Tag: Movies

Movie reviews

“Westward the Women” (1951) starring Robert Taylor, Denise Darcel, Hope Emerson, & John McIntire

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In early 1850s California, there is a severe lack of women among the workers on Roy Whitman’s (John McIntire) large/thriving farm in the Valley. He travels back East to Chicago to recruit 150 women willing to become wives for his employees. Buck Wyatt (Robert Taylor) is hired to be the trail boss on this wagon train; he brings along 15 men to assist. One of the (enthusiastic) men is V short, young, and Japanese- Ito Kentaro (Henry Nakamura). Whitman tells the women during registration that wagons are waiting for them in Independence, MO; this city- w/ nearby St. Joseph- was the last eastern settlement before heading into “The Wild West.”

Buck: There’s two things in this world that scare me, and a good woman is both.

One of the women is French/a former dancer, Fifi Danon (Denise Darcel) traveling w/ her friend, Laurie Smith (Julie Bishop). They’re both looking for a change after life in New Orleans. Darcel’s (French language) dialogue includes a few words which reveals that no one in the Hays Office understood French. Some terms would’ve never gotten past the censors IF in English- LOL! There is a tall/big-boned Boston widow, Patience Brawley (Hope Emerson). Another widow is from Italy, Mrs. Vanni (Renata Vanni); she has a 10 y.o. son. Maggie O’Malley (Lenore Lonergan) and Jean Johnson (Marilyn Erskine) are V good w/ guns and handling horses.

Frank Capra (who created the original story) had planned to direct the film himself w/ Gary Cooper in the lead. Later, he sold his story to his neighbor- director William Wellman; the screenplay is by Charles Schnee. The film was shot almost entirely outdoors (Kanab, Utah; the Mojave Desert; Death Valley). The rainstorm was shot on a sound stage, to have complete control over the lighting, waterworks, flooding, etc. Among the diverse travelers, they speak English, French, Italian, and Japanese; they briefly encounter Native Americans speaking their own language. There is no musical score (for themes, background, or segues); we only hear a choral piece for opening and closing credits, and a small wedding band.

Now, as many of my readers know, the Western genre is NOT known for its originality. However, this movie is an exception; some critics have even called it “proto-feminist.” It recently became available to rent (Amazon Prime video). This is an (emotional) journey; you’ll laugh, be shocked, and (maybe) cry after seeing ALL the trials faced by these characters. There are (several) dark scenes, revealing that the filmmakers weren’t afraid to “go there” when it came to realism. I felt that it could’ve been a BIT shorter when it came to run time.

[1] As far as I know, this movie has no rival in its subject matter, and the stars are magnificent. You will laugh and you will cry, but most of all, you will come away with a deep admiration of those hearty pioneers and especially those wonderful women.

[2] This film has a lot of aspects that are quite refreshing and remarkable considering when it was made. The main supporting role is a Japanese cowboy! His character is not a typical stereotype either. Though he is comic relief, he is also given a role as a wise friend to Taylor’s character.

[3] What also makes this a very good film are the nice little characters within the film. So it’s NOT just a Robert Taylor film, but excels because of the fine ensemble cast. One of the standouts is Hope Emerson–a brawny actress who made a name for herself playing gangsters and other scary characters.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

“The Verdict” (1982) starring Paul Newman, Charlotte Rampling, Jack Warden, & James Mason

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Frank Galvin Has One Last Chance At A Big Case. -Tagline

An outcast, alcoholic Boston lawyer sees the chance to salvage his career and self-respect by taking a medical malpractice case to trial rather than settling. -Synopsis

The Verdict was ranked #4 on the AFI’s list of the 10 greatest films in the genre of “Courtroom Drama.” The movie was nominated for 5 Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay); it didn’t win any Oscars. One of Paul Newman’s closest friends, Robert Redford, was originally involved w/ this film. David Mamet delivered his draft of the screenplay; Redford felt uncomfortable w/ how Frank Galvin was characterized (alcoholic, opportunistic, and mostly unlikeable). He hired another writer to work on a draft, and so on and on, until Redford decided NOT to tackle the role. Sidney Lumet was offered the project; he read all the drafts and identified the original Mamet version as the one he wanted to make. Newman agreed to star and received a Best Actor Oscar nom!

James Mason was eager to work w/ Lumet again; he was 1st offered the part of Mickey Morrissey (eventually played by Jack Warden). The director didn’t think that Mason wanted the role; at the advice of his wife, Mason called Lumet. Burt Lancaster (originally set to play Ed Concannon) dropped out, so the role was available. Edward Binns (who plays Bishop Brophy) and Warden played jurors in 12 Angry Men (1957), the 1st feature film directed by Lumet. Although the film was set in Boston (and looks like it), most of it was shot on sound stages in NYC. The actors rehearsed for 3 wks prior to filming (as was part of Lumet’s process); the studio also allowed the director to have final cut (which is rare).

I recall a LOT of ppl commenting that they 1st watched this movie in their HS (Social Studies/History) class. I suggest taking a 2nd look, esp. if you’re a fan of courtroom dramas and/or Newman. Wow, even at age 57, the iconic actor (purposefully de-glamorized) shows that he can still stretch himself! In one interview, Lumet comments that Newman “put a lot of himself into that role.” I think it’s his most impressive role, aside from Hud.

[1] Newman is a wonder with his loser posture and hyperventilation and his desperateness. It’s in his voice, it’s on his face, it’s in his smile, it’s in his shaking hands.

[2] And I found the direction by Sidney Lumet to be, once again, outstanding. Lumet has such a long list of great movies that you wonder why he has never won an Oscar or been given an AFI Lifetime Achievement award.

This is a riveting movie — about the law, but mainly about the flawed nature of the human beings who are entrusted with it.

[3] Production design: as good as it gets. Everything looks old, as if it has been used and lived in for years, not shabby but burnished with age, all mahogany wood and scarlet carpets. Lighting and photography: up there with the best. Most scenes are dark — it’s midwinter in Boston — but not too dark, cleverly lighted. The snow in the streets is literally blue, as if it had just leaped out of an impressionist landscape. Tree branches glisten with moisture on slick night-time streets. Tinsel draped along a bar ceiling twinkles with fraudulent joy.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

“Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1” (2024) starring Kevin Costner, Sienna Miller, & Sam Worthington

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The story of a nation unsettled. -Tagline

Hey y’all, can you believe it’s already SEPT (Fall)? Also, can y’all believe I wasted 3+ hrs. watching this Western (streaming on Max)!? It took me 2 nights to get through it last wk; I think this could be a cure for insomnia. As on viewer put it so clearly: “It felt like it belonged on TV as a miniseries in the late ’90s.” Actor/director/co-writer Kevin Costner reportedly spent a LOT of his own money to make this $100M movie. There are 2 more chapters being made; it’s NOT certain that those will get theatrical releases. I have to admit that I find Costner to be a limited actor (though I liked No Way Out and Bull Durham); I’ve also never seen his recent Paramount+ series- Yellowstone.

There a 3 or 4 separate groups (so far) that we meet in this sprawling/epic mess. The settings are several Western states in the time period of 1861-1865. The opening act is quite tense/exciting (I have to admit); Costner’s teen son (Hayes) plays a role. The 1st set of characters we meet incl. a mother, Frances Kittridge (Sienna Miller), her teen daughter Elizabeth (Georgia MacPhail), and a regiment of Union Army officers lead by Lt. Trent Gephart (Sam Worthington). I know what y’all are thinking: whoa, Worthington works outside of the Avatar franchise! The 2nd group are an Apache tribe going through division/conflict; 2 sons of a chief have differing views on how to deal w/ the White settlers (who are growing w/ each day). The 3rd grp incl. a horse trader, Hayes Ellison (Costner); he doesn’t ride into the story until 1 hr. goes by. He comes to a small mining town and meets a prostitute, Marigold (Abbey Lee), who is taking care of the baby of Ellen Harvey (Jenna Malone), while she goes on some business w/ her hubby (Michael Angarano). The 4th grp. is a wagon train heading to the (fictional) town of Horizon; these settlers are lead by Matthew Van Weyden (Luke Wilson). No, that is NOT a joke- they expect us to believe that Wilson belongs in a historical piece! There are 2 British/snobby/clueless marrieds who are objects of humor.

There are maybe 3 scenes which carry some interest, thanks to Danny Huston (a Union general), Michael Rooker (a Union officer), and Jamie Campbell Bower (a gunslinger/son of a crime family). Bower also the only actor who looks like he’s having fun w/ his baddie role. Huston seems to be a fan of Westerns; he recently played the mayor in The Dead Don’t Hurt (2023). Most of the dialogue here is SO cliched that it’d make a HS English teacher cringe. There is little to no character development, so we end up caring nothing re: the plight of these folks. Worst of all is the the editing; it is disjointed, so creates confusion in the audience! The music is TOO grand in scale for such a lame movie.

[1] Sorry, Mr. Costner, I cannot recall seeing a more disjointed 3-hr saga in my life. There’s no opportunity for character development or story continuity, and to be able to keep track of where all the characters are (some go missing without explanation) nope… You might need a spreadsheet to keep track.

[2] The US Army parts felt a little too modern. The use of the word “indigenous” just did not sound right for that time. Also we have never been shown US Army compassion from that time period before.

The playful addition of African Americans seems very modern as well. No doubt they were there, but living harmoniously with whites is hard to believe.

[3] I was particularly irritated by the inappropriate loud glorious/triumphant music played during the Indian village massacre and several more minute at the end. It really upset me they would play such music over the top of the horrific depictions of violence against innocent women and children. It was like they were celebrating it.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

“The Tarnished Angels” (1957) starring Rock Hudson, Robert Stack, & Dorothy Malone

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In 1930, a former WWI hero, Roger Schumann (Robert Stack), has resorted to flying in (potentially dangerous) air shows. His wife/assistant, LaVerne (Dorothy Malone), young son Jack, and friend/mechanic Jiggs (Jack Carson) come on the road w/ Roger, as he pursues his passion. Burke Devlin (Rock Hudson) is a New Orleans reporter who wants to do an article on Roger when the group come to perform at a local circus. Burke is soon drawn to LaVerne, whose story he finds more fascinating than Roger’s! This is a (lesser-known) film directed by Douglas Sirk (known for his Technicolor melodramas AKA “women’s pictures”). This was shot in B&W and reunites 3 actors from Written on the Wind (1956); I found it more interesting than that movie.

There is little glamor to be found in The Tarnished Angels (based on a novel by William Faulkner), as these characters are disillusioned by their pasts and barely making a living. The themes here MAY remind some of the noir genre. Malone (an underrated talent) wears clothing from the late ’50s, NOT the ’30s Depression era (which doesn’t detract from the film). Hudson (known for his “hunk” status) is somewhat disheveled; he wears rough-hewn blazers and baggy cardigans. Hudson stretches himself as an actor; Sirk was the director that made him a big star. The flying scenes are tense and exciting- even to modern eyes!

[1] Taking as its subject the uncommon lifestyles of the participants in the popular flying-circus entertainments of the 20’s and 30’s, it’s not long before the familiar Sirk themes of conflicting passions, human weakness and sacrifice raise their heads above the parapet.

[2]…mostly watch it for Rock Hudson’s intelligent performance.

[3] I found the film to be solid, and would rank it among the very best of Sirk’s work. Truly a must-see. Not quite a noir, but still on the edges of that world.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

“The Dead Don’t Hurt” (2023) starring Vicky Krieps, Viggo Mortensen, Solly McLeod, Garret Dillahunt, & Danny Huston

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The Dead Don’t Hurt is a portrait of a passionate woman determined to stand up for herself in an unforgiving world dominated by ruthless men. -Excerpt from synopsis from Shout! Studios

I saw an online ad for this feminist Western drama recently; it was written/directed by Viggo Mortensen. He also composed the musical score- wow, talk about wearing many hats! Though this story is set in the 1860s (Civil War era), it asks Qs that men and women are facing today. At the center is this issue: How does one navigate a romantic relationship w/o losing one’s own personality and independence? To add weight here, the leads are already mature (middle-aged) and have lived according to their own wishes for some time. In an NPR interview, Mortensen (who plays Holger Olsen) said that Vivienne Le Coudy (Vicky Krieps) is partly based on his (French-Canadian) mother: “As w/ her time, she was a mother and a housewife. But she was not going to let anyone tell her how to think.”

Mortensen did NOT intend to act in the film, BUT “late in the game,” the actor who’d originally been cast left to work on a different project. Krieps (originally from Luxembourg; based in Berlin) suggested he take the role himself. Olsen was then aged up and made Danish (like his own father). The war which Olsen fought in was presumably the First Schleswig War (1848-1851) in which Denmark fought the German Federation for control of the regions of Schleswig-Holstein; Denmark was the winner. As he noted on The Late Show, the knight that appears in young Vivienne’s dreams carries a familiar sword: Anduril- Aragorn’s sword from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).

The film has some beautiful landscapes/scenery; it was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia and Mexico (w/ a mostly Mexican crew). Four languages are heard: English, French, Spanish and Danish; in some scenes, languages are mixed w/in the same line of dialogue. Y’all immigrants and 1st gen Americans will relate to that! The cast is international: in San Fran, we see “old money” gentleman Lewis Cartwright (Colin Morgan: Irish); in the Western town, Mr. Jeffries (Garret Dillahunt: American) is the powerful businessman; his son Weston (w/ a strong resemblance to Dillahunt- Solly MacLeod) is a newcomer from Scotland seen in S1 of House of the Dragon); and Mayor Schiller (Danny Huston: American/son of John Huston). These men are on the taller side (close to/over 6 ft.) Fans of Deadwood (HBO) will recognize two characters played by W. Earl Brown and Ray McKinnon.

I thought that there was great (natural) chemistry btwn Mortensen and Krieps; you really buy them as a couple! Krieps is slim and tall (5’9″), so well-matched physically w/ Mortensen. The film takes time to get going w/ its plot; we get to know the characters. There are time jumps, BUT I didn’t think those posed any problem. The main issue is its pacing; otherwise, I was impressed w/ the film as a whole. I look forward to seeing more of Mortensen’s directing!