Abandoned by her lover of four years, an unstable woman (Tilda Swinton) is in despair as she speaks to her lover over the phone before he bows out of her life forever. Based on the play by Jean Cocteau and directed by Pedro Almodovar (ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER). Cocteau's one act drama provides a tour de force for an actress and indeed, several major actresses have played the role on the stage, film and television. Among them: Ingrid Bergman, Anna Magnani, Sophia Loren and Rosamund Pike. Here, Tilda Swinton takes a swipe at it. Almodovar's film is a free adaptation and updated to contemporary times (Swinton speaks on a hands free cell phone). Swinton is (no surprise) wonderful and Almodovar surrounds her with bright colored backdrops, a stylish apartment and a terrific wardrobe by Sonia Grande. There's an excellent underscore by Alberto Iglesias. Almodovar even manages to sneak in DVDs of Sirk's ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS and WRITTEN ON THE WIND into the proceedings.
From the balcony of her Parisian apartment, a young woman (Dominique Sanda in her film debut) jumps to her death. Her body moved to the bed that she shared with her husband (Guy Frangin), in a series of flashbacks he reflects on their marriage and the events that may have led to her suicide. Based on the short story A GENTLE CREATURE by Fyodor Dostoevsky and directed by Robert Bresson (DIARY OF A COUNTRY PRIEST), his first film in color. I'll be upfront, I'm not a big fan of Bresson's brand of cinematic asceticism. I'm not sure where Bresson's empathy lies, with the husband or the wife. Sanda's enigmatic wife seems to be playing head games with the spouse but her husband is too controlling, stifling her with his "love". It's not a healthy relationship. Still, I found the movie compelling and its mysteries engaging. With Jeanne Lobre.
A frontiersman (Lex Barker) and his Mohican companion (Carlos Rivas) come to the aid of an old man (Jay C. Flippen) and his two daughters (Rita Moreno, Cathy O'Donnell) who live in a floating fort moored in the middle of a lake when Hurons go on the attack. Based on the novel by James Fenimore Cooper and directed by Kurt Neumann (THE FLY). A bland loosely adapted version of the Cooper novel. It's handsomely shot by Karl Struss in CinemaScope which makes the most of the Bass Lake (in the Sierra Nevada mountains) location. Other than that, it's uneven and often crude film making. The continuous slaughter of its indigenous people gets unpleasant after awhile. The action scenes are poorly staged and the film's characters aren't fleshed out enough to make them really interesting. With Forrest Tucker and Joseph Vitale.
When a NASA mega-computer is stolen, the government calls on a wisecracking computer expert (Ted Danson) to help track it down. Partnered with a female agent (Mary Louise Weller), they discover that a mysterious and powerful millionaire (Christopher Lee) is in control of the computer and plans to use it to take over the world. Directed by Ivan Nagy (PUSHING UP DAISIES). This lame excuse for a spy thriller attempts to be a James Bond homage or ripoff (take your choice) and even the title credits are a pale imitation of the marvelous Maurice Binder images created for the Bond movies. As the reluctant spy, Danson isn't a patch on Sean Connery or even Roger Moore. Rather than James Bond, the telefilm invokes THE MAN FROM UNCLE and even there, it comes in a distant second. With Eleanor Parker and Leonard Stone.
After the end of WWI, a returning war hero (Paul Muni) finds there's no meaningful work for him. Unable to find a job, he sinks into poverty and when he accompanies an acquaintance to a diner, the companion robs the place but it is the war vet who is caught and sentenced to prison hard labor. Based on the autobiography by Robert Elliott Burns and directed by Mervyn LeRoy (QUO VADIS). In the 1930s, Warner Brothers was the studio for socially conscious films and this Oscar nominated (best picture) film is one of the very best and ninety years later, it's as powerful as ever. Unrelenting in its brutality and portrait of a corrupt prison system, its final closing line and image is still startling. Paul Muni (in an Oscar nominated performance) is superb and almost unrecognizable from the hammy actor he would later become. With Glenda Farrell, Helen Vinson, Preston Foster, Noel Francis and Allen Jenkins.
Set in 1923 Berlin, an out of work alcoholic circus performer (David Carradine) is living in poverty. When his brother commits suicide, he moves into the apartment of his sister in law (Liv Ullmann), a cabaret singer. Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman (FANNY AND ALEXANDER) in his second English language film. What was Ingmar Bergman thinking of? I found it a rather pointless and aimless film. If his intention was to call attention to the horrors of a budding Nazi nation, it's been done before and better. The movie stumbles around in search of a germ of an idea that will bring everything together but it never happens. In the leading role, David Carradine can't bring any clarity to his character and he doesn't have a strong enough screen presence to overcome that. For Bergman completists only. With James Whitmore, Glynn Turman, Gert Frobe and Heinz Bennent.
Set in the Philippines circa 1951, a plantation owner (George Montgomery) returns to his homeland to find that the natives known as Huks have begun an insurrection and are pillaging local plantations. Based on the novel by Stirling Silliphant and directed by John Barnwell (SURRENDER HELL). Yikes! What a potboiler and not in a good sense. The film may as well have been bankrolled by the Philippine government, it's so "patriotic". The only authentic thing about it is the locations (after all, it was filmed in the Philippines) and outside of its four American leads, the cast is entirely comprised of Filipinos. Everything else from the acting, directing, writing, music etc. is mundane. Montgomery would return to the Philippines in the early 1960s and make three more films there as an actor/director/writer. With Mona Freeman, John Baer and James Bell.
A Boston judge (Alexander Knox) has position, security and a lovely home on Beacon Hill. He also has a disagreeable wife (Frieda Inescort), a selfish daughter (Martha Hyer) and a nagging suspicion that somehow his life has gone terribly wrong. Directed by Boris Ingster (STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR). A romantic comedy that turns very serious toward the end. I rather liked it but I hated its bourgeois values. Knox's judge finds happiness after ditching his family with the owner (Ann Sothern) of a truck stop diner in California. But this being middle class 1949, he must accept his responsibility to his family though they seem to be doing perfectly fine without him. But the conventional morality of the era demands he sacrifice his happiness for his "duty". With Florence Bates, George Tobias, H.B.. Warner and Sharyn Moffett.
A chorus girl (Fay Wray) quits show business when she marries a wealthy composer (Phillips Holmes). But unhappy with this marriage, his mother cuts him off financially. Struggling to make ends meet, she goes back to work. Directed by A. Edward Sutherland (EVERY DAY'S A HOLIDAY). This early pre code musical comedy is routine stuff although it's a bit more fluid than most early sound films of this era. Nothing to write home about but of interest in that it provides a look at Helen Kane, the "boop oop a doop" girl and the inspiration for Betty Boop whose film career consisted of seven movies between 1929 and 1931. Her teamwork with Richard Skeets Gallagher provides some decent comedy. With William Powell and Eugene Pallette.
A rancher (Pedro Pascal) rides across a desert to visit an old friend (Ethan Hawke) he hasn't seen in 25 years, who is now the town sheriff. His son (George Steane) is a suspect in the murder of the sheriff's sister in law. But the visit brings up the feelings of 25 years ago when they were lovers. Written and directed by Pedro Almodovar (WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN). A most unusual film for Almodovar. It's a male centric western with women marginal characters. But in spite of all the western trimmings (the macho gunfighters, the shoot out, etc.), it's at heart a love story but without the romanticized pretentiousness of something like BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. Hawke and Pascal, two actors I'm not especially fond of, are very good and more to the point very believable as the queer cowboys. With Jason Fernandez and Jose Condessa.
An enigmatic entrepreneur (Vincent Cassel) is behind a new technological package that allows bereaved relatives to view their loved ones' decomposing remains. But when his futuristic cemetery is vandalized, he begins to suspect a conspiracy at work. Written and directed by David Cronenberg (DEAD RINGERS). A highly personal film from Cronenberg as he cinematically ruminates on the death of his wife of 43 years. It's a fascinating film, almost hypnotic in its ability to pull you into its often complex narrative. I've seen it referred to as a "horror" film but I didn't see it that way at all. There was no horror to it at all, at least not for me. While the film's themes and structure are intricate, it never coalesces into anything more than a meditation with movie thriller trimmings that are often difficult to swallow and I don't think Cronenberg came up with a satisfactory ending. Still, definitely worth watching. With Diane Kruger in a dual role, Guy Pearce, Sandrine Holt and Jeff Yung.
