Major Barbara

Following Pygmalion, this is another Gabriel Pascal-helmed adaptation of a Shaw play, again starring Wendy Hiller.  Asquith wasn’t involved in this one, but although Pascal takes the directorial credit, it was apparently more the work of David Lean and Harold French.  Now that we’ve got the pedigrees out of the way, how does it stack up to its predecessor?  Not quite as well.  Hiller is magnificent (I could watch her all day long) and there’s a fine cast of wonderful actors, including a young Deborah Kerr in her first credited role.  I’m afraid Rex Harrison still doesn’t excite me, but he’s got some enjoyable moments.  And the story deftly handles some finely nuanced questions of morality, celebrating the good and condemning the hypocritical of both the Salvation Army and the world of industrialists.  There’s some terrific witty dialogue as well.  But overall I thought it lacked a certain spark, felt a bit cobbled together from scraps of speeches, eloquent as they might be.  If it hadn’t been for Hiller’s particular brand of spunk and charisma, I think I’d have been much less interested.  Rating: 7

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Mine

Animal lovers, keep a box of tissues handy.  When Hurricane Katrina struck, thousands of families had no choice but to leave their pets behind.  Many unfortunately perished, but some were rescued and were reunited with their owners.  However, some were adopted into new families, families who didn’t know if and when the original owners might try to find them, or even that that was a possibility.  Geralyn Pezonaski’s documentary focuses on four Katrina victims trying to maneuver through an inefficient, multi-layered system to get their beloved dogs back from adoptive families reluctant to let go.  Along the way, the film explores issues of racism and classism.  Sometimes it’s easy to paint a particular person as selfish or self-righteous, but everyone involved thinks they’re doing the right thing, and there aren’t always easy answers.  I felt at times that Pezonaski backed away from certain complexities that might have been interesting to follow, but the material is certainly compelling with a lot of ethical nuance, and for anyone who has felt a strong emotional connection to an animal, deeply moving.  If you watch this on the Film Movement DVD, be sure to check out the special features for a nice surprise.  Rating: 8

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The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Knucklehead that I am, I’ve never read any Victor Hugo, but having seen Bernard’s adaptation of “Les Miserables” and now Dieterle’s adaptation of this, I have no doubt that his reputation is well-deserved.  A powerful tale that touches on so many themes (no doubt many of them watered down for the film): prejudice, religious fanaticism, ethnic persecution, the power of the press, unrequited love.  Laughton is captivating as Quasimodo… in my experience, the man can do no wrong.  It is a very compelling combination of the grotesque (and I don’t just mean physically, although the makeup job is wonderful) and the pitiable.  An expensive production, but one that pays off, with its sets used to wonderful effect, aided by some glorious shots from cinematographer Joseph August.  The photographic aspects really helped make up for some of the flaws.  Maureen O’Hara does very little for me here, either as an actress or as the type of woman who would arouse so much passion.  And there’s an occasional lack of subtlety, especially in some of the all too-knowing dialogue.  And Frollo is perhaps too villainous to take seriously, although he does have some nuances.  These are relatively minor quibbles, however.  I really enjoyed this, and as a big noir fan I’m surprised to find it ranks as my favorite by Dieterle.  Rating: 9

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Never Let Me Go

As I watching this, I thought it had a certain Japanese feel to it, and it was only when the ending credits rolled that I realized it was actually based on a novel by a Japanese author (albeit a British-raised one… in fact, also the author of Remains of the Day).  It has the gentle, elegiac, melancholy tones that mark the work of Iwai or Koreeda.  The film’s sci-fi premise is interesting (especially presented as an alternate history) but serves only as a foundation for meditations on mortality, humanity, social inequities and love.  It occasionally spells things out too plainly, but I wouldn’t call it heavy-handed at any point.  Carey Mulligan was more impressive in An Education than in this role, which mostly requires her to be wistful a lot, but I liked her very much anyway.  She’s got a presence that draws your attention without being showy.  Knightley is surprisingly good, and Garfield is passable.  Romanek has a good eye, and the film has a lush atmosphere that enhances its introspective nature, as does the restrained score.  All in all, a very beautiful film, one that’s original enough and touching enough to warrant a second look someday.  Rating: 8

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The Insider

I thought this would make an interesting contrast to The Informant, seeing as the subject matter is similar.  Where Soderbergh takes a comic approach to everything, Mann is deadly, deadly serious.  His “Miami Vice” type of stylization is in full effect: moody saxophone music, wobbly “you are there” camerawork, slo-mo, guys thoughtfully staring into the distance… heck, there’s even a walking on a beach sequence.  The tension and heaviness of nearly every scene is amped up.  For the most part, however, he holds back just enough to keep it from getting ridiculous.  The dramatic elements are fairly predictable (even for someone not familiar with the true story) but compelling, and I was intrigued by the issues of journalistic integrity.  Pacino is good, Crowe kinda overdoes the stoic thing, so I guess it’s a wash in the acting department.  Maybe I just don’t like Crowe.  Something was a little off with the construction of the movie that I can’t put my finger on, though… it just seemed like it could flow better, or maybe it was a tad too lengthy.  Still, in general it’s pretty good.  Rating: 7

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The Informant!

Not Soderbergh’s greatest to be sure, but nonetheless an endearing work.  Many people were put off by this film’s light-hearted nature, but I enjoyed it quite a bit.  The Hamlisch score, the wry narration, the cast populated with comedians, and especially Matt Damon.  It doesn’t matter how much of it is true to life, this version of Mark Whitacre is a wonderful character, full of earnest delusion.  It’s one of his most interesting performances.  Is the comic tone sometimes pushed a little too far, trying a bit too hard to achieve a Coen-esque quirk?  Sure.  But for the bulk of it I was entertained, and fully engaged by the twists and turns this story takes.  Rating: 7

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Winnebago Man

For the past couple of weeks, a 13 year-old girl has been incessantly eviscerated throughout the popular media for a harmless music video of a song that, although vapid and poorly written, is hardly the worst thing in the universe.  But this is the bread and butter of YouTube culture: schadenfreude and irony.  We chuckle at someone else’s misfortunes or mistakes or moments of cluelessness, and we move on without any sense of who these people really are.  What a shame, then, that filmmaker Ben Steinbauer fails to really explore the persona of Jack Rebney (the “Winnebago Man” or “The Angriest Man on Earth”).  Some half-hearted attempts are made to get him to speak about his childhood or his ideas about current affairs, but in the end everything seems to boil down to his viral video celebrity.  Rebney seems like an intelligent fellow with some strong opinions he wants to express, but either his fans or Steinbauer himself manages to steamroll over them.  By the end, are we supposed to feel satisfied that Rebney has come to terms with his YouTube legacy?  Because it made me kind of depressed.  Ultimately, I didn’t learn much about Rebney as a person, nor about the phenomenon of unsolicited internet celebrity.  I just learned that Steinbauer is a bit of a douche.  Rating: 5

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The Spiral Staircase

Beautiful gothic stylization infused with ho-hum performances, ho-hum mystery and ho-hum melodrama.  Things seem to get off on the right foot with a dash of heightened suspense and eerie goings-on.  Then the bulk of the film goes into all the dramatic tensions in the household, while the menace lingers far in the background.  The tense climax is most welcome, but by that point it’s too little, too late.  Ethel Barrymore is a hoot as the cranky matriarch, and Gordon Oliver as the “bad” son has a John Dall smirkiness that’s fun.  Some of the other supporting actors are enjoyable too, but Dorothy McGuire in the lead is not up to the task of portraying a compelling mute character.  It’s a shame such fine camerawork is wasted on this rather drab material.  Rating: 6

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MacGruber

Huh, that’s weird.  I thought this was supposed to be a comedy.  To be fair, maybe about 10% of the gags are funny.  I even laughed out loud, twice.  But most of them are really lazy and obvious, and the premise is weak.  I like all the soft-rock 80′s music, though.  Rating: 3

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Death Note 2

Goddamn, I don’t know why I like this.  It’s just so goofy.  Typical trashy manga stuff, where logic and consistency are completely tossed out the window.  This one gets really convoluted… the constant piling on of additional elements simultaneously makes it more fun and more annoying.  I dunno, I guess it’s the cat-and-mouse game between “L” and “Kira” that makes it compelling, even though it’s not handled particularly well.  A bunch of nonsense, but I got into it anyway.  I’m just not gonna question it.  Rating: 7

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