Nitram (2021)

 

NITRAM  (2021)  ¢ ¢ ¢

    D: Justin Kurzel

    Caleb Landry Jones, Judy Davis, Essie Davis,

    Anthony LaPaglia, Sean Keenan, Phoebe Taylor

I went into this movie without knowing the story behind it. It's set in Australia and its main character is a guy in his 20s living at home with his parents and subject to bouts of erratic behavior thanks to some significant mental health issues. He has the look of a surfer and, in fact, he longs to be one, though he's never surfed and doesn't even swim anymore. He's all impulse and no filter and there's a vaguely blank look about him that tells you the circuits don't all connect. There's a real sense that without mum and dad to keep a watchful eye on him, he'd be institutionalized, and that maybe he should be. You just hope he doesn't hurt anybody, and you really hope he's taking his meds. It's when he walks into a gun shop and starts putting together an arsenal that you start to think, oh no, this is not going to end well, and that's where the backstory comes in. Caleb Landry Jones in the lead gives the kind of performance that could make you feel real uncomfortable. Judy Davis (looking old) and Anthony LaPaglia (looking heavy) play his caring but beleaguered parents. 

Mighty Joe Young (1949)

 

MIGHTY JOE YOUNG  (1949)  ¢ ¢ 1/2

    D: Ernest B. Schoedsack

    Terry Moore, Ben Johnson, Robert Armstrong,

    Frank McHugh, Douglas Fowley, Nestor Paiva,

    Regis Toomey, Paul Guilfoyle, Lora Lee Michel

A young girl living in the African jungle takes in a baby gorilla that grows up to be real big. A hustling showman who looks just like the guy who brought you King Kong persuades the girl to bring the ape to America, which (spoiler alert!) turns out to be a bad idea. A knockoff script, but it's fun to see Ben Johnson in a rare early lead, and the effects, by Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen, look real good. 

Paperback Hero (1999)

 

PAPERBACK HERO  (1999)  ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2

    D: Anthony J. Bowman

    Claudia Karvan, Hugh Jackman, Angie Milliken,

    Andrew S. Gilbert, Jeanie Drynan, Barry Rugless

A truck driver writes a romance novel and gets it published under the name of a woman who knows nothing about what he's up to. When the book takes off and the publishers want the author to start doing publicity, things get complicated. A good-natured, off-road comedy from Down Under. Hugh Jackman's first theatrical film.

Nouvelle Vague (2025)

 

NOUVELLE VAGUE  (2025)  ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2

    D: Richard Linklater 

    Guillaume Marbeck, Zoey Deutch, Aubry Dullin,

    Bruno Dreyfürst, Benjamin Clery, Matthieu Penchinat,

    Thom Novembre, Laurent Mothe, Jodie Ruth Forest

Richard Linklater's funny, affectionate homage to the French New Wave, set in 1959, with Jean-Luc Goddard, Jean Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo in the streets making "Breathless", and everybody else who was involved in the French film scene at the time passing through or dropping by. A real movie-lover's movie, in French and black and white, with scenes from Godard's iconic first feature scrupulously recreated. You don't have to be a fan of the New Wave to appreciate what Linklater's up to, but it doesn't hurt. Watching it on a double bill with "Breathless" wouldn't be a bad idea, either. 

Raiders of the Lost Shark (2015)

 

RAIDERS OF THE LOST SHARK  (2015)   ¢ ¢

    D: Brett Kelly

    Candice Lidstone, Jessica Huether, Catherine Mary Clark,

    Richard Gruen, John Migliore, Lawrence Evenchick,

    Angela Parent, Kitty Kamieniecki, Faith Rayah

Dopey regional horror from Ontario (eh?) about some people being munched on by a giant prehistoric flying monster shark. By my count, eleven characters are killed by the shark and seven-and-a-half women strip down to their swimsuits but only one of them gets topless. Now that you know what's important, it's up to you whether you actually want to watch. 

Otley (1969)

 

OTLEY  (1969)  ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2

    D: Dick Clement

    Tom Courtenay, Romy Schneider, Alan Badel,

    James Villiers, Leonard Rossiter, James Bolam,

    Fiona Lewis, Freddie Jones, Ronald Lacey

With all the spy movies that came out in the mid-to-late '60s, a few were bound to be underappreciated, and one of those was this one. Tom Courtenay plays Gerald Arthur Otley, a petty thief and overall layabout who's hijacked into an espionage caper and finds that his talent for bluffing and conniving could be his ticket to survival. A slim chance, to be sure, but it's all he's got. It's one of Courtenay's best roles, and arguably his funniest performance: a working-class idler who's in way over his head but won't admit that to anybody, least of all himself. Highlight: a high-speed car chase that coincides with Otley's behind-the-wheel driving test. 

The Love Statue (1965)

 

THE LOVE STATUE  (1965)  ¢ ¢

    D: David E. Durston

    Peter Ratray, Ondine Lisé, Harvey Goldenberg,

    Nancy Norman, Hisako Tsukuba, Coleman Younger

An avant-garde beatnik drug exposé about what happens when a struggling artist takes LSD and a statue comes to life. This looks like something an improv theater group might've done as an experiment on their days off between shows. There's even a sign that reads "LOFT PLAYERS" on one of the apartment doors in the building where there artist hangs out. The writing, acting and sound are all pretty rough, but some of the black-and-white camerawork isn't bad, and the movie makes effective use of a well-timed snowstorm and its New York City locations.