Marriage On The Rocks (1965)

Married for 19 years, the wife (Deborah Kerr) of an advertising executive (Frank Sinatra) is bored and frustrated by his lack of attention to her. She coerces him into a second honeymoon in Mexico and that's when everything really falls apart! Directed by Jack Donohue (BABES IN TOYLAND), this is a tedious domestic comedy that feels like a half hour sitcom dragged out to two hours. There's also a slightly sexist undercoating to the whole affair. Comedy was never Deborah Kerr's forte and her shrill performance here renders her unappealing. Sinatra comes off well but Dean Martin as his swinger best friend does his (by now) tired lech act in place of a performance. The movie's portrayal of Mexico and Mexicans is particularly offensive and unfunny. If you want to see Kerr in see through negligees and doing The Monkey (or was it the Watusi) at a disco, you might want to give it a shot, otherwise, an easy skip. With Cesar Romero, Nancy Sinatra, Hermione Baddeley, Tony Bill and Joi Lansing.

Dante's Peak (1997)

When unsual seismic activity is detected in a charming Pacific Northwest town, a volcanologist (Pierce Brosnan) is called in to investigate. Certain that a long dormant volcano is about to erupt, he convinces the town's mayor (Linda Hamilton) to take action. The race is on to start an evacuation of the town before the impending eruption. Directed by Roger Donaldson (NO WAY OUT), this disaster film was one of two big budget volcano disaster movies released in 1997. The other was VOLCANO with Tommy Lee Jones. This was marginally the better of the two. Handsomely shot by Andrzej Bartkowiak (PRIZZI'S HONOR) in wide screen Panavision, the movie is quite entertaining until the last half hour when it hits a wall and never recovers. Alas, other than the two leads, there aren't many characters in the movie. In disaster films like TOWERING INFERNO and POSEIDON AVENTURE, there are a multitude of characters to invest our emotions with and to care about their fate. Here, the minor characters are ciphers and worse, they're stupid and do dumb things including two bratty children who put the adults in harm's way. Who cares if they live or die? The special effects are first rate, I'll give it that. With Charles Hallahan and Elizabeth Hoffman.

Kentucky (1938)

A feud between two families begins during the Civil War and lasts for three generations. But in 1938 when two family heirs fall in love, will the feud finally end? Based on the short story THE LOOK OF EAGLES by John Taintor Foote and directed by David Butler (CALAMITY JANE). Set against the backdrop of Kentucky horseracing, this Technicolor production suffers from the inexplicable nostalgia 1930s Hollywood had for the Old South. The portrayal of its black characters is cringe inducing particularly that of Ben (George Reed), a shiftless deceitful farmhand. The romantic leads, Loretta Young and Richard Greene, are okay and Young looks lovely in Technicolor but the film belongs to Walter Brennan as Young's cantankerous Uncle. His performance here earned him the second of his three supporting actor Oscar wins. Not a bad movie but decidedly unremarkable. With Karen Morley, Douglass Dumbrille, Moroni Olsen and Madame Sul Te Wan.

Crimes Of Passion (1984)

A fashion designer (Kathleen Turner) leads a double life. By night she is a prostitute who's attracted the unwanted atttention of two men: a sexually frustrated private detective (John Laughlin) hired by her employer (Norman Burton) and a psychopathic priest (Anthony Perkins) who wants to "save" her. Directed by Ken Russell (WOMEN IN LOVE). Cinema's notorious enfant terrible is at it again! This may be Russell's most insane movie and considering his filmography, that's saying a lot. It's a trainwreck of a movie but you can't take your eyes off it. I don't think I've ever seen a sleazier movie and Russell seems to be getting a kick by shoving our faces in the outrageousness of it all. The dialogue is nutty. Example: "You wear your anguish like a breakaway chastity belt". Huh? Who talks like that? I'd call the movie pretentious if we were supposed to take it seriously but I'm not so sure that Russell isn't having us on. In his most over the top performance, Perkins psychotic "priest" makes Norman Bates look like a choir boy. Turner is actually quite good (she won the L.A. film critics best actress award for her work here) though I sometimes wondered if she was in on the joke. As the private eye, Laughlin is a hunk alright but he's terrible and as bland as unsalted butter. The film was cut to avoid an X rating but I watched the unrated version. With Bruce Davison, Annie Potts, Louise Sorel, Gerald S. O'Laughlin and the legendary acting coach, Peggy Feury.

Devil's Doorway (1950)

A decorated Civil War hero (Robert Taylor) returns home with hopes of prospering as a cattleman on his family's land. But he is a Native American and thus has no citizenship, no property rights and so with no recourse, he must fight to hold on to his land. Directed by Anthony Mann (FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE), this is a startling film to come out of 1950s Hollywood and from MGM yet! The film is decidely pro Indian as it examines the racism against Native Americans who are forced to give up their lands with no rights as "civilization" encroaches on their domain. The Indians aren't condescended to and the downbeat ending is a reminder of the genocide of indigenous people by the white man. As if that wasn't enough, there's a touch of feminism as the lawyer (Paula Raymond) helping the Indians is a woman. It's a strong enough indictment that one can overlook how Robert Taylor is miscast as a full blooded Indian. Considering its subject matter, the movie turned a modest profit. The one minor flaw is Louis Calhern who overdoes his villainous racist lawyer who sets the wheels in motion that will leave death and destruction in its wake. With Spring Byington, Marshall Thompson, James Mitchell, Edgar Buchanan and Rhys Williams.

As Good As It Gets (1997)

A novelist (Jack Nicholson) with a severe obsessive compulsive disorder as well as mean spirited mouth is forced to babysit his neighbor's (Greg Kinnear) dog after the neighbor is brutally attacked and beaten. Add to that his financial assistance to a waitress (Helen Hunt) with a sick child and he slowly attempts to become a better person. Directed by James L. Brooks. Brooks was a very successful director in the 1980s and 1990s with movies like TERMS OF ENDEARMENT and BROADCAST NEWS and this film was not only a box office hit but Oscars went to Nicholson and Hunt for their performances. Nicholson is the reason to see the film. It's one of his very best performances and although I have reservations about making a racist and homophobic misanthrope into a cuddly curmudgeon, his performance is flawless. In fact, the acting is all around excellent (though I find Hunt's best actress Oscar win a head scratcher). I just wish that the writing didn't seem so calculated. It hits all its marks perhaps too precisely. There's no freshness or vitality to the screenplay. With Cuba Gooding Jr., Shirley Knight, Skeet Ulrich, Bibi Osterwald, Harold Ramis, Maya Rudolph and Jill, a Griffon Bruxelois that manages to steal scenes away from Nicholson, no easy feat.

Idiot's Delight (1939)

A vaudeville song and dance and man (Clark Gable) on tour with his blonde chorus girls meets a Russian countess (Norma Shearer) at a plush hotel in the Italian Alps. She bears a startling resemblance to an acrobat he worked with years ago in Omaha, Nebraska. Based on the Pulitzer winning play by Robert E. Sherwood (who adapted his play for the screen) and directed by Clarence Brown (NATIONAL VELVET). Sherwood made some major changes in the play's transition from stage to screen. The play takes place entirely in the hotel lounge but Sherwood has added a lengthy prologue which details the history of the Shearer and Gable characters many years before they meet again in the hotel. The overt political aspects of the play are also watered down as not to offend certain foreign governments as war clouds hovered over Europe. Luckily, Norma Shearer is not playing one of her great lady parts. She seems relaxed and having fun as the phony countess and although not a singer and dancer, Gable manages to pull of his Puttin' On The Ritz number and it's a charmer. I could have done without the cringing finale with Gable and Shearer singing a hymn as planes bombard their hotel but apparently that's from the play. With Edward Arnold, Charles Coburn, Burgess Meredith, Joseph Schildkraut, Virginia Grey and Laura Hope Crews.

The Fabelmans (2022)

After seeing his first movie (DeMille's GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH), a young boy (Mateo Zoryan) becomes fascinated with films and using his father's 8 millimeter camera soon begins making movies. As he grows into a teenager (Gabriel LaBelle), he continues his love for the medium as his personal life begins to deteriorate. Directed by Steven Spielberg (JAWS), this is a semi-auto biographical look back at his family and his love of movie making. I so wanted to like this movie but I found it a major disappointment. It's a more than decent film and the performances are excellent but I never found that passion for cinema that drove Spielberg into becoming one of the most notable film directors of his generation. It was all over the place in Chazelle's BABYLON but it's conspicuously absent here. What we get is a better than average coming of age story. As the mother, Michelle Williams has the showiest role and she's getting lots of justified praise but for me, Paul Dano as the father gives the film's best performance. It's not a showy role but he inhabits it so quietly that his face and body language subtly tells us all we need to know. Perhaps I was expecting too much. I was expecting it to soar but it never left the ground but as I said, it's still more than decent. With Seth Rogen, Judd Hirsch, Jeannie Berlin, Robin Bartlett, Chloe East and director David Lynch as director John Ford.

Un Condé (aka The Cop) (1970)

When a crackdown on drugs leads to his partner's (Bernard Fresson) killing, a police inspector (Michel Bouquet) decides to take the law in his own hands and thus an honest cop becomes as corrupt as the criminals he's after. Based on the novel LA MORT D'UN CONDE by Pierre Lesou and directed by Yves Boisset (DOG DAY). This morally ambiguous crime thriller has no heroes. The fine line between the bad guys and the good guys becomes considerably thinner as the movie plays out until, with no one to empathize with, you throw your hands up in the air and just wait for the movie to reach its destination. Ahead of its time with its anti-police stance, it's a violent film that necessitated some cuts before its release in France. It's extremely well done and one has to give a nod to Boisset for not compromising the nihilistic material by giving it a conscience. With Francoise Fabian, Gianni Garko, Adolfo Celli, Michel Constantin, Rufus, Theo Sarapo and Anne Carrere.

The Fearmakers (1958)

A Korean war veteran (Dana Andrews) returns home after being tortured and brainwashed as a POW and resumes work at a public relations firm in Washington D.C. He discovers things aren't quite as he left them as he uncovers a hotbed of political manipulation. Directed by Jacques Tourneur (OUT OF THE PAST), this is a typical slice of 1950s red paranoia (aka the commies are coming) masquerading as a crime thriller film and not very subtly either. Tourneur provides a nice noir-ish atmosphere to the proceedings but honestly, the whole thing borders on laughable. As Samuel Fuller proved, it's possible to make a red paranoia film (PICK UP ON SOUTH STREET) that's actually a quality piece of cinema but Tourneur can't do much with the pulp in this instance. With Mel Torme, Dick Foran, Veda Ann Borg, Kelly Thordsen and Marilee Earle. 

Manhattan (1979)

A 42 year old Manhattan native (Woody Allen) has a job he hates, a 17 year old girlfriend (Mariel Hemingway in an Oscar nominated performance) and an ex-wife (Meryl Streep) who's writing a tell all book about their marriage. He soon begins an affair with the mistress (Diane Keaton) of his married best friend (Michael Murphy). Co-written and directed by Woody Allen, this is his paen to New York City. He and his cinematogrpher Gordon Willis make New York seem like the most thrilling city in the world. However, this acclaimed film (often considered Allen's masterpiece) hasn't aged well. Where the idea of a 42 year old man dating a high school student once seemed "okay" (or it didn't seem to bother anyone in 1979), today it seems uncomfortable. Watching it, I couldn't help thinking "Where are this girl's parents?". Allen has conveniently eliminated them from the movie. Knowing the director's personal history also brings questions into play. That aside, one wonders why we should care at all about any of these privileged intellectual (arguably pseudo intellectuals) neurotics. On the plus side, there's Gordon Willis' gorgeous B&W cinematography (Allen's first film in scope), so stunning any frame from the film could hang on a museum wall. Then there's the inspired use of George Gershwin's music as an underscore. Also, there are the frequent Allen witty quips, the man can write, you have to give him that. With Anne Byrne, Wallace Shawn and Karen Allen.

A Weekend With Lulu (1961)

A pair of young lovers (Leslie Phillips, Shirley Eaton) plan a romantic weekend on the coast in a caravan called Lulu which is owned by the brother of a friend (Bob Monkhouse). Their plans are altered when her overbearing mother (Irene Handl) decides to come along. And that's just the beginning of a disastrous weekend. Directed by John Paddy Carstairs (DANCING WITH CRIME), this middling British comedy offers few laughs. Granted, I'm not the biggest fan of British comedy. I'm rather indifferent to the Ealing comedies, can't abide Monty Python and the Carry On franchise proved that Brits have lowbrow tastes in their comedies just like the rest of the world. This one is a silly venture with two poor specimens of English manhood played by Phillips and Monkhouse making asses of themselves in France. The one bright note comes from Irene Handl as the oblivious mother whose tart delivery is a pleasure. It's not terrible but I laughed only once, not a recommendation for a comedy. With Alfred Marks, Sid James, Graham Stark, Judith Furse and Eugene Deckers, whose French accent keeps slipping.