys '60s cinema.  Don't listen to the Maltin's of the world, this is a solid film.  Grade: A-

Funny People (2009)

Adam Sandler plays George Simmons a fictional albeit grumpy version of himself in a buddy comedy/ drama about a rich and famous comedian (Sandler) becoming a mentor to a young standup comedian named Ira, played by Seth Rogen,   While there are too many immature jokes about dicks to be believed (I mean really, do male standup comedians talk about their peckers that much?   It seemed that eighty percent of the film's humor dealth with the male reproductive organ) and a run time about ten minutes too long, this is an enjoyable and refreshing comedy.  I just wish it could have been a tad bit tighter.  Grade: B   

L'arnacoeur [Heartbreaker] (2010)

I'm becoming a fan of French romantic comedies and this one is a pretty good one worth checking out.  Romain Duris plays Alex a charmer who gets paid to womanizes brides-to-be before they make a poor decision and marry the wrong guy.   Helping him is his sister and her techno-savy husband.   All is great until he is forced to woo a woman who really is in love (something he doesn't do) because of money he owes.   And as you can imagine, of course, he starts to fall in love with her too.  Funny, charming and certain to be remade by Hollywood, check it out and enjoy.  Grade: B+

The Best Exotic Margold Hotel (2012)

Films based on multiple story lines work if all the character arcs achieve a satisfactory result.  One weak character can unravel the film like a pulled thread from a sweater.   This is why ensemble films like these are rarely done.  In this cast every character and storyline is perfectly fitted together in a rewarding story about rebirth.  A group of English move to a hotel in India to change their lives.  Judi Dench (the film's central figure) is a widower. Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilson are a financially ruined married couple.  Tom Wilkinson is a lawyer returning to find a lost love.  Maggie Smith is the racist old lady needing a hip replacement.  Ronald Pickup and Celia Imrie are searching for spouses.  And then there's Dev Patel the part owner and manager of the hotel they're all staying at who is desperate to prove himself to his mother.  All of these criss-crossing story lines work and achieve a comic yet inspiring celebration of life in all its glory.  Grade: A- 

Argo (2012)

This film staring and directed by Ben Affleck accomplishes a number of surprising things; it's a great history lesson on Iran and U.S. relations, it tells a compelling and thrilling true story about a CIA operative entering hostile territory by faking a movie production to save a group of trapped Americans and it even gives an accurate glimpse of the fashion of the early '70s without making you laugh.  This is a very enjoyable film that squashes any doubt that Mr. Affleck has what it takes to be a director.  What makes this film better than just a typical Mission Impossible kind of story is its authentic and balanced approach to the Iranian culture and the heightened tension during that time period.  I wouldn't be surprised if this film is nominated for best picture.  Grade: A-