Tag: movies

Movie review: Grand Hotel (1932)

Garbo, Crawford and TWO Barrymores

A few weeks ago, my wife and I went to the Spectrum Theatre in Albany to see the film Grand Hotel. I didn’t review it then because I was struggling for a narrative.

It came across, at least early on, as stagey and melodramatic. From Wikipedia: “Alfred Rushford Greason of Variety, comparing the film to the stage production, wrote, “[it] may not entirely please the theatregoers who were fascinated by its deft stage direction and restrained acting, but it will attract and hold the wider public to which it is now addressed.”

Once the story started revealing itself, it became more interesting. Doctor Otternschlag (Lewis Stone), a permanent resident of the Grand Hotel in Berlin, observes, “People coming, going. Nothing ever happens.” He is proven wrong on the latter point.

Felix von Gaigern (John Barrymore) has the title of baron, but the assets from his position are spent. He survives as a gambler and sometimes a thief. Otto Kringelein (Lionel Barrymore) has a fatal condition and decides to enjoy his remaining days at the luxurious hotel.

General Director Preysing (Wallace Beery) seems to be a decent industrialist trying to close an important deal. He hires aspiring actress Flaemmchen (Joan Crawford) as his stenographer.

Russian ballerina Grusinskaya (Greta Garbo) is no longer packing theaters, causing her despair.

Most of these folk interact. As we get to know them, we find that the thief has a conscience and that the industrialist is not as nice as he initially seems.

Kael says

The Times of London wrote: “Even all this brilliance of acting and even the remarkable ingenuity of the production cannot disguise the simple artifice of the whole construction, which seems all the more obvious in a plotless story designed to show a section of life.” I wouldn’t say plotless. It was more that the strands began to overlap.

The late, great Pauline Kael (1919-2001) wrote in the New Yorker: “There is every reason to reject Grand Hotel as an elaborate chunk of artifice… But if you want to see what screen glamour used to be, and what, originally, ‘stars’ were, this is perhaps the best example of all time.”

Notice the word “artifice” in both quotes. Yes, the acting seemed, at times, overly affected. Then I remembered that this movie was released in the early days of film with audible dialogue.

So I was glad I saw it. It has Garbo’s “I want to be alone” quote. Two brothers in the legendary Barrymore family are represented; Drew Barrymore is John’s granddaughter.

Sunday Stealing — Stranded on an Island

books, movies, songs

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

This week, we’re stealing from Jess Riley Writes. She puts a unique spin on the “desert island” concept by allowing us three choices in three categories.

The Desert Island Meme

You’re stranded alone on a desert island …

1) Which three BOOKS could you read over and over again?
One would be the Bible. This is less a theological requirement than the fact that it is very long. In fact, I’d probably opt for the Douay-Rheims Bible, since it contains seven Deutero-Canonical books that are missing from most non-Catholic Bibles, such as 1st and 2nd Maccabees.

When I was a kid, I tried to read the whole Bible more than once, but I was unsuccessful. So I’d start over; I read Genesis a LOT. I have read the Bible all the way through systematically at least thrice, c 1977, c 1985, and c 1997. Participating with the Bible Guys at church this century, I may have managed a fourth. I wrote about the vagaries of the Bible in 2013.

The World Almanac. It is not great literature, of course, but it has a lot of stuff. Before I married my current bride, there was a gathering, and we were supposed to answer questions about each other. I didn’t know that 100 Years of Solitude was her favorite book, but she instantly picked the World Almanac as mine. I wrote about it in 2016, but honestly, I haven’t gotten one since 2018, ending a 40+ year streak.

Top Pop Singles by Joel Whitburn. Yes, it shows the chart action, but it also has background info about the artists. 
Cinema
2) Which three MOVIES could you watch over and over again?

I went to this post and decided on King of Hearts/Le roi de coeur (1966),  West Side Story (1961), and Field of Dreams (1989), but I could have picked others.

3) Which three SONGS could you listen to over and over again?

How much may I stretch the definition of “song”? Off the top, I thought of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony, Dvorak’s 9th Symphony (New World), and the Mozart Requiem. 

If I have to pick actual songs? Oh, it is too difficult! Okay. The Boxer – Simon and Garfunkel, which someone described here; Biko – the last song on Peter Gabriel’s excellent third album;  and Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) – Billy Joel. They are all sad songs.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere

the album Nebraska

It occurred to me after seeing the movie Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, and then reading the heavily negative reviews (Rotten Tomatoes was only 59% positive), either my wife and I saw a different film or they were had different expectations.

Of course, we watched the movie at the Spectrum Theater in Albany. I was very much taken by young Bruce’s relationship with his father, and his great affection for his mother. The Boss talked about that during his brief Broadway run Springsteen on Broadway.

Some of the reviewers were saying this film was not worthy of an artist such as Bruce Springsteen. But the fact that the singer was heavily involved in giving feedback to actor Jeremy Allen White who portrayed the Boss was significant. Clearly, it was real enough and meaningful enough to him that he wanted to share this narrative of his depression.

The movie is about the period after Bruce had released the River album in 1980, a big double album hit that included the #5 pop hit Hungry Heart, followed by months on the road. Naturally, the record company was looking forward to the next chart mover.

When he decides to veer into uncommercial territory, recording Nebraska onto a cassette, barren and unpolished, the people on his label didn’t know what to make of that. He didn’t even want his picture on the cover. For more info about the album, go here.

Reviews

One of the positive reviews: “It’s an admirable adaptation that sometimes goes out of its way to avoid the usual cliches and pitfalls of the typical big-screen rock flick. But it also wants to be one.” That’s a fair assessment.

Another: “Jeremy Allen White captures the essence of Springsteen. To its credit, it’s not the conventional biopic of his whole career, but the problem is that the section they picked is not compelling to a normal viewer. Springsteen fans will find it more intriguing.” I’ll admit to having quite a number of the albums by the Boss. But my wife, who is at best a casual Boss fan and has never heard Nebraska, was nevertheless captivated. 

A negative review: “I have to think Bruce Springsteen was a little more exciting to be around during the creation of Nebraska. No way he was this dull.” Of course, I can’t answer that, but I have known depressed people, and it seems plausible. 

The fans were more supportive, 83% positive. I was very affected by Deliver Me From Nowhere, maybe even a little teary-eyed. 

Movie review: The Lost Bus

2018 SoCal fires

My wife wanted to go to the Spectrum Theater and see the new movie, The Lost Bus. Unfortunately, when I looked at the schedule on what I believe was the first Friday after it had opened, it was no longer available there, which disappointed my wife.

I wondered if it’s on one of those streaming services we happen to have, which I can access on the Roku that will facilitate that. Sure enough, there it was on Apple+. My wife made popcorn.

The film is based on a true story about the 2018 California fires. Kevin McKay (Matthew McConaugh) is a guy just hanging on. His father died recently, and he is taking care of his mother and has joint custody of his angry teenage son. He has a job as a school bus driver, but he’s not good with the regulations, such as bringing the bus in for inspection.  

Meanwhile, a moderate-sized fire is miles away, but because of the terrain, it cannot be contained. As the fire spreads, schools need to be evacuated. Kevin has an empty bus, so he goes to an elementary school and picks up Mary (America Ferrera) and her nearly two dozen students. 

McKay’s son Shaun was played by McConaugh’s real-life son, Levi. Matthew said on a TV show that because his father-son relationship with Levi was so solid, he encouraged his son to play the role as caustically as possible. 

Burning

Harrowing fire stuff happens, which probably would have been more intense on the big screen. But it was nerve-wracking enough, especially at the highlight of the film. Indeed, the exposition setup was necessary, but the disaster creates the tension. What was as interesting as the attempted escape from the fire was the firefighters’ scenes as they slowly realize this is an inferno like they had never seen.     

The film was directed and co-written by Paul Greengrass, who’s known for how well he presents films based on real events (United 93, Bloody Sunday). 

Scores on Rotten Tomatoes were 87% postive with critics and 94% with fans. One critic noted, “This is a spectacle-type movie but didn’t feel like a spectacle.” Another critic complained about “the refusal to acknowledge the climate changes making bushfires ever more savage.” As I complain a lot, that wasn’t the film Greengrass was making; he was addressing the surprise/shock and ultimate lack of preparation in 2018. 

There’s Red Cross page featuring McConaugh and Ferrera urging people to be prepared for wildfires.  

Movie review: Eleanor the Great

June Squibb stars in ScarJo’s directorial premiere

My wife and I saw the movie Eleanor the Great at a recent Saturday matinee at the Spectrum Theatre in Albany. We were not disappointed. The IMDb noted, “After a devastating loss, witty and proudly troublesome Eleanor Morgenstein, 94, tells a tale that takes on its own dangerous life.”

Eleanor (June Squibb) lived with her long-time friend Bessie (Rita Zohar), a pair of widows, for over a decade. Bessie was a Holocaust survivor who shared harrowing details with her friend.

After Bessie’s death, Eleanor moved to Manhattan to live with her daughter Lisa (Jessica Hecht) and her grandson Max (Will Price). Eleanor and Lisa have a tricky relationship.

To fill her mom’s day, Lisa recommended that Eleanor go to an event at the Jewish Community Center. It turns out that it’s a Holocaust survivor’s group, and Eleanor is not a survivor. But she knows another’s story quite well. The group is entranced, especially college student Lisa (Erin Kellyman), who wants to write about Eleanor for her class.

Lisa, too, has experienced loss and is having a tough time connecting with her father, local newsman Roger Davis (Chiwetel Ejiofor).  

Critics

Eleanor the Great is Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut. We liked the film a lot. An interesting device was having a flashback serve as the last scene.  

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received 67% positive reviews from critics and 93% from the audience.  I believe the majority of the negative comments the film either addressed or wasn’t saying.

“Dull portrait of friendship”? Meh. 

“This comedy/drama is problematic because it tries to make dishonesty and rudeness from an old person look cute.” The dishonesty wasn’t cute; she fell into it, much to our discomfort. And Eleanor WAS a bit rude. I hope I’m that rude at 94. 

Tara McNamera noted: “Plenty will see this film about sidestepping the truth as standard fare—cute enough, maybe even a little thought-provoking—but they’ll be missing the bigger picture. In fact, Scarlett Johansson‘s feature directing debut is remarkable. The story of Eleanor the Great is powerful… It’s a very personal story, with shocking details about Nazi cruelty and the lasting trauma inflicted on the survivors of their hatred.”

I liked June Squibb in Nebraska and Thelma, and I loved her in Eleanor the Great.

Ramblin' with Roger
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