A Few Changes

With the new year, and without planning, I have done a few new things regarding my movie watching. When I see that the availability of a movie in my Netflix instant queue is about to expire, that prompts a quick viewing. If a movie is save only at Netflix, but the King County Library still has a DVD, I’ll get it from the library. If a movie is mail only from Flix and the library is down to only one copy, I may get it from the library. And finally, I am starting to grade marginal movies a little harder; sliding a 2.7 down to a 2.4 changes it from a Flix 3 star “liked” to a Flix 2 star “didn’t like”.

Another change is dropping the movie marquee at the top of blog articles and replacing it with a picture of the top rated DVD, to add a little graphic variety to this blog.

Here is what I have watched on DVD since I posted my last list. The ratings I give are on my own number system explained at the link on the sidebar. Those watched via Netflix instant view, include “Streamed” after the numeric rating.

Scenes from a Marriage – 1973 (Theatrical version) (3.5). Ingmar Bergman filmed a six night 1973 TV miniseries about the breakup of the marriage of a couple and it caused such a sensation in Scaninavia that he was persuaded to make a shorter version for showing in movie theaters elsewhere in the world. The movie focuses intently on the couple, marvelously played by Liv Ullman and Erland Josephson, as they dialogue through six scenes spread over about ten years. The TV version supposedly gives the leads more nuance and contributes some input from supporting players. After watching the theatrical version, I am so interested in the characters, I think I would like to watch them again in the full TV version, but since it is fairly legthy, maybe I’ll wait a while.

Stand by Me – 1986 (3.5). I have never seen this movie before and was pleased to discover that it is indeed a very well made film about what it is like to be a 12 year old boy and to bond with your small troop of oddly matched buddies seeking adventure in the midst of the confusion of coming of age. The DVD has a good special feature with director Reiner and the three surviving young men who played the leads. The early death of the fourth, River Phoenix, adds poignancy as we are reminded again what a great young actor he was.

American Violet – 2008 (3.2) Streamed. Money making drug task forces targeting poor black communities on bogus charges spearheaded by prejudiced district attorneys has been covered by documentary film makers, but this movie gives the story a dramatic turn. Well written, acted and directed, the film, based on a true story from Texas that began in 2000, stays pretty much on target without rubbing our noses in the problem. The open and violent prejudice of the Jim Crow and early civil rights years is replaced with a more subtle and economics based model.

Bomber – 2009 (3.0) Streamed. Film Movement presents some “four i” movies – interesting, intelligent, independent and international. Unfortunately they are not always good. This story of an aging Brit who dropped bombs on an unsuspecting German village in WWII and wanted to go there and apologize is well done. His wife and forty something son accompany him on a road trip and the story concentrates on their relationships. It’s not really a comedy, though it does have some funny moments. But it has a reality that makes us laugh in recognition, even as we may sympathize with the characters.

The Secret in Their Eyes – 2010 (2.9). A criminal investigator has always had the hots for his boss, but they never hooked up. One case in particular has haunted him throughout his career and now that he has retired, he uses it as the basis for writing a novel, which prompts him to revisit the case and his boss. Good Hollywood type plot [2010 Oscar winner as Best Foreign Film]and appealing leads and some lighter fun in office demeanor at the beginning make this Argentine film worth watching.

Dersu Uzala – 1975 (2.9). The title character is an old Japanese mountain man in Siberia in the first decade of the 20th Century who befriends a Russian officer who is in the wilds surveying the area in this Kurasawa movie filmed in Russian as one of his last films. The shooting is almost entirely in the wilds, where we see the wisdom of the old man in action as he teaches the officer about surviving in the wilds, but also about the differences between nature and civilization. A little long and slow, but very well done.

The Last Station – 2009 (2.8). Excellent acting in a generally well made film about the last year in the life of Tolstoy is not enough to overcome a somewhat weak script, which never gives a true feel for the heart of the conflict between Tolstoy and his wife. The time spent trying to make the roles of the other characters seem significant might have been better applied to explaining more about the dynamics between the two leads.

The Maid – 2009 (2.8) Streamed. A maid has been in service to a middle class family for 23 years in this Spanish film, and she is burned out, bitter and very protective of her turf. The family loves her and tries to be sensitive, finally insisting on bringing in help when the maid collapses, but the maid resists. The movie is a little tedious at first, just like her job, and the behavior of the maid makes you wonder, and hopefully keep watching, to see whether the lady of the house will just get rid of her and whether there is any hope for the maid to snap out of her ennui.

Irina Palm – 2007 (2.8) Streamed. This film about an older widow who needs to earn some money starts out a little kinky and then settles in to become a fairly good drama with some social commentary, though a little slow paced and not solidly ended.

The Prince & Me – 2004 (2.8). A fairy tale with modern day realistic overtones, this movie is fun, in the romantic comedy vein, without much drama. The ending actually includes some of the “and then what happened” after the “and they lived happily ever after”. An interesting point from a special feature tells of conflict about how to end the story, and resolving it based on how the chemistry between the leads came across on the screen after filming.

Buddy – 2003 (2.8) Streamed. A Norwegian romantic comedy with three male roommate buddies, one neurotic and the other two irreverent but sensitive, and with some overlapping love triangles and other minor subplots, all of which blend well enough into a pleasant, though not deep, whole.

Lion’s Den – 2008 (2.7). If you want to see what life is like for a pregnant female prisoner in an Argentine prison, then this film from that country will show you. The mothers can keep their children in prison with then until the age of four, and the prison block they share does not seem as bad as the legal system that delays the farce of a trial. The characters and story are so undeveloped here, that I never made much connection, even though the performances seemed good.

Mother and Child – 2009 (2.4). Writer/director Rodrigo Garcia spent ten years developing this script of three motherhood related story lines that connect at the end. It is well directed and acted, but the ten years of overworking damaged the plot like over beating damages muffins. Did nobody catch that one pregnancy lasted about 15 months? Plot holes aside, none of the characters ever seemed effectively developed and the connection at the end seemed forced. It would have been better to make each story separately, but Garcia may have felt the need to offer three in one as an incentive to get this independent venture financed.

Penelope – 2006 (2.4) Streamed. This somewhat farcical romantic comedy was predicted too low for my queue but we streamed it on a whim and found the story of a girl born with a family curse pig nose sensitively acted by Christina Ricci to be tolerable, but not enough to say “I liked it”.

Cyrano de Bergerac – 1950 (2.4) Streamed. Jose Ferrer won the Academy Award for his histrionic performance in this stage bound gabfest. The print being streamed is in terrible shape. This is the first time I have seen this movie and I now understand why it has never been restored.

Fort Apache – 1948 (2.4) Streamed. I never cared for John Wayne, but this movie was about to drop from instant view, so I gave it a whirl. This was supposed to be a more politically correct John Ford western, in that the Indians were treated with more respect. All the Ford hallmarks (or clichés?) are present. The action scenes involve superb stunt people, but the editing is a little choppy. The Monument Valley scenery is classic and the cast takes me to the Film Encyclopedia for some personal stories. Twenty year old Shirley Temple was awkward in her ingénue role and wooden John Agar, the young officer matched with her, was in fact her husband at the time – they divorced the following year. Uptight Colonel Henry Fonda gets deservedly “Custered” , but wiser John Wayne, instead of saying “I told you so” ends up celebrating him. Not enough appeal here for me, so 2 stars will protect me from similar Flix recommendations.

Frankie Starlight – 1995 (2.1) Streamed. Netflix was way off on its prediction for me on this dud. It sounded promising, based on a novel about a dwarf and his mother, but the script did not deliver anything or anyone with appeal. No drama, no emotion, nothing.