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MOVIE REVIEW: Blue Jasmine

How much of the past can we shed, and how so, before we cross that line between lying and just moving on?

It’s true: after over 30 years of watching Woody Allen movies, I have had to limit myself to those that review well. That’s because bad Woody Allen films are perhaps more painful to me than the bad films of other writers and/or directors.

I watched Midnight in Paris, which I liked. I avoided To Rome with Love, because it was critically savaged. Perhaps if I were seeing as many movies as I did 15 or 16 years ago, I would be more willing to take cinematic risks. Blue Jasmine got mostly great reviews, and understandably so.

But the title Jasmine is a bit difficult to like. She’s this odd mixture of two characters, one real, one fictional. She’s part Ruth Madoff, the wife of Bernie, the Ponzi scheme king, who claims that she was oblivious to his financial shenanigans that ruined other people’s lives. She’s also part Blanche DuBois of Tennesse Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, with her suddenly needing the kindness, if not of strangers, then of her estranged, lower class, sister Ginger living a continent away.

Is it just a coincidence that the BLANCHE character is played, and brilliantly so, by Cate BLANCHETT? She will likely get some nominations, come awards season. Ginger is played by Sally Hawkins, who I enjoyed in 2010’s Made in Dagenham. She’s also fine here as a character trying to negotiate between her beau, Chili (Bobby Cannavale), and her sister.

Necessarily to the plot, the storyline goes from present to past, no more effectively when Jasmine is in a second-hand guitar shop and discovers the reason for yet another estrangement.

Also very good in their roles are Alec Baldwin (who looks a little too much like that guy from 30 Rock), Peter Sarsgaard, and a great revelation to me, Andrew Dice Clay, a comedian I could not stand in his heyday, whose character may be the moral center of the whole story.

I should say that, at the end of the film, I am sympathetic to Jasmine, just a bit. And worried.

The movie got me thinking about the process of reinventing oneself. How much of the past can we shed, and how so, before we cross that line between lying and just moving on? Movie stars used to do it all the time; Marion Morrison became JOHN WAYNE, and Norma Jean Baker, MARILYN MONROE, for good or ill. I do have some examples in mind from my circle of acquaintances, but it’s not for me to say.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Way, Way Back

The Daughter is visiting the grandparents for the week, so it’s almost mandatory that The Wife and I go to the movies. But what to see? When one’s seen only a handful of films this year, so there were a half dozen contenders. The Wife chose The Way, Way Back, which we saw Wednesday at the Spectrum in Albany.

I was surprised. I expected, based on the trailer, to be some summer coming-of-age flick that I’ve seen once too often. And while there are elements of the formula, I found the movie surprising affecting.

The premise is that a divorced mom, Pam (Toni Collette) has a new beau, Trent (Steve Carell), who’s taking them, his teenage daughter Steph (Zoe Levin), and her 14-year-old son Duncan (Liam James) from their home in Albany, NY [;-)] to Trent’s summer New England seaside getaway.

The neighbor is Betty (Allison Janney, who drives the bulk of the early humor), and her two kids, bored Susanna (Annasophia Robb) and “different” Peter (River Alexander). Trent’s friends Joan and Kip (Amanda Peet, Rod Corddry) have a boat they all can ride on.

Ever been to a party, or another event, where everyone seems to be having a good time except you? I know I have, and that epitomizes Duncan in the early part of this movie.

Fortunately, Duncan has a chance encounter with Owen (Sam Rockwell), who is manager, pretty much in name only, of an amusement park; Caitlyn (Maya Rudolph) really runs the show, while Owen does … whatever Owen does, in a way that nearly steals the film.

The movie is written and directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, who also have small parts in the film itself. This could have been a by-the-numbers pic, but Faxon and Rash managed to have believable characters; I spent the ride home with The Wife comparing several of them to people I have known. Throw in some clever 1980s pop references, and I understand why it reviewed so well.

Robert De Niro is 70

Meet the Parents (2000) – the first of these ‘Ben Stiller as a Focker’ movies,

Robert De Niro is one of the greatest movie actors ever. Yet, I have missed almost all of his signature roles. I have never seen: Godfather II, Taxi Driver, and The Deer Hunter. I always meant to watch Bang The Drum Slowly, Stanley and Iris, and This Boy’s Life, among others, but never did. Goodfellas I’ve seen only in bits and pieces

What HAVE I seen?

Raging Bull (1980) – this I saw on video, in the past few years. I remain convinced that if I had seen it in the theater, I would have liked it better. As it was, it took me a while to warm to it.
The King of Comedy (1982) – possibly his best role that I’ve seen, as a comedian obsessed with a talk show host, played by Jerry Lewis.
Awakenings (1990) – it borders on treacle but doesn’t quite make it there. With Robin Williams as a feel-good doc.
Cape Fear (1991) – I was sufficiently scared during this movie. Never saw the original with Robert Mitchum
Wag the Dog (1997) – my favorite of these movies; about faking a war. Its biggest drawback is that it was plausibly true.
Jackie Brown (1997) – I actually enjoyed this Tarantino film, which is the last one I saw
Analyze This (1999) – trading on his tough-guy image, it stars Billy Crystal as his shrink
Meet the Parents (2000) – the first of these ‘Ben Stiller as a Focker’ movies, and while I mostly enjoyed it, it was the only one I needed to see
New Year’s Eve (2011) – watched this on New Years’ Eve 2012 with my wife on a hotel TV. The overpacked storyline, directed by Garry Marshall.
Silver Linings Playbook (2012) – yes, I liked it well enough, but not as much as some other Oscar-nominated films.

What are YOUR favorite De Niro roles?

MOVIE REVIEW: Stories We Tell

It shall have to suffice to say that the narrative structure was extremely clever, very much like the layers of an onion being peeled away.

This hasn’t happened in a very long time: the Wife arranged for a babysitter, and we went to a movie about which I knew ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. When we got to the Spectrum Theatre in Albany on Monday night, I noticed on the movie poster that the director of Stories We Tell was Sarah Polley, who starred in the very good, but kind of depressing The Sweet Hereafter (1997) and directed the very good, but kind of depressing Away From Her (2006).

This movie was a documentary about the family of Sarah Polley. There’s a lot of chatter early on with several players you can’t possibly keep track of- but you will soon enough. The conceit of the title is that we can all tell a story, but it may not be the same one, even regarding the same person and the same events.

I could spend two or three paragraphs explaining how the narrative weaves from Sarah recording her father Michael’s recollection of Sarah’s late mother Diane to others remembering her, not always the same way. But it shall have to suffice to say that the narrative structure was extremely clever, very much like the layers of an onion being peeled away.

In the exploration of the story, which involves incredibly personal revelations, it seems that most of the players were in a better place as a result of the journey that the film captured, reconstructing the truth of their collective and individual lives. Sometimes the participants reacted to Sarah as director, whereas other times as daughter or sister, as they muse on family history.

It’s interesting to me that the critics liked it more on Rotten Tomatoes (95%, at this writing) than the movie-going audience (82%). The Wife and I, and especially the guy sitting in front of us, who had a hearty laugh, really liked the film. Yet I noticed that three or four people of the 14-16 people in the room left the film with about 15 minutes to go, when a film technique was revealed; did they think it was a cheat in a documentary? (I thought it was, if not obvious, then a likely tool.)

I don’t really want to say more, except that I think you’ll find it quite worthwhile. If you see it on DVD, try to see it in one sitting to glean the maximum effect.

The EW greatest movies in 1999, dropped in 2013

Possibly the flat out funniest movie in the second half of the 20th century.

An astonishing number of films that were on Entertainment Weekly’s Top 100 films in 1999 didn’t make the cut in 2013. I realize they were compiled by different people; editor Ty Burr was responsible for the earlier list. Still, some of these being displaced startled me, even if I hadn’t seen the newer iteration.

5. Raging Bull (1980) – I saw the craft of this film. I didn’t love it, though I liked it more as it went along. Then again, I saw it on video originally; had I first seen it in the theater, that might have made a difference.
7. The Godfather, Part II (1974) – never saw this, but how does this fall off the list? 1974 Best Picture!
16. Star Wars (1977) – I’m rather partial to this film. The 2nd pic (or 5th, if you insist), may be technically more proficient, but this one I fell in love with.
23. Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937)- I’ve only sure I’ve seen this fairly recently. This is quality, though quite scary, stuff for kids, I would think.
24. Bringing Up Baby (1938) – Watched this on TV. Enjoyable.
27. The Grapes of Wrath (1940) – Saw this long ago on TV, and STILL kicking the dust out of boots.
28. Sunset Boulevard (1950) – another great film I saw on TV, probably in the 1970s, dropped from the list unjustly.
33. Jules and Jim (Jules et Jim) (1962) (Fr.) saw this in Binghamton back in the late 1960s in a theater. It was my favorite foreign film, and ought not to have been dropped
34. Sherlock, Jr. (1924) – Don’t know it.
35. The Philadelphia Story (1940) – Saw it in the 1980s, I believe, and it was great fun.
36. 8 1/2 (Otto e Mezzo) (1963) (It.) – Don’t think I ever saw it, but felt I should.
42. Aliens (1986) – Didn’t see.
46. The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957) – I found this very affecting the couple of times I’ve seen it on TV and great whistling.
51. Children of Paradise (Les Enfants du Paradis) (1945) (Fr.) – Don’t know.
53. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) – Saw this on TV after watching the remake in the theater; this is far superior.
59. The Lady Eve (1941) – Don’t know.
62. Henry V (1944) (Br.) – Did not see this version.
65. The Third Man (1949) – On my list to see.
67. Airplane! (1980) – Possibly the flat-out funniest movie in the second half of the 20th century. And features a character named Roger. Belongs on the current list!
68. The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) – saw, but recollection is sparse.
69. The Conformist (1970) (It./Fr./WGer.) – Heard of this, but did not see.
70. Beauty and the Beast (1991) – I’ve seen maybe three times now on DVD, and it gets better with each viewing.
71. To Be or Not to Be (1942) – Don’t recall seeing.
72. M (1931) (Ger.) – Didn’t see.
73. Great Expectations (1946) (Br.) – Didn’t see, but want to.
74. Funny Face (1957) – Audrey Hepburn I remember, but it’s sketchy in the mind.
75. Tootsie (1982) – Dustin Hoffman used his actual real anger pre-transformation to give this real bite. Very good film.
76. The Manchurian Candidate (1962) – Actually, THE movie on this list I most want to see – Angela Landsbury and Frank Sinatra. I saw the remake with Denzel Washington, and it’s so-so.
77. Battleship Potemkin (Bronenosets Potyomkin) (1925) (USSR) – Didn’t see.
78. White Heat (1949) – Didn’t see. I wonder if it’s true of the critics as well.
79. It’s a Gift (1934) – Didn’t see.
80. Nosferatu (1922) (Ger.) – Saw only bits of it
82. Diabolique (Les Diaboliques) (1955) (Fr.) – Did not see
84. Blow-Up (1966) (Br.) – Saw this in the early 1970s. Was great at the time, but the memory of the specifics has faded.

85. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) – This movie I find SO powerful and has resonance for today, still. Saw it again in the last five years. Belongs on the current list.
87. L’Age d’Or (1930) (Fr.) – Don’t know.
88. The Producers (1968) – Brilliant, audacious Mel Brooks film. I’d have kept it.
89. Wings of Desire (Der Himmel uber Berlin) (1988) (WGer./Fr.) – Did not see.
90. Pickup on South Street (1953) – Embarrassing how many I didn’t see.
91. Mildred Pierce (1945) – Did not see, but feel like I did, because my high school friend Vito mentioned it SO often.
94. The Shop Around the Corner (1940) – Didn’t see
95. Tokyo Story (Tokyo Monogatari) (1953) (Jp.) – #10 foreign film on the current list. Did not see.
96. The Last of the Mohicans (1992) – Somehow missed this.
99. Swept Away… (1975) (It.) – I saw it at the time and was moved by it, but the details are fading.
100. Celine & Julie Go Boating (1974) (Fr.) – Don’t know.

Then there are the top 10 genre films from 2013 that did not make the overall top 100 list.

The 10 Greatest Horror Flicks
8. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) – Never saw.
9. Carrie (1976) – Didn’t see
10. Alien (1979) – DID see, and was engrossed by it.

The 10 Greatest Action Films

9. Die Hard (1988) – Another one of those films that I’ve seen on TV from time to time and didn’t know which iteration I was watching. It does have its appeal.
10. Kill Bill–Vol. 1 (2003) – did not/will not see.

The 10 Greatest Family Movies

6. The Little Mermaid (1989) – It’s not my favorite, but it has its charm.
7. The Red Balloon (1956) – Did not see
8. Shrek (2001) – I rather liked it, though the sequels were lesser efforts.
9. National Velvet (1944) – I’ve seen bits and pieces, but probably not the whole thing.
10. Spirited Away (2001) – I loved this when I saw it in the theater at the time.

The 10 Greatest Documentaries

4. Hoop Dreams (1994) – Great film.
5. Nanook of the North (1922) – Didn’t see
6. Crumb (1995) – Liked it
7. Gimme Shelter (1970) – Did see; it was depressing.
8. Titicut Follies (1967) – Don’t know it
9. Don’t Look Back (1967) – Not familiar
10. The Up Series (1964-present) – Mr. Frog mentioned this recently. I saw 14, 21, and 28, maybe 35, definite not 7, 42, or 49. Loved what I’ve seen, and I should just see the whole Magilla.

Here are some movies I have seen, some of which may be better than the ones on the 2013 list. It is not comprehensive.

The African Queen (1951)
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
Bull Durham (1988)
From Here to Eternity (1953)
The Last Picture Show (1971)
National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978)
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
This is Spinal Tap (1984)
Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
The Verdict (1982)
West Side Story (1961)