Amarcord (1973)

Second viewing; the first one was on October 14, 1991.

A year in the life of a small Italian village in the Emilia-Romagna region, in the 1930s. The movie has a sort of center in 'Tita', a teenage boy. Another important character is 'Gradisca', a forty-ish unmarried woman who is the object of desire of practically the entire male population in that town.

What first struck me in this second viewing was the prodigiously precise mise en scène, and the flawlessness of form in general. Secondly, I was pleased by how sentimentality is never given a free rein. Overall this is a beautiful chronicle, solidly anchored in history but always looking for the poetic side of events.

Rating: 72 (up from 67)

Såsom i en spegel (1961)

English title: Through a Glass Darkly.
Accurate translation of the original title: As in a Mirror.

A schizophrenic woman is released from a clinic after undergoing treatment and goes to live with her husband, her father, and her younger brother in a deserted island.

What a wonderful idea for a recovering psychiatric patient, to live in a deserted island with her horny teenage brother, her father who had abandoned her when she most needed her, and her caring but feckless husband. Well, that may not be very sound medicine but it makes for a reasonably entertaining drama, albeit one which fills in with dialogue wherever anything beyond the possibilities of its minuscule budget is to be depicted. Some similarly-minded horror films were made, mainly in England, mainly in the sixties, but they relied on images rather than words (needless to say, those films were scorned by critics whereas this one was and still is praised to the heavens). Anyway, what I gathered from this heavily Freudian concoction is that the word 'love' and its two distinct meanings (Eros on one side, which is based on desire and is therefore involuntary; Agape on the other, which is voluntary and based on social or religious constraints) are often confused as a single entity, with positive consequences (e.g. it binds husband and wife together even after desire fades away) and negative ones (e.g. general mental confusion). The title deserves some remarks. As is seen on the top of this entry, the English title is not exactly the same as the Swedish one, due, I think, to a difference in the translations of the biblical verse it is based on (the director mentions in an interview that ancient mirrors were made of bronze and the background of the image were blurry, the accuracy and explaining power of which I cannot vouch for). What is most curious, though, is that in Brazil the release title was a blend of the English and Swedish ones, "Through a Looking Glass", which is funny because it establishes a parallel between 'Karin' and that famous character by Lewis Carroll.

Rating: 51

Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

Second viewing; the first one was in October or November of 1984.

Based on the novel The Hoods, by Herschel Goldberg (as Harry Grey), first published in 1952.

The story of four friends growing up in New York City during the 1920s, then becoming gangsters during Prohibition. Another section set in the 1960s is interspersed with the earlier time frame.

An imperfect film, but a strong one. The tone is clearly pulpish, and very Italian in style. Maybe it has to do with a taste for the grotesque, which seems to be alien to Anglo-Saxon sensibilities. It is hard for me to make a strictly rational sense of the movie in all its details. I think the basic point is how when you are a child there is a purity of emotion that gets screwed in a thousand ways as you grow old. A psychoanalytical interpretation wouldn't be too off, 'Max' perhaps being a pure Id version of 'Noodles', a la Jekyll and Hyde. I misinterpreted the ending on both viewings, and even the IMDb FAQ gets it wrong, in my opinion (the 'contract on Noodles' hypothesis seems very far-fetched). After I read a statement from a Leone interview I think I got it right (it is supposed to be a murder, not a suicide). But this is not clear on the screen, so I suppose anyone may think what he pleases.

Rating: 71 (up from 69)

The World Moves On (1934)

Drama which deals with a multinational conglomerate whose heads are all members of the same family; some of them become enemies when World War One breaks out.

A weird film, which sort of proves a personal theorem of mine, stating that the quality of a film is often closely related to the amenability of its story to fit an acceptable duration, given the market constraints. Here, it is obvious that this amenability does not happen, and the film feels like it has huge chunks of character development and plot altogether missing. Apart from that, there are other problems with the film that are screenplay-related and happen mostly in the last section; particularly unsavory is the bombastic behavior which is ascribed to character 'Richard'; the final appeal to religion is a bit awkward too, and, at least as viewed today, does not seem integral to the drama. But the film is not a total loss: it is lucid in its assessment of the post-WWI zeitgeist, and now we know that its worst fears became tragic reality in subsequent years; also, it is technically well-made, especially the battlefield sequences.

Rating: 37

35 Up (1991)

The Up series, continued. No huge surprises in this one, except one that concerns an absentee. One reads on the IMDB page, at the Frequently Asked Questions section (this was published 4 years ago, before 56 Up (2012) was made):

*quote* Peter criticised Thatcher's government in 28 Up and lost his teaching job after a tabloid media campaign; he did not appear in any more "Up" films. *unquote* .

(Observation inserted on May 30, 2014: Peter appeared on 56 Up and stated that his leaving the teaching profession had nothing to do with the tabloids, it was his decision entirely.)

Jackie and Sue and their new respective developments were the most interesting things in this installment, in my opinion. I will not comment further, except that, well, they just made me think.

This movie made the Dale Thomajan top ten lists, the second and last time an Up movie did.

The Gilded Lily (1935)

A young working-class woman is best friends with a reporter who is in love with her. She falls in love with a man she meets by accident, unaware that he is a wealthy member of English nobility. A series of misunderstandings interrupt their love affair, while at the same time conferring her celebrity status.

This is what is usually described as "fluff", or, even more deprecatingly, "pap". It is not that the screenwriter, director, and actors are not all geniuses. They are, but did these people have any power over a movie in 1930s Hollywood? The writer is given a very silly story to develop (cashing in on the success of It Happened One Night, reportedly), the director films it to perfection, and the actors play it superbly. But it all started as pap, and the finished product cannot be anything but pap.

Rating: 32

Insomnia (1997)

In a Norwegian region where daylight is constant, the brutal murder of a teenage woman defies the local police. They sent for a Swedish expert to lead the investigation. He sets a trap for the criminal but makes a deadly mistake during an operation to catch him.

Intelligently plotted and competently directed criminal thriller. Crime as a result of mental confusion is the central theme; the sun has a central role (cp. Camus' The Stranger). There is still enough of a moral distinction between the hunter (policeman) and the hunted (novelist), but the film's point is that the policeman's mental mechanism is hardly distinguishable from the novelist's. The central performance is excellent. I found this version preferrable over the remake, which is also good.

Rating: 68

Abrir puertas y ventanas (2011)

Literal translation for the title: Open the Doors and the Windows
English distribution title: Back to Stay

Three student sisters in their early twenties (apparently) are living together in their recently deceased grandmother's house. Sofía is bossy and a bit devious; Marina seems to do all the house work and to be more emotionally honest than the others; Violeta is extremely lazy.

A psychological study where nothing much happens in the way of a plot. It is very well acted and seems to have some insight into how young women act and relate to one another. Another decent Argentinean movie written and directed by a woman (Mumenthaler), amongst several that have appeared in recent times (Galardi, Martel, Murga).

Rating: 61

Une chambre en ville (1982)

English title: A Room in Town

Mme. Langlois is a widow living in Nantes in 1955. Guilbaud is a factory worker who rents a room at Mme. Langlois' apartment. He has a girlfriend who loves him very much. Mme. Langlois has a daughter named Édith who got married recently to a man she does not love. He is jealous and violent. One day, Guilbaud and Édith meet by chance. Did I mention that there is a strike going on, and that's the reason Guilbaud has so much time in his hands?

Sung-through melodrama with no songs, only recitatives. Those who consider the working class and its organized movements through a romantic prism may find this entertaining or even enthralling. Those with a pathological aversion to the spoken word may be in for a treat, too. I am afraid there is little of interest for the rest of mankind, although, to be fair, it is not badly done within its own rather peculiar (and mysterious) constraints.

Rating: 30

Le beau Serge (1958)

English titles: Handsome Serge; Bitter Reunion.

A young man in his early twenties returns to his home town after an absence of many years. He plans to spend the winter there and convalesce from an illness. He reencounters his childhood friend, now a married man and also a bitter alcoholic.

Interesting study of provincial life. The script, or what of it made it to the final cut, is a little reticent about many aspects concerning the characters and incidents, leaving it for the viewer to fill in with his imagination. The drama develops into a more or less traditional tale of redemption or sublimation or whatever else one may think is the case here.

Rating: 52

Jacquot de Nantes (1991)

U.S. title: Jacquot.

Based on the memoirs by Jacques Demy (b. 1931- d. 1990).

Jacquot is a boy growing up in Nantes, the son of a garage owner and a hairdresser. He is a happy child who loves songs and films. The Occupation disturbs his family life, but, despite all the incidents (including two allied bombings), Jacquot and his family come out unscathed (his statement that they have instilled in him a horror of violence seems insincere or self-deceptive). As a teenager, Jacquot develops a love for cinema. He buys an old camera and starts making stop-motion animations. His father does not regard filmmaking as a suitable career and forces him to attend technical school instead. He goes through a troubled and frustrated period until, finally, the support from a filmmaker visiting Nantes grants him a shot at following his aspirations.

This is a fairly banal biographical drama (interspersed with a few  apparitions of the real Demy at the time of filming), but it is very well made and I saw myself watching it painlessly all the way through. To be honest, I do not think the kind of "popular culture"-oriented life led by the protagonist is very healthy. Anyway, certain people seem to adapt better to it than I ever could.

Rating: 50

28 Up (1984)

Upwards goes the On series, sorry, onwards goes the Up series, this time with the subjects at 28. This seems to be a sort of summit in the progression, though of course I may realize I am wrong when I watch the next installments. Anyway it is certainly an important point, a key point perhaps. Already there are two defections, which I regret. The filmmaker/interviewer comes out (I am not sure whether this is in stock footage from the previous installment, or in new one) as to the purpose of the series (among others, I suppose) being the study of social mobility, or, rather, the lack thereof. As I have been saying, he has the same (irritating) effect on me as most leftist types do, so, based on that, I have to assume he is a leftist. And it is leftists who are generally trying to prove there is little mobility and the government should boost it. But what if there is no way of boosting it? I have recently come across an article which reviews a book which seems to be saying precisely that. And I think this film (and the whole series) are precious evidence to that, if you analyze it carefully. You may argue that this isn't a statistically relevant sample, but then neither is it for the opposing, leftist view. I do think, at any rate, that this is an exceptionally interesting film in a, so far, exceptionally interesting series, and I can't wait to see the next one. Before I do, let me just point out that, when Neil speaks of an "impersonal society" referring to, if I recall correctly, the London suburbs, his definition fits our present-day society pretty much in its entirety with a vengeance, and the question should be, who is responsible for that? Who profits from that?

This film is number ten in critic Dale Thomajan's picks for 1985. This is probably what drew me in the first place towards this series, as, based on the films I have watched amongst his choices, he seems to be very reliable (he also has written a few books, amongst them an interesting compilation of film quotations called Great Movie Lines). His top ten lists can be read here.

Hell Up in Harlem (1973)

Sequel to Black Caesar. Tommy recovers from his wounds, recruits his father as an underling, puts the D.A. under control, gets a new girlfriend, and is betrayed by his ambitious second-in-command.

Crude filmmaking is the rule here. The script (assuming there was one) has a certain level of intelligence, and the film is eventful, but the poorness of the execution makes it unequivocally dull.

Rating: 31

The Legend of Billie Jean (1985)

Based on the novella Michael Kohlhaas, by Heinrich von Kleist, first published in complete form in 1810 (which in turn was based on a 16th century real event). There is no credit for this in the film, though.

A young woman (the titular character) and her teenage brother are harassed by a young man and his gang, who steal her motor scooter and damage it. She demands financial compensation from the boy's shop owner father, but is sexually harassed instead. Her brother picks a gun from the shop's cash register and, after an altercation, shoots at the owner. Billie and her brother, plus two other teenage girls, flee in a borrowed car, and are pursued by the police.

This is an absolutely ridiculous film, and yet I can't say it hasn't its share of entertainment value in the form of self-parody. It is also an early example of a now prevalent trend that seeks the emasculation of America, in fact, of the civilized world as a whole (I counted three hits on a male character's testicles throughout the film!).

Rating: 30

Dead Birds (1963)

Ethnographic documentary about a people in New Guinea. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Read the Wikipedia page about it.

Read also this review by Kevin Kelly.

This film's sound recordist was a Rockefeller. Read this article on rumors about his death.

21 (1977)

Alternate title (Internet Movie Database): 21 Up.

Third installment of the series of documentaries which every 7 years interviews the same set of British boys and girls. Not much to comment upon that would be significantly different from my comments to the previous installments. You can see my presumption of a certain "liberal" (in American terminology) bias on the filmmaker were to a certain extent addressed by one of the boys, who pointed out that the previous installments led one to believe (wrongly) that the rich kids' life were all privilege and no personal effort.

The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

Second viewing; the first one was on April 9, 1991.

A man is exposed to radiation while vacationing with his wife in a boat out on the sea. Some months later, another exposure triggers a process of decrease in his bodily size. He experiences serious psychological problems as well as physical dangers associated with his new condition.

I will, for once, decline from commenting on this movie, which I liked a lot, the same as I did the first time I saw it. It so happens, in this particular case, that I wholly agree with most people who liked it, and in the user review section of IMDb there are wonderful reviews to which I do not think I could add anything of interest. That is, apart from the fact that it bears a passing resemblance to Kafka's The Metamorphosis (lots of people noticed that, too).

Rating: 71

L'horloger de Saint-Paul (1974)

U.S. title: The Clockmaker.

Based on the 1954 novel L'horloger d'Everton, by Georges Simenon.

A man learns from the police that his son committed a murder. The victim was a security guard (or floor manager, I am not sure) at the factory where the young man's girlfriend (and apparent accomplice) worked. The two criminals' whereabouts are unknown.

The plot of this psychological drama is comprised basically of a lot of bullshit and mysteries which remain partly unsolved. To be fair, much of the film can still be endured (and, occasionally, even enjoyed) regardless of that, as it concerns the problems of a middle-aged man who questions his role as a father (and as a citizen, perhaps, though this is part of the bullshit). The excellent central performance is key to that enjoyment, and, to yield to a cliché, carries the film. One of the thematic aspects concerns the problem of excessive liberalism in education producing disoriented kids, which the filmmaker would tackle again in L'appât, again, in my opinion, without great success. In The Clockmaker, politics fogs the issue a little, perhaps, and I honestly cannot make head or tail of the protagonist's stance in court, which seems to me more of the same attitude he had in the past, only radicalized.

Rating: 41

It Came from Outer Space (1953)

An object collides with the Earth in the Arizona desert and is at first thought to be a meteorite, but actually is an alien spaceship. An amateur astronomer investigates the incident with the help of his girlfriend and, later on, other townspeople.

Insipid sci-fi, with little to recommend it aside from the musical score. A few scenes are kind of cool, such as the monster's eye glowing in the dark, and the rock avalanche, but overall the film's suspense level is low due to the fact that we suspect early on that the aliens are on the level and mean no harm. These are, by the way, the best kind of aliens: they do not stay here longer than necessary, destroy very little, and did not come here to preach anything. The downside is that they're simply not fun. The film seemed badly filmed to me, in the sense that, at times, the takes follow one another in a poorly designed fashion. For instance, when the protagonist first inspects the landing site, I was at first under the impression that there was another person there, an alien possibly; after I watched it a second time, I realized it was always the same guy, who was filmed first facing the camera and then from behind at a much larger distance. Anyway, most people praised the direction, so these perceptions of mine must be faulty, somehow.

Rating: 32

Junior (1994)

Two male medical researchers are trying to get a fertility drug approved. When they get a "no" from the FDA, they come up with the bold idea of testing the drug on one of them and then submitting the results to a prospective buyer.

Again, what seemed to be a rare event is becoming alarmingly frequent: I like a film more than the IMDb average voter. And I find it odd that this film has so few user reviews. One would think it is a real stinker, and it is not. The artistry of the writers and of the director shows in several occasions, especially in the first half of the movie, which plays out as a sophisticated comedy. The second half is worse, and admittedly overindulges in trite "drag" humor. The overall theme of the movie, however, is the very relevant issue of medicine for profit. The movie has found a funny way to show that some (I am being conservative here) people in the medical world will do anything for money.

Rating: 50

Knight and Day (2010)

A woman boards the same plane as a rogue agent who is in possession of a new invention and is on the run from his employers who are trying to recover the device. She gets mixed-up in this war, under the rogue agent's protection. They all go after the scientist who created the coveted device and a frantic cat-and-dog chase ensues.

Action thriller with a tongue-in-cheek attitude towards the genre. As the old expression goes, there is never a dull moment in it. I enjoyed it more than the average IMDb voter, an unusual occurrence. The only criticisms I have to offer concern the weird title and the awful song which plays during the end credits. I would probably have passed this film up had I not come across French critic Jean-Sébastien Chauvin's top ten list for 2010 in Cahiers du cinéma.

Rating: 68

Darling Lili (1970)

Second viewing; first viewed on July 17, 1993.

During World War One, an English singer acts as a German spy. She is assigned with extracting military secrets from an ally flyer.

Here's a case of a good script (except for the absurd ending) which is made into a not so good film, reportedly because of producer's interference (I read that S.O.B., by the same director, is based on this incident). The excessive shifting in tone and pace (now mellow, now comic, now dramatic) gets in the way of a pleasant viewing experience (there is a director's cut which, it appears, improves the overall result, but I haven't seen it). And then there is the ending, of course, one of the most implausible of fiction's history.

Saw a 142 min version (actually, 136 min in my country's PAL system).
Saw it in pan-and-scan.

Rating: 50 (unchanged)

Hwanghae (2010)

English title: The Yellow Sea

A Chinese national of Korean ethnicity is in deep debt and is offered a hit job in South Korea as a way to settle it. His wife is down there and has long stopped making contact with him. He takes the job but everything does not go as planned.

This second feature by the director of The Chaser has some of the virtues of that film, namely, energetic direction, excellent performances, and a touch of gritty realism in the screenplay. Some thematic elements are very relevant today, as ethnic minorities in Ukraine and Crimea make the headlines. The film's problems, however, outnumber its virtues. Despite the realism in some details, a huge inverisimilitude prevails through much of the film. By the way, a similar combination of realism and inverisimilitude was, to a lesser extent, also a characteristic of his previous film, but here it simply goes out of control. Another feature of The Chaser which is present in The Yellow Sea is the plot's complexity. However, what was a virtue there becomes a vice here, thanks to the lack of a sense of proportion. It is nearly impossible to follow all the details of the plot, especially in a single viewing, and, what is worse, this exercise in deciphering just does not add to one's enjoyment. The user reviews and discussion boards at IMDb are useful for understanding some plot details and they offer very pointed criticism too (some liked the film more than I did, though).

Rating: 48

The Flim-Flam Man (1967)

Second viewing; the date of the first one is doubtful, the possibilities being either the period 1983-1986 or 1991.

An aging confidence man meets a fugitive from Army justice, and the two become partners.

There is only so much fun one may have from watching people deceive each other, but this film complements the strictly criminal activities with thrilling chases, a love affair, and a bit of moral philosophizing. The result is entertaining.

Watched it in a pan-and-scan copy.

Rating: 54 (unchanged)

La cuisine au beurre (1963)

U.S. title: My Wife's Husband
Tentative English translation of French title: Butter Cooking.

A World War II combatant remains abroad way past the war's end. Upon returning to his native France, he encounters his wife remarried. The new husband is an amiable type, who now runs the restaurant that used to belong to the former husband, now with a different culinary profile.

Congenial low-brow comedy, which is worth watching mainly for the two comedians which star in it. Maybe the movie's most interesting aspect is how the jealousy motif is downplayed relative to the one of contrasting temperaments of people from different regions of France. I found the cinematography stunning, but this may be due to inevitable comparison with recent productions which invariably look like shit.

Rating: 43

The Rains Came (1939)

In British India's state of Ranchipur, in the late 1930s, several characters interact, and deal with a huge natural catastrophe.

Rather conventional (yet entertaining) disaster-movie based on a novel by an American conservative and conservationist. Its utter lack of anticolonialism would of course be unthinkable in a film of our days, even though India is one of the worst countries to live in (they now have "postcolonial studies" to justify that). The interesting thing is that there isn't much of a difference in structure between a political movie and an apolitical one such as this. In a politically-minded story, one would probably have an overwrought activist as protagonist, whereas here one has an equally overwrought doctor. It's always someone trying to make the world a better place. Well, good luck to them.

Rating: 52

Indiscreet (1958)

An actress living in London has a love affair with an economist living in Paris. He tells her he is married but cannot get a divorce.

This is not a film without interest, and in fact it tackles some subjects concerning the dialogue of the sexes which are still important today, although not in the same terms. The problem for me was that it moves at a snail's pace for most of its duration (the pace suddenly picks up near the end). There is also the problem that this is the kind of film which focuses on wealthy people and distorts a bit their feelings  and attitudes so as to conform with those of the general audience of mostly working and middle class women. From the present day's vantage point this is a slightly dated film. Anyway, the bottom line in any age is that most women want to marry for economic reasons. In the movie both are rich, so I would have to guess whether some of the behavior depicted made much sense.

Rating: 37

Sleeping Beauty (2011)

The life of a white lumpen-proletariat University student in Australia in the present age. To support herself, she has to work at several jobs -- at a café, at a research lab as a test subject, and as a prostitute. She answers an ad looking for women to work as high-class prostitutes who are required to perform some unusual tasks.

This movie by an Australian female underwhelmed some viewers (judging from the mediocre rating it received on IMDB), a fact which surprised me, and which I cannot explain with certainty. It's not that I liked the movie much more than them; it's that I was under the assumption that this, like most independent movies, was the kind of movie that was either loved or not watched at all. In fact, low ratings are rare on IMDB. People generally get what they asked for, and know what they are about to get beforehand. Anyway, in this case it apparently didn't work this way. Possible causes for this is that the movie has no plot, a somewhat abrupt ending, and, generally, little explanation for what happens (some scenes are downright enigmatic). For me, these were real flaws of the movie. But the fact that more than a few people did not like it may signal that the movie somehow expresses ideas, or exposes facts, that defy current ideologies among the "indie" crowd. For example, there is a case for it being interpreted as an anti-feminist movie. Its protagonist would, under this interpretation, stand for the modern liberated woman who has nothing but a huge vacuum inside of her. Also (and this is by no means uncorrelated to the first interpretation) it may be seen as a denunciation of the decay of the European ethnicity in Australia. This is the story of a white woman (a redhead, so there can be no doubt) in perfectly good health, whose only medication is "the pill", and who has no apparent family ties and no support group; her only friend is a young guy who is a chronic depressive and an alcoholic. In fact, the white people in the movie do not interact much, and show little or no sympathy for one another. The aging customers of the brothel she works at are quite probably the elite of Australia, and therefore share more than a little responsibility for the state of things in that country. One of them, who wears a Viking-like ponytail, tries to act out his primal fantasy of carrying a naked virgin in his arms... and fails. There are other peoples besides Maoris who once were warriors. It is about time this sleeping beauty awakens.

Rating: 53

Chugyeogja (2008)

English title: The Chaser.

An ex-cop who is now a pimp has several of his employees gone missing recently and he suspects one of his clients is selling them. When he gets a call from his missing whores' last customer, he hatches a plan to capture him, but things do not go as planned.

South Korean thriller. Be warned that it has some graphic violence that may prove very disturbing to some. All the characters save (possibly) the leading one have very low IQ, judging from their courses of action. This gives it unmistakable satirical undertones which have put off some viewers who perhaps expected a more "serious" realistic approach. The narrative is complex, taut, and undeniably gripping. The fundamental core of the movie, perhaps, is a a critique of liberal-minded modernity which just gets in the way of efficiency and order. I am all for that kind of vision, naturally. Down with so-called universal human rights, "free" press, "democracy" and the likes of those. No hopes of anything good happening where I live, though. Criminals of all kinds will continue to roam the streets at night (and in broad daylight also!) and scare peace-loving citizens like myself for as long as I live, I am sure.

Thanks to the friend who suggested this movie to me.

Rating: 68

7 Plus Seven (1970)

Alternate title: 14 Up.

Sequel to Seven Up! (1964), and a part of an ongoing series of documentaries which every seven years has been interviewing the same fourteen British persons, who were chosen from various social backgrounds. In this installment they are, you guessed it, 14 years old. The movie inserts scenes from the previous movie so you can compare the children at the two points in their lives. It is a fascinating experiment, and it is proving a fascinating viewing experience for me. I intend to see the whole series. I am not sure the interviewer did an ideal job regarding the choice of questions (I would bet that he votes Labour...). He insisted on the race questions (they were also asked in the first movie), and, curiously enough, only one of the boys seemed to be aware that blacks do not appear out of thin air in a country like England, and that immigration may upset the country's economy. Anyway, I enjoyed the movie, and the boys and girls came up with a lot of interesting stuff, so I guess it was a job well done after all.

I do not rate documentaries numerically, for reasons I cannot properly explain.

The Godfather: Part II (1974)

Second viewing; my first one was at some point between January 1983 and December 1986.

The film alternates between being a prequel to the first film and a sequel to it. The prequel sections tell us about Vito's childhood in Sicilia, his coming to America, and his beginnings as a crime lord. The sequel sections show the consolidation of Michael as the new godfather, his problems with Roth, with his brother, and with his wife.

A complement to the first film, which explains a little more about Michael's psychology, especially in the final sequence. It is a well-made film, which entertains, but is not exactly my kind. It is more like a miniseries, and I do not like this kind of narrative economy, which privileges small personal affairs of a multitude of characters. The film oscillates between curbed sentimentality and effusive displays of it. The notion of a man traveling from America to Sicily to get revenge does not, I suspect, have much to do with real life; neither does getting away with it as easily as he does here.

Rating: 65 (up from 58)

Jury Duty (1995)

Unemployed Tommy gets a jury duty notification and, although initially inclined to disregard it, is compelled to change his mind, the reason being that he is now temporarily homeless and as a juror he will get free housing and food during the time of the trial. He chooses the case against a man accused of murdering several fast-food restaurant workers.

While this is not top-quality comedy, it is inventive enough for a few laughs and an overall good time. The curious thing is that it displays an above-average uninhibition to talk about certain subjects that no one seems willing to talk about lately, for example the problem of immigration in America. Part of this is done is a very disguised manner through the story of the man at whose trial the protagonist is a juror. The defendant is a very angry-looking white man who lost his job and is now being accused of making threats against and even murdering people who have the same kind of job that he used  to have. The immigration connection is probably barely distinguishable for the unattentive viewer, although the witnesses to his threats are all ethnic Americans. On the other hand, there are more explicit bits which involve another character, a hispanic juror who has just been granted the American citizenship. He continually praises America and the American system, and at one point the protagonist replies: "Yes, and you can even drink the water." Later in the film, the hispanic man states that in his original country the defendant would not have the benefit of a fair trial; and so on. Another curious bit from this movie is the quotation of a shot from Fireworks (the milk shower), a very weird short film from the 40s.

Rating: 50

The Godfather (1972)

Third viewing (previous one was on May 17, 2003).

The film starts immediately after World War II, and focuses on a family of Italian-Americans who control illegal activities like gambling and prostitution in the East Coast. The head of the family is Don Vito, and the film shows how his son Michael, initially destined to be the family's bridge to legitimate activities, ends up getting into crime himself and becomes the successor of his father. The film also shows the dilemma faced by the family concerning the drug trade, and how they decide to move to the West Coast.

A necessarily dull exposition of machiavellian strategies and tactics, with all its sordid details. Apart from the elementary political science education provided by watching it, there is also the intrinsic pleasure derived from well-staged set-pieces (Don Vito's death is my favorite). The film doesn't explicitly account for the changes in Michael's behavior. In the beginning of the film, he says to his girlfriend that he has nothing in common with his family, and then he changes completely to a zealous mafioso. One possibility is that he wasn't being sincere, just as he was not sincere in the end, to the same person. Another is that there was a vacuum that could only be filled by him, and blood ties did the rest. A recurring pattern in the film is the problem of getting the truth from someone. People are led to confess by several psychological tricks which necessarily involve a level of naïveté on their part (e.g., Carlo's confession). This is a requirement of the drama which wouldn't necessarily find a counterpart in reality. In fact, this is perhaps the film's biggest problem. One tries to be realistic, and sacrifices a good deal of the movie's dynamics to achieve it, but can only go so far. As a result, one ends up with a flawed realism, and a lot of dullness. I may only wonder about the reasons about this film's popularity. A very wild guess is that the essentially anti-liberal politics it puts on display may have found an echo among American audiences back in 1972. The stark contrast between a so-called democratic society that was sending its sons to die in Vietnam in the name of universal values, and the dictator embodied by Don Vito, who was ruthless to his enemies but acted as a protector to those under his wings may have signaled that a particularistic moral system is better and more honest than a universalistic one.

Rating: 65 (down from 70)

Sábado (1995)

English title: Saturday.

At the lobby of a run-down skyscraper in a major Brazilian city, a TV commercial is to be shot using one of its elevators, which hasn't been in use for a long time. The other elevator -- the operating one -- breaks down with people in it, amongst them a member of the film crew, two undertakers and a corpse. The lobby gets crammed with people. The production faces several problems and near-chaos ensues.

One of those "microcosmos" comedies, which tries to make satire out of the forced proximity of people from several social and cultural backgrounds. The targets are as varied as the smugness of the Brazilian middle class, the aversion to work of its lower class, the banalization of crime, the authoritarian traits buried deep within the little man's psyche, the consumeristic ideology sold by publicity, the tension between different regions of a big country, the exploitation of the poor by festering religious sects, etc. This all-over-the-place humor strategy feels contrived and unfunny, but perhaps might work had it been given a better script and direction than the ones we see here.

Rating: 25

Mona Lisa (1986)

Second viewing (the first one happened on May 31, 1987).

A small-time thug is released from prison and must find work. He looks up his former associate, now a big-time thug, and is given the job of driving for a black prostitute. Between the two of them an unusual relationship develops (gee, this is becoming a mandatory phrase in my synopses!).

The plot doesn't make a lot of sense, as is perceptively explained in the following two reviews I have lifted from IMDB (I do not agree with all they say, though).

[quote]

Effective film which gets away with its major flaws

Author: simon-118 from London
25 March 2006

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I'm very fond of Mona Lisa. It's a story of innocence in a world dripping with sin, and Hoskins is perfection as the ex-con quite capable of dishing out a beating when he's up against it but childlike in his naivety to the horrors of child prostitution.

The two performances that really stand out for me though are Michael Caine and Clarke Peters who are both absolutely terrifying, Caine also very funny in places too.

The major problem with the film is that the plot is, frankly, rubbish! Why does Anderson spend years trying to find Simone when she's working for his colleague Caine as part of the same business? Why is Caine paying George to drive her around? If he is her pimp why doesn't Anderson know this? It's all rather odd. And also how come George just walks away from the climax scot-free? That, and also why the girl in the room who is from Ireland have a Birmingham accent...

But a haunting, touching and frightening film, although it's interesting that the film offers no sympathy to Tyson's character despite the fact that she clearly uses George because she by now only sees men as a means to an end.
[unquote]

[quote]

2 out of 10 people found the following review useful:

There Goes Mr. Jordan

Author: writers_reign from London, England
20 October 2006

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Neil Jordan is a graduate of the Ken Loach I-Hate-England school of film-making which means that like Loach he spurns no opportunity to explore its worst aspects in loving detail. This time around it's the sex industry that sleazes its way into his spotlight. The story is improbable-to-ridiculous, one leave it out, guv, after another. Why, for example does Michael Caine's Mr Big wait til Bob Hoskins gets out of the slammer before hiring a driver for Cathy Tyson's hooker - what did she do before, take a bus? In turn why does Tyson wait until their initial antipathy has thawed before asking him to locate another hooker when 1) surely the world of London hookers is not that large, there's obviously some kind of network whereby one can locate another without charming a violent oak into doing the job and 2) for what she spent kitting out Hoskins with shirts, suit and topcoat in a trendy Men's Store she could have hired a private detective for a month but given how easy the hooker was to find he'd have taken about a day and a half tops. This leaves us with the acting; for Hoskins it's the mixture as before, all contained violence and effing and blinding, sure he was phoning it in by that stage, Robbie Coltrane is totally unconvincing and Mike Tyson could have done as well as Cathy. Okay, it's twenty years old - a freebie with a newspaper, just as well I didn't spend more than the price of a paper I buy anyway on this pap - and maybe at the time it looked better but it's way past its sell-by date.
[unquote]

Well, back to little old me, the film is reasonably stylish and eventful; also, it benefits enormously from the male leading performance (the black girl is not so good though).
What really struck me was the social background to this story, expressed, for example, in the following exchange near the beginning of the movie, after he visits his ex-wife's house:

[quote]
A: So where'd they all come from?  They live here? Since when?
B: Since you went inside.
A: Jesus!
[unquote]

He is referring to the black punks in the street. A little later, he tries to make contact with his daughter at her school, and we get to see the students' queue and its multiethnic composition.
All this, mind you, was back in 1986! In our days,  the pope keeps exhorting rich nations to extend a helping hand to people living in less-favored ones who would want to immigrate. Way to go, Francis. Now that Europeans have wised up about the futility of religion, just call on the poor uneducated masses from the third and fourth worlds to replenish the churches' seats.

Rating: 54 (down from 63)

Tommy Boy (1995)

The heir of an auto-parts manufacturer takes over the factory after his father dies. The company is in poor economic shape and has a prospective buyer who wants to close it down and use its brand name. The young owner decides to make a last sales trip effort in the company of a skillful employee, in the hope of not having to sell the company.

Moderately enjoyable comedy, which however is not overly original. Farley is particularly brilliant in it. Among the films it has been accused of borrowing from are Plains, Trains and Automobiles and The Great Race. A curious critical mistake which is made about this film (even by people who admit, somewhat guiltily, to liking it) is stating that its humor is stupid; actually, a film about someone's lack of intelligence is not necessarily unintelligent. Another misperception, not unrelated to that, and which has a long history, has been observed among Tommy Boy's critics, consisting in assessing slapstick as an inferior genre. But I think that over time this film has garnered of fair amount of appreciation.

Rating: 52

My Week with Marilyn (2011)

A film is being produced in England starring a famous Shakespearean actor and a sexy American star. She is emotionally unstable and unable to be on the set on time. She takes a fancy to a young errand runner, who is henceforth used as a bridge between the director and her. Between the woman and the youth an improbable relationship develops.

Not a terribly exciting story, I'm afraid. The emotional content is at once too explicit and too shallow, and didn't resonate with me. Some people have complained that it was not convincing, but for me it was worse: I wasn't even interested enough to ponder about it. Perhaps you can assess my level of empathy if I tell you the thought that the sight of Ulysses at the protagonist's bedside table prompted in me (but please do not call me insensitive). My thought was that her interest in the book arose from an identification with the book's female protagonist, a slut married to a Jew.

Rating: 32

Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)

Second viewing (first viewing was on April 24, 1994).

Based on the novel Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours by Jules Verne, first published in 1872, in serial form in a newspaper.

An Englishman named Phileas Fogg makes a wager with his fellow club members that he will make a trip around the Earth in eighty days at the most. His newly hired servant Passepartout is taken along with him. Several unforeseen incidents appear along the way to delay them. To complicate things further, a Scotland Yard agent follows Fogg on the suspicion that he is the man who robbed the Bank of England.

It doesn't quite do justice to the novel in terms of excitement and pace, which are sacrificed for set-pieces like a bullfighting sequence, a Spanish dance sequence, and a balloon voyage which is not in the novel. Still, the set-pieces are somewhat enjoyable for their own sake, and the film as a whole has a reasonable amount of entertainment value. The English club sequence in the beginning is a very funny satire of the English character. Although almost a century separates the novel from the film, the societal values expressed by both are pretty much the same, implicitly praising European values and criticizing a backward society like India through a depiction of its fanatical practice of the suttee (in which a widow is sacrificed when her husband dies). Native-Americans are portrayed as mere savages (remember this is based on a French author who probably was neither aware of nor interested in the subtleties of Native-American history). All this would be inadmissible in our "politically correct" days and, in fact, the 2004 remake has nothing of the sort, and none of the values expressed by the novel.

Watched it in a pan-and-scan copy of about 150 minutes (the uncut version is about 180 minutes).

Rating: 51 (up from 47)

Grease 2 (1982)

Musical set in the early 1960s. It depicts the incidents at a High School establishment, which is somewhat upset by the arrival of a new student, an Englishman. The boys and girls group themselves in gangs (the film shows two rival gangs of boys, but only one girls' gang, if I am not mistaken). There is a musical competition which will award a prize in long-playing records to the winning performance. The newcomer remains an outsider, which proves an obstacle to his achieving the love of the school's most popular girl.

While not perhaps a great film, this was quite better than I expected, and an exceptional case of a film to which I awarded a greater score than the IMDb users' average. Both screenplay and direction are quite reasonable, with a greater leaning toward comedy than the first Grease, if I recall correctly after all these decades since I last watched that movie. The songs are not memorable, but work well within the movie's structure.

Rating: 50

Intouchables (2011)

U.K. title: Untouchable.
U.S. title: The Intouchables.

A rich tetraplegic guy hires a black man with a shady past and a troubled present as his personal nurse. A friendship develops between them.

As IMDb user Bossa Nova puts it, this is "for very simple-minded people", who, I add, will not mind, for example, troubling details such as someone stealing a Fabergé egg and coming back to his victim's house the next day. One onumbersix, another IMDb user, shrewdly points out the similarity between Cluzet's looks and smiles to Hoffman's in Rain Man. Anyway, I guess after France opened its borders to all peoples of the Earth, it must periodically produce this kind of educational piece in order to keep the internal harmony from falling to alarmingly low levels. I presume the task at hand was a demanding one, but they have taken every care not to offend anyone; among other things, we learn that a beautiful redhead will only reject a handsome lumpen-proletariat black guy if she is a certified lesbian.

Rating: 14

Picture Perfect (1997)

An advertising executive doesn't get promoted because she is single (her boss thinks people with attachments are less likely to move to rival companies). A work colleague tries to help her by spreading the news that she became engaged to a guy she appears with in a photo.

Watchable romantic comedy which is not actually very romantic, and isn't exactly funny. It is in fact a bit more amoral than the average Hollywood stuff, which is not necessarily a bad thing in itself. I guess it does not accurately portray the corporate environment, although there is a certain logic to the ideas and behaviors depicted. Not an unpleasant film, but not likely to grab you by the balls, either (sorry for the expression, lady readers, and ball-less male ones).

Rating: 46

12 Years a Slave (2013)

Based on the 1853 memoir by Solomon Northup. According to that book, Northup was a free black man who was conned by two white men and sold into slavery.

A pamphlet against slavery, with implausibilities which range from the obvious (e.g., a sailor killing a valuable slave with no reasonable cause) to the subtler (general psychological characterizations, details of the plot). An interesting review was published in the user review section of this film's IMDB page, under the nickname Ashley Blanner (but the correspondent user page identifies him (or her) as robinbishop34). Said review has several sections of text which are identical to another review written by American writer Steve Sailer.

Rating: 35

Philomena (2013)

A woman teams up with a journalist in the search for the son whom she had as a teenager and was taken away from her.

A further examination of the issue tackled in The Magdalene Sisters (2002), this time from another angle. Apart from other virtues and faults with which I will deal in a bit, this is a minor film, yet mostly watchable, except for some annoyingly overscored passages and a tendency to schmaltz at some points. The film's greatest virtues are the psychological characterization of the title character, and the performance that materializes it. Its major fault is, alas, something a bit embarrassing for me to talk about, considering my previous enthusiastic endorsement of The Magdalene Sisters. Fact is, a year ago a report by the Irish government has seriously put into question the allegations of that film, as you can read here. Thus, I am taking a more balanced view of Philomena, and it has some aspects which are a bit problematic. The demonization of Sister Hildegard is childish, particularly in the embarrassingly ridiculous scenes near the end. When you read that these scenes are entirely fictitious (that nun died before the investigation started), you get a sense of anti-Catholic persecution and bigotry just as evil as any hypothetical Catholic traits of the same kind. To wrap this review up, there is also a profoundly stupid dialogue between Philomena and the journalist in which she admits to having suspected her infant son (three years old, if I am not mistaken) of homosexual tendencies on account of how he looked in overalls (or whatever the name of that type of clothes is).  No further comments.

Rating: 40

L'homme du train (2002)

Title in English-speaking countries: Man on the Train.
Better translation for the title: Man from the Train.

A man arrives at a small town with the intent of robbing the local bank. He meets by chance a local who invites him to stay at his place. Between them an improbable friendship develops.

The essential idea behind the story is that everyone of us lives only half a life; our choices inevitably preclude experiences which are antagonistic in nature to them. The film has two men who chose opposite paths meet and contemplate what they have missed out of life's possibilities. An interesting film which could be reduced to half its size with profit. The girlfriend sections are irrelevant and frankly not well done at all (some of her lines are cringeworthy). The robber's quirky partner is a funny notion but, again, adds nothing to the film's essential point. The two main actors are perfect for the parts.

Rating: 50

Sister Act (1992)

An important witness in a case against a gangster takes refuge in a convent. The contrast between her pagan way of life and that of the nuns is the basis for the humor.

Despite the inevitable (and hypocritical) "I came out of it a better person" kind of ending, it is obvious to me that, rather than being a case of nuns teaching values to an irreligious person, it is actually the other way around that prevails in this movie: it's Hollywood telling the Catholic Church how to behave in order to be "cool". Anyway, sticking to more prosaic matters, one IMDb user nicknamed winner55 pointed out an important flaw of this movie, namely, that the main character was written as a Latino woman, not a black one. And, I add, especially not the physical type embodied by its actual main actress. Anyway, the film went through seven screenwriters so as to ensure nothing remotely deviant from absolute blandness would happen in it. Of course, offending Catholics does not depart from that standard, as it's, as late writer Gore Vidal once brilliantly put it, "beating on a dead dog". But the direction is competent and, within its limits and considering its target audience, the film works.

Rating: 34

Music and Lyrics (2007)

This concerns the efforts of a pop singer and composer who had a brief period of fame back in the 1980s and is now trying to revive his moribund career. Romantic interest is provided by a young woman whom he hires to help him with the lyrics, and who was once an aspiring writer.

The plot is thin as ice, but there is a certain charm in some of the dialogue, and the casting was felicitous. The music video that opens the film is a masterpiece of 80s style emulation, both in image and in sound.

Rating: 41

Seven Up! (1964)

Documentary. A number (twenty, it is said at some point, I didn't count) of seven-year-old British children from varying socioeconomic backgrounds are brought together during one day of leisure. They go to the zoo and other places. They are also interviewed.

This is the first installment of a series of films featuring the same persons, and made at intervals of seven years; in the latest film to date the subjects are 56, I think. In this first installment, the narration and questioning of the children reflect the transitional ideology of the 1960s, and embody the adult's viewpoint of the world. These children are simply viewed as adult prototypes, not as children. The fact that they are children shows of course in their answers, and the result is sometimes quite funny; sometimes you can see they were coached by their parents, and that is funny too. In those days the U.K. was not nearly as multicultural and multiracial as it is today, but the mindframe was already shifting, as evidenced by the question about how the children feel about persons of color; it is obvious from the answers that then this was exclusively a concern of adults (and, I speculate, of few of them). An enigmatic moment arises when, after this question is posed to some white kids and they answer it, the scene shifts to a different place and, without explicitly showing the question, we see another interviewee, a mixed-race kid, say that "they are pretty much like myself" (quoted from memory).

This Above All (1942)

Second viewing; first one was on January 11, 1992.

A working-class deserter and an aristocrat who joined the WAF have an affair during World War II.

Wartime  propaganda aimed at disencouraging desertion. Of course, one can always view it as a psychological study of sexual pressure and other pressure that lead a person to finally complying with the sad business of fighting in a war. The use of the title expression, from Shakespeare, is an example of how a lie may be disguised as the truth through sheer emotionalism; in my perception, the case of the main character is such that being "true to himself" implies precisely following his first line of action, that is, deserting; he only diverts from it because of the abovementioned pressures, and then he of course is not being "true to himself". On the more prosaic aspects of dramatic efficacy and verisimilitude, the film falls short, this being the most incompetent deserter of history (unless of course he wanted to get caught); the movie's "highlight" of badness is the female protagonist's speech about England. The author of the source novel died in a plane crash while on Army duty, a case of poetic justice.

Rating: 25 (up from 20)

Django Unchained (2012)

A bounty hunter and a former slave team up, and after some time working together go after the slave's wife with the intention of buying her freedom.

Epic melodrama with interesting characters, yet extremely unimaginative action. In fact, it seems in recollection that there is only one type of resolution to every conflict: the hero exterminates a dozen or so antagonists with serial shooting. And although "epic" is the general tone of the work, there is no care whatsoever in respecting that tone; an example of tone-breaking is a sequence depicting a Ku Klux Klan raid which follows the Mel Brooks line of humor.

Rating: 50

Lock Up (1989)

A prisoner nearing the completion of his term for a minor crime is transferred to another prison run by a man with a deep grudge against him.

Prison drama expounding the political opposition of individualism versus civilization, the fundamental dilemmma of which is hammered down the viewer's head in a histerically exaggerated and repetitive manner. If all institutions are corrupt - it implies - fighting them in a more than strictly individualistic way will inevitably be corrupted too. The way these things are resolved in movies like this is always felicitous for the protagonist and unsatisfactory for the viewer.

Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.

Rating: 33

La voie lactée (1969)

English title: The Milky Way.

Second viewing; first one was between the beginning of 1983 and the end of 1986.

Two wanderers follow the Way of St. James, an ancient pilgrimage road which crosses France and ends in Santiago de Compostela (Spain). They encounter many people along the way, and go through many incidents, all somehow related to the history of dissensions in and from the Catholic Church.

It is like a History of Catholicism through its heresies. Mostly an intelligent film, occasionally funny, but also occasionally frivolous, like in the joke about Jesus' beard. Upon my original viewing, I didn't enjoy it as much as now, and I vaguely remember having then reasoned that making fun of religion is unfit for a Catholic and irrelevant for a nonbeliever. I now think this is a wrong assessment of the film. To begin with, what is done here is not simply "making fun", but rather postulating an alternative history of one religion, by the angle of its problematic, or, if you prefer, more interesting points. And the kind of events and ideas depicted are exactly the stuff surrealism is made of.

Rating: 58 (up from 38)

Red Sonja (1985)

Based on a character created by Robert E. Howard, which first appeared in 1934.

In a savage land, Sonja vows revenge against the Queen for having killed her parents and subjected her to rape by soldiers. The Queen steals a magical object (an "orb", as described in IMDB) which gives its owner immense power and was in the process of being destroyed or neutralized because of the dangers it posed to the world. A gallant warrior offers his help to Sonja but will have to overcome her aversion to men.

Undistinguished epic with occasional comic bits. The production design is reasonably attractive, and the overall narrative is bearable.

Rating:33

Red River (1948)

Second viewing; my first one was on December 29, 1989.

A man decides to move his cattle from Texas to Missouri. Along the way, things get rough and his men get restless and he becomes more and more tyrannical. The man's adoptive son faces a dilemma.

I really like this film and its dramatic and epic vigor which is felt in most of its scenes. Upon this second viewing, a few weaknesses became apparent (e.g., the romantic scenes). The ending is also notoriously weak. But it is still a gripping western, highly enjoyable, and with Wayne giving a brilliant performance (but here I differ with some: I think he is alway good). Clift is fine too. The obvious inspiration is Mutiny on the Bounty; Christopher Mulrooney draws a parallel with the Saul and David biblical story.

Rating: 83 (down from 90)

The Neighbor (1993)

A couple moves to an old house, with a creepy neighbor. He seems to have evil designs on the pregnant woman's baby.


This is a predictable suspenser, not badly directed, and with a memorable performance by Steiger.

Seen dubbed in Portuguese.

 Rating: 50

Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight (2013)

A dramatization of the legal proceedings surrounding an American prizefighter's refusal to fight in the Vietnam war on allegedly religious grounds.

Well-written drama involving some interesting issues which transcend the merely legal sphere into the historical and political ones. Do not expect anything earth-shattering, and do not watch it if you do not have a minimal amount of interest in its theme.

Rating: 55

My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006)

A man starts a relationship with a woman, not knowing her secret identity is G-Girl, a superhero. Whe he decides to break up with her, she doesn't take it lightly.

An intelligent premise, to a good extent well developed, but limited, especially toward the last section, by a TV-show style of humor characterized by excessive self-consciousness.

Rating: 60

Joyeux Noël (2005)

Title's English translation: Merry Christmas.

Highly fictionalized dramatization of the Christmas truce of 1914, when World War I soldiers of enemy armies agreed on a truce and during several days engaged in fraternization with one another.

Mediocre and dull, with some terrible performances on the German section, yet it has a high score on IMDB, go figure, guess this is what the "average taste" favors. For the historical facts about the truce, see here.

Saw it dubbed in Portuguese, a bizarre experience, the different nationalities are expressed by accents, I wonder if this was also how it was done in the original.

Rating: 35

Eames: The Architect and the Painter (2011)

Documentary about two industrial designers, and also architects, filmmakers, exposition planners, etc.

A conventional documentary, informative enough. The most interesting aspect of the Eames phenomenon is perhaps the conjunction of the artist's individualistic temperament with the necessities of collective creation; also, the contrast between the creative individuals and the mass-targeted products they made. I am not familiar with much of the Eameses' products, except of course the famous chairs, and a short film they made (it was mostly Charles' film, it seems) called Powers of Ten.

The Devil and Miss Jones (1941)

A capitalist is concerned about recent collective demonstrations on the part of his workers which display great hostility toward him. He decides to investigate the matter further.

A greatly absurd film in its dramatic solutions, yet somewhat interesting and fun while it is in the process of arriving at such solutions. This is a pattern which is almost invariably followed in American films up until the 1960s. One wonders if, at any rate, the film's material is not unusually liberal for its director, and then wonders further if it is not the writer-producer who is calling the shots (here and elsewhere), and then wonders some more if the compromising way in which conflicts are solved is not perfectly fit to acommodate all political views. The middleman is always punished in these films, and in this specific instance it's managers who get the worst in the end (policemen do not fare much better), while capital and labor dance together into eternal bliss. One finally wonders if that is so absurd after all, and if this is not exactly how real life is.

Rating: 51

Triangle: Remembering the Fire (2011)

Documentary about the fire that consumed the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City in 1911, in which 146 persons died. This is a very well made documentary, which I recommend, if you are into historical stuff and such. You can also read the Wikipedia article on it. And this little take on the ethnic angle.

Killer Joe (2011)

Chris needs cash to settle a debt, so he plans to have his mother killed in order to collect the insurance. He talks with his father, who is now living with another woman, about it.

Adapted from a play which, in turn (and I speak based on the movie), seems to have cinematic influences on its theme and style. Not bad as a concept. The performances are excellent.

Rating: 53

Strait-Jacket (1964)

A woman is released after spending 20 years in an institution for the criminally insane. She moves in with her daughter and some relatives, in a farm house. Her adjustment to normal life is not without incidents.

Effective (and a bit crude) psychiatric thriller. Despite its obvious psychological simplifications, it is interesting to meditate afterwards about one's own reactions to the characters and events of the film.

Rating: 55

Just Cause (1995)

A professor is approached by a woman who says her son is to be executed for a crime he didn't commit. She pleads with him to help her son get a new trial and to defend him.

At a certain point of the movie, its outcome becomes, in general terms, predictable. That shortcoming notwithstanding, this is a reasonably entertaining cerebral criminal story with the subtheme of race relations in America.

Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.

Rating: 50

Three Coins in the Fountain (1954)

Second viewing; the first one was between the beginning of 1983 and the end of 1986.

Maria is an American woman in her twenties who moves to Rome to work as a secretary at an overseas American agency (a fictitious one?). She is introduced to Anita, who is shortly quitting the agency and returning to America. Anita is friends with Frances, who is older and works as a private secretary for an American novelist living in Rome. An Italian translator who works at the agency carries a torch for Anita. Maria, in turn, develops an interest for an Italian prince.

Beautifully filmed, yet a little tame, dramatic depiction of some of the aspects of unmarried women's lives in the fifties. Compared with today, their life choices seemed quite limited. But do not ask me if they were less happy because of it -- how could I know?

Rating: 51 (up from 42)

Nancy Drew (2007)

A teenage girl who has a passion for detective work moves to Los Angeles, to a house where a famous actress once lived and where she died in mysterious circumstances.

It is mostly comprised of formulaic elements, yet imbued with a peculiar style. The characters are well defined through script and acting. On the whole, quite watchable.

Rating: 51

Encino Man (1992)

A high school kid finds a prehistoric man preserved within a block of ice in his back yard. He lodges him in his house and enrolls him in school, in the hopes that the newcomer will somehow increase his (the teenager's) popularity.

This was better than I expected based on its harsh reception. It is a wacky film, to be sure, one that makes you wonder how much of it was improvised and how much was scripted. I suppose Shore created much of his character's lines, but I cannot be sure. Anyway, this is not a masterpiece, but it is clearly not the monstrosity which some accused it to be. But you have to like wackiness, and apparently silly details, as opposed to a film where a lot goes on and everything makes perfect sense.

Rating: 50

I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007)

Chuck, a New York firefighter, with a bureaucratic problem which has left him without a pension plan, and not wishing to remarry on account of his still poignant memories of his late wife, decides on a risky plan: to fake a domestic partnership with his Fire Department colleague Larry.

A major letdown, devoid of real humor. Save for the actors, this is not worth your while.

Rating: 33

District 9 (2009)

A spaceship makes its way into Earth's proximity and finally just hovers above Johannesburg. After some time, a team is sent to investigate its contents, and finds a population of extraterrestrials inside it. Called 'prawns' due to their physical appearance, they are settled in an enclosed area in the town's outskirts. The local population's avertion to such intruders grows with time, leading the government to take measures.

A sociopolitical take on an old science fiction topos. Despite some interesting insights and a very strong central performance, it suffers from a poorly thought out screenplay. Some of the details strain credibility even for an exceedingly tolerant genre as science-fiction; furthermore, it eventually collapses into mindless action.

Rating: 44

Hashmatsa (2009)

English title: Defamation

Israeli documentary purporting to investigate the phenomenon of anti-semitism (this is dubious, see my clarifying comment below). Several angles are approached. A New York-based organization called Anti-Defamation League is more or less the main focus, and some of its activities are depicted. Another line of investigation consists of following a trip which takes some Israeli school kids to visit a former Nazi camp in Poland. Some American Jews are interviewed, as well as an Israeli opposition politician. Two scholars of names Norman Finkelstein and John Mearsheimer, respectively, who (separately) wrote books about pro-Israel activities in the U.S.A., are interviewed.

This is an informative film, and funny too, on occasion. As some IMDB users wrote in a criticizing tone, this is not effective as an investigation of anti-semitism per se, because it doesn't really go to places where it is most intense. This is not, however, valid grounds for criticizing the movie, save that (maybe) it misleads the viewer about its purpose. As an exposé of the misuse of anti-semitism, on the other hand, this is a good movie.

(I do not rate documentaries numerically.)

As You like It (2006)

Based on a play by William Shakespeare estimated to have been written circa 1600.

A duke is overthrown and banished by his brother. Both dukes' daughters are friends to each other, and decide, along with some other courtiers, to flee the court for the neighboring forest, in search of the exiled duke. In their wanderings they will meet several persons.

This is said to have omitted a good deal of the original play (which I have not read), so I cannot say for sure what my appreciation of the source material would be. But, as it is, I found the whole literary concept and development quite anodyne, except for a few interesting ideas (e.g., the insight into how the two daughters' friendship might be politically harmful to the usurper). As for the properly cinematical aspects, the film is filled with annoying nonsense, such as casting blacks as some of the characters and making absolutely nothing of it. Well, Shakespeare wrote an entire play making the case that people are not color-blind, so I rest my case there.

Rating: 44

Tales of Manhattan (1942)

Second viewing; the first one was on September 30, 1990.

The film is comprised of six segments, connected only by a tail coat which changes hands from one story to the next. I have not been able to ascertain who wrote what in it, except for Donald Ogden Stewart, who is reported by Wikipedia to have written or co-written the last episode.

Story 1: A theater actor, after opening night, decides to pay a visit to his former lover, who is now married to an older man. Story 2: On her wedding day, a woman finds a compromising letter in the pocket of her fiancé's tail coat. Story 3: A nightclub pianist who aspires to a career in classical music gets an audition with a renowned conductor. Story 4: A homeless man receives an invitation for his Law School class reunion. Story 5: A crook is scheduled to give a temperance lecture at a society woman's house, but the drink has been tampered with by her husband. Story 6: Money from a robbery falls from a plane onto a poor rural community.

I love omnibus films, they are very easy to watch and rarely disappoint me. In this one, I liked all the stories but one. The connecting theme seems to be that event which suddenly changes the fate of a person or a group of persons. The stories have that touch of poetry and humor that is, I think, more usual in shorter stories than in longer ones. The one story I did not like is the one about the homeless man, which is very implausible and totally devoid of humor. And, since we are at it, I have a question (not that it matters much): after a lawyer is disbarred, how will he be able to practice again?

Rating: 60 (unchanged)

The Horse Soldiers (1959)

Second viewing; the first one was on October 8, 1990.

The American Civil War. The North decides to send a battalion (or whatever name applies to the group in question) behind enemy lines to destroy a railroad which is vital for sending supplies to the Southern troops. One of the dramatic points is the conflict between the expedition leader and the medic which attends the outfit.

Pretty good, albeit very standard in practically every way, and of course that means it is quite unbelievable in some of them. As usual, Wayne steals the show, with his seemingly effortless performance which impresses even when he is obliged to behave in the most melodramatic fashion. The cinematography is very pleasing to the eye, and I could notice this even from my low-speed VHS recording which was made from television more than 10 years ago.

Rating: 61 (unchanged)

The Blob (1958)

Second viewing; the first happened between the beginning of 1983 and the end of 1986.

A meteor crashes into Earth, releasing a strange jellylike being from within it which has the power to devour human beings and thus grow boundlessly. A boy in his late teens and his girlfriend encounter the blob's first victim and take him to a doctor. The number of victims increase, endangering the population of the small town where this takes place.

Except for one sequence, where a car takeover is supposed to occur but we only see what happens before and after that, and thus have to imagine the actual takeover -- except for that, this is a well directed and well written film, albeit a very low-budgeted one. The idea behind it is really terrifying, and a number of allegoric interpretations are possible: small town population being consumed by a monstrous lack of prospects which devours everyone, beginning with the young; or the opposite: small town sees everything that is authentic in it be devoured by the all-encompassing massification brought about by movies, corporations, etc.; and so on...

Rating: 51 (up from 33)

Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)

A black civil rights activist is killed in front of his house, and his murderer, after being tried twice (if I am not mistaken), is not convicted. Many years later his widow still hopes that justice will be done. A young lawyer decides to meet the challenge of calling for a new trial, against the advice of those near him.

Unappealing court drama. However just the outcome may be, I always feel a little put off by cheering at someone's punishment, even a just one. And this is ultimately a victory which is brought about not only by someone's persistence, but also by chance (which is always a factor when justice is concerned). At any rate, the real problem, perhaps more serious than the sentimentalism, is the dullness of the whole proceedings. It seems to me that I would enjoy more a film about the Civil Rights movement while it was on.

Rating: 30

Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956)

Second viewing; the first was on February 28, 1991.

A satellite-launching project faces a mystery: all the satellites vanish after their launching. The head of the project has recently gotten married, and, while on the road with his wife, sees some strange flying objects which frighten them out of their wits.

Low-budget yet well-made and with a reasonably well-written script, this sci-fi is justly regarded as a classic.

Rating: 51 (up from 34)

Chasing Liberty (2004)

The President's daughter is tired of having her every movement watched by White House security. On a European tour, she escapes her guardians in the company of a charming young Englishman. The only problem is, he is not who she thinks he is.

A loose remake of Roman Holiday (1953), aimed at teen audiences. The changes in the story are intelligent, and the film, albeit far from brilliant, is a nice, unpretentious pastime.

Rating: 53

Zombies of Mora Tau (1957)

A team is planning to go diving for the diamonds which remain inside a sunken ship. The problem is that the coveted stones are being guarded by the zombified remnants of the ship's crew. The ship captain's wife has moved to the vicinities of the shipwreck, to be near her "unlate" husband and hopefully to deliver him from that undignified condition.

If you are into bad movies, this is for you. There are plenty of script absurdities to relish with, and plenty of atmosphere too: the pervading atmosphere of amateurish or rushed filmmaking, that is. The Dictionary of Film Directors by Jean Tulard (which I bought for the Brazilian titles of films and no other reason), says this is a good film, though.

Rating: 12

The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960)

Second viewing; the first was on August 6, 1996.

Based on the novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson, first published in 1886.

A scientist with an unfaithful wife discovers a serum which releases a person from social inhibitions, creating in fact a whole new persona for the one who drinks it.

Interesting and thrilling adaptation of the story, with added elements which possibly improve upon its literary source.

Rating: 61 (unchanged)

The Gorgon (1964)

Third viewing, sort of; in my first one, on March 6, 1994, I missed a fair amount of the beginning; I saw the full movie on February 16, 1995.

In an Eastern European village, several deaths occur in which the victims are turned to stone. The local medical examiner conceals the real nature of the deaths. There is a rumor about an ancient mythological creature being responsible for them. When a foreign painter is held responsible for one murder, his father vows to discover the truth.

It is one of the silliest premises I have ever seen in a horror movie. Along its development, a series of red herrings are thrown in, not always in the most coherent manner (the viewer will hardly remember them after the truth is revealed). The conclusion is at once grandiose and highly frustrating. Its tragic proportions may connect with the Greek roots of the plot, but have no counterpart in its actual events and characters (where is the hubris?). The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror is admiring of the film, but can't remember the plot correctly. It also reports it to be a favorite of Fisher's, which comes to prove that a director who cannot criticize the screenplays he films is best suited for the job.

Rating: 31 (down from 49)

Coney Island (1943)

Previously seen somewhere between the beginning of 1983 and the end of 1986.

Two friends who were once business partners compete in show business and also for the love of a singer.

Watchable musical comedy. Both the strictly narrative bits and the musical numbers are interesting and reasonably well done, although both sections interrelate rarely and, when they do, broadly. Most musical numbers are performed by the female character as part of her professional activities, and thus do not break the film's diegesis. In fact, that is what a viewer is liable to expect to happen throughout the film, and yet something else happens. By midfilm, the central couple is strolling on a pier and suddenly they hear some picnickers on the beach play music and then sing in a very professional way. This is a bit atypical narratively, yet ambiguous as to being a diegesis break, since they could be professional musicians. And then a more definite break surprises the viewer as the central couple sing in a duet -- she is of course a professional singer, but he is not, and therefore could not while in character sing as well as he does. This will not happen again for the remainder of the movie.

Rating: 51 (up from 46)

13 Ghosts (1960)

Family inherits a house that is supposed to be haunted.

The plot line (which I did not reveal in its details in my synopsis) has some ingenuity to it, but the film is quite dull (especially during the apparitions).

Rating: 32

Les aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010)

English title: The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec

Based on the comic book series by Jacques Tardi, which began in 1976.

A writer and explorer travels to Egypt in search of the mummy of a pharaoh's doctor. She intends to use him to cure her sister, with the aid of a scientist who has discovered a means to resurrect the dead.

Terribly tame seriocomical adventure with abundant display of makeup and CGI technologies. Kids may enjoy it.

Rating: 30

The Beverly Hillbillies (1993)

Based on the television series which ran from 1962 to 1971.

A rural family gets rich and moves to Beverly Hills. A couple of crooks devise a plan to steal their money.

A few sequences and/or lines of dialog are fine, but otherwise this is a weak script sleazily directed. The cast is mostly good, but I didn't like the guy in a dual role. To be fair, though, I must say that this film at least conveys a hint of the original show's quality to those of us who have never seen it. And, judging from the film, it borrows heavily from a thirties comic strip named Li'l Abner.

Caveat: I saw a cut version on open TV (afternoon sessions are considered fillers, and fair game for the exhibitor's editing).

Rating: 32

Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

Second viewing; the first was on September 23, 1996.

Based on the ancient Greek myth. Pelias overthrows the king of Thessaly, whose son Jason vows revenge, but somehow also thinks it important to have a certain miraculous fleece that is stationed on the other side of the world.

Entertaining juvenile story of adventures, with good stop-motion effects.

Rating: 54 (down from 63)

Roman Holiday (1953)

Second viewing; the first was on December 26, 1997.

A European princess visiting Rome decides to sneak out of her hotel and see the city. She encounters a reporter who takes her to his room in a boarding house. He discovers she is a princess and decides to write a story on her, without telling her about his profession or his intention.

Good film, with several memorable scenes, and a general pleasantness about it. Nevertheless it has at its core a characteristic which makes it decidedly minor in my scale of values: it is one of those stories where something is planned and executed during the whole film, only to be abandoned near the end. And you knew that it would, because this is all too common in Hollywood, and you are too familiar with Hollywood not to know it. No suspense, then, and, in the end, the feeling of having been somewhat taken in (and more so if you were naïve enough to have any doubts about the outcome). In real life, people do not change their minds in the last minute. I know that for a fact. I am in real life, so I ought to. On second thought, though...

Rating: 53 (up from 44)

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

Second (or is it third?) viewing; previously seen on June 25, 1988.

A series of deaths challenge the Scotland Yard. The first victims are all doctors.

I guess my synopsis could be a little more revealing, but I decided against it. This is a comical horror film, which is also a detective story. Anyway, a reasonably amusing film, nicely filmed (lots of unusual camera angles, with striking effect), with a memorable protagonist, and not much more than that, I am afraid.

Rating: 52 (down from 64)

Jerichow (2008)

Germany. A recently discharged soldier gets a job working for a Turkish-born snack-bar chain owner, and gets involved with his wife.

Cold and unengaging drama, a variation, as many have noted, on The Postman Always Rings Twice. As fewer have noted (e.g. IMDB user hosasch), it is also (and perhaps more closely) a derivation from The Merchant of Four Seasons (1971).

Rating: 32

Green Lantern (2011)

A test pilot witnesses the crash landing of a spaceship and gets into the possession of some items which make an intergalactic superhero out of him.

I guess this is comic-bookish enough to please comic-book fans (I've read otherwise, though, go figure). In terms of structure, you could say it is sort of Top Gun meets the Elephant Man. As for its theme, you could pretty well sum it up by nicknaming it The Green Badge of Courage. Oh, and the Computer Generated Imagery is cool, I thought. But I do not watch many recent movies of this kind, so I don't really have much in the way of comparison.

Rating: 53

Dark Shadows (2012)

Based on the TV series which started in 1966 and ended in 1971.

An 18th-century man is, through a curse, made into a vampire. He awakens in 1972 and, amidst all his amazement at the modern world, tries to rebuild his family's business.

The point is how old horrors are ineffective in our age of pervasive banality. The first half-hour is reasonably amusing, then it goes downhill into utter dullness.

Rating: 34

Rock Star (2001)

The singer in a cover band is invited to replace the singer in the original band.

In a modest way, a study on personal identity. Also, a portrayal of the lifestyle of rockers.

Rating: 51

Invasion U.S.A. (1985)

Some foreign guy is leading a terrorist operation in the U.S.A., promoting disorder and civil unrest. His group's aim is to invade America and take control of it. But a former agent (of CIA?) is summoned to restore peace.

Rigorously absurd, in its tiniest details. Its combination of illogical plot and spectacular display of explosions, shootings and a few car chases have a curiously oneiric quality to it.

Rating: 32

O Bandido da Luz Vermelha (1968)

Second viewing; the first was on June 20, 1989

English title: The Red Light Bandit

A house robber and rapist spreads terror amidst middle class homes.

Chaotic semi-narrative with a comic slant whose newslike narration is more fun than the images proper. The actors are a find also, embodying their characters with brilliance. As with most so-called avant-garde Brazilian movies, however, much of it is self-indulgent and lacks intelligibility.

Rating: 60 (down from 69)

Unconditional Love (2002)

A housewife who has been left by her husband travels to England for the funerals of a singer she adored. Over there she meets several people and learns a few things about her idol.

Occasionally interesting, but mostly embarrassingly unfunny and trite comedy. The excellent actors probably weren't getting many offers and had to take this, against their better judgement.

Rating: 38

The Legend of Zorro (2005)

California has decided to join the Union. De la Vega has a quarrel with his wife and she decides to leave him. She starts seeing a French count. De la Vega is jealous and suspects him of foul play.

In real life, Puerto Rico's population voted for annexation to the U.S.A., but Uncle Sam said no. Meanwhile, enjoy an entertaining action film, with an image-oriented, boredom-proof screenplay, and a direction which makes the most of it. Jones is especially good in it. Zorro, as a character, is here an empty grinning mannequin, perfectly bourgeoisified, and fully adapted to political correctness and postmodernity. And this is one of those films where the bad guys never shoot the good ones when they have the opportunity.

Seen dubbed in Portuguese.

Rating: 54

Padenie dinastii Romanovykh (1927)

English title: The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty

Documentary consisting of documental footage depicting the years that preceded the Russian Revolution, starting in the early 1910s. Marxist-Leninist intertitles provide the filmmaker's interpretation of the images.

Absurd as it may be to illustrate the role of war manufacturers in World War I with shots of a camera-shy factory owner -- and this kind of thing happens repeatedly in this film -- it has obvious interest to people interested in History, or who simply want to watch very old footage.

Lay the Favorite (2012)

An ex-stripper goes to Las Vegas and gets a job as an assistant to a professional sports gambler.

Its storyline's interest seems to rest upon the empathy developed by the main character, which never happened in my case. In fact, that didn't happened with any of the characters. Although the facts in it seem plausible enough, the film as a whole somehow just does not ring true. Bottom line, it is not a rewarding film, or it wasn't for me anyway.

Rating: 35

Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)

On New Year's Eve, in a precinct that is scheduled to be deactivated, a highly dangerous criminal must be incarcerated for lack of a proper place. The problem is, he knows too much, and some people just do not like that.

Reasonably effective thriller, a remake which to be honest I prefer to the original 1976 film. As many have complained, the film is basically a bunch of clichés, but I don't think this is a big problem. Not everything in the plot is plausibly worked out, but that is not a big problem either. It is a modest film, but it works.

Rating: 50

The Mountain (1956)

Second viewing. The first was on August 15, 1990.

A plane crashes on a mountain area. Two brothers -- a humble shepherd and his ambitious younger brother -- climb the mountain in search of the plain wreckage, which the younger brother wants to pillage for the passengers' money and valuables.

Well-made film, with excellent climbing sequences. The two main characters are just stereotypes, but in spite of it the plot still manages to interest the viewer.

Rating: 66 (unchanged)

Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)

The life of an amateur golf player who won many championships.

Sports are a metaphor for life, insofar as what the latter is about is action which provides a correct response to one's environment, and that is exactly what the former requires, only in a simplified form. Golf is basically about one's ability to measure one's own strength in response to perception of physical distance, not to mention of course finer details such as direction and particulars of the ground. The main character in this film seems to exemplify all that in an even broader way: his correction of movement in golf mirrors his correction as a human being. The film is so taken by this ideal aspect that its characters lose all aspect of reality, although they are based on real people and the plot seems to strive for some degree of verisimilitude. In spite of what I said, or perhaps precisely because of it, the film should please sports lovers, especially as it is very well made.

Rating: 53

Bad Company (1995)

A CIA agent infiltrates in a private company specializing in spying, blackmail, bribery, and the like. The plot revolves around a court case involving an industry accused of dumping pollutants in a lake, or something like that.

Espionage drama which, considering its laid-back pace, cannot properly be called a thriller. It is not boring, though; it has a reasonable script, is directed with style, and is very sexy.

Rating: 55