The Drowning Pool (1975)

Second viewing; previously viewed between 1983 and 1986.

 A private eye is hired by a woman who wants to know who is writing anonymous letters to her husband denouncing her infidelity. A murder happens and the suspects range from members of the household to a hireling who happened to be also in the service of an oil mogul who wants to buy her mother-in-law's land.

Lavishly produced hardboiled thriller. While the individual sequences are well made, the whole comes across as cold and soulless. The beginning is especially problematic, coming across as very mechanical. Toward the end, the film gets more exciting, culminating in the highlights in the hydrotherapy clinic. For those who read the novel, it makes for a nice visual complement. Others may have some trouble getting engaged in the plot.

Rating: 50 (unchanged)

Superman (1978)

 Second viewing; first viewing of the director's cut; previously viewed in 1979 (I think).

An extraterrestrial is sent to Earth when his home planet is about to explode. He is endowed with super-strength and other superpowers. He gets a job as a reporter, while keeping his real identity hidden.

This is a parody (if I may use that word) of the Christ story. The necessary changes were made to make it more, say, palatable to modern audiences.

Rating: 58 (unchanged)

The Go-Between (1971)

Second viewing; previously viewed on December 29, 1988. 

A 12-year-old boy goes to spend his summer vacation in the country house of a rich family. While there, he serves as a messenger between the owners' young daughter and her lover, a lower-class farmer who lives nearby.

This starts out a little dull, but soon becomes an exciting game of manipulation and secrecy. Furthermore, it's marvelously directed and at times dazzlingly beautiful. However, there is an unfortunate wrapping up to all this which sacrifices plausibility for dramaticity. After young Marian had dragged an innocent boy into her rather depressing sexual affair, her mother seemed determined to make sure he wouldn't come out of the experience without a lasting trauma. Really, this author mustn't have had a high opinion of women. But the worst was yet to come, with a cringeworthy epilogue.

Rating: 64 (unchanged)

A King in New York (1957)

Second viewing. Previously viewed on January 12, 1989.

A deposed European king goes to live in the U.S., where he has trouble adapting to the American way of life. He gets involved with the son of a couple who is suspected of being communist agents.

This satire of America has a very contrived plot and a sudden shift to the dramatic at the end. Its initial section is moderately funny, but its political subplot, being obviously an exaggeration of the historical events it is based on, is not very relevant as a political statement.

Rating: 51 (down from 62)