Requiem For a Heavyweight

Ralph Nelson, 1962, bw (9.0*)
[posted on Boxing Day in the Commonwealth, and my birthday, as my dad and I were named for a boxer, William Lawrence Stribling, who lost to Jack Dempsey on a 15th round knockout while leading on all scorecards. Stribling was tragically killed just 3 wks later on his motorcycle before a promised rematch]

One of the best boxing stories ever, from a teleplay by Twilight Zone creator, author Rod Serling. This film was it's second filming, as it was originally a highly acclaimed tv playhouse drama special.

The terrific cast makes this film what it is. Oscar-winner Anthony Quinn plays an aging boxer named Louis Primera (too close to boxer Primo Carnera to be coincidental?) in the twilight of his career, his best days obviously behind him, and he'll never be champ. He's actually knocked out by Muhammed Ali in the beginning, called Cassius Clay at the time.

Jackie Gleason is superb as his manager, Maish, how they kept him from an Oscar is a mystery. Mickey Rooney is his cut man, while social worker Julie Harris optimistically has ideas for other careers.

There are some creative yet realistic plot twists that I won't reveal here, but suffice to say that this film deals with personal honor and dignity perhaps as well as any other sports story. That makes it perhaps my second favorite boxing film after Million Dollar Baby, as there's no performance in any boxing film as superb as Hilary Swank's; you can watch her actually become a boxer on film before your eyes.

This version is better than the teleplay for CBS Playhouse 90, which was actually done live, with Jack Palance in the lead role. For my money, Jackie Gleason, here and in The Hustler, is perhaps the most deserving of those shut out all-time for an Oscar®, he should have one for supporting actor out of these two.

[Other notables shut out include Peter O'Toole, with 8 losses, Richard Burton, Myrna Loy, and Edward G. Robinson, who never even got a nomination]

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The Stars Fell on Henrietta

James Keach, 1995 (8.6*)
This small indie film is the best film that is not available on dvd. I'm putting this review out as a hope to generate some interest in getting it released. The problem is that is grossed only 100k in the U.S., and at IMDB only 490 people have rated this movie - unreal.

Robert Duvall has one of his more likeable roles as a veteran oil man named Cox, who has been down on his luck in finding oil. He travels around with his pet cat, and comes across small rancher Aidan Quinn (as Don Day) and his family near Henrietta, Texas, who needs a miracle to survive. Cox tells everyone that he can "hear oil" deep underground, but only Day's very young daughter feels the same - Cox tells her that "she has the gift" as well. Frances Fisher is Quinn's disgruntled wife, and Brian Dennehy also has a major part.

This film reminded me of Frank Capra's optimistic depression-era films, and was directed by actor James Keach. We need more films like this sleeper nowdays, and it's a crime that it's still not out on dvd. Film companies owe it to the public to occasionally preserve an important piece of Americana without regard to profitability. I'm surprised that Robert Duvall hasn't used his clout in Hollywood to get this released, it's a minor classic to me and most who have seen it.

This is a much better oil drilling story than There Will Be Blood or Giant. I'm putting this out on Christmas because it's in the Capra tradition, and the story makes a good holiday gift to the world.

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Mystic River

Clint Eastwood, 2003 (8.6*)
This is another riveting movie from director Clint Eastwood, one of his best. Sean Penn plays a distraught father whose daughter is murdered, and his emotionally powerful performance won him his first Oscar® for best actor. Tim Robbins is also excellent in a supporting role, and also won an Oscar®. The fact that each one turned in the performance of their careers is likely due to the directing of Eastwood.

It's hard to describe this film very much without giving away too much. Suffice to say that it's a homicide mystery with a terrific cast overall, and due to the emotionally charged performances, it's one of the better films of this genre in recent years. Eastwood really hit his stride after 2000, directing arguably his best works, beginning with this film.

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A Christmas Story Trivia and Sequels

[The quiz part of this was originally posted here last Christmas Eve, 2009, also at World's Best Films]
Updated in 2010 with more trivia, film sequels, and more Jean Shepherd..

Click here for our original review of A Christmas Story

I thought on Christmas Eve that this would be a fun trivia quiz for fans of director Bob Clark's comedy A CHRISTMAS STORY, based on humorist Jean Shepherd's (who also narrates) first book of his collected stories, "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash".. The book is told from the point of view of Shepherd, now an adult, visiting his old home town again, but everyone has left, so he's sitting alone in a bar and reminiscencing about his childhood there, hence his memories are in adult vernacular. The title is a sign on the bar's wall that he keeps looking back at occasionally. [see below for more on Shepherd's books, they're all worth reading]

(1) what is Ralph's family name, and the street and town where they lived?
(2) name at least 3 items in the teacher's drawer where she puts the fake teeth, and her name?
(3) why does Flick lick the flagpole?
(4) who had yellow eyes and what was his toadie's name?
(5) why did Ralph's dad say he won the leg lamp prize and what country did he first think it was from?
(6) who was named Victor, in a contest for money?
(7) what's the first present that Ralph opens?

Bonus: name anything religious in the film...


OK - here are the answers, now that Christmas is past..

1-the Parkers, of Cleveland St, Holman, Indiana
2- Miss Shields puts the fake teeth in a drawer which has chattering teeth, a slingshot, a yoyo, Slinky, rubber frog, fake mouse, Groucho glasses, and a book called "Ace of Test Pilots" (with a rocket ship on the cover)
3-Flick has to lick the pole cuz he was "Triple dog dared", apparently avoiding playground etiquette but issuing the 'coup de grace' of dares - they used a suction device inside the pole for filming
4-Scut Farcus, the neighborhood bully, had yellow eyes and Grover Dill was his toadie
5-Ralph's dad said he won the lamp due to "mind power"; when he saw "Fragile" on the box, he thought it was from Italy, calling it "frah-gee-lay, oh look, honey it must be from Italy"
6-Victor was the Lone Ranger's nephew's horse (newspaper quiz his dad was doing, "on American literary characters" - too funny - his mom replies "The Lone Ranger is literary?")
7-Ralph's first present was a pair of socks, then the pink bunny outfit from Aunt Clara

The only 'religion' I could spot, other than mom's forgiveness for his fight (and constant tolerance of men), was the Salvation Army band playing carols in the beginning..

More Trivia

The most unusual thing was the constant intrusion of Wizard of Oz characters.. that seems more like a Halloween film, but it was shown on Thanksgiving when I grew up..

Thanks to the Bumpus Hounds (another story used is "Delbert and the Bumpus Hounds", about the Arkansas hillbillies who moved in next door, and immediately removed the back steps from the porch), the Parkers had their Christmas duck dinner at the Chop Suey Palace at the bowling alley. Our favorite Thai restaurant in CA was also at a bowling alley! of course, not the food inside the bowling alley, but in a restaurant adjoining said alley..

The house exterior they used was in Cleveland (passing for Indiana, in the stories the house was on "Cleveland St", so there is a literary connection), the interiors were shot in a studio in L.A... the house in Cleveland was bought by a fan, on E-Bay (!), and he restored it like the film, including interiors. Film fans now make pilgrimages there, usually around Christmas time.

There's a museum film across the street, with many of the original film props, plus you can buy the 'electric sex' leg lamps there, which was the Nehi Beverage Co. logo - that alone ought to make the trip worth taking! I've noticed that the Pardon the Interruption show on ESPN has the leg lamp in the background as a studio prop; now, for a sports talk show, that's just bizarre.

"What's that there", asked by Swede, was director Bob Clark. McGavin replies "that there's a major award".

The man who directs the kids to the rear of the Santa line, and the narrator, is author Jean Shepherd. He later had a hilarious show on PBS, a travel show called "Jean Shepherd's America". It began with the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia, at night, with Shepherd narrating, "the primordial ooze from whence all life began".

More Jean Shepherd Films and Books

A sequel with Mary Steenburgen and Charles Grodin as the Parker parents, based on more stories of Shepherd's, most involving summer vacation, was My Summer Story. This film had more about the hillbilly Bumpus family next door. PBS also filmed The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Coznowski - (I believe it was a 1-hr film) of the story of his first big date in Chicago with a Polish girl. They also filmed Ollie Hoopnoodle's Haven of Bliss, about a summer vacation at a fishing 'resort'. Darren McGavin repeated the role of Ralph's father; I believe that one ran about 90 minutes.

Shepherd's story collections after "In God We Trust" are "Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories", which are more high school oriented, and "Fistful of Fig Newtons", perhaps not up to the standard set by the first two. My favorite story of all is in the 2nd film (but the first and best book), "Leopold Doppler and the Great Orpheum Gravy Boat Riot", about a local cinema's give-away nights to lure crowds mid-week.

Shepherd had a way with names like no other American author, they're always funny and usually semi-describe the person already. "Ludlow Kissel and the Dago Bomb That Struck Back" is about a July 4th neighborhood fireworks show that goes awry. These would probably be best filmed for Cable or PBS as the original short stories, each about 20-45 minutes. Shepherd is, to me, the Mark Twain of the 20th century. He won numerous awards for humor. He captured an era of Americana like no one else, and his stories have made me laugh out loud more than any other literature; the films can hardly do them justice, Shepherd's prose is far funnier.

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What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?

Robert Aldrich, 1962, bw (8.4*)
Anyone who doubted that Bette Davis is the best actress of the 20th century only need see her sadistic domineering role in Baby Jane, where she plays a psychotic "American Sweetheart", a former child star gone mad who looks like a senile Mary Pickford or Shirley Temple with dementia.

Jane Hudson is former child star "Baby Jane", now retired in L.A. with only memories of her stardom. The object of adult Jane's ire is her partially paralyzed sister, Blanche, wheelchair bound and dependent on Jane's care, which includes being tied up and occasionally beaten. Long-time acting rival Joan Crawford is also perfect in this part, and based on the hearsay that they were never friends, one can actually feel Davis' hatred of Crawford, and imagine that she relishes the punishment she dishes out to her on celluloid. In one particularly creepy scene, she dumps Blanche on the floor then kicks her around like dirty laundry.

This is one of the more spine-tingling films ever put onscreen, for unlike a typical Universal horror film, here the violence and terror is all too real. We've all known elderly people who have a screw loose or two, but Jane has come completely unhinged altogether, yet is still in charge of her own life and her sister's. Blanche seeks help from outsiders, but is constantly twarted by Jane, often in the nick of time in true "Hitchkockian fashion".

The beauty of Davis' performance is that she can shift from demented anger to girlish charm as the situation demands, and yet she is especially creepy in either guise. Davis was only 54 when she played this part, but due to garish white makeup and especially baggy eyes, she appears to be in her 70's, yet still wears the dress and hairstyle popular when she was a child star. Only a true actor would allow herself to be filmed while looking worse than death itself.

She was nominated for numerous acting awards for this performance, including all the big ones (Oscar®, BAFTA, Golden Globe) yet won nothing. The film won 2 awards out of 12 nominations, one Oscar® for bw costume design, and was actually a runner-up at Cannes.

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The Black Stallion

Carroll Ballard, 1979 (8.5*)

One of the best horse stories ever, from the children's novel by Walter Farley. A young boy, played by Kelly Reno, on an ocean voyage is intrigued by a black stallion on board, when a sudden shipwreck strands them both on a deserted island. The boy and the horse become inseparable friends out of loneliness and mutual need.

After rescue, the two are returned home, and an aging Mickey Rooney, a former race horse trainer, gives a wonderful and Oscar®-nominated performance for supporting actor as he persuades the boy to race the almost wild stallion. Beautiful cinematography and an inspiring G-rated story make this one of the best family films. A classic in the Disney tradition established in the 1950's, this is my favorite Rooney performance on film; he's not so over-energetic and obnoxious in his older age.

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Donnie Darko

Richard Kelly, 2001 (8.4*)
This version is the longer director's cut
Welcome to a "Harvey" from hell. Disturbed teenager Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) doesn't get along too well with anyone in his hellish life. His one friend is Gretchen, who, for some reason, agrees to date him. His psychiatrist discovers hypnosis can help unlock his secrets.

Donnie survives a bizarre accident, perhaps due to supernatural events, which of course will change anyone's life. His ally seems to be an imaginary rabbit named "Frank", which in this case is not quite so harmless and comical as Jimmy Stewart's friend. It sometimes causes him to do not quite the right thing.

This fantasy, bordering on science fiction, is also a mystery, a combination which has made it a cult favorite. Penned by director Kelly, it is a unique vision in recent cinema.

Currently #132 on the IMDB top 250 films, rated 8.3 (not sure I'd rank it this high, but it does have a cult following by now; the highest ranked film at IMDB has a rating of 9.2, because these are the averages of tens or hundreds of thousands of viewers, with 10 the top rank that can be given)

Winner of 11 awards out of 21 nominations, from film critics and festivals.

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Gormenghast

Andy Wilson, 2000, TV, 4 hrs (9.0*)

A BBC production for PBS

A deep, complex adventure fantasy, Gormenghast was a trilogy of novels by British author Mervyn Peake about a huge castle and the birth and life of a new heir to the throne, Titus Groan, which was the title of the first book. The mini-series covers the first two novels, which are quite lengthy.

Describing the plot is futile. Suffice to say there are many eccentric and interesting characters, romances, treachery and machinations over the throne and governing of the feudal castle-state, and enough to interest even jaded fans of science fiction and fantasy. Some truly original ideas are here, such as the castle being built around a huge tree and two sisters who prefer to live in the "room of roots", a maze of giant organic forms.

It's very "Dickensian" in style, yet so unique and rich that it's really incomparable. This is a must-see for fans of these genres, one of the best SF-fantasy series ever made.

Some interesting trivia associated with this
- it was a 19 year project of the producer
- Peake's granddaughters appeared as extras
- Lady Gertrude's white crow was the only known white crow in the world
- the castle miniatures were placed in vats of disinfectant then photographed
- author Peake was also noted for his artwork, he illustrated the books with his drawings

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Runaway Jury

Gary Fleder, 2003 (8.2*)
Perhaps author John Grisham's best, this spellbinding trial story shows how juries are now manipulated by expensive trial consultants in order to pre-determine the outcome simply by jury selection and tampering. The impeccable Gene Hackman is the veteran pro at this, coming at a price of millions. Dustin Hoffman is the lawyer for the plaintiff, an honorable attorney who refuses to break the law like Hackman to gain advantage. Jeremy Piven is his jury consultant, a brash youngster compared to Hackman.

In this case, a shooting rampage at a stock brokerage firm leaves a widow suing the gunmaker, in a case that could provide not only millions but set a legal precedent that could see the weapons makers in court nationwide for years. John Cusack is an unwilling juror with a hidden agenda. We see him colluding with his girlfriend Rachel Weisz, who attempts to extort money from each side, promising to deliver a jury favorable to whoever pays the most money.

This film moves briskly for a trial film, as we see many crimes being committed in the name of 'justice'. For me, this is the best film of any Grisham novel, thanks to the cast, which includes three Oscar® winners (Hackman, Hoffman, and Weisz). With enough twists and turns, this one will keep you guessing until the unexpected outcome.

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Micmacs

Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2009, France (8.8*)
aka Micmacs à tire-larigot
A wonderfully inventive and constantly surprising comedy film from Jeunet, director of the more famous Amelie, and the epic and beautifully shot war-romance A Very Long Engagement, his previous film (2004). The story begins with a soldier being killed disabling a land mine. His young son sees the logo of the arms manufacturer in an army photo of the site. Now an adult, Bazil, comically played by Danny Boon, is a video store clerk who takes a bullet in the head in a bizarre crime accident when a shootout occurs outside his shop. Doctors can't remove the bullet, but Bazil is given the spent cartridge, so he now knows the ammo maker as well.

Bazil becomes a street performer and beggar, and decides to seek revenge on the two companies, but doesn't know how. He meets a wonderful group of eccentric castoffs through a pardoned criminal named Slammer (Jean-Pierre Marielle) who have a hidden fortress (called 'Micmacs à tire-larigot') inside a junkyard - a group that fixes and recycles various items discarded by society. This makeshift family takes him in, and also takes on his goal.

With the help of a contortionist, Elastic Girl (Julie Ferrier), who sometimes hides in the refrigerator, a human calculator (Marie-Julie Baup), an inventor (Michel Crémadès), a 'mama cook' (Yolande Moreau), a human cannonball (Dominique Pinon) and others, they devise a long, complex, Rube Goldberg-like plan, which often requires a "Plan B" as things often go awry.

This film often surprises and never follows a straight path anywhere, and is quite unlike any other film - think Terry Gilliam (Brazil, Time Bandits, Fisher King) meets Cirque du Soleil, yet it never takes itself as seriously as either of those. Jeunet, in an interview on the dvd, says that "Micmacs" is an invented word that means "shenanigans". He spends two years on average making a film, and it shows in all the little details you can spot in a world that always seems a little off from reality, as if you're seeing the world through circus-tinted glasses. He says he includes every little inspiration he gets from reality, logging them all on a computer, and part of this came from the tv-series "Mission Impossible".

Sadly, we need more inventive films like this one, which borders on fantasy, yet delivers a seemingly straighforward plotline that has one cheering it's eccentric gang of societal castoffs as they take on major worldwide arms dealers. Jeunet is establishing himself as one of the most visually unique directors in the world, perfect for a new millenium.

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