Saturday, May 27, 2017
The Beguiled (1971)
While imprisoned in a Confederate girls' boarding school, an injured Union soldier cons his way into each of the lonely women's hearts, causing them to turn on each other, and eventually, on him.
Unusual misanthropic psychodrama, effectively staged in a Southern period setting and with some good performances.
Halliwell*: "Eccentric melodrama which does not really work despite its credentials and patient work all round."
Maltin***: "Offbeat, methodically paced story...Unusual Eastwood fare, but for patient viewers. a rich, rewarding film."
Beyond the Reach (2014)
A high-rolling corporate shark and his impoverished young guide play the most dangerous game during a hunting trip in the Mojave Desert.
Effective, modern variation of The Most Dangerous Game has some great landscape photography, and Michael Douglas is good as the Donald Trump-like madman millionaire, but the ending is highly disappointing.
New York
Manhattan’s “El” train, on the 9th Avenue line, via LIFE magazine, Apr. 14, 1941. Andreas Feininger.
First Lines: Osborne Russell - Journal of a Trapper
At the town of Independence, Mo., on the 4th of April, 1834, I joined an expedition fitted out for the Rocky Mountains and mouth of the Columbia River, by a company formed in Boston under the name and style of the Columbia River Fishing and Trading company.
Friday, May 26, 2017
Lincoln (2012)
As the War continues to rage, America's president struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves.
Despite depicting a short historic episode, the is movie convincingly creates a complex study of Abraham Lincoln, the political and social situation of the time and some good portrayals of other protagonists concerning the fight for the 13th Amendment; Daniel Day-Lewis' performance is spectacular, but the rest of the cast is great, too.
Maltin***1/2: "Day-Lewis miraculously disappears into the role of Lincoln, while the filmmakers persuasively create the look and feel of Washington in 1865.Thoughtful screenplay...and great casting from top to bottom make this a piece of American history come to vivid life."
Silent Running (1972)
In a future where all flora is extinct on Earth, an astronaut is given orders to destroy the last of Earth's botany, kept in a greenhouse aboard a spacecraft.
Dark, well-crafted sci-fi drama with excellent special effects and a laudable ecological message, but Bruce Dern's madman character is unnerving and muddles the whole movie.
Halliwell*: "Sombre futuristic fantasy, well made but slow and muddled in development."
Maltin***: "Space-age ecology tale...Interesting film..."
Thursday, May 25, 2017
First Lines: Tim Cahill - Jaguars Ripped My Flesh
Two fourteen-year-old rock climbers, Jim Deering and Ryan Angus, were stranded.
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
First Lines: Ibn Battúta - Travels
Praise be ascribed to God the lord of worlds; and the blessing of God be upon our Lord Mohammed, and upon all his posterity and companions.
Monday, May 22, 2017
Passengers (2016)
A spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet and transporting thousands of people has a malfunction in its sleep chambers and two passengers are awakened 90 years too early.
Above.average sci-fi movie, for once not an action-laden shoot-em-up, but an original and interesting tale with a small cast of two (although one would love to see the main story after the film's finale); nevertheless, it's enteratining, suspenseful and offers the goods concerning the effects and visuals.
