A theater director (Adam Driver) and his actress wife (Scarlett Johansson) are divorcing. While he stays in New York directing a play, she relocates to Los Angeles to do a TV series. But nothing has prepared them for the enormity and emotional pain that divorce brings, not to mention the expensive business that attorneys make off divorce. Directed by Noah Baumbach (MARGOT AT THE WEDDING), the title is a misnomer. It should have been called DIVORCE STORY. This long (it's over two hours) film is a raw and uncompromising look at the disintegration of a marriage and the ensuing divorce process. It puts a maudlin piece of mainstream cinema on the same subject like KRAMER VS. KRAMER to shame. At times, it can be painful to sit through as long withheld rages come spewing forth but it's an honest look without any sentimental sheen. The acting is superb with Scarlett Johansson giving a career best performance and Adam Driver's delivery of Sondheim's BEING ALIVE should bring tears to your eyes. The movie does have a bit of fat could have been edited out. For example, there's a scene where Driver accidentally cuts himself with a knife that doesn't add anything to the narrative. Devastating and powerful. With Laura Dern (terrific as a jaded divorce attorney), Alan Alda, Ray Liotta, Wallace Shawn and Julie Hagerty.
After a murder suspect (Gene Barry) vows vengeance on the cops that beat him up, a cop (Max Showalter) is killed. The suspect skips town to a Mexican border town where he's followed by a police detective (Sterling Hayden) determined to prove his guilt and arrest him. Based on the short story CRY COPPER by J. Robert Bren and Gladys Atwater and directed by Jerry Hopper (SECRET OF THE INCAS). There are no surprises in this noir potboiler. It's hard to warm up to Hayden's protagonist as he's really nothing more than a thug with a badge and we've seen enough of these crime thrillers to know that Grahame's good bad girl most likely won't survive the film's denouement. It's moderately entertaining but I'll probably barely remember it in a month. With Chuck Connors and Marcia Henderson.
A young girl (Danielle Darrieux) in an orphanage corresponds with a pen pal that she found through an ad in the newspaper. She falls in love with the romantic stranger named Pierre but when she arranges a meeting, she is met by an older man (Fernand Ledoux), who's plain looking and rather shy. He states he is a stand in for the real Pierre (Louis Jourdan), who is his ward. Directed by Henri Decoin, this is an innocuous romantic comedy with some unsavory aspects to it. The older man played by Ledoux practically forces the young girl to come home with him against her will, Jourdan's character seems shallow and unworthy of the girl but even Darrieux's naive orphan comes across as a bit of a ninny. The film lacks the charm that a romcom needs to make it work and Darrieux at age 25 isn't quite believable as a young teen in an orphanage. It's no better or no worse than the many mindless youth romcoms that Hollywood has churned out for years. I did laugh out loud when a spinster announces, "You'll enter over my dead body!" although I'm not sure that double entendre was intentional or my mind was in the gutter. With Daniel Gelin and Jean Tissier.
Set in a small Louisiana parish, a close knit group of Southern ladies congregate around the local beauty parlor. The story opens with the wedding of Shelby (Julia Roberts in an Oscar nominated performance) and her mother's (Sally Field) concern for her health and her future. The bride to be suffers from a serious form of diabetes which makes childbirth dangerous. Based on the play by Robert Harling (who adapted his play for the screen) and directed by Herbert Ross (THE GOODBYE GIRL). Harling opens up his play considerably which on the stage took place entirely at the beauty salon owned by Truvy (Dolly Parton) and had an all female cast. If you didn't know it, you'd never guess its theatrical roots. If it seems overly calculated and sentimental at times, the humor and wonderful ensemble cast override any such concerns (or at least they did mine). It's warm and it's funny but also quite poignant. The delicate score is by Georges Delerue. With Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, Tom Skerritt, Sam Shepard and Dylan McDermott.
A psychiatrist (Christopher Lee) experiments with a drug that will release people and animals from their inhibitions. When he begins taking the serum himself, he finds himself descending into pure evil. Loosely based on DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE by Robert Louis Stevenson and directed by Stephen Weeks. The characters of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are called Dr. Marlowe and Mr. Blake in this adaptation of the Stevenson work. Unlike most of the filmed adaptations of the novel, the film eschews any romantic or sexual interest (though he does murder a prostitute who ridicules his looks) for the title characters and concentrates on the psychological aspects (the doctor is a follower of Freud) of the story. The special effects are minimal, we never see the actual transformation of Marlowe to Blake, just the before and after. Christopher Lee is excellent and doesn't overdo the "monster" aspects of his character and keeps it real. The film has a nice look to it thanks to the art direction team and the lensing of Moray Grant (VAMPIRE LOVERS). The score is by Carl Davis (FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN). Filmed in 3D but never released in that format theatrically. With Peter Cushing and Mike Raven.
An insurance investigator (Richard Todd) working out of London but who has experience in Africa is sent to South West Africa to oversee a project by a shady American (Dale Robertson) who is dredging for diamonds in shallow waters. Very loosely based on (or should I say inspired by) SANDERS OF THE RIVER by Edgar Wallace and directed by Robert Lynn. This pulp action-adventure movie benefits from the South African and Namibian locations shot in Techniscope by Stephen Dade (ZULU). There's not much you can say about a movie like this. It's serviceable but predictable, the kind of film you can only pay half attention to yet still follow. Its leading men (Todd and Robertson) had seen better days but still enough of a "name" for the international market. With Marianne Koch, Heinz Drache, Elga Andersen, Derek Nimmo and George Leech.
Dr. Evil (Mike Myers) has developed a time machine that will take him back to the 1960s where he will be able to steal the "mojo" of his nemesis, the super spy Austin Powers (Mike Myers). Directed by Jay Roach, this was the second of the three Austin Powers comedies following the 1997 hit, AUSTIN POWERS: INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY (GOLDMEMBER would follow in 2002). As far as sequels go, this is a very good one that introduces two new characters to the series with different results. The first, Mini-Me (Vernon Troyer) is a hilarious addition to the franchise but the second, Fat Bastard (Mike Myers) isn't funny (unless you're partial to obesity and feces jokes) and the film stumbles every time he's on screen. But there are some truly hysterical scenes, notably the silhouette tent sequence with Myers and Heather Graham who replaces Elizabeth Hurley as the romantic interest after Hurley's cameo at the film's beginning. George S. Clinton's score cleverly channels John Barry and Michel Legrand among others. The large cast includes Robert Wagner, Rob Lowe, Michael York, Woody Harrelson, Tim Robbins, Will Ferrell, Willie Nelson, Elvis Costello, Burt Bacharah, Rebecca Romijn and Mindy Sterling.
A perennial bachelor (Roland Young) loathes the idea of getting married and instead prefers playing the field. But his strong willed mother (Kate Cutler) wants grandchildren so she is determined to marry him off but he has other ideas. Directed by Alexander Korda (PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII), this trifle of a romantic comedy is rather sweet even if it's dated in its outlook. The elitism of the inbred British aristocracy can be a bore at times but one can't take a piffle like this and attach a political context (in this case, the class system) to it even though the film touches on it: two aristocratic twins (Wendy Barrie, Joan Gardner) want to marry two commoners (Maurice Evans, John Loder) even though it infuriates their father (George Grossmith Jr.) who is an Earl. It's kind of odd seeing a character actor like Roland Young (TOPPER) in a romantic lead but he's quite charming. The cast includes Merle Oberon in her first leading role, Lady Tree and Morton Selten.
The day after his 85th birthday which was attended by all members of his dysfunctional family, an internationally famous mystery writer (Christopher Plummer) is found dead. Ostensibly a suicide but there's suspicion of foul play by a famous detective (Daniel Craig) who was hired to look into the death. Directed by Rian Johnson (LOOPER), this is a humdinger of a whodunit. Johnson (who also wrote the screenplay) is obviously an Agatha Christie fanboy but he brings the Christie style into the 2000s! The actual "whodunit" is revealed fairly early on but as Craig's detective says, "There's an enormous hole in the mystery ..... like a donut" And it's that "donut hole" that propels the film and our interest in it forward. Something is missing from the puzzle and that something is one hell of a rollercoaster ride. Rian Johnson even slips in a political subtext that's quite relevant in today's culture. The ensemble cast is perfection with Ana De Armas (as Plummer's nurse) giving a breakthrough performance. Fans of Agatha Christie and murder mysteries (like myself) in general are in for a terrific treat. But even if you're not, give it a try. The multiple suspects ..... I mean cast includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Chris Evans, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, Katherine Langford and Jaeden Martell. Also with Lakeith Stanfield, Noah Segan, Edi Patterson, Frank Oz and K Callan.
A writer (James Caan) is having a difficult time adjusting to life as a widower. A series of unsuccessful dates pushed on him by his brother (Joseph Bologna) prove fruitless. But when he meets a recent divorcee (Marsha Mason in an Oscar nominated performance), who is an actress, he finds someone he can connect with and love blooms. Based on the play by Neil Simon and directed by Robert Moore (MURDER BY DEATH). For those of you too young to remember, from the mid 1960s to the early 1980s, Neil Simon was the most successful playwright in America. CHAPTER TWO is loosely based on Simon's second marriage to Mason and while there is the tinge of reality due to the circumstances, it also seems artificial in its execution. The characters talk in amusing one liners till things get all serious and Mason delivers a passionate monologue that would probably get applause if it was done in a theater. No surprise, Mason is excellent. As an actress, she "gets" Simon (3 of her 4 Oscar nominations were for Simon roles) and his lines flow naturally. No so for a miscast James Caan, who seems uncomfortable. Caan can do comedy but not this kind of clever bouncing back and forth repartee. The treacly score is by Marvin Hamlisch. With Valerie Harper, Debra Mooney and Isabel Cooley.
Two friends (Edmond O'Brien, Frank Lovejoy) on a fishing trip give a ride to a hitch-hiker (William Talman). This turns out to be a major mistake as the hitch-hiker is a homicidal and sadistic sociopath! Directed by Ida Lupino, this fact based film is based on the crime spree of one Billy Cook, who killed six people in a 22 day period in 1950. This is a tight and economical (it runs around 70 minutes) intense thriller and Lupino doesn't let up on the tension for a minute. I only wish I liked it more. Don't get me wrong, I did like it but I can't put my finger on it and give an explanation but given its reputation among film noir fans, I expected to really like it as opposed to just liking it well enough. O'Brien and Lovejoy are fine but it's William Talman who really sends shivers down your spine with his cold blooded "I hate everybody" attitude. The Lone Pine and Big Pine, California locations stand in for Mexico and Nicholas Musuraca's (OUT OF THE PAST) sharp B&W cinematography make the most of the landscapes.
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