Lady Killer

Like I said a few days back, pre-codes were the most entertaining type of movie. Perhaps they were so carefree solely because they were released during a time when people were straining to forget their worries.

In 1933, Roy Del Ruth made Lady Killer, an amusing tale of crime and Hollywood. The combination of the two kept me entertained from beginning to end. Not many movies can boast a feat like that.

The star of Lady Killer is James Cagney, whom I realized from this that he had a real firecracker of a personality. I have a feeling he had fun with his role of a theater usher turned small-time hood turned movie star. After all, this was made a whole two years after his star-making turn in The Public Enemy.

I'm not sure, but I believe Lady Killer was one of the first movies to show the behind the scenes/on the set action in Hollywood. Bear in mind this was years before Sunset Boulevard, Singin' in the Rain and The Bad and the Beautiful. Hey, there's a first for everything.

More than once while watching Lady Killer I found myself chuckling at the many antics. Hey, why not? It's a really good movie. It also contains my favorite performance of Cagney's. In all honesty, I might be watching this again, perhaps in the very near future.

My Rating: *****

Persona

With Ingmar Bergman's Persona, viewers are offered a glimpse into the minds of two different women. One talks about her personal life, the other remains quiet.

I knew of Bergman's depiction of human behavior and nature from The Seventh Seal. With Persona, he provides a more in-depth glance on both topics. (On a different note, why do most foreign films focus on those two mainly?)

It's hard to say which of the two leading ladies gave the better performance. Bibi Andersson's Alma tells of every detail of her life, many of them she never told anyone before. She soon starts speaking for both women, and her transition from each personality is astonishing.

On the flip side, Liv Ullmann's Elisabet Vogler speaks volumes by barely speaking at all. She clearly has a perplexing personality, yet we still wonder about her after we've learned everything about her. Every emotion of hers is played across her face yet she is devoid of any. (Well, except for an early scene.)

Persona really makes you think about one's identity, who we are in society. It also captures two of the best female performances I've seen. And maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to understand Mulholland Drive a little better if at all.

My Rating: *****

SAG Winners

Underlined means my prediction, bold means the winner.


BEST ENSEMBLE
The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Help
Midnight in Paris


BEST ACTOR
Demián Bichir – A Better Life

Jean Dujardin – The ArtistGeorge Clooney – The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio – J. Edgar
Brad Pitt - Moneyball

BEST ACTRESS

Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs

Viola Davis - The Help

Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady

Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn

Tilda Swinton - We Need To Talk About Kevin

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christopher Plummer - Beginners

Armie Hammer - J. Edgar

Kenneth Branagh - My Week with Marilyn

Jonah Hill - Moneyball

Nick Nolte - Warrior

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs

Bérénice Bejo - The Artist

Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids

Jessica Chastain - The Help

Octavia Spencer - The Help

The Motorcycle Diaries

You ever get that urge to get away from it all? Just drop everything and hit the road?

Such is the case with Ernesto Guevara (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna), the lead protagonists in Walter Salles' The Motorcycle Diaries. Both are studying medicine, but both strive for that one last escape.

What de la Serna puts in his work as Granado is a zest for life. He is rarely concerned for what his future holds. He wants to live the moment. I also love the final shot of him, his face expressing an uncertainty as to what his fate will be.

Bernal is different. He possesses a silent intensity, a skill only a few choice actors have. Many of his thoughts are expressed with his face rather than his words, again a rare skill among actors. In all honesty, this is a very bold performance.

Along with the acting, the technical aspects of The Motorcycle Diaries I just love. The main factors being Eric Gauntier's cinematography, Gustavo Santaolalla's music, and Salles' direction. The lush locales Guevara and Granado venture make them appear to be Argentinian versions of Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty, the protagonists of Jack Kerouac's On the Road.

My Rating: ****1/2

The Gold Rush

I had seen two Charlie Chaplin films prior to The Gold Rush. Both were essentially social commentaries (Modern Times, The Great Dictator), but The Gold Rush provides pure entertainment.

What's best about The Gold Rush is that the simplest of gags can still be funny even after almost ninety years. Not many films can boast a feat like that.

Such gags include Chaplin eating his shoe, the cabin on the edge of the mountain an d my personal favorite, the dinner roll dance. Just watching those gags makes it clear as to why they're so iconic.

What The Gold Rush also captures is heart. Bear in mind this was made several years before City Lights, a film I am in dire need of revisiting. Still, Chaplin was and always will be one of the few names that could have comedy and tragedy in one film, and make it work.

The Gold Rush is one of those films that will always stand the test of time, as with many of Chaplin's other films. If you haven't seen it, you are most definitely in for a treat.

My Rating: *****

Dancing Lady

This is a known fact: pre-codes were the most entertaining type of movie. Hey, they were sometimes riskier than today's movies.

Joan Crawford is someone I am really starting to like with each passing movie. She's a very lively actress and such a trait is shown in Dancing Lady. As Janie Barlow, she shows a determination that is lacking in most film characters today. It may also be my favorite performance of Crawford's.

As Patch Gallagher, Clark Gable gives a performance with a lot of gusto. How to describe Patch? Frankly, my dear, he doesn't give a damn. (Sorry, I had to.)

Franchot Tone I only knew of for two reasons: his Oscar-nominated role in Mutiny on the Bounty and his marriage to Crawford. (Both happened in 1935.) As Tod Newton, he possesses a bit of a sly aura within the role. You don't see roles like that very often nowadays.

I just adore Dancing Lady. It's so carefree and I just love it. Oh, extra bonus of Dancing Lady is seeing Fred Astaire in his film debut.

My Rating: *****

The Little Foxes

With William Wyler's The Little Foxes, we see the many shades of human nature. Some light, some dark, all compelling.

Regina Giddens (Bette Davis) by appearance is a very sociable woman. Behind closed doors, it's a whole other matter. Along with her brothers, she aspires to gain a good chunk of money from the business deal they want to act out on. However, there is one small problem.

That problem is Regina's husband Horace (Herbert Marshall). They need his money to go through with the deal. But Horace, a man that's weak both physically and mentally, refuses. Naturally they aren't pleased.

Between all of this is Regina and Horace's daughter Alexandra (Teresa Wright). She temporarily becomes a pawn in the scheme to get the money, but she clearly wants no part in any of it.

Regina, Horace and Alexandra are all completely different people. To think they live under the same roof. Their morals and beliefs vary and it's obvious that the Giddenses are a very fractured family.

My Rating: *****

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

You know that saying "third time's the charm"? That can most definitely be applied to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

The main trio for Sergio Leone's film just compliment each other fantastically. Clint Eastwood is completely aloof but at the same time incredibly tough as "the Man with No Name". Lee Van Cleef's "Angel Eyes" (more like "Devil Eyes" in my book) is evil clad in a black hat. Eli Wallach is the perfect candidate as the greedy bastard that is Tuco. I can't see anyone else in the roles.

As I watched The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, I saw many elements that Leone would later use in Once Upon a Time in the West. Both captured the nature of a dying Wild West, as well as focusing on three pivotal characters with a similar goal. Many directors have tried to connect their films, but I think Leone was one of the few masters that could do such a thing.

I can't finish this review without talking about Ennio Morricone's score. I just can't. The whole score works in every scene, but there were three specific pieces that I adored. Those are the main theme, the piece playing as Tuco searches for the grave (and damn near loses his mind), and the piece playing during the Mexican standoff. (The second piece I promptly bought off iTunes afterwards.)

Saying that The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is one of the best Westerns ever made is an understatement. Seriously, how many Westerns are there that perfectly balance action, character study and the affects of battle in one film? No wonder Quentin Tarantino dubbed it "the best-directed movie of all time".

My Rating: *****

For a Few More Dollars

Usually sequels are expected to match up or even surpass the original film. It doesn't happen very often, mind you. When it does, it stands out as much as the original.

With Sergio Leone's For a Few Dollars More, it doesn't generally have the same bite as A Fistful of Dollars. It's just the flow isn't the same. Don't get me wrong. It's good, but there are flaws within the narrative.

Clint Eastwood still proves that he's a badass here, but he didn't have the same edge he had in A Fistful of Dollars. I still liked him regardless. Let's face it, who doesn't like Eastwood?

Lee Van Cleef I encountered before in two other films. No surprise that both of them were also Westerns (High Noon and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance), so I knew the man could handle a gun. And damn well too.

So For a Few Dollars More didn't match up with A Fistful of Dollars. I wasn't surprised in all honesty. All I hope for is that The Good, the Bad and the Ugly will be better.

My Rating: ****

Academy Award Nominations

Ho hum. Not even sure why I still pay attention to the Oscars. I say this because they completely shut out two of my favorite films from last year (Shame and Drive) for major categories. Underlined means my prediction.

BEST PICTURE
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse


BEST DIRECTOR
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

BEST ACTOR
Demian Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

BEST ACTRESS
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McNeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Margin Call
Midnight in Paris
A Separation


BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Descendants
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy


BEST ART DIRECTION
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
War Horse


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
The Tree of Life
War Horse


BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Anonymous
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.


BEST FILM EDITING
The Artist
The Descendants
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball


BEST MAKEUP
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
The Iron Lady


BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Man or Muppet", The Muppets
"Real in Rio", Rio

BEST SCORE
The Adventures of Tintin
The Artist
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse


BEST SOUND MIXING
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse


BEST SOUND EDITING
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse


BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon


BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated


BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
Saving Face
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom


BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Bullhead
Footnote
In Darkness
Monsieur Lazhar
A Separation


BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango


BEST SHORT FILM, ANIMATED
Dimanche
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life


BEST SHORT FILM, LIVE ACTION
Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic