Topper Takes a Trip (1938)

 Topper's wife is divorcing him and he must follow her to France in order to avoid it. Marion, the ghost who caused all his marital troubles in Topper, comes along with the intention of helping him, but as previously she causes a lot of trouble as well.

Sequel which is more than a tad repetitive. How many times in a row can one find people marveling at a man interacting with an invisible ghost funny? There is some humor in Cosmo's wife's daft utterances, but mostly the film feels creaky.

Rating: 35

Étoile sans lumière (1946)

 English title: Star Without Light

A silent film actress fears for her professional prospects with the advent of sound. When her lover hears the cleaning woman in their hotel sing, he has an idea that could save the actress's career.

This drama has a serious script problem in that the main character behaves in an absurd manner in the end. Aside from that, the film is curious because its plot's premise is the same as that of Singin' in the Rain. Also, there is an extravagent musical number featuring pirates which might be worth seeing. As for the rest of the movie, well, it's not unwatchable, but it's obvious that the whole enterprise is just meant as an exploitation of the fame and singing abilities of its star.

Rating: 36

La grande passion (1928)

English title: The Great Passion

A millionairess falls in love with a rugby player. Another player falls in love with her. While the first player is having an affair with the millionairess, he meets a younger woman.

Silent movie about the romantic troubles of sportsmen. It has some nice moments, amongst which a sequence at the Lido featuring an indoor pond with people swimming and diving. The skiing and luging sequences are well done and provide the climax of the film. The plot is not very interesting, and the ending is rather abrupt. Some rugby sequences are poorly done with the players feigning running in front of a back projection of a crowd.

Rating: 40

L'invitée (1969)

 U.S. title: The Uninvited

Anne leaves her husband after he returns from a trip bringing a strange woman with him and confesses they have become involved with one another. Anne decides to sleep at her workplace (she is a draughtsman at an architecture office). The chief architect appears there and, as he is leaving on a business trip, she decides to come along with him.

This drama has a curious plot which is predictable but no less amusing because of that. It's a slow and well directed film with fine performances. Another curiosity is that the U.S. title is the exact opposite of the original one; one could argue that both make sense, but the original one is preferrable.

Rating: 60

The Morning After (1986)

 Second viewing; first viewed on January 9, 1988.

A former actress wakes up in a strange place with a dead body next to her. The body -- which has a knife stuck in his chest -- belongs to a photographer with a past in pornography. While on the run from the scene of the crime she meets an ex-cop who tries to help her; she also has to deal with her husband -- from whom she is separated -- filing for divorce to marry a rich woman.

This film's script makes a pathetic attempt at social commentary on California issues through a very contrived plot,  but the film itself is not as atrocious as it appeared to me upon my first viewing. It has a nice pace and the love story conveys some interesting dramatic moments at some points.

Rating: 40 (up from 24)

El buen amor (1963)

 English title: The Good Love

A young couple who's been dating for a year decide to secretly travel to another town to have a day away from everyone they know. The trip entails a series of quarrels between them, and also provides an opportunity for them to know each other (and themselves) better, and to plan for their future together.

This is a satisfactory drama about youth. It is quite realistic and the writer/director also displays a good mastery of mise-en-scène. The location shooting in Toledo makes for great visuals in black-and-white.

Rating: 62

Our Town (1940)

It centers on two families living next door in a small town, one headed by an editor and the other by a physician. Their two respective elder children fall in love and marry each other.

I guess I'm the only one in the world who didn't like this, and found its text just a collection of pseudo-philosophical platitudes, and its narrative a collection of conformist banalities. Well, anyway, I must admit that as a cinematic production, it is very well done in all its aspects of image and sound, and so I can't say it's a completely bad movie.

Rating: 42

No mundo da Lua (1958)

Zé da Foice travels from his native State in Northeastern Brazil to Rio de Janeiro to meet the widow with whom he had been exchanging love letters. He is accompanied by Mário, a younger man. Upon arrival, the pair is noticed by Nancy, a criminal in a gang. Said gang is planning to rob a rich industrialist who happens to be Zé da Foice's exact lookalike.

Comedy with a formulaic plot and few mildly funny moments. Some musical numbers are inserted, as usual in this kind of production, the most curious of which is a rendering of The Banana Boat Song by one George Green.

Rating: 19

Incomplete Cast:
Walter d'Ávila as Zé da Foice and Matias the industrialist
Violeta Ferraz as Dora (the widow)
Consuelo Leandro as Carolina (woman who claims to be Zé da Foice's wife)
Nancy Wanderley as Nancy (Northeast-born gang member)
Tiririca (Ubyrajara Vianna) as Matias's chauffeur
Hélio Colonna as Gang Leader's Son
Reginaldo Faria as Mário (Zé da Foice's young friend)
Aracy Rosas as Magali (the widow's niece)
Mozael Silveira as Thirty-Three (escaped lunatic)
Zélia Hoffman as Márcia (woman who seduces Matias)
Saluquia Rentini as Matias's wife
Frederico Schlee as Gang Leader
Leila Miranda as Matias's secretary
Renée Brown as Nurse in Psychiatric Hospital
Francisco Martorelli as Doctor in Psychiatric Hospital

The Troublemaker (1964)

 A country man moves to New York to open a café, and has to deal with the pervading corruption which plagues the city. He is helped by a cynical lawyer friend and starts a relationship with a free-spirited visual artist.

A comic view of several aspects of New York City life in the mid-1960s, which prefigures in a way some films which tackled in a more serious manner the problem of urban corruption, such as Serpico. Although made with some verve, its sense of humor is really far from sophisticated, and gets, at its worst, annoying.

(Admittedly, I couldn't understand some of the dialogue.)

Rating: 35

Proezas de Satanás na vila de Leva-e-Traz (1967)

 A poor village is shaken when oil is found in its vicinity. An artificial town is built around the exploration site, and all young healthy men move there, leaving only some women, old people and the invalid in the village. In the wake of that revolution, strange occurrences take place in the village. A stranger arrives into town who is revealed to be the devil himself.

Parable about economic development which makes use of popular literature and music from the Brazilian Northeast region. It's curious as an idea, but not very creative or exciting. The criticism towards it has been more of a political nature than one which would address its obvious artistic limitations.

Rating: 34

Fearless Frank (1967)

 Frank is a naïve young man who leaves his parents' farm to try his luck on the big city. Upon arriving there, he is killed by criminals belonging to a gang and revived by a scientist, who employs him in the fight against crime. That same gang hires another scientist who produces an evil replica of Frank.

Cartoonish comedy. It is a sort of parody of Frankenstein, Dick Tracy, and Superman, but the campy style is more reminiscent of Batman, the TV series, though the film reportedly was filmed before the airing of that series. Although it seems intent on annoying the viewer, it does not entirely succeed, and a few of them found it varying degrees of amusing.

Rating: 35

L'ibis rouge (1975)

 English title: The Red Ibis

Based on the novel Knock Three-One-Two, by Fredric Brown, in turn an expansion of his short story Night of the Psycho, both first published in 1959.

Raymond is in debt with a loan shark and asks his wife for her jewels, but she wants to divorce him and sell the jewels to open a hair salon. Meanwhile, a serial killer of women is on the loose.

Dark comedy. The plot has some details which do not make sense, e.g., why did the restaurant owner need the jewels at all  -- Raymond would give them as collateral in a loan -- when he could simply use his money directly to buy the house? Anyway, this is a film where the comicity comes from the characters, so the plot is not exactly the most important thing in it.

Rating: 57

A marcha (1972)

Laerte is the son of a landowner in 19th-century Brazil. His father is notorious for his mistreatment of slaves. Laerte joins the abolitionist movement, but hides his identity under a series of disguises. A side plot has a freed slave helping slaves to escape.

While vaguely interesting for its depiction of an important historical period, it's decidely ridiculous from a dramatic point of view. The color cinematography is good, though.

Rating: 35

Logan's Run (1976)

 In the 23rd century, humans have built a domed city run by a computer, where individuals live a hedonistic life until the age of 30, when they are killed in a kind of ritual. Some people occasionally try to escape, but are chased and usually killed by members of an expert police squad.

The chief interest of this production are its visuals. Its plot, though riddled with logical inconsistencies, does serve a purpose of mildly provoking thought about some philosophical, sociological and political themes. Overall, though not a very stimulating film, it's far from an excrutiating viewing experience.

Rating: 40

The Monitors (1969)

 A group of aliens invades the Earth and establishes its dominance over mankind. Their tyranny is well meaning, and their objective is to eliminate wars and other chronic problems of our planet. Not everyone is happy, though, and a rebel group which aims at retaking power from the Monitors is formed. The film centers on an actor and pilot who does not accept the Monitors' rule, and the actress who is in love with him, but secretly works for the Monitors.

Comedy which has an interesting political dilemma as premise: must a dictatorship be rejected because it usually results in oppression and exploitation, or because suppressing freedom is intrinsically bad? There is little verbal discussion in the film, which prefers to concentrate on action and some humorous sketches which satirize political conformity. The result is not exactly brilliant or funny, but is not without some visual and verbal creativity.

Rating: 45

The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)

 A bunch of Black baseball players break away from their exploitative boss and form an independent team. They travel from town to town playing the local teams.

Comedy about the vicissitudes of entrepreneurship. While racism sets the framework in which the story develops, most of the plot revolves around conflicts within the Black community. The humor is light, and the narrative is sufficiently eventful to keep one entertained. As many sports movies, this one is fairly nice to look at, and the good cinematography helps.

Rating: 50

Salve-se quem puder - Rally da Juventude (1973)

 A wealthy man promotes a car rally. Some young male racers get into a dispute with their girlfriends because the latter want to take part in the rally, which they do. Criminals plan to steal the gold statue which would be awarded to the race winner.

This is a bad movie, made to cash in on the success of American blockbusters such as The Great Race and The Love Bug. The plot is minimal, and the film is comprised mostly of unfunny situations and repetitive  and overstretched car sequences.

Rating: 19

The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960)

 Based on the novel Gulliver's Travels, by Jonathan Swift, first published in 1726. (The film adapts only the first two of the four parts of that book.)

Fantastical adventure narrative with satirical undertones. Although it feels a little lacking in energy at certain points, it is reasonably well made, and the actors mostly perform well. The special effects are good too. It is mainly targeted at a juvenile audience, but older people can certainly enjoy it too.

Rating: 52

Casanova's Big Night (1954)

 A tailor's apprentice impersonates Casanova as part of a plan to test the fidelity of a woman who is engaged to be married. He becomes an unwitting piece in a bigger plot by the ambitious doge of Venice.

Well made farce. The script is rather formulaic, but it all works to satisfaction and there is a good amount of laughs to be had, both from verbal exchanges and from visual gags. Sets and costumes are quite fancy.

Rating: 53

My Outlaw Brother (1951)

 A man travels to Texas to meet his estranged brother who now lives in Mexico. The border town he arrives at is being constantly raided by Mexican bandits. A sheriff is assigned the mission of going into Mexico and finding an American guy who is a lieutenant of the chief bandit. It turns out that the guy he is trying to meet with is the newly arrived man's brother.

Routine Western. The script has several weak spots. Overall this film is watchable but rather unexciting.

Rating: 36