Category: Movies

Larry Crowne

I have mention before how much I love Netflix, both streaming and dvds. While cruising around their site, I ordered Larry Crowne primarily because it stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. I didn’t know they had made a movie together.  The one-line synopsis reads, “After losing his job, a middle-aged man reinvents himself by going back to college.”   Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) is also in this film.

It’s really a delightful movie. It just seems unusual to me is that it’s the sort of film these heavy dramatic actors might have made 20-25 years ago … think Big, Pretty Woman, or Amazon Women on the Moon. Tom Hanks in a chick-flick? in 2011?

Tom Hanks wrote (with Nia Vardalos) and produced this picture but, in my fantasy, I can hear him calling up Julia and Bryan and saying, “Hey, what are you doing next week? Let’s make a movie. Bring the kids. Come on … it’ll be fun.”  Because it looks like they probably had fun making this movie.

There are cameo roles by Cedric the Entertainer, Rita Wilson (Tom’s wife), George Takei (of Star Trek fame), and Chet Hanks (son of Rita and Tom). Mr Hanks also gave work to a lot of unknown or new-to-the-business actors, technicians and crew (credits rolled forever).

All in all, this effort turned out to be a good story about a how a guy whose life has stalled gets jump-started again … how a college teacher (Roberts) who has lost her passion for teaching finds she can still make a difference in her students’ lives. And it all happens without sex, violence or obscenities. How refreshing.

I definitely recommend this movie.

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31 Days of Oscar

Sunday afternoon is my usual day to post but today there is stiff competition for my time and attention.

On February 1, Turner Classic Movies began their 31 Days of Oscar Celebration. It’s rather self explanatory: for 31 days they will show films that are Oscar winners or nominees. Since this is year number 84 for the Academy Awards, there are many films to choose from.  A lot of awards are given, both technical and directorial as well as acting.

This afternoon’s offering was Mr. Roberts, a favorite from 1955 starring Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell and a young Jack Lemmon.  This was originally a novel by Thomas Heggen adapted into a Broadway play by Heggen and Joshua Logan before it became a movie. It’s the story of Lieutenant (J.G.) Doug Roberts (Fonda), stuck on a cargo ship during World War II with a Captain (Cagney) who is a tyrant.   Mr. Roberts wants to get into the war, serve on a destroyer, but the Captain will never approve a transfer. This movie is funny, touching and a little sad.  The supporting cast of sailors includes Ward Bond and a crew that could be identified as “young actors who will later be big in television.” Though I consider Mr. Roberts an outstanding movie it did not receive an Oscar nomination. Jack Lemmon won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and that’s how the movie qualified for the 31 Days Celebration

On tap for the rest of the day today is Auntie Mame, starring Rosalind Russell, The Music Man, with Robert Preston and Shirley Jones (and five-year-old Ron Howard), and My Fair Lady, featuring Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn.

For good movie viewing without commercials, Turner Classic Movies is the place.  They really are usually classics.  To see the line up for 31 Days of Oscar, visit 31Days.tcm.com

The 2013 Academy Awards air February 24 on ABC.

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The Left Hand of God

The Left Hand of God

The Left Hand of GodOne night, during the Christmas break, I was pleased to see the listing of a favorite old movie, The Left Hand of God from 1955. This story features Humphrey Bogart and Gene Tierney, though this is not one of the most mentioned films during discussions of these actors’ resumes.

A man in priestly robes (Bogart) appears at a small Catholic mission in China.  He is presumed to be the long awaited Father O’Shea. Although his demeanor and behavior are different from what one would expect of a priest, his rough tactics prove successful with the local bullies.  (It’s 1947 and China is dissolving into civil war and revolution.)  To further complicate matters, the mission nurse Anne (Gene Tierney) seems attracted to him and he to her.

When he can struggle with this no more, the man confesses his name is Jim Carmody, recently escaped from the camp of a Chinese warlord (played by Lee J. Cobb).  Carmody’s confrontation with (and victory over) the warlord leave the villagers believing he is a saint and this was a miracle.  The Bishop, though not happy at the deception, is more concerned with the disillusionment of the Chinese converts if Carmody is found out. So, ‘Father Shea’ leaves quietly after telling Anne of his true feelings for her … leaving us to wonder if they will ever see each other again.

The novel, The Left Hand of God, was written by William E. Barrett. He wrote several books that dealt with men who were forced to look at their attitudes about faith and God.  Humphrey Bogart was a good choice to play Jim Carmody, since Bogart usually portrayed a hard boiled cynic who in the end shows his noble side.  Reviewers call The Left Hand of God an adventure story with a religious theme; the story of one man’s faith journey.

You may find the book in your local library or chance upon it in a used book sale. Watch for the movie on cable or, while I’m not sure it’s out on DVD yet, it might appear one day in the sale bins of the big box stores.

I recommend both movie and book.

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To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill A Mockingbird

Last night I watched the American Film Institute’s 50th Anniversary presentation of To Kill a Mockingbird. This was shown on the USA Network with only four well-place commercial breaks.

This is my favorite movie, and possibly the best movie ever made.  An AFI survey a few years ago listed Citizen Kane as the number one film of all time, but I can’t stand Citizen Kane, so I just might be biased.

Earlier last week I also watched (on Netflix) the documentary, Hey Boo: Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird, made in 2010 for the 50th anniversary of the novel.

The book and the movie can almost be reviewed as one, they are that close in plot and dialogue. Harper Lee was a consultant on the movie and much of the original writing from the novel made it into the screenplay.  This happens so seldom it is worth mentioning.

I fell in love with the book 52 years ago when I bought it from the Book of the Month club. Not only did I love the book, everyone did. It later won a Pulitzer Prize.

Today, watching the movie, most agree that no one but Gregory Peck could have played Atticus Finch.  That’s certainly my point of view. However, in casting the part both Spencer Tracy (well maybe) and Rock Hudson (shudder) were considered.  The casting director combed the South for the perfect Scout and Jem, locating newcomers Mary Badham and Philip Alford.

Mary Badham received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress for her portrayal of Scout (She lost to Patty Duke in The Miracle Worker). She never appeared in another major film production, though she has made a decent living with television work. Philip Alford later won a role as one of James Stewart’s sons in Shenandoah, but since then has had small roles in big movies or vice versa.

Some said To Kill a Mockingbird, both book and movie, rode the wave of the Civil Rights movement to achieve the success it did. Actually, the book seems not so much about race relations as it is about human kindness and respect for others. Atticus gathers Scout in his arms and talks to her about ‘climbing into the other person’s skin and walking around.’ Thus to find understanding and empathy for the new trying-too-hard teacher, the poor kid in class with no lunch money, Boo Radley and Tom Robinson.

The book is now required reading in most junior high and high schools, often initiating discussions about the characters and their motivations.

For whatever reason, Harper Lee never published another novel. I’m sure she was encouraged (hounded?) to write a sequel. That’s a compliment; it means your characters are strong and likable. But how could she craft a story that compared in any way to the one she had already told?

She reportedly started another novel and got bogged down in the research. She told a close friend she had ‘nowhere to go but down.’   She tired of the limelight and declined to give any more interviews.  Even Oprah could not lure Nelle Harper Lee to sit on the couch with her.

To Kill a Mockingbird. Read it or watch it. With my recommendation.

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Room With a View

The Netflix package my children gave me for Christmas (Thanks Kids!) allows me to cruise through hundreds of movies and documentaries and choose something to watch when there’s nothing good on cable or the networks. Which happens oftener and oftener.

So, last night I chose Room With a View, an English movie adapted from a 1908 novel by E. M. Forster.  Mr. Forster used much irony in his stories about the hypocrisy involved in the class conscious culture of the day.

The movie, made in 1985, stars a young and beautiful Helena Bonham Carter as Lucy Honeychurch and Julian Sands as George Emerson. Daniel Day Lewis gives an excellent performance as the prim and proper Cecil Vyse.  They were ably supported by Maggie Smith and Judi Dench in character roles. The rave review on imdb.com says this film captures the spirit of the book.  All of us who have been disappointed when a favorite book is made into a lousy movie, can understand the satisfaction when the movie actually does indeed capture the spirit of the book.

Room With a View is a love story about a young girl (Lucy) who must decide between two suitors, exuberant, passionate George or steady, predictable Cecil. Should she go with convention or take a chance on love? The limitations and expectations placed on young ladies during the Edwardian Era play a big part in her decision making.

The background music is spectacular — arias by Puccini and selections by Victor Herbert adding to the drama.

I do have to mention one particular scene that surprised me. The vicar comes upon two young men, waist high in water, bathing. They invite him to join them and he promptly drops trou and steps out from behind the bush completely naked. He jumps in the water and he and the young men engage in splashing and horse play, chasing each other in and out of the pool for a few minutes, before the story line moves on.

Today, when I checked the Parents Guide for this movie the concern listed was: “Full frontal nudity in a non-sexual way.”  True.  The rest of the movie everyone stayed fully clothed, skirts down to the floor and collars up to their chins.

I never figured out the point of this scene, which would lift right out of the film without changing the plot a bit.  Unless it was to shock the daylights out of this grandma!

Room With a View is worth your while and I would recommend it. Just keep your finger on the fast forward button.

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