The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)

I swear I did not set out to chase schmaltz with one of the most depressing titles ever. Still, if there's ever a good time to see something heavy, it's after something overly perky.

In 1968 Czechoslovakia, Tomas (early Daniel Day-Lewis) is a surgeon who really gets around. Presently, his focal relationships involve two artists, Sabina (Lena Olin) and Tereza (Juliette Binoche), who are not immediately aware of their mutual connection. Tereza becomes the more devoted, even marrying him, despite her disapproval of his continuing promiscuity. Sabina eventually takes up with another man, Franz (Derek de Lint). Their lives get more complicated with political unrest followed by an upsurge in communist oppression.

Elf (2003)

For the first time in ages, my family couldn't go to a theater together on Christmas. I wound up watching this DVD alone, partly from lack of interest by others. Given my low opinions of Will Ferrell and 2003 movies in general (gosh, I haven't even reviewed any of the latter in full here), I was only slightly interested myself. But it keeps getting positive references 15 years later, so I figured I owed myself a little education.

Santa Claus (Ed Asner) accidentally takes an infant stowaway from an orphanage back to the North Pole. The head elf (Bob Newhart) adopts him, calling him Buddy. Like Navin in The Jerk, Buddy has no idea he's adopted until told so in adulthood, despite not fitting in -- literally. When he learns that his unknowing biological father, Walter (James Caan), is a "naughty" New York exec, he makes a trek in the hope of making a loving connection. Of course, in many ways, he fits in even less among fellow humans, but his stepmother (Mary Steenburgen) encourages Walter to receive him in all his perceived lunacy after a DNA test confirms their relation.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Nice to know that Sony still gets to make Spider-Man movies, albeit quite different from before. The first all-animated Marvel theatrical release since Big Hero Six looked too weird to my dad in the trailer, so I chose it for a solo viewing.

Brooklyn teen Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) gets a spider bite similar to the one that Peter Parker (Chris Pine) got. Before he can master or even discover all his powers, which include a few that Peter doesn't have, he sees Peter die fighting to stop the Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) from messing with the space-time continuum before things get really bad. This temporarily foiled plot has the unforeseen consequence of drawing five other spider-themed heroes from alternate dimensions into the one where Miles lives. They all experience occasional spasms, hinting that they can't live long outside their home dimensions, so they hope to take advantage of the Kingpin's next attempt. Ideally, Miles would be the one to stay behind and break the world-threatening machine, but is he competent enough yet?

Kai Po Che! (2013)

Between slow disc deliveries and a desire to save a certain disc for Christmas, I resorted to my streaming list. It had been a little while since my last Bollywood flick, so I opted for the shortest one available. Afterward, I considered skipping this review, but it's too popular in India -- and too mixed in reception elsewhere -- for me to feel right about not saying a few words.

Like several Indian movies I could name, it stars a trio of young male friends. Unlike the others, it's not comedic at all. It starts with the potential for such, as they've been semi-delinquent slackers but move forward with plans for a sporting equipment and education shop despite obstacles. Ishaan focuses on advancing a juvenile cricket prodigy, Ali, who initially prefers marble games. Meanwhile, group nerd Govind tries to tutor Ish's sister, Vidya, but she'd rather study Govi himself, if you get my drift. Omkar serves mainly to acquire funding from his uncle in exchange for help with political campaigning, which he doesn't enjoy. Nothing too serious so far, but then comes the 2001 Gujarat quake, followed by social upheaval....

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)

The title alone was a good warning that this would not be uplifting. When I noted the Depression setting and the year of release, when unhappy endings were all the rage, there could be no doubt. But my curiosity about the high ratings got the better of me.

The story focuses on a 1932 California dance marathon, a staple of the era I'd never heard of before. For weeks, couples -- 102 to start -- seek a cash prize by dancing for hours a day (mostly at a mellow pace), occasionally mixing it up with a joint speed-walking race that eliminates the last three pairs to cross the finish line. As time wears on, the remaining contestants aren't looking so good, and neither is the contest itself.

The Favourite (2018)

This is one of those times that I completely forgot what I'd learned of a movie's nature before it began playing in front of me. All I knew offhand was that it's in talks for award nominations, and a Meetup group invited me.

For starters, the setting is 1708 England, during the War of the Spanish Succession. Abigail Hill (Emma Stone), who lost her aristocratic status through no fault of her own, finds employment as a scullery maid in the royal palace, thanks in part to her blood link to royal counselor Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz), however little they've known each other. Abigail's medical knowledge earns her the positive attention of ailing Queen Anne (Olivia Colman)—to too great a degree for Sarah's comfort. Anne and Sarah are on very intimate terms, and it might be especially bad to attempt a ménage à trois while fighting France....

The Attorney (2013)

Wow, that long since I last saw a movie from East Asia? And it doesn't look like I've reviewed any South Korean cinema before. I was thinking of skipping this review, but I'd rather rectify the gap.

In the late '70s and early '80s, Song Woo-suk stands out among attorneys for skipping college, not acting very formal, and taking cases that bring him an unpopular image but good money. He grows less greedy with time and attempts to pay for a dine-and-dash of long ago. Busan restaurateur Park Dong-ho and her high school son, Jin-woo, are friendly toward him, until he has a drunken brawl over politics. His chance to make it up to them comes when Jin-woo and many classmates get arrested on charges of sedition.

Calamity Jane (1953)

I'm starting to think I've already seen all the old musicals that aren't so badly dated that they'd make a tough sell on stage today. I'm not talking about the music style or the humor; it's the social values.

The titular Deadwood sharpshooter (Doris Day) not so subtly crushes on Lt. Dan...ny Gilmartin (Philip Carey), while she and Wild Bill Hickok (Howard Keel) are close yet mutually vitriolic friends. She's also compassionate enough to help saloon keeper Henry Miller (Paul Harvey) after he makes a severely unpopular mistake in a show's billing. She rides up to Chicago and brings back whom she believes to be famed singer Adelaid Adams (Gale Robbins) but is actually Miss Adams' newly dismissed assistant, Katie Brown (Allyn Ann McLerie). Katie has enough beauty and charm of her own -- which proves a problem when Danny has eyes for her. You may guess the resolution.

Creed II (2018)

I had mentioned that the first Creed made allusions to Rocky IV, being the movie in which Apollo Creed dies in the ring. Apparently, that was just a warm-up. Perhaps writer and producer Ryan Coogler (having turned direction over to lesser-known Steven Caple, Jr.) had this in mind all along.

Right after Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) wins the world heavyweight championship, a blast from the past appears: Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), his father's fatal opponent. Ivan hasn't gotten any kinder with age, nor has he softened his grudge against Adonis' trainer, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), for costing Ivan a lot of honor. His idea of settling the score is to have his own son, Viktor (Florian Munteanu), defeat Adonis.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)

This movie is not getting ratings as high as I thought when my dad and I went to see it. Part of that may be backlash against now-scandalous Johnny Depp as the title character, but that's not the only reason. Things get pretty different from the immediate predecessor.

The year is 1927, and most of the events take place in Paris. If you were hoping to see Voldemort forerunner Gellert Grindelwald go on trial, I'm afraid he escapes in the midst of extradition to Britain early on. (Even when playing a wanted murderer laying low, Depp refuses to look ordinary on screen anymore.) His objective is to find Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), the young adult wizard finally in control of his immense powers, and recruit him to slaughter or subjugate all muggles. Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law), presently a Defense Against the Dark Art professor, taps beast collector Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) to reach Credence and talk him out of that crusade. In addition to the obvious challenges, Newt must contend with a distrustful Ministry of Magic and one Yusuf Kuma (William Nadylam), who wants to kill Credence for personal reasons.

Wild Boys of the Road (1933)

Usually, when a DVD contains two feature films, I watch only the more popular one. In this case, the two films together run less than 150 minutes, and there are no extras to take up more time. Besides, WBotR has a solid IMDb rating in its own right, just a little below the other William Wellman '33 hit, Heroes for Sale.

Gas-siphoning high school pals Tommy and Eddie seem to be high on life, until they find out that their parents aren't making ends meet. They drop out and travel the country to look for employment, which isn't easy during the Depression. When they're not stowing away on freight trains, they're usually taking up residence with other teens in a place that was not meant for habitation. Their closest new acquaintance is Sally, who disguises herself as a boy.

Heroes for Sale (1933)

When you think of Hollywood fare in the early '30s, you're likely to think of musicals, romantic comedies, gangster flicks, and/or horrors. But a handful of dramas from that time rate a mention to this day, and for the most part, they do not pull punches. They mean to reflect a dreary era.

This story begins in World War I, where U.S. soldier Tom (Richard Barthelmess) nearly dies in battle. He comes home a morphine addict, and his mom dies while he's in an asylum. Things start to look up after he and neighbor Ruth (Loretta Young) fall in love and he finds success in the laundry business, but he hasn't counted on the company falling into less scrupulous hands, costing lots of jobs. And that's before the stock market crash....

Logan (2017)

In honor of the late Stan Lee, I decided to watch the most popular Marvel movie I hadn't yet. Unfortunately, it's probably the bleakest, which makes it less than ideal for the occasion, not least because Lee doesn't get a cameo. Still, it's important to recognize multiple sides to his legacy.

In not-so-distant 2029, most people think superpowered mutants extinct, presumably thanks to a government effort. James "Logan" Howlett, a.k.a. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman, finally looking his real age again), has been laying low as a limo driver, his rapid healing in decline thanks to adamantium poisoning. The only other mutants he knows to be alive aren't faring much better: Professor X (Patrick Stewart), in his 90s, is prone to telepathic seizures; and Caliban (Stephen Merchant), who has even sharper senses than Wolverine, needs to cover his skin completely before entering sunlight. Then comes Laura (Dafne Keen), the first preteen mutant they've met in a long time. The Professor insists that they help her reach a safe haven before the Reavers under Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook) get her.

It Started with Eve (1941)

Boy, Hollywood in the '40s and '50s sure had a thing for "Eve." There's All About Eve, The Three Faces of Eve, The Lady Eve...and you might count Adam's Rib. ISwE has the least justification, as no one in it is named Eve (or Adam) and the main woman is neither especially wicked nor most responsible for setting things in motion. The studio just settled on a generic battle-of-the-sexes evocation that, true to the era, favored men. No wonder I had trouble recalling the title afterward. But you shouldn't judge the film itself on that basis.

Johnny Reynolds (Robert Cummings) expects aristocratic dad Jonathan (Charles Laughton) to die in bed any minute. Sensing too little time to introduce his dad to new fiancée Gloria (Margaret Tallichet), he hires random stranger Anne (Deanna Durbin) to pose as her briefly. The plot thickens when Jonathan makes a gradual unforeseen recovery and wishes to see more of "Gloria." Since the truth might shock him to death, Anne is persuaded to sustain the act a bit longer, while Johnny must juggle two "fiancées."

The Pursuit of Happyness

It occurred to me that the only Will Smith movies I'd seen were a few '90s sci-fis. I thought it only fair to check out his more serious, perhaps more mature side in possibly his most esteemed later effort, which got him a second Oscar nod.

In early-'80s San Francisco, Chris Gardner (Smith) has made an unwise career move: selling expensive, seemingly optional bone density scanners to doctors. By the start of the movie, his family is behind on bills. Wife Linda (Thandie Newton) walks out on him and briefly tries to take five-year-old son Christopher (Jaden Smith!) with her. Chris decides that his best move is to take a six-month unpaid internship at a brokerage and hope to be the one chosen for the job among 20 candidates. In the meantime, his living situation will worsen.

Medium Cool (1969)

Once again, my timing was serendipitous: I didn't realize I'd be watching a political movie on Election Day. Better still, it takes place 50 years ago, when social tensions were even higher. (I suspect that the title, which paraphrases Marshall McLuhan, partly means to be ironic: Cool heads are in short supply.)

John, a Chicago news cameraman, has maintained an especially strong air of detachment from his subjects, no matter how intense the situation. This does not stop him from taking interest in the displaced widow of a West Virginia coal miner and her son. After he objects to his station's scandalous collaboration with the FBI and then loses his job, he finds himself a lot less detached.

A Perfect World (1993)

Heh, when I moved this up in my queue, I didn't know that the story would start on Halloween and end a few days later. That detail is too minor for a summary on Netflix or even Wikipedia. I just wanted something that wasn't horror, even if it is a bit of a thriller. And it's one of director Clint Eastwood's own faves.

In JFK-era Texas, Butch (Kevin Costner) and Terry (Keith Szarabajka) bust out of prison. Thanks to incautious if not unhinged behavior on Terry's part, they see fit to take a hostage, eight-year-old Phillip (T.J. Lowther). Their plan is to keep him until they drive to another state, quite some distance away. Red (Eastwood), a Texas Ranger, starts hunting for them, reluctantly bringing along criminologist Sally (Laura Dern) and FBI marksman Bobby (Bradley Whitford).

It (2017)

You may have noticed that most of my reviews for the month have reported lackluster thrills. I decided that my best bet for a decent scare on Halloween was a recent, popular, R-rated horror based on a vintage Stephen King hit. It was either that or A Quiet Place, and I figure on saving the latter for a while after Tremors.

The fictitious town of Derry, Maine (of course), has a disproportionate rate of mysterious disappearances and/or deaths, especially among kids. A new wave emerges in the late '80s. Seven preteen or early teen misfits rapidly catch on to the cause as it, or rather It, tries to claim them too. It takes many shapes, but you've seen its favorite: Pennywise the clown, often announcing his presence with one or more red balloons.

The Fly (1986)

I saw the 1958 original a few years ago. It struck me as decent but more tragic than scary. At the same time, it bordered on unintentionally comical with a few ludicrous premises. Well, David Cronenberg is no stranger to ludicrous premises, but I can count on him not to be funny. He might have been just the director for the remake.

Seth (Jeff Goldblum) gains the interest of science reporter Veronica (Geena Davis) by showing her his invention of a teleportation device. He wants her to hold off on reporting it until he gets it to handle a living thing properly. With her assistance, he succeeds. But when he gets drunkenly rash enough to teleport himself, he doesn't notice the housefly in the "telepod" with him....

The Innocents (1961)

Hmm, another haunted mansion story endorsed by Martin Scorsese. And another experimental '60s film that wasn't a hit at the time. On those bases, I might have expected good cinematography but little fear. OTOH, there is the element of children. It's also based on a Henry James novella, The Turns of the Screw, and adapted primarily by Truman Capote.

In 19th-century England, Miss Giddens (Deborah Kerr) shakily accepts the invitation of an aristocrat (Michael Redgrave) to be the governess for his nephew, Miles (newly recognizable Martin Stephens), and niece, Flora (Pamela Franklin), who have been largely raised by the various hired help. The children have a good deal of cutie charisma, but sometimes they appear to know too much and/or care too little. Could they know about the merciless-looking figures who spook Miss Giddens but whom no one else confesses to seeing?

Dead of Night (1977)

I'm not sure what got this TV movie with a 6.4 on IMDb onto my queue. Someone other than Netflix must have suggested it to me. Anyway, it's not like Night of the Living Dead. It's an anthology more along the lines of The Twilight Zone, starting with a Rod Serling-style narration that explains the title as referring to "a state of mind."

In "Second Chance," a young enthusiast for classic cars restores one from 1926, takes an old road, and finds himself literally in 1926. In "No Such Thing as a Vampire," around the time of Dracula, a woman keeps waking up with a bleeding neck, and her husband and servants can no longer shrug off the village rumors. In "Bobby," a woman appeals to a pagan deity to bring back her drowned son, but he's not quite the same anymore and becomes increasingly hostile.

Tremors (1990)

One glance at the poster told me to expect something pretty trashy. It looked like a Jaws knockoff minus the water. The movie even had Land Sharks as a working title. Nevertheless, it gets occasional mention to this day, including as an inspiration for part of Stranger Things. It seemed as good a choice as any to round out my October viewings.

Val (Kevin Bacon) and Earl (Fred Ward) are on the verge of leaving the fictitious ghost town of Perfection, Nevada, to look for less lowly job opportunities. They meet a visiting grad student, Rhonda (Finn Carter), who wonders about some irregular seismograph readings. Then they discover some extraordinary deaths outside town. The cause: rapidly burrowing worm-like giants, which the citizens eventually dub "graboids." Between rock slides and downed power lines, it's too late to leave the area or get outside help before the graboids reach the rest.

The Old Man & the Gun (2018)

I had enjoyed many movies featuring Robert Redford, mostly from the Silver Age but up to Captain America: The Winter Soldier. These did not make me eager to see what's touted as the last time he'll appear on the silver screen. No, my main reason for watching this in a theater was a Meetup invitation; I hadn't accepted one of those in months.

Set mainly in 1981 in the western U.S., it follows Forrest Tucker decades after he made a name for himself as a prison escapee many times over. Now rather old (if much younger than Redford really is), he counts on people not knowing who he is when he robs banks, usually with two other old guys (Danny Glover and Tom Waits). He takes interest in a less criminal woman (Sissy Spacek) who isn't sure what to make of him. Nearly half the movie focuses on John Hunt (Casey Affleck), who doesn't care much for his police work until he gets the chance to, well, hunt the robbers, primarily Tucker.

Seconds (1966)

I didn't feel like filling up my entire month's worth of Netflix deliveries with outright horrors. This one gets classified as a sci-fi thriller, so I figured it was still appropriate for the lead-up to Halloween.

Fifty-something Arthur Hamilton (formerly blacklisted John Randolph) receives messages from a friend who was reported dead, pointing him to the reason for that misinformation: A special company has given him a new identity, complete with a more youthful new look. Arthur is unhappy enough that he eventually accepts the invitation to get the same sort of treatment, becoming "Antiochus Wilson" (Rock Hudson). But it's not an easy transition, and even afterward, a second chance may not be all it's cracked up to be....

Free Solo (2018)

You may think, "Aw, man, you're breaking up the pattern of Halloween movies for the month." But if one genre ever gets scarier than horrors and thrillers, it's documentaries. After all, they tend to depict real dangers. Not that I've seen many such.

The title refers to the practice of climbing a rock face without ropes or other assistance. The focal figure is Alex Honnold, 33, who does it as a career, not a hobby. Oh, he gets into safer forms of climbing now and then, especially at super-hard locations like El Capitan. But he keeps hoping to be the first to free-solo up "El Cap" (which I heard as "Al Capp") someday. Naturally, this feature builds up to that day.

The Uninvited (1944)

Martin Scorsese and Guillermo Del Toro count this among their favorite horrors. In earlier days, it stood out as one of the first non-comedy ghost stories in Hollywood. It's also remembered for the debut of much-covered jazz standard "Stella by Starlight," which, oddly enough, isn't remotely scary. I don't know which if any of these details first drew my attention to the film, but I wanted at least one oldie for the month.

While vacationing on the Cornwall coast, Rick (Ray Milland) and Pamela (Ruth Hussey) stumble on a disused yet charming cliffside mansion and decide to move in from their London flat. Commander Beech (Donald Crisp) gives them a good deal on it, explaining that it is not only out of the way but often considered creepy, if only by virtue of having enigmatic old-house personality and his daughter Mary's tragic death 17 years ago, which had prompted him to move out. Beech's 20-year-old granddaughter, Stella (Gail Russell), is too sentimental about her childhood home to let it go altogether, so she appeals to Rick's heart, and he lets her visit. Only after they enter the one unpleasant room do they start to see why previous tenants bailed. Something there overwhelms the senses if not the will, and that something doesn't entirely restrict itself to that room thereafter. What were the exact circumstances of Mary's death, anyway?

The Fog (1980)

While I haven't reviewed other John Carpenter flicks on this blog, I have mostly enjoyed the seven I've watched, especially the ones from the late '70s and early '80s. It's too bad he apparently lost the knack in the '90s and largely retired from directing early. The Fog was his first post-Halloween silver-screen feature, so I figured it held promise.

The story follows multiple heroes -- among them radio DJ Stevie (Adrienne Barbeau), her young son Andy (Ty Mitchell), career fisherman Nick (Tom Atkins), drifter Elizabeth (Jamie Lee Curtis), festivity hostess Kathy (Janet Leigh!), her assistant Sandy (Nancy Loomis), and Father Malone (Hal Holbrook) -- in the fictional California town of Antonio Bay within the course of a day, namely the town's centennial. It's also the centennial of a fog-based fatal shipwreck. From the stroke of midnight, strange things happen around town. And where the glowing fog hits, death is likely to follow. None of this being coincidental, of course.

Paranormal Activity (2007)

I don't normally watch movies with middling ratings across the three major sites, especially in genres that aren't among my favorites. But this one did spawn quite a few sequels, launch some fledgling careers, and make #9 on a Nostalgia Critic list of best recent Halloween movies/series. Besides, [REC] taught me that even without originality, a "found-footage" flick can scare me.

The story begins somewhat in medias res in 2006, when Micah (Micah Sloat) buys a camera and tripod in response to cohabiting girlfriend Katie (Katie Featherston) telling him that strange things happen around her at night, supposedly thanks to a malevolent spirit. He doesn't really expect to catch anything spectacular -- maybe he hopes to reassure her that it's all in her head -- but as weeks pass, the signs get harder and harder to dismiss as natural or harmless occurrences. When they invite vaunted ghost expert Dr. Fredrichs (Mark Fredrichs), he soon declares it the work of a demon instead, and the demonologist he recommends is unavailable for now.

The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)

I saw the 1934 adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas classic some years ago, inspired by its excerpt in V for Vendetta. Although I enjoyed it (and seeing why V did too), later I could remember little more than the basic outline: A wrongfully imprisoned swordsman gets revenge. Perhaps a second take, especially one for a modern audience, would stay with me better.

Illiterate sailor Edmond (Jim Caviezel) helps his dying captain pay an emergency visit to Elba during the exile of Napoleon (Alex Norton). The price of treatment by the local physician is Edmond's agreement to stealthily deliver a letter, which Napoleon claims is innocent. Upon returning to France, Edmond is charged with treason—thanks not to an honest misunderstanding regarding the mail, as he first believes, but to treachery by three acquaintances. During his long stay at the Château d'If, priestly inmate Faria (Richard Harris in one of his last roles) secretly teaches him in many ways and then helps him escape and find a vast hidden treasure. Edmond reappears in civilized society in the guise of the titular count, observing his old enemies and plotting their downfalls....

We're No Angels (1955)

Nuts. I try to save movies set on or near Christmas for December, or at least July, but I hadn't checked the full description. Oh well, at least it's in a tropical climate.

Joseph (Humphrey Bogart), Albert (Aldo Ray), and Jules (Peter Ustinov) are Devil's Island inmates, each reportedly guilty of many crimes. They and pet viper Adolphe break loose in time for Christmas Eve and, if I understand correctly, make it to Cayenne proper, with designs on taking the next ship to Paris. In the meantime, they enter a general store and tell the manager, Felix (Leo G. Carroll), that they can fix his roof. Of course, they actually plan to steal clothes and whatnot when the time is ripe. But after observing how deep in debt Felix's family is -- and how heartbroken his 18-year-old daughter, Isabelle (Gloria Talbott), is to learn that her crush is engaged to someone else -- the fugitives decide to do them a few good turns.

Gone Baby Gone (2007)

While this movie came seven years after Gone in 60 Seconds and seven before Gone Girl, I couldn't have told you which was which. It was high time I saw one of them. I ruled out Gi60S for not being popular enough. Both GBG and GG involve Ben Affleck, but only GBG has him as director, and he seems less of a gamble than David Fincher.

The heroes are a pair of mainstays in Dennis Lehane's novels: Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and, with less focus, Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan). When a little girl gets kidnapped, her aunt hires the two private eyes, against the recommendation of the police captain (Morgan Freeman). Their main advantage is that Patrick knows almost everybody in the Boston slum, allowing him connections the cops wouldn't have. They still do some work with police detectives (Ed Harris and John Ashton), but with too much disagreement.

Lacombe, Lucien (1974)

It's been a while, Louis Malle. Perhaps I needed that time to cleanse my palate and take another chance on you. A World War II setting brought to mind Au Revoir les Enfants, which I liked, so this seemed like a reasonable bet.

Lucien wants to make something of himself in occupied France. After a Resistance rep dismisses him for being only 17, he gets talked into joining the opposite side: the French arm of the Gestapo. Unaccompanied, he pays a visit to harass a suspected Jew, Albert. But Albert's daughter, the oddly and no doubt symbolically named France, charms Lucien into thinking it over.

In Between (2016)

I've seen a few movies set in Israel, invariably with a religiopolitical focus. But Omar had been the only one I'd seen with a Palestinian main character, until now. Thankfully, IB has nothing to do with conflict between Muslims and Jews.

OK, there's no single main character here: Three young Palestinian women in modern Tel Aviv split the screen time pretty evenly. Layla is a criminal defense lawyer of Islamic descent, clearly too rebellious to be devout. Roommate Salma, a deejay, wears a cross but also is not devout, and her more traditional parents would hate to learn which way she swings. Only the newcomer to the apartment, Nour, expresses piety, as evidenced by her hijab, which doesn't stop her from studying computer science. The others' casual ways put pressure on her to loosen up.

One-Eyed Jacks (1961)

Marlon Brando's in a western again, thankfully as an apparent Anglo-American this time. Of greater concern is the fact that he directed this movie -- and nothing else. Also, while it gets good ratings among IMDb and Google users, Rotten Tomatoes pronounces it rotten. I was not aware of these factors when I rented.

Bank robber "Rio"/"The Kid" (Brando) escapes from a Mexican prison and seeks out his former partner in crime, confusingly nicknamed "Dad" Longworth (repeat screen partner Karl Malden), who had taken the coward's route when Rio needed him most. Longworth has gone straight enough to become a California sheriff, which may just alienate Rio further. But instead of having the immediate showdown you might expect, they get off to what looks like a shakily amiable second start. That sense is put to the test, especially when Rio has eyes for Longworth's stepdaughter, Louisa (Pina Pellicer).

The Private Life of Henry VIII. (1933)

Evidently, I have a weakness for movies that include English royals among the characters. Becket, The King's Speech, The Lion in Winter, The Madness of King George, The Queen.... It hardly matters whether the royals appear respectable or despicable; I enjoy them either way. The one slight exception that comes to mind is Elizabeth, which I might like better if I saw it again today.

As you've probably guessed, this one focuses on the many marital/romantic connections of the king (Charles Laughton, who won an Oscar for it). Not all of them, tho: It begins on the day of the execution of second wife Anne Boleyn (Merle Oberon), almost as if Anne of the Thousand Days were a prequel, and ends somewhere in his sixth marriage, to Catherine Parr (Evelyn Gregg), covering a period of 7 to 11 years. His only explicitly depicted extramarital love interest is lady-in-waiting Catherine Howard (Binnie Barnes), who becomes his fifth wife.

April and the Extraordinary World (2015)

You might call me a casual fan of steampunk, in that I tend to like what I see of it but don't know a whole lot of works within it. Seems to me they're usually set in an alternate 19th century. This movie starts then to establish where the timeline diverges from reality, but then it skips ahead to 1931 and, for the bulk of the story, 1941, with an epilogue chronicling up to 2000. The important premises are that the line of Napoleon Bonaparte has continued and prevented many scientific advances by pressing gifted scientists into service in other areas. Among other things, this means a budding war with North America for its supply of wood and coal for steam power.

The science-minded Franklin family has no intention of slaving away on weapons. Their rebellion leads to young April (voiced in English by Angela Galuppo) being left to fend for herself as a street thief, refusing to go to a state-run orphanage. Disgraced former inspector Pizoni (Paul Giamatti) thinks she's the key to finding her missing, talented grandfather, "Pops" (Tony Robinow). By her teen years, Pizoni has sent a young thief, Julius (Tod Fennell), to spy on her. It becomes apparent that there is yet another party interested in April and the rest of the Franklins, particularly for their progress on a serum for Deadpool-level rapid healing.

The American Friend (1977)

So much for my projection about not seeing more from Wim Wenders. Guess I was too interested in yet another European adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith novel. That Tom Ripley sure got some international popularity. It's also further honor for late cinematographer Robert Müller on my part.

Tom (Dennis Hopper) is the titular "friend" -- still not a real one by conventional standards. Indeed, protagonist Jonathan (Bruno Ganz), a Hamburg art framer, gives him a cold initial greeting due to his reputation preceding him. Not long after, on a secret recommendation from Tom, a French mobster (Gérard Blain) invites Jonathan to serve as a hit man, the idea being that his lack of criminal history makes him harder to trace and his terminal leukemia means he has little to lose. Since Jonathan hasn't saved much for his wife (Lisa Kreuzer) and young son, he agrees in desperation.

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

This is the first time in two years I've seen a movie set primarily in Southeast Asia. I couldn't help but be suspicious of the hype: Is it popular for being great or simply for being decent and having a mostly Asian cast, as is so rare for Hollywood? And how much does the Asian aspect matter to the plot?

Well, let me answer the latter question first: somewhat. Rachel (Constance Wu), a middle-class New Yorker of recent Chinese descent, agrees to accompany boyfriend Nick (Henry Golding) to the wedding of his friends Colin (Chris Pang) and Araminta (Sonoya Mizuno) in his native Singapore. Only then does she learn that Nick is famous, being the likely heir to one of Singapore's biggest and oldest fortunes. Of course, this means that Rachel sticks out like a sore thumb at the festivities; others look down on her as a gold digger or, at best, not in the same league. But Nick's mom, Eleanor (Michelle Yeoh), also of Chinese descent, has a different concern: the allegedly incompatible philosophies of the East and West. She doesn't trust an American, even one who can speak Cantonese, to respect the tradition of heeding one's mother.

Christopher Robin (2018)

One can well be forgiven for mixing this up with Goodbye Christopher Robin (2017). It even includes the latter's titular phrase more than once. But this Disney feature concerns only the fictional authority figure of the 100 Aker Wood, not the real-life son of author A.A. Milne.

Christopher leaves his stuffed animal friends behind when he goes to boarding -- or, as they would put it, "boring" -- school. After a whirlwind tour of his life thereafter, we find him (now played by Ewan McGregor) an efficiency manager with ironically little time for non-work, much to the displeasure of his wife (Hayley Atwell) and daughter (Bronte Carmichael). When a live Winnie the Pooh (voiced by Jim Cummings as usual) finds him again and asks for help finding the rest of their friends, Christopher can only take it as a nervous breakdown from overwork, but for his own peace of mind, he pays a visit to his old stomping grounds. Initially, he plans only to drop Pooh off, but it's hard to shake off sentimentality altogether.

Mission: Impossible — Fallout (2018)

For once, an M:I entry has the same director as last time. As such, it enjoys clearer continuity than usual, perhaps helping us remember the order of the unnumbered sequels. (I might have been the only person in my theater to recognize a callback to the first movie in the form of a funeral for "Max.")

The Apostles, the Syndicate's offshoot following the arrest of leader Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), have acquired three nuclear bombs and plan to sell them to a terrorist code-named John Lark. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) accepts the mission to stop them, partly by impersonating Lark. But while the FBI director (Alec Baldwin) trusts the Impossible Missions Force now, the CIA director (Angela Bassett) doesn't, so Ethan must go with CIA agent August Walker (Henry Cavill), who's not introduced with good humor and thus will be obnoxious at best. Indeed, Walker initiates the suspicion that Ethan is Lark....

Summer Stock (1950)

Yup, another "summer" movie. I was unaware of the theatrical term to which the title alludes. There might be a double entendre, considering the agriculture herein.

Somewhere in New England, Jane (Judy Garland) has just had two farmhands quit on her due to poor outputs of late. Fortunately, her fiance, Orville Wingait (Eddie Bracken), has a rich father (Ray Collins) willing to buy her a tractor to make up the loss...and unwilling to let her forget it. Jane's work faces further disruption when her sister, Abigail (Gloria DeHaven), begs to let her troupe practice and perform in the barn, because they never get a good place. Jane agrees on the condition that all the actors/singers/dancers pull their weight in farmwork, which they don't do well. Stage director and star Joe (Gene Kelly) is Abigail's fiance, but he and Jane start emotionally straying toward each other. It doesn't help that the Wingaits disdain show business....

The Wanderers (1979)

I could see someone mixing this up with The Warriors. Superficially similar titles aside, they're both 1979 flicks about all-male gangs dealing with other gangs in New York City. Both are also short on particularly famous people in key roles. The biggest difference is that while The Warriors is set in an unspecified near future, The Wanderers takes place in what was then 15–16 years in the past, 1963. It even includes a scene of reactions to the JFK assassination, tho that has no bearing on the plot.

The plot is fairly loose but primarily concerns a gang of Italian-Americans on the verge of war with a few other gangs, including the self-descriptive Baldies, who are kind of taking over the place; and the Del Bombers, who, being all Black, got into a slur-slinging match with the Wanderers that hit nerves on both sides, thanks to an injudicious high school teacher. (The Baldies may look like skinheads, but they're less racist than the Wanderers, having a Black member.) And none of those gangs is as threatening as the Ducky Boys....

Eighth Grade (2018)

This is the type of movie I don't normally watch in a theater nowadays, barring group invitations or award nominations. But it seems better for my mind not to associate solo outings with only blockbusters, documentaries, and re-released oldies. Besides, indies could use the financial support.

From the title, you might expect a nine-month timeline; instead, it's only the last week of eighth grade for Kayla. She has reasons to look forward to high school and, of course, vacation, but in the meantime, she still faces plenty of stress. Factors include a scarcity of friends, between the shyness of herself and the snobbishness of some peers; a loving but embarrassing father; and curiosity regarding the "bases," if you get my drift. (She remains a virgin, but there's a reason eighth-graders aren't allowed to see this in theaters without adult supervision.)

Whiplash (2014)

For years, this had been the highest entry on IMDb's top 250 that I hadn't seen (a distinction presently held by Dangal at #80). Sources had suggested that it was not exactly pleasant to watch, and my dad got the same impression. But I could ignore its many awards and consistent high scores across all major rating sites for only so long.

Andrew (Miles Teller) is a conservatory freshman with a thing for drumming. The jazz band's conductor, Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), is pretty much Drill Sergeant Nasty, only he waits until you mess up to get angry at you. I'm not sure whether he's especially hard on Andrew or our perspective is limited by the spotlight, but Andrew is certainly under a lot of stress -- which drives him to become the drummer Fletcher wants.

Lion (2016)

Why did I wait this long to see a rather popular, uncontroversial Academy Best Picture nominee? Mainly because the plot summary sounded like all I needed to know. It's even been adapted into a TV commercial, so how much more could we get from a nearly two-hour movie? Still, six Oscar nods, even without wins, are nothing to sneeze at, and this was the most tempting option on my streaming list at the moment.

The true story begins in a little-known Indian town in 1986, with a family poor enough to make some desperately risky choices. Such risks lead to five-year-old Saroo (Sunny Pawar) waking on a train far from his family. Knowing way too little information to return, he ends up in an orphanage and is then adopted by a Tasmanian couple (Nicole Kidman and David Wenham). Only more than halfway through the film do we come to the unique aspect: After two decades, someone gives Saroo (now played by Dev Patel) the idea to use Google Earth until he recognizes his hometown.

Summertime (1955)

Not for the first time, I watch a movie in the summer because of its title. I suspect that I put it on my queue for Katharine Hepburn. Possibly for director David Lean, but despite my love of Lawrence of Arabia and Bride on the River Kwai, his hits rarely do much for me.

Jane (Hepburn) goes alone on vacation to Italy for the first time, specifically to Venice. She makes the acquaintance of a young, apparently orphaned boy with good English skills who alternately begs, attempts shady sales, and does her favors, garnering mixed reactions from her. She also meets shopkeeper Renato (Rossano Brazzi), who initially gives her creepy vibes but rapidly charms his way into her heart. Unfortunately, he doesn't tell her that he has a wife somewhere....

Incredibles 2 (2018)

I always liked The Incredibles, even before I developed a major interest in the superhero subgenre. At the same time, I've never been sure how to rank it among Pixar flicks. It was more mature than previous entries, clearly earning its PG for better and worse. Before long, I understood that it owed a lot to both the Fantastic Four and Watchmen, also for better and worse. I had trouble buying and being patient with some of the character actions. But nothing else from Pixar had me more interested in a sequel (at least until Inside Out), even if we had to wait even longer than we did for Finding Dory.

Viewers who wanted to see the Parrs/Incredibles years down the line may be disappointed that the action in I2 picks up where TI left off and the ending might be less than a week later. Matters had been even less resolved than I remembered: While the family has reached an agreement to keep using their innate powers for good, they still lack the legal right. And good overall PR. And a house. Early herein, things start looking up for them when hero-worshiping billionaire Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk) offers them a spare house and a sponsored mission, involving hi-tech equipment from his sister, Evelyn (Catherine Keener), that might just change public opinion on supers. Unfortunately for Bob/Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson), his tendency toward collateral damage has cost him a favored spot in the mission, so for now, only Helen/Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) gets to do fieldwork; he'll have to make do as a househusband. But she might be in over her head when the Screenslaver, who specializes in hacking and mesmerism, singles her out for challenges in protecting the city.

Monster in a Box (1992)

When I put this on my queue, I must have looked closer at the reception than at the description. After realizing that I didn't have to look up "monologist," I worried that it would be no more engaging than My Dinner with Andre. But at least it promised a subject of interest to me, and it runs only 89 minutes. Besides, I've watched monologists other than stand-up comedians on stage that long; how hard could a screen version be?

The only person we see is middle-aged Spalding Gray. The title refers to his work in progress, the first draft of the novel Impossible Vacation, having more than 1,900 pages at the time. (Lest you envision a Wonder Boys fate, it would later be published with 240.) He has only so much to say about the story itself, talking more about what's been happening in his life during the writing. Or in between bouts of writing. Some accounts get pretty tangential, but they never feel irrelevant.

Ronin (1998)

No, it's not set in Japan. The title features in dialog for exactly one scene, when a minor character summarizes the legend of the 47 ronin, simplified for those who don't know about seppuku. The point is an implicit parallel: Where the ronin were samurai who lost their honor upon losing their lords, the main characters herein are post-Cold War laid-off secret agents, similarly inclined to become mercenaries if not thugs.

A multinational team of such mercs—Sam (Robert De Niro), Vincent (Jean Reno), Gregor (Stellan Skarsgård), Seamus (Jonathan Pryce), Larry (Skipp Sudduth), and Spence (Sean Bean)—assembles in Paris. Deirdre (Natascha McElhone), from an Irish mob, assigns them to grab a heavily guarded suitcase before a Russian mob acquires it. Unfortunately for them, they don't know each other or their employer well, and when dealing with ex-spies...

Woman in the Moon (1929)

One of the most esteemed Fritz Lang movies is Metropolis, a rare silent sci-fi classic. Unfortunately, he didn't stick with the genre much (the Dr. Mabuse series is better described as fantasy in my book), but his wife, Thea von Harbou, had another sf story in her. It would not be a longer version of Georges Méliès' A Trip to the Moon, because Lang prefers dark to fanciful.

IMDb says it runs 95 minutes, but that's only for the U.S. theater cut; the one I received runs 209 minutes. I suspect that the cut parts were mostly in the first half, before the journey to the moon even begins. That part is dominated by a question of who exactly will go. Old, largely discredited Professor Mannfeldt will, because it was his idea to search for gold in lunar mountains. Entrepreneur Helius, arguably the protagonist, is the first volunteer. His assistant and crush, Friede, won't brook his objections to her coming along, and her new fiance, fellow assistant Windegger, would hate to have them leave without him. Then there's Turner, a suave gangster (there's the Lang I know) who coerces his way into the mission so his gang can claim the gold. Only after launch do they learn of the sixth passenger, preteen stowaway Gustav, whose ideas of the moon and space come from magazines.

Falling Down (1993)

The premise of this movie daunted me by sounding gritty. That said, director Joel Schumacher isn't known for grit. If anything, people wish he were more serious. In spite of his low popularity, I generally like what I've seen of his work, not least for his ability to fill the screen. If this was off the beaten path for him, so much the better for broadening my perception.

Bill (Michael Douglas) starts in a familiar scenario: an L.A. traffic jam. His first act to make him stand out is to leave his car, telling the objector behind him that he's walking "home." Lest you think this a retelling of After Hours, know that it's actually his former home, where ex Beth (Barbara Hershey) doesn't welcome him at all, but he'd hate to miss their young daughter Adele's birthday. As the plot progresses, we see more and more signs of why Beth got a restraining order: Bill becomes a formidable enemy to pretty much everyone he meets along the way.

The Fountain (2006)

Hoo boy, Darren Aronofsky. When he's not directing straightforward downers like Requiem for a Dream, he's spinning dark mind screws like Pi and Black Swan. My favorite work of his is The Wrestler, more for Mickey Rourke's performance than anything else. Throw in TF's box office failure and a considerable discrepancy between its ratings on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, and I had a real gamble on my hands. But Aronofsky didn't regret taking chances, so it didn't seem wrong for me to do the same. Besides, I tend to like love stories better with sci-fi/fantasy elements.

Netflix describes the story as taking place over a millennium, but there are only three times with which we need concern ourselves, all distinct enough not to disorient us much with the many jump cuts. Probably the most screen time is spent in the present, when surgeon Tom (Hugh Jackman) strives to find a cure for cancer before his wife Izzi (Rachel Weisz) dies of it. Izzi has been writing a story set primarily in the 16th century, in which Queen Isabella (Weisz again) assigns conquistador Tomás (Jackman again) to find the Tree of Life guarded by Mayans. The other segments show an enhanced Tom, now "Tommy," in the future, staying by the Tree of Life while flying to a nebula that Izzi had identified as Xibalba.

Rang De Basanti (2006)

This time I didn't wait so long since my last Bollywood viewing. It's also unusual for me to have seen two movies in a row that appear on IMDb's top 250, partly because I've seen most of them. I hadn't exactly planned that, but when something's been on my radar for a while, I start to give it priority.

Sue, a young Englishwoman, goes to India in order to make an indie film about five real historical young men who gave their lives for India's independence movement. Unable to find actors the conventional way, she hangs with her friend Sonia's rather irresponsible college buddies and decides they'd be great for the roles. Unfortunately, they have trouble relating to revolutionaries when they have almost no love for their backwater "free" country and can't see themselves dying for any cause — until a tragedy causes them to feel that they could use a new revolution.

Paris, Texas (1984)

The only other picture I'd seen directed by Wim Wenders was Wings of Desire, which is distinctive but seems weak on plot. I decided that if I were to take another chance on him, it would be his most popular English-language effort.

For about four years, thirty-something Travis (Harry Dean Stanton) has been out of contact with everyone who knows him. Then he's found half dead on the edge of the Mojave Desert, and his L.A.-based brother, Walt (Dean Stockwell), picks him up. Walt and wife Anne (Aurore Clément, who sounds like she could have come from another Paris) have been raising Travis's son, Hunter (Hunter Carson), now seven. Travis wants to reestablish a connection to Hunter as well as his own wife, Jane (Natassja Kinski), who had also disappeared around the same time and hasn't returned. Understandably, this desire worries Anne, who doesn't want to lose custody of Hunter, especially to someone who might abruptly abandon him again. It doesn't help that Travis remains tight-lipped about why he left in the first place.

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

I didn't review the first Ant-Man, partly because I'd watched with jet lag and partly because I didn't think there was much to say. It has a few entertaining action sequences, but the inane premise of giving a power suit to a recidivist criminal for the sake of a "second chance" makes it possibly my least favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe movie (and I've seen all to date). I wouldn't mind so much if it were more comedic, as the casting of Paul Rudd suggested it would be. Nevertheless, critics have liked the latest entry better, so I wasted little time in going out to see it.

In the wake of his rebellious aid to Captain America, Scott Lang (Rudd) has been under house arrest for nearly two years -- presumably much better than prison, especially when bonding with his young daughter during her joint-custody visits, but he has to get creative to fight boredom. Then he has a suspiciously realistic "dream" involving Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), wife of inventor Hank Pym (Michael Douglas). Janet had not been heard from since she used Pym nanotech to shrink down into "the Quantum Realm" decades ago. Scott leaves a message for Hank, whose adult daughter Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) then arranges for his surreptitious break from house arrest, against his wishes, so that they can puzzle out a way to bring Janet back, hopefully before the feds come to check on Scott. The solution will, of course, involve Scott donning the Ant-Man suit again, this time joined by Hope in the Wasp suit.

Darkest Hour (2017)

I'm not sure why I didn't watch this sooner. It looked like one of the more promising Academy Best Picture nominees of the year. Maybe on some level, I thought I already had too good an idea of what it offered, so I gave it a lower priority.

This window on the life of Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman) covers about a month in 1940, starting with the resignation of Neville Chamberlain (Ronald Pickup) and ending with Churchill's best-known speech, incidentally in connection with the retreat from Dunkirk. The main focus is on him contending with officials who would rather appease Hitler than keep fighting him, including Chamberlain and Lord Halifax (Stephen Dillane) -- who might be able to get Churchill deposed if they can prove that he won't consider peaceful options.

Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018)

Like so many in my generation and, well, neighboring ones, I had Mister Rogers' Neighborhood as part of my childhood. I was never more than a casual fan, and I don't remember nearly as much of it as I do of, say, Sesame Street. What little I saw of MRN in later years mainly just struck me as boring. But between the trailer and director Morgan Neville's 20 Feet from Stardom cred, I decided this documentary was my best bet for getting my money's worth on MoviePass this month.

The telling of Fred Rogers' story is not entirely linear, nor is the footage all chronologically presented. It basically starts with him just discovering television as an adult, right before he had planned to go to seminary. Children's programming at that time was less than wholesome, and he sought to change that pattern, among others. Initially, he remained behind the scenes of The Children's Corner, until he felt the need for a more direct approach.

Bullhead (2011)

I don't recall how I learned of this Belgian pic; probably Netflix recommended it. If so, it's kind of ironic that I almost dropped the item from the queue due to a moderately low Netflix estimation of how I'd rate it. Still, it had an Academy Best Foreign Language Film nod among other honors.

You may not have heard about mob activity involving the trade distribution and hormone injection of livestock. The story is inspired by the RL murder of a meat inspector. Suspected of the fictionalized similar murder is protagonist Jacky (only once called by the titular insult), a thug who takes some of the same drugs as the cattle. Deuteragonist Diederik used to be his closest friend and still makes some friendly overtures, but now he's reluctantly serving as a police informant....

Show Boat (1951)

I wanted to see the 1936 movie adapted from the Kern and Hammerstein musical adapted from the Edna Ferber book, as it's the most popular movie version. Alas, like many old works, it has yet to become available through Netflix, even tho the DVD evidently exists. So I settled for what I took to be the next best thing.

The boat in question, the Cotton Blossom under Cap'n Andy (Joe E. Brown) and wife Parthy (Agnes Moorehead), travels the southern portion of the Mississippi River in the late 19th century, with performers putting on skits and musical sequences. Gambler Gaylord (Howard Keel), having no other ticket to ride, charms his way into the heart of Andy's daughter, Magnolia (Kathryn Grayson), and then into the cast, which has an opening once a sheriff orders the dismissal of part-Black performer Julie (Ava Gardner) and her hubby, Steve (Robert Sterling). After many popular shows, against Parthy's wishes, Gaylord and Magnolia get married and leave the business. As unpleasant as Parthy is, she has a valid point about the gamble of marrying a gambler....

The Fox and the Child (2007)

As I don't believe I've previously mentioned on this blog (including my Zootopia review), foxes are among my favorite animals. This has sometimes led me to take bigger risks than usual in my entertainment, even with movies that don't really involve foxes, such as After the Fox. This one does feature real red foxes prominently, so I decided to ignore the 50% on Rotten Tomatoes and consider the 7.0 on IMDb promising enough.

The protagonist is a preteen girl, identified in English as Judie, living near the woods in France, her story narrated by her adult self. Upon spotting a vixen, she obsesses over the chance to get gradually closer. Over the course of months, the vixen allows a lot of familiarity for a wild animal, even apparently welcoming the girl. But Judie goes too far in wanting a pet.

Where Eagles Dare (1968)

From the title, I got the impression that this story would concern air force pilots. Instead, there's only a little aviation in the beginning. It's just that the destination and main setting is an alpine fortress nicknamed the "Castle of Eagles" (which had been a working title) for its low accessibility. Regardless, a war flick with the director of Kelly's Heroes and the writer of Guns of Navarone seemed promising.

In World War II, seven commandos in the UK are assigned to parachute a few miles from the castle, enter it in disguise as German soldiers, and fetch an American prisoner before he can spill too much. Because of the international nature of the incident, one of them, Lieutenant Morris Schaffer (Clint Eastwood), is a U.S. Army Ranger. Only field leader Major John Smith (Richard Burton) knows all the details of the mission, including other agents already nearby. He also seems to have the best handle on just how dangerous it is....

Get on Up (2014)

Having just arranged to see Ain't Too Proud on stage next month, I was in the mood for another musician biography in the meantime. On a whim, I went to the library and picked this out. I knew that it had a somewhat lower IMDb score than anticipated, but with Chadwick Boseman as James Brown, how bad could it be?

Like probably most viewers, I knew Brown's music better than his life. This telling goes from his ill-treated, impoverished preadolescence in 1939 to his aging stardom in 1993, so we miss the one scandal I already knew of: his 2004 arrest for domestic abuse. In truth, we miss a lot of details, which is the most common complaint about the film. But it would take far too many hours to cover every item of interest pertaining to this larger-than-life figure, so I for one am content to get an incomplete yet duly varied picture. And the inaccuracies noted so far on IMDb aren't too important.

Le Cercle Rouge (1970)

When I rented this, I hadn't realized that I already knew director Jean-Pierre Melville's work. Well, sort of knew. I have very little memory of Le Samourai and absolutely none for Le Doulos, Bob le Flambeur, or Army of Shadows. Even reading their Wikipedia synopses doesn't ring any bells for me. Film noir overload, perhaps? Regardless, thanks to this blog, I shouldn't forget LCR.

The story follows Corey, a recent ex-con; Vogel, a fugitive; and Jansen, an ex-cop. Having received a tip from a corrupt guard shortly before his release, Corey invites the others on a stealthy jewelry store heist reminiscent of Rififi, albeit shorter. Meanwhile, Mattei, the cop whom Vogel escaped, is on the trail, which includes a few bodies.

The League of Gentlemen (1960)

Despite being a British semi-comedy, this has nothing to do with the modern TV series of the same title. Nor does it connect with The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Or A League of Ordinary Gentlemen, for that matter.

A former lieutenant colonel (Jack Hawkins) is sore about the honorable yet seemingly ungrateful dismissal he received from the British Army. He traces seven other ex-officers (one played by Richard Attenborough), each with a criminal past, and persuades them to join him in an armed bank job inspired by a book (not the John Boland book on which the film is based). Their military savvy is well suited to acquiring powerful equipment and acting with precision. Of course, given the era of cinema, it's no spoiler to say they still fail in the end.

No Man's Land (2001)

Boy, I hadn't used the Eastern Europe tag since 2015. It's possible I've neglected to add it to some entries, but the fact remains that I just haven't seen many films set in that part of the world, let alone made there. This one required the cooperation of production companies in six nations.

In 1993, the Bosnian War is in full swing. The story, unfolding over the course of maybe half a day, begins with Bosniak soldiers attempting to cross the titular area; most of them evidently do not survive the first several minutes. Ciki winds up wounded in a trench and hides as two Serbian soldiers show up, the senior one planting a "bouncing" mine under a Bosniak body in order to kill anyone who moves him. Ciki then kills the senior and wounds the junior, Nino, but decides to let Nino live for now, if only because he might prove useful. They then discover that the man on the mine, Cera, was merely unconscious. Will the ceasefire last long enough for any of the three to get out alive?

Deadpool 2 (2018)

I had seen the first DP on DVD, but I had more incentive to go to a theater this time. First of all, the month was almost over and I hadn't used MoviePass to get my money's worth. Second, nothing else showing that I hadn't already seen grabbed me. Third, humor tends to be more enjoyable when a large audience laughs with you.

Wade "Deadpool" Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) actually manages to have a worse time of it than before. In the first act, his wife Vanessa dies (prompting a James Bond opening parody), he futilely attempts suicide, he finally takes up Colossus' (Stefan Kapičić) offer to join the X-Men, and his behavior on his first assignment lands him in a prison for mutants. But for the first time on the big screen, he sees a reason to care about someone other than himself and Vanessa: Russell "Firefist" Collins (Julian Dennison), a teen mutant lashing out at abusive orphanage personnel. Not only is Russell in trouble with the authorities, but time traveler Cable (Josh Brolin again?) channels the Terminator with a personal mission to kill him before he grows worse. Deadpool would rather give Russell a chance at redemption, partly because he relates and partly because Vanessa would want him to.

Jubal (1956)

Hmm, eight months. That seems long enough a wait between westerns that they won't run together. I've moved the next western further down my queue to be safe.

For reasons never explained, Jubal (Glenn Ford) first appears half-dead and unhorsed in an unidentified area of the Old West. He later indicates that he'd already been down on his luck, having had to find work as a shepherd, which apparently doesn't suit most cowboy sorts outside of Brokeback Mountain. Rancher Shep (Ernest Borgnine) provides shelter and offers a job more to his liking. For still unexplained reasons, Jubal is reluctant to plant roots, but he gives in. Two factors indicate that his luck hasn't entirely turned around. First, one of Shep's employees, "Pinky" (Rod Steiger), is unfriendly in general, biased against shepherds in particular, and jealous of anyone Shep becomes fond of so quickly. Second, Shep's wife, Mae (Valerie French), has adulterous feelings for Jubal. These factors can work together....

Headhunters (2011)

I had not heard of this until Dad rented it, and he couldn't remember where he heard of it. Neither of us knew before the opening credits that it was foreign—Norwegian, to be exact. The only other film from Norway I recall seeing is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and it figures that this one makes several shout-outs to the series. Yet Headhunters set a national record for widespread distribution.

There's a bit of wordplay in the directly translated title. The protagonist, Roger Brown (yes, he's Norwegian), is a corporate recruiter who does an esteemed job, but if his clients knew what he was up to, they wouldn't appreciate him: His interview questions make it easy for him to sneak into their homes and replace their valuable paintings with forgeries, with help from a corrupt employee of a security company, Ove, who takes a share of the sales. Their troubles begin in earnest after stealing from Clas Greve, executive, former soldier, and different kind of headhunter....

Tom Jones (1963)

This was easily the latest Academy Best Picture I hadn't seen. Partly I'd put it off because it's not so popular as Best Pictures go. It also took a long time to come to DVD. This edition, at least, was released within the last year.

No, it has nothing to do with the singer of the same name. Based on an 18th-century novel, the story follows a literal bastard of questionable heritage (played by Albert Finney in adulthood) nevertheless raised as a lord's son. He becomes quite the Don Juan, tho he does have an eye toward one woman in particular, Sophie (Susannah York), against her father's permission. The era of duels is not a relatively safe time for one such as Tom....

Shalom Bollywood: The Untold Story of Indian Cinema (2017)

This may be the most obscure film I've ever reviewed. It presently has no Wikipedia entry and only seven votes on IMDb. But since I usually like documentaries about the industry, I gave it higher priority than other entries in the local Jewish film festival that had my dad interested. (The few docs directed by Danny Ben-Moshe that don't have a Jewish focus are even more obscure.)

As you probably knew, Jews make up such a small percentage of the Indian population that most lists of religions in India lump them under "other." But in the second most populous nation, that still allows several thousand -- more than enough to leave a significant impact on Bollywood. In particular, they've had the advantage of a relatively permissive faith with regard to depictions on screen. Here's a hint: The poster shows dancing cartoon women.

Jacob's Ladder (1990)

Fifteen years ago, I did a project on films about mental disorders. That was when I first learned of this one. Despite its honorable rating on IMDb, I decided not to include it among the 20 I would watch, because it sounded too intense. Even this week, the thought of it gave me pause. But then I considered all the disturbing fare I'd seen since 2003. I could probably handle this and might just enjoy it.

The protagonist, aptly enough, is Jacob (Tim Robbins), whom we first see as a Vietnam War soldier in a scene that quickly goes from quiet to confusingly hectic. This then appears to be a flashback, with him now a New York City postal worker. He has his peaceful times thereafter, but by and by, he finds a lot of details not adding up. At worse moments, he perceives seemingly random malevolence from strangers or even the presence of monsters. The bulk of the plot involves him figuring out what to make of it all.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

It's finally happened: My dad has had his fill of superhero movies, for now at least. Black Panther was only two months ago, after all. I think it's just as well that he didn't come to this one, partly because it's hard to sit through 150+ minutes without a break (I barely made it myself -- good thing the credits ran long enough to let me catch the scene afterward) and partly because he doesn't retain as much memory of prior Marvel Cinematic Universe entries as I do. This one does hark back to several.

Previously lurking in the periphery of the series was brawny alien Thanos (Josh Brolin), now all the more powerful for having acquired one of the six artifacts known as Infinity Stones. Some Guardians of the Galaxy already had the misfortune of knowing him, but only when he defeats the Asgardians at the start of this movie do any of the (ex-)Avengers learn of him. He's out for more Stones, two of them on Earth, and plans to use them to kill half the universe, not counting the many people he and his army have already killed. Thus, Earth's mightiest heroes reluctantly put aside their Civil War rift to combat him, while the Guardians respond belatedly to Asgard's distress signal. I think the only living MCU action heroes who don't play a part this time are Hawkeye and Ant-Man, off on some other business and presumably out of contact.

Unfaithfully Yours (1948)

I have now seen 8 of the 13 movies directed by Preston Sturges -- and I'm not sure why. His humor hasn't aged that well, has it? The only one I've really liked is Sullivan's Travels, primarily for balancing with its serious side. And here I was checking out what Netflix described as a "pitch-black comedy" from him, starring Blithe Spirit's Rex Harrison and having had little commercial success in its day. Sounded like it would be still less my thing. But perhaps I was intrigued at what sounded significantly different from the norm for Sturges.

Celebrated orchestral conductor Alfred de Carter dotes on his wife, Daphne. Due to a miscommunication of his wishes, his brother-in-law has had her tailed during Alfred's absence. Alfred is too furious at this news to listen to the findings right away, but then he learns of evidence of her spending suspiciously much time with his secretary, Tony. During the three pieces of his concert that night, he entertains three vivid ideas of how to respond, each of them disregarding a detective's advice to give Daphne the benefit of the doubt. Two of them lethal. After the concert, however, he discovers quite a few differences between his fantasies and his reality.

The Jungle Book (2016)

Being between disc deliveries and aware that this movie would stop streaming soon, I gave it priority. I hadn't been sure I would ever see it, since I'm not keen on Disney (re-)remaking its own classics. But it does get online ratings to rival if not best the 1967 full animation, and it didn't look like a total retread in ads.

Not that it's much if any closer to the Rudyard Kipling story collection either. The focus remains on pre-adolescent "man cub" Mowgli (Neel Sethi) living among wolves until semi-guardian panther Bagheera (Ben Kingsley) compels him to leave for a village before misanthropic tiger Shere Khan (Disney favorite Idris Elba), thought to be a match for the entire pack, can hunt him down. After some trouble separates Mowgli from Bagheera, he meets sloth bear Baloo (Bill Murray), who wants him to stay in the jungle as a comrade, lest he become just like other humans. Further complicating the question of what to do is Shere Khan's threat to the wolf pack if Mowgli should escape for good.

The Longest Yard (1974)

Long-time readers know I'm not big on sports flicks. Football appeals to me even less than most sports. Offhand, the only fully serious football movie I've seen is Rudy; the rest are at least partly comedic. But this one has Robert Aldrich at the helm, and I like the other four films of his that I've seen, so I gave it a try.

Paul "Wrecking" Crewe (Burt Reynolds) was an esteemed pro quarterback until he took a dive. Now a drunken burnout, he commits several crimes in rapid succession and goes to prison. As it happens, warden Rudolph Hazen (Eddie Albert) cares inordinately about football, particularly as it concerns his guards' underperforming semi-pro team. He and Captain Knauer (Ed Lauter) coerce Crewe to assemble a team of inmates, the idea being that victory against the inmates will pave the way for a championship. But for all the trouble he has finding decent talent, Crewe might just want his team to win for the sake of hurting and embarrassing the prison staff.

I Killed My Mother (2009)

No, it's not a new take on Psycho or Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. There is no literal death in this Quebecois drama based largely on the life of director, writer, and lead actor Xavier Dolan. Instead, 16-year-old protagonist Hubert tells a teacher that his divorced mom, Chantale, is dead so that he won't have to bring her into a presentation. It suggests that he half-wishes she'd die for real.

Netflix mentions in the first sentence of its summary that Hubert is gay. While that does have some importance to the plot, it is far from central to the main conflict. Hubert and Chantale lock horns quite enough before she has any idea of his orientation. When she finds out about his squeeze Antonin, she gets disappointed primarily because Hubert didn't trust her enough to tell her. She shouldn't be surprised, tho; pretty much the only time he welcomes her into his life is when he wants a ride to school, and even then he gets angry.

The Cider House Rules (1999)

I had expected not to write this review. It's not that I don't care strongly about this movie. It just features an extremely controversial subject that may very well make or break your opinion of and/or desire to watch it, and I'd hate to ostracize a good chunk of my readership by indicating my own position. Maybe that's why I never heard anyone talk about the movie outside the context of the 71st Annual Academy Awards. Still, it got me thinking, and those who haven't seen it ought to make an informed decision.

Based on a John Irving book, the story follows one Homer Wells from his infancy in a rural Maine orphanage to his young adulthood (when he's played by Tobey Maguire), ending shortly after World War II. He never gets adopted or formally educated, instead becoming an unofficial apprentice to orphanage director Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine), who also serves as an obstetrician -- and abortionist. Tired of this claustrophobic life, he leaves with two friendly customers, Wally (Paul Rudd) and Candy (Charlize Theron), who help him gain employment as the only White laborer at a cider house. When Wally goes off to war, Candy strays toward Homer. But Dr. Larch won't accept that Homer will stay away for good.

Ready Player One (2018)

Despite Steven Spielberg at the helm, my dad watched the preview and decided he'd probably skip this. He enjoyed Wreck-It Ralph, but that more clearly had something for the non-gamers, if only lush animation. His decision had nothing to do with the Ernest Cline book haters' backlash that predated RPO's release. Me, I recalled that even popular books can become middling Spielberg fare, but I still wanted to give it a try in a theater.

The year is 2045. The physical place is Columbus, Ohio, shabby home to teen Wade and evil megacorporation IOI. The virtual place, where the camera goes more than half the time, is a network of simulated worlds called the OASIS. Five years ago, the main creator of the OASIS died and left a message that his unprecedented filthy riches would go to whoever found the Easter egg. Most of the searchers outside of IOI have given up, but not Wade and his online buddies. His luck starts to change when he virtually meets and crushes on the legendary "Art3mis," who drops helpful hints. It's not immediately known what game she's playing; she claims to give the highest priority to depriving IOI President Sorrento of the grand prize, but main Wade companion Aech thinks she (or he) is just using Wade to a less noble end.

Fourteen Hours (1951)

This is the first movie I know to lie about lying. Specifically, it begins with a disclaimer that any resemblance to real events is purely coincidental, yet all my sources indicate inspiration from a real event in the '30s. I still won't use the "true story" tag due to fundamental differences, including the resolution and the stated length of time.

On a warm St. Patrick's Day morning, a 20-something man (Richard Basehart) steps onto the ledge outside his 15th-floor New York City hotel room. Traffic cop Charlie Dunnigan (Paul Douglas) reports this and then goes up to have a few words with the potential jumper, eventually identified as Robert Cosick, before the pros show up. Oddly enough, Robert doesn't want to hear from anyone but Charlie at that point -- something about the officer's rough, relatively earnest air, I suppose. Of course, as the title implies, Robert takes quite a while to make up his mind.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967)

Have you ever checked out a movie or play without knowing in advance that it was a musical? Now I have. Good thing I don't mind the upbeat, sporadically sung old-school variety.

The title does indeed refer to a book -- facetious in reality but treated as genuinely helpful herein. New York window washer J. Pierpont "Ponty" Finch (Robert Morse, looking remarkably like Jerry Lewis) picks it up and wastes no time getting a foot in the door of the nearest large yet ill-run corporation, the MacGuffin-producing World-Wide Wicket Company. He then wastes no time wheedling and fibbing his way up the ladder. His main obstacles: the jealous nephew (Anthony Teague) of the CEO (Rudy Vallee), the occasional competently savvy suit, the affections of scrupulous secretary Rosemary (Michele Lee), and the affections of temptress secretary Hedy (Maureen Arthur).

Dolores Claiborne (1995)

Of the nine movies I've seen based on Stephen King stories, Misery is in my personal top two. When I learned that Kathy Bates had starred in another King adaptation five years later, I took interest.

As is common for King, the action occurs primarily in backwater Maine. Selena St. George (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a young reporter in New York, gets wind that her mother, Dolores, is the prime suspect in the violent death of Vera (Judy Parfitt), a wealthy yet stingy, fussy old curmudgeon who hired her as a maid. Selena and Dolores have been out of touch for so long that Dolores does not recognize her daughter by sight, but Selena sticks around because she doesn't share her mom's seeming confidence in an acquittal, not least because the lead detective (Christopher Plummer) thinks Dolores got away with murder 20 years ago -- that of her abusive husband (David Strathairn). Between numerous flashbacks and reports, we and Selena gradually learn which allegations are true and which aren't.

Isle of Dogs (2018)

This review is for those seemingly few who, like me, neither love nor hate the works of Wes Anderson (the rest have no need of a review in the first place). He displays no shortage of signatures, for better, worse, or both. I had expected to wait and maybe see this on DVD, but a Meetup invitation to the limited screening before wide release in the U.S. drew me in.

In either the near future or an alternate present, the dog-hating mayor of fictional Megasaki, Japan, exiles all dogs to the aptly named Trash Island, with popular support thanks to a worrisome flu epidemic among the dogs. After half a year of barely hanging on, a quintet of adult male dogs sees a jet crash on the island. Out comes Atari, an injured 12-year-old orphan and rebellious nephew of the mayor, in search of his beloved Spots. The quintet democratically votes to try to help him, with only long-time stray Chief (Bryan Cranston) against it.

Loving Vincent (2017)

This is the first time I've known an animated movie's DVD to show trailers only for non-animations. They don't even look similar in theme or genre. Either the distributor doesn't offer any other animations, or LV is really in a class by itself. I suspect the latter. Not many animations are so geared toward grown-ups (it's PG-13), and absolutely no others have been 100% hand-painted.

It's 1891, about a year after the untimely passing of Vincent van Gogh. His mailman, Joseph, who was also a friend and posed for portraits, has tried and failed to deliver his last letter to his brother, Theo. The protagonist is Joseph's son, Armand, who sees little point in the belated delivery and would rather drink all the time, but he still honors his dad's request. Theo turns out to be dead too, but instead of going straight home, Armand begins a series of interviews to try to figure out why "your loving Vincent," whom he barely knew despite posing in his teens, would commit suicide mere weeks after an optimistic letter -- if it even was a suicide.

La Bête Humaine/The Human Beast (1938)

This early or at least proto-film noir came out the year in between Jean Renoir's two most esteemed films, Grand Illusion and The Rules of the Game. I recall vaguely liking both of them, but very few details have stayed with me. Perhaps a change of genre and a story by Émile Zola would make the difference for me. Of course, just having this blog reinforces my memories.

Engineer Roubaud jealously coerces his wife, Séverine, into aiding and abetting his murder of her erstwhile paramour, Grandmorin, in a shaded train compartment. Another engineer, Lantier, sees them go to and from the compartment but refrains from testifying against them. After all, Lantier has his own designs on Séverine....

The Cameraman (1928)

Buster Keaton may be my favorite silent star. He doesn't attain as much pathos as Charlie Chaplin, but he sure knows comedy, often with impressive stunts, and projects more innocence than Harold Lloyd. I hadn't seen any of those giants since I started this blog, so it was time for another go.

Here Buster (identified only by the same nickname) has been barely making ends meet as a portrait photographer. One customer, Sally, catches his eye, and he learns that she's a secretary for MGM Newsreels. That makes him want a job there, but he has too little experience with the kind of cameras they use. Sally still finds him endearing enough to date and even slip an advance notice of a story to cover, but Buster has competition, both professional and romantic, in the form of a handsome jerk at the company.

Dil Se.. (1998)

To my dismay, my current Netflix list consists mostly of movies from the last few years. Guess I've seen most of their older promising streaming content. I chose this one (whose title means "From the Heart") partly to buck the trend a little and partly because it has been a while since my last viewing from India. To my surprise, I had seen a little of it before, having looked up the portion that amounts to a music video of "Chaiyya Chaiyya," a song strangely coopted for Inside Man (2006).

That number's cheeriness does not reflect the plot well. Delhi radio program executive Amar falls for a woman at a train station and happens to see her repeatedly, but she mostly resists his charms. Little does he realize that she walks a dark path that doesn't lend itself to attachments, tho she sometimes finds it advantageous to get close to someone in his position, under the pseudonym "Meghna." They develop complex feelings about each other, especially as Amar pieces together that she belongs to the secessionist forces whose leader he once interviewed.

Black Panther (2018)

Two years ago, I would've had reservations about an adaptation of a character who clearly came out of the blaxploitation era. Thankfully, not only did his screen debut in Captain America: Civil War show how promisingly cool he was, but TV's Luke Cage reassured me that Marvel blaxploitation could avoid looking like old-fashioned moderate racism.

Although Prince T'Challa of Wakanda (Chadwick Boseman) had already donned the royal stylized catsuit, only in this movie does he officially become king and take the Black Panther title, along with a substance that enhances his physical abilities. Soon afterward, he learns of a murderous international museum heist that put secret Wakandan technology in the hands of smuggler Klaw (a hammy Andy Serkis), and he assembles a team to recover it at a rendezvous intended for a black-market sale. Naturally, a mere illegitimate businessman could hardly be the main villain in a work like this; he has a temporary partner with a vision for the global future....

Mr. Blandings Build His Dream House (1948)

I may have first known this title from a bookshelf, but what got me interested in the movie was its inclusion in AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs at #72. Of course, I always took that list with a grain of salt; some of its entries do little to nothing for me, but that's likely to be true of anyone's 100 favorite comedies. Regardless, Jim Blandings is played by Cary Grant, who, tho previously unmentioned on this blog, has starred in 20 films that I've seen and has a fine track record in my view.

Tired of having little space for four in their New York apartment, Jim and wife Muriel (Myrna Loy) jump at the chance to move to rural Connecticut. Despite Jim's experience as an advertiser, he doesn't see through a slick pitch, and they buy a house fit to be condemned. This could be a blessing in disguise, as they now have the excuse to rebuild entirely to their specs. But that, too, is not their strong suit....

Titanic (1953)

You may wonder why I bothered watching this a few years after another '50s British account of the event, A Night to Remember (which I do remember). Between that and the '97 blockbuster, hadn't I had my fill of the general history? Well, given the extremes of praise and backlash for the James Cameron epic, I remained curious how else it could have gone. Besides, unlike ANtR, this predecessor won a writing Oscar and stars Barbara Stanwyck.

Also in contrast with ANtR, it takes a more personal approach to the story. There is in fact a budding romance between a teen girl in first class and a teen boy from a lower deck, but they're not Jack and Rose; nobody regards their relationship as scandalous. Nor do they get the lion's share of the focus, which goes to a more troubled relationship between two parents. The ritzy, spoiling dad (Clifton Webb) seems to be a bad influence on both kids, so Mom (Stanwyck) wants to take them from Paris back to Michigan. Dad's not ready to part from them, so he buys a ticket just in time.

The Breadwinner (2017)

Nice to have finally seen a second Best Animated Feature nominee for the year. It had also been a while since I last saw an entire movie streaming on Netflix. Now I have an idea of what it takes to get me back in the habit.

From the beginning, things look bad for the Afghani family of preteen Parvana: They're trying to sell "the only thing of value" they have left. It gets worse when the Taliban arrests her father, Nurullah. With her older brother Sulayman dead, her younger brother Zaki still a baby, and no other male relatives in town, there is no legal option for anyone left in the household to go out in public. Parvana has her hair cut short, dresses as a boy, and works odd jobs. And despite her mother's admonition to give up hope, she plans to secure Nurullah's release one way or another.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

For all the praise heaped on this movie, for all the high ratings across different websites, I was reluctant to watch. The trailer made clear that it was full of anger, at an intensity I was unlikely to find comfortable. Still, I wanted to maximize my chances of seeing the Academy Best Picture ahead of the ceremony.

I'm not sure in what period the story takes place, but from the phones and a reference to 1986, I'd say the '90s or early 2000s. A little-used road with three long-disused billboards suddenly has a message: "Raped while dying/And still no arrests?/How come, Chief Willoughby?" In a town so small, everyone knows the event in question, and it's not hard to guess who paid for the message: bereaved mother Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand). Alas, for all the sympathy she'd gained, almost no one can get behind the challenge to a respected chief (Woody Harrelson), especially since he has terminal cancer. But Mildred insists on keeping it up until there's appreciable progress on the case.

Videodrome (1983)

My past exposure to David Cronenberg consists of The Dead Zone and A History of Violence, which I liked; Eastern Promises, which I found OK but unmemorable; and eXistenZ, which I thought ill-executed and needlessly disgusting. I was also aware that he did the 1996 Crash and Naked Lunch, suggesting that he has a thing for drugs and "trips" as well as (anti?)violence. He's something like David Lynch and something like Darren Aronofsky. So I approached with some trepidation a movie whose premise would not be used nowadays.

Max (James Woods) runs a niche Toronto cable station always looking for shocking material. One day he sees a video, allegedly a pirated TV series, showing people chained and whipped to death for hours. He figures that's right up his target audience's alley, so he plans to air it. A correspondent traces it to Pittsburgh, and Max's masochistic girlfriend (Debbie Harry) goes to audition...and doesn't return. Another correspondent says the program involves actual murder. Max seeks further answers in person, despite the obvious risk. No, nobody seeks to give him the torture shown on TV; they have a much more insidious agenda, starting with the hallucinations he experiences right after his first viewing....

The Horse's Mouth (1958)

So I took a chance on another Alec Guinness comedy. I'm not sure why I put it on my queue, but Netflix describes it as one of his strangest, making it perhaps even more of a gamble. I learned later that director Robert Neame made some dramas I enjoyed but also comedies that didn't do much for me.

Guinness plays the oddly named Gulley Jimson, a little-known painter. He has trouble making ends meet that way, so he resorts to criminal, legally gray, or just plain undignified means. Unlike most scoundrels, he seems to care more about leaving his artistic mark than making money. For example, when some aristocrats want to buy an older painting (in his ex's tenacious possession), he decides to paint right on their blank wall without express permission during their vacation. Another act involves a group mural on a church slated for demolition. (The title connects to a throwaway line that IMDb users haven't seen fit to record.)

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)

This film had sat on my streaming list a long time before getting dropped. When I learned that my dad had received the DVD, I decided to join him for it. It's probably for the best that I waited, because heavy dramas can be easier to watch with company.

Bruno (Asa Butterfield in his breakout role), age 8, isn't happy about having to move from Berlin to the Polish countryside because of his military dad, Ralf (David Thewlis), getting a new post. With little to do by day when not under a propagandist tutor, he decides to explore the strange "farm" he can see from his window, against his parents' wishes that he not wander in that direction. There he sees the "farmers" behind an electric fence and meets the titular boy his age, Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), who's hiding from work at the moment but doesn't dare play. You probably already know more about the situation than Bruno does.

Since You Went Away (1944)

It had been a while since I last saw a movie with an overture and an entr'acte. This one has the courtesy to change the stills during the overture, the entr'acte being shorter. Alas, the soundtrack, tho Oscar-winning, is far from Lawrence of Arabia, so I opted to skip.

We never meet the "you" of the title: Tim Hilton, a U.S. Army volunteer, leaves his unidentified Midwestern town for war right before the first scene. His wife, Anne (Claudette Colbert), rents out a room to retired Col. Smollett (Monty Woolley) to make ends meet. Their elder daughter, Jane (Jennifer Jones), falls for the colonel's visiting yet half-estranged grandson, Bill (Robert Walker), knowing that he as a corporal may have to leave soon as well. She and sister Brig (Shirley Temple) do their own parts to contribute to the war effort on U.S. soil. From time to time, Anne's ex-boyfriend, naval lieutenant Tony (Joseph Cotten), shows up with a familial atmosphere, to the consternation of the maid, Fidelia (Hattie McDaniel).