1966 - REQUIEM FOR A SECRET AGENT - Italian Eurospy stuff part 1

During the height of the 60's James Bond film craze almost every studio and production company had to get in on the act.  The movie going audience was assaulted with spy movies in about every language possible.  Almost every major star had to make a spy thriller.  Few of the films actually captured the special qualities of the Sean Connery Bond films but it certainly wasn't for a lack of trying.

Chief among those making these ripoff James Bond films were the Italians.  Their formula seemed to be copy and rework as many scenes from the James Bond movies that they could.  In most cases imitation was not the sincerest form of flattery.  The films had too many girls, too many guns and too many car chases.  The leading men usually had a passing resemblance to Sean Connery.

Requiem for a Secret Agent is a good a place to start with this stuff as any.  The film starred Stewart Granger a one time star in the 1950's particularly at MGM.  The producers also were able to lure one of the James Bond women Daniela Bianchi in to the film as well. 

These films are basically critic proof.  I think it's safe to say they are what they are, cheap and kind of lame reworkings of the James Bond series.  Still the films have shall we say I certain charm to them.  One can't help but admire the blatant recycling of scenes from the better Bond films.  Let's begin the journey.

102 minutes, written by Sergio Donati, Antonio del Amo and Sergio Sollima.

1981 - CONTINENTAL DIVIDE, another love story

The idea appeared to be to put John Belushi into a love story playing a tough Chicago report who falls in love with a scientist studying eagles near Mt. Rainer.  The screenplay was by the then wonder boy writer Lawrence Kasdan.

Continental Divide is not a good love story.  Belushi and Blair Brown the female lead have absolutely no chemistry.  But the bigger problem is Belushi's inability to act.  John Landis probably used Belushi best in the movies.  In Animal House Landis barely let Belushi talk.  This film shows that while he was a good sketch comedian, he simply could not build a character.

Frankly the love scenes are embarrassing to watch.  I don't think I will ever be able to get the picture of a shirtless Belushi mauling Blair Brown in bed.  It was very painful.

The film has some nice shots of Mt. Rainer but that's about it.

103 minutes.

2016 - LION, another supposed true story

Another one of these films that is supposedly based on a true story.  The credit on this film says "adapted from a true story"  instead of "based on" which I guess is code for this film is more honest in it's true story intentions than is usual for these types of films.

A young Indian boy leaves his mother and is lost for the next 25 years.  He eventually is adopted by an Australian couple.  But he longs to find his birth mother and with the help of Google Maps he tracks her down. 

This film really goes for the heart rending stuff.  In fact it really piles it on.  However the film didn't move me very much.  I found the story a very cliche ridden mess.  I've seen this type of film before and I've seen it better done.  Frankly the cheering crowds at the reunion scene towards the end just seemed like to much.  Maybe it happened in real life I don't know.

The acting is generally OK but Nicole Kidman is the standout in the cast.  She really inhabits the role of the adoptive mother.  Kidman's been in the business a long time and is a real pro.  The film itself is just OK.

118 minutes written by Luke Davis.

1957 - 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH on Blu Ray

Ray Harryhausen reworks King Kong again but this time the film is set in Rome and the monster climbs to the top of the Colosseum before it's shot down.

This is another film made early in the career of Harryhausen who demonstrated what a talented special effects artist and technician could do on a low budget. 

 

 B movie terrritory for the most part. The film is enjoyable and doesn't push it's luck by running too long. This film is a lot more fun than a lot of the more "A" production science fiction films.

82 minutes written by Bob Williams and Christopher Knopf.

1983 - SUPERMAN III, pretty bad

Christopher Reeve who did well in the first two Superman movies but he  really got taken to town when a 3rd film was produced.  

Richard Pryor had made it known he wanted to be in a Superman film, so a part was tailored for him.  It just completely threw the whole film off.  Pryor's humor just seemed out of place for a super hero film and it wasn't particularly funny to begin with.

The director was Richard Lester who was definitely on the downside of his career.  Lester was known for fitting anarchic sight gags in his films but he seems to have lost his touch.  The gags are still here but they just aren't funny.  It seemed like Lester was just going through the motions in this film.

The special effects which seemed so good in the first Reeve movie now look kind of crappy and the bottom line was that whole thing just turned out to be an unfunny mess.  Superman III is a warning sign to people who make these kinds of films.  There is a fine line between sincerity and camp with these kinds of films.

125 minutes, written by David and Leslie Newman.

2016 - LA LA LAND, a movie for people who haven't seen a musical

Well I have to give the director/writer Damien Chazelle some credit.  It takes some guts to film a live action musical in today's entertainment market.  Musicals only seem to exist in the movies if they are animated with lots of cartoon figures singing, singing, singing.   

Chazelle says that he was inspired by Demy's Umbrellas of Cherborough and boy was he ever. The ghost of that film hangs heavily over this one..  Chazelle strives for that magical quality Demy brought to that film but unfortunately it just seems beyond his grasp the story just didn't move me emotionally.

I think the chief problem here is that neither one of the leads are professional singers or dancers.  Sure they give it the old college try but they can't dance and Emma Stone just can't sing.  Ryan Gosling has a pretty thin voice but he seems to be able to pull off the singing part (barely.)

Chazelle wants to modernize the musical.  To this end he adds a downbeat ending to the film and then a fantasy ending sequence.  I just don't think this  comes off it just makes a long film even longer.    He just doesn't have the style and talent that Demy brought to the musical genre when Demy rethought and revised it in The Umbrellas of Cherborough.

128 minutes written by Damien Chazelle.

2016 - BRIGHT LIGHTS: STARRING CARRIE FISHER AND DEBBIE REYNOLDS - Carrie Fisher downer weekend part 2

Carrie Fisher downer weekend continues with this documentary on the relationship between Carrie Fisher and her mother Debbie Reynolds.  In a way this is almost a follow up to Wishful Drinking as it gets into more of Fisher's personal life but this time she throws into the mix  Fisher's aging mother Debbie Reynolds.  Reynolds was one of the last actors to go through the MGM star making factory.  She was definitely from the old school of Hollywood film making.

This film follows Fisher around as she takes care of her aged mother Debbie Reynolds, who is the real definition of an old trooper.  Reynolds continues to perform even though her health is slipping away from her as she entered into her mid 80's.

We get a look inside Fisher's home which it would be charitable to say reeks of someone who has become very eccentric.   The house is full of more weird junk and crap than is good for the soul.  Also of note is the proximity between the mother and daughter's homes.  Fisher is next door to her mother and appears to be her primary caregiver.  Watching this film one walks away with the uncomfortable thought that a mentally ill woman is taking care of her aged mother.

The film ends with Debbie Reynolds, with the aid of Fisher,  pulling it together to receive a life achievement award at the Screen Actors Guild.  It's tough to watch Reynolds the old movie star barely get through the ceremony but she does.

Overall this film has somewhat of a voyeuristic quality to it but since it was made with the cooperation of Fisher and Reynolds I guess they were OK with it.  However as a viewer, I'm not sure I needed to watching this depressing show.

95 minutes

2011 - WISHFUL DRINKING - Carrie Fisher bummer weekend part 1

Had an opportunity to watch a couple of personal films about the life of Carrie Fisher, actress/writer/Princess Leia.  First up is this autobiographical film, Wishful Drinking.  This show is based on a book that Carrie Fisher wrote which appears to be essentially a memoir of her growing up in Hollywood in a chemical haze.

Fisher was the daughter of Debbie Reynolds and singer Eddie Fisher and while watching this film she sure doesn't let you forget it.  The show is basicall  a therapy session with Fisher recalling her apparently unhappy childhood.

I guess the theme of this film is that money and celebrity can't buy you happiness.  Fisher spends a lot time on her screwed up family and extended family tree.  Fisher suffered from mental illnesses and had a drug problem which she apparently was able to get a handle on which is no small feat.

Wishful Drinking is not exactly a fun hour sitting in front of the television set, it's kind of like hanging out with a friend who relates their personal problems in excruciating detail that after a while you want to yell "enough."

76 minutes

1988 - THE BOURNE IDENTITY, the first version

No this is not the Matt Damon version but a TV mini series which actually follows the plot of the Robert Ludum novel, something the Damon version never bothered with.

The film stars Richard Chamberlain and Jaclyn Smith.  Chamberlain had an OK film career but he was really big stuff on TV staring in such mini series as Shogun, The Thorn Birds and Centennial.
These were all big budget TV shows from the early 1980's.  The Bourne Identity is Chamberlain a little past his time, but an acting professional is an acting professional and he does pretty good playing the amnesiac spy.

Chamberlain's co-star is Jaclyn Smith who is chiefly remembered as one of the original Charlie's Angels from the campy old TV show.  She was never much of an actor but she looked great and was able to say her lines without bumping into the furniture when she was on set.  

The Bourne Identity is a film for people who prefer the Jason Bourne character with a plot and without all the spastic camera movement that the film series with Damon brought to the cinema.  The mini-series isn't bad but it definitely has that TV vibe to it.

185 minutes

1955 - KISS ME DEADLY on BLU RAY

THE sleazeball private eye classic is out on Blu Ray in another classy Criterion disc.

Private eye Mike Hammer who is a border line sadist investigates the case of a missing woman and a strange black box which may or may not be part of the Manhattan project.  Hammer is such a dirt bag that it's almost impossible at times to see him as the hero of the story particularly when he's beating people up for information.

The cast as directed by Robert Aldrich is a group of almost unknown or character actors.  In a way it's a Robert Aldrich stock company of sorts since he uses some of the same actors throughout many of his other pictures.

And speaking of direction who but a tough guy director like Aldrich could knock out a film like this.  The film is rough and cynical and also very entertaining.

104 minutes

1948 - FORT APACHE on BLU RAY

This Blu Ray disc lets the viewer enjoy Ford's spectacular visual compositions in Monument Valley.  It's one gorgeous shot after another without overwhelming the story.

As usual with viewing Fort Apache, the fascination in the story is watching Henry Fonda essentially play the villain in this film.  John Wayne continued to improve as an actor and this is one of his best late 40's roles.  I think it's safe to say that the acting in the film is at a fairly high caliber.  Ford was not only a master of the visual but when he set his mind to it he was a very good director of actors as wel

The one acting exception in the film is Shirley Temple,  the one time child star who Ford had worked with when she was younger.  Her performance is full of actor tricks.  In particular her constant mugging and camera hogging almost brings the love story subplot crashing down around her and her then husband John Agar.

A good example of John Ford in his prime after his war service in World War II,  Ford is simplifying his approach to telling a story.

125 minutes, written by Frank Nugent.

1980 - CADDYSHACK on BLU RAY

A very unfunny movie which somehow made a pile of money.  Probably the anti establishment focus and the silly scenes between Bill Murray and the gopher puppet sold the film to the 80's audiences.  Viewed today it's all pretty stupid to put it mildly.

 The film certainly wasn't lacking for comedians.  Ted Knight, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray and night club comic Rodney Dangerfield mug and crack jokes throughout the film.  Some are funny most are not.  Chase certainly did not bring his "A" game to the film, and Dangerfield doesn't even try to build a character. 

The behind the camera talent featured writers from Animal House, Doug Kenny and Harold Ramis where that comedy at least had a reasonably talented director in John Landis who could pace the scenes.  Ramis can barely stage any of the action as the film moves along from one set piece to another. 

However who am I to argue since the film has a big cult following today.

98 minutes, written by Harold Ramis, Doug Kenny and Brian Doyle-Murray.

1990 - DICK TRACY - on Blu Ray

The star/director/producer of Dick Tracy, Warren Beatty goes for the comic book look.  Staying with a minimal amount of primary colors The cinematographer, the legendary Vittorio Storato gives the film a real eye popping look.  This truly a comic book movie in the best sense of that over used term.

Trying to duplicate the legendary comic strip's very oddball villains, a lot of famous and not quite so famous actors are made up in some of the strangest makeup that has every been in a film.  The villains include names like Mumbles, Flattop, Itchy, Pruneface, Spud and Lips.  The look of their makeup corresponds to their names.  It's sometimes a little jarring to see such creatures in what already is a highly stylized film. 

Beatty also cast his current girlfriend Madonna probably for box office appeal.  She sings a few Stephen Sondheim songs and is photographed very carefully to put it mildly.  Beatty probably got as good a performance out of her as any other director could.  Also along for the ride is Al Pacino as the crime boss.  As usual with Pacino, he is completely over the top with his performance.  The makeup job on him only accents his typical hammy acting.

105 minutes.

1950 - PANIC IN THE STREETS, Kazan starts to grow as a filmmaker

The director Elia Kazan really gets out of the studio for this story about a modern day plague that might strike the city of New Orleans.  Two hoodlums are infected with the plague and it's up to the authorities to find them in 48 hours. 

The stars are Richard Widmark who is kind of over the top with his performance and Paul Douglas who's underplaying seems a little more in tune with the film's tone.  One of the strength's Elia Kazan brought to his films was his ability to get good performances out of his cast.  I'm not sure what happened with Widmark but everyone else is very good in this film particularly Zero Mostel as a small time hood.

The attraction of this film is really the on location filming in New Orleans.  Kazan and his cinematographer Joseph MacDonald really capture the flavor of and the era of the city in the early 1950's.  The Blu Ray makes the images really stand out.  The on location chase at the end of this film is very exciting. 

Not one of Kazan's great films but Panic In The Streets is very good. 

96 minutes. written by Richard Murphy,  Daniel Fuchs, Edna and Edward Anhalt