dwknuj Reviews

Anatomy of a Fall (2023)

Ick!

[3/10 · 5 February 2024]

Every once in a while we may see a film that we don't really care for. They weren't our cup of tea. For me, this was no such film. This is a picture that I actively and aggressively loathed. I am giving it three stars solely based on the performance of its star, Sandra Hüller, and its young co-star, Milo Machado Graner.

Yes, she was a mother and the accused, but other than that I don't feel like there was much reason to care about the main character, the writer, Sandra Voyter. The director, for whatever reason, decides to give her no places where I could really form a bond with her. The plot is moved forward by talking . . . And talking . . . And yet more talking. It had all the action of a freshly painted wall drying.

Near the beginning of the story (with multiple call backs later) we got treated to a deafening version of an instrumental cover of 50 Cent's "P. I. M. P." It was making me nauseous. I jammed my fingers in my ears to relieve the pain.

The movie's up for Best Picture in the 2024 Academy Awards (as well as Best Actress, Best Director and Best Editing). That's the only reason I stayed. I hope that there are worthier pictures from 2023 than this.

Poor Things (2023)

Blindingly Brilliant

[10/10 · 29 December 2023]

It's rare when we get a picture that is unlike anything that has ever been seen before and will ever be seen again. In that tiny club I'd place 2001: A Space Odyssey and Being John Malkovich as a pair of prime examples. There is a new member of that group. It is Poor Things.

Upfront I will warn you if you're offended by scenes of nudity (there's a lot of it) and sex. I empathize with you, if you have such misgivings. If that's you, this is not your film. If you can get around that, you're in for an amazing ride.

When I review a film on IMDB I always make it a point to resist the urge to synopsize. I will stay true to that here, save to say that this is inspired by Frankenstein (as it says in the movie's marketing). I'd also place a dash of Island of Dr. Moreau into the mix.

I always used to think of Emma Stone as a good actress. When I saw her in The Favourite I was forced to revise my opinion to great actress. After Poor Things she's in for another revision. She's a brilliant actress.

Amazing direction by Yorgos Lanthimos. Great script by Tony McNamara (based on a novel by Alasdair Gray). Memorable performances by Willem Dafoe, Mark Ruffalo and Ramy Youssef cap this off.

So, if you can tolerate sex and nudity, check this one out. You'll be pulled into a world that you have never imagined.

Spiritual Audacity: The Abraham Joshua Heschel Story (2021)

I was stunned

[10/10 · 5 September 2023]

How, oh how, could I have made it through the twentieth century and never heard the name Abraham Joshua Heschel? When I sat down to watch this documentary I had no idea who he was. Now that I have seen it I have realized that he was one of the most important figures of our time.

The makers of this documentary seem to hit just the right note. It brought in leading lights in the Civil Rights struggle as well as historians to tell the story of this remarkable man. The core of his beliefs seems to have been injustice anywhere means injustice everywhere. As he said, when there is an injustice only a few are guilty. We are all responsible.

It's been decades since Abraham Joshua Heschel has left us. The tired world is still spinning on its axis, but not as sweetly as it did when Heschel was a part of it. After seeing Spiritual Audacity, although I have reached an age that he never achieved, I will do what I can to take up his banner.

Babylon (I) (2022)

An Insult to a Golden Era

[1/10 · 5 August 2023]

I love silent film. Why? Take a look at it. If you haven't seen it, or haven't seen much of it, you might think it's a bunch of wildly gesticulating apes trying to smack the audience in the kisser to struggle to convey the storyline. That is the exact opposite of what silent cinema was all about.

The silents were a matter of subtlety. Look at Garbo's eyes, at Lillian Gish's balletic movements, at the depressed or ebullient posture of John Gilbert or the thousands of delicious nuances of Chaplin. They trusted the intelligence of their audiences that they would notice such things.

"Babylon" smacked us over the head with a series of blows from a sledgehammer. It lacked class or grace. It had all the subtlety of a spell of elephant diarrhea (depicted near the opening of the film anointing one of the characters).

Did the people in the silents have such bacchanals as depicted. They had wild parties, but, from what I know, not like that. They reenacted the tired rumor about Fatty Arbuckle and Virginia Rappe (a charge hyped by the Hearst press and one that he was proven innocent of committing). The twisted rumors about Clara Bow, in the Margot Robbie character of Nellie LaRoy are too far from truth to go into here.

I am okay with nudity in film. I'm fine with course language and violence, to a point. But "Babylon" made me yearn for the return of the Production Code. If you get a chance, don't see it. Instead I'd suggest a good silent film instead.

Astrid et Raphaëlle (2019– )

It's Delicious!

[10/10 · 22 July 2023]

This show is so exquisitely balanced and presented that I run out of conventional superlatives to assess it. The truest word that I can assign to it is " delicious." It dances across every mental tastebud I possess.

The lug nut that holds all of this together is the character Astrid. In fact, here in the States we simply know the series as "Astrid." She is the classic "one who doesn't fit in." We saw that with Spock on Star Trek and, later, Data on Star Trek TNG. She's the country cop in the big city, the humble man wandering in a roomful of society swells, the innocent Jefferson Smith amongst jaded and corrupt politicians in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. This is everybody's favorite character. Astrid shines with it.

The interplay between the two leads, the fascinating scripts - this show has it all. By all means, please, watch it.

The Preview Murder Mystery (1936)

Sometimes "B" Means "Better"

[8/10 · 21 July 2023]

Yes, this is a B-picture. But as I said in my subject heading, this is a case of the B standing for Better.

The director, Robert Florey, did a remarkable job of covering up the strain placed on what must have been his modest budget. My favorite feature of this film is the innovative cinematography. Look at the use of shadows and its interplay with patches of light. Look at the use of Dutch tilts, making the environs of the studio look dangerous and mysterious. You can turn the sound off and just admire the camera man's craft.

There was one fascinating sequence involving the Batman. We spend a few moments on a set that looks like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari with a character that looks like Conrad Veidt. We learn that he's portraying a character called "the Batman." This movie was done in 1936. The Batman character that we know first emerged from the Batcave in May, 1939. This movie may mark the first appearance of a character named the Batman on a movie screen.

If you'd like a fun time capsule trip to see moviemaking in the mid 30's, this is your movie.

Harper (1966)

A Different Kind of Detective

[8/10 · 13 July 2023]

I've seen some harsh reviews of this picture. Even though I disagree with them, I understand them. I'd like to offer thoughts from someone who first saw this in a movie theater in 1966.

By the swingin' sixties the private detective story had gone as flat as an opened beer on a picnic table. You could watch the film and tick off the cliché's. OK, let's see, there's the lying client with a hidden agenda. There's the threatening gangster (who we learn is innocent by the end). There's the femme fatale, there's the frustrated and suspicious cop - and we bump along only to find an unlikely culprit. Along the way there's our protagonist - the sharp as a razor P. I. who is always at least two - three steps ahead of everyone, especially the audience.

Harper broke that mould. He learns things about the same time as us. He gets beaten up. He solves the case by throwing himself against the wall long enough that the wall collapses. In the end he has the wounds, scars and shattered bones to prove it. This is a brilliant film. Put yourself in the context of classic private investigator stories. You'll find that this one stands out.

The Whip Hand (1951)

This would make a great double feature

[7/10 · 5 July 2023]

I would love to see this picture as the top half of a double feature. The credits proudly proclaim that this "Production Designed and Directed by William Cameron Menzies. That's a name that has been around since the silent era, mostly as a production designer.

I would love to see this paired with the Menzies movie, "Invaders from Mars." That was an ultra paranoid classic in which the villains were dirty stinking Martians instead of dirty stinking Commies.

"The Whip Hand," despite its Red Scare veneer, is a fun, watchable slice of American terror from the fabulous fifties. Take a look. You might like it.

Small Town Girl (1953)

First Impressions Can Be Deceiving

[8/10 · 4 July 2023]

When the credits rolled at the opening and we see members of several families leaving for church service my fingers reflexively spasmed for the delete button. Oh brother, I thought. Another piece of MGM technicolor corn to prove, yet again, just how deeply American they were during the Red Scare of the 50's. It was certifiable proof, once again, that what they've been saying about me all these years is true - I actually AM an idiot.

But, after about 15 minutes, this idiot learned his lesson and atoned. I decided to remain for the duration. Am I ever glad that I did!

I would have missed Jane Powell's amazing singing and dancing. I would have missed Ann Miller (after her stand out dance numbers I felt like giving her a standing ovation in my own livingroom). I also would have missed the stunning dances by the dark horse in this race, the incredible Bobby Van. His hopping dance made my knees ache.

This is such a delightful picture. Don't be the idiot that I almost was. Do yourself a favor. See it!

Bobby Deerfield (1977)

So, You're the One!

[8/10 · 25 June 2023]

Many years ago I got to meet the director, Sidney Pollack. During an audience Q & A I stood up and told him that I really enjoyed Bobby Deerfield and asked a question about it. The moment that I said that I loved Bobby Deerfield, Pollack interrupted me and said, "So, you're the one who liked it!"

Yes, I admit it. Facing a storm of outraged howls and death at the box-office, I freely confess, I really do love this picture.

It's a compelling story told in a different way. Rather than the usual first-this-happens-and-then-that-happens that we've seen in virtually every story since we were all huddled around a fire in our caves, Bobby Deerfield takes a different approach. It's story is conveyed through the development of characters over the falling dominoes of plot, like pretty much every other film ever.

It's not for everyone. It was for me. Why not check it out and see if it's a good fit?

Deliverance (1919)

HELEN KELLER SEES; THE WORLD IS BLIND

[7/10 · 24 June 2023]

The headline on this piece wasn't written by me. It is from an enthusiastic review of this film from a newspaper in Madison, Wisconsin. It's the Madison Capital Times, December 08, 1919, Pg. 8. I found the review fascinating. It gives us a better perspective on the takeaway that many audience members had at the time. The Great War, the War to End All Wars, was over. While modern audiences focus on the powerful scene of Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller at the water pump or Annie translating what was being taught in Helen's college classes, many in 1919 were energized by this film's focus on peace.

What follows are not my words. This is the review that ran in that Madison paper more than 100 years ago.

"HELEN KELLER, born deaf, dumb and blind, SEES; it is the world that is BLIND.

"That is the thought that comes after seeing Helen Keller in the powerful motion picture "Deliverance" which opened a week's engagement at the Fuller last night. The production portrays the life of this wonderful woman,-a woman who has mastered language and science; a woman who, though blind and deaf, sees the coming of the new day of brotherhood of love and world democracy.

"How refreshing it is to witness such a picture as "Deliverance" after having seen so much of the tainted and bought and tawdry propaganda that flits across the screen these, days. It isn't the kind of a picture that the Duponts, war profit kings just arrived in the field of commercialized picturedom, would send out into the land. It is an HONEST picture, carrying honest gospel.

"Only those who are blind who do not see the TRUTH."

"That is one of the things that "Deliverance" has Helen' Keller saying.

"Helen Keller, though born with seemingly impenetrable walls of darkness about her, has broken down all barriers and today she sees the light of a NEW DAY while millions in the world are groping along in the dingy and musty lanes of the old order.

"Though deaf and blind, Miss Keller plainly sees the futility of war as an instrument for the settlement of disputes between men and nations. Though deaf and blind, Miss Keller has the vision which points to the brotherhood of man as the substitute for the bayonet and the machine gun. Though deaf and blind, Miss Keller sees the coming of a new industrial democracy where the man who produced will retain a larger share of the products of his toil; where the strong will not oppress the weak; where organized wealth will not exploit the disorganized poor.

"In fact, Helen Keller sees so much these days that those who are BLIND are calling her a RADICAL. Those who are BLIND to the new order that is coming over the world proclaim Helen Keller's vision as an evidence of Bolshevism and Socialism.

"Think of it! Millions who are BLIND showing their pity for Helen Keller who SEES.

"And isn't the struggle that Helen Keller has waged to emancipate herself from darkness the same struggle that all men women with VISION have to wage? Are not men struggling in darkness today, fighting for millions groping in darkness, encouraged because they have the vision to see the light on the peaks beyond?

"Are not the great figures of history men who, like Helen Keller, have broken down the dark walls of the past and have seen the light of the new day ahead?

"We wish every man, woman and child in Madison could go to the Fuller this week to witness this production. Take a day away from the grimaces and caprices of Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford and let Helen Keller make you see-SEE for one night.

"Helen Keller has consecrated her life to the great task of making a BLIND world SEE.

"Only those that are blind who do not see the truth" says Helen Keller.

"And much of the world is BLIND to the TRUTH in these days."

Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004 TV Movie)

Brigadoon for movie lovers

[8/10 · 23 June 2023]

Living on the East Coast of the U. S. I'd read about the Z Channel. It was like Brigadoon for people who love cinema. It was this perfect tiny village that popped up and this magical land called L. A. Sadly, as its founder's sanity receded into the mist, so did this magical village. It will be back, in some form, in some later generations. It's simply too good an idea to vanish forever.

I suggest that you could argue that the Z Channel has already resurfaced. It's called Turner Classic Movies. If you know where to look they have an amazing array of silents, foreign films and little seen classics.

If you love, or even like movies I suggest that you see this Valentine's Card to the Z Channel. Even though it's vanished it's still a magnificent obsession.

Wife vs. Secretary (1936)

The definition of "They Don't Make 'Em Like That Anymore"

[8/10 · 18 June 2023]

This is a great example of the kind of movie that Hollywood is incapable of making in the 21st century. First, they don't make the sorts of sensational casts like this. There is no modern equivalent for Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, May Robson and a sixth billed Jimmy Stewart (he was still approaching major stardom). They don't have directors who have the kind of light, deft touch that Clarence Brown exhibited. And on down the list - screenwriting, cinematography, and on and on and on.

We have color and action and CGI and no censorship. We have a toolkit that the filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age would have loved. We have powerful sledgehammers. Unfortunately we traded in our surgical scalpels to get them.

Enjoy Wife vs Secretary. Laugh at the funny parts and be touched by the others. Just know that you're looking at a lost world.

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: The Jar (1964) Season 2, Episode 17

Firing on All Cylinders!

[9/10 · 13 June 2023]

This episode is bursting with talent. They all came together perfectly to create about as good an entry into this series as you'll ever find.

Before we get to what we saw on the screen let's look at what contributed to it. It started with a great screenplay. The short story was by Ray Bradbury. It was part of his 1955 anthology, The October Country. The screenplay was adapted and written by James Bridges, who wrote a lot for Hitchcock's TV series. He was born in Paris Arkansas. He was a great choice for writing this tale set in the South. It was directed by the frequent Hitchcock collaborator, Norman Lloyd. The Bernard Herrmann score added perfect flavor. I'm tempted to watch it again with my eyes closed just to hear his music.

Then there's what we got treated to on the screen. First there's the star, Pat Buttram. He was known at the time as a character actor, mostly in Westerns and comedies. A few years after this episode aired he'd take on the role for which he was most famous - Mr. Haney in Green Acres. Then there was the Black Shakespearian actor, William Marshall. Not many years later he'd be the title character in the Blackula movies and later still the King of Cartoons on Peewee's Playhouse. There was the Academy Award winning actress, Jane Darwell, who'd been so memorable in roles in Gone With the Wind, The Grapes of Wrath and The Ox-Bow Incident. James Best as the sleazy boyfriend some years before he'd be remembered for Sheriff Roscoe Coltrane in The Dukes of Hazard. There was George Lindsey before he was Goober on the Andy Griffith Show, Marlon Brando's older sister, Broadway star Jocelyn Brando, Slim Pickens during the same year he'd give one of the most memorable performances of all time in Dr. Strangelove and, of course Billy Barty from so many iconic films, the most famous of which was The Wizard of Oz.

This was an anthology series. Like all such series it's very uneven from one episode to another. This one stands out. Very nicely done.

The Private Life of Don Juan (1934)

A Tragedy Played on Screen

[7/10 · 13 June 2023]

This movie is not a tragedy. It's a comedy with undertones of sadness. The tragedy is the real life story acted on screen.

Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford were the king and queen of hearts of the American public in the 1920's. Visiting royalty and dignitaries were never satisfied until they visited Doug and Mary in their home, Pickfair. The two of them did something that outraged their fans. Doug, the man locked in perpetual boyhood, and little Mary, America's Sweetheart, actually did something that few could conceive. They aged. As they aged, they drifted apart. In 1933, the year before The Private Life of Don Juan came out, they separated.

That year, 1933, Mary acted out her crisis on the screen with Secrets. It was about an established successful couple that separated and her efforts to win him back. In 1934 Doug embraced the part of Don Juan, a once famous man who was falling out of shape and struggling to keep up with his legacy. The part was too close to its portrayer. It even has a young vigorous man who is mistaken for Don Juan, as Doug jr. Was close enough to his father that Doug Sr. Resented him.

Secrets ended Mary's spectacular acting career. Don Juan was Doug's final role. Ten years before Doug lit up the screen with his greatest triumph - The Thief of Bagdad. Just a few years after Don Juan Douglas Fairbanks was gone. The world will never again feel so young.

Film: The Living Record of Our Memory (2021)

Vital for Any Lover of Film

[10/10 · 9 June 2023]

Films live in our memories. They live in our hearts. But they don't necessarily live for very long in our archives.

We think of cinema as a fixed, unchanging, undying phenomenon. They delighted us, horrified us, titillated or amused us. This spectacular documentary teaches us that those memorable pictures might as well be stored on an Etch-a-Sketch.

In it's own way, Film, the Living Record of Our Memory, is an adventure story. As the world blunders along, these hardy souls spend their lives battling the inevitable decline of films, one frame at a time.

I've visited major archives and labs. I have strolled through major cold-storage aisles loaded with precious cinematic artifacts. I understand now that I simply had the illusion that I understood the battle for preservation. After seeing Film, the Live Record of Our Memory, I finally understand what I don't know.

Whatever you're doing, stop. Go see this documentary right now.

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: The Magic Shop (1964) Season 2, Episode 13

Hitchcock meets Wells

[8/10 · 8 June 2023]

There is a story, which may or may not be true, that in the 1930's Alfred Hitchcock set out to film a novel by H. G. Wells. The novel was War of the Worlds. However Mr. Hitchcock never shot it. He was dissuaded by the author. Wells said that the story was simply too dated (the subsequent versions have been so radically altered that little remains of the original tale). However, I don't think that Hitchcock ever lost his fascination with a literary output of Wells.

Hitchcock never got Wells out of his system for the big screen. Instead he turned to the small screen for this H. G. Wells story of The Magic Shop.

I've heard speculation through the years that Hitchcock filmed this under protest. The network wanted spookier fare to appeal to the teen demographic. I think that's ridiculous. The Master of Suspense knew just what he was doing and did it.

Still, it's a shame. I would loved to have seen Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart battling Martians.

Hill-billing and Cooing (1956)

An X-Chromosone Brutus!

[8/10 · 3 June 2023]

The post-Fleischer 1950's Popeye cartoons can, sometimes, be pretty rough sledding. But not this one. It's a pleasure.

I often get cranky when I see Popeye without spinach and lacking Brutus (or Bluto - your.pick). Well this is a non-Brutus Popeye but we don't miss the big lug. Instead of a Jackson Beck-voiced villain we get a female brute voiced by the hillbilly comedian, Judy Conova. She's wonderful! The character's fantastic. I'm sorry that they didn't make a dozen more with her.

We get to see Olive in action, there's no annoying nephews. This one's firing on all cylinders. Do yourself a favor. Check it out.

The Gang's All Here (1943)

Warning: Do Not Use Hallucinogens While Viewing this Movie

[7/10 · 3 June 2023]

The musical numbers in this 1943 gem, The Gangs All Here, are about as surreal as they come. They're either the daydreams or night visions of Salvador Dali. I urge to avoid drug use before viewing. You're at risk of your head just floating away (like the disemboweled noggins in one of the numbers).

It had an abundance of charms. It has Carmen Miranda, this time with a fair number of lines. I won't bother trying to describe her "The Lady with the Tutti-Fruiti Hat." It has to be seen to be believed. Edward Everett Horton gets to si g a couple of lines. And, of course, there's Eugene Pallett doing what he does best - being Eugene Pallett.

This picture is what every musical fan wants. It's fun with Benny Goodman fueled music.

FDR (2023– )

Masterful blend of film and historians

[8/10 · 30 May 2023]

What a great documentary series. I always think of the driving force behind this as executive producer Doris Kearns Goodwin. This is the third such series that has aired on the History Channel in the States. Its predecessors were Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.

They've been able to blend historical film footage, actors recreating scenes that we know happened, but away from cameras, and some very sharp historians giving us commentary along the way.

When I see an historical film I frequently grow frustrated. How much of that actually occurred and how much was simply to build an audience? With this kind of series you can feel confident that you're witnessing historical facts without the fiction.

This is a pleasure to watch. I hope that we get to see more from Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Star Wars: Visions: Tatooine Rhapsody (2021) Season 1, Episode 2

Ugh!p

[1/10 · 22 May 2023]

To call this mess unwatchable is an insult to every other movie that I've ever found unwatchable. After a spectacular opening Star Wars Visions gave us this? This was no vision. This was a nightmare.

If zI felt like checking out a rock band I wouldn't be watching Star Wars Visions. This didn't move the Star Wars universe further along. This didn't deepen my understanding of anything. This may as well have been Star Wars Teletubbies.

If you haven't seen this then don't. I didn't think anyone or anything could make me pine for Jar Jar Binks. He was far more entertaining than this pile of Bantha droppings.

The Secrets of Hillsong (2023)

A Nailbiter!

[9/10 · 22 May 2023]

I am pretty omnivorous when it comes to film. I like everything from silent movies to new releases. I am fine with foreign language films. But there's one thing that I love most of all - a well crafted documentary. The Secrets of Hillsong is a great example.

It's grounded in facts and interviews. Yet, somehow, the production team managed to keep me on the edge of my seat.

I am not going to reveal any spoilers, but several times, after a major revelation, I'd think, ok, this is obviously the end of this episode- and it never was.

Many of the interviews must have been painful. I applaud those brave souls for finding the inner strength to do them.

If you love great documentaries I suggest that you see this. To me it offers a master class in how to tell a story that is both factual and gripping.

Sky High (1922)

Tom Mix Shows Us Why He Was King of the Cowboys

[7/10 · 8 May 2023]

I have heard the legends around Tom Mix for decades. This is the first of his features that I've seen. Some legends of the past don't hold up a century later. That's not true with Mr. Mix. He was King of the Cowboys then. He's clearly King of the Cowboys now.

Sky High is a great showcase for his talents. He ropes, rides, lassos and leaps from planes. He was never the troubled antihero struggling between right and wrong. He was always the model of unambiguous virtue.

I gave this picture seven stars. It probably deserved eight. I felt compelled to reduce its score because of the racism against Chinese people displayed in the story. It was a dark thumbprint on an otherwise fun and fast paced film.

Stalker (1979)

Rotten Egg

[4/10 · 7 May 2023]

I am doing something that I seldom do and usually don't appreciate when others do it. I am reviewing a film that I have not seen in its entirety.

Many years ago there was a famous book editor who was notorious for rejecting manuscripts. One frustrated author would place a hair about three quarters through his text. When the book bounced back to him he found the hair undisturbed. He confronted his editor. The editor replied, "I don't have to eat a whole egg to see that it is rotten."

Tarkovsky has given us a brilliant piece of carefully composed images with no content. The characters are not engaging. There was no one to root for other than the end of the movie. If you thrill over beautiful gift wrapping of empty boxes this is your kind of movie.

American Masters: Never Too Late: The Doc Severinsen Story (2021) Season 35, Episode 4

The God of Music

[10/10 · 24 April 2023]

As I write this review in 2023, Doc Severinsen has played his final concert in September, 2022. He was 95 years old.

This is a compelling documentary about an extraordinary musician. For those of us of a certain age, we may not have appreciated what a gifted talent the man with the flashy clothes backing up Johnny Carson was. This wonderful presentation makes that clear.

Thank-you PBS and thank-you American Masters. This series has given us wonderful portraits of compelling figures for decades. This episode about Doc Severinsen is a fine example. I always feel smarter after I watch it. There's not much on television that can do that.