Category: Movie Reviews

A Star is Born (1937) starring Janet Gaynor & Fredric March

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In rural North Dakota, a petite redheaded young woman, Esther Blodgett (Janet Gaynor), goes often to the movies; she also wants to be in them. When she admits this to her family, her little brother laughs, her father is confused, and her aunt considers it foolish (saying Esther needs a husband). Her 70-something grandmother, Lettie (May Robson), is the only one supports her, even giving Esther her own life savings. 
Esther, everyone in this world who has ever dreamed about better things has been laughed at, don’t you know that? But there’s a difference between dreaming and doing. The dreamers just sit around and moon about how wonderful it would be if only things were different. And the years roll on and by and by they grow and they forget everything, even about their dreams. -Grandmother (Lettie) explains to Esther
After a month, Esther still has no job, but makes a new pal who also lives in her hotel- Danny (Andy Devine)- an aspiring director. In a few more months, Danny gets an assistant director job. One night, he recommends Esther for a waitress gig at the home of a studio head, Oliver Niles (Adolphe Menjou). Norman Maine (Fredric March), a handsome/successful/middle-aged actor, can’t take his eyes off her; this is the same man she watched growing up! 
Do you mind if I take just one more look? -Norman asks Esther (after dropping her off after the studio party)
With some prodding from Norman, Oliver prepares a contract for Esther (AKA Vicki Lester). It turns out that her artless personality and girl-next-door looks appeal to audiences. After they marry, the couple go on a honeymoon out West, and Norman even gives up alcohol. And the rest is what dreams are made of, right? Well, it’s not that easy… and Esther discovers the reality behind the glamour quick enough.
His work is beginning to interfere with his drinking. -A reporter comments re: Norman
Norman’s previous heavy drinking, as well as late-night practical jokes, have put off many directors. Though he brought the studio success for many years, Oliver explains that it’s no longer profitable to keep on Norman. The actor says he understands, yet finds it increasingly difficult (on his ego) to be a house husband. Alas, Esther’s love is not enough for Norman! 
[1] March displays just the right degree of brashness, of knowingness, and a combination of ego and a real actor’s almost complete lack of ego. It’s a miraculous piece of work. The script for this version was partly written by Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell and it shows. It’s an acerbic and, at times, savage movie about the movies, quite cynical for a major studio picture of it’s day.
[2] March… strikes just the right balance between Norman’s vulnerability and his pomposity. You never doubt that he loves Esther.  
[3] I guess Hollywood knows itself better than anyone else and films about the industry can be scathing. The star is a creature with a fragile ego, one moment a whim can move mountains, a slip in public affections and no one wants to know you. March as Maine has been slipping for some time and he catches on, way too late. But as March is going down, Gaynor is on the up escalator and they meet mid point and fall in love. How they deal with their joint careers or lack thereof in one case is what A Star is Born is all about. 
[4] This movie has been done three times: this one in 1937, then in 1954 and finally 1976. Of course, this story – rags to riches in the acting business – was done first by others – principally Katharine Hepburn in Morning Glory (1933) and, oddly enough, again in Stage Door (1937), and again with Hepburn ably assisted by a host of well-known Hollywood actors… The difference with Star, of course, is it’s maybe the first movie to dig into Hollywood screen acting and make an attempt to lay it bare.
-Excerpts from IMDB reviews
Some Trivia Behind the Film
  • The first all-color film nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.
  • The movie got its story-line from What Price Hollywood? (1932).
  • It has been speculated that the story was inspired by the real-life marriage of Barbara Stanwyck and her first husband, Frank Fay.
  • The character of Norman Maine was based on several real actors, including John Barrymore, who was considered for the role.
  • During Esther’s screen test, she is dressed in an antebellum costume and surrounded by other actors in Civil War uniforms. This is an in-joke reference to the fact that the producer of A Star is Born, David O. Selznick, had recently bought the rights to adapt Margaret Mitchell’s novel Gone With the Wind and was undergoing a highly publicized national search for an actress to play the lead role, Scarlett O’Hara. 

Mile 22 (NOW PLAYING) starring Mark Wahlberg

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Lea Carpenter (novelist and 1st-time screenwriter) talked re: this fast-paced/fast-talking action movie at the International Spy Museum. She is a former English major (like me). After her father died, Carpenter learned that he was in the Special Forces (after serving in Vietnam). She became interested in the spy thriller genre. Director Peter Berg read her first book and was impressed w/ it; he reached out and asked if she wanted to work on a screenplay (w/ Mark Wahlberg attached to the project.

Intensity, tension, violence, fighting and chase scenes are jam-packed into a relatively short run time (close to 90 mins). The opening sequence was done quite well.  The team sets up a raid on a group of Russian spies who have a safe house in the ‘burbs. The film then jumps ahead 2 years to the top-secret CIA team (Overwatch) reassembling in Southeast Asia. James Silva (Wahlberg), aided by his command unit, tries to smuggle a mysterious police officer, Li Noor (Iko Uwais- an Indonesian actor/martial artist) w/ sensitive information on a dirty bomb out of the country. Uwais (who briefly appeared in Star Wars: The Force Awakens) has the potential to be the next Jet Li or Jackie Chan, as many reviewers commented.

Ronda Rousey (who is best known for MMA) does a good job in her minor role of tough operative; I didn’t know she was pursuing acting. Lauren Cohan, another operative who is going through a tough divorce/custody battle, brings some heart (and realism) to this movie.  Cohan has appeared on various TV shows; she is best known for The Walking Dead. John Malkovich (w/ a flat-top hairpiece) didn’t have much to do, mainly sitting behind large computer monitors. His code name is “Mother,” as he is overseeing this operation. I’m guessing that the production companies wanted a well-known veteran actor attached and Malkovich was available. I know that he has worked in South America; this film was shot in Bogota, Colombia (which was an affordable location, as opposed to Southeast Asia).

People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. -Silva quotes English author George Orwell

The Odd Couple (1968) starring Jack Lemmon & Walter Matthau

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[1] …the movie is a revelation. The script reveals surprising depth about love, hate, and human relationships. 

[2] …it’s a portrait of two friends helping each other through the agony of divorce. It’s also damn funny from start to finish, but it’s the kind of comedy that arises from realistic, stressful, and just plain awful situations.

[3] I remember something that Roger Ebert said in an interview with Martin Scorcese. Ebert said that “Raging Bull” was a great movie. People would protest that they didn’t want to see it, because they didn’t want to see a film about boxers. No, Ebert insisted. The subject matter of a film is not the heart of the film. Rather, it’s how well a film is made that matters. An expertly made film about boxers is better than a badly made film about a topic you may be interested in. So, no, I’m not a man; I’m not divorced. But “The Odd Couple” was so well made that I fell in love with it. I surprised myself by laughing out loud throughout the film. 

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews

Felix’s (Jack Lemmon- one of my faves) wife, Frances, has left him and he’s thinking of suicide. His friends sense his depression and one of them, Oscar (Walter Matthau), volunteers to take him in (after all, he has a HUGE apt on the UWS of Manhattan). The two of them are polar opposites- Oscar is fun-loving, extroverted, and V messy; Felix is a cautious, introverted, and an OCD-type of neat-freak. Being around Oscar cheers Felix up, but he quickly starts to irritate Oscar.

Don’t threaten me with jail, Blanche, because it’s not a threat. With my expenses and my alimony, a prisoner takes home more pay than I do. -Oscar comments to his ex-wife (over the phone)

I know him. He’s too nervous to kill himself. Wears his seat belt in a drive-in movie. -Oscar explains to his poker buddies (close friends) re: Felix

Funny, I haven’t thought of women in weeks. -Felix comments to Oscar (after Oscar proposes they set up a dinner date w/ his British neighbors- the Pidgeon sisters) / I fail to see the humor. –Oscar replies

I put order in this house. For the first time in months, you’re saving money. You’re sleeping on clean sheets. You’re eating hot meals for a change and I did it. -Felix explains to Oscar

You leave me little notes on my pillow. Told you 158 times I can’t stand little notes on my pillow. “We’re all out of cornflakes. F.U.” Took me three hours to figure out F.U. was Felix Ungar! -Oscar tells Felix (in their “break-up” scene)

I know him. He’ll kill himself just to spite me. Then his ghost will come back, following me around the apartment, haunting and cleaning, haunting and cleaning, haunting and cleaning… -Oscar laments to his friends (as they drive around looking for Felix)

This screenplay (written by Neil Simon) is full of hilarious lines; Simon also had a hit on Broadway w/ his play. Simon, who MANY consider to have a great ear for dialogue, died this past August at age 91. Felix is based on his older brother, Danny, who was also a playwright. Lemmon and Matthau (real-life friends) are perfect together! As a reviewer noted, buddy comedies are ALL about the actors and script. I’d NEVER seen this famous film before, BUT it’s a must-see! The term “odd couple” is a part of American pop culture; it’s often used to describe people who don’t seem to belong together. After this film, there were spin-offs, incl. 2 sitcoms (one of which was long-running) and even a cartoon. 

Click below to watch a NYT video tribute of Neil Simon. 

SPOILER-FREE Review: White Boy Rick (opening 9/14/18) starring Matthew McConaughey

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[1] I hadn’t read up on this story, because I wanted to watch the movie not knowing any details. I was pleasantly surprised. This movie was not what I was expecting. I went in thinking it would be a Pablo Escobar kinda movie, but it was not. 

[2] Although the story is meant to be light-hearted in most moments (due to the nature of this crazy story), there are quite a few dramatically effective scenes to go along with them, but it almost felt like the movie was getting a little too serious for the writers, so they had to take away from some of the emotion by adding jokes. 

Matthew McConaughey gives one of his best efforts in a while and a particular scene actually had me in tears. This really shouldn’t come as a surprise, though, seeing as everyone expects him to bring a lot to the table nowadays. Newcomer Richie Merritt is the one to talk about, however. While his performance isn’t something that people will be talking about for decades to come, this was quite the impressive first impression. 

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews

This is likely to be one of the MOST serious (and unflinchingly violent) films of 2018. I saw it at a free pre-screening w/ a Meetup earlier this week; it’s out this FRI. The gritty indie drama is based on a true story and filmed in Cleveland (which stands in for Detroit). In 1984, Ricky Wershe, Jr. (newcomer Richie Merritt) is a 15 y.o. H.S. dropout who helps his gun dealing father, Rick Sr. (Matthew McConaughey), hustle for a living. In the opener, they attend a gun show. The Wershes haven’t left Detroit (“a lion doesn’t leave the Serengeti”) b/c Rick thinks that they can still make something of themselves. Rick’s older sis, Dawn (British actress Bel Powley) is angry, rebellious, and (possibly) on drugs. The grandparents are played by veteran actors (Bruce Dern and Piper Laurie); their scenes are few, yet memorable. 

There is an epidemic of gun violence and crack cocaine in the area; local cops seem to turn a blind eye and the FBI has a presence. Two FBI agents- Snyder and Byrd (Jennifer Jason Leigh and Rory Cochrane) and local undercover cop, Det. Jackson (Brian Tyree Henry) have their eye on a young dealer, Johnny ‘Lil Man’ Curry (Jonathan Majors), who has connections in high places. Ricky knows Johnny, having done some business w/ him, so the FBI starts following him (to encourage him to assist them). 

RBG (2018)

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People ask me “Don’t you feel uncomfortable being compared to a rapper?” Why would I? We have a lot in common like being born and raised in Brooklyn. -Ruth Bader Ginsburg

If you’re not watching #RBGMovie you are missing one of the great multi layered love stories. Love of the law, love of knowledge, love of equality and above all, love of marriage as a true partnership, bursting with mutual respect. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is an American original. -Tom Harrington (CBC Radio)

The love story between Ruth and Martin Ginsburg is nothing less than awe-inspiring. I love how she tells about her undergraduate years at Cornell where there was a four to one ratio of boys to girls. “Every mother wanted to send their daughter there because, if you couldn’t find a husband there, you were hopeless.” She reveals that during her freshman year, she never dated the same boy twice. That is, until she met Marty, who was the first guy that recognized she had a brain. -Excerpt from IMDB review

He was okay playing second fiddle. In fact, he joked about it… -Nina Totenberg (NPR legal correspondent) on Marty, a very successful tax attorney in NYC, who moved to DC when his wife’s career took off. 

The film traces RBG’s life from her childhood in Brooklyn through her years struggling to be taken seriously as a young female law student  and practicing attorney, and through her tenure on the SCOTUS and emergence as a pop culture icon. The storyline is mostly linear, but includes frequent jumps backward, forward, and even sideways as it examines different aspects of her life, personality, and public image. There’s a mix of historical photos, videos, but the main draw are the interviews. We hear from Ginsburg’s children, childhood friends, colleagues, admirers and a few detractors, as well as fellow feminist icon Gloria Steinem, former Pres. Bill Clinton, and Ginsburg herself.

Some of the cases RBG argued before the SCOTUS:

  • Frontiero vs. Richardson (1973): A young newly-married woman from Alabama, Sharron Frontiero, working in the U.S. Air Force, sues for gender discrimination when the housing stipend is denied her (unlike male co-workers).
  • Weinberger vs. Wiesenfeld (1975): A widower and father to baby boy, Simon Wiesenfeld, sues the Social Security Administration for sole-survivor benefits (then called “a mother’s benefit” and only avaiable to women). When the case reached SCOTUS, RBG had Simon come sit w/ the lawyers (putting a masculine face in front of the all-male justices).
  • Califano vs. Goldfarb: Leon Goldfarb, a widower, who applied for survivor’s benefits under the Social Security Act had his application denied (even though his wife Hannah had paid Social Security taxes for 25 years).
  • Edwards vs. Healy: Challenging the Louisiana law that allowed women to opt-out of jury service.

You may remember these (high-profile) cases that RBG presided over:

  • U.S. vs. Virginia Military Institute (1996): VMI boasted a long and proud tradition as Virginia’s only exclusively male public undergraduate higher learning institution. The U.S. brought suit against Virginia and VMI alleging that the school’s male-only admissions policy was unconstitutional insofar as it violated the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.
  • Ledbetter vs. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (2007): Over her 19 yr. career at Goodyear, Lilly Ledbetter was consistently given low rankings in annual performance-and-salary reviews and low raises relative to other employees. Ledbetter sued for gender discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, alleging that the company had given her a low salary because of her gender.

A granddaughter, Clara Spera, who recently graduated from Harvard Law School, explains that this was the first year that the graduating class was 50% male and 50% female (WOW). Jane and James (her adult children) recall how their mother rarely laughed, stressed education and personal responsibility, and was a horrible cook (LOL). Her husband, Marty, worked hard by contacting people from the business and legal communities to get RBG (then aged 61) to the top of the list for Supreme Court justice in 1993. Pres. Clinton was very impressed by her interview. RBG, who even won the admiration of Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), was confirmed 96-3 in a quite partisan time. This is a MUST-SEE documentary (for people of ALL ages)!