Rebecca (1940)

Alfred Hitchcock was the best - he could do anything. In this movie he takes an extremely romantic melodrama from Daphne Du Maurier and gives us Jane Eyre crossed with Gone with the Wind crossed with Laura. BTW - this is Hitchcock's first American film.

Rebecca of the title is never met in the movie - she is the dead first wife of Maxim (Lawrence Olivier). He is a brooding hero straight out of a gothic romance. And he hams it up quite nicely, thank you. Joan Fontaine's character (never named!) meets him on a cliff, thinking he is about to jump. They fall in love, marry, and return to the famous estate, Manderley. There the new missus runs into Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, and a nice pre-curser to Nurse Ratched. Danvers adored Rebecca, and is obsessed with her in a hilarious, but evil manner. One of my favorite lines - I think it goes like this:

"This is where I kept her underwear," while lovingly stroking the lingerie. Danvers is played by Dame Judith Anderson, a great stage actress, and I bet she had fun.

So...how did Rebecca really die? Does Maxim still love her? Why don't they live in Manderley any longer? You should watch and find out. It may not be full of surprises, but it's a great movie.

Longford (British TV - 2006)

OK - this one is a real downer. It's a true story, though, with amazing acting by Jim Broadbent as Lord Longford and Samantha Morton as Myra Hindley. Myra was one of the infamous Moors Murderers - Myra and her boyfriend / lover / criminally insane partner Ian Brady killed five children from 1963 to 1965. She went to jail, and Lord Longford eventually crossed her path (he worked with prisoners) and tried to help her get paroled. As she was universally hated in Britain, this did not work out.

You can decide for yourself if you believe Myra mended her ways, repented, and was no longer a threat to society. Personally, I feel she was a sociopath who was a real master at manipulating people. I have attached pics of the real Myra and Ian - the famous mug shots.

As to Lord Longford and his motivations, my friend A watched this with me, and she said something very interesting. She felt that Longford represented a truly pure representation of a religious person; one who was trying to help people. If all religious people were like Longford, she would consider joining up.

The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)

El Secreto de Sus Ojos (original title - so yes, this is a sub-titled film) is a great film from Argentina. It won the foreign film Oscar last year, and that's OK. I don't think it was the BEST foreign film, but this at least is the type of film that makes sense for the Academy to select. (I feel that both La Nana and A Prophet were better films. However, Secret is more accessible and more of a crowd pleaser.)

I had heard several times that this was a boring film with a slow pace. Well, it really worked for me. I feel this falls in the mystery / thriller category, but the nature of love and what you make of your life are also big themes here.

The movie is centered around a murder that occurred in the 70's. A court deputy, his assistant and his boss (a younger female) are all drawn into the investigation and the politics surrounding it. For one reason or another, the murder is not really solved - not in a satisfactory way. The movie moves back and forth between 1999 and the time of the murder, with the deputy meeting frequently with his former boss. She is now a judge. The past and the present are very much an issue with both of them - not just in terms of the murder, but in terms of what they have done with their lives in the interim.

I liked this. If you liked Lives of Others, pick this one up.

Gilda (1946) and Rita Hayworth

I honestly don't know if we have stars like in the old days any more. I just started watching Lana Turner movies, and she was gorgeous and glamorous. Now I finally watched Gilda, with Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford. I am not sure I've seen a pin-up girl / bombshell like Rita before.

(FYI - I consider Marilyn in a class by herself. She was more sexy and more beautiful than all the others.) The only actress my mom and I could think of today who might compare is Halle Berry.

Anyway - this is a noir-ish tale with a bad girl who's really not so bad. There are Nazis and gamblers and casino scenes and one great dance number. If you like the old stuff, don't miss Gilda.

Ondine (2009)

Ondine is not really a fairy tale - but it wants you to think that for most of the movie. I like a movie that applies a steady dose of misdirection, but the overall effect of this one was too cute for me. Colin Farrell is a recovering alcoholic and fisherman in Ireland. He has a sick daughter and an alcoholic ex-wife or GF who is now living with a Scot. Every freakin' line of of dialog he utters is melancholy and perfect and cute and oh-so-sweet. I got a toothache.

So he finds a girl in his fishing net, and wants to believe it's a selkie (seal who lost her skin) who can grant a wish and save his daughter. Colin is super hot, and if you like him at all, pick this one up just to watch.

My second biggest problem with the movie is the subtitles - or lack of subtitles. With thick Irish and Scottish accents, this damn DVD needed subtitles. It only offered Spanish. So I missed half the dialog.

The Killer Inside Me (2010)

The Killer Inside Me is a great movie faithfully adapted from the book of the same name written by Jim Thompson in 1952. Jim Thompson was a pulp fiction writer who became well known only after his death. Other titles you might recognize are The Grifters and The Getaway.

This is great noir. I just finished the book not long ago, so it was fresh in my mind. Many reviewers and the kid at Blockbuster described this movie as "intense" or incredibly violent. I think the kid at BB was trying to warn me? Anyway, the book is more intense than the movie. I was not shocked by anything in the film - probably because I had just read the book and was expecting it all - and the movie actually cleared up a couple of things for me. I like that.

If you haven't read the book, be aware that there are scenes of extreme violence against women. This is not normal in film - it's a taboo - and the intent of the book and the movie is to see things as Lou Ford does - to live in Lou's head. Casey Affleck does a great job. Kate Hudson is perfect, but Jessica Alba is way too sweet for her role.

The costumes and sets are perfect - a real joy. And the music - whoever put this soundtrack together really did a great job. It is not somber and scary - quite the contrary. And the outward face of Lou matches this soundtrack very well.

Guy Movies

After watching Law Abiding Citizen, I was confounded. Two guys I really respect liked this movie. What did I miss? I missed the obvious: it's a guy movie. Chick flicks take a lot of shit, but guys movies have a formula as well.

What makes a guy movie? Explosions. I would have said boobs were the number one requirement, but if you think about many classic guy films (Terminator and T2 for example), they have mucho explosions and not so much nakidity. Nudity is a bonus for guys, from my observation.

The protagonist should be an underdog out for vengeance, preferably working against the system - against the man. And to really make things over-the-top great for the testosterone set, there needs to be a secret. (Something along the lines of a hidden set of tunnels nobody knows about. I think guys like to dig, or pretend they're super spy ninja diggers.)

To be fair, we should balance this rant with a look at chick flicks. There are really only two requirements, and having only one in a movie will do in a pinch: romance (preferably with a brooding hero, but a sweet guy ignored by the heroine until the last minute is a good choice too) and great clothes. Bonus points are awarded if it's a costume drama. Woo hoo - costume dramas are good shit. This formula has worked forever - think of Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters. They wrote the shit when there wasn't even a thought of movies.

So next time a guy starts in on your favorite chick flick, just think back to 10,000 BC or 2012 or The Rock and start flicking shit right back at him.

Law Abiding Citizen (2009)

This is a really stupid movie. Law Abiding Citizen is the kind of movie where a mild mannered dad is actually a CIA / think tank employee who specializes in "kinetic movement" operations. This means he can kill people from far away with a deadly necktie. Seriously. You need to stay on this guy's good side.

Obviously when a guy like this is a targeted by a low-life home invader, and his family is killed, he expects the law to take care of it. When they don't, because of evidence not allowed in court, sloppy police work and deal-making by the DA, Gerard Butler's mild-mannered dad has one thing to say: his vengeance - "it's gonna be biblical".

(The better line was in Pulp Fiction: "I'm gonna go medieval on your ass.")

Anyway, the acting is over-the-top bad. Viola Davis plays the mayor, and that chick can act. But this movie is not a good forum for it. In such a ridiculous plot, serious acting just ends up as telenovela type stuff. And of course, Gerard Butler can't act at all. There is an obligatory butt shot / stomach shot of his body, but not enought to keep us gals watching. More male nudity is needed in a movie this ridiculous.

The sets are really funny. Much of the time Gerard is in prison, and he is interviewed in a cell like Hannibal's makeshift one (the one where he takes out everyone with a pen and has on the face mask - you know the one.) So there is Gerard sitting in a cupola-type cage in a cathedral-like room. The place is dark and dank, like Alcatraz. Maybe that's what prison is like in Philadelphia? And then we have the tunnels. This is one of those movies where super-spies can get anywhere, anytime, and no one notices them digging tunnels for ten years under public buildings.

Here's another bit of sparkling dialog as a tease: "Fuck his civil rights".

BTW, this movie is nominally about the mess in the deal-making justice system. Watch Primal Fear instead of this - much better acting - better twist - better everything.

Secretary (2002)

This movie has been around for a while, but I just recently read some great things about it. I was very excited to receive it, which is usually a portent of doom for the movie. It pays for me to NOT be too excited about a film - to not expect too much. If I do, I'm disappointed.

I love it when an exception to the rule happens. Shit - this is a cool movie.

Secretary was directed by Steven Shainberg. For some reason, I can understand a director picking up a script and loving it. Especially if the director helps adapt the story into a screenplay. The director then has a vision of what he (thinks he) will do with the movie. But how the hell do the actors get comfortable with that vision, particularly when the script is about an S&M love story?

I felt this way about Lars and Real Girl, for example. I try to explain to people that it is not a sex story about a sex doll, but it's hard to understand till you see the film. This is the same type of difficult situation.

Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Lee, fresh out of an institution. She likes to cut herself. Well, she gets released, but she's still in pain - that is apparent. She goes to secretarial school and starts work for Mr. Grey (James Spader). Turns out Mr. Grey is the puzzle piece that fits her perfectly. Of course, nothing is so easy. When two people with such specific requirements suddenly find the right one, do they understand they've found the right one? Do they believe they deserve it?

This is a fun, sad, thought-provoking movie with great performances. It has far less sex or nudity than most blockbusters do, but the nudity and sex scenes are not mainstream. I'm OK with that. I'm sick of obligatory sex scenes and perfect lighting. I think I might buy this one.

Cracked

I had a crappy day (not epic, just crappy) and I had intentionally saved Secretary to watch tonight as a spirit lifter. I have heard good things about it lately - that it is not just porn disguised as a movie, but a great show about finding someone right for you. And the goddamn disc showed up cracked. WTF?? This happens to me way too much. I love blockbuster.com, but I am sick of cracked discs.

Temple Grandin (2010)

Julia Ormond, David Strathairn and Claire Danes each won an Emmy for this one - and I am ridiculously happy that they did. This is a great story and it was told incredibly well. There are a couple of cheesy moments (I believe Temple really uses the door analogy to help get through things, but I didn't like the constant filming of it, for example). Those are small, picky points, though. This is a great show. Claire Danes kicked ass, too.

Temple Grandin is an autistic woman (high functioning) who has basically revolutionized slaughterhouses. Because of her designs, slaughterhouses are more humane as well as more efficient, saving the owners (proprietors?) money. I think there is a statistic in the show that 50% of all cattle in the US go through Temple Grandin designed slaughterhouses.

Parents should watch this - Temple had an incredible mother and aunt, plus a favorite teacher. And all of these people wanted her to be independent. Well, she is.

Jack

I have been bothered by this since watching the new Postman. Can Jack do a love scene? Not a funny one, like with Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment, but a really hot love scene. I'm thinking of Dennis Quaid in The Big Easy - that kind of hot. Actually, I think about Dennis in that movie quite a bit.

Jack has that Jack-ness that makes movies his own, but does it extend to love scenes? To dirty, nasty, make your heart beat sex scenes? I am thinking not.

The Postman Always Rings twice (1981)

Well, this is interesting. The remake is so different and so much the same that it's a bit weird to watch. Jessica Lange and Jack Nicholson are the rotten couple.

The plot is faithful to the original up to the point of the second attempt at murder. Also, Lana Turner was in a swimsuit a bunch and Jessica Lange is in frumpy clothes mostly. Lana was always glamorous. Jessica looks more like a sexy-nasty short-order cook. This is much grittier, with a broken down house and old fashioned kitchen and dirt, rain and a muddy yard.

I disliked the immediate kiss between John G and Lana, and the quick falling in love. In this version we get nasty sex. Apparently there is a perception that women (or men) really like a good rape scene turned into steamy sex. None of my friends say that is their fantasy, but I'll start asking around. I was turned off to the extreme, but maybe that was the point? Maybe we are supposed to see them as disgusting people? It was also a very unattractive sex scene. Aside from the rape theme, we see a long close up of Jessica's panty-covered crotch and then Jack grabbing it. And grabbing it. I did not find it sexy. And then they fall in love. Yeah right.

These two characters are much seedier than the original. Jack is a gambler, Jessica is excited at the thought of murder. She is scared, but really excited by the idea. She is clearly the instigator. Lana also instigated, but seemed a reluctant murderer. Jessica is not reluctant - squeamish is the best I can credit her with.

The Madge story line is even more unnecessary in the update. It should have been cut. And they really screwed up the ending in the new one. I would rather watch the original. Hands down.

The Postman Always Rings twice (1946)

I had never seen this movie, so I decided to watch the original and then the remake. The original stars Lana Turner and John Garfield as the murderous duo. If you want to see someone gorgeous, check out Lana Turner. Holy crap. I know Hollywood was full of gorgeous people, but she was really exceptional. And she could act - so could John Garfield. This is a pretty great piece of noir, and Lana is a great femme fatale. And in real life she was definitely a bit noir. She married 8 times (twice to the same guy), and her daughter eventually killed Lana's gangster lover and it was ruled justifiable homicide. That's pretty dark.

There are parts of this movie that don't ring true. John G kisses Lana about 10 minutes after meeting her, and that seems a little fast. They fall in love within another five minutes or so. OK. The husband is a sweet old guy who absolutely ignores Lana and is so concerned with saving a dime that he won't let her turn the lights on at night. That's convenient, but not exactly horrible. And Lana looks perfect in every scene, dressed in white with lipstick always on (apparently her clothes budget is OK). And she's the cook at the diner, so you would think she'd look a little greasy once in a while. Plus she is so sweet to John G's character, and hurt by her husband's indifference that she doesn't seem a likely murderer - until she does. Lana does a good job. Watch for a young Hume Cronyn as an oily lawyer.

OK, we'll see how the remake does.

From Here to Eternity (1953)

This movie is a classic for a reason. It won a million awards and they were deserved. Frank Sinatra is great (and I'm not a fan), Montgomery Clift is a wonderful and unlikely hero. Deborah Kerr and Donna Reed are awesome as women looking for love with the wrong guys. Burt Lancaster - he's one of those guys. If you want to watch a good old-fashioned tale made into a great film, pick this one up.

White Ribbon (2009)

This was up for a foreign film Oscar last year - it was Germany's entry. It is set in the years before WW1 in a small German village. The children in this village are treated like crap, whether it's physical, mental or emotional abuse, or being worried about their next meal. They acting by these kids is amazing, but it was hard to watch.

I like a movie that leaves you guessing, but this one is nothing but loose ends. There is no resolution, no path to resolution, just an open-ended mystery. The entire effect was way too depressing for me.

Rescue Dawn (2006)

This is one of those war movies where a guy - in this case a pilot played by Christian Bale - is shot down behind enemy lines. He gets captured and eventually deposited in a horrifying prisoner of war camp. He tries to survive physically and mentally.

I would not recommend this movie. I heard it was underrated, so I put it in my queue. If you want to watch close ups of guys eating larvae and worse, this is a good selection. If you want a war movie with spark, I don't think this is it. It's based on a real person's experience, but it was not well transferred to film. I found the music really annoying and much of the film dull.

Behind Enemy Lines stars Gene Hackman and Owen Wilson in a story about a navigator shot down in enemy territory. It's a much better movie - try that one instead.

Repulsion (1965)

OK - this is a cool movie. Roman Polanski directed Catherine Deneuve in this one in 1965. She plays a Belgian manicurist in London who really has a man problem. She doesn't hate them, really; she is repulsed by them. If a man touches her hand or tries to kiss her she scrubs herself and appears to vomit in her mouth. The remainder of the time she is near catatonic, and withdraws into herself more and more as the story develops.

Her breaking point comes when her sister, with whom she lives, goes away for a two week vacation with her (married) lover. Carol (Catherine D's character) does not want her sister to go, and for good reason. Alone in the apartment she soon stops going to work, she begins to carry rotting meat around in her purse, and she hallucinates pretty much constantly. And then things really go downhill.

Most reviews I read described Catherine D's character as "frigid". Maybe that is how RP wrote the character, but the word frigid doesn't begin to describe Carol's problems. Frigid is just too simple here. This is labeled a psychological thriller, but it is old school. I would call it creepy rather than scary, although I was tense a couple of times.

Everyone knows Catherine Deneuve can act, right? If you're uncertain, watch this one for starters. Also, I have a q. In the end, when the sister's honey carries Carol out, check out his face. Am I imagining it, or does he look excited / turned on at that moment?

Yet again I have a hard time reconciling RP's work with his personal actions. This movie was made pre-arrest.