Month: March 2022

Posted on 2022-03-07 | No Comments |

Cheyenne Autumn (1964)

Two chiefs of the Cheyenne nation endeavor to lead three hundred members of their tribe from an Oklahoma reservation back to their traditional Wyoming home. This angers the US government and they seek to prevent the group from accomplishing their mission. Ostensibly a John Ford Western that is sympathetic to the plight of Native Americans, it is nevertheless told from the perspective of a white narrator, Richard Widmark, and the major Native roles are played by Mexican Americans. Typical of Ford, it’s beautifully filmed, but it’s also drawn out and inexplicably throws a bit of comedy relief just at its midpoint.

Oscar Nomination: Best Cinematography, Color

Posted on 2022-03-07 | No Comments |

Emma (1932)

Dedicated nanny and housekeeper Marie Dressler has been with one family through good times and bad, from the childbirth death of the mother and the husband’s financial successes to the raising of their four spoiled children to adulthood. After so many years together, the husband proposes marriage but he sadly dies on their honeymoon. There’s an interesting story there, but way too much is jumped over in its short, seventy-odd minute runtime. I would have loved to see all the family relationships develop more as there are tender moments and history that is really glossed over. While she does her best with the role, Dressler’s character is the only one given much development though even her background is completely blank.

Oscar Nomination: Best Actress in a Leading Role

Posted on 2022-03-07 | No Comments |

King Richard (2021)

Will Smith is Richard Williams, the father and coach of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams. The film conveys the eldest Williams as a thoroughly complex character: a determined, obsessive, arrogant, loving, helicopter parent with one singular goal. It’s an interesting look into how to raise a champion, or two, especially when the odds are against you. While he doesn’t disappear completely into the character, Smith does offer a fairly good portrayal of the man.

Oscar Win: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Oscar Nominations: Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Achievement in Film Editing; Best Original Screenplay; Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)

Posted on 2022-03-06 | No Comments |

Here Comes the Groom (1951)

Recently returned to Boston, reporter Bing Crosby must get married in five days or lose custody of the two orphans he has adopted. Unfortunately Jane Wyman, the woman he’s hoping to marry, has become engaged to Franchot Tone in his absence. Crosby’s character isn’t easy to root for and the songs are mostly unnecessary, but mixed into that is some good, often slapsticky, humor. I wish it had taken a different turn in the end, but otherwise it’s a fun, lighthearted diversion.

Oscar Win: Best Music, Original Song

Oscar Nomination: Best Writing, Motion Picture Story

Posted on 2022-03-06 | No Comments |

The Battle of Algiers (1966)

Told in newsreel-style, this film reconstructs events undertaken by Algerian rebels during the Algerian War of Independence, focusing on the experiences of Ali La Pointe during that time period. It doesn’t shirk from presenting a forthright account of the atrocities committed by both sides, from the outright terrorism of the revolutionaries to the war crimes by the French. It’s a up close, bitter and honest portrayal of war, particularly as it rages within a city.

Oscar Nominations: Best Director; Best Writing, Story and Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen; Best Foreign Language Film

Posted on 2022-03-06 | No Comments |

The Red Danube (1949)

Billeted in an Austrian convent run by mother superior Ethel Barrymore in post World War II Europe, British colonel Walter Pidgeon, along with aides Angela Lansbury, Peter Lawford, and Robert Coote, is tasked with monitoring for possible subversive activities against Allied countries while also supporting the repatriation of Soviet citizens. Complications arise when Lawford falls in love with Russian ballerina Vivien Leigh who is in hiding at the convent. A potentially intriguing story about the early days of the Cold War is marred by heavy-handed religious propaganda where Pidgeon’s understandable post-War agnosticism is deemed unacceptable by Barrymore and the film. It also requires a buy-in of a lukewarm romance between bland Peter Lawford and weak-willed Leigh. At least Lansbury’s character escaped that fate.

Oscar Nomination: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White

Posted on 2022-03-05 | No Comments |

Clifford the Big Red Dog (2021)

This film is about a red puppy, adopted by a girl named Emily Elizabeth, that grows into an enormous red dog. Those are the only similarities it has with the book or televisions series. Like Tom and Jerry before it, the setting is inexplicably changed to New York City. Emily Elizabeth’s English-accented single mom has to go on a work trip, so she leaves her with her bad American-accented uncle, whose life choices have him living in a box truck. Over the course of a single day, they adopt Clifford, get evicted from their large two-bedroom apartment, and draw the attention of a bad guy who wants to solve world hunger. This is the type of movie that has a humanitarian as the bad guy. It also has CGI dog riding scenes that make the Quidditch scenes in the first Harry Potter film look seamless.

Posted on 2022-03-05 | No Comments |

The Settlers (2016)

Though obviously important to world politics, especially as an odd battleground in American politics, I just don’t have enough in me to delve deep enough into the great history of Israel and Palestine to form an honest, educated opinion on the modern situation there. This documentary is a starting point into one point of contention between the two parties: Jewish settlers into the West Bank. It offers a frightening, unguarded view into the zealous nature of some of these individuals, flouting international law by continually pushing into the area with the support of right wing leaders locally and abroad. Many have no interest in peace with their neighbors while firmly believing their cause is justified. While the film only presents a one-sided view, it does offer enough of the history as a starting point to help along a neophyte like myself.

Posted on 2022-03-05 | No Comments |

Lovely & Amazing (2001)

This movie revolves around the lives of four females: Brenda Blethyn and her three daughters Catherine Keener, Emily Mortimer, and Raven Goodwin. All four of them suffer from extreme self esteem issues and make incredibly poor decisions because of it. The only one who I give a pass to is Goodwin as she’s a child and has little adult guidance as her wealthy mother leaves her in the care of her sisters while she gets liposuction. I either had forgotten or hadn’t realized Goodwin acted as a child; she’s easily the best part of this film. The film itself is very evocative of indie films of the era and I wasn’t surprised to see that it shared directors with Friends with Money. I think I had seen both films soon after their releases. They have great casts but are equally unmemorable.

Posted on 2022-03-05 | No Comments |

Funny Lady (1975)

In this sequel to Funny Girl, Barbra Streisand’s Fanny Brice’s career continues to thrive while she has moved on, somewhat, from con artist Omar Sharif and finds new love in theatrical producer James Caan. I know Funny Girl is an iconic Streisand work, but it had failed to impress me and this does so even less. It’s like a rehash of the earlier work, but everything’s worse. The theatrical scenes are much weaker here as is the relationship and (lack of) chemistry with Caan. The film is both too long and drawn out while quickly jumping through the events in the relationship. It seems like Fanny Brice deserves better than to have her life told mainly from the view of her relationships.

Oscar Nominations: Best Cinematography; Best Costume Design; Best Sound; Best Music, Original Song; Best Music, Scoring Original Song Score and/or Adaptation