I'm beginning to think we will never have a nice warm, calm day. Either too cold or too windy to be enjoyable outdoors. Annoying. But I still have my films to keep me occupied - and in some cases - happy. This week I saw:
King Kong (1933) I was underwhelmed, again. Saw this years ago but it has never been one I wanted to see again. But for the ape, I give it - 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024216/
Dinner At Eight (1933) Great ensemble cast as only MGM could provide. Jean Harlow, Marie Dressler, The Barrymore boys - John and Lionel, Billie Burke (in her best film role IMO), and Wallace Beery all have juicy scenes and play them to the hilt. Marie Dressler is priceless and steals every scene she is in, and her scene with Jean Harlow is a 'classic.' 10/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023948/
Live Free Or Die (2006) Got mixed up and thought this was the Willis film. This one is about losers who can't get anything right on their crime spree. Not funny and no one is the least interesting. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0432318/
Man Who Wasnt There (2001) Coen Bros. Billy Bob Thorton as a sour barber in a typical Coen film where nothing goes right for anyone in the film. Once was enough. 7/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243133/
Come Live With Me (1941) Beautiful Hedy Lamarr and gawky James Stewart in what is supposed to be a romantic comedy. Wasn't funny. Urbane Ian Hunter was fine. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033477/
Ziegfeld Girl (1941) The whole stable of beauties at MGM - Hedy Lamarr again, Lana Turner, Judy Garland; in the most enjoyable of the Ziegfeld films, in my opinion. Jimmy Stewart and Ian Hunter again, and very good. Nice Busby Burkeley music numbers. 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034415/
Ride With The Devil (1999) Tobey Maguire (before Spiderman) and a bunch of young actors in Ang Lees' film about the border war along the Kansas-Missouri line in the Civil War. Families and friends are on different sides, and young boys of 15 and 16 had to take sides or would be killed as traitors by either side. Filmed in the rolling green hills of Missouri, using historic sites for homes of farmers, it is a beautiful. The town of Pattonsburg, MO. was used for the burning of Lawrence, Kansas because it had been abandoned by the great flood of 1993. The whole town was rebuilt on higher ground by the decree of the Corp Of Engineers to get out of the flood plain. So Lee was given permission to fix it enough to film the raid and burning. Great scene. All the young actors are very good. Ang Lee is a genious. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0134154/
Pursuit Of Happiness (2007) Will Smith and his son in a great story of a guy overcoming all odds to finding success, taking his son with him so he will never be without a father, as he himself was when he was young. Based on a true story, very heartwarming. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454921/
Atonement (2007) I was dissapointed. So much praise for a mediocre film. Just watched it today and was underwhelmed. But one thing it does have - a tween villain who is vindictive, manipulative and a twit. God, I wanted to slap her! While the acting was good, the film was morose, grey, depressing and disjointed. The way they went back and forth into the past was very distracting. It missed it's mark with me.
The scene that sets up the story is when Briony jumps in the pond so Robbie will have to 'save' her and be her hero. When he berates her for being such a twit and endangering them both - I think that is when she decides to get even. Maybe not even consciously. But it is all her jealousy. As smart as this girl is, I don't think she was confused at all at what she saw and what she decided to do with the knowledge. The older Briony is still trying to use innocence as an excuse.
The Dunkirk withdrawal is another confusing part - war is a mess - but for the audience, we at least should be given a clue to what the objective is. All we see is men going to and fro - to what end. Maybe I missed the dialog, but I was using subtitles - so don't think I missed it if it was there.
Acting honors for me go to the older Briony. McAvoy and Knightly were okay but nothing out of the ordinary. Young Briony was too deadpan. No expression. Maybe that is what the director wanted, but it was not effective. Her only change of expression was a smile when Robbie rescues her.
I can't imagine this film being remembered 10 years from now. 5/10 for set decoration, costume design, cinematography.
On to next week and hopefully kinder, gentler breezes - so we can enjoy the out-of-doors.
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