Marathon Man

Genre: suspense

With: Dustin Hoffman (Thomas ‟Babe” Levy), Laurence Olivier (Christian Szell), Roy Scheider (Babe’s brother, ‟Doc”), William Devane (Peter Janeway), Marthe Keller (Elsa Opel), Fritz Weaver (Professor Biesenthal)

Director: John Schlesinger

Screenplay: William Goldman (based on his novel)

Release: 1976

Studio: Paramount Pictures, Robert Evans Company

Rating: 14A

MBiS score: 8.5/10

 

 

What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger

 

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Story-line: Babe Levy, who studies at Columbia University and trains as a long-distance runner, gets tangled up in a sinister affair when an elderly German he doesn’t even know perishes in a car accident.

Pluses: stellar performances by Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier (in an Oscar-nominated turn) and cast (including that old Parisian in a brilliant cameo), a cold, cryptic and complicated screenplay that generates much anxiety, danger and one unbearable chase scene, strong direction that sustains mystery, a chilling musical score and advantageous production values.

Minuses: although logical, the plot may confuse you at times because it covers a lot of ground.

Comments: MARATHON MAN is another fantastic entry from American cinema’s most productive and prestigious period. It also boasts a very likeable hero in Babe Levy, a young man who has faced emotional trauma as a child and now finds himself in a nightmarish situation over which he has no control. One note about the dialogues: although much emphasis is placed on the catchy line “Is it safe?”, my favourite is Janeway’s “We provide”, a euphemism that all politicians should add to their repertoire.    

  

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 House of Strangers

Genre: family drama (in black and white)

With: Edward G. Robinson (Gino Monetti), Richard Conte (Max, his favourite son), Luther Adler. Paul Valentine and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (Gino’s three other sons, Joe, Pietro and Tony, respectively), Susan Hayward (Irene Bennett), Debra Paget (Maria Domenico, Max’s fiancée), Hope Emerson (Maria’s mother, Helena Domenico)

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Screenplay: Philip Yordan (with help from Joseph L. Mankiewicz), based on a novel by Jerome Weidman  

Release: 1949

Studio: Twentieth Century Fox

Rating: PG

MBiS score: 8.4/10

  

A Family in Name Only  

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Story-line: when Max Monetti returns to his father’s bank, which is now managed by his brothers Joe, Tony and Pietro, he’s in no mood to fraternize. He wants compensation for his seven years in jail… and it’s not Monetti money that will make him forgive and forget.     

Pluses: memorable performances by Richard Conte, Edward G. Robinson, Susan Hayward (what a great actress!) and a sturdy cast, a perceptive screenplay peppered with snappy and sometimes hilarious dialogues, tight direction by a renowned helmer, impeccable production values and a musical theme both ominous and sexy.

Minuses: none really.

Comments: the highlight of this busy, engrossing and powerful drama is the fiery, almost perverse relationship between Irene and Max, who is already engaged to Maria; every time those two face each other, they talk tough and enjoy every minute of it. Simply put, HOUSE OF STRANGERS is old-time moviemaking at its best; it shows heart, intelligence and lots of craftsmanship instead of the gimmicks, superheroes and defective plots that Hollywood often dishes out today. Catch this one, movie buffs. You’ll thank me for it!    

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 Big Short (The)

 

 

 

Genre: financial drama

With: Ryan Gosling (Jared Vennett), Christian Bale (Dr. Michael Burry), Steve Carell (Mark Baum), Tracy Letts (Lawrence Fields), Marisa Tomei (Cynthia Baum), Rafe Spall (Danny Moses), Hamish Linklater (Porter Collins), Jeremy Strong (Vinny Daniel), John Magaro (Charlie Geller), Finn Wittrock (Jamie Shipley), Brad Pitt (Ben Rickert). Cameos by Margot Robbie, Anthony Bourdain, Dr. Richard Thaler and Selena Gomez

Director: Adam McKay

Screenplay: Charles Randolph and Adam McKay (based on the book by Michael Lewis)

Release: 2015

Studio: Paramount Pictures, Regency Enterprises, Plan B Entertainment

Rating: 14A

MBiS score: 8.5/10

 

Nobody Likes Naysayers

 

 

Story-line: in 2005, a money manager based in California takes a critical look at the real estate market and concludes that it is headed for collapse. When he acts on his discovery and bets heavily against the market, the financial establishment mostly disbelieves him but a few investment pros take notice.

Pluses: terrific turns by Ryan Gosling (the crafty Vennett), Christian Bale (Burry the maverick), Steve Carell (the angry, vindictive Baum), John Magaro and Finn Wittrock (the young guns from Brownfield) and other cast members collectively, a cynical and psychologically truthful screenplay that dares to use tough talk, a mountain of facts and gut-wrenching drama to convey its message, inventive, adrenalin-charged direction, high-calibre production values and a motley, driving soundtrack.

Minuses: the movie uses confusing financial lingo but most of it is explained through entertaining cameos; on this issue, my best advice to you is to go with the flow. Ditto for the movie overall, which is so jam-packed and unrelenting that you won’t be able to catch everything.    

Comments: based on the terrible but unfortunately true events that led to the financial crisis of 2008, THE BIG SHORT is especially effective in its depiction of the roller-coaster, pressure-laden and brutal world of traders and money managers. Theirs is a dog-eat-dog business in which they risk their physical and mental health as well as tons of money but the scariest facet of their story is that, even if these workaholics may not be very likeable, our whole economic system – our way of life, actually – rests in their febrile hands. As it illustrates one of those times when the system failed us, Adam McKay’s film begins with hubris and thundering noise and ends with a wreck and Led Zeppelin’s regally slow When the Levee Breaks. If you’re anything like me, you’ll stay glued to your seat, half-stunned and half-horrified, until the final credits have vanished from the screen. THE BIG SHORT is a front-row seat to financial disaster.  

 

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Merchant of Venice (The)

 

 

 

Genre: period drama 

With: Al Pacino (Shylock), Jeremy Irons (Antonio), Joseph Fiennes (Bassanio), Lynn Collins (Portia), Zuleikha Robinson (Jessica), Charlie Cox (Lorenzo), Kris Marshall (Gratiano), Heather Goldenhersh (Nerissa), Allan Corduner (Tubal)

Director: Michael Radford

Screenplay: Michael Radford (based on the play by William Shakespeare)

Release: 2004

Studio: Movision, Avenue Pictures et al.

Rating: PG

MBiS score: 8.4/10

 

 

“If it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge.”

 

 

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Story-line: in 1596, there is great animosity between Venetian Christians and Jews in general and between Antonio and Shylock in particular. Antonio, a wealthy shipowner, despises Shylock the moneylender while the latter doesn’t take kindly to Antonio’s habit of lending without interest. Their mutual disdain only worsens when a friend of Antonio, Bassanio, needs financing for a risky enterprise and Lorenzo, another friend, feels love for Shylock’s daughter, Jessica.

Pluses: mesmerizing acting by Al Pacino in a pyrotechnic role, worthy performances by Jeremy Irons (as the austere, less conspicuous Antonio), Joseph Fiennes and especially Lynn Collins (whose intonation, dramatic sense and lilting voice make her an ideal Shakespearean actress), a bracing story featuring richly developed characters and dialogues (obviously, with the Bard!), attentive direction that softens the story’s more abrasive elements with touches of comedy, sumptuous production values that lend a distinctive costume and musical theme to each character.

Minuses: some dialogues are quite disparaging to Jews, Christians and Blacks but reflect the socio-cultural context of the times.

Comments: I really don’t know what was Shakespeare’s frame of mind when he wrote The Merchant of Venice but it certainly is a rancorous story. And Michael Radford’s movie version does justice to the play with its full menu of ill-advised dealings, greed, defiance, disguises, romantic intrigue and religious conflict… not to mention that gruesome request for a pound of flesh. To each his own, I guess…  

 

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A Face in the Crowd

Genre: comedy drama (in black and white)

With: Andy Griffith (Larry “Lonesome” Rhodes), Patricia Neal (Marcia Jeffries), Anthony Franciosa (Joey DePalma), Walter Matthau (Mel Miller), Lee Remick (Betty Lou Fleckum), Percy Waram (General Haynesworth), Paul McGrath (Macey), Rod Brasfield (Beanie), Marshall Neilan (Senator Worthington Fuller)

Director: Elia Kazan

Screenplay: Budd Schulberg

Release: 1957

Studio: Newtown Productions (An Elia Kazan Production)

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.7/10

The Short Distance Between Humility and Megalomania

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Story-line: while doing a remote in an Arkansas town, reporter Marcia Jeffries stumbles upon a wanderer jailed for disorderly conduct and finds him so colourful that she wants him to do a morning show at her radio station.

Pluses: turbocharged performances by Andy Griffith (playing a funny and mysterious small-town boy) and Patricia Neal (the motivated Marcia), crucial support from Walter Matthau, Anthony Franciosa and cast, fast-paced and attentive direction (most evident in several complex scenes), a foresighted and rock-solid screenplay that brilliantly marries humour, drama and sarcasm, competent cinematography, an appropriate musical theme, quality editing and pertinent production values.

Minuses: none I can think of.

Comments: though it was produced when broadcast media and television were far less developed than today, A FACE IN THE CROWD awesomely illustrates their impact on daily life and the seedier aspects of entertainment stardom. It manages to be both hilarious and grave, its dramatic side presaging a more recent film about the media, Sidney Lumet’s much lauded NETWORK. As Lonesome would say, “I'm not just an entertainer. I'm an influence, a wielder of opinion, a force... a force!!!”   

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Son frère

English title: His Brother

Genre: psychological drama  

With: Éric Caravaca (Luc Forestier), Bruno Todeschini (his brother Thomas), Antoinette Moya (the mother), Fred Ulysse (the father), Nathalie Boutefeu (Claire), Sylvain Jacques (Vincent), Catherine Ferran (the Doctor), Robinson Stévenin (Manuel), Maurice Garrel (the old man on the beach)

Director: Patrice Chéreau

Screenplay: Patrice Chéreau and Anne-Louise Trividic (based on Philippe Besson’s novel)

Release: 2003

Studio: Arte France, Azor Films, Love Streams Productions et al.

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.7/10

“Thomas is my brother but, unfortunately, not the brother I would have wanted.”

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Story-line: Luc and Thomas, who have been estranged for years, get back together when Luc learns that his brother is suffering from a rare illness.

Pluses: superb acting all around, a clinical, brutally realistic and psychologically astute screenplay that deals with issues head-on and irrespective of chronological order, masterful direction (singled out at the Berlin Film Festival), fitting production values and Marianne Faithfull’s haunting vocals.   

Minuses: none per se… but heed the warning below.

Comments: from what I’ve seen of him as a director, Patrice Chéreau (1944-2013) wasn’t one to sugar-coat his works and, true to form, SON FRÈRE unflinchingly illustrates the awkward but courageous reconciliation of two brothers in the midst of tragedy. And a genuine tragedy it is, considering that every moment, angle or frame speaks to Thomas’s predicament and predictable fate. As such, SON FRÈRE is human drama of the highest order… but be warned that it is also a very sad and challenging picture that you should avoid if you are feeling even slightly depressed.  

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Diagonale du fou (la)

English title: Dangerous Moves

Genre: psychological drama

With: Michel Piccoli (Akiva Israelovitch Liebskind), Alexandre Arbatt (Pavius Fromm), Liv Ullmann (Marina Fromm), Leslie Caron (Henia Liebskind), Wojciech Pszoniak (Grand Master Felton, a Fromm assistant), Jean-Hugues Anglade (Miller, a Fromm assistant), Daniel Olbrychski (Tac-Tac, a Liebskind assistant), Hubert Saint-Macary (Foldes, Fromm’s business agent), Michel Aumont (Stepan Ivanovitch Kerossian, a Liebskind assistant), Pierre Vial (Anton Heller), Bernhard Wicki (Pühl, the referee)

Director: Richard Dembo

Screenplay: Richard Dembo

Release: 1984

Studio: La Cécilia, Michael Arthur Films et al.

Rating: PG

MBiS score: 8.2/10





As Much a Battleground as a Chessboard





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Story-line: LA DIAGONALE DU FOU takes us back to the 1970s or early 1980s in Geneva, site of a head-to-head chess match between masters of the game. On this occasion, the stakes are especially high since the participants are Liebskind, a Soviet veteran, and Fromm, a young defector now representing the West… both of them genuine embodiments of the Cold War rivalry. Though the playing appears brilliant and merciless to onlookers in the hall, it will pale before the personal issues, psych-out ploys, political manoeuvring and money wranglings behind the scenes.

Pluses: a fine cast led by a convincing Michel Piccoli, Alexandre Arbatt, Daniel Olbrychski, Michel Aumont and Liv Ullmann, a pressure-laden and even paranoid screenplay that goes from one surprise to the next (one particular character might be a triple agent), competent direction, adequate production values, Gabriel Yared’s tortured score inspired by César Franck and, of course, a startling ending.

Minuses: beware the unnerving, ever louder tick-tock of the game clock.

Comments: this modest but interesting movie about a match within a match brings to mind that famous faceoff between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky in 1972. If boxing is brutal physically, chess can be intellectually and I truly admire Liebskind and Fromm for keeping their concentration in spite of obsessed helpers and incessant shenanigans around them. LA DIAGONALE DU FOU, an original piece of work whose title refers to the movement of bishops on the chessboard, was a worthy winner of the Louis Delluc Prize and the Oscar for Foreign Film. In affectionate memory of Michel Piccoli (1925-2020).





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Bad News Bears (The)

Genre: comedy

With: Walter Matthau (Morris Buttermaker), Tatum O'Neal (Amanda Whurlitzer), Vic Morrow (Roy Turner), Joyce Van Patten (Cleveland), Jackie Earle Haley (Kelly Leak)

Director: Michael Ritchie

Screenplay: Bill Lancaster

Release: 1976

Studio: Paramount Pictures

Rating: PG

MBiS score: 8.1/10





Boys Will Be Boys... But What About The Girls?





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Story-line: a washed up baseball player is recruited to coach a Little League team made up of hapless and hopeless losers.

Pluses: cranky performances by Walter Matthau, Tatum O'Neal and an unruly bunch of youngsters, a mature and very refreshing screenplay that doesn't play according to formula, sensible direction, modest but adequate production values. 

Minuses: this is not a squeaky clean sports movie... expect naughtiness all around! 

Comments: although most of its characters are kids, THE BAD NEWS BEARS feels like it was made mainly for adults. With its memorable scenes, true surprises and nasty ending, Michael Ritchie’s work is much more than a guilty pleasure. It's a seriously funny film... and a treat for movie buffs. Enjoy!





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Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes

English title: Aguirre, the Wrath of God

Genre: colonial docudrama   

With: Klaus Kinski (Don Lope de Aguirre), Helena Rojo (Inez), Del Negro (Brother Gaspar de Carvajal), Ruy Guerra (Don Pedro de Ursua), Peter Berling (Don Fernando de Guzman), Cecilia Rivera (Flores), Daniel Ades (Perucho), Edward Roland (Okello)

Director: Werner Herzog

Screenplay: Werner Herzog

Release: 1972

Studio: Werner Herzog Filmproduktion, Hessischer Rundfunk

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.8/10





I Just Know You’ll Hate This Guy



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Story-line: the setting is Peru in 1560. Having completed their destruction of the Incan empire, Spanish conquerors catch gold fever when they hear about El Dorado, a mineral-rich region on the other side of the Peruvian mountains. Pizarro and a large contingent, including Ursua, Aguirre and Guzman, set out to claim the area for the King of Spain; Gaspar, a monk, will accompany them and document their quest for untold riches.  

Pluses: credible acting by a committed cast but especially by a dour-faced Klaus Kinski (as the ultimate megalomaniac), strong direction and editing, a compact and spellbinding screenplay supplying heavy drama and a few unintentional laughs (mainly at poor Okello’s expense), spectacular cinematography and outdoor settings, Popol Vuh’s haunting musical score (reminiscent of early Pink Floyd) and appropriate production values.

Minuses: none really.

Comments: the brutal and very original AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD takes place in the Amazon but it might as well be on Mars, so uncommon are its looks and subject matter. Leading hundreds of men and hauling heavy gear into the jungle was a monumental – if not suicidal – enterprise centuries ago but, even in the 1970s, Werner Herzog’s project must have been a huge technical challenge. As for the cold-blooded Aguirre, he may claim to be an agent of God but you’re certainly entitled to think otherwise.          





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De rouille et d’os

English title: Rust and Bone

Genre: personal drama  

With: Marion Cotillard (Stéphanie), Matthias Schoenaerts (Alain van Versch), Armand Verdure (Sam), Céline Sallette (Louise), Corinne Masiero (Anna, Alain’s sister), Jean-Michel Correia (Richard, Anna’s husband), Bouli Lanners (Martial), Mourad Frarema (Foued), Yannick Choirat (Simon)

Director: Jacques Audiard

Screenplay: Jacques Audiard and Thomas Bidegain, from a story by Craig Davidson

Release: 2012

Studio: Why Not Productions, Page 114, France 2 Cinéma et al.

Rating: 18 A

MBiS score: 8.1/10





A Human Being, No Matter What





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Story-line: Alain, a lone parent with a young son and no permanent home, is put up by his sister and finds a job as a bouncer in a local disco. One night, he is called upon to rescue Stéphanie, who has been bullied on the dance floor, and drives her home. The encounter doesn’t go so well (he blames her for being ‟dressed like a whore”) but you just know these two will meet again before long…

Pluses: a gritty turn by Marion Cotillard – oozing star power as always – and the impressive Matthias Schoenaerts, a raw, schematic screenplay that mixes interesting themes (parenting, marine parks, boxing, physical disability) and deftly uses silences to further its story, impressionistic cinematography by Stéphane Fontaine (some scenes are truly wondrous) and competent direction by Jacques Audiard (DE BATTRE MON COEUR S’EST ARRÊTÉ).

Minuses: none I can think of.

Comments: this very watchable film features impatient and imperfect characters who struggle to patch up their broken lives and find happiness or, at least, some level of contentment. They may be rough here and there, they do make mistakes but they’re also survivors… and that’s what makes DE ROUILLE ET D’OS a compelling choice for movie buffs.  





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