Side Effects (2013)

☆ ☆ ☆

Side Effects (2013) – S. Soderbergh

I haven’t been watching every Soderbergh film; he seems very hit or miss -- or somewhere in between, as with this film.  Of course, this probably isn’t the place to debate auteur theory but the variability in his output is probably due to other people, such as the writer -- in this case, Scott Z. Burns.  Presumably, Burns is responsible for the plot which is very au courant for 2013, positing that side effects of medication might remove someone’s culpability for a crime. Rooney Mara plays Emily, a twenty-something who is depressed (her husband has just served time for insider trading); after a presumed suicide attempt, her psychiatrist (Jude Law) prescribes her a series of anti-depressants, concluding with one that a friend recommended to her (after seeing ads on TV) that has a side effect of sleepwalking.  When she commits a murder while sleepwalking, the legal issues revolve around who is to blame – Emily, her prescribing doctor, or even Big Pharma.  If it sounds as though I’ve provided spoilers here, suffice it to say that the plot does not really resolve this quandary but instead takes its characters (including Emily’s previous psychiatrist played by Catherine Zeta Jones) into much more complicated (some might say ludicrous) territory.  To be honest, I’m not sure I fully buy (or understand) the resolution, but thrillers sell and incisive investigations into serious issues probably don’t.  Entertaining enough, I guess.

No Man of Her Own (1932)

☆ ☆ ½

No Man of Her Own (1932) – W. Ruggles

Despite the star power of Gable and Lombard (in their only film together, years before their marriage), the movie fizzles out after a promising start.  Gable is a card shark with a team of confederates helping him to swindle rich businessmen (who don’t press charges because they want to stay out of the papers).  The vice squad is onto him, however, so he takes a sojourn out of New York in a small town called Glendale where he meets Lombard’s bored librarian.  She’s a feisty match for him and follows him to the big city after a coin toss leads to their marriage (!!!).  She doesn’t know yet that he’s a crook but soon finds out (the movie doesn’t really build too much suspense here).  The second half is about his abrupt decision to go to South America for a long con, leaving her alone (but not abandoning her).  I think the script probably lets the actors down – or the lack of music highlights the way that the drama drags?  There is a little bit of naughtiness here, because this is “pre-code”, primarily in the form of heavy drinking and actresses in underwear (and both Gable & Lombard taking showers, separately).  Other films of this vintage, including with Gable and Lombard, separately, are far more sparkling than this.

The Fortune Cookie (1966)

☆ ☆ ☆

The Fortune Cookie (1966) – B. Wilder

This first pairing of Lemmon and Matthau for writer-director Billy Wilder is as cynical as you would expect – but I didn’t find it particularly funny.  Matthau is “Whiplash Willie” Gingrich, a personal injury lawyer who sees profit in his brother-in-law’s freak accident on the sidelines of an NFL game in Cleveland.  Lemmon is the cameraman (named Harry Hinkle) who gets knocked down by wide receiver “Boom Boom” Jackson (Ron Rich) and is persuaded somewhat begrudgingly to pretend to be seriously hurt in order to facilitate a suit against the Cleveland Browns etc.  Of course, the insurance company investigates and of course Matthau has some tricks up his sleeve to deceive them.  Hinkle’s ex-wife (Judi West) returns (for the money obviously) to sweet-talk him further into playing along – but Jackson, a really nice guy, takes it hard, making Hinkle feel guilty.  That’s the basic set-up.  I suppose the comedy here isn’t as shocking as it was in 1966 because we now live in a world where we take it for granted that people cheat and look after their self-interest only, that insurance companies and others spy on us constantly, and that those who don’t have these motives might turn to drink to escape this sad reality.  Surprisingly, Wilder gives us a happy ending that we probably don’t deserve – or maybe there’s still hope?  Lemmon and Matthau are solid as usual but better elsewhere.   

  

Storm Boy (2019)

☆ ☆ ☆

Storm Boy (2019) – S. Seet

The local council organised this film for a summer movie night in the park right next to our house (including a mobile petting zoo, popcorn and snags, free face-painting and various games).  So, Amon and I strolled over (it was a cold evening, so later I ran back to the house, in about a minute, and got blankets and pillows for us).  The film is an adaptation of Colin Thiele’s 1963 book, which Aito’s teacher read to him in third grade (it was also filmed earlier in 1976).  The basic story is about a boy who raises three pelicans whose mother has been killed by a hunter and forms a special bond with them.  Like the best children’s fiction, there are important adult elements here – the boy (Finn Little) has lost his mother and sister in a car accident and his father has sought to isolate himself in a rural part of South Australia (90 Mile Beach).  So, how best to cope with grief is part of the story here (esp. because, well, you know, pelicans don’t live forever).  Fit for 2019, a framing device shows businessman Geoffrey Rush (the boy all grown up to be a grandfather) having a change of heart about his company’s destructive environmental policies after being encouraged by his granddaughter (and reminiscing about the past – the actual story).  Although the framing device was a bit confusing for Amon (as were the scenes that showed both Rush and Little in the same shot), he was totally absorbed by the pelican actors (mostly not CGI) and their adventures – and he cried at the end.  Yes, it’s a tearjerker.  I suspect that films like this, when seen at a certain age, remain in one’s heart for a long time – and perhaps children’s films need to be judged by an entirely different rating scale based on the impact they unquestionably have, despite any technical flaws.  I’m sure you have your own list of influential and memorable kids films – mine are all from the 1970s – but I’m not sure they bear rewatching.

After Dark, My Sweet (1990)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

After Dark, My Sweet (1990) – J. Foley

How many of my reviews begin with “I haven’t read the source novel…”?  Well, here is another one, although I probably should give Jim Thompson a look since I do enjoy noir (and pulp fiction – at least Hammett, Chandler, et al.).  Here, his novel has been updated to 1990 and since its set in the desert, the shadows are all in one’s head rather than physical (given the hot sun everywhere).  “Kid” Collins (Jason Patric) is an ex-boxer who may have killed someone in the ring and then spent time in mental institutions – he’s out, possibly on the run. He gets mixed up with Fay (Rachel Ward) and Uncle Bud (Bruce Dern) who have cooked up a scheme to kidnap a rich kid and ask for a big ransom.  They convince Collins to do the heavy lifting but he begins to suspect that they are going to play him for a sucker.  So, it’s a standard noir set-up and Patric sinks himself into the role of the loser, complete with broken-down shuffle and hapless voiceover.  We never quite know whether Fay is bad or good, probably because we are seeing things through Collins’ point of view – he can’t decide because he desires her but senses a trap.  Uncle Bud is much easier to read – he’s obviously deceptive.  Dern shows again how much he can make of a good part – even if he had few of them during this point in his career.  Overall, it’s a slow burn that never quite bursts into fire.  You are there for the characters and the tension and not for any significant plot twists or action.  But director James Foley and the cast do capture that particular mood…

Clash of the Titans (1981)

☆ ☆ ☆

Clash of the Titans (1981) – D. Davis

The final Ray Harryhausen film returns to ancient Greece (the milieu of Jason and the Argonauts, 1963) to tell the story of Perseus (Harry Hamlin).  As before, the Gods squabble and intervene in human affairs – both Zeus (Laurence Olivier) and Thetis (Maggie Smith) have produced human offspring, Perseus and Calibos, respectively.  Calibos (a Harryhausen creation) has been punished by Zeus for killing all of the winged horses (except Pegasus) and turned into a deformed satyr.  Perseus and Calibos clash over their love of Andromeda (Judi Bowker), who is subsequently cursed by Thetis to be eaten by the Kraken (a seamonster titan).  The only way the Kraken can be stopped is with the head of Medusa, which Perseus attempts to secure.  As before, the stop-motion animation is really the reason to watch these films, as the plot itself, despite the presence of name-brand actors (including Burgess Meredith), is rather soapy.  Surprisingly, there is some occasional nudity here!  Nevertheless, Amon found this an enjoyable adventure, although I felt it showed a decline after the wonders we had seen earlier in the Harryhausen canon (I’m not a fan of the mechanical owl). 

  

Everybody Knows (2018)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Everybody Knows (2018) – A. Farhadi

Iranian director Asghar Farhadi (best known for A Separation, 2011) is a master of ambiguity – we are never quite sure where his characters stand in relation to each other and whether or not they are withholding information from each other (and from viewers).  In his second film outside of Iran, this time working in Spain, Farhadi employs superstar actors Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem and Argentinian Ricardo Darín to good effect in a mystery drama that has less interest in whodunnit and much more interest in the relationship dynamics that result.  Cruz and Bardem play ex-lovers who are now married to others but who are brought together again when Cruz returns to Spain from Argentina with her two children for her younger sister’s wedding.  After a slow build where we get to know the characters, a crime occurs and suspicion falls on everyone – Farhadi does a nice job of slowly revealing secrets that implicate each of the principals in turn (including Darín when he too travels to Spain).  Perhaps there are a few too many secondary characters (to increase the number of red herrings?) and perhaps the retired policeman is too overt a plot device directing the characters to provide information to advance the story.  Finding out who the culprits are is rather unsatisfying, suggesting again that this is not Farhadi’s main focus, and the open-ended finale (again with the ambiguity) probably lets everyone off the hook.  Nevertheless, I was gripped by the possibilities, the tension, and the emotions for most of the film.