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I am a film critic and historian preserving a love of good movies. Check out my blog, 4 Star Films, and follow me on Twitter @FourStarFilmFan or Letterboxd. Thank you for reading!

Lost In Translation (2003)

Posted on March 31, 2015 by 4 Star Films

Starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johannson with direction by Sofia Coppola, this film is set in the fast-paced, technological, and modern world of Tokyo, Japan. That is where Bob and Charlotte find themselves and they both are lost, simply going through the motions of life. He is a middle-aged, former movie star filming a whiskey commercial. She is a newly-married wife of a fashion photographer. Despite their age differences, they find out that they have a lot in common. Over the week they spend time together in Tokyo and become friends. When the time comes for Bob to leave neither one wants their time to end. They say goodbye but do not forget each other. This film was enjoyable because it portrayed two people who could be good friends without getting romantically attached, at least in the conventional sense.

I must say that this type of friendship intrigues me. It is understandable that if you go to a foreign country alone it would be nice to have someone you could at least converse with, without any barrier getting in the way. It might be at Narita airport for a moment, at a Hotel, or walking the streets of Shinjuku. It would act as a comfort in a world like Tokyo that is so fast paced and high stress. These unusual circumstances could throw together two very different people, with little in common except the language they speak. That is something that does not happen every day.

Needless to say, after gaining the opportunity to visit Tokyo two years in a row it has given me some new insight. I can now wholly empathize with Bob and Charlotte because although I knew a few people, Tokyo is such a highly populated, fast-paced world that seems so easy to get lost and overwhelmed in. There is so much to see, so many lights, so many hurrying folks, so many subway lines, so many surgical masks, so much etiquette, and so much technology. True, some of my ancestors were Japanese but the language still baffles me, making it very easy to get “Lost in Translation.” Being in Tokyo it also helped me realize that it is not only tourists who get lost. It has been over 10 years since this film came out and a lot can happen in that time like more Starbucks and McDonalds on every corner.

Despite the westernization and technological advancement, Tokyo also has a time-worn aspect, and its people are often worn as well. They might not be lost because of a literal language barrier. However, they, like Bob and Charlotte, are often lost because they have difficulty getting close to their peers. Often they, like the two protagonists, seem to be searching for someone to talk to, but in their case manners keep others at arm’s length. Coppola’s film gained an even more personal note now that I have walked in these places and interacted with or at least walked alongside the Japanese people. They like anyone else can be “Lost in Translation,” it just might be a different type of “language” than what we struggle with. They too are humans who have their share of struggles, worries, joys, hopes, and dreams. Hopefully, this type of understanding will help us transcend any barriers so we no longer find ourselves “Lost in Translation.”

4.5/5 Stars

Before Midnight (2013)

Posted on March 27, 2015 by 4 Star Films

Well, I was expecting great things from this film as the third installment in an intriguing romantic trilogy. I will admit that at first I thought it was decent but I was not blown away.

My favorite moment had to be near the middle when Jesse and Celine took a walk through the ancient streets of Greece. Their conversation was reminiscent of the previous two films and I appreciated that.

However, the beginning of the film was filled with family moments, discussions with friends and little time of Jesse and Celine alone like the years before.

When they finally were alone they were quick to argue and lose their tempers over familial issues and seemingly petty problems. Even to the end of the film, their relationship seemed perhaps more creaky than it had ever been.

However, over time I realized that these things that I did not like made the relationship of Jesse and Celine all the more realistic. They are not the starry-eyed kids or the young lovers meeting up for romance. They have children, strained relationships with former spouses, more wrinkles, full time jobs, and 40 years under their belts, and that is the way that real life often is. So I’ve been told.

I’m not sure if Celine and Jesse will ever be brought back to screen, but I know that I was ultimately satisfied with the place we left them at. As Ethan Hawke said it all began as a story about what might be, then it was a film about what should be, and Before Midnight was the film about what actually is. Linklater did us a favor by not giving into the conventions that we are so often used to, because he was never one to do that before, sunrise or sunset. His lovingly crafted romance would not sink to that level and should not sink to that level. It remained true to itself and even if it was not what I wanted, it was what was called for.

Who knows, 9 years down the road we might get another installment, until then I will be content with the love story Linklater, Hawke and Delphy so graciously gifted us. It’s not perfect by any means, but it’s genuine and that is far better.

4.5/5 Stars

Before Sunset (2004)

Posted on March 25, 2015 by 4 Star Films

In this sequel to Before Sunrise we come back nine years later.

There is a certain degree of eagerness and nervousness as we wait to hear what happened in the months following Before Sunrise. We find out that Jesse and Celine did not actually meet 6 months after their first encounter. In all reality, what were we expecting? I myself had a secret hope that they would meet again. It’s the romantic in me, but that’s not how life ends up working out. Jesse showed up but the sudden death of Celine’s grandmother detained her. That’s one of the plights of this human existence.

Now Jesse is a writer who made a book about their evening together and one day in Paris while promoting his book there is Celine smiling through the window.

Here they are back together again nine years later with 1 hour to catch up before Jesse has to take a flight back to the States. With the passing of the years we now find ourselves watching an older, wiser, pair. They are both married now.

Jesse has lost the long hair and he is not quite so young in the face but it is still the same guy. Celine is still very pretty but more mature than the young French girl from the earlier film. Most importantly of all they still have a knack for deep, highly personal conversations.

A lot is covered as they chat through the streets of Paris. My most favorite moment however comes when Celine plays Jesse the Waltz she wrote. It is a beautiful little ballad in its own right and it shows her personal connection with Jesse that still lasts over all these years. What he encapsulated in his best selling book she documented in a song. We leave them once again as two slightly different people who still have a penchant for conversation, love and sentiment.

The film starts and like a blip on the radar it is already finished. In some regards it is rather disappointing, but not as unsatisfying as this short rendezvous must be for Jesse and Celine.

I have no bitterness, my sweet
I’ll never forget this one night thing
Even tomorrow, another arms
My heart will stay yours until I die

Let me sing you a waltz
Out of nowhere, out of my blues
Let me sing you a waltz

~A Waltz for a Night

4/5 Stars

Before Sunrise (1995)

Posted on March 23, 2015 by 4 Star Films

This is a fascinating film not just about love and romance but higher, deeper concepts altogether. Without knowing the idea already existed, this is the film I always wanted to make in my head!

Two people meeting in a place under unusual circumstances (on a train in a foreign country), and then building a bond over a single day that evolves into something really special very, very quickly.

This is exactly happens with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy who do a wonderful job playing two genuine people who have their own set of ideas, aspirations, fears, memories and unique personalities to go with them.

They spend an evening in Vienna and create a memorable flashbulb moment out of it. One instant that sticks out in my mind is when they are sitting at a restaurant with many conversations going on around them. However, the two of them have pretend telephone conversations with other people. Through it Jesse and Celine learn how the other feels about them. It is so beautifully captured because they do not have to say it directly, but through this roundabout way they know.

Perhaps this film sounds like a bore to some and it may in fact be because a lot of it is talking. But Linklater and his collaborators frame it in such a way that I was very much engaged. Isn’t a lot of life talking anyways? In that way it had a spontaneous, realistic feel and that is thanks to a solid script along with the candid delivery of the leads. When I first saw Julie Delphy I had no idea she was French and it took me a while to catch on. She and Hawke play well off of each other and it is interesting to be able to eavesdrop on their conversations.

Before Sunrise was a pleasant surprise because it failed to fall into many of the normal conventions of romantic comedies and instead it rose above the mediocrity to tackle the ins and outs of love and life through frank and wonderfully unadulterated conversation. I cannot wait for more of Linklater’s trilogy.

4.5/5 Stars

Review: The Odd Couple (1968)

Posted on March 22, 2015 by 4 Star Films

By now The Odd Couple is rather like returning to an old group of friends. Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau never had a better pairing than their turns as Felix Ungar and Oscar Madison. The roles seem to fit each man to the tee or at least they make them their own. Lemmon is as hilarious as ever playing the neat freak, hypochondriac who was recently divorced. He drove his wife crazy because he cooked better than her, cleaned more, and was allergic to her perfume. She had to put on his aftershave instead. Then, there’s Matthau reprising his stage role of Oscar the slob of a sportswriter with an affinity for messiness. Droopy jowls courtesy of Matthau. Put them together and you have some of the greatest comedic fireworks ever, and it’s so simple. You see, all the poker playing gang is nervous that Felix will commit suicide, which he attempts during the film’s opening sequence, but he cannot get the window open. Thus, Oscar obliges to take in his buddy with the rest of the buddies keeping a wary eye on Felix. It’s hilarious to watch them because they really care about Felix, but they have no idea how to act around him. They think every move will be his last.

Oscar does not know what he’s gotten into since Felix cleans up after him, follows him with an ashtray when he smokes, does the dishes, vacuums, sprays air freshener incessantly, and even distracts Oscar from a triple pay while telling him the evening’s dinner plans. Then there’s Felix allergies, his high maintenance, and yes, his pouting. He even ruins weekly poker night with cigar smoke replaced by fresh air and disinfected playing cards.

Bring in the twittering Pigeon Sisters Gwendolyn and Cecily and you’re bound to have more laughs, until Felix the killjoy hurts the mood. Now we truly begin to see Oscar’s sour side which was mostly saved for his former wife Blanche. Now it is specially reserved for Felix and his maddening cleanliness that’s gone too far. Oscar has a nervous breakdown and blows his top chasing Felix out. But Oscar is not a bad guy, Felix is his friend after all, and so enter the poker buddies once more to go searching for Felix. He has been taken in by the Pigeons and the two friends make up. As it turns out, the two men rubbed off on each other, but there’ no chance of completely changing them. They will always be The Odd Couple, just separate now.

The Odd Couple has such a wonderful mythology surrounding it thanks to Neil Simon’s play, the film adaption, and then the television show. Furthermore, it is one of those very special cases that was great on both the big and small screen, since Jack Klugman and Tony Randall were wonderful in their own right. Focusing on this film, the dialogue is not forcing the humor, and it ultimately leads to genuinely funny lines coming out of the circumstances. The poker playing buddies are a riot from Florida-bound Vinnie (John Fielder) to nervous cop Murray (Herb Edelman). The opening of the film is made by Neal Hefti’s theme, and I’ve got to say, the sequence where Felix has his sinus attack is priceless. Without fail it puts me in stitches everytime as the weirded out Oscar looks on along with everyone else. I cannot help but love The Odd Couple. By now it’s too ingrained in me and that’s fine by me.

4.5/5 Stars

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

Posted on March 19, 2015 by 4 Star Films

The title gives a clear indication of what this Stanley Donen musical will be about, but it does not tell us how we will arrive at that conclusion. It all begins when a woodsman named Adam (Howard Keel) comes to town intent on finding himself a cute and handy bride. That he does in Milly (Jane Powell) and soon enough, in a whirlwind, they are married and heading back to his home. There she is greatly surprised to meet his rambunctious and rough-edged younger brothers. Six to be exact, but you already guessed that.

Once she accepts her new life, it becomes Milly’s mission to straighten them out and find them girls to court. It isn’t easy but soon they learn table manners and proper etiquette before the big barn raising takes place. There the boys make quite the impression and the audience is given quite the show complete with bright colors and inventive-foot-tapping choreography. It’s an understatement to say that the Pontipee brothers are not popular with the locals, and not only is there a barn-raising but some hell-raising as well.

Adam is proud of their showing, but the rest of the lads are lovesick as the long cold winter begins, separating them indefinitely from their girls. With Adam’s encouragement, they decide to do as the Romans and kidnap their sweets, but they fail to think about the consequences. The town’s in an uproar, the girls are frightened, and a man-made avalanche means there is no contact with the outside world for at least 5 months!

Milly is appalled by their actions, especially Adam’s part, and the lads are made to sleep in the barn as she dotes over the scared group of girls. Not liking what he’s seeing, Adam heads off on his own for a while. Spring brings a fresh start as young love flourishes and the boys are forgiven. Milly gives birth to a baby girl, and Adam finally returns home with a new perspective. But what about the town folk you ask? They do come after the Pontipees, and they don’t like what they see when they ride in. Needless to say, it is a happy ending with each boy getting his girl, thanks to a few shotguns.

With catchy songs, beautiful color cinematography, lively dance numbers, and an amusing premise, this is a very strong MGM musical, even if it is not the best of the lot. That is not saying much because the studio could hardly go wrong with such previous titles as On the Town, An American in Paris, Singin’ in the Rain and The Band Wagon. Seven Brides is a nice addition although I will say it vaguely reminded me of Oklahoma. However, it is different enough to be well worth it. The only question left to ask is, “Are Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, “Frank,” and Gideon natural red-heads? I’m not sure I know the answer but I could wager a guess.

4/5 Stars

The Best Films of Stanley Donen

Posted on March 18, 2015 by 4 Star Films

“I think of myself as a meat-and-potatoes kind of director.”

Singin’ in the Rain
Charade
On the Town
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Two for the Road
Funny Face
Royal Wedding
Indiscreet
Arabesque
Bedazzled
It’s Always Fair Weather
The Grass is Greener

Well-known Collaborations: Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire in musicals

A Letter to Three Wives (1949)

Posted on March 17, 2015 by 4 Star Films

Here is a story about three wives, the three husbands that go with them, and the one woman who got in the middle of them all. The main plot device is simply this: This woman named Addie Grace, who we never see but who is always being referred to, has left town and she also left a letter addressed to the three wives. The women get it as they board a boat for an afternoon out at sea with some underprivileged children. When they read what it says their afternoon takes a major turn. The one and only Addie Ross has run off with one of their husbands and yet she does not say who it is.

The rest of their time is spent thinking back on their marriages and each recollection is framed as a long flashback. First, comes Deborah Bishop (Jeanne Crain), a farm girl who met her husband during the war. Now with his friends back home she wishes to make a good impression, but she feels like she can never measure up with such elite society. To make matters worse, she learns that before the war it was thought that Brad would marry Addie Grace because they grew up together.

Next, comes Rita Phipps (Ann Sothern), who puts on an extra special dinner for her bosses from the radio station she writes for. The night includes a forgotten birthday, sappy radio programs, and all the while Rita is constantly trying to please and appease her bosses. They enjoy the evening but her husband George is upset that she constantly caves to them. To make matters worse, as a school teacher, it is difficult for him, as the man of the house, to have her bring in a great deal of their income.

Last but not least is Lora Mae Hollingsway (Linda Darnell) who grew up in a poor household near the train tracks with her mother and younger sister. She focuses her attention on Porter Hollingsway (her future husband), an older divorced man who also happens to own a chain of department stores. After a great deal of back and forth, they get married but underlying their marriage is this assumption that she only went after him for his money. Their relationship hardly seems to involve true love.

All three women return to their lives. Rita is grateful to find George sitting in the living room. Porter, who Lora Mae half expected to be gone, has come into the house exhausted after a long day of work. Deborah is seemingly not so lucky. All of them get ready for the dance that evening with their spirits all at different levels. However, after Porter shares a revelation the evening gets a whole lot better.

This Joseph L. Mankiewicz precursor to All About Eve is a remarkable drama in its own right thanks to its primary narrative device and fine performances from the cast. Thelma Ritter was as entertaining as ever and Celeste Holme was tantalizing as the unseen voice of Addie. It is interesting how all the stories of the film interconnect characters, making us come to understand each and every one of them a little better. The ending was slightly abrupt but still clever. All in all, A Letter to Three Wives was an interesting concept that paid off beautifully.

4.5/5 Stars

The Best Films of the Marx Brothers

Posted on March 14, 2015 by 4 Star Films

Duck Soup
A Night at the Opera
A Day at the Races
Horse Feathers
Monkey Business
Animal Crackers
The Cocoanuts
At the Circus
Go West
A Night at Casablanca

Alfie (1966)

Posted on March 10, 2015 by 4 Star Films

“I’ve been doing things my whole life I’m not suppose to” ~ Alfie

Alfie is a real character, with his cockney accent and personal insight about the world he resides in and the people he crosses paths with. Before Ferris Bueller, there was originally Alfie constantly breaking the fourth wall. Although that’s where any comparison ends because Ferris may be a schemer but he is good at heart. Safe to say Alfie is no Ferris Bueller. Not by a long shot. He is a self-indulgent, hedonistic, womanizer, constantly playing the field without looking for anything real.

True he has a kid, a few affairs and casual trysts, but he never sees “Birds” as anything more than objects. Every girl is an “It” not a “Her.” They fulfill his desires and their main purpose is to be used for his pleasure and his needs. He is a man who lives for himself and no one else. He is a real cynic and a deplorable sort of person at that.

Initially I had nothing complimentary to say about the character because the reality is there really was nothing good to say about him. But in a single moment Alfie proved that he might be selfish but not heartless. He finally attempts to “settle down” only for it to backfire on him. That’s the way it works and so Alfie is about right back where he started. I would like to think his heart is a little softer though.

Michael Caine is likable enough to make me not completely hate Alfie and that is to his credit because it was difficult not to. His various conquests and companions were played by, among others, Julia Foster, Jane Asher and Shelley Winters. The film’s jazzy score may not be rock and roll but it seems to personify Swinging London as much as Double-Deckers and Tower Bridge.

3.5/5 Stars