Movies

[Rusty]

374 - Mahogany (1975) - 5.5/10 - Diana Ross stars as Tracy Chambers, a woman from the south side of Chicago who works as a secretary, but dreams of starting her own fashion line. She catches the eye of a fashion photographer and becomes a world famous model, though she finds that life has its drawbacks. Billy Dee Williams is a political activist in Chicago who becomes involved with Tracy, but is very focused on his political activities. I didn't really buy the relationships or the transformation into supermodel/fashion designer. A lot of things seemed kind of sketched out, but didn't seem real to me.


375 - The Burmese Harp (1956) - 9/10 - A group of Japanese soldiers in Burma discover that the war ended several days earlier. They are taken to a camp by the Allies for processing, but one of their members goes missing after being recruited to try and convince another group of soldiers in a mountain bunker to surrender. The soldiers in the camp worry for their friend who has taken up the guise of a Buddhist monk and has been changed by his experiences. The music, cinematography and acting are all excellent and I think that it is an excellent movie as well. Apparently the director remade the film in color the 1980s, but it didn't achieve the same acclaim. I don't see any reason why the movie would have needed a remake. It works well in black and white.


376 - Scent of a Woman (1974) - 8/10 - An army cadet is assigned to travel with and watch over a blind captain as he travels from Turin to Naples. The actors playing the captain and the cadet each did a very nice job. The film seemed to be a bit coarser than the remake, but I haven't seen that film since it was released in 1992 so it is hard to make comparisons. The original is also a very good film which I enjoyed quite a bit. After watching the film, I discovered that the actor who portrayed the cadet died in an accident about a month before the movie was released and was only 17 at the time of his death. He probably would have had a long and successful career otherwise.

[Rusty]

377 - The Boat is Full (1981) - 8/10 - During WWII, a small group of refugees plus a deserter slip over the border into Switzerland seeking asylum. However, Switzerland's policy was to return most refugees to Germany. Their 'lifeboat' was full and they did not want any more mouths to feed. The owner of a small inn tries to help the group so that they can stay in Switzerland. I thought that the movie was pretty well acted. There is an interesting mix of characters. The movie does have its faults and could have flowed a bit better, but it was still pretty effective.


378 - The Crime of Padre Amaro (2002) - 7/10 - Padre Amaro is newly ordained as a priest and is a favorite of the bishop. He is sent to a small town in Mexico where he soon learns of the corruption and various sins of the church and other priests in the area. A young woman in the town makes advances on him, but will he be able to resist? The movie was very much like a soap opera in some ways, but it was a decent enough film. It was entertaining enough, but somewhat predictable as well.

[Rusty]

379 - Sunset (1988) - 6/10 - Tom Mix (Bruce Willis) and Wyatt Earp (James Garner) team up to solve a murder mystery in Hollywood in 1929. Earp is brought in as a technical advisor on a movie about his exploits. The movie stars Tom Mix in the lead role, but they soon have more on their hands than just making a movie. This wasn't a particularly good movie and definitely feels fake and somewhat lifeless at times. I didn't think that Mariel Hemingway was very good in this one. Still, I liked the two leads and the movie was watchable even with all of its faults.


380 - Bullhead (2011) - 7/10 - Jacky Vanmarsenille (Matthias Schoenaerts) is a cattle farmer who is addicted to steroids. The police are investigating the murder of a federal officer who was investigating local mafia with ties to the use of growth hormones in livestock. Jacky gets drawn into the investigation through a couple of coincidences and one of his childhood friends who is acting as a police informant. A dark secret from Jacky's childhood plays a role through flashbacks and its continuing influence on Jacky's life. I thought that Schoenaerts was pretty convincing in his role, but the movie seemed a bit uneven at times. I enjoyed it, but it could have been a lot better.


381 - Monsieur Vincent (1947) - 7/10 - This biography of Vincent de Paul is pretty well made and the lead actor does a nice job in the role. However, the seemingly neverending scenes of misery get a bit tiresome after a while. It's not a bad movie and there are a number of interesting parts, especially early in the film, but it just seems to keep hitting the same notes over and over again.

[Rusty]

382 - All Thing's Fair (1995) - 7.5/10 - This Swedish film takes place in Malmö in 1943 and features a 15 year old boy named Stig who has an affair with his new teacher, a 30 something year old woman with a husband who spends much of his time either on the road or drunk (or perhaps both). Stig works part time at a local movie theater and this helps cover up the affair which goes on for some time. Stig's becomes friends with the husband who is aware of the affair, but does nothing to stop it. The relationship has a number of consequences in the end. I thought it was a decent movie, even if the subject matter is a bit risque. The subplot with the neighbor girl who is in love with Stig seemed pretty realistic. I was less convinced by the affair with the teacher.


383 - The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1969) - 8/10 - Anthony Quinn stars as Bombolini, a man who is a bit of a clown and loves to drink, but is well loved in town. He is named the mayor of Santa Vittoria soon after Mussolini's regime falls in 1943 in order to deflect anger away from the town council. There is a huge celebration at this time, too. However, bad news soon arrives that the Germans will be occupying their town in a few days with plans to confiscate the town's vast wine stock (over one million bottles) to send back to Germany. Bombolini shows that he is not totally a clown when he comes up with a plan to hide the vast majority of the wine to keep it safe and fool the Germans into thinking they are getting more of the town's wine than they actually are. The movie is a comedy, though with dramatic moments mixed in. Quinn is great as usual in his role as Bombolini, though he is matched by Anna Magnani in her role as Bombolini's strong willed wife. The supporting cast is also pretty good and overall this is a fun movie.

[Rusty]

384 - Restoration (1995) - 7/10 - Robert Downey, Jr. stars as a physician named Merivel during the reign of Charles II after the restoration of the monarchy in England. He gains the king's favor and is granted a large estate where Merivel can entertain and play and just have fun. He falls for one of the king's mistresses and later loses the king's favor and the estate. The movie has great costumes and set design, but moves kind of slow through the first half of the film. It picks up after Merivel ends up working at a home for the insane after losing his estate. Overall, I enjoyed it, though it is a bit uneven. It has a nice supporting cast with Sam Neill, David Thewlis, Polly Walker, Meg Ryan, Ian McKellen and others.

[Rusty]

385 - Li'l Abner (1959) - 7.5/10 - This movie was based on the Broadway musical which in turn was based on Al Capp's comic strip. My brother starred as Abner in a local production of the musical so I was already somewhat familiar with the story. Daisy Mae wants to catch Abner on Sadie Hawkins Day so that she can marry him, but the town may need to be evacuated so that the government can use it to test bombs. The people of Dogpatch try to find a way to make their town important enough so that it isn't bombed. There are plenty of songs and dances and I found them to be fun. The musical roots of the film are pretty obvious, especially with the scenery, the costumes and the dialogue, but that seemed to add to the enjoyment this time around rather than detracting from it. This film won't be for everybody, but I liked it.


386 - The Conformist (1970) - 7.5/10 - Marcello joins the Fascists in Italy in the 1930s and one of his assignments is to assassinate his former professor. The film shows some of Marcello's past in the form of flashbacks. I thought that the film was very stylish and had excellent cinematography. The movie is pretty highly regarded, but while I liked the film, I thought it was lacking something - perhaps the pacing was a bit off for me. However, it also might be that I wasn't quite in the right mood for this one.


387 - Angels & Insects (1995) - 7.5/10 - William Adamson is a naturalist who returns home to Victorian England after being shipwrecked on the way back from an expedition to the Amazon. William is now dependent on his patron, a wealthy country gentleman, and ends up helping his patron with his project to classify specimens while also helping teach the patron's younger daughters. William finds a kindred spirit in the governess of the children, but is instead attracted to the elder daughter of his patron who is in mourning for her late fiance. He marries the daughter, Eugenia, but finds that the marriage is not quite what he expected. I thought that this was a pretty good period drama. It is slow moving at times and some of the performances are a bit reserved, but I found that appropriate to the characters.

[Rusty]

388 - The Howards of Virginia (1940) - 4/10 - Cary Grant stars as Matt Howard, a friend of Thomas Jefferson since boyhood who is a poor surveyor and later tobacco farmer. He is mistaken for being from a wealthy family with the same last name and becomes attracted to the sister of a snobbish landowner. The two wed, but they are very much a mismatched pair. Grant was pretty bad in this one. His character has very little in the way of manners or even concern for his wife's feelings. The movies glosses over many of the events leading up to Revolutionary War and the early stages of the war. Howard's children magically age late in the film to about 10 years older than they should be. Unfortunately, the movie just isn't very good.

[Rusty]

389 - Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972) - 7/10 - Francesco of Assisi returns home after being held as a prisoner of war for some time and is also suffering from a severe illness. When he recovers, his personality and beliefs have changed. He believes that it is his calling to live in poverty, go barefoot, rebuild a ruined church, and live simply. Others are attracted to his way of life, including many of his old friends and a young woman named Clare. The movie details the life of St. Francis of Assisi from the time of his conversion through a trip to see the Pope. The film has nice cinematography, but I didn't think that the songs really fit the film. Also, some of the dialogue and acting made Francis seem somewhat simple rather than devout. It wasn't a bad film, but could have been better.


390 - East/West (1999) - 7.5/10 - In 1946, Stalin invites Russians who left during the revolution in 1917 to return to the Soviet Union. However, when a ship full of returnees arrives in Odessa, the people are separated into the fit and unfit. Among the returnees is a doctor named Alexei Golovin whose French wife is labeled as a spy. They are sent to Kiev and soon find that life in the Soviet Union is not what they expected. They are trapped with no way to return to the west. The movie is a bit clunky at times, but overall is a pretty decent film.


391 - Hell's Angels (1930) - 8/10 - Howard Hughes directed this World War I film which was originally a silent film, but got reworked into a talking picture. The main characters are Roy and Monte Rutledge, brothers who are pretty different in their outlook on life. Roy is serious and studious and is in love with a young woman named Helen (Jean Harlow) that he thinks holds similar views to his own. Monte is a womanizer who loves to party and have a good time. He finds out that Helen is really more like himself than like Roy. The story is decent, though not spectacular. Most of the Germans are shown in a fairly negative light, though i suppose that is not unexpected. The aerial sequences are pretty well done, especially the battle sequences near the end of the film. There is also a color sequence at a dance before the action switches to France. Harlow is the original 'blonde bombshell' here and the color sequence showcases this. Overall, I thought it was a pretty good film, though I still like Wings more.

[Rusty]

392 - Mission to Moscow (1943) - 6/10 - Joseph Davies was sent by FDR as an ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1936-1938. He wrote a bestselling book about his experiences and this movie is based on it. This is a heavily pro-Soviet propaganda film and it is laid on so thick at times that it is cringeworthy. However, it is also an interesting movie at times and there is a decent cast. Davies also visits Berlin, Paris, London, Amsterdam and other places in Europe, but the emphasis is on the Soviet system and Stalin.


393 - Arizona (1940) - 7.5/10 - Peter Muncie (William Holden) is on his way from Missouri to California in 1860 when he makes a stop in Tucson, Arizona. Tucson is still pretty small, but is growing. While there, he falls for the only American woman in town - Phoebe Titus (Jean Arthur), a woman who has a pie business and plans to become a rancher and haul freight. The local bad boys are run by a saloon owner named Ward who becomes partners with a new guy in town named Carteret. They plan to ruin Phoebe and take control of her properties. The Civil War comes and goes during this time. There are Indian raids set up by the bad guys. I thought it was a pretty entertaining film and a good western. Phoebe was capable of taking care of her business, but Peter fits in to the picture as well.


394 - The Nasty Girl (1990) - 8/10 - Sonja grows up in the German town of Pfilzing. Her father is a teacher and she is a diligent student who wins a trip to Paris through an essay contest. Later, another essay contest with the theme 'My home town during the Reich' leads her to research what her town was like during the Nazi era. She's heard that many people in town resisted the Reich and that only a few people collaborated. However, she runs into roadblocks when she tries to access records and small clues to what really happened lead her to question the common narrative. This leads to threats from the locals as she continues to research after high school, getting married, and having children. I thought that the movie was kind of quirky, but also very good. Lena Stolze does an excellent job as Sonja. The movie is sort of a fictionalized version of Anna Rosmus's story.


395 - Solomon and Gaenor (1999) - 7.5/10 - In 1911 Wales, Solomon (Ioan Gruffudd) is a young Jewish man sells fabrics door to door, but hides his Jewish background. Gaenor (Nia Roberts) is a young Welsh woman from a religious family that he meets along his sales route. The two fall in love and have an illicit affair that neither of their families would condone if they knew the full truth of it. Troubles escalate when Gaenor gets pregnant and people find out. I thought it was pretty well acted and a good story. The town was pretty dreary, but that was to the point since it was a poor coal mining town where many were struggling financially.

[Rusty]

396 - Electra (1962) - 8/10 - This adaptation of the Greek tragedy by Euripides is shot in a very lean style. The cinematography and acting were excellent. Irene Pappas plays Electra, the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. When Agamemnon is killed upon his return from the Trojan wars, Electra is kept hidden away for many years before being married to a peasant. Her brother, Orestes, went into exile as a child. The two reunite as adults and plot revenge for their father. Pappas later went on to play Clytemnestra in Iphigenia (1977) and did a nice job there as well. I think that this is a very good adaptation of the play and I would put it on par with Iphigenia, which had the same director.


397 - A Place in the World (1992) - 9/10 - Ernesto is growing up in a small town in Argentina where many of the people raise sheep, but struggle financially. Ernesto's father, Mario, teaches school to primary school students sent to him by the ranchers. Mario also tries to keep a cooperative going to protect the small ranchers from the wealthy landowner who buys their wool and tries to control the town. Ernesto's mother, Ana, is a doctor who runs a small clinic along with a local nun, Nelda. A geologist named Hans arrives in town to work for the wealthy landowner to see if a hydroelectric dam is feasible. I thought that the acting and the setting were excellent. This is a well made coming of age story.


398 - The House on Chelouche Street (1973) - 7.5/10 - Sami is a 15 year old boy growing up in Tel Aviv while it was still under British control before the establishment of Israel. He lives with his mother (Clara, a 33 year old widow) and his three siblings. Sami is bright and loves to read, but has quit school in order to work and help support the family. Clara makes a living working as a maid and spends a fair amount of time fending off the advances of one of their neighbors. Sami becomes involved with a resistance group that fights against British occupation. There is some violence between the British forces and the locals as well as between the Arab and Jewish populations. I thought it was a decent film which gives a good picture of what life was like at that time for a certain segment of the population.


399 - Sallah Shabati (1964) - 7/10 - Sallah Shabati (Chaim Topol) arrives in Israel on a plane with his pregnant wife, seven children, and an old female relative. They are placed in a dilapidated one room shack in a transit camp. Sallah spends much of his time playing backgammon and avoiding work while also trying to figure out how to get enough money to move his family to a nearby housing project that is near completion. Meanwhile, Sallah's eldest son and daughter each find romance among the locals. The movie is a comedy/satire, though I didn't find most of it to be incredibly funny. It had its moments, though, and the song in the coffee shop was pretty good.

[Rusty]

400 - Bill and Ted Face the Music (2020) - 6/10 - I didn't hate it, but this movie seemed like a pale imitation of the first two Bill and Ted movies. I thought it lacked the energy, humor, and fun of the earlier films. Maybe I was just expecting too much.

[Rusty]

401 - Midway (2019) - 7.5/10 - I thought that this was a pretty good depiction of the Battle of Midway and the events leading up to it, starting with Pearl Harbor. It's a bit weak on character development and lots of stuff was left out, but there is only so much space in a 2+ hour movie. The events focus on pilot Dick Best and intelligence officer Edwin Layton. I thought that the acting was excellent and the special effects were pretty good. I've read that they got a lot of stuff right historically as well which is a plus.


402 - This is Cinerama (1952) - 7/10 - This documentary doesn't really have the same impact as it probably did in a theater with the actual Cinerama screen and sound, but I thought it was interesting. There is an introduction which serves as a brief history of moving pictures followed by scenes from a rollercoaster, a ballet, the Venice canals, and much more. The second half features a trip to Cypress Gardens with lots of aquatic action and scenes from around the U.S. I had the original theater program handy which my mom saved from when she saw it back in the early 1950s.

[Rusty]

403 - Murmur of the Heart (1971) - 8/10 - Louis Malle's film centers on Laurent, a 15 year old boy named Laurent growing up in Dijon, France in 1954. He has an overly affectionate mother, a distant father and two older brothers who like to pull pranks. Laurent loves listening to jazz and reading and also does well in school. Like many teenage boys, he is interested in sex and his older brothers take him to a place to lose his virginity. Later, it turns out that scarlet fever has given Laurent a heart murmur so he spends time at a sanatarium with his mother to try and cure his condition. The movie has plenty of humor and moves at a good pace. The acting is very good and it is an entertaining film.


404 - First Love (1970) - 3/10 - Alexander is a 16 year old boy spending the summer at a Russian country estate in the 1800s. He becomes infatuated with the 21 year old woman who moves in next door and joins the circle of men who are courting her. She doesn't exactly return his affections, but doesn't send him away either. The movie was dreadfully dull with lots of images of birds and trees and grass and not a lot happening. for stretches of time.


405 - Moonrise (1948) - 7/10 - Danny Hawkins grew up bullied and teased by classmates because his father had been hanged for murder. Danny is in love with Gilly Johnson, but one of Danny's worst bullies, Jerry Sykes, is her boyfriend. Danny and Jerry have it out in the woods one night and Danny prevails, though he starts to come unglued a bit shortly thereafter since he fears the same fate as his father. This was an okay noir film, though one that could have been a lot better.

[Rusty]

406 - The Mikado (1939) - 7/10 - This adaptation of the Gilbert and Sullivan opera is colorful and entertaining enough. The singing seems to be pretty decent and the acting wasn't bad.

[Rusty]

407 - Thousands Cheer (1943) - 5/10 - The movie starts out with singer Kathryn Grayson plotting to get her parents back together. Her father is a colonel i the army and she travels with him to try and increase the morale of the soldiers by singing with the band and fraternizing with the soldiers. She falls in love with a private named Eddie (Gene Kelly), but he has morale issues of his own. The last half of the movie is a mishmash of performances and skits for a morale boosting concert hosted by Mickey Rooney. Rooney is particularly unfunny here and many of the skits and musical numbers aren't that entertaining either. The romance part between Grayson and Kelly wasn't bad, but the movie overall is a below average.