Category: movies

MOVIE REVIEW: Man on Wire


On August 7, 1974, Phillipe Petit spent 45 minutes walking, dancing and lying on a cable that connected the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center. How he does it is the story of Man on Wire.

That the outcome is known makes the fact that James Marsh’s documentary, enhanced greatly by home movies that were made by those planning the caper, works so well as a suspense film. The best comparison I can think of is the movie Apollo 13, when I waited impatiently to see if we’d hear the astronauts’ voices again, EVEN THOUGH I KNEW THE OUTCOME! It’s that kind of story.

The core of the saga, of course, is Petit himself, who, at 5’8″ and 135 pounds, was as small as his surname suggests. That he dreamed of doing the crossing before the buildings were even constructed was just one glimpse into the mind of a man who could inspire others to do his bidding by the sheer force of his outsize personality. We get to see Petit and many of his co-conspirators as they have what are essentially dry runs in Australia and France.

The heart of the tale was getting teams up each building to set up the proper equipment to keep Petit from falling 110 stories to his death. The film does not touch on 9/11, though seeing the construction site of the WTC looks eerily like the hole after the cleanup. There is one shot of Petit on the cable as a plane flies by that’s momentarily jarring. Petit himself has said that he doesn’t want to talk about 9/11 because he has his own memories of the Towers.

If you had forgotten, or never knew this story, it’s probably because it took place only two days before Richard Nixon resigned as President – only obliquely referred to in the film – and that DC news took over the news cycle for several days.

This movie, as of October 11, 2008, had a score of 100% on the Tomatometer. Carol and I saw the movie last Sunday at our favorite cinema, the Spectrum 8, and while we both liked the film very much, we didn’t love it, though I’m definitely recommending it.

This movie was rated R at my theater (though PG-13 on IMDB and in most references) largely because of one scene near the very end of the film and for drug references.
ROG

ROG

ABC Wednesday: M is for Montalban and Music


Sure I remember Ricardo Montalban from Star Trek and Fantasy Island and the “soft Corinthian leather” car commercials.

Some time ago, I came across the picture above, but I don’t recall where anymore.

Ricardo was a founding member of Nosotros, designed to “strategically change the stereotypical image portrayed by Latino actors.” There is a theater named after him and affiliated with the organization at 1615 Vine Street in Hollywood.

But perhaps his greatest legacy I learned about from my friend Deborah, who found this:
or here.

Ricardo Montalban sings for Esther Williams the song that has become a classic, “Baby It’s Cold Outside” in the 1949 movie “Neptune’s Daughter”; the film co-starred Red Skelton. “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” won an Oscar that year for Best Original Song. Unless the Oscar rules have changed, this is likely the first performance of the perennial tune.

Ricardo is still around at the age of 88, doing occasional voice work.

ROG

ROG

Oscar-Worthy Movies I’ve Seen: 1939


Finally to 1939. THE first great year in cinema, it is widely agreed.
Picture:
“GONE WITH THE WIND”, “Dark Victory”, “Goodbye, Mr. Chips”, “Love Affair”, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, “Ninotchka”, “Of Mice and Men”, “Stagecoach”, “The Wizard of Oz”, “Wuthering Heights”
At least three different times I said, “I really MUST watch “Gone with the Wind”, the first time when it was on broadcast TV and was in the top dozen shows ever broadcast on prime time TV. But I got bored the then, and have yet to sit through the whole thing. (Yet I found the Carol Burnett parody inspiring.) It was the longest feature film released up to that point, and I’m not holding my breath to see if I’ll finally carve out nearly four hours to watch it, even though it won 8 awards out of 13 nominations, including Best Screenplay, Best Color Cinematography, Best Interior Decoration, and Best Film Editing, plus two special citations.
I definitely saw Mr. Smith, Stagecoach. I probably saw Mr. Chips, Of Mice and Men and Wuthering Heights. I almost certainly did not see Dark Victory, Love Affair (though I did see the remake, An Affair to Remember) or Ninotchka.
Then there’s The Wizard of Oz. When I was growing up in the 1960s, I watched it every year. I must have seen it seven or eight times on our BLACK AND WHITE TV. Scariest part? The damn trees. THEN we got a color TV for Christmas 1969 or 1970, and when I saw it again, it was like seeing it for the first time! What a treat! And I finally got the “horse of as different color” joke; in b&w, the horse is just different shades of gray. It got six nominations but only two wins – Best Song (Over the Rainbow – almost cut from the film!) and Best Original Score (including my favorite, music for Miss Gulch on her bicycle, which, as a bicyclist I’ve been tortured with. None of the actors got a standard Oscar, though Judy Garland received a special juvenile Oscar.
Actor:
ROBERT DONAT in “Goodbye, Mr. Chips”, Clark Gable in “Gone With The Wind”, Laurence Olivier in “Wuthering Heights”, Mickey Rooney in “Babes in Arms”, James Stewart in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”
A category where GWTW did NOT win. Donat probably won as much for earlier roles, such as in Hitchcock’s 39 Steps, as for this one. I don’t recall seeing Babes in Arms.
Actress:
VIVIEN LEIGH in “Gone With The Wind”, Bette Davis in “Dark Victory”, Irene Dunne in “Love Affair”, Greta Garbo in “Ninotchka”, Greer Garson in “Goodbye, Mr. Chips”
For the first time, both lead acting awards went to British performers.
Supporting Actor:
THOMAS MITCHELL in “Stagecoach”, Brian Aherne in “Juarez”, Harry Carey in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, Brian Donlevy in “Beau Geste”, Claude Rains in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”
Mitchell’s sole Oscar came in a year he also played Scarlett O’Hara’s father Gerald in Gone With The Wind, a grounded flyer Kid Dabb in Howard Hawks’ Only Angels Have Wings and newspaperman Diz Moore in Mr. Smith, among other roles.
Supporting Actress:
HATTIE MCDANIEL in “Gone With The Wind”, Olivia de Havilland in “Gone With The Wind”, Geraldine Fitzgerald in “Wuthering Heights”, Edna May Oliver in “Drums Along the Mohawk”, Maria Ouspenskaya in “Love Affair”
I suppose I should see the first African-American performer to be nominated and win. Shouldn’t I?
Director:
VICTOR FLEMING for “Gone With The Wind”, Frank Capra for “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, John Ford for “Stagecoach”, Sam Wood for “Goodbye, Mr. Chips”, William Wyler for “Wuthering Heights”
A change Academy rules meant that directors could be nominated for only one film in a single year. Fleming also directed The Wizard of Oz, thus solidifying his already huge chances.

That year, the first Oscar for Visual Effects was given, not to Gone With the Wind and its burning of Atlanta sequence, or to the Wizard of Oz with the cyclone sequence or the flying monkeys, but to something called The Rains Came, which I’d never heard of. Disney won eighth consecutive Short Subject: Cartoon Oscar for The Ugly Duckling

Other 1939 films
The Hunchback of Notre Dame – believe I saw years ago
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex – no
Golden Boy – no
Intermezzo: A Love Story – no
Young Mr. Lincoln – yes
Midnight – no
Only Angels Have Wings – no
Destry Rides Again – don’t think so
The Women (being remade in 2008) – no
The Hound of the Baskervilles – I might have
Gunga Din – almost certainly I did

ROG

ROG

Roger Answers Your Questions, Scott

Mr. Scooter Chronicles himself, Scott asks:

Have you ever seen a baseball game at Yankee Stadium? If yes, what are your thoughts on such a hallowed baseball ground seeing its last game?

Actually, not in a long time. The first time, I was a kid, and the Yankees beat the Washington Senators, The last time was probably in 1977 when I lived in Queens. Tearing down the stadium annoys me, because I don’t know why the current facility was inadequate. Oh, it doesn’t have those luxury seats, but after this week, who can afford to buy them anyway. Moreover, the funding is more corporate welfare foolishness.

Who do you think will win the World Series this year?

I picked the Cubs to lose the WS to Cleveland at the beginning of the season. About midseason, I switched to the Cubs over Tampa Bay, so I’ll stick with that. How annoying that my trip to the game was when the Cubs had hit a bad patch.

What do you think would be considered more historic: Obama being elected President, or Palin being elected Vice President?

Well, someone being elected President. If Palin were running for Prez and Obama were running for VP, it’d be Palin, but as it is, Obama. Besides, a woman had at least been NOMINATED before by a major party.

Do you think that the bailouts of financial companies will help the economy in the long run, destroy the idea of creating tax breaks for most of middle America, or see no real lasting effects on anyone?

Well, first off, I’m really ticked off about it. I listened to Henry Paulson, not once but twice on Sunday – Tom on NBC asked better questions than George did on ABC – and I got nothing but “Psst, it’s really bad. Do this or we’re doomed, trust me” without any real information.
I looked at the original language of the bill here and I was gobsmacked by Section 8: “Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.” Pardon my French, but WTF? Decisions non-reviewable? Gimme a BREAK!
I’m glad to see Democrats and republicans in Congress find some cojones, apparently because their constituents are hopping mad about this. Arthur at AmeriNZ found this example.
In answer to the question, the devil’s in the details. if there’s help for homeowners who are in their houses, limits on executive compensation and other measures, MAYBE things will turn around some.
And speaking of compensation, from Salon. “Regarding executive pay, Rep. Frank’s draft would mandate that any company selling assets into the program ‘meet appropriate standards for executive compensation,’ including limits on what could be deemed excessive or inappropriate, according to a copy seen by The Wall Street Journal. The government would also have the ability to ‘claw back’ incentive pay that was based on ‘earnings, gains, or other criteria that are later proven to be inaccurate.’ Mr. Paulson is resisting those efforts.
Astoundingly, Paulson plans to fight any efforts to limit executive pay because ‘he fears that provision would render the program moot, since many firms might choose not to participate.’
They might choose not to participate in a $700 billion plan designed to save them from a mess they were primarily responsible for causing? I don’t think I’m alone in finding that prospect irritating.”

On the other hand, someone at Pat Buchanan’s site posted this recently: “It is impossible for capitalism to survive, primarily because the system of capitalism needs some blood to suck. Capitalism used to be like an eagle, but now it’s more like a vulture. It used to be strong enough to go and suck anybody’s blood whether they were strong or not. But now it has become more cowardly, like the vulture, and it can only suck the blood of the helpless. As the nations of the world free themselves, the capitalism has less victims, less to suck, and it becomes weaker and weaker. It’s only a matter of time in my opinion before it will collapse completely.” – Malcolm X
As the letter writer noted, “Sounds pretty damn close to me.”

When was the last time you felt good about voting for a political candidate (on any level of government) feeling that they truly were the right person for the job?

I worked for Tom Keefe for city court judge a few years back. I’d known him for years and he seems to be doing a good job.

What is your favorite “healthy” thing to snack on?

apples and cottage cheese.

What is your favorite “evil” thing to snack on?

Muffins – fruit muffins (blueberry, preferably).

What is your favorite movie comedy of all time?

It’s tricky, because Annie Hall is, but it’s not all that ha-ha funny. On a pure laugh meter it’d be either Airplane! or Young Frankenstein.

Other then Jeopardy!, what is your favorite game show?

I’m partial to the various forms of Pyramid and Password,
ROG

ROG

VIDEO REVIEW: Enchanted


Friend Fred , way back on February 23, extolled the virtues of the 2007 cartoon-and-live-action Disney film Enchanted. It starred Amy Adams, who Roger Ebert loved in Junebug. A couple months later, I went to my local library to put it on reserve. And waited and waited until, when a call came from the library saying my item is in – without actually specifying what item it might be – I had forgotten about it.

Two days later, I get the DVD and the family sits down to watch it. Big mistake. The four-year-old is terrified of the ogre, and by the time we get to the slaying of the bus dragon, she’s done.

So I watch it by myself (and later my wife, herself). You know what? Fred was correct! It’s fun! It’s romantic! It has some great songs, including “Happy Working Song” that Adams sang at the Oscars this year, a great riff on “Whistle While You Work” from Snow White. In fact, what was truly remarkable were some of the exact shots used in various animated and live action Disney films.

The art was great. I recognized the cartoon version of Susan Sarandon before I recognized her voice. The other characters that inhabited both worlds were likewise well-rendered in animated form. The DVD extras enhanced my appreciation of the moviemaking. Those birds and rats that were cleaning? NOT CGI, but actual trained animals. New York City at the climax? CGI.

In fact, the only quibbles I had the DVD touched on. A couple deleted scenes, one of which would have explained the motivation of one character better, I might have kept. But this is a minor thing.

I had forgotten that Patrick Dempsey was that McDreamy guy from Grey’s Anatomy. But, as Fred noted, the film lives or dies with Amy Adams, and she was radiant. Perhaps coincidentally, Giselle spoke to her prince (James Marsden) about what happens after “happily ever after”; a recent TV Guide promises that Grey’s will answer the very same question this coming season.

Highly recommended for people who know the Disney oeuvre or like musicals. Recommended for most everyone else who isn’t grumpy. Not recommended for very sensitive four-year olds.

ROG

ROG
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