Duel of Champions (1961)

 

DUEL OF CHAMPIONS  (1961)  ¢ ¢

    D: Ferdinando Baldi, Terence Young

    Alan Ladd, Franca Bettoja, Jacques Sernas,

    Robert Keith, Andrea Aurel, Jacqueline Derval, 

    Violette Marceau, Franco Fabrizi, Luciano Marin

Who knew that once upon a time, the fate of the Roman Empire was in the hands of Alan Ladd?

I'm Still Here (2024)

 

I'M STILL HERE  (2024)  ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢

    D: Walter Salles

    Fernanda Torres, Luyiza Kosovski, Selton Mello,

    Cora Mora, Augusto Trainotti, Fernanda Montenegro

"I'm Still Here" is about a woman trying to find out what happened to her husband who's disappeared in Brazil during the dictatorship. The husband's a former senator who's been abducted by agents working for the police or the army but who look and act more like regular kidnappers. The woman's forceful in a way that somebody with less affluence and status might not be, but that's not enough to prevent her from being taken into custody and interrogated herself. A harrowing look at a political system where dissent is silenced, resistance is crushed, and the key to power is stoking pervasive fear. Think that can't happen here? We'll see. An Oscar winner for best foreign language film, with a commanding performance by Fernanda Torres in the lead. Fernanda Montenegro (Torres' mother) has a quietly moving cameo late in the film. 

Mermaids of Tiburon (1962)

 

MERMAIDS OF TIBURON  (1962)  ¢ ¢

    D: John Lamb

    George Rowe, Diane Webber, Timothy Carey,

    Jose Gonzales-Gonzales, Gaby Martone,

    Judy Edwards, Jean Carroll, Diana Cook

Two divers - a ruthless scumbag looking for pearls and a marine biologist studying marine lifeforms - take off in separate boats to explore the waters around a mysterious island. They find exactly what you'e expect them to find in a movie called "Mermaids of Tiburon". Much of the film takes place underwater, and the amount of screen time devoted to bare-breasted women is unusual for 1962. Apparently, the picture was released in a G-rated version that died a quick box office death, while an uncut version that played in military theaters got a much more enthusiastic reception. Hmmm. Go figure. 

Monte Walsh (1970)

 

MONTE WALSH  (1970)  ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2

    D: William A. Fraker

    Lee Marvin, Jack Palance, Jeanne Moreau,

    Jim Davis, Mitchell Ryan, G.D. Spradlin,

    Matt Clark, Bo Hopkins, Allyn Ann McLerie

Marvin and Palance play aging cowpokes in a changing West, where accountants are taking over the cattle industry, jobs are becoming scarce, and the open range is being fenced in. A western that manages to be both playful and meloncholy, a celebration and an elegy for a vanishing way of life. Marvin's at his tight-lipped best, and Palance, in a rare sympathetic role, gives one of his most affecting and least mannered performances. 

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. 

A House of Dynamite (2025)

 

A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE  (2025)  ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2

    D: Kathryn Bigelow

    Rebecca Ferguson, Idris Elba, Jared Harris,

    Tracy Letts, Gabriel Basso, Anthony Ramos,

    Moses Ingram, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Greta Lee

"Fail-Safe" for the 21st century.

Movie Star Moment: Lillian Gish

 

Lillian Gish as The Woman Who Rocks the Cradle

in "Intolerance" (1916)

    Lillian Gish is generally considered to be the silent era's greatest dramatic actress. On screen starting in 1912 (and active into her 90s), she played a series of beleaguered heroines in films like "Broken Blossoms", "Way Down East", "Orphans of the Storm" and "The Wind". She did some of her best work for D.W. Griffith, who cast her in a pivotal cameo in his groundbreaking epic "Intolerance". 

    With a narrative of unprecedented scope and ambition, "Intolerance" tells four different stories from four different centuries simultaneously, cutting constantly between them. The connection is a recurring shot of Gish as a woman rocking a cradle, providing Griffith with a transition device and the film with something like transcendence. 

    Why Gish took such a small role in such an ambitious project when she was arguably Griffith's biggest star is a matter of some speculation, but there she is, never on the screen for more than a few seconds, endlessly rocking the cradle, an image of simple humanity linking the bloodthirsty ages, the eternal cinematic mother of us all.

Misunderstood (2014)

 

MISUNDERSTOOD  (2014)  ¢ ¢ 1/2

    D: Asia Argento 

    Giulia Salerno, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Gabriel Garko,

    Carolina Poccioni, Anna Lou Castoldi, Alice Pea

The protagonist in this movie is a smart, inquisitive nine-year-old girl named Aria, traipsing around Rome between the two broken poles in an affluent but dysfunctional family. He mom's a concert pianist and borderline out-of-control diva plowing her way through a series of sketchy boyfriends. Her dad's a superstitious movie actor whose tenuous stability is severely tested when the girl brings home her best and newest friend, a black cat. It's a rough, ragged piece of work, reflecting the girl's view of her world, or Argento's approach to filmmaking, and possibly both. Charlotte Gainsbourg disappears into her role as the mother. I kept watching her, thinking, okay , when's Charlotte Gainsbourg going to show up, and then realized, oh, that's her. Giulia Salerno, who plays Aria, is remarkable, and the image of her walking the streets alone with a duffel bag and a cat in a carrier could stay in your head long after the rest of the movie slips away. 

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, and 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.