Monthly Archives: June 2014

1957 Films, Drama, Hope Lange, Lana Turner, Leon Ames, Russ Tamblyn

Peyton Place-1957

Leave a comment

Peyton Place-1957

Director Mark Robson

Starring Lana Turner, Lee Phillips

Scott’s Review #6

60010779

Reviewed June 17, 2014

Grade: B+

Pure scandalous soap opera, but well made. The sleepy, seemingly wholesome, quiet New England town is captured well, but secrets lie within its white picket fences (don’t they always).

Topics such as adultery, rape, murder, and suicide are tackled.

Not sure I quite agree with the slew of Oscar nominations it received that year (1957), but acting-wise, Hope Lange was the standout for me.

It reminded me of the syrupy prime-time soaps of the 1980s, but certainly much better written and acted than they were.

This is not intended to demean the film as it is interesting, engaging, and dramatic, with good characterization, but when analyzed, it is fluff, just good fluff.

Oscar Nominations: Best Motion Picture, Best Director-Mark Robson, Best Actress-Lana Turner, Best Supporting Actor-Arthur Kennedy, Russ Tamblyn, Best Supporting Actress-Hope Lange, Diane Varsi, Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, Best Cinematography

1953 Films, Billy Wilder, War, William Holden

Stalag 17-1953

Leave a comment

Stalag 17-1953

Director Billy Wilder

Starring William Holden, Don Taylor

Scott’s Review #5

994592

Reviewed June 16, 2014

Grade: B

Stalag 17 (1953), a film by famed director Billy Wilder, tackles the theme of POWs during World War II.

This film reminds me a bit of the acclaimed television show M*A*S*H in that the comedy elements are similar (men in drag, a light subplot of one soldier’s obsession with Betty Grable).

However, this film is heavy on the drama side too and a deep cynicism that network television shows cannot match.

A group of American soldiers is held in a POW camp by Germans. Somehow any escape plan is realized by the Germans. A whodunit ensues to find out who exactly the mole is and what his motivations are. Liberties are taken- I doubt the real German soldiers would be as nice as they are depicted in the film.

William Holden stars as the cynic of the camp and the likely suspect, but is he the culprit?

This film is a hybrid of other Wilder films- the cross-dressing theme in Some Like it Hot (1959) is depicted and shades of the darkness of Sunset Boulevard (1950) (also starring Holden) appear.

The black and white are effective in eliciting the confinement of the camp.

Good film though a predictable “seen this all before” element nagged throughout.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Director-Billy Wilder, Best Actor-William Holden (won), Best Supporting Actor-Robert Strauss

2013 Films, Independent, Indie Adventure

All is Lost-2013

Leave a comment

All is Lost-2013

Director-J.C. Chandor

Starring-Robert Redford

Scott’s Review #4

70266673

Reviewed June 16, 2014

Grade: D

The accolades heaped on this film from 2013 escape me.

Some felt that this was Robert Redford’s late in life masterpiece. I’ve never found him to be a great talent as an actor, and while not horrible in this film, it is certainly not the Oscar-worthy performance being bandied about.

Many actors would play this role better- Tom Hanks, Sean Penn come to mind.

Beyond the performance, there are facets of the film that are unexplained (how did he become shipwrecked? Why did ships pass by not noticing him? who is he???).

Much of the movie dragged and a feeling of having seen this film many times before kept gnawing at me, albeit without a one-person cast, which I give it respect for.

But castaway, shipwreck movies have been around since the beginning. It had the standard plot developments of this type of film- broken equipment, sharks, storms, which made it feel quite contrived.

Fail.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best Feature, Best Director-J.C. Chandor, Best Male Lead-Robert Redford, Best Cinematography

2014 Films, Adventure

Noah-2014

Leave a comment

Noah-2014

Director-Darren Aronofsky

Starring-Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly

Scott’s Review #3

70295061

Reviewed June 16, 2014

Grade: B+

Upon hearing that Darren Aronofsky, a very dark director (Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream, and The Wrestler), would be tackling a religious film piqued my curiosity.

Those expecting an uplifting, happy film about “god” will be disappointed.

This film is generating a great deal of controversy from the religious folks, which I find interesting, but nobody wants me to go off on a religious tangent.

The film tells the tale of the biblical figure, Noah, and his quest to do God’s will through the signs he is given.

It takes incredible talent to make a film like this not seem silly and Aronofsky, Russell Crowe, and Jennifer Connelly succeed.

The film is quite dark and at times Noah comes off as more of a madman than a savior.

The visual effects and the musical score are wonderfully effective.

A few plots holes, but a nice fantasy/apocalypse type film.

2014 Films, Action, Super Hero

The Amazing Spider-Man 2-2014

Leave a comment

The Amazing Spider-Man 2-2014

Director-Marc Webb

Starring-Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone

Scott’s Review #2

70293702

Reviewed June 16, 2014

Grade: B+

Super-hero movies are not my top genre (although admittedly, I end up seeing most of them). They are fun, popcorn-type films not to be over-analyzed or taken too seriously.

One thing that confuses me is the seemingly constant reboots of the franchises and forgetting the previous installments. Wasn’t this series just made with Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst not too long ago?

That being said, the strongest part of this film is the chemistry between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, which is undeniable and great to watch.

Sally Field adds life to anything she appears in. The more “human” parts of the film are the best.

The special effects/CGI are admirable. I enjoyed how one “villain” is a close friend of Peter Parker’s, wonderfully played by Dane DeHaan. His character has many nuances.

The other villain, Electro, played by Jamie Foxx, is silly and his story almost seems botched. His motivations are weak. He hates Spider-Man and wants to destroy the city because of a contrived misunderstanding??

I do not want to over-analyze, as this is a fun, enjoyable summer film.

Enjoy.

2013 Films, Adventure

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire-2013

Leave a comment

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire-2013

Director-Francis Lawrence

Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson

Scott’s Review #1

70278934

Reviewed June 16, 2014

Grade: B-

I confess to not having read any of the Hunger Games books, so I am critiquing the film on its film merits only with no knowledge of the books.

Interestingly, I graded the first Hunger Games film a B- and that is what I am giving this one, almost for the same reason.

The first hour of the film sets up the second hour, but it is unnecessarily drawn out. In fact, at times it’s slightly dull. The meat of the film then takes off and the film is quite good though the film still does not completely hold my attention throughout.

First and foremost, Jennifer Lawrence is the best part of the film- she has the charisma and likability to carry it off. The chemistry between the two leads (Lawrence and Hutcherson) is there so there is certainly rooting value for the couple.

The third part of the triangle is weak (Liam Hemsworth has far too little screen time to make him a viable rooting factor).

Donald Sutherland is wonderful as the evil President, but Philip Seymour Hoffman seems to phone in his performance and the character is not all that intriguing.

The mood of the film and visuals (fog, train sequences) are great there is modern darkness to the film, and the premise and wondering who will die next during the games are interesting.

The somewhat twist at the end was effective.

To summarize nice characters/acting, great looking film, mediocre story, and slow pacing in the first act.