What classics did you see last week ? (5 Apr - 11 Apr 2020)

Address Unknown / William Cameron Menzies (1944). Columbia Pictures. Cinematography by Rudolph Maté. Set between the two world wars in the late 1930s, two German ex-pats become partners in a successful art gallery business in San Francisco. Martin Schulz (Paul Lukas) agrees to move back to Germany as a buyer of art objects while Max Eisenstein (Morris Carnovsky), who is Jewish, stays behind to run the store. They become even closer when Martin’s son Heinrich (Peter van Eyck) becomes engaged to Max’s daughter Griselle (K.T. Stevens). Griselle, however, has a will of her own that puts off the wedding until she can study acting in Vienna in pursuit of a stage career. But when Martin gets to Munich he falls under the spell of the emerging Nazi party which hardens his heart against his former friends. He is tested when Griselle finds herself in trouble for being Jewish. Director Menzies is mostly known for his production designs (Gone With The Wind, Things To Come) and he chose as his cinematographer the veteran Rudy Maté with great care so we are going to get a good dose of striking, startling black & white film noir images. Whatever is said about the tyrannical head of Columbia, Harry Cohn, his studio was a leader in producing Hollywood films about Jewish persecution in Nazi Germany. There is a surprisingly modern surprise ending that will chill the blood. Morris Carnovsky is not well known as a movie actor but was one of the founding members of Group Theatre, the pioneering company that was very influential in bringing naturalistic acting to the stage via the Stanislavski “Method” of role preparation which had finally reached North America. “Address Unknown” is an almost forgotten gem that is getting a current revival. Join the club.








Nan Bei Zui Quan (Dance Of The Drunken Mantis) / Woo-Ping Yuen (1979). The previous year Jackie Chan’s breakthrough movie, “Drunken Master,” was a huge hit. Yuen, who in addition to directing was fight choreographer, wanted a sequel but Chan had moved on. So Yuen cast his own brother Shun-Yee Yuen as the new pupil to the Drunken Master, the Beggar Su (called Sam the Seed in the English dub, which was the only choice on the DVD I watched). It has about the same plot as the Jackie Chan: a Master of drunken boxing combined with mantis style comes to town to challenge Sam the Seed. Sam’s adopted son trains in secret with Sam’s brother so, at the climax, manages to defeat the challenger in a marathon battle. More comedy than drama or true threat, this is a fun watch.




Sei Mong Tap (Game Of Death 2) / See-Yuen Ng (1981). It headlines Bruce Lee which can come as a surprise because Lee died in 1973 leaving the first Game Of Death with only the opening and ending pieces on film. In 1978, that unfinished film was released with new footage and a Bruce Lee stand in who looked nothing like him. It was a fiasco. If that wasn’t bad enough, here comes the sequel. It uses some outtakes and scenes from earlier Lee films to cobble together a plot set-up in which Lee’s character dies and his prodigal brother goes looking for vengeance. You might enjoy this if you like unintentionally funny/bad movies, but I don’t like bad movies of any kind.

Footnote: the Bruce Lee scene in “One Upon A Time In…Hollywood” is amusing, has a 4:10 continuous take, and the guy imitating Lee is very good. But…Lee was nothing like he is shown. In contrast to his film image as the avenging, show-no-quarter, kung-fu fighter to the death, in life he was soft spoken and maybe a little shy.




Ophelia / Claire McCarthy (2018). The idea of taking a well-known classic story or folk tale and looking at it from a perspective other than the main character probably began with Tom Stoppard’s play “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” (1966), but the current surge of plays, novels, and films with that conceit started, I guess, with the novel turned Broadway musical “Wicked” from 2003. Now, Hamlet is returned to so we can get Ophelia’s (Daisy Ridley) side of the story. If you have no idea how “Hamlet” goes then most of the film will probably be lost on you yet could still have interest as a stand-alone story. In addition to Daisy Ridley in the title role, we have some other fine actors to support, viz. Naomi Watts as Queen Gertrude (and in a second role), Clive Owen as Claudius, Tom Felton as Ophelia’s brother Laertes, and George MacKay as the man himself, Prince Hamlet. Although not a world shaker, this film is a pleasant fairy tale with a plucky heroine, a tormented Queen, a cruel King, and a witch to provide exotic poisons and potions on demand – all sumptuously photographed.





Last week I mentioned that the Metropolitan Opera was free streaming an opera a day from their Saturday matinees that have previously been live streamed to theaters. I saw two complete and watched extended excerpts from two others. The first full production was Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma, set during the Roman occupation of the British Isles from 100-50 B.C.E., is one of the great dramatic works of musical theater with many thrilling high points and high notes. The second full show was Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth, an early work, one of the best of that period in his life and very popular with the first audiences. I encountered Verdi two more times during the week. I saw about 45 minutes of Aida, mainly the stirring first act finale. Then came several scenes in Falstaff, based on Shakespeare’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor.” Verdi had tried his hand at comedy with his second staged work, “Un Giorno Di Regno” (King For A Day), but he had worked on it while his wife and children were dying around him and then the opera failed miserably. He didn’t return to comedy until his final masterpiece written at age 79. This is a joyous score that generally breaks all the rules. It sounds like a young man’s work that sets out to shake up the music world. A treasure.

I had a double dose of Hamlet this week. A production of the play staged by the Globe Theater in Stratford-Upon-Avon back in 2018 is available for free streaming. The information I first got said it would only be available for a day, but, as of this posting, it is still up on YouTube. The Stratford Globe is, as far as anyone can know, a recreation Shakespeare’s famous playhouse in London, including a standing area around a thrust stage. The scenes flow one into another as is believed how the King’s Men performed them in the first years of the 17th century. But this initial emphasis on original performance practice is subverted by some odd casting. It has long been common in the theater world, especially when acting Shakespeare, to put women actors into men’s roles, so when we see that Hamlet, Horatio, and Laertes are played by women, we don’t think much about it. However, it is a bit of a jolt (although it shouldn’t be) to see that Ophelia is being played by a man. Turnabout is fair play. There were a few raised eyebrows, especially in the right-wing press, but the production got hearty audience receptions (including the audience on this video). Experienced Shakespearean actor and Globe artistic director Michelle Terry brings a lot of insight to the character of Hamlet. Thank you Globe Theatre.

Hamlet (Michelle Terry) and Laertes (Bettrys Jones) have their fateful fencing match.

Hi all,I hope everyone has a happy Easter,and at the end of last week,I had a YouTube video playing in background which mentioned a code for a free 30 day sub to Shudder. Having heard about some of the exclusives on Shudder, I signed up.But first...

Nordic cinema of the 50's:



My Sister and I (1950) 7

Playing not one, but two members of the family, Sickan Carlsson gives hilarious sparkling turns as "sisters" Katarina and Birgitta Hassel,as she fools everyone thanks to Carlsson giving Birgitta a feisty, sarcastic streak, which runs in the other direction of the refine, regal manner Carlsson has Hassel hold Katarina up in,in order to present the image her family desires. Getting wrapped round her little finger, Gunnar Bjornstrand gives a wonderful dead-pan performance as Stenwall, whose push/pull between the "sisters" allows Bjornstrand to leave Stenwall flustered.

Wearing some of The Prince and the Pauper robes in adapting the Ralph Benatzky operetta/ Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil's play,Solve Cederstrand wonderfully plays on Hassel's card trick double identity,slipping and sliding towards her having to rush to change between Birgitta and Katarina before Stenwall catches on. Contrasting the two persona's of Hassel, director Schamyl Bauman lights a stark contrast between each "sister", giving Birgitta a normal, down to earth appearance, crystallised by the shimmering regal lighting for the other sister.



Skadeskutt (1951) 6

Opening the door and panning towards the character Dr.Lunde speaking directly to the viewer about the events about to be shown, director Edith Carlmar & cinematographer Per Jonson sea-saw between treating the subject of mental health problems with a professionalism in following Dr. Lunde and the nurses talking to each "Forgotten" patient daily in a warm, respectful manner, strangely contrasted by Carlmar and Jonson with abrasive turns into Horror/Thriller territory,covering Dr.Lunde in low-lighting as if he is from a "Mad Scientist" flick,and Einar losing all hope in a final chase.

Sensitively having Dr.Lunde say to Else/the viewer that there is nothing wrong/should not be a stigma of having to commit a person to a mental health ward, the screenplay by Otto Carlmar goes through similar mood swings as Carlmar's directing. Compassionately presenting Einar as a kind, but troubled manner with deep concerns about mental health issues in his family history, Carlmar goes from one moment having Einar go into in-depth discussions with Dr. Lunde, to Einar being chased to a table for shock therapy.



Yö on pitkä (1952)8

One of only two Junior-Film productions (the other was the fellow 1952 movie The White Reindeer) before they went bust, debut co-writer/(with Matti Kassila) director Aarne Tarkas (who died of heart failure at just 52 in 1976) & cinematographer Osmo Harkimo spread the mugshots of the trio across the screen as a fourth wall-breaking narration from a cop establishes that the night is long, filled with juvenile delinquency in a city which only offers Film Noir chances of getting a chance in life.

Climbing up towards the front window of the flat where Rita,Ake and Jussi are relaxing in time to the piano beat of Kalevi Hartti and Olli Hamalainen's score, director Tarkas & cinematographer Osmo Harkimo shimmer on a glittering atmosphere of Film Noir rebellion. Whilst some of the camera moves end in a awkward jolt, Tarkas rides over the rough with stylish low-hanging long panning shots towards the family Rita runs away from before she glides into the glamour of stage singing, circling on the sawn-off hand-held rush towards Ake and Jussi's final escape.

Sending waves across the screen to float into flashbacks,the screenplay by Kassila and Tarkas take the opening narration of the youth being left unable to get a footing in the city, and brilliantly reverberate this Film Noir frustration into Jussi and Ake's friendship,which crackles with fear that the only way they can cover their long-term embezzlement of cash from Ake's bank job,is by staging a robbery which will need Rita being pulled into joining.

Spending a good long night between the guys, alluring Mirja Karisto gives a excellent performance as Rita, who when singing at clubs in front of the rich is giving a glamour shine by Karisto, which she rubs in exchange for Femme Fatale anxiety over seeing Ake and Jussi's plans on a knife-edge. Noting down their hopes of getting rich under the table, Jussi Jurkka and Ake Lindman give fantastic turns as Jussi and Ake, thanks to the cool calmness Lindman holds Ake's in being cracked by the abrasive fear Jurkka shakes Jussi up with over a long night.



I dimma dold (1953) 8

Driving away from the opening believing she is speeding towards a new life, Eva Henning gives a fantastic performance as Lora, whose on the run status allows Henning to dig into a Femme Fatale nervousness of being seen, which Henning twists into shallow relief, as a new perspective on what's she did unfolds in front of Lora's eyes. Sipping up the toxic state of their relationship in flashbacks, Georg Rydeberg gives a wickedly slippery turn as Lora's hubby Walter, whose wealthy life Rydeberg uses to keep a underlying hold on menace on his wife.

Featuring a exchange where the Film Noir Laura is discussed, Vic Sunesson's adaptation of his own novel takes a oddly disconnected view of Lora being on the run, where as Lora's fear of being caught is raised, little space is given to raising the tension of those who are searching for her. Neatly twisting Lora's belief of giving out the killer shot with a sly twist, Sunesson brings the family back together for a tense dining room gathering, serving up slow-cooked flashbacks on the hate they shared for Walter.

Leaving the clear vision of what Lora's done under looming shadows, director Lars-Eric Kjellgren & cinematographer Gunnar Fischer stylishly drill into a brittle Film Noir atmosphere, digging into Lora's fear with terrific coiled side-shots keeping her just at the edges from being seen. Attending the family reunion, Kjellgren brings into focus the murky family secrets with dissolves peeling away to the flashbacks revealing who is hidden in the fog.



Troll i ord (1954) 5

Backed by Egil Monn-Iversen's jaunty score, co-writer/(with Paal Rocky) director Jon Lennart Mjoen & cinematographer Sverre Bergli sweep up a sweet Rom-Com atmosphere of rolling panning shots over rolling slopes, melting on close-ups of the meet-cute. Gliding famous skier Marius Eriksen Jr. To wave at the audience in the opening and skid into romance, the screenplay by Rocky and Mjoen keeps Ebba (a cute Inger Marie Andersen) romantic outlook bubbly, as out of place Knut Bakke tries to melt the snow and find romance.



Rakkaus kahleissa (1955) 6

"Who could lead the way to happiness, when it's always somewhere far away? An illusion that someone created,that I've never encountered myself."

One of his only four credits,the screenplay by Erik Westerberg keys in a tightly coiled Film Noir tale, unlocked on finely held misconceptions and suspicions over who broke the bond of the gang,in order to steal the cash.

Folding the viewer in on seeing the person commit the robbery, Westerberg smoothly uses this knowledge to heighten the doomed disintegrating relationship between hard-nosed Pertti and Martti Kuusi.All closely working together, director William Markus & cinematographer Kauno Laine wonderfully keep in step to Einar Englund's excellent score, plucking at the Kuusi's paranoia in overlapping dissolves to Englund's plucked violin strings, pulled until they snap on the Kuusi's stomping down the low-lit streets drenched in a proto- Psychedelic buzz,washing in who broke the brotherly trust.


Shudder Exclusives:

Starting with a film I've been after for years,which surpassed all my expectactions.



Cold Hell (2017) 10

In the cab with Ozge picking up late night fares, director Stefan Ruzowitzky reunites with cinematographer Benedict Neuenfels and ticket a blazing Neo-Noir atmosphere of splintered lines of blue and yellow cast across Ozge's cab as she kicks back for survival. Pounding a sneering guy in a cage who laughs her off as being a weak woman, Ruzowitzky puts this hell on deep freeze by brilliantly taking inspiration from the chill of the Nordic Noir genre, striking the outbursts of violence with a unflinching short, blunt force,which is unleashed with delicately positioned angles eyeing the assumption cops and a serial killer make of Ozge being small and weak.

Taking every hard knock the city gives, Ruzowitzky peels off a stripped stylisation, dressing loner Punk Ozge in suffocating darkness blocking all others from her, which Ruzowitzky holds round Ozge in thrilling long on the street tracking shots slamming Ozge and the serial killer together. Following Ruzowitzky's Nordic Noir- inspired direction, the screenplay by Martin Ambrosch hits a excellent character study of Punk Noir loner Ozge, displaying the abusive family background which has left her bare, the lingering aftermath of which gives Ozge a hard skin when facing the killer.

Sitting alone seeing each passenger come and go from her taxi, Violetta Schurawlow gives a spectacular performance as Ozge. Left bruised by her family,Schurawlow shows the marks under the skin of Ozge with a withdrawn body language fragility from anyone who tries to crack the aggressive, cynical shell Ozge puts herself in as she enters a cold hell.



Pod (2015) 5

At odds with each other from the moment they set off, Lauren Ashley Carter and Dean Cates give very good performances as brother and sister Lyla and Ed, whose constant family bickering is casually delivered by the duo, which keeps the family drama in the middle of a close encounter grounded. Contrasting Carter and Cates, Larry Fessenden and Brian Morvant bring welcomed sides of paranoid weirdness as Martin and Smith.

Keeping the majority of the flick confined to one location, writer/director Mickey Keating & cinematographer Mac Fisken make the low budget all too visible via dimly lighting everything, which instead of building tension,just makes it difficult to see what is going on. Unlike in his directing style, the screenplay by Keating neatly springs tension from the arguments between family members Ed,Martin and Lyla's over if Martin's claims of a alien in the house are real, or if he's just imagining them, leading to a wonderfully gloomy twist ending, as the pod opens up.



Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (2019) 10

Going right back to the horrors of The Birth of a Nation (1915) in his feature film debut, director Xavier Burgin lays out a fascinating canvas on the progression of black Horror cinema history, from Spencer Williams kicking against the system to get the first "Black Horror" made in Son of Ingagi (1940) and the ground breaking work of George Romero, to the wave of Blaxploitation and black Horror cinema of the 2012.

Criss-crossing the clips with interviews of the cast/crew from some of the films and academics, Burgin combines production tales with fascinating academic interpretations of highlighted films. From the Tuskegee syphilis experiment being referenced in Blxploitation films and Bill Gunn using the Horror genre for the deeply personal Ganja & Hess (1973), to Candyman (1992) and the magnificent The Girl with All the Gifts (2016-also reviewed), in bringing to light the history of black Horror.



Bliss (2019) 8

Spray painting the credits on the screen against a Punk Rock grind, writer/director Joe Begos & cinematographer Mike Testin paint Dezzy's narcotics indulgence to brush off her artistic block with ravishing hellish colours, leaving the screen raw with strips of red peeled bleeding into burning blues lit by Dezzy re-discovering her artistic eye,with a new taste for blood.

Closely working with Testin and editor Josh Ethier, Testin splashes hyper-stylisation along Dezzy's fragile mind-set, spinning the camera round to Dezzy's increasingly dizzy/disconnected state, (whilst impressively not getting the viewer) rushing towards Dezzy's new blood lust state in up-close stedicam,all gushing onto Dezzy's canvas of molten lava blood dripping down her lips. Throwing herself into painting her masterpiece, Dora Madison gives a fantastic turn as Dezzy, thanks to Madison subtly expressing in her stop/start body language movement Dezzy sinking into a blissful state.

Other flicks:



24 heures de la vie d'un clown (1946) 6

Revealing in a 1961 interview that he had made the film using equipment he had picked up in 1942,and that before cinema, the circus had been his first love, writer/directing auteur Jean-Pierre Melville (JPM) dips into crossing from his love of the fantastical at the circus, to the grounded big top he would create in his future credits, as JPM is joined by cinematographers Gustave Raulet, and Andre Villard, (who later worked on Elevator to the Gallows (1958-also reviewed) in swirling clowns Beby's and Maiss's act in ultra-stylised overlapping zoom-ins, that loop onto the stark, minimalism life of the clowns away from the circus.

A friend of JPM before he got behind the camera, Beby (who due to being illiterate, led to the film being shot silent,then sound added later) gives a delightful performance, showing a real joy when performing his act, which wanders away as he walks home. Leaving a preview of what was to come, JPM throws a curve ball for a ending which peels away the clown make up to revealing the long trench coats shadows JPM would enter,after spending 24 hours with a clown.



The Woman in Black (1989)8

Travelling up to the remote house, Adrian Rawlins gives a wonderfully buttoned-up turn as Kidd, whose reserved manner is ruffled by Rawlins as Kidd's calm, matter of fact outlook is broken into a cold sweat from the vision he sees before him. Haunting Kidd's mind from his first sighting of her, Pauline Moran conjures a chilling performance as the Woman in Black, standing utterly still against the sparse backdrop, and her face being pulled down by Moran to display the agony she is still haunted by.

Cleverly bringing the early use of electricity into the tale from the recordings Kidd listens the the Woman in Black made, director Herbert Wise & cinematographer Michael Davis (his lone credit) strangely present the remote Victorian house in a overly lit style, where each room whose corners should be filled with shadows,is instead filled with light which wipes a sense of mystery away. Introducing the title character standing far in the background of the church, Wise frees the mysterious atmosphere up far too early, going for a close-up of The Woman on Kidd's first walk round the house grounds, ridding chances to a slow-burn build-up to viewer coming face to face with the woman.

Making changes which Susan Hill hated and led to it getting withdrawn from being seen for years, Nigel Kneale's refined adaptation captures the dour Gothic spirit of Hill's novel, layering the mumbling asides from the locals in the town over Kidd's questioning of them over who The Woman is,which Kneale fuels by Kidd's horrifying obsession over being unable to turn away from learning more about The Woman, until he drowns in a magnificently bitter ending.

Becoming the first woman to win a Oscar for Best Score (Emma (1996)) Rachel Portman tunes into her future awards success with a magnificent score, bringing a slow-burn Gothic Horror atmosphere to the title, via gradually pulling the strings towards Kidd, and keeping a underlying grind rumbling in each room Kidd opens. Walking in time with Portman's score, dubbing mixer Richard King brings a huge subtle quality to the film, pulling all the audio back to Portman's score and lone, stray screams and creaking doors opened by the woman in black.

Happy Easter Furious! Hope you are having a good weekend,and how did you find AMC to be? I found it to be a beautiful film,and after this & The Impossible (2012),it's a shame Bayona could only do Jurassic World 2,instead of having the chance to continue with his own creations. 

 From when I saw it in 2017.

10.

For her lone non-franchise role of 2016, Felicity Jones gives a brilliant, drained performance as the mum, whose frail grasp on life Jones uses in open body language to show the love she has for Conor keeps her fighting. Taking the roots of the film at only 14 years old, Lewis MacDougall gives an outstanding performance as Conor,with MacDougall giving Conor a mix of maturity in caring for his mum, and a burning ball of rage of being unable to improve the situation. Each entering as outsiders, Sigourney Weaver gives an earthy performance as Grandma, whilst Liam Neeson towers above the house in a performance deep with gravitas as the Monster.

Completing the novel after author Siobhan Dowd died from breast cancer,the debut screenplay by Patrick Ness beautifully balances dark Fantasy with a heart-felt family Drama. Separating the encounters between Conor and the Monster into segments, Ness makes each story the Monster tells reveal aspects of Conor that he does not want to face. Respectfully treating mums battle with cancer,Ness avoids any drop of Melodrama to keep the struggle that the family are facing grounded,from the uncomfortable silences of Conor and his mum having difficult relationships with grandma and Conor's dad, (played by a very good Toby Kebbell) to Conor having to face his nightmare of seeing his mum get released from the pain.

Painting the Monsters tales on the screen,director J.A. Bayona and cinematographer Oscar Faura take each tale off the page with richly macabre, Eastern European puppet-inspired animation, backed by an icy score from Fernando Velázquez. Continuing on themes shown in 2012's powerful The Impossible, Bayona seamlessly blends a stylised poetic quality with a dazzling emotional rawness, with the meetings between Conor and the Monster being covered in fading reds and browns. For his major theme of the torn family unit, Bayona elegantly uses extended takes and close-ups on half faces to capture the bond between Conor and his mum,as Conor learns the meanings of the monster calls.

It is great to be back online with all the classic film crew,  just got a little time for some posters from this weeks nightly views all have been fabulous re-watches, last seen many moons ago...

Krzyżacy, Knights of the Teutonic Order (1960) Poland , Dir. Aleksander Ford

        

Atunci i-am condamnat pe toţi la moarte , Then I Sentenced Them All to Death (1972) Romania, Dir. Sergiu Nicolaescu
                                                                

Údolí včel , The Valley of the Bees (1967) Czech, Dir.  František Vláčil
                          1

Idi i smotri , Come and See (1985) Belarus /Soviet, Dir. Elem Klimov
                 

Csillagosok, katonák , The Red and the White (1967) Hungary, Dir. Miklós Jancsó



Sorok pervyy , The Forty-First (1956) Soviet Union, Dir. Grigoriy Chukhray
                                

Sibirska Ledi Magbet , Siberian Lady Macbeth (1962)  Yugoslavia, Dir. Andrzej Wajda 
             
                                                 
                    

Last of the Comanches (1953) - Threaded here with review and pictures > imdb2.freeforums.net/post/3837807/thread

The Ten Commandments (1956) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0049833/reference 


Review > www.imdb.com/review/rw5632807/?ref_=tt_urv  9/10




The Absent Minded Professor (1961) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0054594/reference 

Review > www.imdb.com/review/rw5632675/?ref_=tt_urv  7/10



Taras Bulba (1962) - Threaded here with review and pictures > imdb2.freeforums.net/post/3834213/thread

Goldfinger (1964) - Threaded here with review and pictures > imdb2.freeforums.net/post/3841532/thread

Doc Hollywood (1991) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0101745/reference

Review > www.imdb.com/review/rw1833300/?ref_=tt_urv  8/10

morrisondylanfan

Son and I both really enjoyed Parasite - many laugh-out-loud moments for those who appreciate very dark humour.
Having now seen most of the oscar nominees this year, I'm inclined to think the Academy got it right.

“Knives Out”   Distributed by Lionsgate Pictures, 130 Minutes, Rated PG-13, Released November 27, 2019:

Some amusing performances and a very satisfying wrap up make up for a few minor shortcomings in “Knives Out,” the high-spirited new whodunnit from Lionsgate Pictures in which filmmaker Rian Johnson and an ensemble cast of familiar old pros seek to channel the spirit of legendary mystery writer Agatha Christie.

In “Knives Out,” prolific mystery writer--and multimillionaire publishing baron--Harlan Thrombey is dead under mysterious circumstances, his throat cut following a family celebration of his 85th birthday. The police think the writer’s death was a suicide...but somebody thinks otherwise:  An unknown family member has anonymously paid cash to retain the services of legendary private detective Benoit Blanc, “the last of the gentleman sleuths,” to solve the mystery.

A customary drawback of employing an ensemble group of performers--even a dream cast as versatile as the one at work in this picture--is that nobody has sufficient time or space onscreen to build a persuasive or sympathetic characterization beyond a specific description or trait. And that’s certainly true with “Knives Out.” Despite some sharp writing, likable acting, and shrewd observations of human behavior, this picture often plays like an especially entertaining big screen version of the popular board game Clue. That’s more an observation than a criticism.

The top-billed Daniel Craig displays a refreshingly light touch with comedy, as well as a surprisingly heaping helping of self-deprecating humor, as Benoit Blanc. Sporting a day’s growth of beard, an eccentrically disheveled appearance, and a persuasive Kain-TECK-eh accent, Craig with his appearance here, coupled with his sidesplitting role as demolitions expert Joe Bang in Steven Soderbergh’s “Logan Lucky” in 2017, causes the viewer to hope the actor is offered more comedy roles in the future as he charts the course of his post-James Bond career.

Cuban actress Ana de Armas appears in the picture’s solitary sympathetic part, as Harlan Thrombey’s loyal, dutiful, and conspicuously-honest nurse and primary caregiver. De Armas isn’t given a whole lot to work with in the picture’s first half, but that changes later in the film as the details of the late millionaire author’s Last Will and Testament are revealed. And although the actress’ role grows more complex during the second hour, she’s still primarily identified by a peculiar and eminently helpful character trait--the hapless nurse throws up every time she tells a lie...or hears one, as it turns out.

In a featured supporting role, Chris Evans appears as Harlan's grandson Hugh Ransom Drysdale, a spoiled and pampered playboy whose very name turns out to be a clue. Making his first appearance about an hour into the picture, Evans with his vaguely decadent demeanor and duplicitous characterization seemingly seeks to distance himself from his eleven appearances as Captain America in the enormously popular Marvel Comics-based film adaptations. The results are mixed: Evans’ acting is capable and persuasive, but when he’s not wearing his iconic star-spangled superhero uniform the actor is easy to overlook...especially in the company of such an illustrious all-star cast.

Others in the ensemble include Jamie Lee Curtis as the mystery writer’s real estate mogul daughter, Don Johnson as her husband, a scene-stealing Michael Shannon as the writer’s ambitious but incapable son and CEO of his publishing empire, and the quietly luminous Toni Collette as the lifestyle guru widow of the late writer's deceased son. Lakeith Stansfield, late of 2014’s “Selma,” 2015’s “Straight Outta Compton,” and 2017’s “Get Out,” appears as the police detective investigating the case. And 89-year-old screen icon Christopher Plummer plays the late Harlan Thrombey in frequent flashback sequences.

Written and directed by Rian Johnson, the filmmaker behind 2012’s clever time-travel drama “Looper” and the lackluster 2017 Star Wars chapter “The Last Jedi" and filmed in and around Boston, Massachusetts, “Knives Out” is rated PG-13 for brief violence, strong language, some sexual references, and brief drug-related material.


“Queen & Slim”   Distributed by Universal Pictures, 132 Minutes, Rated R, Released November 27, 2019:

In “Queen & Slim,” a romantic drama-slash-crime thriller from Universal Pictures, Slim is a good-natured average joe, so sweetly mild-mannered that he murmurs a quiet grace in a diner before eating and refuses to complain when the overworked waitress brings him the wrong meal. Queen is Slim’s Tinder hookup, a high-powered attorney of regal bearing who makes it perfectly clear to Slim that she’s dating beneath herself, and that a second meeting is unlikely.

When the couple are profiled later in the evening during a trivial traffic stop and Queen is wounded by a toxic and trigger-happy Cleveland patrol officer, Slim ends up with the gun in his hand and the cop lies dying in the street. And just like that, Queen and Slim are suddenly bound together in a cross-country odyssey to Miami that turns the two into involuntary folk heroes.

At one point in “Queen & Slim,” a peripheral character refers to the title duo as “the black Bonnie and Clyde.” That’s probably about as good a way as any to describe this peculiar little hybrid of a picture...but not for the reasons you might think. As it was with the 1967 classic film from Arthur Penn, critics are so busy overpraising the film’s style and timeliness that they’re missing the fact that there’s really not much substance to it.

The central flaw in “Queen & Slim” is that the two reluctant desperadoes are so sure they’re going to be hunted down like animals and seemingly all but determined to be martyred to a racist law enforcement-obsessed society that they’re oblivious to being being treated with remarkable understanding and kindness almost every step of the way. From the almost comically trusting off-duty Kentucky sheriff who gives them a lift when they run out of gas to the Savannah deputy who quietly waves them through a police roadblock, the two are so well accommodated along their journey by obliging lawmen that when we later see the posse sent to capture them we might assume the group is the committee to escort them to the airport and wave goodbye.

The movie’s to be lauded for its refreshingly feminist leanings, since Queen is plainly the brains of the operation. But it’s sort of a backhanded compliment--the would-be gun moll’s plans almost without exception dig the couple deeper and deeper into an already tragic situation. And despite being represented as a successful attorney, Queen’s legal advice is almost exclusively terrible. Slim should’ve assumed the worst during their first date when Queen revealed that her client had been executed that afternoon. Later, when we see her gazing keenly at an Alabama chain gang, the viewer might logically presume she’s scanning their faces for former customers of her legal firm.

Music video and television commercial director Melina Matsoukas in her feature filmmaking debut invests “Queen & Slim” with an often-breathtaking pace. Even at a whopping and otherwise ponderous 132 minutes, so much information is packed into the narrative that it’s plain to the viewer that Matsoukas is accustomed to working in a vastly more compacted format. Likewise, the picture’s soundtrack is filled with a varied and eclectic selection appropriate to a music video veteran. It’s just that the music we’re hearing doesn’t always match the events being depicted onscreen.

“Queen & Slim” is so chock full of outlandishly unlikely situations and eye-rolling plot developments that you might well catch yourself wondering if the movie’s actually a heavy-handed satire, especially with a script by Lena Waite, an Emmy-winning writer from the Netflix comedy-drama series “Master of None.” But if it’s comedy, you’ll find little sign of it while you’re watching. And any clumsy attempt at social relevance goes out the window when shots of a street demonstration in support of the title characters are juxtaposed with shots of the two enjoying a little R-rated sex in the backseat of their automobile.

Actor Daniel Kaluuya as Slim and former model Jodie Turner-Smith as Queen are able, competent, and attractive performers. The British-born Kaluuya especially is riding a rocket to fame and fortune with prominent roles in such high-profile successes as 2015’s “Sicario,” 2017’s “Get Out,” and last year’s “Black Panther.” And the movie’s advertising poster, depicting Turner-Smith and Kaluua leaning casually on their classic 1960s Pontiac V8 getaway car, is almost sure to become as iconic in record stores as the ads for “Bonnie and Clyde” and “Easy Rider” were during the late 1960s. Unfortunately, “Queen & Slim” isn’t worthy of the performers. In fact, this is the rare movie that’s upstaged by its own poster.

“Queen & Slim” is the kind of picture in which the characters jump out of a second-storey window because it’ll attract less attention than walking down the stairs and leaving through the front door. By the movie’s fourth quarter you’ll be joining Queen and Slim in anticipating their eventual doom, all right--not in a fusillade of bullets, as in “Bonnie and Clyde” or “Easy Rider,” but by konking themselves on their noggins while slipping on a couple of banana peels.

Pretentious from its first frame to its last and mostly just plain dumb-dumb-dumb, “Queen & Slim” is rated R for violence, strong sexuality, nudity, pervasive language concerns, and brief drug use.


“Curtiz”   Distributed by Juno Pictures, 98 Minutes, Rated TV-MA, Released April 05, 2019, now streaming on Netflix:

Film buffs might have more of an interest in watching “Curtiz” than other viewers...but also ironically might have more problems with the picture than anybody else. A 2018 Hungarian production now streaming on Netflix, “Curtiz” purports to chronicle the turbulent production history of the motion picture classic and perpetual audience favorite, 1942’s “Casablanca,” and present a character study of its legendary director, Michael Curtiz.

Set during the early days of the United States’ entry into World War II, in “Curtiz” the filmmaker is directing the movie which will become “Casablanca” (the picture was based on an unproduced play titled “Everybody Comes to Rick’s,” and while in production the picture briefly shared that title). Because of the United States' entry into the war, Curtiz’ production has become a focal point of interest for not only its studio, which needs a hit, but also for the US Government, which demands from Warner Bros. Pictures a quick propaganda tool to inspire a nation still accustomed to neutrality.

At the helm of the picture and in the eye of the storm is the despotic, sadistic, profane, abusive, predatory filmmaker Curtiz, who’s guided by his own complicated agenda: The Hungarian-Jewish director still has close family members living in Nazi-occupied Europe, and is reluctant to anger the German government with a blatantly patriotic work of Allied propanda...despite the pleas of his long-estranged adult daughter, who’s travelled all the way to Hollywood to ask for his help, and possibly to reconcile with her absentee father.

Despite an impressive performance by Hungarian actor Ferenc Lengyel in the title role as the fabled director, the biggest problem with “Curtiz” is that the picture is about 60% inaccurate to the facts. It’s true that the filming of “Casablanca” was an unusually haphazard affair, begun without a completed script and assembled on a day-to-day basis with new lines of dialogue being filmed almost as soon as they were written. It’s a myth, however, that the picture had so many guiding hands behind its production: Curtiz and producer Hal Wallis were making the creative decisions all the way, with absolutely no interference from the US government.

That the picture deliberately sought to change the course of history, as “Curtiz” claims (“This picture is gonna win the war,” crows the government agent), is speculative nonsense--during the time of the picture’s production, “Casablanca” was just another project on the Warner Bros. assembly line, no different in quality among Humphrey Bogart films than “Across the Pacific,” which preceded it, and “Action in the North Atlantic,” which began production literally the day after principal filming on “Casablanca” ended. During pre-production, the film’s co-writer, Julius Epstein, famously referred to the picture’s plot as “a lot of (expletive) like ‘Algiers.’”

The picture also tries to insert into its narrative a few modern phrases with its misleading notions, presumably as a way to attempt to suggest either satire or a precursor to future events. At one point, Curtiz is seen complaining to producer Walls about the casting of the “puppy-dog-faced alcoholic” Bogart in the production’s lead, and asks “What happened to (then-actor and future-US president Ronald) Reagan?” Wallis replies that the young Reagan has enlisted in the armed forces “to make America great again.” The young Reagan was in fact never a serious contender for the “Casablanca” role, and served nearly the entirety of his World War II military career in Hollywood, appearing in training films and propaganda shorts for the military.

While it’s interesting to see impersonators and lookalikes imitate such classic actors as Bogart and Ingrid Bergman and perform improvised versions of iconic scenes (Christopher Krieg as a fiery Conrad Veidt and the placid Jozsef Gyabronka as character actor and Curtiz crony S.Z. Sakall are especially effective), the picture itself somehow manages to steal all the fun from the proceedings. And as inspiring as “Casablanca” was--and is--it’s endured so long among the world’s all-time favorite movies because it’s also a lot of fun to watch, filled with zingers in the dialogue that barely made it past the censors.

Bitter and caustic for most of its 98-minute running time, “Curtiz” during its final ten minutes actually tries to pull its biggest punch and give the picture precisely what it attempts to rob from “Casablanca”--a happy ending. But by that time it’s too late. This is definitely one time the viewer should instead return to the source material and take another look at “Casablanca.” Whether you’re seeing the picture for the first or the zillion-and-first time, 1942’s “Casablanca” is as good as it gets. “Curtiz” is not.

The dialogue in “Curtiz” is spoken in about equal measures in English and Hungarian, and is subtitled throughout. Co-written and directed by Hungarian filmmaker Tamas Yvan Topolanscky and actually debuting as the winner of the Grand Prix des Ameriques prize at the 2018 Montreal Film Festival (but billed as a Netflix original), “Curtiz” is rated TV-MA but is R in nature, with adult language, some violence, sexual activity, and non-stop tobacco use.



“Molly’s Game”   Distributed by STX Films, 140 Minutes, Rated R, Released December 25, 2017, Streaming now on Netflix:

For quite a while now, Jessica Chastain has been among the most respected character actresses of her generation.

First nominated for an Academy Award for her supporting role in the popular 2011 picture “The Help,” Chastain is probably best known to date for her performance in Kathryn Bigelow’s fact-based 2012 thriller “Zero Dark Thirty,” in which she played Maya, the rookie CIA agent whose obsessive research leads to the location of September 11 mastermind Osama bin Laden.

The rare A-List actor who’ll accept roles both large and small, since “Zero Dark Thirty” Chastain has contributed nearly-flawless characterizations in either leading roles or supporting parts to such critically-acclaimed pictures as “Interstellar,” “The Zookeeper’s Wife,” “Miss Sloane,” and “The Martian.” In between, the actress also finds time to appear occasionally on Broadway or London’s West End stage, and in atmospheric horror pictures such as “Mama,” Guillermo del Toro’s “Crimson Peak,” and the second part of the hit movie adaptation of Stephen King’s “It!” in 2019.

A teaming of Jessica Chastain and writer Aaron Sorkin is genuinely a match made in movie heaven. Sorkin, of course, is the Golden Globe, Writers Guild, Emmy, and Academy Award-winning screenwriter, producer, and playwright behind such prestigious projects as “A Few Good Men” on both stage and film, television’s iconic series “The West Wing,” and the recent Broadway adaptation of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “To Kill a Mockingbird, among many, many other top shelf projects. From a perspective of excellence alone, Aaron Sorkin and Jessica Chastain are practically made for each other.

In fact, one of the major criticisms of Chastain’s 2016 picture “Miss Sloane” was that Jonathan Perara, the movie’s writer, while obviously sufficiently inspired by Sorkin to attempt to emulate his writing style, could match neither his distinctive cadences nor his genius for authentic and realistic dialogue. That Sorkin both adapted the 2017 movie “Molly’s Game” into a screenplay and chose the movie, as well as Chastain, for his motion picture directorial debut is something like a blue-ribbon stamp of quality on the entire production.

Based on entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and author Molly Bloom’s 2014 memoir “Molly’s Game: The True Story of the 26-Year-Old Woman Behind the Most Exclusive High-Stakes Underground Poker Game in the World!” (the title itself reveals much of the plot of both the book and the movie) Chastain in the movie plays the real-life Molly Bloom.

Raised by an obsessive, driven father for a life of athletic and scholastic overachievement (in real life, Molly’s younger brother Jeremy Bloom is a member of the Skiing Hall of Fame, a 2008 Olympian, and a former kick-return specialist for both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers), when a horrifying skiing accident brings an abrupt end to Molly’s dream of Olympic glory, she turns to other pursuits. And her quest for independence from her domineering and controlling father leads eventually to the clandestine world of gambling--specifically, floating high stakes poker gaming.

Jessica Chastain has been noted in the past for her eclectic choices in movie roles, often selecting pictures which emphasize the empowerment of women. In “Molly’s World”—and in Aaron Sorkin’s world—Chastain is plainly in her element. Sorkin’s signature rat-a-tat dialogue suits the actress perfectly. Despite the crackling rhythms of Sorkin’s writing, Chastain’s casually distinct phrasing renders each word clearly understandable for maximum impact, and her considerable abilities as an actress drive home each nuance and emotional subtlety.

Matching Chastain’s megawatt performance volt-by-volt in “Molly’s Game” is British actor Idris Elba, using American cadences as the high-powered New York super-attorney who agrees to represent Molly--albeit with enormous reservations--when she’s arrested and prosecuted by the US government for her game’s accidental and inadvertent links with the Russian Mafia. The talented Elba might be even more suited than Chastain to Sorkin’s double-time writing style, and his performance is therefore that much more distinctive.

During the scene in which Chastain and Elba appear side-by-side for Molly’s arraignment before the US Federal Judge (played by the wonderfully restrained Graham Greene), Elba’s silences are as effective as his spoken lines of dialogue. The viewer can hardly wait for the actor’s next word…but is simultaneously afraid to discover what it’ll be. Elba’s conflicted eyes in the scene mirror his cunning and reflect his unpredictability—you can see the wheels turning in his mind, calculating the odds as quickly and precisely as any gambler. And that’s great screen acting.

The supporting players in “Molly’s Game” are almost as effective as the leads: Chris O’Dowd shows up about halfway through the picture as a hapless loser who can’t decide whether he’s more addicted to liquor or gambling. And called “Player X” in the movie to disguise the identity of the real-life person he plays, Michael Cera effectively adds a manipulative color as a megawatt Hollywood star attracted to Molly’s game not by his almost-unnatural abilities as a gambler so much as his compulsive desire to ruin the lives of other players (psst—the role is based on former “Spider-Man” actor Tobey Maguire).

In scenes bookending the picture’s main narrative, veteran star Kevin Costner plays against type as Molly’s obsessive and demanding psychologist father. Costner’s departure from the boyish and heroic screen persona he established three decades ago in pictures such as “Dances with Wolves” and “The Untouchables” feels almost like blasphemy, a violation of the audience’s faith, making his scenes here that much more effective and startling.

Aaron Sorkin in his debut as a director mostly plays it safe, sticking to his strengths. But while his talents are formidable indeed, fans of Sorkin’s work as a writer are accustomed to something more: A heaping helping of social relevance. And that’s the only real disappointment of “Molly’s Game”: After building a reputation as a sort of guardian angel of the county’s moral responsibilities, Sorkin’s many fans might find the subject matter of the picture a little...well, trivial.

While Kevin Costner pops up again late in the picture to summarize the events of the story and analyze them from a psychologist’s perspective as a means of adding at least some ethical gravity, it’s mostly stuff you figured out already, and nothing which changes the morally superficial tone of Sorkin’s movie. More forcefully, it’s part of a conclusion which feels hasty, tacked-on, and even a little too predictable and sentimental, especially considering the talents involved. But at 140 minutes, the movie has to end sometime, no matter how much we’re enjoying it, and Costner’s scene is an effective wrapup.

From that perspective, in the end “Molly’s Game” is just that—a game. While the picture is intelligent and vastly entertaining and contains richly entertaining performances from superb actors reading Aaron Sorkin’s customarily compelling dialogue, the viewer ultimately gets the feeling that “Molly’s Game” is more of a practice round, a warmup for some future main event. Most of us can hardly wait for the rematch.

Nominated in 2018 for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (Sorkin didn’t win), “Molly’s Game” is rated R for adult language, drug content, and some strong violence. The movie is currently streaming on Netflix. To experience premium Aaron Sorkin writing, all seven seasons of television’s legendary “The West Wing” are also available for viewing on the streaming service.


“Charlie’s Angels”   Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, 119 Minutes, Rated PG-13, Released November 15, 2019:

First of all, you know perfectly well you’re not gonna need a degree in advanced physics to understand or enjoy a “Charlie’s Angels” picture. That’s not sexism or misogyny--it’s just the way it is.

Based on the hit television show which starred actresses Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith, and “It Girl” Farrah Fawcett and ran on the ABC television network for five years beginning in 1976, the term “jiggle TV” was coined to describe the original “Charlie’s Angels,” a designation which referred to the series’ specifically emphasizing the sexual allure of its female leads.

Two subsequent motion pictures were adapted from the 1970s television series: ”Charlie’s Angels” in 2000 and Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” in 2003 featured actresses Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu as the Angels, with comic actor Bill Murray as their buffoonish supervisor Bosley. Those pictures reflected the advances in society since the original show’s popularity, stressing the intelligence and competence of the characters in addition to their sex appeal.

The two “Charlie’s Angels” pictures from the 2000s also highlighted the comedic nature of the original concept, turning the films into a kind of parody of both the continuing James Bond series and the techno-thrillers popular at the time, such as Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible” movies. The “Mission: Impossible” pictures were, and are, also a continuation of a popular television show from decades before.

That trend continues in the new “Charlie’s Angels,” released November 15 by Sony Pictures through its Columbia Pictures subsidiary. Written and directed by “The Hunger Games” and “Pitch Perfect” actress Elizabeth Banks, in the new incarnation of “Charlie’s Angels” most of the sex appeal of the original 1970s series has been eliminated entirely, leaving only the basic concept of the original series and the broad comedic appeal of the 2000s adaptations.

In the new “Charlie’s Angels,” the Charles Townsend Detective Agency--headed, as always, by the unseen owner, called Charlie by his employees--is now a global concern with international offices, a sort of privately-owned version of the Central Intelligence Agency or the British MI6, with teams of comely and coolly competent twenty-something females as its agents.

With the retirement of senior agent, Townsend assistant, and Angels supervisor Bosley (Patrick Stewart), a new Bosley (director Elizabeth Banks, performing double-duty) is promoted to replace him. ”Bosley,” it is explained, is more a professional rank than a name, sort of like “Lieutenant,” one step above “Angel.”

The new Bosley sends her two former partners--Kristen Stewart’s Sabina Wilson and Ella Balinska’s Jane Kano--on a mission to recover the stolen Callisto, an energy conservation device developed by a team of scientists employed by handsome gajillionaire electronics magnate Alexander Brock (Sam Clafin). It seems Callisto can be weaponized to emulate the sensations of Electro-Magnetic Pulse and trigger fatal seizures in humans. The Angels must recover Callisto from the bad guys while training a rookie Angel to replace the promoted Banks--Naomi Scott’s Elena Houghlin, who’s also the scientist behind the stolen device.

Whatever “Charlie’s Angels” lacks in originality or intelligence (or taste), it makes up in spirit and enthusiasm. Everybody seems to be having a good time, the locations (Hamburg, Berlin, Istanbul) are picturesque, and the performances are earnest and likable. Too-cool-for-school star Kristen Stewart, who always seems to not want to get caught trying too hard in her movies, tries a little too hard in some scenes to be cute, funny, and lovable, but it’s an endearing quirk in an eminently enjoyable movie. At 119 minutes, “Charlie’s Angels” is longish, but that’s more an observation than a complaint. And there are a couple of amusing cameo appearances at the end.
 
“Charlie’s Angels” is rated PG-13 for action sequences, mild violence, language concerns, and some suggestive material.



“Ford v Ferrari”   Distributed by 20th Century-Fox Pictures, 152 Minutes, Rated PG-13, Released November 15, 2019:

Directed by “Logan” and “The Wolverine” filmmaker James Mangold from a screenplay by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and Jason Keller, “Ford v Ferrari” tells the story of the American Ford Motor Company’s rivalry with the Italian Ferrari Racing Team in building an automobile to dominate the arduous and grueling annual 24-hour auto race in Le Mans, France.

When an attempt in 1963 by American automobile magnate Henry Ford II to purchase the financially troubled Italian Ferrari corporation collapses into bitter recriminations and personal insults, the quietly furious Ford dispatches his emissary Lee Iacocca to lure the legendary race car driver Carroll Shelby to Ford Motors to design an automobile capable of beating the perpetual Le Mans winners at Ferrari.

A champion at Le Mans in 1959, Shelby was forced to retire from auto racing because of a chronic heart condition. Troubled by rumors in the racing world that he’s lost his nerve, Shelby and the determined team of eccentric engineers and designers at his financially-strapped fledgling Shelby International company agree to build a winning car for Ford...in 90 days’ time To accomplish this automotive miracle, Shelby recruits the help of the hot-tempered British race car driver Ken Miles.

When Ford executives resist the notion of hiring the 45-year-old Miles over a younger driver, Shelby explains, “Miles landed at Normandy in a busted tank and drove it all the way across Europe.” Later, when Ford attempts to fire the volatile and plain-spoken Miles, Shelby reiterates to the skeptical Iacocca, “You can’t buy a win...but you can buy the man who’ll give you a shot.” And together, Shelby and Miles design and build the fabled Ford GT40 Mk II and make automobile history.

With rich and colorful characterizations from Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale as Ken Miles, “Ford v Ferrari” might well have been titled “Shelby and Miles v Ford”...or during some sequences even “Shelby v Miles”--the dynamic between the smooth-talking Shelby and the explosive Miles erupts early and often. But that’s okay--this is the kind of high octane feel-good movie in which committed visionaries often settle differences with their fists and share an ice cold bottle of Coca-Cola afterward.

But the genuine dynamic of “Ford v Ferrari” is that of individual versus big business, as the upstart visionaries at Shelby International not only upstage the millionaires, sycophants, and yes-men of the Ford Motor Company, but also use the corporation’s sponsorship--and their money--to build the car of the future, and throw a pie into the face of their smug rivals at Ferrari in the bargain. From that perspective, the picture often resembles as sort of rollicking “Animal House” on wheels.

But combined with harrowing and jaw-dropping auto racing sequences as Miles and Shelby and company persevere through races at Sebring, Daytona, and Le Mans, “Ford v Ferrari” ultimately works as both an engrossing backstage corporate drama and a spectacularly effective action adventure. As sportscaster Bob Pompeani sometimes notes of the Pittsburgh Penguins, “You won’t need your whole seat--only the edge.”

The television advertising for “Ford v Ferrari” claimed that the picture “has an ending you’ll never forget.” That’s really not true--following a genuinely memorable climax, the picture contains not one but two gratuitous tacked-on endings that are easily the least memorable parts of an otherwise terrific picture. This is one movie that should literally conclude at the finish line.

Originally released in IMAX and Dolby Cinema formats as well as configured to the proportions of a standard cinema screen, viewers of a certain age must've found themselves wishing for a return to the wrap-around Cinerama format, to further augment the already heartstopping scenes which effectively placed the viewer into the driver’s seat of race cars traveling at speeds in excess of 200 MPH. This movie easily bests such previous car racing cinematic classics as “Grand Prix” in 1966, 1969’s “Winning,” and “Le Mans” in 1971...and also quietly becomes one of the best sports movies of all time.

"Ford v Ferrari" also features memorable supporting performances by Caitriona Balfe as Miles’ strong minded wife, Jon Bernthal as Lee Iacocca, playwright Tracy Letts as an oily Henry Ford II, and Remo Girone as a Godfather-like Enzo Ferrari.  An earlier incarnation of the movie was to star Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise as Shelby and Miles, but scheduling concerns caused that version to fall through. “Ford v Ferrari” was released in the United Kingdom and other territories as “Le Mans ‘66.”

Filmed in California, New Orleans, Atlanta, Savannah, and Statesboro, Georgia, and on location in Le Mans, France, “Ford v Ferrari” is rated PG-13 for language concerns, action sequences, and some scenes of peril.



“The Good Liar”   Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, 110 Minutes, Rated R, Released November 15, 2019:

The cream of titled British acting nobility--Dame Helen Mirren and Sir Ian McKellen--collaborate onscreen for the first time in “The Good Liar,” the new crime thriller directed by Bill Condon and released November 15 by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Adapted from Nicholas Searles’ 2017 novel of the same name by playwright and occasional screenwriter Jeffrey Hatcher, in “The Good Liar” an elderly con artist meets a wealthy widow on a computer dating site, and perceives in her a potential target for a swindle. Assuming a fictitious persona, the con artist begins to romance the woman in preparation for his deception. But the elderly widow has a few surprises of her own...

There’s a central flaw in the dramatic structure of “The Good Liar,” and the audience’s enjoyment of the picture relies almost completely on an individual ability to ignore it. This is one-half of a great picture. At heart it’s a heist movie, but after an enormously promising beginning during which the picture seems as lightheartedly entertaining as “The Sting” in 1975, the plot takes a few surprising twists and turns, developments which might well overload the audience’s “oh, come on” circuits.

It’s eventually revealed that McKellen’s not a lovable old rogue, but a member of a highly sophisticated team of professional swindlers, with international concerns. And when the masterful old thief encounters a former victim during an innocent shopping excursion with his new target, he reveals himself to be a nasty customer indeed. But even after the scene places the picture firmly into R-rated territory, McKellen’s seamless transition from persona to persona allows the viewer to overlook the eccentricity in anticipation of the actor’s continuing interactions with Mirren.

Even more difficult to swallow is the filmmakers’ notion that the audience during the first 90 minutes of the picture is going to accept Helen Mirren as a naive and innocent victim. The audience waits with smiling patience through McKellen’s skillfully complicated setup in anticipation of Mirren’s dropping the other shoe. But when the picture’s climactic twist arrives, it’s from a direction so outrageously obscure, not to mention unpleasant and tragic, that its sheer unexpectable audacity violates audience credibility and ruins the picture’s illusion.

Translation: There are just some plot twists that even the best actors in the world can’t pull off. Sir Ian and Dame Helen are among the best performers of this or any other generation, and both give “The Good Liar” a professional sheen, contribute rich and nuanced performances, and are to be lauded for both their versatility and virtuosity. But neither can overcome the drawbacks of the picture’s bewilderingly unsympathetic plot elements. Worse, the calculated and coldblooded nature of the picture’s denouement effectively swindles the audience out of the ability to love either of them. And that’s the real crime in the picture.

Director Bill Condon was also the filmmaker behind the Academy Award-winning musical “Chicago” and the final two installments of the “Twilight” saga. “The Good Liar” is Condon’s fourth collaboration with Ian McKellen, after 1998’s “Gods and Monsters,” 2015’s “Mr. Holmes,” and Disney’s live-action version of “Beauty and the Beast” in 2017.

Also featuring good performances from Russell Tovey as an overprotective young relative of Mirren and the always reliable old pro Jim Carter (Charles Carson from “Downton Abbey”) as McKellen’s business partner, “The Good Liar” is rated R for strong violence, language concerns, and brief nudity.