No Karfreitag Film Festival this year–the weather was nice, and there nothing on the list I wanted to see except Ghostbusters and Top Gun, which were not available. We had a nice walk with a Biergarten stop, and listened to some baseball.
(Please feel free to blame “nice weather” and “baseball” for the curt and cryptic reviews. I have been folding in on myself.)
The Tingler (1959)
YouTube, original English
This Vincent Price vehicle must have been crazy fun to see in a theater when it was new, even if your local theater didn’t have the audience-participation enhancements. Now it’s just enjoyably silly. Why am I not watching more movies like this?
I do have mixed feelings about his character choosing to experiment on his wife instead of on a black cat.
Live by Night (2016)
Cable (Warner Film), original English
Ben Affleck directs Ben Affleck in a screenplay by Ben Affleck. Italian mob vs Irish bootleggers vs Cuban rumrunners; his character is a dedicated criminal, but also sees himself as somehow noble, particularly defending his Cuban business partners against the Klan.
Nice costumes, excellent sets, but the story needed some work. I am uncertain if Ben Affleck was unable to emote while gazing into the camera because of the plastic fillers, or because he is Ben Affleck.
Laura (1944)
arte, Deutsch
Did not like it as much as I expected to from the teaser in the Mediathek; the love story felt improbable. But I did enjoy looking at Dana Andrews, and the sets and costumes, and I am always interested in how B&W movies make use of light and shadow to convey mood.
Surprise: Vincent Price, looking somewhat mainstream.
Born to Ride (1991)
Cable (Warner Film), original English
Remember, dear readers, I don’t look at the IMDB until after I have seen the film. In the program listing, I saw “John Stamos” and “motorcycle” and “army”: Instant press of the record button. About twenty minutes in I realized that this is an Elvis movie! Stamos was going to be the next movie-Elvis! Alas.
Stamos plays a local motorcycle enthusiast/mechanic in 1938 who is sentenced by a criminal court judge to join Fort Manning’s new motorcycle infantry unit, curiously comprised of men who can only ride horses. Without any basic training or haircut, he is made their instructor. To rub salt into the wounded pride of the unit’s former ranking officer (Cougar from Top Gun), the colonel’s daughter falls for the new bad boy. But he gets them trained–lots of physical and verbal comedy–and ready for a secret mission rescuing a scientist and his daughter from Nazis in Spain (Mr Radish was reminded of Top Secret!, which I need to see again.)
Implausibility aside, the movie is an intensely enjoyable romp, and I feel sad that my HS peer group, half of whom was motorcycle-crazy, never discovered this one upon release. The anachronistic soundtrack by the Georgia Satellites was similarly underrated. I can see this again next year, if it comes back around. I haven’t been seeing enough movies that are just plain fun, no social messages, no artistic pretentions.
There Was a Crooked Man… (1970)
Cable (Warner Film), original English
Speaking of artistic pretentions… All-star cast, but I was never really certain what was going on. Is this a jailbreak film? A study of male friendships/rivalries? A treatise on prison reform? Kirk Douglas plays a bank robber in a 19th-century western territory, sentenced to time in a prison fort along with Burgess Meredith, Hume Cronyn, Victor French, Alan Hale, etc. He’s hidden half a million dollars in a secret snake-filled location, and lots of inmates get in on his complex and detailed escape plan for a share in it. Meanwhile, new warden (Peter Fonda) is embarking on a program of improvement–better hygiene, food, art. The last act was surprising and annoying. Spoiler alert: Everyone dies except the warden.
Space Cowboys (2000)
Cable (Warner Film), original English
Another all-star cast with another implausible set-up and predictable storyline; late-summer big-budget blockbuster that I missed in release. Lots of CGI, but it didn’t replace the acting, it just aided the story–it truly is possible, kids! Enjoyable evening on the couch, although I found my mind wandering during the long mechanical scenes.
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Cable (Warner Film), original English
Next up, a classic with fifty years of cites, references, and parodies that I had somehow never seen in its entirety. It was hard to imagine seeing it in 1968, not knowing the punch at the end.
This is the first Jerry Goldsmith soundtrack I have hated. It was relentlessly atonal. The makeup was crazy amazing, and there was a lot to look at in the sets.
Fun trivia: The IMDB says it is only one of two G-rated movies to feature nudity. Read the whole trivia page, it’s fascinating.
Poseidon also has a great post with lots of screen-shots and gossip.
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
Cable (Warner Film), original English
The sequel, again with Charlton Heston. This was less interesting/fun; felt more like a no-nukes protest than an exploration of this strange ape planet. Interesting costumes. Fight scenes ridiculous.
Anonymous (2011)
Netflix, original English
“What if Shakespeare didn’t really write the plays?” Absolutely fabulous super costumes. Doomed love story, some beheadings; I’ve forgotten most of it except for the absolutely fabulous super costumes, and Derek Jacobi giving the opening and closing monologues (just like in the plays, get it?).
Unforgiven (1992)
Cable (Warner Film), original English
Warning for brutal abuse of women.
Mr Radish really wanted to see this, so we did. I could have skipped it. I know it won a lot of awards, but the scenery didn’t make up for the senseless violence. Meh.
Evil Under the Sun (1982)
arte Mediathek, original English
Another Agatha Christie story, with Ustinov as Poirot. Much like Appointment with Death–all-star cast, excellent costuming, a little murder but nothing too disturbing. (I did not recognize Roddy McDowell without his ape suit.) Really beautiful scenery. Why am I not watching more movies like this?
Did you know Peter Ustinov had Ethiopian ancestry? Spartacus can keep its Oscars.
Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
Cable (Warner Film), original English
WARNING: Brutal cruelty to animals
So here’s how the third movie is set up: Zira and Cornelius, scientists and talking chimpanzees, were slingshotted back to 1972 at the end of the second movie–off-camera, obviously. It’s cute and funny, right up until the US president orders a forced abortion and sterilization of the married pair. The story gets cruel and sad real quick. I needed three Rick and Mortys and a Derry Girls before I could calm down/cheer up enough to sleep.
Ricardo Montalban plays the only heroic character.
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Cable (Warner Film), original English
I chose the original version, but as the German voice actors in the synchro version don’t sing translations of the lyrics were provided. There is a chance I saw this at school at some point, possibly in conjunction with having the book read aloud to us, but I don’t have any clear memory of sitting through the whole thing.
The first half was boring, and the second half was fifty years of cites, references, parodies. And memes. Super colors, at least, AND: it was filmed in Bavaria. In a news bit, the Frauenkirche is clearly visible behind a “British” reporter; the final scene with the elevator was filmed in Nördlingen (link is to photos I took a few years ago). I recognized the city wall.
The Chase (1946)
arte Mediathek, original English
More outstanding use of light and shadow, but the love story between the chauffeur and the abused wife (always dressed to the nines, even for a quiet evening locked up at home alone) of his gangster employer felt forced. Part of the action is later revealed to be a hallucination, but the cuts were unclear and I felt a little insulted by the brush-off. The story takes place in Miami and Cuba–wealthy Floridians used to just pop off to Cuba for fun weekends–great time capsule, with the sets and scenery, but the “chase” was slow-speed and the gimmick at the end was pretty heavily foreshadowed.
Official Competition (2021)
BR, Deutsch
The German title of this Spanish satire of the film industry was Der beste Film aller Zeiten, “The Best Film of All Time.” An aging, heirless billionaire decides to make the greatest movie Spain has ever seen, as his legacy. He buys the rights to an award-winning novel and hires a prize-winning director (Penelope Cruz), who in turn hires an international film star (Antonio Banderas), and prize-winning art film actor (Oscar Martínez). The script is about two brothers, personality opposites, and their relationship after a long estrangement.
We never see any of the film’s production; most of movie is the director forcing her stars to participate in ridiculous team-building type exercises. Almost all of the action takes place in a crazy huge brutalist building–possibly an arts school? I can’t find any English or German info on the location–but the angles and colors and light give the scenes a classic-art composition feel. Goya nominee for Best Cinematography, and deservedly so. We also see Banderas at home, acting like a human and not like a magazine image, and Martínez’s marriage. The ending was hilarious.
I had low expectations of such a recent film being shown on the BR, but it was really enjoyable.
4 Comments on “March Movie Magic”