Affeksjonsverdi (aka Sentimental Value) (2025)

After the death of their mother, two sisters (Renate Reinsve, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) must contend with the return home to Norway of their estranged father (Stellan Skarsgard). With his oldest daughter (Reinsve) who is an actress, he hopes to reconnect with her by casting her in his new film. Directed by Joachim Trier (THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD). Winner of the Grand Prix at last year's Cannes film festival and the Best International Feature at this year's Oscars. It's a stunning film that deals with the open wounds that a fractured family dynamic leave behind in their wake. It also addresses the connection between Art and what personal baggage (a crude way of putting it) artists bring to their art to humanize it. The four central performances (the fourth character is Elle Fanning as an American actress the father casts in his movie) are flawless, not a false note among them. They all received Oscar nominations. The film's emotional charge slowly and subtly creeps up on you, finally grabbing you in its hold by the film's end. With Anders Danielson Lie and Oyvind Hesjedal Loven.

The Egg And I (1947)

A newlywed wife (Claudette Colbert) follows her husband (Fred MacMurray) to the countryside where his dream is to become a chicken farmer. A city girl, she finds it difficult to adjust to the rural farm life. Based on the memoir by Betty MacDonald and directed by Chester Erskine (ANDROCLES AND THE LION). A charming if typical "fish out of water" tale that coasts along nicely until its last 15 minutes when it slogs to its sluggish end. Colbert and MacMurray had a nice chemistry through the seven movies (this one was the sixth) they made together. The film was a huge success at the box office and was an inspiration for the TV series, GREEN ACRES. The movie is stolen by Marjorie Main (in an Oscar nominated performance) as the slovenly neighbor with a shiftless husband (Percy Kilbride). Their teaming was so successful that they went on to make nine more movies playing their characters of Ma and Pa Kettle. With Richard Long, Louise Allbritton and Elisabeth Risdon.

Hillbillys In A Haunted House (1967)

Two country and western singers (Ferlin Husky, Joi Lansing) and their manager (Don Bowman) are en route to Nashville but become tired and stop to rest in an old abandoned mansion. Little do they know, but the basement of the old house is headquarters for the evil Madame Wong (Linda Ho) and her entourage of spies. Directed by Jean Yarbrough (SHE WOLF OF LONDON). I'm a sucker for haunted house comedies like THE CAT AND THE CANARY and GHOST BREAKERS. But this one is lame! For one thing it's a haunted house country & western musical comedy. But the songs aren't organic, the movie just stops dead in its tracks and someone sings a C&W song. The film ends with a 15 minute C&W jamboree. The whole thing comes off as amateur night. Somehow some movie veterans like Basil Rathbone, John Carradine and Lon Chaney Jr. were roped into this. With Merle Haggard, Molly Bee and Richard Webb.

Scener Ur Ett Aktenskap (aka Scenes From A Marriage) (1974)

During the tenth year of their marriage, a divorce attorney (Liv Ullmann) and a psychology reader (Erland Josephson) find their marriage at the crossroads. The marriage begins to disintegrate with the husband eventually leaving his wife for another woman. Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman (CRIES AND WHISPERS). Originally conceived as a five hour mini series for Swedish television in 1973, Bergman edited it down to three hours for a theatrical cut when released in the United States. I've seen the five hour cut and heresy I know but I think the three hour cut works just as well and frankly the thought of spending two more hours (the TV version can be seen in episodes) with the battling couple wasn't inviting. I found both protagonists unpleasant. Josephson's husband is an unfeeling brute (his beating of his wife was difficult to watch) and Ullmann's wife was a needy clinging vine suffocating her husband. By the film's end, she's liberated and he's weak and now married to others, they become adulterers resuming their "marriage". What holds the movie together for me is the acting which is superb. With Bibi Andersson (just one one scene but she kicks it out of the ballpark), Jan Malmsjo and Gunnel Lindblom.

The Caddy (1953)

The son (Dean Martin) of a San Francisco fisherman (Joseph Calleia) is expected to follow in his father's footsteps but he doesn't want to be a fisherman. With the help of his best friend (Jerry Lewis), he becomes proficient enough in golf to compete in tournaments and win money. Directed by Norman Taurog (BLUE HAWAII). One of Martin and Lewis's lesser vehicles. Lewis is in top form but the movie's lame script sabotages him. It makes his character more irritating than funny. Other than Lewis's sporadic highpoints, the only other notable thing about the movie is Martin's rendition of the Oscar nominated song That's Amore which became a big hit for him. As Martin's love interest, Donna Reed is wasted and had better luck with her other movie released the same month, FROM HERE TO ETERNITY. With Barbara Bates, Fred Clark, Clinton Sundberg, Nancy Kulp and Marshall Thompson.

Eve's Bayou (1997)

Set in rural Louisiana, a wife (Lynn Whitfield) and mother of three is forced  to admit that her family is falling apart due to her philandering husband (Samuel L. Jackson). Witnessing one of her father's infidelities, the youngest daughter (Jurnee Smollett) struggles to make sense of what she's seen. Written and directed by Kasi Lemmons (HARRIET) in her directorial debut. A complex coming of age tale with supernatural trimmings. Lemmon's direction takes us back in time and on a journey of fragmented memories, the occult and parental flaws that may or may not consist of abuse. The acting is superb, notably Debi Morgan giving a multi layered performance as an aunt with psychic abilities but unable to foresee her own tragedies. Just a lovely piece of film making. With Diahann Carroll, Meagan Good, Jake Smollett, Ethel Ayler, Vondie Curtis Hall and Roger Guenveur Smith.

David Copperfield (1935)

After the death of his father, a young boy (Freddie Bartholomew) and his mother (Elizabeth Allan) become very attached to each other. But when she remarries to a cruel and manipulative man (Basil Rathbone), he makes life miserable for them both. Based on the novel by Charles Dickens and directed by George Cukor (MY FAIR LADY). In the 1930s, MGM brought to the screen several "prestigious" literary adaptations of books and plays by the likes of William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Leo Tolstoy, Eugene O'Neill and Rudyard Kipling to name a handful. This version of DAVID COPPERFIELD is one the better page to screen adaptations and that's due to Cukor's meticulous direction which avoids the stuffiness and stiffness of those BBC adaptations. With one exception, an excellent cast. The one exception is W.C. Fields who seems out of place (he doesn't even bother to speak with an English accent). But most of the casting is spot on, notably Edna May Oliver as Aunt Betsey, Roland Young as Uriah Heep and Lennox Pawle as Mr. Dick. With Frank Lawton, Maureen O'Sullivan, Lionel Barrymore, Elsa Lanchester, Madge Evans, Lewis Stone, Una O'Connor and Jessie Ralph.

Meet The People (1944)

Set during WWII, a welder (Dick Powell) in a shipyard falls head over heels for a Broadway musical star (Lucille Ball). He is also a playwright and when he gives her a script for a musical show, she decides to star in it. Based on the Broadway revue and directed by Charles Reisner (THE BIG STORE). The kind of musical they don't make anymore ..... thank heaven! The barely there "plot" is a thin excuse to serve up a variety of singing, dancing and novelty acts that have nothing to do with the narrative. Unfortunately, with the exception of two numbers, the songs aren't very memorable and the novelty acts are the pits. The two standout numbers are I Like To Recognize The Tune, an ensemble number performed by June Allyson, Virginia O'Brien, Vaughn Monroe, Ziggie Talent and the King Sisters and the amusing Say That We're Sweethearts Again  sung by Virginia O'Brien. With Bert Lahr, Rags Ragland, Steven Geray and Spike Jones and the City Slickers.

Sirocco (1951)

Set in 1925 Damascus, where the Syrians are fighting against the French colonialists to get their country back. A black marketeer (Humphrey Bogart) has no moral scruples and is selling guns and ammunition to the Syrian rebels and making a handsome profit off it. Based on the novel COUP DE GRACE by Joseph Kessel (BELLE DE JOUR) and directed by Curtis Bernhardt (A STOLEN LIFE). I'm surprised that this is one of those movies that received negative reviews upon its initial release because I found it quite engrossing. Bogart isn't a hero here, he's a cynic who doesn't take sides and supplies guns and ammo because there's money in it regardless that both French and Syrians will die as a result. The film's real "hero" is the French Colonel (Lee J. Cobb in a restrained performance), who sees the futility of the war situation and tries for a truce. But he's not perfect either, he's obsessed with a chilly mistress (Marta Toren), who has nothing but contempt for him. The film eschews a romanticized "happy" ending (this is no CASABLANCA) for a cautiously optimistic one. With Everett Sloane, Zero Mostel, Gerald Mohr, Harry Guardino, Nick Dennis and Jeff Corey.

Wanted: The Sundance Woman (1976)

Etta Place (Katharine Ross), former lover of the outlaw known as the Sundance Kid, lives in anonymity with a former Hole-In-The-Wall gang member (Michael Constantine) and his wife (Katherine Helmond). But she has a bounty on her head and it isn't long before a lawman (Steve Forrest) tracks her down. Directed by Lee Philips (WINDMILLS OF THE GODS). A highly fictionalized or rather a totally fabricated account of Etta Place's life after she left Bolivia after the Sundance Kid was killed. This telefilm has her get involved with the Mexican revolution and romancing Pancho Villa (Hector Elizondo). As it is, it's a conventional western, certainly no worse than BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (sorry, I'm not a fan) with Ross reprising her role as Etta Place. There are two supporting performances that stand out: Elizondo as Pancho Villa and Stella Stevens as an ex-prostitute now running a respectable boarding house. With Steve Forrest, Warren Berlinger and Lucille Benson.

Gold Of The Seven Saints (1961)

Two fur trappers (Clint Walker, Roger Moore) find a fortune in gold nuggets in a Utah river. But it isn't long before friends (Robert Middleton), thieves (Gene Evans) and even a doctor (Chill Wills) all want a piece of the action. Based on the novel DESERT GUNS by Steve Frazee and directed by Gordon Douglas (TONY ROME). A drab little western that ambles along leisurely in the first half before exploding in action in the second half. The best thing about the movie is the handsome B&W wide screen cinematography by Joseph Biroc (BYE BYE BIRDIE). It's not boring but western fans have seen it all before and done better. I could see its tip of the hat to TREAUSRE OF THE SIERRA MADRE coming a mile away. With Leticia Roman, Lalo Rios and Christopher Dark.

Nickelodeon (1976)

Set in 1914, a struggling lawyer (Ryan O'Neal) is coerced into being a screenwriter (and later a director) at the urging of a film producer (Brian Keith). Meanwhile, he becomes smitten with a pretty girl (Jane Hitchcock) and makes her his leading lady. However, she has eyes for the leading man (Burt Reynolds). Directed by Peter Bogdanovich (THE LAST PICTURE SHOW). Bogdanovich wanted to make a nostalgic film about the rough "guerilla" days of making movies before Hollywood became the capital of movie making in America. The film is flat as a pancake and I'm not sure where the blame lies. Bogdanovich insisted it was studio interference while the film's original producer Irwin Winkler insists that Bogdanovich took a perfectly good screenplay and rewrote it and the result is a muddle. The film doesn't work on any level and some of the actors seem miscast, notably Burt Reynolds who at 40 is playing someone in their 20s. The film's leading lady Jane Hitchcock was a model making her film debut (she only made one other film before "retiring") and her inexperience shows. Also, the film doesn't give any indication that the burgeoning film makers have any talent. With Tatum O'Neal, John Ritter, Stella Stevens, George Gaynes and Priscilla Pointer.