Terje Vigen - - A Man There Was (1917) Review

Plot Summary - "Revenge is Mine, Quoth He". When war comes to Sweden in 1809, a small seaside village is hit hard - with harbors closed, their crops fail and people are starving. Hunger causes seaman Terje Vigen to set sail in a small open boat to try and bring back food to feed his wife and child. Unfortunately, he is captured by the enemy, his boat sunk - and he is sent to a gloomy prison. Five years in prison and the war comes to an end - SPOILER SPOILER: now grizzled, gray-haired and unrecognizable, Terje reaches home only to find his wife and child died years before. But an opportunity for vengeance against the enemy that kept him from saving his family arrives at his doorstep one stormy day in the form of a foreign yacht in trouble at sea.

Review - Stark and gloomy, but with an emotional kick to it, this film is a well done, poetic silent film, directed by and starring Victor Sjostrom. Excellent outdoor cinematography enhances the story, with gorgeous looking images of man and village silhouetted against waving sea. All the intertitles are done in the style of a poem, as written by Ibsen. The Kino DVD of this features a very good-looking print, tinted in shades of blue and sepia-orange, as well as black and white. The film is accompanied by an appealing piano score done by Donald Sosin that enhances the story. Rating - 9 stars

Impact (1949) Film Review

Plot Summary - Successful businessman Walt Williams (Brian Donlevy) doesn't realize his beloved wife is actually a wolf in sheep's clothing (or in her case, a wolf draped in the furs his wealth has given her). She has a secret lover, Jim Torrance, and the two of them have plotted an elaborate scheme in which Torrance is to murder Williams on a road trip to Denver. Up on a high road in the mountains, Torrance hits Williams on the head with a lug wrench, rolls him over the side of the highway into a ditch, and leaves him for dead - but the whole plot backfires when Torrance ends up hitting a gasoline truck head-on as he speeds away from the scene of the crime, and is killed in a fiery crash. Now the first twist - Williams isn't dead, but the cops think the body in the roadster - burned beyond recognition - is Williams. While his wife plays the "grieving" widow dressed all in black, Williams is devastated by the truth of his wife's true nature as he hides out in the small town of Larkspur, Idaho taking a job as a mechanic and hiding his true identity. Meanwhile a smart police detective (Charles Coburn) attempts to put together enough pieces to prove the wife and her lover murdered Williams.

Review - Interesting crime drama / melodramatic film noir with an absorbing plot full of twists and turns - quite entertaining. The film features lots of on-location street scenes shot in and around San Francisco - neat to see. The scene where the car crashes into the gas truck and both cars go over the cliff and burst into flames is well filmed, quite realistic looking. Note of interest: two actresses from the silent era have parts in this - first, Anna May Wong, who plays the Williams maid - a small, but key role. Second, Mae Marsh, who plays the mother of his "boss" at the garage in Larkspur where he takes the job - said boss being a pretty young lady who Williams "sparks" with. Nice to see both of these actresses in their later years, and both parts well done. And - I love Charles Coburn! This was a Netflix rental for me, the black and white print on the DVD looked quite good - the plot summary on the envelope inaccurate - again (where does Netflix get these)! Rating - 8 stars

21 (2008) Film Review

Plot Summary - Based around a true story, this film is all about Ben Campbell, a brilliant 21-year old MIT student, hoping to get a full scholarship to Harvard Med School he finds himself invited into another way to get the much needed 300K he needs to pay for his schooling - via an unscrupulous professor who runs a secret "team" of five students that go to Las Vegas every weekend to "count cards" and make themselves oodles of cash at the Blackjack tables. They use fake IDs, disguises, and an elaborate system of counting and hand signals as they go into the casinos and pretend they don't know each other, hit the tables, and rake in the bucks. Ben joins the group and is soon leading a double life - student by week, card shark by weekend - as he changes from geeky student too shy to talk to the girl he likes to card hustling young man, spending every weekend in Vegas in high-roller suites, dancing at nightclubs and even romancing that same girl (yeah, by coincidence she just happens to be one of the team members) - but he pretty much abandons his nerdy best pals and the competition project they have been working on all year.

Review - Fast-paced high rolling fun, I thought this film was quite entertaining - most of the film takes place in the bright lights of the Vegas casinos and it's fun to watch this bunch play the tables. Jim Sturgess, who plays Ben, is - gosh - simply adorable - I find that sort of very smart and very handsome, yet humble and girl shy sort of fellow he plays here *very* attractive. One of my favorites, Kevin Spacey, plays the professor and is great as usual as this man who just runs the show from the background - and takes half the cut! Okay - I did wonder why in the world Ben hides his growing pile of cash in the ceiling of his dorm room (couldn't he find some place better?), why the group of them are always hanging in the same hotel room, clubbing together, shopping together all over town (wouldn't that be sort of risky that they might be seen somewhere by one of the security guys that watches them?) - also why the girl rejects his kiss in one scene and a very short time later is practically giving him a lap dance while they're all living it up in this Vegas strip club. In spite of these few flaws, I thought this was pretty good. Rating - 8 stars

Doll Face (1946) Film Review

Plot Summary - Fun forties backstage musical adapted from a play written by Gypsy Rose Lee - about "Doll Face" Carroll (Vivian Blaine), a burlesque queen who is a big hit in the downtown "Gayety Follies" but wants to get into legitimate theater. But during tryouts for an upcoming show being put on by Flo Hartman, a big Broadway producer, her background is discovered and he won't hire her because he's looking for "class". As Mike Hannegan (Dennis O'Keefe), the owner of the burlesque house and Doll Faces's boyfriend, says "She's not just a stripper, she's a personality", so he comes up with a plan - to get her a bit of culture (and publicity) she should write a book! They hire a ghost writer to do the actual writing of her "autobiography" and he's a handsome specimen indeed - and only takes the job when he gets a look at Doll Face, sparking some jealousy on the part of Mike. Soon a Broadway show of their own is in the works, and a misunderstanding that leads to Doll Face leaving burlesque and joining up with Hartman, who now wants her based on her now published book - a hit!

Review - While this film is not the greatest of movie musicals by any means, it is still an enjoyable, fun watch - light fare boosted up by some well done songs performed by a young Perry Como and some entertaining burlesque and dance numbers including several versions of "Somebody's Walkin' in My Dreams", plus "Red, Hot, and Beautiful", "Dig You Later (A-Hubba Hubba Hubba)", and especially Carmen Miranda, barefoot and full of energy, in a fun number "Chico, Chico". Now Carmen Miranda who appears as Chita, Carroll's best gal pal, pretty much steals every scene she is in - she's basically the comedy relief here as she says her one-liners in sequined head pieces and Brazilian accent so thick I had to back up the DVD several times to understand what she said. The DVD includes a deleted scene featuring Miranda performing a burlesque show number "She's Always True to the Navy" while wearing oh so high platform shoes and a lighthouse on top of her head - pretty cool, I wonder why they cut this scene from the final film? I'm not so sure I agree with Doll Face Carroll's choice of Mike for a boyfriend, considering the other man in this is, really, quite hunky - and Mike thinks the way to handle women is to "treat 'em rough" (he even encourages the Perry Como character to give the woman he's been chasing a punch - um!). I did enjoy the flashback to the past watching this, an escape to the forties - with it's clothing, hats, hairstyles, and jive slang - is always fun. The new DVD of this film features a very clear black and white print, with good contrast - looked great. I'm a big fan of musicals - I quite enjoyed this. Rating - 7/10 stars

The Curiosity of Chance (2006) Review

Plot Summary - Offbeat coming-of-age comedy set "somewhere in Europe, some time in the 80s", about teenage Chance, a quick-witted gay transfer student who is being raised by his strictish military dad who goes around in army fatigues and calls his son "cadet". Chance establishes his eccentric persona right off the bat by going to high school his first day in top hat and cane (and the next day with a pirate patch over one eye). He makes friends with a weird guy who constantly carries around a briefcase (clutched to his chest) with "secret" contents and a really sarcastic black girl with a bad sort of chip on her shoulder. He makes enemies with a hulk-like school jock who constantly harasses him for being gay. Then there's Levi - Chance's hunky next-door neighbor and schoolmate (the actor reminded me of Jake Gyllenhaal). Chance develops a crush on Levi, but Levi's jock pals won't let him stay friends with Chance for long. And meanwhile - - Chance and his friends go to a nightclub where a drag show performs - Chance befriends the performers backstage and decides to perform in drag at next week's amateur night. And soon Levi finally stands up against his jerk friends to form a band with Chance, with intentions to compete in an upcoming high school student "Battle of the Bands".

Review - Well, I thought this film was pretty good - I see it as sort of a cross between "Rock and Roll High School" and the John Waters version of "Hairspray", but with a gay theme. It's really quite campy, the setting in Europe (filmed on location in Belgium) makes for some rather bizarre stuff because the whole high school scene seems like a really typical American high school except that many of the actors are putting on a variety of fake European accents. The 80s clothing and hairstyles done for this is fairly realistic - yes, I myself used to often sport a long side ponytail back in those days (I never went for the leg warmers though another hairstyle I often wore then involved a big Madonna style bow tied on top my head). By the way, this film has a really good 80s soundtrack of mainly New Wave songs including several old faves of mine I haven't heard in a long, long time (nostalgia!) - just hearing that Devo song played during the opening credits made me want to get up and dance and get out my old Devo records and play them once again (yes indeed, I certainly do have my entire 70s/80s vinyl collection). I thought this indie film was a quirky, fun watch - very entertaining. Rating - 8/10 stars

Penelope (2008) Film Review

Plot Summary - Romantic fairy-tale all about the life and adventures of Penelope the pig-faced girl. Okay, that caught your attention - see, poor Penelope (Christina Ricci) would be pretty except for the fact that a family curse was placed on her great-great-great grandfather that made the next female born into the family destined to be born with a pig snout - and that just happened to be her. So - her blue-blood society parents, hounded by the press, fake Penelope's death when she is just a baby and then keep her house-bound, pretty much locked behind the gates of their big estate where she learns to entertain herself in her large playroom. Believing that the curse can be broken if Penelope marries one of their own kind, a true blue-blood, mama hires a matchmaker to find a suitable match for Penelope - but every male that comes around screams and jumps out the window when they see her face (gosh, it's really not *that* bad!). When one of these potential suitors joins forces with a dwarf reporter from a local tabloid who wants to get a photograph of Penelope, they recruit Max - a handsome, shaggy-haired, down-and-out blue-blood addicted to all-night gambling sessions at rundown poker halls. Max befriends Penelope as they talk on opposite sides of a one-way mirror in her house - but when he does see her face, even he refuses to marry her. So - Penelope runs away, wraps her lower face in a scarf, and learns what life is really like outside the walls of her house as she explores the winter-time city and makes some new friends at a local pub. After she sells her own photo to the reporter for some needed ready cash, she immediately becomes a media sensation.

Review - This is quite an entertaining film which I thought got a lot better once Penelope was out on the streets making her own way, the film becoming more a real-life tale than simply a fairy tale. Okay, lucky it was winter when she makes her escape because it does seem slightly implausible that she doesn't get all *that* much notice walking on the streets with half her face covered by that scarf which she never removes, even to drink a beer. Also, I didn't think she really looked so ugly that these males would run away in terror like they did. Okay, James McAvoy who plays Max is, well, just adorable - one of my favorite heartthrobs these days (though I sure did miss his Scottish accent in this - I wonder why they made him put on an American one when there are so many British actors who kept their own accent in this film). Still, the film has an interesting, original story that gives a nice statement on accepting even the ugliest of people for who they are inside. Pretty good. Rating - 7/10 stars

Les Enfants Terrible (1950) Film Review

Plot Summary - Unusual French-language film, based on the novel by Jean Cocteau, about what seems to be an incestuous relationship between a sixteen-year old youth, Paul, and his slightly older sister Elisabeth. After being pelted by a snowball enclosing a rock by Dargelos (a "bad boy" schoolmate) Paul must leave school for complete bed rest. Paul appears to have a crush on Dargelos as he keeps a photo of him dressed in drag (not to mention a number of photographs of young males tacked all over the wall behind his bed). Though Elisabeth is rather a shrew and the two siblings fight constantly, they happily share a bedroom where odd behavior is the norm - they play their secret "game" (normally played in Paul's bed - hypnosis is mentioned), she calls him "darling" and gazes at his face while he sleeps, he asks for her bed to be pulled closer to his, and they keep a collection of junk, including a gun, in a set of dresser drawers they call their "treasure chest". Paul's friend from school, Gerard, often sleeps over on the floor and the three of them take an excursion to the seaside under the lax supervision of Gerard's uncle. Paul and Elisabeth continue to bicker as they both try to get into a just run bath together, and the three young people shoplift (the siblings have a pact to only steal "useless" things) while uncle buys a new hat. When Elisabeth gets a job as a model, she brings home fellow model Agathe to live at their house, and to Paul's surprise Agathe looks exactly like the female version of his schoolboy crush, Dargelos (played by the same female actress that plays Agathe). Interesting relationships and rather strange behavior to follow.

Review - This is a really odd film which is a wee bit surreal and very strange in nature - the plot is really interesting and different with implications of both bisexuality and incest. The background music running through this is classical, the photography beautifully done with many extreme facial close-ups - the film is highlighted by a voice-over narration done by Jean Cocteau that tells the inner thoughts of the characters as they interact. The relationship and sexuality of the two siblings is very complex - the majority of the film takes place in their bedroom haven, their shared childhood room that they just don't seem to ever want to grow up and leave - they also seem to spend the majority of the film dressed in bathrobes. Nicole Stephane, the actress who plays Elisabeth is really good in this, very memorable - Edouard Dermithe who plays Paul, looks quite a bit older than sixteen, but it works (and he does resemble Stephane). The DVD of this from the Criterion Collection features a print that is very clear black and white, with a great deal of contrast - the subtitles were especially easy to read on this DVD version. An excellent film - I believe this one will stick in my head for some time to come. Rating - 10/10 stars

Introduction

This is my new movie review blog - I try to watch a movie most days, I love watching several films in a row when I have the time. I like to write a plot summary and also give my thoughts and opinions, as well as a rating from 1 to 10 for each film I see. Now, as for spoilers, I personally never read a review about a film I haven't seen yet until *after* I see it - I like to see a movie with as little information as possible about what I am going to see - I find it more rewarding. But after seeing a new film I do like to read other's opinions on what I have just seen. So, as for spoilers, I am not much of a judge on what is going to be a spoiler to one person or the next - but I don't really write as part of the plot summary anything that reveals endings or surprises in the film.