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One Summer Love (1976)

Beau Bridges has recently been released from a mental hospital. He meets Susan Sarandon working at a movie theater and with her help, tracks down his family and some answers to his mental issues. Bridges does a fairly good job portraying someone whose development has been stilted from years living in an institution but the rest of the film is somewhat of a mess. He spends most of his time bouncing off the actions of those around him who honestly aren’t any more mentally with it than he is. I prefer the original title of Dragonfly as it actually relates to Bridges’s experiences instead of trying to make it some grand love story.

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Freedom Song (2000)

During the Civil Rights movement in a small town in Mississippi, young people join with other activists to register people to vote and protest other inequalities. Similarly to Deacons for Defense , parents of these students aren afraid to shake things up, being well aware of the retributions that have happened in the past. Unlike that other movie, the adults don’t step in to protect the teens. It’s a perfectly serviceable made for television version of the events of the time period. It’s possible I’ve just watched a few too many on the theme recently to appreciate it more.

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One Potato, Two Potato (1964)

Abandoned by her adventure-seeking, ex-husband Richard Mulligan, the mother of a young child, Barbara Barrie, meets single man Bernie Hamilton at her new job. They begin a relationship and soon marry despite the obstacles presented to an interracial couple. At some point, her ex-husband hunts her down and sues for custody of their daughter because of his disapproval of their relationship. Reminiscent of Two Mothers for Zachary , it’s another story of a parent at risk of losing their child because someone else simply has objections to the couple being together. Like that other film, this one is based on actual court cases that happened. This film is more infuriating as the home Barrie and Hamilton have established with Hamilton’s parents is obviously loving and wholesome and even Mulligan admits his feelings could be wrong, but he can’t stop himself from objecting regardless.

Oscar Nomination: Best Writing, Story and Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen

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Small Wonders (1995)

Based on the same story as Music of the Heart, this film follows the work of Roberta Guaspari, a music teacher who teaches violin to elementary school students in Harlem. As a documentary, it doesn’t really work for me. It has the aesthetic of a personal interest story from the evening news and has only about as much story to share as one of those pieces. There’s not much flow to the narrative nor even a clear sense of the timeline it encompasses. It is cool to the kids hard at work and for some of them, the culmination of that work giving them the chance to play with world-class violinists.  Music

Oscar Nomination: Best Documentary, Features

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The Gates (2007)

Though I was not in a position to at the time, I had really wanted to see The Gates when it was exhibited. Watching this is the closest I can come to that. Unlike The Floating Piers, the work was constructed while Jeanne-Claude was still alive and she seems to be somewhat of a calming influence on him. Like that other work, this required the couple to work through many decades of government bureaucracy before finally having the chance to pull it off. The interviewers somehow found the grumpiest New Yorkers to express all forms of disgust at the two week, in the middle of winter installation. It makes for a great contrast to the delight the artists themselves show at seeing their work finally realized.

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The One and Only Dick Gregory (2021)

Before this film, I only knew of Dick Gregory by name. This documentary offers a fairly comprehensive view of his life from his early days as a comedian to his activism to his later promotion of health and weight loss products and then returning to being a speaker and comedian. While fairly standard as a biopic, the subject is definitely intriguing and there is plenty of footage of Dick himself along with interviews from family members and those he influenced.

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Psych-Out (1968)

Deaf runaway Susan Strasberg arrives in San Francisco searching for her long-lost brother Bruce Dern and is taken in by a trio of hippie musicians, including Jack Nicholson. They help her search for her brother while also teaching her how to be less square. I have no idea how accurate it actually is to the era, but it is filled with free love, mind-altering drugs, and lots of groovy tunes.

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Kong: Skull Island (2017)

This is my third King Kong film and thus far my least favorite. Set during the 1970s, it offers a Heart of Darkness theme with members of a secret government organization joined by Vietnam War soldiers and a war photographer to hunt down Kong. It lays heavily on the era setting with a constant jukebox of songs. Kong isn’t even the main antagonist on the island. Instead skull crawlers that remind me of the monkey creatures in Temple Run are the real enemy. The group never actually leaves the island with Kong and Brie Larson, as the main female character, isn’t Kong’s love interest but also doesn’t have much else to do than take pictures she supposedly isn’t going to share with anyone. In fact there are so many extra characters that there were some I didn’t even notice were part of the expedition until halfway through the movie. What the film does have going for it is that’s very beautiful. Kong is impressive from every angle, but even those visuals are more about style than substance.

Oscar Nominee: Best Achievement in Visual Effects

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Children of the Damned (1964)

In this spiritual sequel to Village of the Damned, six children from around the world are discovered to have superior intelligence and special powers. When they are all brought to London for a collective study, it is determined that the world is not ready for the advancements they exhibit. This film is a bit longer and focuses more on the children’s experiences. The general atmosphere of the two films are similar, but overall they come across incredibly different in message and I sincerely can’t say which one I prefer more.  SciFi  Horror

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She Wouldn’t Say Yes (1945)

Psychiatrist Rosalind Russell repeatedly has run ins with cartoonist Lee Bowman. She instantly dislikes him and he continually harasses her until, with her father’s help, he tricks her into marrying him. That sounds awful even as I type it. Russell is great as a self-assured doctor, especially in her work with shell shocked soldiers. There’s nothing else to recommend though.

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