"Cinderella" and The Week in Reviews

[I review the new movie "Cinderella" and DVDs "Miss Meadows," and "The Two Faces of January." The Book  of the Week is "Tinseltown," where the author tries to solve the 1920's unsolved murder of director William Desmond Taylor.  I also bring you up to date on "My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project: "Lola Montes."]

 Cinderella

A new take on the classic fairy tale.

All of the usual stuff from the fairy tale is here:  wicked Stepmother (Cate Blanchett), mean stepsisters (Holliday Grainger and Sophie McShera who "Downton Abbey" fans will recognize as scullery maid Daisy), a Fairy Godmother (Helena Bonham Carter), glass slippers and adorable animals.  But under the steady hand of director Kenneth Branagh and screenplay by Chris Weitz, a new, updated and sensitive story emerges.

Cinderella, whose real name is Ella (Lily James, also from "Downton Abbey") is "just a girl," but a girl with a big heart who loved her parents and loves the home she was brought up in.  She is also feisty and brave.  The Prince (Richard Madden) is also a good guy who loves his Dad and doesn't assume Cinderella necessarily wants to marry him.

How can you go wrong with Kenneth Branagh as director, veteran actors Derek Jacobi and Cate Blanchett as the King and Wicked Stepmother respectively and the appealing charm of our Cinderella and Prince Charming, Richard Madden, who "Game of Thrones" fans will recognize as Robb Stark.  Add to that a bunch of adorable mice, the gorgeous English countryside and you have this absolutely delightful updated version of the classic tale.

All of the characters have a back story.  We learn how Cinderella ended up alone with the wicked Stepmother and stepsisters and why she didn't leave when they mistreated her. We learn how she went from Ella to Cinderella. We learn more about Prince Charming (he's not just a pretty face), and we learn why the Stepmother is so wicked, well, sort of.

And the actors play their parts well.  Blanchett is villainous in her over-the-top clothes, the sisters are snarky and stupid, the Prince is indeed charming and Cinderella is warm, virtuous and luminous.

Three-time Oscar winner Sandy Powell does a great job on the costumes, especially Blanchett's and may well be on her way to another Oscar.

And feminists.  No need to worry.  Our Cinderella is not waiting around for her Prince to come. If he hadn't, this plucky opinionated Cinderella would have figured something out.

And, too, how can you go wrong when the message of the film is "Have courage and be kind?"  I'm teary just writing this.

You and the kiddies will also be treated to a cartoon prior to the film.  Reminded me of my youth.  We always had cartoons, right?  This one is capitalizing on the "Frozen" fever and is in fact called "Frozen Fever," where our heroine catches a cold.

Rosy the Reviewer says...children and adults alike will love this film that is sure to become another Disney classic.

***DVDS***

You Might Have Missed

(And Some You Will Be Glad You Did)

Miss Meadows (2014)

Miss Meadows is a prim and proper school teacher.  Who would believe she is also a vigilante?

 

Katie Holmes stars as Miss Meadows, whose angelic face, prim clothes and tap shoes belies the fact she is deadly.

 

We first see Miss Meadows tap dancing down the street.  Yes, you heard me.  She wears tap shoes everywhere and has no problem breaking into a "shuffle off to Buffalo" step or a shim sham at a moment's notice.  As she walks down, or should I say, taps down the sidewalk in a pristine neighborhood, she is accosted by a thug who pulls a gun on her and orders her to get into his truck.  Nope.  Our Miss Meadows pulls a gun out of her itty bitty purse and wastes him and continues tip-tapping down the street. 

 

And so begins our story of "sweet" Miss Meadows with the baby voice and the white gloves deftly written and directed by Karen Leigh Hopkins.

 

The score promises a comedy albeit from the start of the film, a dark one.

 

When Miss Meadows returns home she talks to her mother (Jean Smart), calling her "Mother dear" and you get a hint of what drives Miss Meadows when her mother calls humanity a "rotting cesspool of mediocrity and decay."

 

Miss Meadows is a substitute teacher in an elementary school.  She asks the children to write get well cards for their teacher and when she goes to the hospital to deliver them, discovers the teacher has died. Later when she tells the class, one of the little girls tells Miss Meadows she thinks the world is a bad place to which Miss Meadows replies that it's their responsibility to make the world a better place and how she does this is ridding the world of bad guys, from a pedophile priest to a mass murderer in a hot dog fast food establishment.

 

Miss Meadows may not like criminals, but she is an animal lover and when she stops her car on a bridge to save a little toad, a police officer (James Badge Dale) pulls up.  They "meet cute," she corrects his English, says her trademark "toodle loo" and drives off in her 1950's Nash.  He is smitten despite the fact that on a date, Miss Meadows starts doing a tap dance routine on the grass.  If I had been he, I would have taken that as a clue to take a hike.

 

Our conflict arises when the cop realizes a vigilante is in the neighborhood and he begins to suspect Miss Meadows.

 

We eventually learn why Miss Meadows is on this mission, which is anti-climactic.  The main reason to see this film is Miss Meadows herself, who is charming, quirky and deadly if she encounters you doing something bad.

 

But don't get me wrong.  This is not a drama.  This is a comedy!

 

This is a curious choice of role for Holmes, but she is probably still trying to shake her good girl image and expand her acting range, which she does here.  I think she is underrated as an actress but appears to be making up for those lost years with Mr. Cruise.  She is also a dancer in real life, so the tap dancing angle lets her show off some of her skills.

 

Mary Kay Place has a small role as Miss Meadows' neighbor.

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...a strange little 88 minutes, but I like strange.

 

The Two Faces of January (2014) 

 

Two con-men, one an amateur, one a professional, meet in Greece and it ain't pretty.

Chester (Viggo Mortensen) and Colette (Kirsten Dunst) are living the high life on vacation in Athens in 1962.  They meet Rydal (Oscar Isaac, whose career has taken off since his performance in the critically acclaimed "Inside Llewyn Davis"), an American tour guide who lives his own version of the high life by scamming tourist. He befriends Chester and Colette.  Chester is a sort of father figure to Rydal and Rydal is attracted to Colette. Everything is hunky dory until a stranger turns up at Chester's door. All of a sudden we have a body. Rydal encounters Chester trying to dispose of the body and Chester begs for his help, thus beginning a Hitchcockian series of events where nothing goes right.

This film just reeked of "The Talented Mr. Ripley," from its story to its cinematography, and sure enough, this is an adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith novel, who wrote Ripley and this one.  Adapted and directed by Hossein Amini, who here makes his directorial debut, it's a fast-moving, tense thriller, a tale of two con-men facing off, making one frustratingly wrong decision after frustratingly wrong decision.

This is a psychological thriller featuring jealousy, deception and double-crossing with many twists and turns.  Unfortunately, the plot fails a bit two thirds of the way through.

Mortensen, Dunst and Oscar are a wonderful ensemble as they pull us into their nightmarish triangle and as Chester and Rydal test the pseudo father-son relationship.  The score is lush and dramatic and the Greek and Turkish locations are beautiful to look at.
Rosy the Reviewer says...If you liked "The Talented Mr. Ripley" or are a fan of Highsmith or Hitchcock, you will like this film. 

  

***My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project***

 

271 to go!

 

Have YOU seen this one?

 

Lola Montes (1955)

The life of the famous femme fatale, Lola Montes.

 

Martine Carol, French sex symbol of the 1950's, plays Lola (a little bit of underacting might have been in order here), who made a name for herself as a showgirl and courtesan in the 19th century. Carol reminded me a bit of Vivian Leigh. The film is part circus act, which is what she was reduced to at the end of her life, and part series of flashbacks as it tells her story. Sumptuous color reminds me of what big film productions of the 1950's used to be like.  A young Peter Ustinov plays the ringmaster and a young Oskar Werner plays a student who helps her escape Bavaria, right before he rose to international fame in "Jules et Jim."

Why it's a Must See:  [Max] "Ophuls's film, his last (and only one in color) is no conventional biopic.  Instead, he mounts a lavish baroque extravaganza, part circus, part pageant, packed with flashbacks, and sends his famously mobile camera scaling around the elaborate décor...[this film], a classic film maudit, was butchered by its distributors and long available only in a truncated version, but a recent restoration allows us to appreciate Ophuls's swan song in its full poignant splendor."
---1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

This appears to be a cautionary tale on what can happen to you if you have too many lovers.  The ending is quite sobering.  Made me think of the film "Freaks (1932)."  Ah, the high standards we were held to in the 1950's!

Rosy the Reviewer says...an enjoyable film for those who like sumptuous 50's biopics like "Moulin Rouge (the 1952 version)" and "The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing." 
(In French with English subtitles)

  

 

 

***Book of the Week***

Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood by William J. Mann (2014) 

 

An Edgar Award finalist for Best Fact Crime, author Mann weighs in on who really killed director William Desmond Taylor, a famous unsolved 1920's murder.

William Desmond Taylor was a successful director with secrets and was found murdered in his apartment in the early morning hours. Despite witnesses to a man leaving his apartment, the murder has never been solved.  However, Mann, using never-before-seen FBI files and other sources, Mann names the killer.

Many scandals rocked Hollywood in the 1920's and the film industry strove to cover them up.  Adolph Zukor, the head of Paramount, was especially concerned.  Add actress Mary Miles Minter's unrequited love for Taylor and her domineering mother's disapproval, actress Mabel Normand, Taylor's valet (with a past) who found the body and actress Margaret Gibson, who would do anything to make it, even hang around with gangsters, and we have a cast of suspects.

Mann weaves a fascinating tale of Hollywood in the 1920's and "By jove, I think he's [solved] it."

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you are interested in the history of the movies and true crime, you will enjoy this book. 

Thanks for Reading!

That's it for this week.

See you Tuesday for

"Sisters"

 

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Check your local library for DVDs and books mentioned.

 

Note:  Next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). 

 

 

Here is a quick link to get to all of them.  Choose the film you are interested in and then scroll down the list of reviewers to find "Rosy the Reviewer."
 

Or you can go directly to IMDB.  

 

Find the page for the movie, click on "Explore More" on the right side panel and then scroll down to "External Reviews."  Look for "Rosy the Reviewer" on the list. Or if you are using a mobile device, look for "Critics Reviews." Click on that and you will find me alphabetically under "Rosy the Reviewer."

 

 

What Rosy the Reviewer Loves and a Rant About Fashion Magazines

Ever since I found my sister's stash of "Seventeen" magazines, I have been an avid fashion magazine fan.

One of my happiest fashion memories is finding an outfit in our local store that had been on the cover of "Seventeen."  Of course, I had to have it and Daddy made it happen.

My morning ritual in retirement is to waddle downstairs, make myself a cup of tea and read my fashion magazines for an hour or so.

However - and here's the rant part of this post - at the same time that I enjoy this time alone with my magazines, I have also become increasingly irritated with them and it's not for the reasons you might think.

You probably think I would take issue with the impossibly high standard fashion magazines hold women to - the perfectly boyish frame, the blemish free face and the glistening hair.  Or even that women of a certain age are left out of the equation entirely.

But you would be wrong!

It's actually worse than that.

I no longer try to look like those women nor do I worry about it.  We all know even they are airbrushed and to attain and keep those skinny figures, their lives must be hell.  No pizza, no ice cream, no pasta.  No thanks.

No, what irritates the hell out of me are the impossibly high prices on the clothes and accessories that are featured.

And the worst perpetrator is Nina Garcia.

Those of you who follow "Project Runway" will know who I mean.  For those of you who don't, she is one of the judges on that show and usually likes the ugliest clothes and says the meanest things.  She has an air about her that she is just a little bit better than we are, or even than the other judges, for that matter.  She's the daughter of a wealthy Colombian, so I guess that's where she gets it from. She was Fashion Director at "Elle" magazine and is now Fashion Director at "Marie Claire."

Nina has this monthly column in "Marie Claire" magazine called "What Nina Loves" and what Nina loves is so out there when it comes to the average woman that she sounds like Marie Antoinette saying to the peasants, "Let them eat cake."  In Nina's case, she is saying to us, "Let them wear Chanel bags (Price Upon Request)."

In addition to clothes, Nina often mentions other things we can't afford: high-end food such as caviar, vacation spots (tea at The Ritz), apps, games and tchotchkes, such as the Bernardaud dinner plates she features here for $550.

This month "What Nina Loves" are "must-have" pieces inspired by contemporary art."

As I mentioned above, that little Chanel bag says, "Price upon request."  You know what that means.  If you have to ask, you can't afford it.

Nina thinks that we must have Tom Ford soap at $35 a pop and a Louis Vuitton bag charm for $745.  A $35 bar of soap?  That's right up there with pigs flying. And if I could afford a Louis Vuitton bag, maybe I would want the charm, but since I can't, I don't.

The beaded Balenciaga sandals for $1375 would be a nice addition to my wardrobe IF I COULD AFFORD $1375!  Likewise the Cartier watch and the Hermes bracelets.  But my favorite "MUST-HAVE" is the Repossi multi-finger knuckle ring. What's a knuckle ring?  If I must have it, I want to know what it is first.  All of those are "Price Upon Request" so I don't dare ask.

The only thing I could afford on both of these pages is the Marc Quinn temporary tattoo for $6, but since I already have three permanent tattoos, why would I want that?

Looking at the fashion magazines, seeing something I like and then seeing the price - a price I could never afford in a million years - kind of ruins my enjoyment of the magazines.

Doesn't Ms. Garcia realize it's just us regular folks who are reading her magazine? And if she wants us to support the fashion industry and read her magazine, we need to see some items we can afford!

So now that I have my knickers in a twist over this, I thought I would do something about it for those of us who can't afford Balmain and Hermes.

I would create my own list of "must-haves" for us regular folks!

Here is

"What Rosy the Reviewer Loves,

must-have's
inspired by not having much money.

 

 

Faux leopard vest

(A wardrobe must because leopard is the new black!)

 

Costco $20

You might not have realized what a great place Costco is for fashion, but you can find some real gems (and lunch)!  Hubby buys all of his clothes there.

 

Arm bling

 

(A wardrobe must because it will make you smile every time you look down at your arm.  You will feel richer than you are)

 

Blue bracelet - Pier 1 - $2.00

(They usually have a little can of these by the counter)

 

White bracelet - Gift from my daughter

 

Watch - Macy's

 (Price Upon Request because I can't remember what it cost but I'm sure it was less than $100)

 

Charm Bracelet - Willabee & Ward $34

 

Pearl bracelet - Macy's on sale and using a 20% off coupon

 

 

 

A Statement Dress and Jacket

(A wardrobe must because who doesn't want to make a statement?)

 

Jacket and dress - H & M - $60

 

(H & M is a goldmine of inexpensive trendy clothes and accessories - so what if they fall apart after a few wearings.  Trends aren't meant to last forever!) 

 

 

An important looking (but not expensive) leopard designer bag

(Remember what I said about leopard?)

 

This might not be a Chanel bag, but I have been all over Europe with this bag, and I have had many compliments, so there, Nina!

 

Nordstrom Rack $60 

 

 

 

Statement Earrings

(See above)

 

 

Flea Market for a pittance

 

(Flea Markets and yard sales are treasure troves of treasures)

 

 

Jaunty Hat

(A wardrobe must because who doesn't want to be jaunty?)

 

Borrowed from Hubby.  Cost?  Nothing.

 

 

Now here are some of those food and vacation "must-haves" that Nina likes to have on her list.

 

 

Kraft Macaroni & Cheese

(A must because I have searched the world over for the best Mac & Cheese recipes and none even come close to this -- and I'm a foodie!)

 

Your local grocery store - if you are lucky 10 for $10

 

 

 

 

The Perfect Cocktail at the Bengal Lounge

The Empress Hotel, Victoria, BC

 

$15

 

 

 

With a handsome man!

 

Priceless!

 

 

See? 

 

We don't need a Cartier watch to be happy and stylish, do we? 

 

I am sure you can also put together your own list of things you love, "Must-Have's" that make you happy and don't cost much.

 

So let's say it all together now.

 

Take that, Nina Garcia!

 

Eat your own cake!

 

I feel better now.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for Reading!

See you Friday

 

when I will be reviewing the new 

 

"Cinderella"

 

("Cinderella" is not just for kids anymore!)

as well as some 

DVD's to see or avoid

 

and the latest on

 

"My 1001 Movies I Must See Before

 

I Die Project."

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to click on the share buttons to share it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn, email it to your friends and LIKE me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer

 

 

 

 

"The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" and The Week in Reviews

[I review the new movie "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," and the DVDs "Foxcatcher," "My Old Lady" and "The Longest Week."  The Book of the Week is a true crime opus, "Crane: Sex, Celebrity and my Father's Unsolved Murder," the story of "Hogan's Heroes" star Bob Crane's murder written by his son.  I also bring you up to date on "My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project" with Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Conformist," a film that inspired Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg.]



The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

 

Everyone is right where we left them in 2012 at "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel."

 

This sequel to 2012's "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" brings back most of the usual suspects who had moved to India for a cheap retirement, not realizing they were moving to a crumbling ruin run by young Sonny Kapour (Dev Patel). Despite their initial disappointment, they all bonded and decided they were right where they wanted to be (if you haven't seen the first film, you might want to.  It will make this one more enjoyable).

 

This time around the centerpiece of the film is the marriage of Sonny and Sunaina (Tina Desai) and Sonny's desire to acquire another hotel.

 

Evelyn (Judi Dench) and Douglas (Bill Nighy) are "not together but together," according to Evelyn; Norman (Ronald Pickup) still has a wandering eye and fancies himself a lothario but he and Carol (Diana Hardcastle) are still together; Madge (Celia Imrie) is still looking for a husband and now has two suitors; and Muriel (Maggie Smith) is still on her own co-managing the hotel with Sonny and helping him acquire The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

 

The film opens with Muriel and Sonny heading down Route 66 in a Mustang to meet with the head of the Evergreen Group (David Strathairn) in the United States to get the funds to buy the second hotel.  They are warned that an inspector will soon be coming to see the hotel. When they get back to Jaipur, two new guests arrive, Guy Chambers (Richard Gere) and Lavinia Beech (Tamsin Grieg).  Sonny immediately assumes Guy is "the guy" coming to inspect.  Is it a case of mistaken identity?

 

There are the usual twists and turns that are de rigeur in romantic comedies: Jean (Penelope Wilton) returns.  How will that affect Evelyn and Douglas, who so far have a very tentative courtship?  Who will Madge set her sights on?  Is Carol really cheating on Norman? Will Guy and Sonny's mother (Lillete Dubey) get together?  Who is the hotel inspector and will Sonny get his new hotel?

 

Anglophiles will love seeing all of these actors so familiar from British TV and films (two are from "Downton Abbey!") all in one place and trading quips and bon mots. 

 

Speaking of which, Maggie Smith displays a bit of Downton Abbey's Dowager here, but we will excuse her because irrasible "I don't tolerate any nonsense" characters are her forte and no matter what she does, she lights up the screen (see the review below for "My Old Lady"). Too bad she and Penelope Wilton (Isabel on "Downton") didn't get to trade insults here, though Wilton did get to utter the line “I couldn’t resist the chance to come back and visit the old crumbling ruins. And see how the hotel was doing as well.” 

 

Judi Dench is another one who never disappoints and plays nervous like no one else.  Bill Nighy is endearing, hiring a young kid to read into a device in his ear so he can remember the patter when he does his tour guide job ("First the knees go, then the words," he says).  Celia Imrie has that twinkle in her eyes and in her smile and what can I say, Richard Gere is still hot.  And if you like Bollywood dancing, it's got that too.

 

My one reservation is the obsequious side of Sonny, which I find to be a cringe-worthy stereotype and just plain annoying at times.

 

Will there be "The Third Exotic Marigold Hotel?"  This one certainly left some room for that.  Let's hope so.

 

This probably won't win any Best Picture Awards and in fact, the critics have not been kind, saying it didn't live up to the first one and there wasn't much of a plot. I am also not much of a fan of sequels, but people, especially those of a certain age, don't go to movies like this to be critics. They go to feel good, to feel happy, to just feel. The people in the audience when I saw the film seemed to be feeling good and having a great time. And seeing these veteran actors doing their thing in an exotic location will do the same for you.

 

Director John Madden and screenwriter Ol Parker (who also wrote the first one) reminds us that feelings of love, jealousy, betrayal, disappointment, longing and romance are not reserved for the young. 

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...finally, a movie for grownups.  No aliens, no serial killers, no teenage angst, just fabulous actors of a certain age, all having a jolly good time.  And you will too.

***DVDS***

You Might Have Missed

(And Some You Will Be Glad You Did)

Foxcatcher (2014)

 

The film version of the true life tragic relationship between two brothers who were Olympic Gold Medal wrestlers and the billionaire John E. DuPont.

NOTE:  If you don't know this true story, possible spoilers (though knowing the story will not ruin your enjoyment of the film).

Dupont was a spoiled rich kid with visions of grandeur who wanted desperately to be an athlete, but he wasn't good at anything.  Even all of the money in the world can't make you an Olympian if you don't have the gifts.  He took a turn as a Biathlete, but eventurally settled on coaching wrestling.  He was also mentally ill and in that case, money did help him with that. Lots of money can be a great cover-up. But why wrestling?  Never explained.  Likewise, the tragic ending.

DuPont seized on Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum), an Olympic Gold Medal winner in wrestling, who was floundering after his Olympic win. Mark is depicted as being alone, antisocial, detached and uncommunicative.  So he was poised to be recruited by DuPont who offered him a place to train for the World Championships and then gave him a team to coach.  But that wasn't enough.  DuPont wanted Mark's older brother, Dave (Mark Ruffalo), who was also an Olympic Gold Medal winning wrestler to get him to the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.  Where Mark was closed up, withdrawn and alone, Dave was gregarious and married with children. Dave also had his own ideas about how things should go and when DuPont demoted Mark and gave the team over to Dave, Mark couldn't handle it.

Did the shooting happen because DuPont was in love with Mark and blamed Dave for Mark leaving?  We will never know.  Dupont died in prison with the ignominious title of being the richest man ever to go to prison.

Steve Carell did an amazing job of not being Steve Carell.  His fake nose notwithstanding, none of his comedic mannerisms were in evidence here. Carell did a wonderful job portraying the eccentric DuPont, with awkward stares and long pauses so it's no wonder he was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar.  One wonders, though, why Tatum was not acknowledged. Tatum embraced the role of Mark and Mark's closed off world. His and Carrell's performances were the highlights of this film.  On the other hand, not sure why Mark Ruffalo got a Best Supporting Actor nod.  Vanessa Redgrave played DuPont's disapproving mother in a small, but regal role.

Directed by Bennett Miller, who directed the fabulous "Moneyball" and the wonderful character study "Capote," starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, and with a script script by Dan Futterman and E. Max Frye, the film captures the eerie quality of this strange, strange story and the acting is superb, but the film drags at times.  It would have been tighter at 90 minutes.

I see why this film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Makeup and Hair: Steve Carell and Channing Tatum were almost unrecognizable.

One can't help but compare this film with the book by Mark Schultz which I reviewed in January.  The book explained things a bit better, especially the relationship between Mark and Dave.  But as for why the story ended as it did, Mark didn't really understand what happened either. 

Rosy the Reviewer says...an ultimately unsatisfying story with wonderfully satisfying performances.



My Old Lady (2014)

Matthias Gold (Kevin Kline) has inherited a Paris apartment from his father only to discover it's not the windfall he had expected.

Matthias is almost 60 and when his father dies, he leaves Matthias an apartment in Paris and a watch.  Matthias hasn't done much with his life so this seems like a good thing.  He sells what little he has and moves to Paris only to discover that his apartment is a viager which is similar to our reverse mortgage in the U.S. except in France, it's a private contract where the buyer agrees to pay a monthly sum to the seller for as long as the seller lives with the idea that if the seller dies soon, it's a great deal.  But the low price reflects what a gamble it is if the person lives too long.

So Matthias arrives at the aforementioned apartment only to discover he has not only inherited the apartment, he has inherited the viager AND Madame Girard (Maggie Smith) who as per the contract can live there until she dies. HE owes HER 2400 euros per month until that happens. The good news is Madame Girard is 90; the bad news is her daughter, Chloe (Kristin Scott Thomas) also lives there and she will be damned if she is going to go quietly, even when her mother dies.  Fortunately for Matthias, Madame Girard lets him stay in the apartment.  She has her reasons which you can probably figure out as Matthias slowly pieces together his father's double life.  Chloe and Matthias hate each other on sight so, if you know much about movie clichés, you can probably figure out how that's going to turn out as well.

This was originally a play written by Israel Horovitz who has adapted it for the screen and directed.  You can tell it was originally a play because this film is very talkie.  However, I give it props for its story of mature adults.

Maggie Smith is great as usual - it's her movie - and she manages to avoid her Dowager mannerisms from "Downton Abbey."  Kristin Scott Thomas is also good but one wonders why she doesn't use a French accent here. Her screen mother was born in England but she was supposedly born in France so why doesn't she have a French accent especially since we know she is fluent in French in real life?  Then there is Kevin Kline.  I am usually a fan but he was over-acting like mad here.

So I have good news and bad news.

The good news:  Paris exteriors, Maggie Smith and an interesting idea that caters to the older crowd - Think "Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (see review above)."

The Bad news: Everything else.

Rosy the Reviewer says...how do you say "predictable" in French? But if you are a Maggie Smith fan, it's worth a look.

The Longest Week (2014)

Conrad Valmont (Jason Bateman) is almost 40.  He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and lives a rich, though slightly dissolute life.  But when his parents decide to divorce, neither one wants to fund his lifestyle and he finds himself broke and out on the street.

While Conrad is riding the subway (horrors!) he sees a beautiful girl and she gives him her phone number.  He is instantly smitten.   Later, as in 13 minutes into this film, Conrad's best friend, Dylan (Billy Crudup) tells him about a girl named Beatrice (Olivia Wilde) who he likes -- guess what happens next?  I'm certainly not giving anything away by saying the rest of the film is all about who will get the girl. Hopeless romantic vs. romantically hopeless.  Let's just say Conrad's and Dylan's friendship is tested.

Written and directed by Peter Glanz, this film seems to want to be a Woody Allen film, right down to the New York setting, the jazz score and the feckless leading man, but it doesn't have the sharp Woody Allen dialogue and the Woody Allen laughs.  But if Woody Allen made a French film, this might be it and that's not necessarily a compliment.

Jason Bateman has made an adult career out of playing crabby jaded types ("Bad Words)."  Billy Crudup, who plays Dylan, has starred in some big movies, is a good actor and is a very handsome guy so one wonders why he has not hit the stratosphere of stardom like Tom Cruise or Bradley Cooper.  Olivia Wilde is a very appealing actress and actually seems like a Woody Allen muse. However, it bugged me that she wore fake eyelashes for the entire film even when she went to bed.  Jenny Slate who made her mark in "Obvious Child," is toned down here as Beatrice's sidekick. 

I like Jason Bateman, I like Billy Crudup, I like Olivia Wilde and I like Jenny Slate, so why didn't I like this film?

Rosy the Reviewer says...the movie is less than 90 minutes long but it felt like the longest week.

***My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project***

272 to go!

 

Have YOU seen this one?

 

The Conformist (1970)

 

Marcello Clerici (Jean-Louis Trintignant) embraces Mussolini's Fascist government.  When he joins the secret police he is tapped to go abroad to kill his old college professor who is now a leader in the antifascist movement.

Directed by famed director Bernardo Bertolucci who later brought us "Last Tango in Paris," "1900," "The Sheltering Sky" and "The Last Emperor," among other stellar films, here is an early film of extraordinary style and depth.  I couldn't help but think of "The Godfather" films watching this one and, indeed, Francis Ford Coppola as well as Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg have cited this film as a major influence and watching it, I could definitely see the influences.

Why it's a Must See:  "Bertolucci's film couldn't be more conspicuously immodest in its audacious use of style...Even more impressive is Vittorio Storaro's astounding cinematography...This is eye candy of the highest order, as undercover assassins and political intrigue have never looked so  stylish...[This film] is... a damning indictment of Fascist collaborators."
---"1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Rosy the Reviewer says...Seminal and mesmerizing.  If you liked "The Godfather" films, you need to see where they came from.
(In Italian with English subtitles)

***Book of the Week***

Crane: Sex, Celebrity, and My Father's Unsolved Murder by Robert Crane (2015)

 

 

Remember the TV show "Hogan's Heroes?" Actor Bob Crane starred but was later murdered in 1978.  This is his son's version of the story and his attempt to discover and reconcile what happened.

 

This story was the subject of a feature film in 2002 ("Auto Focus" starring Greg Kennear), but here is the personal take on the murder as Crane's eldest son weighs in.  Bob Crane was a wildly popular early morning radio DJ in Los Angeles when he was offered the opportunity to play the affable Colonel Hogan in what was to become the popular TV show "Hogan's Heroes."  But there was another side to Crane that no one would have guessed from his onscreen character - sex addiction - and his son pulls no punches in revealing his father's darker side. 

Crane's son, who wants to be called Robert Crane, not Bob Crane Jr. weaves his own story into his father's.  The younger Crane began writing for "Oui Magazine" and moved on to interviewing celebrities for "Playboy."  He became the personal assistant for actor John Candy.  When his father was murdered he was in his twenties and was called to identify the body.  He has been haunted by that scene and by the mystery of what really happened. Though the investigation over the years focused on a rather creepy super fan friend of Crane's and Crane's soon-to-be ex-wife the mystery remains unsolved.

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...Sex? Murder? Celebrity? I'm there!  But sadly, this didn't really bring it.

Thanks for Reading!

That's it for this week.

See you Tuesday for

 

"What Rosy the Reviewer Loves 
with 
A Rant About Fashion Mags"

 

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