Paint Your Wagon (1969)

Set during the California gold rush, a prospector (Lee Marvin) finds an unconscious man (Clint Eastwood) who has survived his wagon crashing down a ravine. They become partners in gold prospecting but when a woman (Jean Seberg) arrives in town, it causes complications when they both want her. Based on the Broadway musical with music and lyrics by Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner and directed by Joshua Logan (PICNIC). The movie jettisons almost all of the plot of the 1951 musical as well as almost half of the stage musical's songs (as well as Agnes DeMille's choreography) and replaces them with a few new songs with Andre Previn composing the music (although still living, Loewe had nothing to do with the movie) to Lerner's lyrics. Musically, the film is weak. Lerner & Loewe wrote MY FAIR LADY, GIGI, BRIGADOON and CAMELOT, all wonderful scores but outside of the haunting They Call The Wind Maria, the songs are aren't particularly memorable (my favorite song from the show, How Can I Wait was cut). The screenplay is a hot mess! Ghastly about describes it. As for the actors: Lee Marvin overacts abominably, Eastwood is wooden and only the lovely Jean Seberg is able to provide anything resembling an actual human being. The film actually did well at the box office (in London, it played for over a year in one theatre) but its massive budget precluded it turning a profit. With Harve Presnell and Ray Walston.

An Ideal Husband (1999)

Set in 1895, a highly respected politician (Jeremy Northam) is the pride of his wife (Cate Blanchett) and adoring sister (Minnie Driver). But when an old acquaintance (Julianne Moore) threatens to reveal a dark secret from his past, his political career and marriage are threatened. Based on the play by Oscar Wilde and directed by Oliver Parker (THE GREAT ESCAPER). A few unnecessary plot removals aside, this is an elegant and well acted adaptation of Wilde's witty play. The film's last 20 minutes or so are rather flat but frankly I don't know if that's Wilde's writing or the playing of it by the director and cast. Production values (especially Caroline Harris's costumes) are first rate. Still, I confess a preference for the 1947 British version though this one is above average. With Rupert Everett (who gets all the best lines), John Wood, Peter Vaughan and Lindsay Duncan.

Daughter Of The Jungle (1949)

An airplane carrying a pair of police officers (James Cardwell, Jim Bannon) escorting gangsters (Sheldon Leonard, James Nolan) to prison crash lands in the African jungle. They are rescued from a native attack by a woman (Lois Hall) who appears out of nowhere. Directed by George Blair (THE HYPNOTIC EYE). A tacky B jungle adventure whose only novelty is the female Tarzan played by Lois Hall. She swings from jungle vines, gives out with a Tarzan bellow call and even wrestles rubber alligators. Although set in Africa, the "natives" aren't black but look to be Caucasians resembling Indian or Polynesian natives and the African "landscapes" look suspiciously like Southern California. Of course, there's the usual man in a gorilla suit not fooling anyone. Not fun enough to be camp but tedious enough to dismiss as just another bad movie. With William Wright.

修羅雪姫 怨み恋歌 (aka Lady Snowblood: Love Song Of Vengeance) (1974)

Set in 1906 Japan, the head of the secret police (Shin Kishida) saves the notorious outlaw known as Lady Snowblood (Meiko Kaji) from the executioner and allows her to go free if she will obtain a secret document from a known anarchist (Juzo Itami). Based on the manga series of the same name and directed by Toshiya Fujita (LADY SNOWBLOOD). This is a sequel to the 1973 LADY SNOWBLOOD and frankly, it's just not as good. Its interesting narrative gets lost in the gratuitous violence where the camera lovingly lingers over every mutilation, wounds and plague ridden flesh. In this movie, the Lady Snowblood character seems supporting rather than a lead character. With Kazuko Yoshiyuki and Yoshio Harada.

In Which We Serve (1942)

Set during WWII, the surviving crew of the destroyer HMS Torrin desperately cling to life after being attacked by German bombers during the battle of Crete. As the men await their rescue, they reflect on their lives prior to the attack. Written, produced and co-directed (with David Lean, who directed the actions scenes while Coward focused on the actors) by Noel Coward, who also plays the film's lead and composed the film's score. WWII propaganda films were prolific during the war years (1941-1945). I can understand the necessity of such movies during the trying time of a world conflict, hoping to keep the morale up while so many lives were being destroyed. But posterity has not been kind to most of them because, well ..... they weren't very good. Most of the Hollywood product were jingoistic but some of the films showed the hardships and bravery of the men in battle and of the homefront where (especially in England with the blitz) civilians were touched by the war. In that respect, IN WHICH WE SERVE holds very well in spite of the distance of 80 plus years. With Celia Johnson, John Mills, Richard Attenborough, Kay Walsh, Bernard Miles, Michael Wilding, Joyce Carey, James Donald, Daniel Massey and Juliet Mills.

Making Of A Male Model (1983)

A young ranch hand (Jon Erik Hexum) in Nevada is discovered by a seductive modeling agent (Joan Collins), who owns her own chic Manhattan modeling agency. She persuades him to leave his quiet life and begin a modeling career in New York. Directed by Irving J. Moore (DYNASTY: THE REUNION). This should have been a trashy fun piece of "camp" but it takes itself so seriously as if it were a hard hitting look into the decadence of Manhattan's modeling scene that it's just ludicrous. Every cliche is on display and you just know where it's going. It's the kind of obvious movie that when Jeff Conaway as a fading male model gives a big speech about how his career is going down the drain, you immediately know he's going to die (either by suicide or an overdose) before the final credits appear. Trash like this makes Jacqueline Susann look like Carson McCullers! With Kevin McCarthy, Robert Walker Jr., Jennifer Edwards, Roxie Roker, Rosemarie Bowe Stack, Michael Anderson Jr. and Arte Johnson.

On The Avenue (1937)

A wealthy New York socialite (Madeleine Carroll) is furious when a Broadway musical ridicules her. With dubious intentions, she makes a date with the show's star and producer (Dick Powell) but they end up falling in love. This doesn't sit well with the show's female star (Alice Faye) who plots to destroy the budding romance. Directed by Roy Del Ruth (BROADWAY MELODY OF 1936). 20th Century Fox wasn't known for their musicals and most of them aren't very good but this movie is one of their rare good ones. It's nothing special in the creative sense, it doesn't come near the RKO Astaire and Rogers films or the great MGM musicals from the Freed unit but it's undeniably charming and it has a solid Irving Berlin score. The standouts are the Ritz Brothers, who had me cracking up a few times and for me, a little Alice Faye goes a long way but she's in a supporting role here so I enjoyed her work here. With  Cora Witherspoon, Alan Mowbray, Joan Davis and George Barbier.

Lady Of Vengeance (1957)

When his petty young ward (Eileen Elton) throws herself in front of a London bound train, an arrogant international publishing magnate (Dennis O'Keefe) sets out to discover exactly what - or who - drove the young woman to kill herself. Directed by Burt Balaban (STRANGER FROM VENUS). I'm somewhat taken aback at the negative reviews this low budget B movie received when first released. Certainly not a major film or a particularly good one but I still found it fairly compelling and its surprise "twist" at the end did take me by surprise. However, this being a 1957 film, fifties morality didn't allow its act of revenge to come to fruition and instead lets "fate" take its course. With Anton Diffring, Ann Sears, Patrick Barr and Vernon Greeves.

The Crawling Hand (1963)

A science student (Rod Lauren) and his girlfriend (Sirry Steffen) discover a severed arm on the beach. The arm is all that remains from an astronaut who crash landed to earth. However, the hand has the ability to control people and urge them to kill. Directed by Herbert L. Strock (I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN). Silly slice of cheesy B science fiction horror, ineptly written and badly acted. You can always tell when a character is possessed by the crawling hand by the amount of eye shadow around their eyes. I'm just curious how the producers were able to rope in so many well known second string actors into this project. For connoisseurs of bad movies only. With Peter Breck, Allison Hayes, Kent Taylor, Alan Hale, Richard Arlen, Ross Elliott and Arline Judge.

ハウルの動く城 (aka Howl's Moving Castle) (2004)

Set in a fictional kingdom that is at war with another kingdom. A young milliner (Emily Mortimer) is turned into an elderly woman (Jean Simmons) by a witch (Lauren Bacall) who enters her shop and places a curse on her. Based on the novel by Diana Wynne Jones and directed by Hayao Miyazaki (THE BOY AND THE HERON). Yet another gorgeous piece of animation by the great Miyazaki and it well may be my favorite. This one is pretty heavy duty as it addresses issues such as war, old age and empathy. The narrative is geared more toward adults than young children and its often complex themes will likely go right over their heads. Miyazaki (who's a pacifist) emphasizes a prominent anti war aspect that is not in the original novel. Normally, I prefer to watch Miyazaki's films in the original Japanese langauage but HOWL'S is based on an English novel, its characters are not Japanese and the story is not set in Japan so the excellent English dub was preferred. It received an Oscar nomination for best animated film. With the voice talents of Christian Bale, Billy Crystal, Blythe Danner, Josh Hutcherson and Jena Malone.

The Wild Angels (1966)

When a bike is stolen from the Hells Angels, an epic chase to retrieve the bike ensues as the bikers terrorize and spread fear wherever they ride. Directed by Roger Corman (MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH). American International had built a reputation (and made money) on a series of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations and the BEACH PARTY movies. But as counterculture slowly seeped into the 1960s, Roger Corman saw a chance to exploit the notorious biker group and this was the first of several biker movies to follow from AIP. The film doesn't hide the Hells Angels racism, their Nazi regalia, the way they treat women or their contempt for the law. Yet it seems to want to portray them as some sort of repressed minority group, rebels against a restrictive society. As cinema, its handsomely shot by Richard Moore (MYRA BRECKINRIDGE) in Panavision but that's about it. It's a pretty lousy movie. As an artifact of the 1960s exploitation cinema, it has its place but it has all the depth of a BEACH PARTY movie but nowhere near as fun. Did the Hells Angels really dance The Monkey in a rural church during a funeral? With Peter Fonda, Nancy Sinatra, Bruce Dern, Diane Ladd, Michael J. Pollard, Gayle Hunnicutt, Joan Shawlee and Norman Alden.

The Rocket Man (1954)

When an orphan (George Winslow) receives a genuine ray gun that compels anyone caught in its beam to tell the truth, he uses it to prevent his orphange from being shut down and to help a young couple (Anne Francis, John Agar) fall in love. Co-written by Lenny Bruce (yes, that Lenny Bruce) and directed by Oscar Rudolph (TWIST AROUND THE CLOCK). A family comedy with science fiction trimmings, the movie feels more like a 1960s live action Disney film than a 20th Century Fox release. It's innocuous to the nth degree without any of Lenny Bruce's razor wit. About the best I can say about it is that the cast doesn't embarass themselves (well, maybe not John Agar but he seems to embarass himself in just about every movie I've seen him in). With Charles Coburn, Spring Byington, Beverly Garland and Stanley Clements.