41. Monsieur Verdoux (1947) Based on an idea by Orson Welles. A French gigolo marries and murders middle-aged women for money. Monsieur Verdoux (MV) was a critical and box office failure when released and its easy to see why. Labeled a "black comedy" its not much of a comedy - and the crime drama and social commentary (60 percent of the movie) isn't really compelling or interesting. Part of the problem is Chaplin as lead. While charming and likable he has a weak voice, and doesn't have the flair/charisma of a Sanders or Webb. Further, the movie seems confused, is it a serious study of a killer or a "comedy of murders"? Both "Arsenic and Old Lace" or "Kind Hearts and Cornets" make it clear we're watching comedy-fantasy, thereby allowing us to laugh at the killings but M. Verdoux is shown realistically as a cold-blooded killer. Other problems include Chaplin's old-fashioned direction, some truly awful supporting performances and an overlong two hour run-time. Summary - The highlight is Raye as the impossible to kill vulgar loudmouth - otherwise MV is a plodding mixture of wordplay, social commentary, and crime drama. For Chaplin fans only. Rating **
42. A King In New York (1957) Chaplin's attack on America and HUAC. A deposed King comes to New York to sell his plans for nuclear energy. Starts out well with some funny bits satirizing Hollywood films, Rock & Roll, and commercials but soon turns into a ponderous, unbelievable soap opera about a child who reads Marx and the HUAC persecution of his his communist teacher parents. In need of an editor, the film rambles on and on with Chaplin alternating between political speeches, soap-opera, and unfunny physical comedy. Given Chaplin's past genius, the film is astounding. The physical humor is awkward and crude - light years behind his previous stuff. Some of the writing is just as bad. Chaplin has his son speechify about Marx, HUAC, and passports - not as a satire of communist ideologues. - but to make serious political points! Filmed with the usual Chaplin "economy" in 4 weeks, his son is cast in the only significant supporting part and B-grade English actors play Americans. Summary: After the first 30 minutes - a bore. Rating **
43. The Great Dictator (1940) Chaplin plays a double role -Dictator Hynkel and a little Jewish Barber. Paulette Goddard is a Jewish washerwoman and Jackie Oakie lends support as Italian Dictator Napoloni. There are 30 great funny minutes in "The Great Dictator" almost all of them revolving around Chaplin satire of Herr Hynkel (Hitler). The phony Hitler speeches, the scenes with "Napolini", playing with the globe like a beach ball. The rest of the movie is more serious and badly done. Shot in a primitive "silent era" style, Chaplin shows the Jewish persecution in a somewhat realistic fashion. But the transition from pogroms to pratfalls is jarring. And Chaplin undermines the seriousness by casting "golly gee-whiz" Americans as both the Jews and Stormtroopers while the brown California hills rise above the "Jewish Ghetto." Finally, the ending six minute serious speech is boring and naive. Otis Ferguson compared it to an out-of-date New Republic Editorial. Note: Based on recent biography, it seems Chaplin actually gave the speech to the CPUSA for approval and editing. Summary: A great 30 minutes satirizing Hitler but the rest of the film is dull. Rating **1/2
44. Limelight (1952) A fading comedian and a suicidal ballet dancer must look to each other to find meaning and hope in their lives. My favorite of the Chaplin talkies. Chaplin forgoes social commentary and "cleverness" and returns to his British music hall roots. Unlike "Great Dictator" and "M. Verdoux" Chaplin does an excellent job of balancing comedy & drama - he is funny onstage and serious off. While Chaplin shines as the old comic trying to terms with a declining career and old age, Keaton, Bloom and Bruce are also good. Flaws? Too long. with the usual old-fashioned Chaplin direction and cheap production values. Summary: I would've loved more Keaton but its still Chaplin's best talkie, a well done sentimental and bittersweet story. Rating ***
45. Modern Times (1936) His last silent movie. I thought 20 minutes of the Film are simply brilliant. The roller skate scene, the end, the tramp picking up a red flag, etc. But the rest of the movies' 87 minutes bored me. A lot of broad physical unfunny comedy - and Chaplin' overdoes the sentiment. The much praised singing waiter scene annoyed me. Rating **1/2
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Fallen Angel (1945) & The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
36. The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) Preminger. Well-photographed and well-acted but too long and dull. Sinatra stars as "Frankie Machine" a poor Chicago junkie trying to go straight. The story and characters never seem real and its somewhat of a soap-opera. The blame lies with the mediocre script/story and the lack of location shots. Further, its a draggy 2 hours and easily could have been cut to 90 minutes. Summary: Shocking and cutting edge in 1955, I found it tedious despite some good acting by Sinatra, Parker, and Novak Rating **
60. Fallen Angel (1945) Preminger Atmospheric film noir which follows con-man Dana Andrews to a small coastal town. There, Andrews has to choose between “good girl” Alice Faye and “bad girl” Linda Darnell. The role fits Andrews like a glove and all the actors are good - especially Darnell as the Sultry and mercenary Stella. The story is interesting but disjointed – sometimes it feels like a low-rent “Laura” - and it eventually turns into a half-baked murder mystery. But the script has some good lines. Summary: An enjoyable film noir with some excellent acting by Andrews and Darnell. Rating **1/2
60. Fallen Angel (1945) Preminger Atmospheric film noir which follows con-man Dana Andrews to a small coastal town. There, Andrews has to choose between “good girl” Alice Faye and “bad girl” Linda Darnell. The role fits Andrews like a glove and all the actors are good - especially Darnell as the Sultry and mercenary Stella. The story is interesting but disjointed – sometimes it feels like a low-rent “Laura” - and it eventually turns into a half-baked murder mystery. But the script has some good lines. Summary: An enjoyable film noir with some excellent acting by Andrews and Darnell. Rating **1/2
Portrait of Jennie (1948) & Port of Shadows
32. Port of Shadows (1938) Carne Jean Gabin stars as a French deserter who goes to Le Havre to catch a ship leaving France. There he falls in love with a prostitute and crosses both her sinister guardian and a local gangster. Well-directed and acted especially by Gabin and Michele Morgan (the girl). Most notable are the location of Le Harve's waterfront and the foggy, film-noir atmosphere. Sadly, the story itself is unexceptional and rather morbid.Summary - A well executed film noir, with good acting and characters - but the story is nothing special and the script is sometimes repetitive. Rating **1/2
33. Portrait of Jennie (1948) Dieterle Jennifer Jones never looked lovelier as the lead character Jennie, a mysterious figure who bewitches a struggling painter (Joseph Cotton). Pluses: Jones and Cotton have excellent chemistry. The last 15 minutes are quite good, as is the cinematography and location shots of NYC circa 1948. Flaws: Story doesn't make much sense - even for a fantasy. Too much time is spent on Cotton's life before meeting Jones - she's only on-screen 10 of the first 35 minutes. Summary: A romantic fantasy that starts slow but ends strong. Excellent action and direction. Would have rated it higher, except the first 35 minutes are mediocre. Rating **1/2
33. Portrait of Jennie (1948) Dieterle Jennifer Jones never looked lovelier as the lead character Jennie, a mysterious figure who bewitches a struggling painter (Joseph Cotton). Pluses: Jones and Cotton have excellent chemistry. The last 15 minutes are quite good, as is the cinematography and location shots of NYC circa 1948. Flaws: Story doesn't make much sense - even for a fantasy. Too much time is spent on Cotton's life before meeting Jones - she's only on-screen 10 of the first 35 minutes. Summary: A romantic fantasy that starts slow but ends strong. Excellent action and direction. Would have rated it higher, except the first 35 minutes are mediocre. Rating **1/2
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Awful Academy Award Films
23. Around the World in 80 Days (1956) Anderson A retelling of the Jules Verne novel full of cameo appearances by Hollywood's greatest stars. David Niven plays the lead. Pros:Some great photography and the occasional funny cameo. Niven isn't bad. Cons: Script, slack pace. Summary: An endless, bloated travelogue. Maybe its better on the big screen but I doubt it. Rating **
24. Gentleman's Agreement (1947) Kazan. Gregory Peck takes on anti-semitism in this 1947 snooze fest. Another sermon from Hollywood in movie form. Its very serious and responsible, they just forgot the "entertainment" part. Peck pretends to be Jewish in the film - and does about well as you'd expect. On the plus side: Garfield is excellent. Summary: Too dull, dated and self-righteous. Rating **
25. You Can't Take it with You (1938) Capra Painfully long and unfunny Capra comedy. With Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur. Love all three - but not in this movie.I came to laugh but fell asleep instead. Full of Capra corn, hokey, and slow. I'd write more but I couldn't finish it.Rating **
26. Midnight Cowboy (1969) Schlesinger Imagine "Dumb and Dumber" as an X-rated drama and you have "Midnight Cowboy" Pros: Acting, atmospheric NYC Locations. ConsScript and story. Voight and Hoffman are two street characters in 1969 NYC. One's a naive gay prostitute the other his sickly friend. Both struggle to survive. Both are incredibly stupid. Summary: Two great performances wasted in a pointless, dishonest story. Rating *
27. All the King's Men (1949) Rossen. From Robert Penn Warren's pretentious, boring novel about a fictional Huey Long comes this pretentious, boring movie about a fictional Huey Long. Like George Wallace, Long was someone everyone in elite America disliked. So of course Hollywood had to make a "brave" - but low budget - movie attacking him. Lots of hokum about "power corrupts." Summary: The plot is predictable, Crawford is arrogant and full of bluster. and everyone else is boring or charmless. BTW, the real Huey Long could charm the birds off the trees and had some good ideas as well as some bad ones.Rating **1/2
28. Life of Emile Zola (1937)- Dieterle, Another boring, 1930s prestige pictures put out by WB and rewarded with an Oscar. Frankly, I didn't know much about Zola before watching this and now - I've decided to stop while I'm ahead. Dreyfus, Zola, it all seems as unimportant and Boring as the 1858 Tariff debate. Muni fills the screen with his usual brand of owlish importance and wears a beard. Rating **
29. Terms of Endearment (1983) Brooks Manipulative, shallow, chick flick. Like Kramer v Kramer, it reminded me of a Lifetime TV movie of the week. Jack and Shirley overact shamelessly. Maybe, I wasn't the target audience for this film Rating **
30. Driving Miss Daisy (1989) Besresford She's a rich Jewish lady of the South, high-toned, spoiled, stubborn to a fault, He's a black illiterate chauffeur, wise, patient and in need of a job. And me, I was bored silly.Rating *
24. Gentleman's Agreement (1947) Kazan. Gregory Peck takes on anti-semitism in this 1947 snooze fest. Another sermon from Hollywood in movie form. Its very serious and responsible, they just forgot the "entertainment" part. Peck pretends to be Jewish in the film - and does about well as you'd expect. On the plus side: Garfield is excellent. Summary: Too dull, dated and self-righteous. Rating **
25. You Can't Take it with You (1938) Capra Painfully long and unfunny Capra comedy. With Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur. Love all three - but not in this movie.I came to laugh but fell asleep instead. Full of Capra corn, hokey, and slow. I'd write more but I couldn't finish it.Rating **
26. Midnight Cowboy (1969) Schlesinger Imagine "Dumb and Dumber" as an X-rated drama and you have "Midnight Cowboy" Pros: Acting, atmospheric NYC Locations. ConsScript and story. Voight and Hoffman are two street characters in 1969 NYC. One's a naive gay prostitute the other his sickly friend. Both struggle to survive. Both are incredibly stupid. Summary: Two great performances wasted in a pointless, dishonest story. Rating *
27. All the King's Men (1949) Rossen. From Robert Penn Warren's pretentious, boring novel about a fictional Huey Long comes this pretentious, boring movie about a fictional Huey Long. Like George Wallace, Long was someone everyone in elite America disliked. So of course Hollywood had to make a "brave" - but low budget - movie attacking him. Lots of hokum about "power corrupts." Summary: The plot is predictable, Crawford is arrogant and full of bluster. and everyone else is boring or charmless. BTW, the real Huey Long could charm the birds off the trees and had some good ideas as well as some bad ones.Rating **1/2
28. Life of Emile Zola (1937)- Dieterle, Another boring, 1930s prestige pictures put out by WB and rewarded with an Oscar. Frankly, I didn't know much about Zola before watching this and now - I've decided to stop while I'm ahead. Dreyfus, Zola, it all seems as unimportant and Boring as the 1858 Tariff debate. Muni fills the screen with his usual brand of owlish importance and wears a beard. Rating **
29. Terms of Endearment (1983) Brooks Manipulative, shallow, chick flick. Like Kramer v Kramer, it reminded me of a Lifetime TV movie of the week. Jack and Shirley overact shamelessly. Maybe, I wasn't the target audience for this film Rating **
30. Driving Miss Daisy (1989) Besresford She's a rich Jewish lady of the South, high-toned, spoiled, stubborn to a fault, He's a black illiterate chauffeur, wise, patient and in need of a job. And me, I was bored silly.Rating *
Godard Films
I suppose the single worst influence on French Film - as indeed on all film, but felt more strongly in France - is Jean-Luc Godard. Sometimes openly, sometimes more insidiously his contempt for plot, characterization, scrutable sequence, and finally humanity itself has infected any number of filmmakers. Godard either will not, or can not tell a story, either way it comes out the same way. In his work there is no affection that does not reek of affectation; no jest that is not just a rude gesture; no movement that has motivation as well as motion to it. Godard's rebellion is just for the sake of infantile self-indulgence. -John Simon on Godard.
12. Breathless (1960) Godard A young car thief kills a policeman and tries to persuade a girl to hide in Italy with him. An extremely energetic movie with a simple plot, simple characters, and a fast run-time of 91 minutes. I enjoyed the movie for its atmosphere/style and Seberg and Belmondo are perfectly cast.Summary: A stylish and energetic movie that deliberately violated the Hollywood's "rules. Weak on plot and character (they're almost subhuman) - but interesting. Rating ***
13. My Life to Live (1962) - Goddard. Anna Karina stars as a young women who comes to Paris to act but falls into prostitution. A simple. joyless. story stylishly photographed. Karina is excellent as "Nana" the whore, but the story is predictable and the characters underdeveloped. As usual with Godard, the story grinds to halt for 10 minutes while the characters mouth some coffee-house philosophy. Summary: If you want a joyless story about Parisian Prostitutes, with some college sophomore philosophy and new wave photography on the side - this movie's for you. Rating *
14. Contempt (1963) Godard. A French writer is hired to make a commercial script for film to be directed by Fritz Lang while he alienates his wife (Bardot) by his behavior toward her and the films American producer (Jack Palance). An interesting movie about making a movie - and a satirical attack on Hollywood. An atypical Godard movie - the production values are relatively high and the color photography of Bardot and Capri is beautiful. Flaws: Story is repetitious at times and the characters are unlikable Summary: Better written and with more character development than your typical Godard film. The satire and Bardot makes it worth seeing. Rating ***
15. Le Petite Sodat (1963) Godard A French deserter in Switzerland gets mixed up with both Arab and French revolutionary groups and tries to commit murder to avoid being sent back to France. Switching gears after "Breathless" Godard made this serious, political, movie about the Algerian war. I found it rambling, pointless, disjointed, and lacking any suspense. Like most Godard films the characters aren't particularly engaging, likable or interesting. The film's politics are simple-simon - both sides are bad. A few good scenes such as - a hitman is frustrated by random events, and a matter-of-fact torture scene. Summary - For Godard fans only. Godard tries to be serous/straightforward and fails. Rating *
16. Band of Outsiders (1964) - Goddard. Story of 2 young Parisian small time crooks and a young girl who decide to the rob her adoptive Aunt, It ends badly, but along the way the three dance "the Madison", run through the Louvre in less than 10 minutes, talk, philosophize, and hang out together. A long 97 minutes. Some brilliant scenes that have become famous - including the famous dance in the cafe - but the story is too slight for its run time. According to Godard he wrote the dialogue at the last moment to give the actor less time to think. No doubt, this accounts for the impressionist, almost plot-less nature of the film. The actors are no more than adequate, and I didn't find their characters particularly engaging or interesting. Rating **1/2
17. Alphaville (1965) - Goddard. Odd mixture of SF and parody of private eye stories. Starts out as interesting parody of a Private Eye/Spy story but then after 15-20 minutes makes a U-turn and becomes a serious movie about a Computer controlled society. Some great images and I enjoyed the parody at first but the movie soon bogged down and went nowhere. The SF part is hurt by obvious 1960s sets and settings. Hard to imagine to you're in a futuristic society when it all looks like Paris. Eddie Constantine is great as the lead man but Anna Karina is barely adequate. Rating **
18. Pierrot le Fou (1965) Godard. Pierrot leaves Paris and his boring marriage and takes off with his babysitter/ex-lover (Anna Karina) for the Mediterranean. Not very interesting & full of the same old Godard riffs, games without meaning, attacks on colonialism, consumerism, and the USA. But some striking images and clever scenes, driving the convertible into the Lake was fun. Summary: Godard filmed it in a month with no script - and it shows. A tired rehashing of themes from other Godard films. But Karina & the bright colors are nice to look at. Rating **
19. Masculin and Feminine (1965) Godard. A young Parisian would be intellectual pursues a young French Singer and hangs out in Paris talking and philosophizing. Almost a plot-less movie, a series of conversations and location shots of Paris, divided into 15 segment, each segment being introduced by a phrase like “Les Enfants de Marx de Coca-Cola”. A movie of its time and place, intended as a reportage and satire of 1960s youth culture. PROS: The expected Goddard cleverness and interesting camera work, soundtrack, the two female leads Goya and Jobert, Location shots of 1960s Paris. CONS Not much happens, endless talk about dated politics, random, pointless acts of violence, underdeveloped characters. Male lead (Leaud) isn’t particularly likable or interesting. Summary Lesser Godard. The famous director's name keeps the DVD in print. Rating **
20. Weekend (1967) Godard. A controversial, experimental film about a nasty, greedy couple out to visit her parents in the country. Along the way the couple meet traffic jams, cannibalistic Marxists, endless auto accidents, Emily Bronte and Saint-Just. The movie has no real plot and is full of black humor, satire, and surrealism. Godard even pays homage to Bunuel - and reminds us throughout that we are watching a film. PROS: The 10 minute traffic jam shot, the piano in the courtyard segment, Connie's sexy true or dream sequence, and the first fight over the dented fender. The acting is excellent and the two leads play their characters (caricatures) well. There are some additional striking images, and a few puns and instances of black humor worthy of Monty Python.Cons Weekend has 20 minutes of didactic Marxist speeches - where someone talks into the camera - one lasts for 10 minutes (!). Some segments are repetitive (a of lot burned and wrecked cars, and fights over cars). Others are boring and pointless (the Emily Bronte segment - the shootout at the end - killing a pig and 2 ducks). No character is likable and most are viewed from a distance. Finally, Godard often drags the scenes out too long or slows the pace.SUMMARY "Weekend" is nothing like "Breathless" or "Contempt." Its a black humor fantasy with shocking images and boring political speeches. Its completely unconventional. Nothing wrong with that, except Godard's execution is often slack & lazy. He throws everything into the pot and only some of it works 30 minutes are brilliant, 35 minutes are OK, and the rest - 40 minutes - had us pushing the FF button. If you're not a communist, French Film student or Godard fan - I'd skip it. BTW, I'm shocked at how seriously some take this film - they need to read more and watch less film Rating **
21. La Chinoise (1967) Godard. Sometimes inventive - yet boring and dated - political film about 4 French university students studying Mao. Some humor and interesting photography but basically 90 minutes of talk about Communism and 1960s French Politics. Godard ridicules the students at times- but overall sympathizes with their Marxist-Maoism. Not surprising since Godard was a self-proclaimed communist (Maoist). Note: I was how amazed how controversial and important this move was considered when released. John Simon, whose review were normally 1-3 pages, wrote an 11 page (!) review the film. Kael and Sarris wrote similarly long review hysterically praising it. How times change.Summary For Godard fans and communists only. Rating *
12. Breathless (1960) Godard A young car thief kills a policeman and tries to persuade a girl to hide in Italy with him. An extremely energetic movie with a simple plot, simple characters, and a fast run-time of 91 minutes. I enjoyed the movie for its atmosphere/style and Seberg and Belmondo are perfectly cast.Summary: A stylish and energetic movie that deliberately violated the Hollywood's "rules. Weak on plot and character (they're almost subhuman) - but interesting. Rating ***
13. My Life to Live (1962) - Goddard. Anna Karina stars as a young women who comes to Paris to act but falls into prostitution. A simple. joyless. story stylishly photographed. Karina is excellent as "Nana" the whore, but the story is predictable and the characters underdeveloped. As usual with Godard, the story grinds to halt for 10 minutes while the characters mouth some coffee-house philosophy. Summary: If you want a joyless story about Parisian Prostitutes, with some college sophomore philosophy and new wave photography on the side - this movie's for you. Rating *
14. Contempt (1963) Godard. A French writer is hired to make a commercial script for film to be directed by Fritz Lang while he alienates his wife (Bardot) by his behavior toward her and the films American producer (Jack Palance). An interesting movie about making a movie - and a satirical attack on Hollywood. An atypical Godard movie - the production values are relatively high and the color photography of Bardot and Capri is beautiful. Flaws: Story is repetitious at times and the characters are unlikable Summary: Better written and with more character development than your typical Godard film. The satire and Bardot makes it worth seeing. Rating ***
15. Le Petite Sodat (1963) Godard A French deserter in Switzerland gets mixed up with both Arab and French revolutionary groups and tries to commit murder to avoid being sent back to France. Switching gears after "Breathless" Godard made this serious, political, movie about the Algerian war. I found it rambling, pointless, disjointed, and lacking any suspense. Like most Godard films the characters aren't particularly engaging, likable or interesting. The film's politics are simple-simon - both sides are bad. A few good scenes such as - a hitman is frustrated by random events, and a matter-of-fact torture scene. Summary - For Godard fans only. Godard tries to be serous/straightforward and fails. Rating *
16. Band of Outsiders (1964) - Goddard. Story of 2 young Parisian small time crooks and a young girl who decide to the rob her adoptive Aunt, It ends badly, but along the way the three dance "the Madison", run through the Louvre in less than 10 minutes, talk, philosophize, and hang out together. A long 97 minutes. Some brilliant scenes that have become famous - including the famous dance in the cafe - but the story is too slight for its run time. According to Godard he wrote the dialogue at the last moment to give the actor less time to think. No doubt, this accounts for the impressionist, almost plot-less nature of the film. The actors are no more than adequate, and I didn't find their characters particularly engaging or interesting. Rating **1/2
17. Alphaville (1965) - Goddard. Odd mixture of SF and parody of private eye stories. Starts out as interesting parody of a Private Eye/Spy story but then after 15-20 minutes makes a U-turn and becomes a serious movie about a Computer controlled society. Some great images and I enjoyed the parody at first but the movie soon bogged down and went nowhere. The SF part is hurt by obvious 1960s sets and settings. Hard to imagine to you're in a futuristic society when it all looks like Paris. Eddie Constantine is great as the lead man but Anna Karina is barely adequate. Rating **
18. Pierrot le Fou (1965) Godard. Pierrot leaves Paris and his boring marriage and takes off with his babysitter/ex-lover (Anna Karina) for the Mediterranean. Not very interesting & full of the same old Godard riffs, games without meaning, attacks on colonialism, consumerism, and the USA. But some striking images and clever scenes, driving the convertible into the Lake was fun. Summary: Godard filmed it in a month with no script - and it shows. A tired rehashing of themes from other Godard films. But Karina & the bright colors are nice to look at. Rating **
19. Masculin and Feminine (1965) Godard. A young Parisian would be intellectual pursues a young French Singer and hangs out in Paris talking and philosophizing. Almost a plot-less movie, a series of conversations and location shots of Paris, divided into 15 segment, each segment being introduced by a phrase like “Les Enfants de Marx de Coca-Cola”. A movie of its time and place, intended as a reportage and satire of 1960s youth culture. PROS: The expected Goddard cleverness and interesting camera work, soundtrack, the two female leads Goya and Jobert, Location shots of 1960s Paris. CONS Not much happens, endless talk about dated politics, random, pointless acts of violence, underdeveloped characters. Male lead (Leaud) isn’t particularly likable or interesting. Summary Lesser Godard. The famous director's name keeps the DVD in print. Rating **
20. Weekend (1967) Godard. A controversial, experimental film about a nasty, greedy couple out to visit her parents in the country. Along the way the couple meet traffic jams, cannibalistic Marxists, endless auto accidents, Emily Bronte and Saint-Just. The movie has no real plot and is full of black humor, satire, and surrealism. Godard even pays homage to Bunuel - and reminds us throughout that we are watching a film. PROS: The 10 minute traffic jam shot, the piano in the courtyard segment, Connie's sexy true or dream sequence, and the first fight over the dented fender. The acting is excellent and the two leads play their characters (caricatures) well. There are some additional striking images, and a few puns and instances of black humor worthy of Monty Python.Cons Weekend has 20 minutes of didactic Marxist speeches - where someone talks into the camera - one lasts for 10 minutes (!). Some segments are repetitive (a of lot burned and wrecked cars, and fights over cars). Others are boring and pointless (the Emily Bronte segment - the shootout at the end - killing a pig and 2 ducks). No character is likable and most are viewed from a distance. Finally, Godard often drags the scenes out too long or slows the pace.SUMMARY "Weekend" is nothing like "Breathless" or "Contempt." Its a black humor fantasy with shocking images and boring political speeches. Its completely unconventional. Nothing wrong with that, except Godard's execution is often slack & lazy. He throws everything into the pot and only some of it works 30 minutes are brilliant, 35 minutes are OK, and the rest - 40 minutes - had us pushing the FF button. If you're not a communist, French Film student or Godard fan - I'd skip it. BTW, I'm shocked at how seriously some take this film - they need to read more and watch less film Rating **
21. La Chinoise (1967) Godard. Sometimes inventive - yet boring and dated - political film about 4 French university students studying Mao. Some humor and interesting photography but basically 90 minutes of talk about Communism and 1960s French Politics. Godard ridicules the students at times- but overall sympathizes with their Marxist-Maoism. Not surprising since Godard was a self-proclaimed communist (Maoist). Note: I was how amazed how controversial and important this move was considered when released. John Simon, whose review were normally 1-3 pages, wrote an 11 page (!) review the film. Kael and Sarris wrote similarly long review hysterically praising it. How times change.Summary For Godard fans and communists only. Rating *
What's Up Doc (1972)
9. Whats up Doc? (1972) Bogdanovich Homage to the 30s screwball comedies about 4 identical suitcases and zany mix-ups at a SF Hotel. RyanO'Neal is an absent minded musicologist (ala Gary Grant) caught up in all and Barbara Streisand is the lovable kook (ala Hepburn).. Many of the characters/jokes/situations are lifted from various 30s comedies - i.e. Bringing up Baby. I found the car chase brilliant and laughed at some jokes. The supporting actors are good especially Madeline Kahn.
Flaws: The movie has two main problems - the leads and pace. O'Neal is no Cary Grant, he's not even Gregory Peck. Playing without any energy, he seems embalmed. Streisand isn't as bad as expected, but still lacked the charm, looks, and comic timing necessary for a screwball comedienne . Hepburn could be eccentric and charming - Streisand just comes off as annoying. Secondly, the pace is too slow. Those who describe it as "zany" and "madcap" need to watch more 30s comedies.
Summary Not bad -has some funny moments and an excellent chase scene. Rating **1/2
Flaws: The movie has two main problems - the leads and pace. O'Neal is no Cary Grant, he's not even Gregory Peck. Playing without any energy, he seems embalmed. Streisand isn't as bad as expected, but still lacked the charm, looks, and comic timing necessary for a screwball comedienne . Hepburn could be eccentric and charming - Streisand just comes off as annoying. Secondly, the pace is too slow. Those who describe it as "zany" and "madcap" need to watch more 30s comedies.
Summary Not bad -has some funny moments and an excellent chase scene. Rating **1/2
Kubrick Films
2. Full Metal Jacket (1987) A small group of Marines are followed from boot camp to the battle of Hue in 1968. Probably the most intense and best film about Marine Corps Boot camp ever (thanks to real life DI Lee Emery). Unfortunately that's only half the movie. The other half is a generic Vietnam war film with a few good battle scenes. Further, the characters are so underdeveloped their deaths had little impact. They're just Marines with nicknames. And filming the Vietnam scenes in England doesn't help.
Summary: Half a great movie. The first half= 4 stars, second half = 2 stars, combined = Rating ***
3. Paths of Glory (1957) Produced and starring Kirk Douglas. Based on Irwin Cobb's novel and Sydney Howard's 1936 Broadway play, its a dark anti-war film set in WWI France. When an attack fails, a French General arbitrarily orders 3 men shot for cowardice. Well-directed with some excellent battle scenes, (the attack on the "ant-hill" and the trench tracking have become famous). Although talky, the film is a fast 89 minutes. The acting is mostly good. Douglas, Menjou, Macready and Meeker all perform well despite the American accents. Flaws: Script and characters. Subtle it ain't. The anti-war message is hammered hard with the Generals portrayed as melodramatic Victorian villains, so cynical and heartless one expects them to twirl their mustaches. Plus the execution scene goes on far too long and condemned soldiers are far too dramatic. One is a blubbering coward, another an overly bitter priest-baiting cynic - rather odd behavior for battle-hardened Poilus.
Summary: Half a great movie. The first half= 4 stars, second half = 2 stars, combined = Rating ***
3. Paths of Glory (1957) Produced and starring Kirk Douglas. Based on Irwin Cobb's novel and Sydney Howard's 1936 Broadway play, its a dark anti-war film set in WWI France. When an attack fails, a French General arbitrarily orders 3 men shot for cowardice. Well-directed with some excellent battle scenes, (the attack on the "ant-hill" and the trench tracking have become famous). Although talky, the film is a fast 89 minutes. The acting is mostly good. Douglas, Menjou, Macready and Meeker all perform well despite the American accents. Flaws: Script and characters. Subtle it ain't. The anti-war message is hammered hard with the Generals portrayed as melodramatic Victorian villains, so cynical and heartless one expects them to twirl their mustaches. Plus the execution scene goes on far too long and condemned soldiers are far too dramatic. One is a blubbering coward, another an overly bitter priest-baiting cynic - rather odd behavior for battle-hardened Poilus.
Summary: An above-average war movie with some excellent action scenes. But like many Kubrick films absurdly overpraised. "Paths of Glory" is melodramatic and superficial when compared to more adult war films such as "Wooden Crosses" or "Fire on the Plains." Rating **1/2
249. Dr. Strangelove (1964) Kubrick's Cold War Satire. A crazed US General (Hayden) launches an unauthorized nuclear strike against the Soviets. Sellers plays three roles (British officer, President, and Dr. Strangelove) perfectly while George C. Scott, Slim Pickens, and Keenan Wynn are enjoyably over-the-top. A great film, primarily due to Sellers, the great supporting cast, and a very funny Terry Southern script. Probably Kubrick's masterpiece. Rating ***1/2
249. Dr. Strangelove (1964) Kubrick's Cold War Satire. A crazed US General (Hayden) launches an unauthorized nuclear strike against the Soviets. Sellers plays three roles (British officer, President, and Dr. Strangelove) perfectly while George C. Scott, Slim Pickens, and Keenan Wynn are enjoyably over-the-top. A great film, primarily due to Sellers, the great supporting cast, and a very funny Terry Southern script. Probably Kubrick's masterpiece. Rating ***1/2
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