Birdy (1984)

Matthew Modine is the eccentric bird man and Nicolas Cage his best friend returning from the Vietnam war to try and help his friend escape a mental lapse.  Director Alan Parker creates a beautiful multi layered film that's poetic in style and nostalgic in memory.  The two leads give solid performances that keep their characters' motivations clear while remaining complex human beings.  It's fascinating to me that the novel by William Wharton it's based on was set during WWII without changing the themes of the story.  I guess this says something about the universal truths of friendship, war and the human journey to find meaning in ones life.  In many ways this underrated film is a true lesser known classic of the '80s. Grade: A-   

The Last American Hero (1979)

The young Jeff Bridges stars in the bio film on Junior Jackson.   I’m not a huge fan of car racing and it’s a writer’s nightmare to make cars driving around in circles exciting, yet this drama is actually quite good.    Sure the story’s been done a billion times: underdog from humble beginnings dreams big and against all odds take on the world.  But the film is so well-crafted and genuine that it’s really hard not to root for the hero in this one.   Grade: B+

Bad Girl (1931)

This might be the worst title of an Oscar nominated film ever.  It's an extremely misleading title and that's a shame because this is a wonderful albeit aged film about a boy and a girl falling in love and by assumptions and miscommunications head down a possible train wreck of a marriage.  It's funny and uplifting story with lots of charm.  James Dunn and Sally Eilers star and their chemistry works wonders.  Directed by Frank Borzage.  Grade: B+ 

Heartland (1979)

Rip Thorn wasn’t just Garry Shandling’s sidekick on HBO’s sitcom The Larry Sanders Show.   Here he proves to be a gifted actor with a soulful ability to take us back in time with just his voice alone.  Conchata Ferrell stars as a woman pioneer that goes west with her daughter to be a farmer’s housekeeper.   Yet their relationship soon grows into a partnership that is beautiful and purely enduring to behold.   Cold and stark as the plains these characters endure, director Richard Pearce crafts a timeless classic that unfortunately no one knows about.   Watch this pioneer drama if only to brag to people of the great work of art you just discovered.  

The Campaign (2012)

What a great disappointment this film turned out to be.  Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis in the same movie, that phrase alone generates laughs.  Maybe it's too much to ask for, a comedy that actually makes you laugh all the way through.   Sure I laughed, director Jay Roach and writers Shawn Harwell, and by Chris Henchy gave us some inspired moments, material for Will and Zach to munch on.  Yet what helps a comedy keep its momentum is solid storytelling.  This film has zero story.  It's more like a long SNL skit mocking today's politics.  The satire is dead-on, yes, I give them that.  I love the rhetoric and the giant middle finger to the Koch brothers, but guess what?   That's not going to support a film for the long haul.  Worse, characters become the mechanics of the punch line instead of the modifiers of plot.  Basically I would avoid this ill-paced heap of drivel and find something else.  I just hope this film doesn't prevent Will and Zach from starring in another film together, maybe one written by someone who understands that we need to root for our heroes, not root for the minute hand to hurry it around the clock face.  Grade: C

Once Upon A Time (Season 1)

This fantasy television show quickly became a new favorite of mine.  It didn't start off that way; the first couple episodes, while entertaining, looked pretty cheesy.  Then as the season rolled along the production values got somewhat better or I stopped caring since I was enjoying the show so much.  The concept is basically the Evil Queen from Snow White casts a curse on the people of the magical world of fairy tales sending them to our world to be imprisoned without memory of their origins to live mundane lives without their happily-ever-afters.   Yet Snow White and Prince Charming were able to send their only child, Emma, to our world and now grown up with a son of her own named Henry (who happens to be the Evil Queen's adoptive son, she is the only one who can break the curse.  Of course convincing her this truth is going to take twenty some episodes.  The only real annoying aspect of the show is that Henry is horrible at proving to Emma that the curse exists.  Why not challenge his mom to take someone out of the town's limits, something that is impossible.   I love how the writer's blend all the stories together, especially the Rumpelstiltskin and Beauty and the Beast mash-up.  I can't wait to see what will happen in the next season; from what I hear this show only gets better.  Grade: B+

The Cat In Paris (2011)

This Oscar nominated Animated  French feature is a fun and visual treat.  It reminded me a little of That Darn Cat but with a likable Cat Burglar.  It is certainly more geared to the younger crowd even those there are gangsters in it.  It is nowhere near the level of animation as Pixar but I appreciate the unique style and wouldn't mind seeing more from this creative group.  Grade: B+