FAIL-SAFE (Sidney Lumet) viewed 4-8-03 on video
Grade A- 1964
Fail-Safe is the straight and earnest version of Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove (both came out the same year) basically telling the same story with completely different intentions. Whereas Kubrick’s film is obviously satire, Fail-Safe plays everything with the proper amount of weight and debate – building suspense but not cheaply playing on the fears of the audience (which were facing the height of the Cold War). The actions of the president (Henry Fonda) are not entirely predictable and neither is the advice he gets from some of his staff members. The film is shot in black and white and Lumet handles the closed in material very well, with occasional glimpses of a newer flashy style.
TORN CURTAIN (Alfred Hitchcock) viewed 4-8-03 on video
Grade C 1966
A weaker Hitchcock film with very little to recommend it as the plot goes through routine motions and the casting feels mismatched to the material. Probably the only note-worthy scene in the film is an extended murder sequence that takes a very long time and genuinely looks painful – especially the knife that breaks off into the guy’s body. This scene provides more example of how Hitchcock helped to demolish the Production Code with his challenging material.
AMERICAN MOVIE (Chris Smith) viewed 4-8-03 on dvd
Grade B 1999
This film is sometimes affectionate about its subject matter and at other times it feels like director Chris Smith is mean-spiritedly poking fun. The subject is a little goofy (see also Fast, Cheap, and Out Of Control) and takes himself so seriously that it is hard not to find some of his behavior funny, but any malicious attempts to get laughter feel force and hurt the integrity of the film.
ADVISE AND CONSENT (Otto Preminger) viewed 4-8-03 on video
Grade A- 1962
I’m almost ashamed about how much I enjoyed this film, which reminded me a little of Preminger’s Anatomy of a Murder – with its strategic angling and humorous jabs. I don’t think the film has anything important to say about the political system – although one of it’s goals is to uncover the seamy-side of politics. The film is full of delicious performances (especially Laughton but really can’t start naming names because they were all so bloody good), juicy twists, big speeches and wonderful moments.
DEAD RECKONING (John Cromwell) viewed 4-9-03 on video
Grade C- 1947
Generally underwhelming film noir, without much interesting to add to the genre and even less in terms of visual invention. The femme fatale is interesting mostly as a androgynous presence: she has a husky voice (but so does Bacall) and is referred to as Dusty, Mike and Karl at different points in the film. At one point of the film Bogart asserts that women should be able to shrink down to capsule size so you can keep them in your pocket, which is the most unabashedly chauvinist thing I’ve heard in some time.
ALL THE REAL GIRLS (David Gordon Green) viewed 4-11-03 in theater
Grade A 2003
All the Real Girl’s is a hard film to pin down and one full of contradictions. It is a realistic film but has lyrical passages that break out of the natural logic: like setting a dialogue scene in the middle of a bowling lane. Dialogue stings with reality and then occasionally bends towards absurd poetry. The first half of the film is hopelessly romantic and the second half is sad and messy, with bits of tragedy and humor spread throughout both halves. The performances are uniformly strong and natural, especially by Zooey Deschanel - who is the big discovery of the film. The film is probably best dissected into key moments, of which I will delineate my five favorites:
Zooey Deschanel covering her face and shaking after delivering bad news, and Paul Schneider punching the grass at the end of the scene.
Schneider stripping for the spa and pausing when he realized he’s not wearing his boxers.
Deschanel’s speech about her stomach scars.
Schneider telling of his first sexual experience.
The tender scene between father and daughter, where the father encourages her to go play.
THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (Orson Welles) viewed 4-11-03 on dvd\
Grade B 1948
Very good-looking film with entertainingly off-kilter plot and humor, but I have an eerie feeling that Welles didn’t really have his heart in this film. It’s so much less energetic than any of the other Welles’ films I’ve seen, and although it’s often very good, it only comes to life in stretches near the end (especially the justly famous abandoned funhouse sequence).
TOUGH GUYS DON’T DANCE (Norman Mailer) viewed 4-11-03 on video
Grade B+ 1987
Probably registers most closely to Peter Medak’s underrated Romeo is Bleeding, as a twisted variation on noir themes that plays like a twisted, smut-comic book. The dialogue is hilariously overwrought (good example: "My pussy hair was bright gold in high school, until I went out and scorched it with the football team") and the plot twists back and forth without really giving a shit. Ryan O’Neal has a very good handle on the material and all the other actors try their best with impossible material. Probably the best complement I can give the film is that I’m contemplating watching it again right now, moments after finishing it.