Change Your Image
dancopp
Reviews
The Good Shepherd (2006)
The rogue shepherd
I had been thinking about the apparent tragedy of our misguided invasion of Iraq and had at least tentatively concluded that much of the problem was the hubris of our President and certain members of his cabinet: the conviction that American might and force of will can solve the most intractable international crises. I wondered if this prideful arrogance had its origin in elite boarding schools, Yale University, and, yes, a certain secret society that cradled W and other recent political eminences. Then I saw The Good Shepherd, which, of course, with the CIA standing in for the executive branch, reinforces that view. General Sullivan (Robert De Niro) warns us about the arrogance and ignorance of unchecked power, those who come to believe that they have god-like qualities, "there's no "the" preceding god." Edward Wilson is the stand in for all of us: we're sheep, too often following a rogue shepherd.
La vie rêvée des anges (1998)
What it takes to survive
Yes, the acting is superb, both the leads: the footloose, free-spirit Isa and the angry and erratic Marie. Also the supporting cast: the fat-boy bouncer and the rich-boy cad.
What's available to young women cast out of the nest? How does one survive the winters as a homeless person in the northern France? Mind-numbing factory work is available. But where to live, and how to find the community that homo sapiens need to be mentally healthy? We learn what it takes to survive. Isa has great resources; she's an extrovert and has a genuine concern for others. She finds community with a most unlikely person. Poor Marie, wanly beautiful, is withdrawn and suspicious; one must intrude forcibly to get beyond her defenses. And yet she's careless. So faced with the same chances, one woman finds psychic sustenance while the other stumbles into despair.
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
My friends and relatives
It's rare for me to see a movie and feel like I know the characters as friends or relatives, that I live among them. Little Miss Sunshine is one of those rarities. I was particularly impressed by the reality portrayed by Toni Collette as Sheryl, the mother who keeps the dysfunctional family from total destruction. She's an archetype we all know and love: a mother earth without whom families would not exist. Everyone else is along for the wonderfully-scripted, screwball comic ride: the desperate, fumbling father seeking to lead, the tormented son, the fantasizing daughter, the zany-cum-senile grandfather, and the chronically depressed uncle. We learn to love each of them as the family finds coherence and truth.
The Big Country (1958)
One of the very best
Why anyone who enjoys movies must see The Big Country: 1. It's written for mature adults. The story and the performances delve into character, not at the expense of but in support of the "western" action sequences.
2. The scenery is breathtaking. (I don't know for sure but suspect that I once hiked "Blanco Canyon" in Death Valley.) 3. The score and cinematography are first rate.
4. Burl Ives: a personal history comes to life in perhaps fifteen minutes of screen time.
5. Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston and the rest of the ensemble are uniformly in top form.
I Married a Witch (1942)
An unexpected pleasure
I had no foreknowledge of the movie or Veronica Lake, so I was most surprised to be thoroughly entertained by the excellent performances, clever, amusing plot, and deft direction. With respect to Miss Lake, I've heard since that she wasn't considered an accomplished actress and was a bit of a shrew, but on this stage, she is a revelation of charm, polished acting and undiluted, visceral sex appeal.
I understand a remake will surface soon, and I hate to think how much it will suffer by comparison. Why? Because this movie was made to satisfy adult, somewhat sophisticated sensibilities. The remake will inevitably be directed towards twelve to eighteen year-olds -- like so much of what populates our cineplexes.
These Wilder Years (1956)
Excellent performances, somewhat creaky plot
Cagney and Stanwyck are superb - real pros, and it is true that "Wilder" neatly avoids descending into an unabashed tearjerker. Also the broad storyline is sociologically compelling. Nevertheless, I couldn't overlook two plot contrivances that rankled throughout the ninety minutes. First, Cagney looks and acts much older that the purported forty. He's fifty-five if he's a day (he was fifty-seven when the movie was made), but the plot requires that he be a relative spring chicken. Second, certainly Miss Demster would have told him early on that she would inform his son that his biological father would like to meet him and leave it up to the son and his adoptive parents to decide how to proceed. Instead the storyline requires that turn of events for the denouement. Nevertheless, I was absorbed into the atmosphere, and the relationship between the tycoon and the teenager is very affecting.
The Fountainhead (1949)
political philosophy disguised as a movie
I have not read Ayn Rand (she most certainly was not on any reading list at Yale University in the 1960s!), so I was able to consider the movie on its own terms. I don't think I've ever experienced a more inept melodrama with such a talented cast, each of whom tried valiantly but failed miserably to breath life into the moribund script. Until I realized that the actors were not portraying flesh and blood but philosophical constructs, I thought I was watching escaped inmates from a mental institution on the streets of New York.
To make excuses, Any Rand wrote the much of the novel in the atmosphere of the Great Depression when it seemed to many Americans that collectivism was a dire threat to American individualism. So in her script for the movie adaptation, the villain, an art critic, repeatedly attacks the egoism of individualistic artists, and the Gary Cooper hero answers with lengthy polemics defending unique artistic vision. Needless to say, such philosophical ranting does not translate into a nuanced movie.
Cabin in the Sky (1943)
Absolutely delightful
Take the film only for what it is, a spoof, farce or light comedy. Serving that purpose, the cast is delightful with required over-the-top performances by one and all. Ethel Waters is a dream throughout; I only wish Minelli had let her sing "Takin' a Chance on Love" without the unwelcome distraction of the tap dance sequence. Besides Waters, Lucifer's team steals the show, and of course today one wishes that Louis Armstrong could have been given a chance to demonstrate his unique vocal style. But this is nitpicking. The film is an absolutely delightful period piece with a superb cast and memorable vocals. I try to watch it at least once a year and may purchase the DVD to share with friends. (I've already purchased two of Ethel Waters' CDs.)
Rhapsody (1954)
Tedious but an interesting period piece
Yes, Rapshody is somewhat tedious and quite melodramatic, but let me mention the positive offsets:
1. The dazzlingly beautiful, voluptuous Elizabeth Taylor.
2. Adult themes, and must have been considered quite risqué at the time.
3. Emotionally charged classical music.
4. Generally quite well acted.
5. Good direction, cinematography, settings, and costumes.
Whether or not the positive offsets overcome the somewhat tedious, melodramatic plot depends on one's tolerance for melodrama and how strongly one values the various offsets.