Movies

Season of the Witch

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Okay, I’ll admit that I saw Season of the Witch because the trailer made me laugh out loud.  I thought that it might have been goofily bad enough to qualify for my list of 10 Movies So Bad They Are Fun.  Unfortunately, it’s just bad and not much fun.

Season of the Witch is a Nicholas Cage/Ron Perlman buddy movie set among the plague, crusades and witch hunts of the 13th century.  Cage and Perlman play two knights who, after slaughtering more than their share of women and children infidels, become disgusted with the Crusades.  The deserters find themselves back in plague-ridden Central Europe escorting a comely accused witch to her abbey trial.  Along the way, they encounter the cheesiest of CGI effects, the most portentous of soundtracks  and every medieval cliché.

My recommendation:  get some laughs from the trailer and skip the 95 minute version.

Red Hill

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There’s not much original in Red Hill, a contemporary Aussie Western, but it is stylish and well-made – and we don’t see a lot of Westerns these days.  Some critics has remarked on the violence in Red Hill, but it is not extreme.

At 95 minutes, the story moves along quickly.  There is a lot of subtle humor, not from gag lines, but from the absurdly relentless persistence of the rookie cop, the facial scarring that makes the outlaw even scarier and the inopportune appearance of a very hungry panther.

Pete Postlethwaite and my DVD of the Week

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The great character actor Pete Postlethwaite died last week, and this week’s DVD pick honors his finest film work. In the Name of the Father (1993)  is based on the true story of Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day-Lewis) of the Guildford Four, wrongly convicted of an IRA bombing that killed four British soldiers and a civilian.  The four were coerced into confessions by torture and threats against their families.  The real IRA terrorists, captured later for another act, confessed to the crime, but the British government suppressed the evidence of the Guildford Four’s innocence.   Gerry Conlon wound up in prison with his father Giuseppe (Postlethwaite), also convicted of an IRA plot as a member of the Maguire Seven – and Postlethwaite’s performance is one of uncommon inner strength.

The film was nominated for seven Oscars and is on my 10 Best Prison Movies.

The King's Speech

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The King’s Speech is the crowd pleasing story of a good man overcoming his stammer to inspire his nation in wartime with the help of a brassy commoner.  As you would expect, Colin Firth gives a stellar performance as the stuttering king.  It’s a well executed film that establishes itself as major Oscar bait.

It’s a very good cast, featuring Geoffrey Rush as the Aussie speech therapist. Helena Bonham Carter is especially good as Firth’s Queen.   Guy Pearce and Eve Best capture the shallow, selfish essence of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson.

True Grit

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Joel and Ethan Coen (Fargo, Blood Simple, No Country for Old Men) have brought us the splendid Old West story of Mattie Ross, a girl of unrelenting resolve and moxie played by 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld in a breakthrough performance.   Without her performance, the movie could not have been the success that it is, and Steinfeld has no problem standing up to the likes of Jeff Bridges, Josh Brolin and Matt Damon.  Mattie’s merciless smarts and resourcefulness become clear in her negotiations with prairie mogul Col. Stonehill (magnificently played by Dakin Matthews).

Jeff Bridges is perfect as the hilarious, oft-besotted and frequently lethal Rooster Cogburn.  Damon, Brolin and the rest of the cast are excellent, especially Matthews and Barry Pepper.

This film is made from the same source material as, but is not a remake of, the 1969 John Wayne oater (a movie that I particularly dislike).  The 1969 film is burdened by a hammy effort by Wayne and the miscast and untalented Kim Darby (playing a 14-year-old at 22) and Glenn Campbell.

The film opens (without title credits) with the old hymn Leaning on the Everlasting Arms, signaling that the Coen Brothers will play True Grit absolutely straight within the traditional Western genre – no ironic winks at the audience.

I Love You, Phillip Morris

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I Love You, Phillip Morris is an entertaining offbeat combo of the con man, prison and romantic comedy genres – and it’s based on actual people and events.  Jim Carrey stars as the real life con man who perpetrates astonishing cons and  audacious escapes.  Carrey captures both the relentless audacity and the damaged neediness of his character.   Ewan McGregor plays his lover.  Although it’s admittedly a very bad year for the genre, this gay prison love romp is probably the year’s best romantic comedy.

DVD of the Week: Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

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I am not a Joan Rivers fan, but Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work won me over.  Rivers’ compulsion to stay busy at age 77 by accepting every conceivable gig is fascinating, and her raw vulnerability makes you care about her.  It also helps that Rivers is very, very funny.  It is one of four documentaries on my list of Best Movies of 2010 – So Far.

For my recent DVD choices (including trailers), see DVDs of the Week.

Steamy drama on TV: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

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Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

If you want drama, Tennessee Williams ladles it on thick in 1958’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.   The movie version of Williams’ steamy Southern Pulitzer Prize-winning play stars Elizabeth Taylor in a slip and Paul Newman with a crutch and a drink.  Taylor and Newman are great, but Burl Ives steals the movie as Big Daddy.  Madeleine Sherwood is outstanding as the weaselly daughter-in-law Ida.

For other great movie choices on TV, see my Movies on TV.

The Fighter

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The Fighter is an excellent drama, starring Mark Wahlberg as a boxer trying to succeed despite his crack addict brother (Christian Bale) and his powerful, trashy mom (Melissa Leo).   As one would expect, Bale nails the flashier role of the addict, deluding himself about both past glories and his importance to his family.  Leo is almost unrecognized under her teased hair, and is accompanied by a hilarious Greek Chorus of adult daughters, each trashier than the last.

The boxing scenes are very well done, and Wahlberg matches Stallone and Swank in making us believe that he is, indeed, a boxer. See my list of 10 Best Boxing Movies.

Kings of Pastry

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This documentary  chronicles the physically grueling and emotionally draining three-day competition for the MOF, the highest designation for French pastry chefs.  Amid impossibly towering sugar sculptures and delectable cream puffs and layer cakes, we see the essential cores of competition – aspiration, ambition, perseverance, commitment, desperation, heartbreak and victory. Kings of Pastry is directed by the brilliant documentarians Chris Hegedus and DA Pennebaker (The War Room).

It has earned a spot on my list of 10 Food Porn Movies.