El Cid

Movie Review: El Cid (**1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1961

Country of Origin: Italy, USA, UK

Director: Anthony Mann

Cast: Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren, Raf Vallone, Geneviève Page, John Fraser, Gary Raymond

Plot outline: Epic film of the legendary Spanish hero, Rodrigo Diaz ("El Cid" to his followers), who, without compromising his strict sense of honour, still succeeds in taking the initiative and driving the Moors from Spain (IMDb).

The story (**1/2)

How the story unfolds (**1/2 it's overly long and it's overly melodramatic)

The characters (**1/2)

The acting (**1/2)

Overall rating **1/2 out of 4 stars

The Lavender Hill Mob

Movie Review: The Lavender Hill Mob (***1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1951

Country of Origin: UK

Director: Charles Crichton

Cast: Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway, Sid James, Alfie Bass, Marjorie Fielding

Plot outline: An overlooked gold transporter with twenty years service plots to steal a million pounds of gold (IMDb).

The story (***)

How the story unfolds (***1/2 a simple story, well told and perfectly paced, with several moments of glorious absurdity mixed in for good measure--most by design, but one or two because of how the world has changed since the British were so honest and trusting)

The characters (***1/2)

The acting (***1/2 Alec Guinness takes the lion's share of the best lines and moments, and Stanley Holloway corrals his equally impressive talents into a textbook presentation of how to be a foil. In the opening sequence Audrey Hepburn makes her screen debut as a vivacious young lady.)

Overall rating ***1/2 out of 4 stars

Up in Central Park

Movie Review: Up in Central Park (**1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1948

Country of Origin: USA

Director: William A. Seiter

Cast: Deanna Durbin, Dick Haymes, Vincent Price, Albert Sharpe

Plot outline: A newspaper reporter and the daughter of an immigrant maintenance man help expose political corruption in New York City (IMDb).

The story (**1/2)

How the story unfolds (**1/2)

The characters (**1/2 the plot and characters are hardly realistic, but work just fine for a musical)

The acting (**1/2 Durbin and Price are in top form; both are charming, and hit just the right light note in their acting style. Dick Haymes sings very well, but lacks charisma and spark as an actor. While Albert Sharpe is strictly from the Barry Fitzgerald school of ersatz Blarney.)

Overall rating **1/2 out of 4 stars

Lady on a Train

Movie Review: Lady on a Train (**1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1945

Country of Origin: USA

Director: Charles David

Cast: Deanna Durbin, Ralph Bellamy, David Bruce

Plot outline: A young woman, witnessing a murder from a train, enlists a mystery writer to help her solve a murder when the corpse vanishes (IMDb).

The story (**1/2)

How the story unfolds (**1/2 the story remains bubbly until the dark moments when Durbin is cornered by the killer)

The characters (**)

The acting (** Durbin gets a chance to belt out a few tunes, and does a touching version of "Silent Night" and a steamy nightclub number "Gimme a Little Kiss, Will You Huh?")

Overall rating **1/2 out of 4 stars

The Amazing Mrs. Holliday

Movie Review: The Amazing Mrs. Holliday (**1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1943
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Bruce Manning
Cast: Deanna Durbin, Edmond O'Brien, Barry Fitzgerald

Plot outline: A missionary tries to outwit the U.S. government and smuggle Chinese war orphans into the country (IMDb).

The story (**1/2 the story is heartwarming and touching)
How the story unfolds (**1/2 ... unfortunately, none of it rings true but somehow Durbin overcomes the inadequacies of a weak script and tosses off her songs with grace and authority, as always)
The characters (**)
The acting (**)

Overall rating **1/2 out of 4 stars

Dead Reckoning

Movie Review: Dead Reckoning (**1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1947
Country of Origin: USA
Director: John Cromwell
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lizabeth Scott, Morris Carnovsky

Plot outline: A war hero investigates his buddy’s disappearance following their return home, and love and death soon follow (IMDb).

The story (**1/2 the story isn’t original, but it’s okay because it steals from the best)
How the story unfolds (**1/2)
The characters (**1/2 Humphrey Bogart’s performance is an amalgam of his characters in The Maltese Falcon (1941) and The Big Sleep (1946); Lizabeth Scott may look and sound somewhat like Lauren Bacall in The Big Sleep, but she’s not the genuine article--she simply can’t hold her own against Bogart, a fact that becomes more and more apparent as the movie unfolds, and the chemistry between them is marginal at best, which robs the movie’s ending of much of its emotional impact)
The acting (**1/2)

Overall rating **1/2 out of 4 stars

Black Narcissus

Movie Review: Black Narcissus (*** out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1947
Country of Origin: UK
Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Cast: Deborah Kerr, Flora Robson, Jean Simmons, David Farrar

Plot outline: Nuns founding a convent in the Himalayas are tormented by the area's exotic beauty (IMDb).

The story (*** nuns, mountains, the London Symphony Orchestra, insanity, inexorable winds and the culmination of rain; plenty of ideas of all sorts being thrown around, and for such an original work it should be palatable to a broad spectrum of humanity in its many forms, vulgar and enlightened--if the terms actually mean anything in and of themselves, or encompass anything at all)
How the story unfolds (*** great shots one after the other, no matter whether they're on location or backdrops, or whatever-Powell and Pressburger bring out the beauty in whatever they happen to be looking at)
The characters (***)
The dialogue (***)
The acting (***)

Overall rating *** out of 4 stars

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Movie Review: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (***1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1943
Country of Origin: UK
Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Casts: Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr, Anton Walbrook

Plot outline: An aging military man looks back on the loves and friends who shaped his life (IMDb).

The story (***1/2)
How the story unfolds (***1/2)
The characters (***1/2)
The dialogue (***1/2)
The acting (***1/2)

The movie warms you up like a mug of hot chocolate on a cold night. The movie clocks in at 163 minutes, and even though it doesn’t fly by per se, I was continually absorbed throughout the running time.

Overall rating ***1/2 out of 4 stars

The Desperate Hours

Movie Review: The Desperate Hours (*** out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1955
Country of Origin: USA
Director: William Wyler
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Fredric March

Plot outline: Three escaped convicts terrorize a suburban family they're holding hostage (IMDb).

The story (**)
How the story unfolds (*** the script does a great job of slowly ratcheting up the tension, and is packed with great dialog; its only real flaw is the Ralphie character which only serves as a plot device and acts as a speed bump in an otherwise brilliant story)
The characters (***)
The dialogue (***)
The acting (*** Humphrey Bogart brings an intense ferocity to the role, exuding a simmering rage that seems to seep out of his every word and action. Where a lesser actor would have over played the part, Bogart nails it perfectly. Opposite Bogart, Fredric March does an equally admirable job. Perhaps inspired by Bogart--or maybe vice-versa, March too plays his part believably low-key. These two anchor the movie and are a joy to watch.)

Overall rating *** out of 4 stars

Call Northside 777

Movie Review: Call Northside 777 (*** out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1948
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Henry Hathaway
Cast: James Stewart, Richard Conte, Lee J. Cobb, Kasia Orzazewski

Plot outline: Based on a true story; when a woman places an ad in the Chicago Times offering a $5,000 reward for information that will exonerate her son, the newspaper assigns reporter P.J. McNeal to look into the eleven year old murder case (IMDb).

The story (***)
How the story unfolds (*** the documentary style is what really grips the viewer, aided by classic, no-nonsense bridge narration, and superb locations that frequently dwarf the crusading reporter, and enhance the forgotten status of Wiecek's innocent man status--as seen in a marvelous prison sequence)
The characters (***)
The acting (***)

Overall rating *** out of 4 stars

Cape Fear

Movie Review: Cape Fear (*** out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1962
Country of Origin: USA
Director: J. Lee Thompson
Cast: Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen, Martin Balsam

Plot outline: An ex-convict plots to destroy the district attorney who sent him to prison (IMDb).

The story (***)
How the story unfolds (*** the script makes very good use of the viewer’s imagination, as almost nothing is overtly expressed, only implied, however the implications that come to mind are scary to contemplate)
The characters (***)
The acting (*** the portrayals of Peck and Mitchum are both exceedingly good, but in the end you will remember the bad guy better, Robert Mitchum’s Max Cady; very few actors can convey the raw menace that Mitchum produces effortlessly without moving a muscle)

Overall rating *** out of 4 stars

Robin and Marian

Movie Review: Robin and Marian (** out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1976
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Richard Lester
Cast: Sean Connery, Audrey Hepburn, Robert Shaw, Richard Harris

Plot outline: An aging Robin Hood comes home to resume his relationship with Maid Marian and his battles against the Sheriff of Nottingham (IMDb).

The story (** some ideas should be left alone; Shakespeare knew that Romeo and Juliet couldn't be allowed to grow up; the story of Robin Hood is one of arrogance, and long-shot dice throwing, and the romance of victory; making Robin Hood grow up, maybe it's a good idea, but only he could pull it off)
How the story unfolds (**)
The characters (**)
The acting (**)

Overall rating ** out of 4 stars

Corona Australis

Corona Australis, originally uploaded by lrargerich.