The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) Film Review

Plot Summary - Odd and interesting fantasy/romance about Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt), born in New Orleans as a baby who is an old man in his eighties but tiny like a baby (and looking pretty darn weird, I must say). His mother dead from child birth, Benjamin is abandoned by his father on the front porch of an old age home, where a black woman who works there adopts him as her own. Benjamin starts his life with all the ailments of an old person - at first he's got wrinkles, arthritis, rickety bones, sags and bags, balding head, and walks with a cane, but as he gradually gets older in years - he gets younger and more and more handsome physically!! A strange concept indeed - yet how intriguing! The romance - - Benjamin first meets Daisy (grown-up Daisy played by Cate Blanchett) when she is visiting her grandmother at the home - she a little girl, he a very old man, but they develop a life-long bond of friendship with love - and passion - to come, as his and her ages gradually meet in the middle, you could say.

Review - I enjoyed this close to three hour film - the film begins just after World War I and progresses to the current day. The story is related by character Daisy, now an old woman on her death bed, to her daughter (Julia Ormond) via a diary that was written by Benjamin. I enjoyed the way the period elements were done in this film - realistic costumes and time period feel helped draw me into each elapsing decade as Benjamin grows younger and younger. A few of the scenes were filmed to look like old film footage. Loved the Scott Joplin music, used in a few scenes (I love ragtime!). Rating - 10/10 stars

Bride Wars (2009) Film Review - Anne Hathaway, Kate Hudson

Plot Summary - Cute BFF/chick flick comedy about two best gal pals, Emma and Liv (Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson) who have grown-up together dreaming of their perfect June weddings at the Plaza in NYC. When they both get proposed to by their fellows, the gals hit the top wedding planner in New York (played by Candice Bergen) to plan their Plaza weddings. A mess-up causes both women's weddings to be scheduled on the same June Saturday - what to do? The Plaza booked in June for three years, how will the two best friends compromise and both keep their dream alive? Hmm, guess they can't. Neither will budge on the date, so the two become enemy Bridezillas, each trying to sabotage the other one's wedding. Yeah, pretty juvenile, but then this is comedy.

Review - This is a fun film, helped by having two excellent comediennes playing the lead roles - their relationship struck me as very Lucy/Ethel-like, and that I like - right down to the "one of us will have to switch her date", "yes one of us will" sort of chatter like in the Lucy and Ethel wear the same dress "I Love Lucy" episode. Again, like a Lucy episode, there is quite a bit of slapstick and silly antics involved here. The two guys who play the gals fiance's are real duds, luckily they don't get a lot to do in this film. I enjoyed the voice-over narration by Candice Bergen and the on-location filming done in New York City (which I love, love, love from afar). Rating - 8/10 stars

One Sunday Afternoon (1933) Film Review - Gary Cooper

Plot Summary - Pre-code film starring Gary Cooper. On a Sunday afternoon, former rival Hugo Barnstead arrives at dentist Biff Grimes (Cooper) dental office to have a tooth pulled and Biff has ideas about "getting even" with Hugo (um - by gassing him to death!), who Biff believes once stole his girl. In flashback the story of the rivalry is revealed. The two men meet two gal pals in the park one day, Virginia (Fay Wray) and Amy. Both men are after Virginia, who seems a bit more flashy of the two women - - but cute and sweet Amy once had a childhood crush on Biff and still carries the torch for him. Amy chases after Biff (who is sort of a show-off, lanky bumpkin type - but cute) while Biff and Hugo chase after Virginia - but Hugo (the more successful of the two men) gets Virginia, as they get married by surprise and ride off for their honeymoon. On a lark, Biff asks Amy to marry him that same night (in a sort of warped way of getting even with Virginia, you might say). Marriage and hard feelings to follow.

Review - The film is based on a stage play and helped along by nice outdoor scenes in a quiet-looking, turn-of-the-century small town locale. This film was later remade into a film I have seen and enjoyed quite a few times, "The Strawberry Blonde (1941)" starring Rita Hayworth, Olivia de Havilland and James Cagney. This earlier version is also an excellent film, I very much enjoyed the performance of Frances Fuller as sweet and ever-loving Amy - she sure puts up with a lot from that Biff! Jane Darwell appears fairly briefly as Amy's mother - the print shown on TCM appeared to be edited as the character of Virginia's mother is credited in the titles, yet did not appear in the film (I thought there appeared to be something missing just before the sudden marriage of Hugo and Virginia). Good film. Rating - 9/10 stars

The Reader (2008) Film Review - Kate Winslet

Plot Summary - Well done drama about a teenager who has an affair with an older woman with a dark secret and the life-long effects this affair has the man's psyche. In 1958 Germany, fifteen-year old Michael (David Kross) is ill on the streets where he is helped by a thirty-something woman named Hanna (Kate Winslet). Struck by her, he recovers and seeks her out - and so begins an affair despite their twenty-year age difference and seemingly different social and educational levels. Rushing to see her after school, their affair is driven not just by sex and baths but by her desire to be read to by him - all the classic novels. One day she has disappeared and he doesn't see her again - until SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT: forward to 1966 where Michael is a young law student who is taking a special seminar and attends a trial in which - surprise - Hanna, once an SS guard during the Holocaust, is being prosecuted for war crimes!

Review - I found this film an intriguing watch, quite romantic and passionate in the first half, and leading into the Holocaust part of the story which comes as somewhat of a surprise (at least if you know nothing of the film's plot, which is what I try to do by keeping away from film reviews and clips until after I've seen the movie). I did question a couple of things that these characters do in this film (SPOILER SPOILER: 1. why he doesn't speak up about her illiteracy during the trial, 2. why she "gives up" on herself at the end of the film), which came across as unrealistic to me. But, in any case, I did really enjoy this and found it to be an excellent and memorable film. Kate Winslet is great, as usual, as is Ralph Fiennes who appears as the grown-up man version of Michael - but I must say, actor David Kross, who plays young Michael is fantastic in this, why no Oscar nod?! Rating - 10/10 stars

Three Chumps Ahead (1934) Film Review - Thelma Todd, Patsy Kelly

Plot Summary - Hal Roach/MGM Thelma Todd and Patsy Kelly short. POSSIBLE SPOILERS - - Thelma is in love - with Archie, a man with millions and yachts or so says he. Invited to the girl's apartment, Thelma dresses up and attempts to entertain Archie - he wants to just stay in (tired out from nightclubs, says he). He relates stories of his world travels while Patsy, who suspects he isn't who he says he is (good to have a gal pal that's bright and looks out for you, isn't it?!), wears her slippers (much to Thelma's distress), loudly cracks nuts, then prepares sandwiches in the kitchen fully loaded up with Limburger cheese. To occupy Patsy and get her out of the way, Archie phones up his brother (home on leave from the Navy and currently gambling in a local bar) and invites him over. Soon Archie sneaks Thelma away to a tavern to try and make his move on her - Patsy is too smart and they end up there too. Then Patsy, realizing the men don't have much cash (the men have secretly agreed with each other to one beer apiece), orders up a whole mess of food hoping the guys get beat up and thrown out by the big, mean, pug-faced waiter. It backfires, and in a scene that reminded me of that "I Love Lucy" where the girls end up washing dishes when the boys won't pay (Lucy and Ethel push for "equal rights" episode) - Thelma and Patsy end up, yeah, washing the dishes!!

Review - Okay, this episode had a touch of not so funny slapstick, but did have some cute interaction between the two gals. The restaurant half of the short I found to be more amusing than the first half. The short features recognizable Hal Roach studios music in the background (same used in "Our Gang" and "Laurel and Hardy" shorts). Okay - why is there always some convenient Limburger around in thirties comedies, readily available for comic shtick (if it smells that bad, why do the people keep it around I always wonder?!) I'm not sure about the meaning behind the title of this short as it relates to the plot!! Rating - 6.5 to 7/10 stars

Frost/Nixon (2008) Film Review - Frank Langella

Review - Directed by Ron Howard. Didn't get this one written up, but it was real good - really held my interest. About the four-part interview that David Frost did with Richard Nixon in the 70s after he resigned as U.S. president. Quality acting by both Frank Langella as Nixon, as well as Michael Sheen as Frost. Excellent job on the period setting, by the way. Rating - 9.5/10 stars

The Wrestler (2008) Film Review - Mickey Rourke

Plot Summary - Mickey Rourke stars as an aging wrestler - once an 80s wrestling superstar called Randy "The Ram" - who now appears in small-time matches and fan autograph appearances just to make ends meet. His body all worn out from years of abuse, a sudden heart attack and by-pass surgery forces him, unwillingly, to give up his career and take a job behind a grocery store deli counter. Friendship with a pole dancer/stripper (Marisa Tomei) at a local club he frequents, plus troubles re-establishing a non-existent relationship with his now grown daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) are in the mix.

Review - This is an absorbing film, a real character study into this man's world. Mickey Rourke does a phenomenal job playing this role - I'm not sure if he shouldn't have won the Best Actor Oscar over Sean Penn who won for "Milk" (both were excellent). That's sort of a sleazy strip club he goes too - Marisa Tomei does a pretty good job here as the typical film stripper with a heart of gold, so-to-speak. The film includes a number of rather bloody, violent wrestling scenes - ugh, hard to look at Mickey Rourke sometimes they've got him so messed-up and bedraggled looking in this. I thought this film was excellent and liked the heavy metal 80s music they used throughout this (yeah, in the early/mid 80s I definitely had a patch where my faves were Def Leppard, The Scorpions, Motley Crue, Ozzy). Rating - 9/10 stars

The Last Word (2008) Film Review - Winona Ryder

Plot Summary - Sort of black comedy about a weird, reclusive sort of guy (Wes Bentley) - (deadpan-expression is his usual look) - who is a writer/poet currently running a web business called "The Last Word" in which he composes the, yeah, last words - sort of epitaphs - for people who are contemplating suicide. While attending one of his "clients" funeral (he does that a lot) he meets the victim's attractive sister, Charlotte (Winona Ryder), a dark horse indeed. She phones him and chases him, he - for some unknown reason - at first seems uninterested. Her stalking pays off (maybe it helped when she does the - um - deed with him in broad daylight on the roof of a downtown L.A. building in full view of hundreds of windows overlooking from other buildings) and soon they're a couple. She is a pretty weird chick too, yet they don't seem like that great a match - maybe it's 'cause he lies to her about what he actually does for a living and all his deceptions steer her the wrong way.

Review - Okay, I'm not super keen usually on black comedies - this was just okay. Ray Romano adds a bit of amusement to the mix as one of his clients, Wes Bentley is just too boring to make this interesting (yeah, I know, the character is supposed to be sort of boring - but hey, what can I say). Bland one. Rating - 6.5/10 stars

Ruggles of Red Gap (1935) Film Review - Charles Laughton

Plot Summary - Thirties comedy which begins in Paris, 1908, where an English valet named Ruggles (Charles Laughton) is won in a game of draw power by an American cowboy millionaire from a wild west town called Red Gap, Washington. Leaving his job as valet to a Lord (Roland Young), Ruggles begins his job working for Egbert and Effie Floud (Charles Ruggles and Mary Boland), the wife full of ambitions to turn her hootin' and hollerin' bumpkin hubby (who has a fondness for cowboy hats and tacky checked suits) into a gentleman. Ruggles gives him a makeover - new suit, spats, and a mustache trim, Egbert's soon looking like a swell - but just on the outside. Egbert and Ruggles hit a Paris sidewalk cafe, Egbert switches between calling him "Bill" or "Colonel" and insists Ruggles sit down and join him for a drink. Ruggles is the ultimate gentleman's gentleman and prefers to keep proper master and servant rank. But Egbert don't go for that kind of stuff and continues to treat his manservant like a pal. Soon they all head for Red Gap where the town mistakes Ruggles as a real colonel and family friend, and all the attention goes to Ruggles head. He feels important and decides he wants more from life than just being a servant - so he decides to open a restaurant in Red Gap. And meanwhile he befriends a town widow (Zasu Pitts) while attending a "beer bust" with his employer and she works in service too, could be a nice little romance for our Ruggles!

Review - This is a cute comedy with lots of nice performances. Roland Young is quite amusing as the Lord, Charles Ruggles kind of hoot in this cowboy role (Egbert and Effie come across as sort of the Beverly Hillbillies), and Charles Laughton plays a great English manservant (I like the expressions he gets on his face as the stiff servant while all is chaos around him!). And don't forget, as Ruggles says "Spats make the difference between a man well turned out and a man merely dressed". Good fun. Rating - 8.5/10 stars

Peter Pan versus Peter Pan - Silent / Sound Versions

I recently watched the silent and the later 2003 Disney version of "Peter Pan" back to back. Here's my run-down/comparison of the two films.

The earlier (silent) version has so much charm, I prefer that one. The Disney version is - well - just SO Disney (sometimes a bit over the top in silliness). The plot of the two films follows along fairly closely, including some of the same dialogue. However the Disney version seems to feature more stuff on the battle with Captain Hook and less on the relationships between Wendy, Peter, and the Lost Boys. I guess I prefer something which is more character driven, thus again my preference for the silent version. Another thing - while the later film features a young boy as Peter Pan instead of the typical actress playing the role, and he is quite appealing and does a good job in the part - - I really just love, love, love Betty Bronson as Peter Pan, just such a charming little pixie, her facial expressions and little jigs she dances - just great. The film score for the Disney version is fantastic, which helps in that score - the silent version also features nicely done music on the Kino video.

Review of 2003 Version, from my archive:

September 8, 2006 - Peter Pan (2003) - This started out seeming a bit too cartoonish and childlike for my taste, but I have to admit - after a bit, it caught me! The classic story by J.M. Barrie of Peter Pan, the boy who won't grow up, who whisks a young girl, Wendy Darling, and her two little brothers out their London window for a fly across the sky to Never Never Land. I really liked the casting of the two actors who play Wendy and Peter Pan - Jeremy Sumpter, as Peter, is especially "Pan-like" (looks like a real pixie!). This version was quite a bit more on the romantic end then the usual versions of this which have an adult female actress playing Peter. Very nice orchestral score in this, by the way. Rating - 8.5/10 stars

Peter Pan (1924) Film Review - Betty Bronson

Plot Summary - "A Fairy Play". Silent fantasy based on the play by J.M. Barrie. The story begins in the Darling nursery, where nurse Nana gets the three Darling children - Wendy (Mary Brian), John, and Michael - ready for bed. Nana happens to be a big dog (the family can't keep a regular servant 'cause the father is such a "fidget"). The children tucked into bed, when who should arrive at their bedroom window, which happens to be two flights up, but a moving ball of light and a boy who is looking for his shadow - Peter Pan (Betty Bronson) and his fairy friend Tinker Bell aka "Tink". Peter Pan is a little boy (played by a young woman) who doesn't want to be a man - he wants to stay a little boy and have fun forever, and so he does! Wendy and Peter become friends and he agrees to teach the three children to fly if she will go with him to the Never Never Land to be mother and tell stories to Peter and the Lost Boys. And fly they do (with the help of a little fairy dust), off to the Land full of mermaids and Redskins and pirates, arriving in the Make-Believe Forest where jealous Tink prompts the boys to shoot Wendy with an arrow. Wendy lives though, the boys build her a house, and the whole bunch engage in some fantasy play as Wendy pretends she's their mother. Meanwhile, evil and ugly Captain Hook (Ernest Torrence) holds a grudge on Peter Pan who apparently cut off Hook's hand and fed it to a crocodile. The pirates soon attack Peter, Wendy, and the lost boys, while back home the children's mom grieves and longs for the return of her own lost kids.

Review - This is an engaging fantasy, full of charm. The special effects done in this are done well enough for the time this film was made - especially the scenes featuring tiny Tinker Bell. Okay, so Nana is played by a man in a very fake looking dog suit (not to mention the other creatures in this, like the crocodile) - but I think that's all part of the fun, really. Betty Bronson is perhaps the most delightful Peter Pan ever - she's perky, she's cute, she dances and flies with oh so much charm. All the children do a great job in this film, and Anna May Wong appears much too briefly as the Indian girl, Tiger Lily. (Our Gang alert: Winston and Weston Doty, twins in very early Our Gang shorts, appear in this film.) The version I have of this is a Kino video tape, it includes a nice looking, mainly sepia tinted print and a really terrific orchestral score, composed by Philip Carli, which is a fine match to the feel of this story. Okay, I like this quote from the film - "Wendy, one girl is more use than twenty boys" - right on, Peter Pan! Do you believe in fairies - I think I do?! Tehehe Rating - 10/10 stars

Dark Matter (2007) Film Review - Meryl Streep

Plot Summary - Based around true incidents, this is the story of a brilliant young Chinese grad student (Ye Liu) in cosmology who arrives in the United States to study under successful professor Reiser (Aidan Quinn), expert on the early universe. Our student strikes out on his own with his theories on dark matter that seems to contradict Professor Reiser's theory, causing friction between the two and leading the professor to say he's "not a team player". Um - well, they won't let the student use his progressive new theory for his dissertation and all this leads to a rather surprising conclusion.

Review - I found this film slow going, but somewhat interesting - the ending surprised me and made this film seem a bit better. I recalled about half way through the film that this was supposedly based on true incidents - - one of my pet peeves: I don't like it when a film doesn't state at the *beginning* of the movie that it is based on a true story. Meryl Streep appears in this as the student's wealthy patron, a woman who seems rather obsessed with Chinese culture. Sort of boring as a whole, the film does have some nice music in the form of familiar songs performed by a Chinese children's chorus, plus a touch of humor (intended or not) as the group of Chinese students relate to each other (their conservations are mainly in Chinese with English sub-titles). Rating - 7/10 stars