After the funeral of magistrate and amateur sculptor Vincent Price, his diary is read and reveals that he believed himself to be possessed by an malevolent entity called a horla which led him to madness and murder, including his own suicide. It’s not my favorite Price film by far, but as always, he elevates any work he’s in. Here he’s a self-righteous do-gooder who is rather unprepared for the events that lead to his demise. 
I don’t know why I enjoyed this movie so much when I was young, but even during further rewatches, I find it nostalgically charming despite its questionable treatment of the women involved. Dudley Moore is a married television reporter who meets cellist Amy Irving during one of his stories. They begin an affair and when she tells him she’s pregnant, he’s prepared to divorce his current wife Ann Reinking who chooses that moment to announce that after years of trying she’s also pregnant, expecting twins in what is certain to be a difficult pregnancy. He’s stuck between a rock and a hard place and chooses perhaps the worst path, to stay married to both women. With another actor this might not have worked, but the hijinks surrounding Moore grow as he tries to balance both relationships and it is often hilarious. Both women are extremely successful and despite societal entrainment could find much benefit in the arrangement if they let themselves. I like how the ending feels open to interpretation though I’m unsure how one of those interpretations is likely to work. 
I often have a hard time appreciating Albert Brooks’s self-deprecating humor, yet for some reason I keep watching his films. Perhaps I should relate more to this film as here he repeatedly breaks up with his girlfriend Kathryn Harrold before almost immediately changing his mind and wanting to get back with her. His character is a neurotic, controlling mess and its hard to see what Harrold sees in him though there’s very little development into who her character is to make such judgment. There are a few rather funny scenes from his bad decision under the influence of Quaaludes to his misguided attempt to better himself by getting in shape. These outshine the rest of the questionable plot.
Paperboy Matthew Lawrence has been kidnapped by witch Debbie Harry who intends to cook him for a dinner party she is hosting. To distract her from her duty, he tells her three tales from a book she had given him. I’d never seen the television show of the same title, but the tales are equally creepy. The special effects are low key and dated but that adds to the charm. The most astounding part of the whole production is the cast, which includes Steve Buscemi, Christian Slater, and Juliane Moore.
In Strings, a woman gets ready for her bath while her downstairs neighbor prepares for the arrival of his string quartet. The animation style isn’t really my type of thing as the lines and colors are quite muddied and undefined. The story is cute enough with forced interaction between the two principles coming in the form of a leaky bathtub.
Bill Plympton’s style is really not my thing. I remember similar shorts, maybe even cuts from this one, as interstitials on MTV back in the day. Your Face is comprised of a man singing Your Face is Like a Song while his face morphs and folds in upon itself in different forms. Despite being quite ugly, the morphing is done seamlessly through the song.
The cast of of Yes People is a group of people who live in the same apartment building. The dialogue consists almost entirely of various iterations of the word ‘yes’. The plot, as well as the animation, is exceptionally simple but still rather cute.
Oscar Nominations: Best Short Film, Animated (all three)
In this utterly forgettable comedy, Peter Sellers is a vain, womanizing television personality who meets his match in American teenager Goldie Hawn. It’s very talky, attesting to its theatrical origins, and the two are extremely mismatched in charm. The few amusing moments are outshone by the mundane and inconsistent actions of its characters.
Four long time friends, together working low-paying jobs for a janitorial service, begin robbing banks as an answer to their various financial problems. While the four leads (Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Kimberly Elise, and Vivica A. Fox) are all appealing and have good chemistry between them, the writing lets them down. The story isn’t particularly fresh and the way it is handled feels really dated. It’s overly long and has extended sex scenes for no apparent reason to the plot, though they are beautifully shot. My favorite part remains Queen Latifah’s perfectly dedicated, over-the-top performance who just wants to deck out her car and buy her girlfriend nice things. 
Based on a true story, a young mother secretly moves her four children into a new apartment and later abandons them to the care of the eldest, not yet a teenager. It’s an obviously heartbreaking tale and it goes on for long enough that it feels verging on tragedy porn. The film is mostly scenes of the children acting amongst themselves and this is handled delicately and naturally, letting the kids be kids even while the outside world puts very real pressures onto them.
Orphaned during an Indian cholera epidemic, Margaret O’Brien is sent to Britain to live with her reclusive uncle Herbert Marshall and his ill-tempered, bedridden son Dean Stockwell. When she learns of the existence of a hidden garden from the brother of a housemaid, the secret creates a bond between the three children. I enjoy watching O’Brien and Stockwell’s childhood acting. They both have a very natural charm about them which is well met in their scenes together. I also love a well-timed black & white to color scene and the reveal of the no longer neglected garden is quite a flourishment. It makes for a rather lovely family friendly film.
On the fourth of his mandated five years of teaching training, slacker Sherab Dorji is sent to the remotest part of Bhutan to teach at a small mountain village school when he’d rather be playing music in Australia. He arrives completely unprepared but quickly finds inspiration in the local culture. I commend the Bhutanese happiness ideal that leads them to ensure the education of even its most remote citizens. Unfortunate the film is not a particularly original take on a fish out of water tale. The setting is gorgeous at least and provides a view into a charming, lesser seen culture.
Oscar Nomination: Best International Feature Film