Orphan (2009)

Orphan needed a script parent to reel in some of the trite and ridiculous plot points but taut direction by Jaume Collet-Serra did keep me entertained and wondering how it would all play itself out. Vera Farmiga and most especially Isabelle Fuhrman are exceptional as the mother and titular child she and husband Peter Sarsgaard adopt; in fact, Fuhrman is so good she should have been rewarded with an Oscar nod. The ending is a tense-fest (with a classic line to end it all) but, when all is said and done, it seems more a lost opportunity than a good film.

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Hello, Dolly! (1969)

Yes, she's too young, too pretty and too Jewish for the role Carol Channing performed but Barbra Streisand made the titular matchmaker her own using a timeless, pseudo-Mae West characterization and her trademark humor in this film version of Jerry Herman's Broadway hit Hello, Dolly! Yes, the production is overblown and the film is long (like these three lines) but the story moves along at a horse's clip, Walter Matthau shines (working up some chemistry with Streisand despite their reported dislike for each other), and the classic songs (including Just Leave Everything To Me, Before The Parade Passes By, Put On Your Sunday Clothes, and Hello Dolly - sung by Streisand with Louis Armstrong) are so catchy you'll be humming along even if you've never heard them before. So no, it's not a bad movie (although you might want to stay away if you're not a Streisand fan) and, contrary to popular belief, it brought in more money than the $26,000,000 it cost 20th Century Fox to make it.

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Devil (2010)

I woke up at 1:30 AM with insomnia and clicked on the TV to find Devil, a film produced and based on a story, but not directed, by M. Night Shyamalan. Despite an interesting beginning this one won't bring him back to the fold (so to speak) but that said, once the movie ended and the bedroom was dark again, I swear every creak was whispering Beelzebub (a word NOT used in the movie). I couldn't tell if it was the movie or the time of night so I'll let you decide.

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When Time Ran Out (1980)

When Time Ran Out was supposed to be the cherry on the 70s disaster film cake of Irwin Allen - despite its release in 1980. That date was a harbinger for this leaden volcano-explodes-and-people-escape-lava epic, which has a mixed bag of well paid actors (William Holden, Jacqueline Bisset, Edward Albert, Red Buttons, Valentina Cortese, Veronica Hamel, Alex Karras and Allen's wife, Sheila) running away from lava that, as pointed out early in the story, ...moves slowly enough to give us time so don't rush. The pacing never picks up so I would be remiss to not note the most interesting thing about this movie: actor Paul Newman used his salary to bankroll Newman's Own, a self-sustaining business which continues to contribute millions of dollars to charity even after his death.

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Super 8 (2011)

Super 8 is the best Steven Speilberg movie ever made made by J.J. Abrams. Without going into detail, consider it a dark E.T. with all the humor and sweetness in tact. The acting (including Elle Fanning, Ron Eldard, Joel Courtney, Kyle Chandler and Gabriel Basso - the latter also of The Big C for fans of that particular series) is superb, the effects spectacular and the soundtrack of late 70s tunes keeps you bopping. Take your best bell bottoms and feathered hair to the one BIG screen left in your town (the only screen on which to see this one) and DON'T leave before the credits begin.

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Zuckerbaby (1985)

Zuckerbaby (Sugarbaby) is a slight, quiet story about over-the-top persistence and determination. Directed and written by Percy Adlon (before his English language breakout Bagdad Cafe (Out of Rosenheim), the film is quirky, hot and appealing despite a color scheme and roving camera work which might seem annoying or pretentious to some. I, though, went with it and was gleefully rewarded especially by Marianne Sägebrecht (also in Bagdad Cafe) who breaks all taboos with a raw and honest performance as the overweight mortician's assistant who decides to woo the slim, blond subway conductor (Eisi Gulp).


This film is not available on DVD but I have an AVI file if interested.

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Sons of Perdition (2010)

The only outcome of religious fundamentalism is control of the masses and Sons of Perdition, a documentary about teens who will not be controlled, is an interesting watch. It illustrates the true horror behind the fictitious Big Love compound and the patriarchal rule behind the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It's not the most absorbing film but my heart goes out to these sons (and daughters) trying to make for themselves a better life.

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Hostel: Part II (2007)

Part one (the beginning) of Hostel: Part II is mundane while part two, at least, brings a few surprises to the denouement. I liked seeing Heather Matarazzo in a horror film as well as Bijou Phillips, Roger Bart (of Broadway and The Midnight Meat Train) and Jordan Ladd (in a small yet non-pivotal role) but ultimately, the whole thing seemed like it was done before; like in part 1. Watch it while folding laundry as it doesn't really demand your full attention to get what's going on.

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For The Boys (1991)

Bette Midler might be playing Bette Midler in For The Boys, the fictional story of USO entertainers Dixie Leonard and Eddie Sparks, but she nails it (as the former) and deservedly received an Academy Award nomination for her work. She sounds great in the many enjoyable musical sequences that pepper the story (using standards covering the film's fifty year span) and is supported by a fine cast (including James Caan as Sparks, George Segal, Melissa Manchester, Patrick O'Neal, Norman Fell and Dori Brenner). The movie is long and the make-up used to age the two stars is not the most realistic but I did find it to be absorbing and more than the sum of these parts.

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Bridesmaids (2011)

Bridesmaids is laugh-out-loud funny, down-in-the-(literal)-gutter raunchy and sweet as a wedding cake. It's quite the combination put together by co-writer/lead Kristen Wiig with tremendous help from Maya Rudolph (who is always always phenomenal), Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper and Jill Clayburgh (in her last film appearance). There's more depth here than one might guess from the trailer and it all works beautifully together.

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MacGruber (2010)

I decided to watch MacGruber for one reason: Kristen Wiig. Wiig is fun to watch and here she took a slight characterization and made it her own. Whenever she was off-screen though I sat stone-faced and wondered how a movie can be so humorless, and its implication that gay sex was a punishment was just distasteful.

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The Group (1966)

It's easy to see how The Group was controversial in its day (touching on domestic violence, suicide, insanity and lesbianism) but it has not aged well. The group of college chums (portrayed by a stellar cast of Candice Bergen, Joan Hackett, Elizabeth Hartman, Shirley Knight, Joanna Pettet and Jessica Walter) are a bunch of idiot women, despite their educations, for whom I felt no affinity. And I've seen much better films by director Sidney Lumet.

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Låt den rätte komma in (2008)

The Swedish film Låt den rätte komma in (Let The Right One In) tells what might happen to Bella and Edward (of Twilight fame) if their vampiric roles were reversed and they were about five years younger. Unlike that film though, Tomas Alfredson has directed a dark, fascinating story (set in 1982 Sweden) with incredible acting from the two preteen leads, Kåre Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson. It's not a fast-moving (or particularly bloody) horror film but it grabs you with its sympathetic characters, compelling cinematography, and the surprise inclusion of Försonade, a 1968 recording from future ABBA member, Agnetha Fältskog.

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The Birds (1963)

There are so many incredibly composed and terrifying images in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds that it makes you wonder, if he could pull this off fifty years ago - why do today's filmmakers need computers for films far less memorable? The famed auteur (who can be seen in the film's first scene walking two dogs) has assembled a first-rate cast (Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, Veronica Cartwright) that brings to life this tense story of birds attacking a small Northern California town with old school effects, no music and no ending (sic). This is a scary film (you can feel the birds as they are shown pecking at each victim) - one of Hitchcock's best and with his legacy that's saying a lot.

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Mr. Deeds (2002)

Any charm that Mr. Deeds musters is directly related to the Frank Capra original Mr. Deeds Goes To Town. Although both earn their pay by acting, Adam Sandler is no Gary Cooper and Winona Ryder is no Jean Arthur. Do yourself a favor and watch the 1936 classic instead; you'll be pixilated.

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The Descent: Part 2 (2009)

Neil Marshall was the executive producer on The Descent: Part 2 which (like this review) picks up right after The Descent (depending on which of the two endings you saw). Although this story about the rescuers who enter the cave system to find the original spelunkers often strains credulity and mires in some broad characterizations, it is still claustrophobic and pretty scary. Krysten Cummings and Anna Skellern (new to the story) deserve special recognition for outstanding acting but anymore information than that would ruin the unexpected.

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The Descent (2005)

In The Descent, six women go spelunking in an uncharted cave system and find physical (and emotional) horrors heretofore unknown. The story is first rate and the six actresses (Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, MyAnna Buring and Nora Jane Noone) are bad-ass. Director Neil Marshall has created a bloody and claustrophobic (really claustrophobic) exercise in terror that never lets up.

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Mayor of the Sunset Strip (2004)

Mayor of the Sunset Strip is a sad documentary. Despite the fascinating life he has lived, Rodney Bingenheimer reveals through his filmed interactions that although he has been to paradise, he has never been to me (quoting singer Charlene). When you learn of the amount of people this unsung hero of the music industry has helped and touched, it hurts that no one has really done the same for him...until this movie...which showcases how sad he seemingly is.

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The Bad Seed (1956)

Thematically, The Bad Seed is the antithesis of an American film from the 50s as it asks us to ponder whether a blonde, white child with pigtails can commit murder? Quaint as the story is, there are a few unforeseen twists that keep everything moving along. The play from which this film was adapted is broad - characters, story, performances (Eileen Heckart, Patty McCormack and Nancy Kelly all Tony AND Oscar-nominated) and even an ending tagged on to the film because of the Production Code is broad - but for historical reasons, that's a good thing.

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A Wedding (1978)

A Wedding displays lesser quality Robert Altman as the camera meanders through the titular ceremony and dinner while contrived and uninteresting situations happen to all involved - typical Altman minus the contrived and uninteresting. It's not as absorbing as Nashville or as funny as M.A.S.H. but the large and evolving cast did catch my eye with Carol Burnett, Vittorio Gassman, Geraldine Chaplin, Dina Merrill, Lillian Gish (luminescent even as a corpse), Pat McCormick and Mia Farrow standing out. But if you're not a real fan of bland familial scenes and happenstance, best be moving along.

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Inception (2010)

Complication does not equal sophistication in Christopher Nolan's way-overrated dream film, Inception. Nolan changes his own rules to propel the story forward without regard to the laws of physics or the intelligence of the viewer. Some good effects wrap this one in the idea of smarts without the actual work to get them.

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Soylent Green (1973)

Soylent Green is the final film in the Last Man Standing science fiction trilogy that Charlton Heston made in the late 60s/early 70s and it manages to be creepily interesting despite his presence. The movie takes place in 2022 (via 1973), it's tense, has an edgy story, and some far out scenes (including the scooper and Edward G. Robinson's final scene). Once you've seen it, you'll never EVER forget what Soylent Green is.

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The Oh in Ohio (2006)

Parker Posey fans will drool over her performance as Priscilla, ice queen of Cleveland in The Oh In Ohio. Despite the iciness, Posey is charming and likable in this seldom funny but somewhat endearing comedy about a woman who learns to have an orgasm. Liza Minnelli as a masturbation therapist, Heather Graham as a sex shop clerk, Danny DeVito as the pool guy, Paul Rudd as Posey's husband and Mischa Barton (?) as the high school student all rise to Posey's crescendo nicely but the whole is worth less than its (private) parts.

My Sister Eileen (1942)

My Sister Eileen is stagy, stodgy and stale but Rosalind Russell is a revelation yet again as the unsung, untried and inexperienced writer from Ohio who moves to New York with her blond sibling. A mundane type of hilarity ensues but Russell's mannerisms, delivery and double takes are classic film comedy. Russell is ably supported by a cast that includes Janet Blair and Elizabeth Mrs. Trumbull Patterson so it's unfortunate the story just has no spark or relevance.

• Read 3 Lines About My Sister Eileen, the 1955 screen musical.
• Read a write-up of the various stage and screen versions of the source newspaper column, My Sister Eileen - a precursor to Sex And The City?

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Goodbye Mr. Chips (1969)

This 1969 musical version of Goodbye Mr. Chips was unconventional for its time in that the songs are, for the most part, sung as narration in the minds of the characters - similar to how the Academy Award winning film Chicago dealt with its score almost forty years later. Peter O'Toole and Petula Clark are both excellent and appealing as the titular professor in an all boys school and the woman with whom he falls in love. Although O'Toole's singing is not much better here than it was four years later in Man Of La Mancha AND it's a very long movie, the star chemistry, some tuneful Leslie Bricusse songs (with lyrics that mention Las Vegas and rock musician in 1924 England) and thankfully an intermission made it an enjoyable movie-going experience.

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