Recently watched movies 2021.04.11

Some shorter comments on some recent movies

Ad Astra (2019) - new to me

Bend It Like Beckham (2002) - rewatch

Primal Fear (1996) - rewatch

Die Hard (1988) - rewatch

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) - new to me

American Psycho (2000) - new to me

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) - new to me

The Old Guard (2020) - new to me

Only the Brave (2017) - new to me

Midsommar (2019) - new to me

Happy Gilmore (1996) - rewatch

Stand by Me (1986) - rewatch

Dunkirk (2017) - new to me

Ad Astra (2019)
directed by James Gray
(new to me)

Somewhat decent little science fiction thriller about an astronaut who has to go to the outer solar system to prevent a disaster that's about to be caused by his father, whose mission to the stars lost contact with Earth decades before. It looks pretty good, but overall it's too long and slow for the amount of story that it has, and the lead comes across as incredibly unlikeable. Some of the science seems a bit ridiculous as well.  Not sorry I saw it, wouldn't watch it again.

Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
directed by Gurinder Chadha
(rewatch)

Watched this when it first came on video, back in the days of DVD rentals, and I liked it well enough that I bought it a while later, but somehow never got around to actually watching it again until now. Not sure why, it was even better than I remembered it. It helps that it's very much in my cultural wheelhouse (my one trip to England was to attend a wedding very much like the one in this movie, and I visited many homes very much in neighbourhoods like those seen here), but that's only part of it. It's funny, it's charming, it has real conflict born of best intentions rather than contrived situations. Really, I should have watched this a half-dozen times by now based on how much I liked it this time.  I'm looking forward to trying some of Chadha's other movies.

Primal Fear (1996)
directed by Gregory Hoblit
(rewatch)

A legal thriller featuring Richard Gere as a publicity seeking lawyer taking a high profile murder case. The film is probably best known now for being the screen debut of Edward Norton as the defendant, part of a pretty ridiculously talented and recognizable cast. This was at the peak of my "going to theatres to watch movies" period, when I probably saw at least one a week, sometimes as much as three, and it was definitely a favourite. Watched it a few times since then, and while it doesn't hold up completely (especially going in knowing the ending), it still works.

Die Hard (1988)
directed by John McTiernan
(rewatch)

Not much to add to what you can find written about this. Probably watch it every five years or so since it first came out. It's much better done than it has any right to be, clever and funny in ways you wouldn't expect. And at least four times better than any of the four sequels.

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
directed by Blake Edwards
(new to me)

Not sure why I never got around to watching this before. It's been sitting here forever. It's pretty engaging, mostly on the strength of  Audrey Hepburn's performance. A lot of what her character says and does would probably come off as annoying from most other actresses. And of course the less said about one aspect of it the better. Wonder if they could do a cut of the movie excising that character entirely?

American Psycho (2000)
directed by Mary Harron
(new to me)

I don't think I ever realized that this movie was a comedy. Or, more accurately, tried to be a comedy. It wasn't close to successful on that score, but at least with that element it moved in ways that I didn't expect, which was pretty entertaining in its way, and it wasn't that long, which was nice. But, y'know, don't bother watching.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)
directed by Aaron Sorkin
(new to me)

This doesn't feel like it was very good as history, and I'm not sure it explains enough to be intelligible enough to someone who didn't go in with at least a passing familiarity with the events. But as a Sorkin fan, someone who lived by the early seasons of THE WEST WING, devoured two seasons of SPORTS NIGHT in one weekend when it came out on DVD, saw A FEW GOOD MEN an absurd number of times and suffered through some of his more recent TV and movies, this felt good. There were any number of flaws, I sincerely hope it doesn't win an Oscar for Best Picture or Screenplay, but I enjoyed it and would watch it again. Might have to go back and watch MOLLY'S GAME, which I skipped after the few Sorkin projects before it.

The Old Guard (2020)
directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood
(new to me)

An action/fantasy based on the 2017 comic by Leandro Fernández and Greg Rucka, making for one of the quicker transitions from page to screen in comics. And in an added rarity, Rucka is the sole credited screenwriter of the adaptation. Not sure if that's ever happened in a high profile comic-to-screen adaptation before. Anyway, I read the first series (OPENING FIRE) when it came out, and re-read it and its recent sequel (FORCE MULTIPLIED) shortly before watching the movie (a final book, FADE AWAY, is expected eventually, but first there's an anthology of short stories mostly by other creators). 

Usually I like to give a bit more distance between source material and adaptation, but doing it this way was interesting.  Rucka does a pretty good job translating his own story, keeping much more than is usual in an adaptation, mostly just moving a few things around, changing the emphasis on a few things what might work better in one medium or the other and fleshing out a few things.

Anyway, short form is that it's about a group of mercenaries who, through unknown reasons, are effectively immortal, being able to recover from any wound. After hundreds or thousands of years, they now find themselves in modern times where being able to keep such abilities secret isn't quite as easy as it was before. Very well done overall, I wouldn't be surprised if we got a sequel a few years down the line (maybe based on the second comic series, maybe something completely different), and I'll be there for it, as well as the final comic series.

Only the Brave (2017)
directed by Joseph Kosinski
(new to me)

A biographical movie about a group of Arizona firefighters, specializing in containing wildfires, following their training for a period leading up to their final mission in 2013, where 19 of the 20 team members died. Pretty good for what it is, a bit paint-by-numbers for such a movie, but Josh Brolin is really strong in the lead.  

Midsommar (2019)
directed by Ari Aster
(new to me)

An odd little horror story about some college students who travel to rural Sweden attend a festival, only to find themselves drawn deeper and deeper into a violent cult. It was pretty unsettling in a lot of ways, especially with some of the discordant natural beauty of the setting and some of the unconventional cinematography. Not really sure what I feel about it overall. Might have to revisit it eventually when I'm in the right mood, but not for a while.

Happy Gilmore (1996)
directed by Dennis Dugan
(rewatch)

Not sure why I decided to rewatch this, except that I had vague memories that I liked it more than most Adam Sandler movies I'd seen. That might still be true, but now it's really damning with faint praise. Only found a few short bits funny, most of it was one miss after another. Even the goofy Bob Barker bit, which I remembered being much funnier, seemed mostly clumsy, like it was a good idea for a joke that they forgot to finish writing.

Stand by Me (1986)
directed by Rob Reiner
(rewatch)

I was a few years late to this, not watching it until the mid-1990s, and probably would have loved it a lot more if I'd actually seen it in 1986, when I was closer to the age of the characters. Still like it a lot, and am happy to revisit it every few years. Am I the first to note Reiner had a really amazing run of movies in the first decade of his directing career? What's that, the last to note it? Well, that's got to be worth something...

Dunkirk (2017)
directed by Christopher Nolan
(new to me)

I started this a couple of times since it was first available to watch at home, would generally get about a half hour or so in before something would distract me and I would somehow never get back to it.  Finally got all the way through this time.  It's a little bit confusing, I'm still not sure I completely get how the timelines work with each other. There's a lot to like in it, but I think it needs some stronger characters to really tell the story, which I recall from my long-ago reading of WWII history is a really good story which is only hinted at in this telling, the most high profile telling we'll probably ever see for it.

Recently watched movies 2021.03.15

Random thoughts on another batch of movies

The Magnificent Seven (1960) - rewatch
Love Actually (2003) - new to me
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) - rewatch
The Usual Suspects (1995) - rewatch
On the Waterfront (1954) - rewatch*
The King of Staten Island (2020) - new to me
Les Misérables (2012) - rewatch
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) - new to me
Your Name (2016) - new to me
Red Sparrow (2018) - new to me
The Rock (1996) - rewatch

The Magnificent Seven (1960)
directed by John Sturges

(rewatch)

This has long been one of my favourite movies since I saw it some 35 years ago, and maybe top 5 in the genre. As everyone knows, it's based on the 1954 Akira Kurosawa movie SEVEN SAMURAI, adapting it to the 19th century US/Mexico border area.

Not much I can add to 60 years of praise the movie had earned. This time around I especially enjoyed Eli Wallach as the bandit leader Calvera. Just pitch perfect in every scene. Instead of pointless sequels and remakes for the titular seven, they should done a prequel movie about Calvera (spoiler alert, he dies).

Love Actually (2003)
directed by Richard Curtis
(new to me)

Wow, this was... disappointing, I guess. Started to hear a lot about this movie a few years back, several people whose opinions I (used to) respect citing it as one of their favourites in whatever field was being discussed (romantic comedy, Christmas movies, ensemble casts).

I think this might be one of the least enjoyable well-made movies I've ever seen. Cast is full of talented people, all doing what they were hired for. Everything looks and sounds good. There are nearly a dozen interlocking stories, and I don't think I liked one of them. It just all seemed to be filled with repulsive beings doing repulsive things, and somehow with the charm of the actors trying to convince me that they weren't so bad. But they were. I get more upset about how much I dislike at least one person in almost every relationship in this movie the more I think about it (the only possible exceptions being the old rock singer and the film stand-ins, and even those are borderline). Not sure if I would have liked any of them better if there was more than a sitcom episode of screen time for any one story ("...and such small portions"). If any of these were the side plot in a conventional romantic comedy I'd just regard it as a misstep, but for each of them to effectively share the lead spot in a movie... well, hate actually is all around. 

This makes those holiday ensemble movies that Garry Marshall sadly ended his career with look much better in retrospect.

Is the praise I've heard for this movie some sort of long con? Or an elaborate prank? Do people really like this thing unironically?

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
directed by Frank Darabont
(rewatch)

Well, here's a movie that's always an antidote to any other cinematic poison you may have found yourself ingesting. I can still remember going to see this back in 1994 when it was new, not knowing anything about it, and just being stunned by how good it was. Might be my fondest movie theatre memory. Went back and watched it again the next day, which is the only time that ever happened. For quite a while after that I'd be as likely as not to name this as my favourite movie ever, before that became too much of a cliché. Still probably makes the cut every now and then, especially if I've just seen it. Which I probably have maybe close to two dozen times, not counting the hundreds of times I'll put it on just to watch a few scenes. 

This time around I especially enjoyed the supporting cast, in particular Brooks and Heywood.

The Usual Suspects (1995)
directed by Bryan Singer

(rewatch)

Similar to SHAWSHANK, I watched this in the theatre without any prior knowledge. Feel sorry for anyone who wasn't able to do that based on how many of the surprises are in the general lexicon. Also went back to see it on the big screen, though that was a few weeks later.

I think this might have been the first movie I re-watched with the commentary track all the way through when the DVD came out. Which made it the third time I watched it that week.

And yeah, I know, problematic creators on multiple levels. Still can't help but love it.  Gabriel Byrne and Kevin Pollak are still okay, right?  

On the Waterfront (1954)
directed by Elia Kazan

(rewatch*)

Technically a re-watch, but we're talking maybe 1988 since I've seen it (I know I was in high school, since I drove my French teacher crazy doing an awful Brando impression. Yes, in French. "J'aurais pu etre un candidat"?), so most of it felt new to me. Pretty much everything but that old "I coulda been a contender" scene I loved so much.  

Overall it still works about 90% of the time. The ending kind of lets it down, and knowing about Kazan drops it another notch. Have to say, I wouldn't hate it if someone good did a remake of it (except maybe not Aaron Sorkin, please. I know that would be Hollywood's first instinct), as a period piece, not updated to the modern day, with an improved script.

The King of Staten Island (2020)
directed by Judd Apatow
(new to me)

I think this might cure me of watching Apatow directed movies, which have been on a pretty consistent downward trend since THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN. Well, maybe TRAINWRECK was a little better than THIS IS 40.

Most of the first hour of the movie is pointless, unless you find Pete Davidson and his friends unbelievable charming, and if you do, I don't want to know you. That whole mess should have been condensed to ten minutes, which (if you added a real ending) would have brought the whole film down closer to the 100-minute ideal for a comedy. Overlength has been a consistent problem with Apatow, unfortunately.

After all of that set-up it picks up a bit for a while, but it's still repetitive. Maybe pick one scenario that makes your point and develop it, fully rather than half-bake all three concepts you have. And then it all just... sort... of... stops. Shoot me if they ever announce KING OF STATEN ISLAND 2 to provide the closure this one lacked.

Did want to note Marisa Tomei's performance as the mother, which really saves the movie. I was ready to stop watching at least three times, deciding to continue only when she came back on screen, seemingly wandering in from another far more interesting movie, and made me keep going. Give me an hour of set-up with her and I won't complain about a two hour comedy.

Les Misérables (2012)
directed by Tom Hooper

(rewatch)

I watched this one theatrically when it came out, not being familiar with the stage show, except for the song "I Dreamed a Dream" (and not knowing the context of that), knowing the general story Victor Hugo's The Wreched mostly from cultural osmosis. And I loved it, maybe my favourite movie of that year.

So oddly, this is the first time I've watched it all the way through since then, and it took Hooper's CATS being retroactively my favourite movie of 2019 (okay, not really, but top 5) to get me to do it. I have watched a few individual scenes a number of times, one in particular dozens of times, but never all of it. Since then I've also listened to the soundtrack many times, and various original cast recordings from assorted stage productions, at least one version of each song (except the new one from the movie) is on my regular random car playlist, so there probably hasn't been a week in the last eight years I haven't heard at least one song from this. Still haven't seen a proper stage production, although I did watch parts of the anniversary concert version, which gives some idea of the costuming and staging.

So, finally watching the whole movie again, I still like it. Maybe not quite as much. ZERO DARK THIRTY might beat it for best of 2012 now. I'd say that, with maybe two exceptions, the versions of the songs in the movie aren't my top choice of the available versions, and in some cases are dead last. One of those exceptions is "On My Own" by Samantha Barks, which I've watched many times, and listened to many more times. Other than that, it's not as good as the movie in my head, which edits out a lot of little jokes and asides (a problem even more pronounced in CATS), explains some things clearer now that I know the story better and substitutes other versions of the songs. Still, the movie that's actually there is still one I'm fond of. Don't think I'll wait as long to watch it again. And maybe I'll watch the full anniversary concert sometime soon. I wish there was a full filmed version of the proper stage show, similar to the 1998 CATS version or HAMILTON from last year.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
directed by Tommy Lee Wallace
(new to me)

This is the only HALLOWEEN movie not to be a slasher movie with Michael Myers, back when the intention seemed to be to make it an anthology horror franchise.  Obviously that didn't work. I plan to eventually re-watch the whole series, and this is the only one of the early ones I'd never seen.

This one involves a mask company with an irritating commercial jingle being used to distribute electronic devices with pieces of Stonehenge that will turn your head to bugs and snakes... and something about robots... and a lot of other things. It's all okay for what it's trying to be, but nothing special. And I'm going to have that damn commercial jingle in my head for a while.

Your Name (2016)
directed by Makoto Shinkai
(new to me)

Started watching this with subtitles and the original Japanese audio, which is my usual option for non-English movies where there's a choice, but it wasn't working for me. So I restarted with the dubbed version, which I found much easier. Not sure if that's because it was animation (I haven't watched too much feature length animation from Japan for quite a while), or because the dubbed translation seems to be a bit better than the captions.

Anyway, this is a weird sort of fantasy romance which starts off with two teenagers switching minds at random intervals, with the revelation that much more is going on as the story develops. I have to admit I found a lot of it confusing, not sure how much of that is my cultural ignorance, or the translation, or just a confusing story. Had to resort to searching for a plot summary on the internet to explain a few things that eluded me.

That said, gorgeous looking, and I'll probably watch it again in a few months to see how it works when you know what's going on. And I look forward to being disappointed by the eventual American re-make.

Red Sparrow (2018)
directed by Francis Lawrence

(new to me)

This is a fairly recent movie about Russian and American spy games. Overall it's just okay, not really adding too much to the genre, except maybe being more explicit with the sex and violence than most of the famous earlier examples, where that stuff was more often implied or off-screen.

Jennifer Lawrence is the lead, playing a young ballet dancer who gets injured, and in order to keep the privileged life she's used to for her mother gets dragged further and deeper into the world of espionage, where she's expected to use sex to her advantage. As you'd expect, the usual double and triple crosses occur, maybe to slightly ridiculous degree. Add five minutes to the end of the movie and there could have been yet another cross which turned everything on its head.

All a bit by the numbers. A little bit ridiculous in how good Lawrence's character gets with very little training compared to the other agents. Very stylish and well made, but nothing new. It also seems to be temporally displaced, Parts of it feel like it should be in the 1980s, other parts feel like it's taking place when it was produced, or some random time between those two.

The Rock (1996)
directed by Michael Bay
(rewatch)

This is probably the peak of big dumb action movies of its era. Certainly it's the peak of Michael Bay's career. There are probably a lot of flaws in this if you make the mistake of thinking about it for too long, but avoid that trap and it's a lot of fun, Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage are ridiculous in the best sense of that word, Ed Harris is dropped in from another movie and somehow that works. I end up watching this every few years, usually after I watch an action movie that doesn't work (this time it was pure letting my computer pick a random movie of those available).

Recently watched movies 2021.03.08

Another batch of movies

Apollo 13 (1995) - rewatch
The Brood (1979) - new to me
Cats (1998) - new to me
Cats (2019) - new to me
Dark Waters (2019) - new to me
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966) - new to me
Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) - rewatch
The Hunt for Red October (1990) - rewatch
The Invisible Man (2020) - new to me
The Meg (2018) - new to me
Rio Bravo (1959) - new to me

Apollo 13 (1995)
directed by Ron Howard
(rewatch)

Being, of course, the dramatization of the 1970 NASA flight intended to be the third manned landing on the Moon which had to be aborted half-way there and became a rescue operation.

Loved this movie from the first time I saw it theatrically. Pretty near flawless production, from the sets to the acting. Every time I watch it I think there's something that must have been made up for dramatic effect, only to look it up and find that it was true, and in fact there were other interesting things which didn't make it in.

Never regret watching it, which I do every couple of years since it came out, and probably will continue to do forever.

The Brood (1979)
directed by David Cronenberg

An early horror movie from Cronenberg, featuring a man whose estranged wife is in the clutches of a cult which preaches "psychoplasmics", which he fears may be affecting their daughter.

Very nicely done suspenseful movie with moments of intense violence and horror. You can really see the flashes of certain filmmaking tendencies which would show up in later more well known Cronenberg work. It's not very long at only 92 minutes, a rare case where I'd actually like to see a movie be longer so it can flesh out a few things.

Cats (1998)
directed by David Mallet
Cats (2019)
directed by Tom Hooper

I always pretty much assumed I wouldn't like CATS, the stage musical, and in any case wasn't likely to go see the live version of it or any other musical (I think maybe 9th grade was the last live musical I've seen). Didn't even know about the 1998 filmed version, which is a modified version of the stage production.

Then the 2019 film version came out, and seemed to be much reviled from all corners, from those who loved the stage production and those who hated it. Not something I'd rush to see on the big screen, but eventually, a year later, I was in the mood to try something I could laugh at rather than with...

Expectations then sufficiently lowered, I watched. And about five minutes in I realize I might like it (I can identify the exact line, "Jellicle cats are queens of the night"). As it turns out, I loved it. I mean, really, I recognize all complaints about it as valid, it's completely strange, it's deeply flawed, but I was completely in the world within minutes, loved the music, the dancing, forgave numerous clunky bits, did not understand the hate for it.

Upon finishing, I did something I infrequently do and went back and rewatched a few scenes I especially enjoyed ("Mr. Mistoffelees" and "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer", plus the first five minutes or so to watch it in the mood of "I like this" rather than "I'm going to love hating this"). Then the next day I did something I almost never do, and rewatched the whole thing. Then I added various versions (original London, original Broadway, film soundtrack) of it to a playlist on Spotify to listen to, found out about the 1998 version and watched that a week later, watched the full film again with the director's commentary, watched the 1998 version again with the Andrew Lloyd Webber commentary done last year in the early days of the current pandemic, read the original T. S. Eliot book of poems, listened to Eliot's reading of the poems and read way too many websites about the play. There has not been a day since I watched the film, about six weeks ago, that I haven't at least watched a scene from one of the movies or listened to one of the songs (as I type this I'm listening to a German stage production).

I guess I should be grateful that this happened now. If I found out how much I liked CATS a few years ago I might have spent way too much money going to see it live, while we now live in a world where I don't see myself going to a live stage show for a while, maybe ever. I am sorry that I missed the experience of seeing either film with an audience, although based on general commentary I'd have been unlikely to be in a crowd enjoying themselves as much as I was. I also wonder if the oft-complained about CGI effects in the 2019 film would have worked as well on the big screen.

I might have to get back this, as I have a lot of thoughts about all these versions. Like I said, there were missteps, in every version, and I don't see stopping watching it in the near future.

Dark Waters (2019)
directed by Todd Haynes

This is one of the most recent of the subset of legal dramas dealing with dramatizations of real-life lawyers going against corporate malfeasance, in particular environmental pollution. In the tradition of SILKWOOD and ERIN BROCKOVICH and the like. In this case the corporation is DuPont and their poisoning of the water in West Virginia with an unregulated chemical used in the production of teflon. Mark Ruffalo plays Robert Bilott, the main lawyer on what became a class action case against the company.

Overall this is okay. The accents are a bit much, and Mark Ruffalo is kind of weird in the whole thing. He seems to be trying to channel 1950s Marlon Brando, which is an odd choice, and he's also way too old to be the character he's playing in most of the movie (just checking, and Bilott would have been about 32 when the case started, about 20 years younger than Ruffalo when the movie was made). Of course, since these cases tend to drag out, by the end Ruffalo is the right age.

Most amazing is what these companies are able to get away with, and how little they pay even in the cases they lose compared to their overall profits. And how they can continue to do business even under the same name despite all the findings against them.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
directed by Richard Lester

This is a film adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim stage musical set in ancient Rome. This one turned out to be a bit of a slog, unfortunately. There were random funny scenes spread throughout, but I didn't care for most of the songs (pretty much just "Comedy Tonight" even stuck with me) and various things just go on too long. Especially the chariot chase scene at the end.

And I was somewhat distracted by The Doctor showing up out of nowhere in the middle...

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
directed by George Armitage

(rewatch)

This one I've seen at least a dozen times since it came out. For those unfamiliar, John Cusack plays a hired killer having a mid-life crisis that comes just as his 10-year high school reunion does, and reconnects with the girl he stood up on prom night, played by Minnie Driver. Wonderful movie, great cast, all sorts of little details to pick up on with each viewing.  I think I wrote about it on a previous viewing. Ah, over here.

The Hunt for Red October (1990)
directed by John McTiernan

(rewatch)

The first of many screen versions of Tom Clancy's CIA analyst Jack Ryan character, played here by Alec Baldwin. His mission this time involves a Russian submarine that goes silent under the command of Sean Connery.

I've seen this before, but it's been a while. It's pretty good as such things go, moves along nicely, lot of good action scenes. The Jack Ryan stuff is kind of superfluous, though, and maybe the whole movie would have been more interesting without the superspy who makes all sorts of improbable guesses based on little evidence that turn out to be right.

The Invisible Man (2020)
directed by Leigh Whannell

Elizabeth Moss stars in this movie very loosely based on the old H. G. Wells novel. In this version it's staged as a sort of stalker thriller with science fiction elements, as Moss escapes from a dominating relationship with an optics scientist who then proceeds to use an invisibility suit to stalk her, attack her and her friends and to generally make her appear to be crazy.

This is a solid but unspectacular film. The acting elevates some of the weaker bits of the writing. Sometimes the directing tends to lean on standard thriller ticks, with the occasional inventive bit based on the invisibility gimmick.

The Meg (2018)
directed by Jon Turteltaub

A big budget giant shark movie, this one about a giant supposedly extinct megalodon rising up from the depths of the Marianas Trench after some scientists provide a path out with their exploration vessel.

Worth watching if you keep your expectations low. It looks good, you can see where a lot of the budget went on the screen. Maybe a few million could have been shaken from that for a pass on a script which isn't as full of clichés.

Rio Bravo (1959)
directed by Howard Hawks

A cowboy movie starring John Wayne, Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson. The latter two mean we get some singing stuck in there before the big finale, but that's one of the few flaws in this story about a sheriff who has to hold off the hired guns of a wealthy rancher after arresting the rancher's brother. I like westerns, I'm not sure why I never got around to watching this one before, one of the most acclaimed ones of that era. Especially liked watching it so soon after re-watching BLAZING SADDLES, since you can tell where a lot of those bits came from. The drunken gunslinger with unsteady hands, the "authentic frontier gibberish" that Walter Brennen delivers as deputy Stumpy.

Glad I watched it, will definitely watch again, and maybe I'll check out a few more westerns from that era.

Recently watched movies 2021.03.01

Short comments on a bunch of movies I watched in the last week or so.
Specifically:

Harakiri (1962) - new to me

How to Murder Your Wife (1965) - new to me

Blazing Saddles (1974) - rewatch

Gremlins (1984) - rewatch

Groundhog Day (1993) - rewatch

Broken Arrow (1996) - rewatch

The Big Lebowski (1998) - rewatch

The Sixth Sense (1999) - rewatch

Heist (2001) - new to me

What We Do in the Shadows (2014) - new to me

Vivarium (2019) - new to me

Harakiri (1962)
directed by Masaki Kobayashi
[aka Seppuku (1962),  切腹 (1962)]

Set in early 17th century Japan, a masterless samurai requests the use of a lord's courtyard to commit ritual suicide so he can die with honour. Flashbacks show what happened to a previous samurai who made that request and the connection between them.

Just an excellent film, one of the best I've seen in a while. I only became aware of it recently, when I did an update to my spreadsheet of movies I've seen and want to see, and it came up as the highest ranking movie on the IMDB Top 250 that I'd never seen (currently #32 and the only one in the top 50 I hadn't seen except for one I won't watch because of the director). That kind of surprised me, since I don't recall ever hearing of the movie before that, and I have at least some awareness of every other American or Japanese movie on that chart (not so much some of the Indian and European work. And of course the Japanese movies on that chart are mostly Kurosawa and Miyazaki). Looking into it, it appears it only got enough votes to qualify for that chart in the last year and a half.

Just about a perfect movie, with a gradual unveiling of all the secrets, some good action scenes that actually advance the plot and a thoughtful conclusion. Seeing this now I can see where a lot of the more interesting aspects of some samurai comics I like, from Lone Wolf to Usagi, come from.

How to Murder Your Wife (1965)
directed by Richard Quine

It's kind of hard to figure out this movie. If it had come out in the last decade, I'd assume all the sexist stuff in it was a parody of the sexism of the 1960s, it's all so over the top in ways even beyond what you might see in Mad Men. But of course it's from the 1960s, so you have to allow for the idea that it might all just be sincere, no matter how ridiculous. Hard to say.

Anyway, it's the story of an absurdly successful comic strip artist (the comics shown being drawn by actual comic strip artist Mel Keefer), enjoying a carefree bachelor life, complete with a doting butler and carrying out elaborate roleplay scenarios on the streets of New York in order to get accurate photo references for his strips. Then he makes the mistake of getting married at a drunken party, and his carefree life is threatened (and his action/adventure comic strip becomes an even more successful domestic comedy strip). 

It's all very silly, and very well made, especially with Jack Lemmon being very charming in the lead role. You have to either be willing to either ignore the sexism or be prepared to give it the benefit of the doubt that it was a parody. Not sure I'd really recommend it to anyone not also interested in the comic strip stuff (which I assume was why it ended up on my list of things to watch).

Also, had to check, and the score is indeed by the guy who did the Odd Couple, which is very distracting as the main recurring theme is about 90% of the Odd Couple theme, to the point you keep expecting Walter Matthau to pop in.

Blazing Saddles (1974)
directed by Mel Brooks

If I'd kept track, this might be a contender for the movie I've seen most in my life. Been a few years since the last time, but it still holds up. Even knowing every line to the point I'm saying every punchline just ahead of the actors (because my timing sucks).

And yes, all the criticisms of the language are valid, I'm not sure what someone who never saw it before would make of it today. Fortunately, not my concern at this point.

This time around I was especially amused by Gabby Johnson and his display of "authentic frontier gibberish".

Gremlins (1984)
directed by Joe Dante

I know I saw this in the theatre first run, I think I've only seen commercial TV showings of it ever since, which I'm sure are cut to pieces (this film apparently being a leading reason the PG-13 rating was created). And even that would have been decades ago.

It's a strange movie, that's for sure. A few really funny scenes, a few really scary bits, but a lot of the scenes really go on far too long (the Gremlins in the bar, for example). And that absolutely weird scene where Phoebe Cates talks about the death of her father? What movie was that dropped in from? Maybe commercial TV has a point and it does need to be cut to pieces. Not so much for violence, but just for storytelling. There's a really good 70 minute movie in these 106 minutes.

Groundhog Day (1993)
directed by Harold Ramis

Another contender for most watched movie in my life. Don't think I've gone more than two years without seeing it since it came out (but, of course, never actually on February 2nd. I'm not a cliché). 

I'm pretty sure there's nothing I could add to all the "hot takes" on the movie you can find with a casual web search for the movie. And where should you do that search? Where do you think?

Broken Arrow (1996)
directed by John Woo

Haven't seen this since it came out when I was hearing a lot about Woo, but his original Chinese movies weren't readily available to me. 

It's about John Travolta as a fighter pilot who goes rogue and steals some nuclear bombs, and Christian Slater as his betrayed friend who has to stop him with the help of a park ranger played by Samantha Mathis.

I remember thinking it was okay, a little slight, but much more stylish than the average action movie of the era. Everything about it is better realized in Woo's next movie, FACE/OFF, also with Travolta. I'd still say this is worth watching. I was surprised by how clearly I remembered a few bits of it even after a quarter century.

The Big Lebowski (1998)
directed by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

I mean, for comparison, I know it hasn't been that long since I last saw this one, maybe five years, and I seem to have forgotten vast chunks of it. I mean like most scenes where John Goodman isn't on the screen. The Goodman scenes all feel like I saw them last week, while everything else just seems like a half-remembered dream I had once.

Not to say it's not all enjoyable. But I look forward to seeing it all for the first time again in a few years.

The Sixth Sense (1999)
directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Saw this a lot back around the turn of the century. Twice in the theatre, twice again when it was released on home video (for the kids reading, it used to take at least 6 months, sometimes over a year, for a movie to be released for home viewing. Now it's more like weeks, if there's any delay at all. Or if there's even a theatrical release. Also, kids? Reading a weblog? In 2021? What's wrong with you?). And then again when I actually bought a copy maybe a year later (again, for the kids, we used to buy movies on physical discs). But all that was about 20 years ago, and this is the first I've seen it since.

For the most part, still works, not quite as well as I clearly thought back then, but still a good construction. There are a few places where it could have been tightened up, and the kid's story kind of ends in a weird place so they could jump to the big end scene with Bruce Willis. Which was a lot less elaborate that I remembered it being.

Still good enough to make you wonder what happened to Shyamalan. Easily twice as good as his next best movie, and way better than his average.

Heist (2001)
directed by David Mamet

Somehow never watched this before. Anyway, it does what it says on the tin, it's a heist movie and it's by Mamet, with all the twists and dialogue ticks that you'd expect from that. Gene Hackman is the aging con-man looking to get out with one last score, great cast of characters around him to either help or get in the way or be used. 

Nothing revolutionary, but a decent example of the form. The big set-piece plane heist was well constructed, completely implausible and audacious. 

The Mamet dialogue sometimes gets a bad rap, with so many trying to replicate the surface elements without doing as good a job, but in the right circumstances and with the right actors it can be a joy.

What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
directed by Jemaine Clement & Taika Waititi

Been hearing some good things about the on-going TV show based on this movie, plus I loved Waititi's JOJO RABBIT and enjoyed his THOR: RAGNAROK. So figured it was worth checking out.

The movie is a mocking documentary (there's got to be a better name for that) about vampires living in modern day New Zealand, in particular four vampires from different eras (and different cinematic influences in their portrayal of vampires) who share a flat. Various hi-jinks ensue, mixing in standard sitcom situations with various horror tropes.

Pretty fun stuff overall. Kind of drags in the middle, even with the short 85 minute runtime. Might check out the TV show (which relocates the action to America).

Vivarium (2019)
directed by Lorcan Finnegan

A recent movie about Imogen Poots and Jesse Eisenberg as a young couple who go house-hunting, ending up in a suburban nightmare world of identical houses where they are unable to leave. 

And I'm sure I'm not the first to note that this is basically a Twilight Zone episode blown up to feature length. Which is never a good idea. Even Twilight Zone episodes (any iteration) are better in the half-hour format, always feeling bloated and self-indulgent the closer they get to one hour, with commercials. Double that length, and take away the sweet release of a cartoon rabbit trying to sell you insurance, not a good idea. So some good bits, some striking visuals, but not enough story by half. Also, Eisenberg? Always a little annoying. Usually it fits the characters he's playing. 

MASCOTS (2016)

MASCOTS (2016)
Director: Christopher Guest
Writers: Christopher Guest and Jim Piddock

MASCOTS is the latest film from Christopher Guest. In the style of his previous films WAITING FOR GUFFMAN (1997), BEST IN SHOW (2000), A MIGHTY WIND (2003) and FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION (2006), it's a semi-improvised comedy look at a variety of odd individuals brought together for a niche activity, this time a competition for the World Mascot Association. Unlike those previous films, this one was released direct to streaming video site Netflix, rather than widely released theatrically.

I really liked Guest's previous efforts in this field (as well as of course THIS IS SPINAL TAP (1984), which was directed by Rob Reiner but co-written and starring Guest and defining a lot of this mocking documentary, mockumentary if you will, style). This new one has a lot of what I liked in those movies, but based on the first viewing it seems to be missing something. I'm not sure of the details of Guest's working style, if he has an overall through-line and emotional heart of the story going into filming, or if he finds it in the editing of the largely improvised dialogue, but this movie doesn't seem to have that. As a collection of wacky antics of some oddballs who are totally oblivious to their own insanity, which is also a major aspect of the earlier films, it's very successful (and the cast, with most of Guest's regulars and some talented new faces, was top notch). It was the funniest new movie I'd seen in a long while, maybe even since FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. But I'm not sure it holds together as a movie, as opposed to a very good collection of inter-related sketches.

I'd also have to go back and check, but there were a handful of scenes in here that I didn't really buy as "documentary footage". There's always some leeway on that in these kinds of movies (you sometimes have to accept that there are apparently several dozen camera crews following each cast member for a supposedly low-budget shoot), but this one seemed to violate the format in ways that the others didn't.

I'll probably watch it again in a year or two, to see if it had something I just missed. Guest's more than earned that benefit of the doubt. And I have no hesitation in recommending anyone else watch it.

Movies - THE BIG YEAR (2011)

I don't know if it was just having seen a great Wes Anderson movie less than a day earlier or what, but I couldn't help but think while watching THE BIG YEAR (2011) that it felt like what would happen if a Wes Anderson style screenplay were somehow handed to a completely average, non-adventurous mainstream director.

I didn't know too much about the movie going in, just that it was about bird watching enthusiasts and it starred  Owen Wilson, Jack Black and Steve Martin, three actors who have done some great movies in the past, but also put out a lot of fluff between the good ones. And I think Kevin Pollak mentioned it once or twice on his talk show, so I knew he was in it, and is usually entertaining.

I think I would have to say that I liked it overall, but the script really seemed to be fighting against the direction throughout. Everything in the script was quirky, from the premise to the plot to the characters to the settings. I couldn't help but to picture how someone like Wes Anderson would interpret all of it, the exact opposite of what the actual director (David Frankel, for the record, who I'm only familiar with from THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA) chose to do. The film makes all the safe, mainstream choices in how to tell the story, how to handle the music cues. That ended up turning it into a good film that was nothing special, and I was left with the feeling that if it was bolder it could have been a great film. Or possibly a spectacular failure, but either way something memorable. I mean, the script has a remote Alaskan cabin where birders go to spot a few rare birds at a particular time of year. In a Wes Anderson movie, that cabin would just look like nothing you'd seen before, but if he succeeded look exactly right. In this movie, it's just a cabin in Alaska.

So I'm not sorry I watched it, and it was pleasant to see Wilson, Black and Martin all doing better work than a lot of their choices, but I'm not sure I'd ever watch it again.

A few recent things... (mostly movies)

Just wanted to throw up a few things I posted on Facebook for some reason, just to have them in a place where I can find them in the future. Just a few movie/tv thoughts (THE HOBBIT, MOONRISE KINGDOM and a few Sherlocks) and some images I wanted to save.

Movies - LES MISÉRABLES (2012)

On a whim I went to go see LES MISÉRABLES today (am I the only one who always wants to translate that and call it THE MISERABLES).

I'm not really big on musicals. I think the only ones on my list of favourite movies would be THE WIZARD OF OZ, WEST SIDE STORY (the bits without Tony and Maria whining) and WILLY WONKA. And I suppose THE MUPPET MOVIE would qualify. Other than those, I would re-watch stuff like BRIGADOON, THE MUSIC MAN, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, MARY POPPINS or SWEENEY TODD if they were on. That's actually more musicals I like than I was expecting, especially considering I haven't actually tried to watch most of the others considered classics... But still, not a whole lot of heavy dramatic stuff there.

Anyway, I'm trying to watch more movies in the theatre, especially things that look like they'd benefit from the experience, and the trailer for LES MISÉRABLES looked pretty good. And I missed the start time of DJANGO UNCHAINED. My relative lack of experience with musicals and not overly great hearing means I sometimes have trouble picking up all the words in musicals, which is why I prefer to watch them at home, where subtitles and rewinding are an option, but I figured I'd take a chance. If I ever read the original Victor Hugo novel it was long ago that I forgot, but I know enough of the story from cultural osmosis that I was sure I could follow it even if I missed some words.

I liked it quite a bit more than I was expecting to. I don't know if I'll ever watch the whole 2 1/2 hour thing again, since it did drag in bits, but I'll definitely take a look when I can watch it at home and revisit some of the good bits. It took some getting used to just how much singing there was, compared to most of the musicals I like, but by about half-way through it began to seem odd when there were brief bits of spoken dialogue, like, "why didn't he sing that bit?" or something. And I did end up missing a fair bit of the dialogue, but it was worth it to see some of those visuals on the big screen. And a lot of the performers did a great job, with Anne Hathaway on the top of that list, and Hugh Jackman not that far behind, and those aren't two actors I've been that impressed with before. Not as convinced by Russell Crowe, but its kind of a complex role and I'd have to see it again before being too critical.

So that was a Sunday afternoon well spent.

Movies - STARDUST (2007)

So, where was I...

I saw STARDUST the other day, the new fantasy movie based on the illustrated novel by Charles Vess and Neil Gaiman. The book isn't really a favourite of mine from the oeuvre of either of those two, either together or separate, but I enjoyed it well enough, and the movie had gotten a fair bit of praise from some reliable corners, including several comparisons to THE PRINCESS BRIDE, a particular favourite (both the movie and book).

Overall I'd have to rank the movie as disappointing, though I suspect I'd have liked it slightly more if I wasn't familiar with the Vess/Gaiman original. It's a very loose adaptation of the story, and unfortunately almost every deviation runs counter to what charm the original had, and moves it towards generic film conventions. The novel had a slow, very deliberate build-up, with the two leads not meeting until almost the middle of the book. The movie presumably couldn't have that, so contrives a way to speed that up which doesn't quite work. The quiet and appropriate ending becomes a rather loud and spectacular bang.

A lot of the other changes have to do with the comparisons to THE PRINCESS BRIDE. Several elements of the book are expanded to play as humourous in the manner of THE PRINCESS BRIDE. I'd say the film-makers wanted to make THE PRINCESS BRIDE in the worst way, and proceeded to do so. The reason BRIDE works is that the ridiculous elements and oddball storytelling style are integral parts of the original work, and grafting such elements (DeNiro's goofy flying ship captain, the ghosts acting as a combination Greek chorus and MST3K commentary track) onto a straight story doesn't work anymore than adapting THE PRINCESS BRIDE as a straight fantasy without the humour would have worked.

The visuals were also a disappointment compared to the original work. Vess has a wonderful light style on both the real-world and faerie elements of the story that, with a few exceptions, didn't come through in the actors or scenery of the film, which again goes for the generic whenever it's an option.

As I said, I might have liked the movie well enough if I didn't know the source and how far it fell from it. I'd still have had a lot of problems with it (when did DeNiro start playing parodies of DeNiro characters full-time?), but for the most part it was well made, with some decent acting and the occasional visually impressive bit.

Quick movie comments and a puppet show

Been watching a lot of movies lately, maybe I'll post about them soon. For the moment, I wanted to mention that I really enjoyed the latest Christopher Guest / Eugene Levy film, FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. Not quite as good as A MIGHTY WIND, but very entertaining. And as good as all the regular players are, the show was really stolen by ventriloquist weather forecaster Nina Conti and her puppet Monk. She was hilarious, and also has some great stuff on the out-takes on the DVD. Through the magic of the interweb, I see that some of the material is adapted from her stand-up routine, which is even more surreal and amusing.



You can find a few more over on the YouTube.

Movies - HOT FUZZ (2007)

Hot Fuzz
directed by Edgar Wright
written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright

I wasn't a huge fan of SHAUN OF THE DEAD, but I certainly liked it well enough to want to see the follow-up by the Pegg/Wright team, the first time I dragged my sorry ass to a movie theatre in about six months.

Forget it Nick... it's Sandford.

Not unlike SHAUN, HOT FUZZ is a British-based parody of a genre of movies that aren't associated with Britain, in this case the high-action buddy cop movie, specifically (as in they show up on screen here) films like POINT BREAK and BAD BOYS. I'm not a huge fan of that particular genre, but this has enough twists and turns to make it fresh. The basic plot is that the overly productive by-the-book wonder-cop Nicholas Angel is transferred out of London for making everyone else look bad to quiet small-town Sandford, where naturally things aren't quite as they seem, and he has to fix all of that while learning how to unwind from his new partner.

Haven't you ever wondered why the crime rate is so low, but the accident rate is so high?

The movie follows the general formula of mixing in straightforward situations with punctuations of mild insanity, with the insanity levels and frequency gradually increasing until that's all there is for the last act of the movie. Glorious, fast-moving, nonsensical and captivating insanity.

Pegg and his returning sidekick Nick Frost play off each other magnificently throughout the movie, making for a few touching scenes amidst the chaos.

Despite a few minor flaws in the pacing, and a few more obvious bits, it's a great movie, by far the best I've seen this year[*].

--
[*]Note comment in paragraph 1

Random movie thoughts - RETURN TO ME (2000)

Watching GROSSE POINT BLANK a few days back got me in the mood for my other favourite movie starring Minnie Driver, RETURN TO ME, the 2000 romantic comedy directed and co-written by Bonnie Hunt. It was one of those movies that I didn't think I'd be interested in when it was in theatres (widowed man falls in love with a woman who got a heart transplant from his late wife? Wow, does that sound like it's in bad taste), but fortunately eventually tried on home video. Turned out to be one of my three or four favourite straight romantic comedies of all time (not that that's a big list), and it actually handled a premise that seemed doomed to tastelessness in a delicate, inventive and respectful manner while still bringing the funny. 

 One of the things I've noticed about romantic comedies is that the much-vaunted "chemistry between the leads" is one of the least important things determining how well the movie works. It's important, no doubt, and Driver and David Duchovny definitely have it, but for those I like, I think a strong supporting cast is even more important. The supporting cast provides a context for the characters, adds dimensions, makes them more than just the "cute couple destined to get together". Knowing they have other family and friends, and lives beyond the basic premise of the movie, makes you care about them more. They also provide vehicles for a lot more variety in the jokes to work on the "comedy" aspect of "romantic comedy". This movie has a great supporting cast, led by Carroll O'Connor as Driver's grandfather. Now, I grew up on ALL IN THE FAMILY, so it's normally hard for me to see O'Connor as anything but Archie Bunker, but within seconds of his first scene in this I didn't see Archie at all. Another surprising standout was James Belushi, who I normally can't stand, but I really liked here. Lots of other good characters, each with a key part to play, illustrating aspects of the leads larger lives while playing out their own little story arcs.

 As usual, it's not enough for me to like a movie, I have to grouse about how the movie illustrates what's wrong with Hollywood. In the six years since the movie came out, why has Bonnie Hunt not written or directed anything other than some episodes of her TV show? This movie would seem to show that she knows how to write a strong story, full of humour, how to get the best out of her actors, how to use music and everything else you need. Yet her career since then seems to be a fairly uninspired TV show and some acting gigs where I'm sure she's the only thing worth watching (two CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN movies?). I could say the same thing about a lot of the rest of the cast. Minnie Driver I already mentioned seems to have mostly vanished from noteworthy work since then. David Duchovny, I don't know what he's doing now, but he's always shown a certain affable charm in some bits of X-FILES and his recurring role as himself on the LARRY SANDERS SHOW, but it really come out in this movie, and seems to be underused in his other work. 

 I'm also kind of disappointed that the extras on the DVD are as sparse as they are. There's a commentary track by Hunt and co-writer Don Lake, which is a lot of fun, other than that just a music video and one deleted scene. The commentary mentions a few other bits that were cut that I'd like to have seen. I did really like the one cut scene they did include, some of the supporting cast singing Danny Boy. It's a perfect scene, but at the same time it makes perfect sense to cut it from the body of the movie, since it's more of a distraction at a crucial point.

Random movie thoughts - GROSSE POINTE BLANK (1997)

So, I'm watching GROSSE POINTE BLANK for, I dunno, the twentieth time. And I wonder about some things... Am I really one of the few people who thinks this was one of the greatest movies of the 1990s? I mean seriously, I love this film, but I think I've only met one other person who even understood what I was talking about when I've mentioned it. I mean, it's fucking brilliant stuff (a little flawed, but brilliant). And why haven't we seen a decent DVD release of it? I mean, at least it's widescreen, but no commentary, no extras beyond a theatrical trailer? When the crappiest movie these days seems to get a double disc release full of (mercifully) deleted scenes, cast interviews and what not? That ain't right.... And two of the best movies that John Cusack (who I generally like) has been in are those he's co-scripted with D.V. DeVincentis and Steve Pink, based on stories by others (GPB and HIGH FIDELITY). Has he not noticed that? Shouldn't that trio be out looking for other movies to co-script, rather than Cusack doing stuff like RUNAWAY JURY and MUST LOVE DOGS? And Minnie Driver, what's up with her? There was this brief window where she was one of my favourite actresses, having done great work as the female lead in GPB, SLEEPERS, GOOD WILL HUNTING and RETURN TO ME in a few years, plus some good smaller roles in a few movies. Since then, nothing of note, and a recurring role on Will & Grace of all things. Did I miss something there, is there a reason she hasn't had a major role in a few years? That's about all. I mean, I love the movie, I pick up something cool I'd forgotten each time (this time the "thanks for the pen" line), but mostly frustration that it seems to be an unrecognized masterpiece and that the leads don't seem to be working up to their potential (for that matter, I see the director has only done one movie, a pretty major flop, since GPB).

Movies - A MIGHTY WIND (2003)

A Mighty Wind
Directed by Christopher Guest
Written by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy

While I kind of enjoyed Guest's previous fictional-documentary style films BEST IN SHOW and WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, I somehow never got around to watching A MIGHTY WIND until now. That was a mistake, as it's easily the best of those three, and is close to on the level of the classic SPINAL TAP (which it also shares some cast with, of course). There seems to be a lot more affection for the characters in here than in Guest's previous two films, although it doesn't shy away from laughing at them (and also has a lot of secondary characters to mock unmercifully, in particular Bob Balaban's especially clueless character). Or at least I wound up caring about them more than I did the dog and theatre people of the other films.

To do then now would be retro. To do then then was very now-tro, if you will.

This is the story of a folk reunion concert prompted by the death of the record executive who founded the label of those acts. Three acts, the nine-member New Main Street Singers, the trio The Folksmen (played by the Spinal Tap trio) and the duo Mitch and Mickey, get together for a concert, and this has the road to the show, highlights of the actual show and the aftermath.

The Folksmen were definitely the highlight of the show. There are a lot of scenes of the three playing off each other which could have come straight out of SPINAL TAP (how they got bumped to a lesser label where the records were made without holes in them). The Mitch and Mickey story was also pretty touching, in a weird sort of way, and I thought Eugene Levy did the most inspired acting turn in the movie.

Also some great music in the film. I love a movie that puts a lot of thought into the music, and the selections written for each of the groups is perfectly in synch with the timelines and archetypes they represented.

I see that the DVD of this has a whole lot of extras, including the complete concert. I guess I'm going to have to pick that up.

Movies - HARVEY (1950)

Harvey
Directed by Henry Koster
Written by Mary Chase and Oscar Brodney

HARVEY was one of my first favourite classic movies, ever since I saw it on TV as a kid (along with a few other James Stewart movies and some Marx Brothers), and every time I've seen it since. Used to have a copy of the original Mary Chase play as well, but I can't find it right now, unfortunately. It's a very faithful adaptation, of course (with several of the stars having done stage versions), mostly just re-staged to allow for the extra settings available on the screen version, but I remember a few things I wanted to re-check after re-watching the movie. Fortunately my library system does have a copy of it, so I'll have to check it out.

I heard this voice say "Good evening, Mr. Dowd". Well, I turned around and here was this big six-foot rabbit leaning up against a lamppost. I thought nothing of that because when you've lived in a town as long as I've lived in this one you get used to the fact that everybody knows your name.

A big part of the charm of the movie is Stewart's portrayal of Elwood P. Dowd, one of the great characters of movie history. Perfectly written, just a great storytelling character for the monologues and also nicely plays off the other characters with his disarmingly non-conventional style, Stewart catches all the little ticks perfectly. However, there are a lot of scenes without Stewart, and those are just as good, especially anything with Elwood's sister Veta (played by Josephine Hull, who deservingly won an Academy Award for it). The weakest part was probably anything dealing with the Doctor Sanderson / Nurse Kelly romance whenever Elwood wasn't directly involved, which always feels a lot to me like the romance sub-plots that populated (and dragged down) the Marx Brothers movies.

Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be" - she always called me Elwood - "In this world, you must be oh-so-smart or oh-so-pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. And you may quote me.

One thing I always wondered about was the decision to make it explicit, in a few minor scenes, that Harvey really does exist. I'm not entirely certain it wouldn't have been a better movie without those scenes, although one of them ("How are you Mr. Wilson? Who in the encyclopedia wants to know?") is a favourite of mine. Interestingly in the production notes section of the DVD it mentions that Chase wanted to actually show Harvey in the final scene, but they decided against it. Good call.

I also always wondered about the fact that Elwood seems to be unaware that other people can't see Harvey. I can accept a giant magic rabbit, but if we're going to accept that Elwood is not insane then it brings up the question of why he's oblivious to the fact that Harvey is invisible to everyone else. Not that that really bugs me, and I do like that the script seems to be consistent in never giving even a hint that Elwood knows no-one else can see Harvey.

Anyway, always good to watch an old favourite that holds up even better than when I first saw it.