Lawrence of Arabia: The Battle For the Arab World (2003)

 

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA: THE BATTLE FOR THE ARAB WORLD  (2003)  ¢ ¢ ¢

    D: James Hawes

It's no accident that the original ad art for David Lean's 1962 epic "Lawrence of Arabia" was an ink-drawn head shot of a man whose face was completely obscured. More than 100 years since he helped lead the Arab revolt against the Turks during World War One, T.E. Lawrence remains one of the 20th century's most elusive historical figures. This documentary covers the basics and gets at some of the politics involved in Lawrence's wartime adventures and the disastrous impact of the post-war settlement that carved up the Middle East. The filmmakers spent a lot of time and money on reenactments, which look real good but aren't at all convincing when viewed side-by-side with archival footage, especially with multiple actors playing Lawrence. As for Lawrence himself, the warrior/scholar/spy/recluse/ 

exhibitionist who alternately relished his time in the spotlight and shrank away from it, he continues to be what he always was and seems likely to remain: an enigma.

Jacky In the Kingdom of Women (2014)

 

JACKY IN THE KINGDOM OF WOMEN 

    D: Riad Sattouf                        (2014)  ¢ ¢ 1/2

    Vincent Lacoste, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Didier Bourdon,

    Anémone, Michel Hazenavicius, Valérie Bonneton

An upside-down Cinderella story set in a society where women wield absolute power and men are sheep. Charlotte Gainsbourg plays the Prince Charming figure, faced with choosing a mate from thousands of groveling, submissive men. There's a reveal - a literal one - at the end that's both a shock and somehow not much of a surprise. As satire, this is a little too on-the-nose, and as comedy it's a little too silly, but . . . Charlotte Gainsbourg. The odds of it ever playing in Iran or Afghanistan are zero. 

Memphis Belle (1990)

 

MEMPHIS BELLE  (1990)  ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2

    D: Michael Caton-Jones

    Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Tate Donovan,

    D.B.Sweeney, Billy Zane, Sean Astin,

    Harry Connick Jr., Reed Diamond, Neil Giuntoli,

    David Strathairn, John Lithgow, Jane Horrocks

The eight members of a B-17 bomber crew take off on their 25th combat mission, their last before they go home. Things do not go according to plan. This movie gets a couple of things right that a lot of World War Two movies don't. The haircuts fit the period and the flyers are young - barely older than kids - and the bickering banter between them sounds real. Once they get in the air, it's a white-knuckle flight all the way. Buckle up. 

Pennies From Heaven (1936)

 

PENNIES FROM HEAVEN  (1936)  ¢ ¢ ¢

    D: Norman Z. McLeod

    Bing Crosby, Edith Fellows, Madge Evans,

    Louis Armstrong, Donald Meek, George Chandler

A wandering minstrel from Mukilteo, Washington, finds his carefree life being disrupted by a young girl, her grandfather and the caseworker who could have the girl sent to an orphanage. Louis Armstrong gets a song and Bing gets several, in what's either not much of a movie, or just enough, depending on your point of view. 

Violated (1953)

 

VIOLATED  (1953)  ¢ 1/2

    D: Walter Strate

    William Holland, Lili Dawn, Vicki Carlson,

    Mitchell Kowell, Fred Lambert, Jason Niles

A maniac is going around stabbing women with a pair of scissors and cutting off their hair. A pretty young model gets a job posing for a fashion photographer. A psychiatrist has a conversation with a guy who has a habit of stalking and molesting young women but says he won't do that anymore. The photographer comes on to a stripper who gives him the brush, but that might not be a good idea. The cops are questioning the usual suspects, and the psychiatrist will share his patients' confidential files with just about anybody. Connect the dots. 

Yesterday (2019)

YESTERDAY  (2019)  ¢ ¢ ¢

    D: Danny Boyle

    Himesh Patel, Lily James, Kate McKinnon,

    Joel Fry, Ed Sheeran, Robert Carlyle

A tuneful musical fantasy about a struggling singer/songwriter named Jack Malik (Himesh Partel) who gets knocked cold in a traffic accident at the moment the power goes out all over the world. He comes to in a world where nobody's heard of cigarettes, Coca-Cola, Harry Potter, or (most significantly) the Beatles. Seizing an opportunity, he cribs the Beatles' music and lyrics and soon finds himself being hailed as the greatest rock-&-roll artist of all time. There are complications. Another reminder of how amazing and timeless the Beatles' songs are, and a good choice to go on a double bill with Julie Taymor's "Across the Universe". Robert Carlyle has an uncredited cameo, delivering some sage advice that helps Jack navigate a tricky situation toward the end of the film. You won't recognize Carlyle, but you'll know who he's playing immediately. 

They Made Me a Criminal (1939)

 

THEY MADE ME A CRIMINAL  (1939)  ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2

    D: Busby Berkeley

    John Garfield, Gloria Dickson, Claude Rains, 

    Ann Sheridan, May Robson, Billy Halop,

    Bobby Jordan, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall,

    Frank Riggi, John Ridgley, Ward Bond

In his second feature film, John Garfield plays a prizefighter who goes on the lam when he's framed for a murder and ends up on an Arizona date farm where the Dead End Kids are cracking wise and cooling their heels. Claude Rains steps out of character as a hard-boiled police detective determined to track Garfield down. The studio was Warner Bros. (of course).