Friday, June 29, 2018

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....

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

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....

Saturday, June 23, 2018

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.

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

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....

Sunday, June 17, 2018

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.

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

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.

Thursday, June 7, 2018

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.