Andy's Film Blog: 1980

Showing posts with label 1980. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Superman II

General Zod (Terence Stamp) and his cronies are freed from their free floating two-dimensional glass prison when Superman (Christopher Reeve) releases a hydrogen bomb in the atmosphere meant for the residents of Paris. Realizing they would possess Godlike powers on Earth, the trio descends on the planet in order to rule and form a tenuous alliance with criminal mastermind Lex Luther (Gene Hackman) who has just escaped from prison. Meanwhile, after Lois (Margot Kidder) puts two and two together , Clark contemplates devoting his life to her and giving up his superhuman persona permanently. After replacing Richard Donner at the helm, who had shot a good chunk of the movie and decades later released his own version of the film, Richard Lester’s follow-up is not as complete as its predecessor but still a lot of fun with a very silly/hokey, romantic, and action packed treatment.

*** out of ****

Thursday, November 2, 2017

The Last Metro

During the German occupation of France, a stage actress and co-proprietor (Catherine Deneuve) of a Paris theater hides her Jewish husband/co-owner/director in the cellar during the course of their latest production while she balances the precarious books and feels a romantic attraction to her new leading man (Gerard Depardieu), himself an active member of the Resistance. Francois Truffaut's The Last Metro is presented on a beautiful color palette with superb cinematography by Nestor Almendros but the lack of a palpable, immediate Nazi presence/threat makes the film less thrilling and complete than it should be. Deneuve is lovely and as beautiful as ever while Depardieu, though charismatic as always, is barely believable as a Resistance agent nor is their romance particularly nspired. The ending is clever but slight.

*** out of ****

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

The Shining

Along with his skittish wife (Shelley Duvall) and clairvoyant son, an out of work alcoholic writer (Jack Nicholson) takes a job as winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, a position which has inspired madness and murder in its not too recent history. Stanley Kubrick's ice cold adaptation of Stephen King's novel is one of the most chilling ever and it is doubtful, especially in this day and age, that there will ever be a more exacting horror movie ever made. Jack is way way over the top but Duvall is highly effective and Scatman Crothers is excellent in support.

**** out of ****

Monday, October 2, 2017

Mon oncle d'Amérique

The lives of three disparate people, an uppercrust raised public news director (Roger Pierre), a middle class socialist actress (Nicole Garcia), and a farmboy turned factory manager (Gerard Depardieu) lives intertwine at moments of crisis, and all to demonstrate the social theories of scientist Henri Laborit (who also appears as himself. Alain Resnais My American Uncle is supremely directed, acted, and edited. very unique and sometimes fascinating while employing clips from nature, laboratory mice, and old French movies featuring Jean Marais, Jean Gabin, Danielle Darrieux.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Friday, March 17, 2017

Ordinary People

Following the accidental death of his brother and a stay in the hospital following a suicide attempt and at the urging of his caring, somewhat aloof father (Donald Sutherland), an intelligent teenager (Timothy Hutton) in a wealthy Chicago suburb sees a kindly, unorthodox shrink (Judd Hirsch) to reconnect to his life and reconcile his feelings, chiefly concerning his cold, unloving mother (Mary Tyler Moore). Robert Redford's insightful and moving take on Judith Guest's gloomy book is minutely filmed and daresay captivating with wonderful performances (especially Hutton, an Oscar winner though this is really a leading role) across the board.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

'Breaker' Morant

Three Aussie soldiers fighting the Boer War for the Queen's Army are expected to be offered as a peace sacrifice during a rigged military tribunal for their role the massacre of an enemy unit, that is until they are given an impassioned defense by their tenacious attorney. Bruce Beresford's powerful and intelligent 'Breaker' Morant, named after one of the eloquent laureate defendants, soars due in large part to its brilliant editing and, when considering the material, is right on par with Paths of Glory. Jack Thompson is excellent as the defense attorney.

**** out of ****

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Berlin Alexanderplatz

Franz Biberkopf (Gunter Lamprecht) is released from prison in Weimar Germany after serving four years for brutally murdering his girlfriend in a blind and drunken rage. After securing desirable parole terms and acceptable living arrangements, he is lured into the criminal underworld and embarks on a tragic relationship with an adoring prostitute (Barbara Sukowa). Unusual, glum, and extremely long, Rainer Werner Fassbinder's miniseries Berlin Alexanderplatz, from a novel by Alfred Doblin, is brilliantly directed, harshly lit, and hard to watch at times with the noted final episode being a surreal and occasionally transcendent trip. Lamprechecht, Sukowa, Hanna Schygulla playing Franz old acquaintance, and Gottfried John as an imbalanced manipulative pimp are all excellent.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Thursday, January 19, 2017

American Gigolo

A vapid, worldly Beverly Hills male escort (Richard Gere) finds his ordered empty, life spiraling out of control when he forsakes his current madam in favor of freelancing and takes a job from his former pimp where his wealthy client winds up dead and himself unable to secure an alibi. Now, his only hope for redemption may lie with a beautiful politician's wife (and client) (Lauren Hutton) who seems to show genuine feelings of love and affection. Paul Schrader's American Gigolo offers a fairly tasteful presentation of its seedy material and is surprisingly well made and plotted (with obvious thriller elements) with polished direction and even strangely affecting on a certain level. Gere's performance is flat though occasionally effective and believable much of the time. The plot and especially the extremely well handled finale owe a lot to Bresson's Pickpocket.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Atlantic City

An aged mob underling (Burt Lancaster), who makes his living waiting hand and foot on his old boss's widow, is sprung back to life when he attempts to unload some stolen cocaine and serve as protector to the recently bumped off thief's card-dealing wife (Susan Sarandon). Louis Malle's Atlantic City is a brilliantly realized, European-minded character study with Lancaster perfectly suited to play the sweet, vain loser and Sarandon is just as great as one of many of the city's itinerants trying to buy a ticket out but beset on every side.

**** out of ****

Friday, January 13, 2017

Heaven's Gate

A privileged, gritty Harvard man (Kris Kristofferson) heads West in the late 1800s to serve as a lawman in Johnson County, Wyoming and instill decency in the still lawless territory. There, he finds himself as lead defender of the migrant workers who are being violently targeted by the cattle barons and in a personal rivalry with friend and hired gun of the organization (Christopher Walken) who is also romancing his girlfriend/bordello house madam (Isabelle Huppert). Heaven's Gate is one of the most notorious debacles in Hollywood history, one that crippled United Artists and independent movie making while, in effect, ending director Michael Cimino's career. However, the biggest tragedy may be that there was probably a decent, salvageable picture here. The performances almost work, Kristofferson is strong, Sam Waterston ok in parts playing a ludicrously evil villain, and a badly miscast Walken has his moments. Also present is some grand, intricate staging and great camerawork capturing majestic Western vistas. However, the movie is poorly edited, overlong by over a half, and contains just about the worst color hue and sound I've ever seen in an epic movie. Judging from the imprudent, ill-advised final product left on screen, Heaven's Gate infelicitous reputation (which some are now trying to lift) seems all but justified.

** out of ****

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Stardust Memories

A comic director (Woody Allen)travels oversees to promote his latest attempt at serious filmmaking at an international festival and is bombarded by journalists, fans, and groupies heralding him as a genius while, back home he struggles with success, his melancholic girlfriend (Charlotte Rampling), and not being able to be taken seriously as himself. With Stardust Memories, Woody lays on the Fellini pretty thick, has a lot of ideas that aren't all necessarily tied together, and goes to very inward, autobiographical places, even for himself, but still tells a very funny, observant story while frequent collaborator Gordon Willis provides exquisite B&W cinematography.

*** out of ****

Monday, July 4, 2016

Coal Miner's Daughter

Born into a large, impoverished family in rural Kentucky and through sheer determination and unmatched vocal talent, Loretta Lynn (Sissy Spacek) rose to become a mainstay at the Grand Ole Opry and one of the most influential Country and Western voices in a generation . Michael Apted's rags to riches profile, drawn from Lynn's autobiography, doesn't avoid musical biopic cliches but Spacek, playing her character at every age from about 13 on up, knocks it out of the park while doing her own singing at that. Tommy Lee Jones as her irascible husband/manger, The Band drummer Levon Helm as her father, and Beverly D'Angelo playing fast friend Patsy Cline (and also doing her own singing) are all great in support, with flavorful local shooting also contributing.

*** out of ****

Monday, May 30, 2016

The Big Red One

After serving for the 1st Infantry Unit in World War I and killing (not murdering) a Kraut after the war had expired, unbeknownst to him, the grizzled veteran (Lee Marvin) returns to command the same outfit during WWII and sees action all across the Western Theater, from North Africa to Normandy to Western Germany. Despite some brothers-in-arms movie cliches, a few wrought scenes, and one unfortunate sequences involving mentally disabled residents joining in on a monastery gunfight, Samuel Fuller's battle experience drawn film sets itself apart from other war movies with its varied stories, and a unique take on war and the call to serve. Great hardened though sympathetic performance from Marvin.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Friday, October 31, 2014

The Fog

A century after the founders of a coastal fishing village thwarted a harbor bound ship, plunging all of its leprosy plagued shipmates to their demise, a dense haze carrying the ghosts of the victims envelops the village, seeking a bloody retribution on all of the guilty's remaining descendants. John Carpenter's The Fog is a relentlessly stupid ghost story, but well made and with some genuine scares that help offset other cheesed-out elements of the production.
** 1/2 out of ****

Monday, November 18, 2013

Star Wars: Episodes IV-VI

So I sat down to watch the initial Star Wars movies again and I don't think a synopsis of George Lucas' epic space saga is really necessary, so hear are my thoughts as I view the films through world-weary orbs and not those of a wide eyed preadolescent to whom they meant so much a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away: The first two films, A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, retain most of their magic, while Return of the Jedi is essentially just a corned out rehash of the second installment. As for the actors, Alec Guinness' gravitas brings much to the proceedings, Mark Hamill's earnestness shines through, Carrie Fisher is irritating (how was she the great sex symbol of the day?), Harrison Ford is lifeless, and it is amazing how sympathetic and how much of the trilogy rests on the shoulders of the two droids. Revisiting episodes four, five, and six I had no desire to continue on with the lackluster prequels, have zero interest in the upcoming continuations, and while these original films did stir genuine feelings of nostalgia, I had to ask myself, "what am I doing, thirty years old, watching Star Wars on my couch?"

Monday, October 28, 2013

Altered States

A brilliant Harvard psychology professor (William Hurt), becoming increasingly bored with his work researching schizoid disorders, begins experimenting with mind altering drugs and sensory deprivation equipment leading to genetic retrogradation. Watching a film based on a Paddy Chayefsky novel (the screenplay which he also wrote and purportedly disowned), I think I was expecting something more cerebral, angry and satirical and less horror oriented but was pleased nonetheless with Ken Russell's wild, and alternately horrifying and exciting treatment of the material. The editing is excellent, the fantasy sequences are exceedingly well done, and Hurt demonstrates what a commanding actor he is in what was his first screen outing.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Flash Gordon

The New York Jets star quarterback (Sam J. Jones) is Earth's only hope from the destructive maniacal wiles of Ming (Max von Sydow), the diabolical and all-powerful ruler of the planet Mongo. Adapted from the 1930s comic strip, Flash Gordon is campy fun that wears thin after awhile, probably would have played better in a shorter form, but is a personal disappointment for the Queen score which provides an extremely limited vocal sampling. Jones is utterly terrible in the lead role, to the point of enjoyment, and Max von Sydow is fun as the heavy, that is after I stopped asking myself why he was in the movie.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Raging Bull

Jake La Motta's violent and tempermental nature in the ring would spill over into his personal life causing him to hurt and alienate many of those close to him. Likewise, the insecurities and jealousies would not only destroy his personal life but cause him to implode in the ring as well. Raging Bull tells the story of La Motta's rise in the 1940s with the help of his manager kid brother. Tearing through opponents, he would eventually be crowned champ and marry the young girl of his dreams. Eventually, his greatest opponent would be himself and he would be left alone, broke, and overweight, a pathetitic nightclub act reciting Brando's lines from On The Waterfront to a desolate crowd of drunks. Martin Scorsese tells the tale of this ugly man using beautiful and graceful black and white cinematography from Michael Chapman seamlessly edited by Oscar winner and longtime Scorsese collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker. Working from La Motta's memoirs and a script by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin, Raging Bull is Martin Scorsese's masterpiece. Robert De Niro, in an Oscar winning role, wonderfully captures all of the horrible aspects and nuances of La Motta in his portrayal of the self-destructive man. Joe Pesci does fine work as his brother Joey and Cathy Moriarity is great as La Motta's envy inspiring bride. Raging Bull is a modern classic, but it is a difficult film as well. Not employing any of the cliches associated with the sports or biopic genres, and presenting tough material that causes the viewer to think, it is a great film on many levels.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

The Stunt Man

A Vietnam veteran (Steve Railsback), on the run from law enforcement, encounters an old Packard on a bridge during the pursuit, and inadvertently causes the death of its stunt man driver. Now, the renegade director (Peter O'Toole) of the picture being shot offers the fugitive a deal: replace the deceased stunt man in return for an ample salary and protection from the law. Now the transient finds himself in the arms of a beautiful leading lady (Barbara Hershey), and at the mercy of the increasingly erratic filmmaker. From Paul Brodeur's book, Richard Rush's The Stunt Man is a confused and poorly constructed story with a dynamic performance from O'Toole at its center. Railsback and Hershey are off in their respective roles and Rush, through the guise of O'Toole's director, seems to think he is making a greater movie than he has (both in the final product and the movie within a movie). The relationships are poorly explored (Railsback and O'Toole, O'Toole and Hershey, Hershey and O'Toole) and Rush offers glossy, slick and often nonsensical direction. Again though, O'Toole is a force of nature and his Lead Actor Academy Award nomination, for what is essentially a supporting role, is a testament to his considerable abilities.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Seems Like Old Times

A writer greets two bank robbers at the door of his hillside cottage who involve him as the gunman in their latest pilfering. A fugitive from justice, the man turns to the place he can, his magnanimous ex-wife/attorney which only complicates the fact that her now D.A. husband is being considered for Attorney General. Neil Simon's "Seems Like Old Times" is a stupid and unfunny farce, the kind of film that finds its plot so hilarious that it feels the need to continually remind us of it. Chevy Chase's employs his smarmy panning to no effect and the delightful Goldie Hawn is giving nothing to work with in a lamebrain screenplay. The only ray of light is Charles Grodin who creates a likable stiff in Hawn's district attorney husband.