The Fallen Idol (1948)

My viewings since Netflix slowed down deliveries have trended more recent. I had to look back two months for a review of a movie older than this and three months for another '40s entry. But I still have a taste for the era. And despite not enjoying much from Carol Reed, even with help from Graham Greene, I still give him a chance.

Philippe (Bobby Henrey) is the maybe seven-year-old son of a French ambassador in London. For most of the story, his parents are away, and we never see him in school, with a tutor, or with other kids, so he gets into a lot of minor mischief like adopting a wild snake. His primary supervision consists of two servants: Mr. Baines (Ralph Richardson), whom he reveres for spinning exciting yarns; and Mrs. Baines (Sonia Dresdel), whom he hates for being a strict caretaker. Philippe observes insufficiently stealthy meetings between Mr. Baines and a young woman (Michèle Morgan) he subsequently claims is his niece. To less innocent eyes, it's obvious why they don't want Mrs. Baines to see them together. Philippe believes he can keep a secret, but Mrs. Baines is too suspicious to remain in the dark for long....

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)

Whew, glad this format allows titles of that length. Say what you will about that clunker; it did more than anything else to get me interested. Sure, Brad Pitt said this was his favorite of his own works, and it got many honors, but if not for the title, I would have neglected to put it on my queue.

The story begins shortly before 19-year-old "Bob" Ford (Casey Affleck) joins the James gang, of which his older brother, Charley (Sam Rockwell), is already a member. Bob has admired Jesse (Pitt) since childhood, but you know the saying "Never meet your heroes"? Between Jesse's behavior and Bob's unwanted entanglement with gang treachery, collecting a reward on Jesse starts to look like a good idea.

Missing (1982)

The '80s were good for popular comedies, fantasies, and adventures on screen, but only a handful of serious works from the decade enjoy esteem to this day. Checking out an '80s drama I never hear about is a slight gamble. But this one got a lot of honors back in the day and retains high marks across rating sites. That plus its basis in a true story drew me in.

In what is implied but never specified to be Chile during Augusto Pinochet's '73 coup, Charlie Horman (John Shea) and his wife, Beth (Sissy Spacek), find their lives as American migrants disrupted. Charlie's activist journalism may have caught up with him, because he disappears. Beth can't find out where he was taken or whether he lives, tho she refuses to believe he'd go into hiding without ever notifying her. Charlie's estranged father, Edmund (Jack Lemmon), flies in to help with the search for answers.

Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019)

Huh. I hadn't realized going in that Disney had no production or distribution claim on this movie. Or on Spider-Man: Homecoming, whose tags I've since corrected. Better be careful with these things. Regardless, the first entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to follow Avengers: Endgame does retain continuity, being set some eight months later.

Peter Parker (Tom Holland), still in high school, goes on a class trip to various European nations. With its inadequate planning, this would be a pretty lame vacation if not for Peter secretly being Spider-Man and thus a fated danger magnet. In this case, the danger takes the shape of rampaging elemental giants, which Spidey takes on with help from a new super stranger (Jake Gyllenhaal), aptly nicknamed Mysterio. He may be reminiscent of both Iron Man and Dr. Strange, but many Marvel fans already know him better than that....

Dazed and Confused (1993)

Before I knew much about this, I expected it to be a John Hughes piece. Then I learned that Richard Linklater was at the helm. As I read of the 1976 setting and the lack of a central focus, I realized it must be more like American Graffiti for the next generation. Fine by me; I much prefer AG to many modern teen comedies.

Summer vacation is just beginning for an Austin neighborhood. Some high school seniors, especially grade repeater Fred O'Bannion (early Ben Affleck), are fiercely hazing all the imminent freshmen they can find. But halfhearted hazer Randall "Pink" Floyd (Jason London) invites primary victim Mitch Kramer (Wiley Wiggins) to a night on the town with other late teens and one twenty-something, David Wooderson (Matthew McConaughey in his silver screen debut). All the while, Pink is putting off a pledge not to do drugs, which he must sign to be allowed to stay on the football team.

Toy Story 4 (2019)

To me, the Toy Story series has been almost the antithesis of the Cars series. TS1, while flawed, was destined for classic status. TS2, while not feeling necessary, outdid it in my book. TS3, which I had long assumed would never happen, became my all-time favorite animated feature (tho I may revise that assessment with further viewings). Could TS4 continue the pattern?

A mere two years after the events of TS3, old toy cowboy Sheriff Woody (Tom Hanks) has lost favor with owner Bonnie, who's starting kindergarten. He's taking this decline better than he did in TS1, but his way of coping is to support Bonnie clandestinely against the advice of others; like the emotions in Inside Out, he prioritizes nothing over the happiness of "his kid." With his guidance, she makes an ugly yet fairly impressive arts-and-crafts toy named Forky (Tony Hale), who initially doesn't have the mindset for a sapient toy at all. By the time Forky's getting cooperative, Woody's eyes stray to a familiar sight in an antiques shop window, giving him a riskier new priority and prompting buddy Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) to go on his own rescue mission....

The Lower Depths (1957)

Not for the first time, Akira Kurosawa directs an adaptation of Russian literature, albeit a Maxim Gorky play in this case. I see that another Japanese director beat him to it by 36 years, but of course, that silent version can't possibly be as popular overseas. This one includes quite a few actors I've seen in many other movies, but the only name likely to mean something to you is top-billed Toshirō Mifune.

Like Dodes'ka-den, it follows lots of people in a shantytown and dumpsite. Unlike Dodes'ka-den, it takes place mostly in one large room (yeah, one of those plays), in a tenement with tilting walls. You could say that the action begins with the arrival of a new elderly tenant, who serves not only to stand in for the audience as a newcomer but to try to improve the sorry situations of others. He seems almost saintly, if a bit prone to well-meaning lies, but shows evidence of a guilty past.