Last Waltz (The)

Genre: concert movie

With: the Band (Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel and Levon Helm), Ronnie Hawkins, Dr. John, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, the Staple Singers, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Bob Dylan and more

Director: Martin Scorsese

Release: 1978

Studio: FM Productions, Last Waltz Inc.

Rating: PG

MBiS score: 8.2/10

Stage Fright? Not Tonight!

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Story-line: in November 1976, the Winterland in San Francisco hosted a special farewell concert by the Band, the legendary rock group behind The Shape I’m In, Up On Cripple Creek, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down and other enduring hits. Mentors, friends and musical peers joined in.

Pluses: wonderful live footage, interesting interviews and humorous anecdotes, superb direction, sound recording, photography (Michael Chapman) and editing (Jan Roblee and Yeu-Bun Yee).  

Minuses: none whatsoever.

Comments: according to some, THE LAST WALTZ is the best concert movie ever made and I won’t contradict them. Any way you look at it, this invigorating movie stands as a monument to a monumental band and a brilliant effort by Martin Scorsese. Rock on, movie buffs!

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Lacombe Lucien

Genre: wartime drama  

With: Pierre Blaise (Lucien Lacombe), Aurore Clément (France Horn), Holger Löwenadler (Albert Horn, France’s father), Stéphane Bouy (Jean-Bernard de Voisins), Loumi Iacobesco (Betty Beaulieu), René Bouloc (Stéphane Faure)

Director: Louis Malle

Release: 1974

Studio: Nouvelles Éditions de Films (NEF), Universal Pictures France (UPF), Vides Cinematografica et al.

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.7/10

We All Have To Choose Sides, Don’t We?

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Story-line: in June 1944, as the Nazis tighten their grip on Southern France, young Lucien tries to join the French Resistance and ends up working for the German police.  

Pluses: a cogent screenplay by Louis Malle and Patrick Modiano, splendid photography by Tonino Delli Colli (notably the exteriors), an evil set of characters, lovely costumes and period detail, impeccable acting and brilliant direction.

Minuses: none.

Comments: a movie about opportunities, those you take and those that slip away. Lucien, a boy desperate to be a man, is readily  attracted to the world of power, intrigue, women and guns offered by the Nazis although it puts him at odds with most of his countrymen. LACOMBE LUCIEN is even more tragic when you consider that lead actor Pierre Blaise (1955-1975) died soon after its release.

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Mystic River

Genre: crime drama 

With: Sean Penn (Jimmy Markum), Kevin Bacon (Sean Devine), Tim Robbins (Dave Boyle), Lawrence Fishburne (Whitey Powers), Laura Linney (Annabeth Markum) and Marcia Gay Harden (Celeste Boyle)

Director: Clint Eastwood

Release: 2003

Studio: Warner Brothers Pictures

Rating: R

MBiS score: 8.5/10

I’d Rather Be Sorry Than Safe

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Story-line: in Buckingham Flats, a suburb of Boston, three men who were childhood buddies in the 70s reunite twenty years later when one of them loses his daughter to a murderer.    

Pluses: rock-solid screenwriting by Brian Helgeland (based on a novel by Dennis Lehane), fine direction and music by Clint Eastwood, great acting all around, an efficient escalation of tension and an ingenious meshing of two crucial events late in the narrative.

Minuses: none.

Comments: as it patiently spins its tale, the screenplay sheds light on a small, closed in world where friendship, love, mistrust and horror coexist. The murder premise leads to a complicated police investigation that will keep you guessing with every twist and turn. MYSTIC RIVER, a classic thriller that raises important moral questions, stands as a crowning glory for Clint Eastwood. Keep in mind this neighbourhood rule… some people don’t talk to the police.

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© 2016 – All rights reserved

Key Largo

Genre: suspense (in black and white)

With: Humphrey Bogart (Frank McCloud), Lionel Barrymore (James Temple), Lauren Bacall (Nora), Edward G. Robinson (Johnny Rocco), Monte Blue (Sheriff Ben Wade) and Claire Trevor (Gaye Dawn)

Director: John Huston

Release: 1948

Studio: Warner Brothers

Rating: PG

MBiS score: 8.3/10

A New Lease on Life… and It Didn’t Even Cost You

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Story-line: when an embittered former major goes to the Florida Keys to meet the family of a fallen comrade, he witnesses strange happenings and threatening behaviour.   

Pluses: formidable acting by Bogey, Bacall, Claire Trevor (an Oscar winner) and Edward G. Robinson (observe him as Gaye sings along… is he smiling or grimacing?), a masterly screenplay by Richard Brooks and John Huston (based on a play by Maxwell Anderson), potent dialogues and sturdy direction.   

Minuses: none.

Comments: over the years, I’ve missed KEY LARGO several times but I hope you won’t wait as long as I did to see it. Nothing in this thriller seems forced or artificial; characters are well drawn, their strengths and weaknesses skilfully exposed. Can today’s movie industry beat this kind of star power and flawless dramatic development? Not often, I would say.

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© 2016 – All rights reserved

Mother (The)

Genre: social drama

With: Anne Reid (May), Peter Vaughan (Toots), Steven Mackintosh (Bobby), Cathryn Bradshaw (Paula), Anna Wilson-Jones (Helen, Bobby’s wife), Oliver Ford Davies (Bruce) and Daniel Craig (Darren)

Director: Roger Michell

Release: 2004

Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

Rating: 14A

MBiS score: 8.2/10

A Mother But Still A Human Being

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Story-line: as soon as retirees Toots and May arrive in London to visit their children, a health issue throws the whole family into a fix.     

Pluses: a very contemporary subject, natural acting by Anne Reid and cast (check out Daniel Craig before James Bond!), Hanif Kureishi’s subtle screenplay, disciplined direction, Jeremy Sams’ jazzy score.

Minuses: none.

Comments: a genuinely surprising and thought-provoking movie about old age, generational conflicts and how damaging it is to pigeonhole people, especially those who are close to us. I can only admire a film that tackles tough issues in such a brave and realistic way.

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© 2016 – All rights reserved

Fearless

Genre: psychological drama

With: Jeff Bridges (Max Klein), Isabella Rossellini (his wife Laura), Rosie Perez (Carla Rodrigo), Benicio del Toro (Mannie, Carla’s husband), Tom Hulce (Brillstein) and John Turturro (Doctor Perlman)

Director: Peter Weir

Release: 1993

Studio: Warner Brothers

Rating: R

MBiS score: 8.4/10

Some Guys Have All the Luck

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Story-line: when Max Klein and his associate took a flight to Houston, they never expected it would end in a crash… with only one of them surviving.

Pluses: bravura performances by Jeff Bridges and Rosie Perez, solid support from Isabella Rossellini and Tom Hulce as less likeable characters, an ambitious screenplay by Rafael Yglesias.

Minuses: none really.

Comments: it only takes a minute to realize that FEARLESS is a hard-hitting and enriching movie that goes to the heart of human experience. In some ways, Max will become an enigma after his miraculous escape, a man disconnected from our world. Should we fear the future? How can we cope with tragedy? As Peter Weir’s demanding film demonstrates, the answers are not simple and the road to understanding is often difficult to follow.

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© 2016 – All rights reserved

One, Two, Three

Genre: comedy (in black and white)

With: James Cagney (C.R. McNamara), Pamela Tiffin (Scarlett Hazeltine), Horst Buchholz (Otto Ludwig Piffl), Arlene Francis (Phyllis, C.R.’s wife), Lilo Pulver (Ingeborg!) and Hanns Lothar (Schlemmer).
Director: Billy Wilder

Release: 1961

Studio: United Artists

Rating: PG

MBiS score: 8.4/10

Drink a Cold One for the Cold War

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Story-line: C.R. McNamara, the Coca-Cola manager in West Berlin, is asked a favour by his boss at the very moment he’s dealing with Russian officials to market Coke behind the Iron Curtain.

Pluses: a whirlwind performance by James Cagney as the unstoppable McNamara, a strong cast and colourful characters, a breathless story by Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond and playwright Ferenc Molnár.

Minuses: clearly none, unless you’re not in a laughing mood.

Comments: an uproarious comedy, no doubt, and also a piece of cinematic history. It took a lot of chutzpah to mock capitalists and communists alike at the height of the Cold War… and ONE, TWO, THREE pulled it off spectacularly by mixing post-World War II anxieties, old Nazi reflexes and East-West rivalries (Frank Sinatra!). One can only surrender to such wit and humour.

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Femme infidèle (la)

English title: The Unfaithful Wife

Genre: marital drama  

With: Stéphane Audran (Hélène), Michel Bouquet (Charles Desvallées), Stephen Di Napolo (Michel), Maurice Ronet (Victor Pegala), Michel Duchaussoy (Duval), Guy Marly (Gobet)

Director: Claude Chabrol

Release: 1968

Studio: Cinegai S.p.A., Les Films de la Boétie

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.1/10    

A Living Room, a Statuette, a Fit of Anger  

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Story-line: Hélène and Charles live in a magnificent house, are happy together and dearly love their son Michel. But is their marriage as perfect as it seems?

Pluses: sparkling dialogues and acting, a fresh take on infidelity, excellent pacing, odd touches here and there (it’s a Chabrol, n’est-ce pas?).

Minuses: none really.

Comments: some movies waste no time in drawing you in… and this is exactly what LA FEMME INFIDÈLE manages to do. Marvel at Claude Chabrol’s measured, psychology-driven filmmaking. Quality entertainment for movie buffs!

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© 2016 – All rights reserved

Fils (le)

English title: The Son

Genre: psychological drama

With: Olivier Gourmet (Olivier), Isabella Soupart (his ex-wife Magali), Morgan Marinne (Francis), Jimmy Deloof (Dany) and Anne Gérard (Dany’s mother).

Directors: Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne

Release: 2002

Studio: NewYorker Films

Rating: - 

MBiS score: 8.2/10

Too Young To Know Better. Too Old To Forget.

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Story-line: a quiet man who teaches woodworking to juvenile delinquents has trouble dealing with a new student.   

Pluses: a sober treatment well-suited to the subject matter (no music… not even during the opening credits!), a meticulous and sensible screenplay, tight editing and camera work (notice how Olivier is often filmed from behind… feel all that stiffness in his neck), a masterful buildup of tension.

Minuses: none whatsoever.

Comments: over the years, the Dardenne brothers have become Cannes Festival favourites for one simple reason: they make excellent movies. LE FILS, a compelling drama set in Belgium, showcases yet again their talent and storytelling prowess. This low-budget, high-value production is well worth your time. See it!  

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© 2016 – All rights reserved

Husbands

Genre: comedy drama

With: Ben Gazzara (Harry), Peter Falk (Archie Black), John Cassavetes (Gus Dimitri), Jenny Runacre (Mary Tynan), Meta Shaw (Annie, Harry’s wife).

Director: John Cassavetes

Release: 1970

Studio: Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, Sony Pictures Releasing

Rating: PG-13

MBiS score: 8.4/10

Three Loons on a Lark

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Story-line: when Stuart passes away, his friends Harry, Archie and Gus take time off to reminisce and chase their blues away.

Pluses: amazingly natural performances by the three leads, an original and very talky screenplay by John Cassavetes, juicy dialogues, one unbelievable 12-minute scene in a toilet stall, splendid photography by Victor J. Kemper.

Minuses: the movie made me laugh so hard I was exhausted in the end.   

Comments: although it contains a few dramatic and even harrowing scenes, HUSBANDS has little in common with Lawrence Kasdan’s THE BIG CHILL. Cassavetes’ film is mostly a comedy… and one so hilarious the actors often crack up while delivering their lines. You’ll love HUSBANDS for its frank depiction of friendship, regret, personal tragedies and minor victories. As for those body odours… well… don’t ask!

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© 2016 – All rights reserved