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Ten Films to Keep an Eye on in 2014!

Posted on August 28, 2014 by 4 Star Films

I could have made one of these lists to open this year, but in all honesty it seemed unnecessary. If you really want to get down to the nitty-gritty, the films that could potentially be up for Oscar contention, you wait until the end of the year. Now as the summer months start waning, the big blockbusters are put on the shelf and many of the major award front runners take center stage.

Here is a list of films that you should keep an eye on because more likely than not at least a few of these titles might be coming away with hardware this next year. Some of them have already been released, but most have yet to be seen. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

1. Boyhood: Richard Linklater’s latest film which was shot over a period of 12 years

2. Interstellar: Christopher Nolan’s next project starring Matthew Mcconaughey, Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway. With a focus on Space could this be Nolan’s own 2001?

3. Gone Girl: Mystery-thriller directed by David Fincher and starring Ben Affleck (Best Picture for Argo in 2012).

4. Foxcatcher: Wrestling drama starring Channing Tatum and Steve Carell

5. Unbroken: Based on the acclaimed book chronicling the life of Olympic runner and WWII P.O.W. Louis Zamperini (Directed by Angelina Jolie and written by the Coen Brothers).

6. Inherent Vice: Paul Thomas Anderson’s next film starring Josh Brolin, Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix.

7. Mr. Turner: Drama based on the life of revolutionary English painter J.M.W. Turner.

8. American Sniper: Clint Eastwood directed film starring Bradley Cooper as a Navy Seal.

9. The Imitation Game: Biographical film with Benedict Cumberbatch starring as WWII code cracker Alan Turing.

10. The Grand Budapest Hotel: Wes Anderson’s latest period piece.

I could not end with just 10 so here are a few more to note:

Into the Woods: Fairy tale Musical starring Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Chris Pine, Anna Kendrick and Johnny Depp.

Birdman: Black comedy with a cast including Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis and Edward Norton.

Big Eyes: Biopic directed by Tim Burton starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz.

Knight of Cups: Terence Malick’s next film starring Christian Bale, Natalie Portman and Cate Blanchett.

Men, Women & Children: Jason Reitman’s next project including Adam Sandler, Jennifer Garner and Emma Thompson.

Mockingjay Part I: Of course everyone knows the Hunger Games but this next installment is worth acknowledging after The epic cliffhanger in Catching Fire.

Last but not least…

Fury / Two Days, One Night / Whiplash / The Immigrant.

Something’s Got to Give (1962)

Posted on August 27, 2014 by 4 Star Films

Well, this is a first for me, if my memory serves me right. I have yet to do a write up for a film without having a rating to go with it. Something’s Got to Give eventually and now it has.

I honestly was surprised that this “film” even existed. I knew about Marilyn Monroe’s last film project which ultimately was unfinished thanks to her tragic death. I assumed the project was ditched and never thought about again. I certainly did not give it a second thought then. Then, quite by accident I came upon it in all its 37 minutes of glory. Apparently others had given it a second glance and we have them to thank for this unfinished addition to Montroe’s filmography.

It looks like production quality with a few missing parts and quite the cliffhanger ending. We do not even quite know the extent of the cliff yet.
However, it was an interesting look at Marilyn Monroe in her final days. You also had a fun cast of handpicked players including Dean Martin, Cyd Charisse, Phil Silvers and Wally Cox. Not to mention one of Hollywood’s prominent directors in George Cukor. It seems likes all the makings for a light ’60s romantic comedy.

This certainly was not going to be a masterpiece (It was actually a remake of My Favorite Wife (1940) and was given a face lift for Move Over Darling). That’s okay. It is a interesting piece of history in its own way.

Rating: N/A

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Posted on August 25, 2014 by 4 Star Films

Starring Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale, and Jason Robards with director Sergio Leone, this is another memorable Italian western. The film follows a recently widowed beauty (Cardinale), the villainous killer who is after her (Fonda), a anti-hero bandit (Robards), and of course the man with a harmonica who is looking for revenge (Bronson). The gunman Frank commits murders, turns on his employer the railroad tycoon, and forces the widow to auction off her land. However, “Harmonica” comes to her aid and then he is confronted by Frank several times since he wants to know the man’s purpose. After a flashback we know what “Harmonica” wants and another gunfight ensues. The ending is bittersweet but the town’s future looks bright thanks to the railroad and the radiant widow. The long opening sequence sets the tone nicely for this visually beautiful film. It moves at its own pace and it has a good score and great characters including an evil Henry Fonda!

5/5 Stars

Wait Until Dark (1967) – Updated

Posted on August 24, 2014 by 4 Star Films

This is very much a contrived plot line but it certainly is an interesting set piece surrounding a defenseless blind woman targeted because of a heroin-filled doll which fell into her husband’s possession. It sounds like a pretty ludicrous set up but Audrey Hepburn is so believable and at times pitiful that she makes the film works thanks to her performance. Alan Arkin plays an over the top terror of a man bent on getting the doll back and he procures the help of two men to play parts in his elaborate charade. He is the near perfect opposition to torture the angelic Hepburn.

Through the entire story Susy’s blindness is being manipulated and she is constantly in a vulnerable state that is extremely uncomfortable for the audience. She is fed lies and entrusts men who she should not, but she cannot know any better. Thus, we soon forget how ridiculous this whole affair is and get caught up instead in our own fears and anxieties for Susy. From that point on we are hooked and there is no turning back until nighttime comes. Susy is cut off from the world with darkness approaching and that’s when the real nail-biting begins. But that’s for you to see for yourself. I would not deprive you of that pleasure.

The cast is rounded out by Richard Crenna, Emfram Zimbalist Jr. and Jack Weston who all are decent but their roles are relatively cookie cutter. The little girl Gloria is a spunky character but the real attraction as I said before is Hepburn. The score by Henry Mancini gives the film a thrilling feel rather like a Columbo special. If there ever was a thriller this is certainly one of them! Just Wait Until Dark, you’ll see.

4/5 Stars

The Roaring Twenties (1939)

Posted on August 24, 2014 by 4 Star Films

Here is a retrospective gangster film reminiscing about the Jazz Age and Roaring Twenties extending from the post WWI period of prohibition to the election of FDR.

Two mainstays of the genre including the original gangster James Cagney and hard-boiled Humphrey Bogart star as two men in a group of three soldiers who meet during World War I. In the ensuing years Eddie Bartlett (James Cagney) initially has difficulty getting back into society, but after meeting Speakeasy owner Panama Smith (Gladys George) he finds himself climbing the ranks in the bootlegging business. Soon through grit and a ruthless drive Eddie makes good racketeering by utilizing taxis with booze to make it big.

Through it all Eddie becomes smitten with a young singer he used to know when she was a young girl (Priscilla Lane), except she does not share his affection. Pretty soon his ol’ buddy George (Bogart) comes back into the picture, with a some shifting dealings of his own. Eddie practically runs the town now but when the Crash happens he gets pushed out by George and now Jean is off and married to her lawyer beau. Eddie is a washed-up taxi driver still hanging around Panama and he has time to do one last favor for Jean.

This is one of the last great gangster films of the 1930s following in the wake of other Cagney classics like The Public Enemy and Angel with Dirty Faces. Raoul Walsh directs this film and it develops as another dynamic, action packed film with a lot of drama and heart thanks to Cagney and George. It is however different from previous gangster flicks in that it plays out as a history although it keeps the nitty-gritty look of the previous films. Like Angel with Dirty Faces especially, there are also some sentimental moments because Cagney is not a complete scoundrel, just mostly. Not wanting to continue being typecast Cagney took a break from the genre not coming back until White Heat in 1949. He did pretty well for himself during the 1940s though with performances in The Stawberry Blonde and Yankee Doodle Dandy. There was another fellow who did not do too bad in that interim period either, new found leading man Humphrey Bogart.

“What was his business?”
“He used to be a big shot.”

4/5 Stars

Review: Roman Holiday (1953)

Posted on August 23, 2014 by 4 Star Films

Joe: Today’s gonna be a holiday.

Princess Ann: But you want to do a lot of silly things?

The answer is yes, yes we would!! That is the beauty of this film, which plays out as a lovely jaunt through Italy with two favorites in Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. With Hepburn being practically unknown at this point in time, it made her a wonderful choice to play Princess Ann. She was someone without any prior identifying roles making her young princess seem plausible. William Wyler took a chance on an unknown and he certainly hit the jackpot.

Gregory Peck on his part was always a strong leading man and an All-American type, perfect to play Joe Bradley. However, he also exuded gentlemanliness,s so despite the fact that the princess spent the night in his apartment we know nothing went on. He had no ulterior motives bringing her to his apartment and even when he arranges to get an article out of her we know that is not who he is.

The film itself consists of wonderfully connected vignettes incorporating the Roman culture and landscape. Princess Ann leaves behind the hospitality of Joe in order to explore a bit before she goes back to her real life. In order to get that major scoop, he tails her and finally invites himself to tag along, so beginning the real fun. Princess Ann gets her beautiful locks cut by a friendly barber and buys some gelato from a street vendor.

Soon she takes her first puff of a cigarette, takes in the glory of the Coliseum, rides a Vespa through the hectic streets of Rome, and winds up in police headquarters with some explaining to do.They finish up their afternoon on a more thoughtful note at a wall of wishes originating during World War II.

One of the best moments occurs at the mouth of truth, a great stone statue, which you are supposed to stick your hand in before it eats it up. In a moment of sheer fear Princess Ann or Audrey Hepburn, I’m not quite sure who looks on in horror as a screaming Bradley removes his arm and his hand is gone. Up comes the hand from the coat sleeves and the jokes on her. It has absolutely no bearing on the plot but it makes us love Peck and Hepburn even more.

To finish off the evening the two companions and Irving (Eddie Albert) cause a ruckus at a dance aboard a barge before swimming away to safety. There Ann finds love and a soaking wet kiss to go with it. But it is at that moment when the laughs stop and the romance begins that everything becomes all too clear. This wonderful day cannot last forever. There is a moment, after one final embrace, when they have to say goodbye for good.

This is not one of those “love at first sight” stories, but it is a different sort of fairy tale where two individuals share an enchanting day together and fall in love. Every Cinderella story must end and so does this one (Anna: At midnight I’ll turn into a pumpkin and drive away in my glass slipper). They must eventually come back down to reality with Princess Ann fulfilling his duties and Joe moving on with his career.

Joe’s major newsflash is not a thing anymore. The whole day means too much to him and being the buddy he is, good ol’ Irving understands that. Speaking of Irving, he deserves some discussion. Eddie Albert’s character is spilled on, stepped on, knocked over, tripped, and through it all remains the perfect buddy for Gregory Peck. Even his little car is a riot, not to mention his inconspicuous tiny cigarette camera and his sly efforts at photography in every type of circumstance. Irving shares a great deal of double talk with Joe which somehow gets past the unsuspecting princess. However, by the end of the film, the princess is also a cohort in their memorable adventure with commemorative photos included!

When Joe Bradley walks out of the grand palace he leaves content knowing that he shared something special. No one else needs to know (aside from Irving) about the fairy tale they shared and that is the beauty of it all. It is just their little secret, their Roman Holiday.

5/5 Stars

The Women (1939)

Posted on August 22, 2014 by 4 Star Films

Starring a cast including Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard, and Joan Fontaine, this film is all about the lives of these women. Mary is a member of New York high society who is happy with her marriage. However, when her gossipy friends begin to talk about her husband with another women she is hurt. She eventually files for divorce and while waiting for the conformation in Reno she meets some new friends and is finally able to find a way to get her husband back. Needless to say the ending is happy and a few women get what they deserve. This film had an enjoyable introduction, a sequence in Technicolor, and an all female cast. Most of all it characterizes the various women in this walk of life. Some are kindly, others foolish, and still others are treacherous.

4/5 Stars

Review: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Posted on August 20, 2014 by 4 Star Films

Not that it matters, but most of it is true…

The film opens with some old sepia-toned footage of a notorious gang from the turn-of-the-century and that is when we meet our two anti-heroes Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) and the Sundance Kid (Robert Redford). Butch is the brains behind the operation (I got vision and the rest of the world wears bifocals) and Sundance is the brawn, with the most accurate gun in the West.

They make a living robbing banks and trains, but due to their lifestyle, they seldom come out ahead. Life becomes more difficult with tumult within the gang, a crackdown by the authorities and a price tag on the heads of Butch and Sundance.

Soon it becomes evident that their life of crime will never be the same with a professional tracker on their tails and a posse formed to see them hang. They are chased through hills, rock, water, and the like before finally getting away in one final desperate attempt at escape.

With one last brilliant piece of inspiration, Butch decides they should head for Bolivia to lay low, and soon enough they pack their bags and bring along The Kid’s girl (Katharine Ross) to the promised land of South America. They get more than they bargained for thanks to the language barrier and a lack of decent plunder. However, even abroad, their legend grows, winning them the new moniker “Banditos Yanquis.” The pair takes a stint on the right side of the law for once, but it somehow seems bleaker than their early days as bandits. It is evident that the hourglass is running out on them. And so it does, but not without one final glorious battle to cement the aura around two legends of the West.

I will not go so far as to call Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid a masterpiece because I have read too many reviews to know that there has been a great deal of division over the film. I can only speak from my own experience when I say that I quickly grew to love this story. This appreciation stems from the spot on chemistry of Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Their outlaws are not your typical thugs but lovable buffoons you cannot help but cheer for through all their screw-ups and pratfalls. Paul Newman has his ever-present mischievous smile plastered on his face, and Redford plays the cool and collected Kid to the tee. Perfect casting for the roles and to think it might have been Steve McQueen and Warren Beatty.

They got together again in The Sting, which was another good film, although I will always be partial to their first collaboration. William Goldman’s script can only be described as a fun romp that accentuates the comradery of Butch and Sundance. The musical score by Burt Bacharach with the inclusion of “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” is often at complete odds with what we have come to expect with classic westerns, but that suits the film just fine.

You see this is not your typical western by any means. It’s not supposed to be. Butch and Sundance are working in the twilight of the West. The horse is soon to be replaced with the future: the bicycles. Bank vaults are becoming more complex, fervor for the Spanish-American War is at its peak, and lawlessness is no longer going to be tolerated. Whether people realize it or not, this film is one in a final wave of classic westerns that finally petered out in the 70s. Now the western genre, just like the West before it, is dead. A dying breed of genre much like film-noir or even musicals.

That’s why Butch Cassidy works for me. People have criticized the constant change in tones, but this story never claims to be the absolute truth, and it would not be the same film if it did. This story of outlaws is not a history lesson but a legend about two infamous bank robbers. There are moments where we love these antiheroes and moments where we do not know quite what to think of them. They become disillusioned and beaten down by the changing times. Their ambush in Bolivia has only one apparent conclusion. It ended in a bloody and violent death. However, we do not have to see that for the sake of the legend of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. In one mythical moment, they regained their previous status. They went out as they came in, and they will forever be remembered as Butch and Sundance of the Hole in the Wall Gang. They have since been replaced by superheroes on the silver screen, but in their day and age, they were the original supermen — tarnished as they were.

What is amazing is that the film has not only resonated with audiences for generations, but with the leads themselves who really identified with their roles. That is perhaps the greatest compliment to its characters.

5/5 Stars

Mister Roberts (1955)

Posted on August 18, 2014 by 4 Star Films

Starring an all star cast including Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell, and Jack Lemmon, this comedy-drama chronicles the happenings on an unimportant boat during World War II. Mr. Roberts (Fonda) is one of the officers on The Reluctant and he is good to his men but constantly at odds with the difficult captain (Cagney). The ship doctor (Powell) is a kind and sagely old fellow while Ensign Pulver (Lemmon) is spineless, lazy, and still somewhat likable. due to an agreement with the captain, Roberts loses the respect of his men. However, when they realize what he has done for them, they honor him and help him get transferred so he can see some action. Pulver who is happy for Roberts, had tried to impress him earlier. After some bad news Pulver finally does something and it is fearless. I enjoyed this film because of the cast and its good combination of drama and comedy.

4/5 Stars

The Best Films of Fritz Lang

Posted on August 15, 2014 by 4 Star Films

Fritz LANG 1. M
2. Metropolis
3. The Big Heat
4. Scarlet Street
5. Fury
6. You Only Live Once
7. The Woman in the Window
8. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
9. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler
10. While the City Sleeps
11. Spies
12. Hangmen Also Die!
13. Liliom
14. Rancho Notorious
15. Clash by Night
16. Man Hunt
17. Ministry of Fear
18. Blue Gardenia