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).

The Post (2017)

As a Steven Spielberg fan, I could hardly have waited long to see a new pic of his with decent reviews, so I didn't hesitate to accept a Meetup invitation. At the same time, I approached with some trepidation, because it looked like the studio had poured in too much talent. Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in the leads? Would there be any scenery left? There are a few other familiar names -- Bob Odenkirk, Bradley Whitford, David Cross -- but none of them stood a chance at standing out.

Something of a spiritual prequel to All the Presidents' Men, the story concerns events leading up to the first publication of segments of the Pentagon Papers. For maybe the first third, it's hard enough for The Washington Post to vie with The New York Times for breaking news. Then they choose a tougher opponent: the Nixon Administration, seeking to plug the leak of classified information by any means necessary.

Drunken Angel (1948)

It had been more than 1.5 years since my last Akira Kurosawa viewing. More than 2.5 years since my last characteristic Kurosawa viewing. And just about half a year since my last viewing to make me nostalgic for Kurosawa. So I was rather glad to discover what Netflix had delivered while I was off on vacation.

Dr. Sanada (Takashi Shimura) treats Matsunaga (Toshirō Mifune) initially for an injury hinting at gang violence, but that's not as great a concern as the compelling evidence of tuberculosis. Matsunaga doesn't take this news well at all, as being a yakuza makes any sign of weakness dangerous; besides, TB hinders his ability to enjoy vices. Complicating matters is the return of his boss from prison, who incidentally used to be in a relationship with Sanada's assistant....

Despicable Me 3 (2017)

I didn't care for DM1 as much as most viewers. Partly the world of rampant, overt, mostly unpunished villainy turned me off, and partly it showed a level of wackiness more common in TV cartoons than in animated films, making it about the kiddiest this side of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Only the heartwarming aspect convinced me to go on to watch DM2, which I liked a lot better for its heroism and decent romance, tho it also introduced some new flaws. I knew that DM3 wasn't widely regarded as being on the same tier, but given my less common opinion, I opted to check it out on my flight home.

Reformed criminal-cum-agent-for-good Gru (Steve Carell) and wife Lucy (Kristen Wiig) are having trouble stopping Benjamin Bratt (Trey "South Park" Parker), a former child TV star who makes a far more competent villain than you'd think. Soon after falling into disfavor at the agency, Gru learns that he has a foppish international twin, Dru (more Carell), who wants to become as despicable as Gru used to be. The Minions, too, encourage the protagonist to return to his old law-breaking ways. Will he give in to temptation despite the wishes of Lucy and their adopted daughters?

Going in Style (2017)

I had not heard about this Zach Braff comedy when it was in theaters last year. The only reason I know about it now is that it was played on my tour bus. A few minutes in, I determined that it was one of those Hollywood pieces that doesn't bother trying to be better than run-of-the-mill, but the speaker was on too loud for me to tune it out, so I watched.

Friends Joe (Michael Caine), Willie (Morgan Freeman), and Albert (Alan Arkin) are all retirees in dire financial straits due to a seemingly unethical but fully legal move on the bank's part. I flashed back to I, Daniel Blake, up until a key difference arrived: the factor of armed robbery. Joe gets the bright idea to knock over the bank, and the others become desperate enough to go along with it. Of course, at their ages, they have more setbacks than average, so they need to practice first....

Cars 3 (2017)

I question the wisdom of keeping this franchise going. The first Cars was possibly the least popular Pixar feature at the time. The second broke a long winning streak as the first Pixar entry not to score an Academy nomination since the Best Animated Feature category began. The offshoot Planes (not sporting the Pixar brand but made by a lot of the same people) was unusually panned for Disney, and it still got a sequel. I'd ask whether this is really the hill they want to die on, except that the company may never die. Regardless, C3 looked like one of the more promising viewing options on my plane ride, so I gave it a shot.

You may have seen that fairly shocking trailer in which pro racecar Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) has a major crash. Well, this isn't a story about life-threatening injury. The next time we see him, four months later, you'd think he never got a scratch. But there are widespread doubts of whether he can compete with newer challengers, especially record-breaking Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer). McQueen checks into a new training center, whose owner Sterling (Nathan Fillion) and prime trainer Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo) both admire his past but now see him as a geezer, probably fit for only one more race. Naturally, he aims to prove them wrong.

Night Moves (1975)

This makes five Arthur Penn movies I've seen, along with The Miracle Worker, Bonnie and Clyde, The Train, and Little Big Man. So far, despite the efforts of a documentary short on the DVD, I can't find a pattern to his style. They're of different genres and moods, they have different major actors and themes, and there are no obvious signatures. Maybe that's why I've had trouble remembering who Penn is. But I don't hold that against him; the important thing is that he has a good track record, right?

LA PI Harry (Gene Hackman) accepts a case from a retired minor actress: finding her runaway jailbait daughter, Delly (Melanie Griffith). He tracks Delly down to the Florida Keys, but she resents her mom too much to comply right away. After coming across a sunken plane with a corpse inside, she wants to go home. Harry's not keen on remaining a PI after that either, but that won't be the last corpse he sees. And yes, both Delly and the plane are relevant to the larger case.

Mighty Joe Young (1949)

This is one of those flicks I heard of long ago and was never sure whether it would be worth my time. It sounded like a lesser successor to King Kong, which I've long deemed overhyped and horribly dated, no matter which version. But it had to offer something different, or they wouldn't have remade it in '98. I took the chance.

The first key difference between Joe and Kong is that Joe has been raised from infancy by humans, particularly a girl named Jill Young, whose father came to East Africa from the U.S. After 12 years, he's extra enormous for no stated reason, but he mostly understands and obeys Jill. When showman Max O'Hara goes on an expedition to bring back exotic animals and exaggerated tales, he fast-talks Jill into signing a contract that has her and Joe performing in live Hollywood stage productions. Joe doesn't wear shackles like Kong, but neither does he enjoy his new environs. Jill seeks to get him home before he reaches a breaking point -- or before the authorities do....