Tuesday, May 28, 2013

The House Across the Bay (1940)*
Not quite sure what they were going for with this strange-goofy tale of a hood, a dame, a devious lawyer and an annoyingly pushy aircraft designer but whatever it was they didn't get it. Cardboard characters in a story that makes no sense.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Airport (1970)****
Impeccably crafted soap opera/disaster flick that's a mite too long but star power, production values and a few stellar performances make that irrelevant. Highly influential film, for better AND worse, extremely entertaining.
In Time (2011)***
Imaginative alternate reality actioner about haves versus have nots only instead of money it's life time as the separating factor. Cleverly filmed on an apparently extremely low budget, it's fun, intriguing and mostly able to suspend your disbelief until you notice that Amanda Seyfried is running all over the place with no difficulty in 6 inch heels.
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)**
Not really anything like any of the previous incarnations of the Star Trek series and probably something that would horrify Gene Roddenberry, this is a nearly non-stop modern action pic complete with gratuitous babe-bikini shots, gaping plot holes, psychopathic attitudes toward murder except when the one being murdered is close to you and/or of your tribe and a penchant for not only justifying revenge but reveling in it. A couple of well done CGI set pieces.

Monday, May 13, 2013

The Ghost Writer (2010)***
Fine Hitchcock-ian thriller from Roman Polanski. A bit too long and a bit too dark, photographically speaking, but entertaining.
Impromptu (1991)***
George Sand woos Frederic Chopin amidst the backdrop of superstar artists of the early 19th century behaving badly on retreat at a fawning patron's villa. Smart and sassy stuff.