Movie Review: This Is Where I Leave You (2014)

Genre: Comedy  

Director: Shawn Levy  

Starring: Jason Bateman, Jane Fonda, Tina Fey, Adam Driver, Rose Byrne, Corey Stoll, Katheryn Hahn, Connie Britton, Timothy Olyphant  

Running Time: 103 minutes  

Synopsis: Judd Altman (Jason Bateman) discovers his wife cheating, then his father dies. The family gathers for seven days of mourning, reuniting Judd with his mother Hilary (Jane Fonda), sister Wendy (Tina Fey), brothers Phillip and Paul (Adam Driver and Corey Stoll), and high school friend Penny (Rose Byrne). Hilary is an author known for exploiting her children's embarrassments; Wendy's husband is inattentive and she reignites a relationship with neighbour Horry (Timothy Olyphant); the irresponsible Phillip shows up with older woman Tracy (Connie Britton); while Paul and his wife Annie (Katheryn Hahn) are having trouble conceiving a child.

What Works Well: The extended Altman family antics provide a steady stream of humour, mainly because their foundational eccentric attributes and rub-points knowingly reflect widespread dynamics with only slight exaggerations. Jason Bateman conveys bemused calmness barely containing rage, and shares the spotlight with a terrific cast. Director Shawn Levy keeps the mood light and introduces new twists at a steady clip, nourishing the humour with revelations and affection as the Altmans occasionally rise above quirks and towards hidden strengths.

What Does Not Work As Well: Writer Jonathan Tropper has a few more characters than good ideas: several scenes declare bankruptcy and default to juvenile fistfights, while the rush to release tension through sexual escapades is quickly predictable.

Conclusion: This is where adult siblings confirm the wisdom of living apart.



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Movie Review: Quartet (2012)

Genre: Dramedy  

Director: Dustin Hoffman  

Starring: Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins  

Running Time: 98 minutes  

Synopsis: In England's financially struggling Beecham House for retired musicians, the residents include retired opera singers Reg (Tom Courtenay), Wilf (Billy Connolly), and Cissy (Pauline Collins), as well as musical director Cedric (Michael Gambon). Preparations for the upcoming annual pageant are disrupted by the arrival of Jean Horton (Maggie Smith), a retired diva and Reg's ex-wife. She has vowed to never sing again, but Reg, Wilf, and Cissy set out to convince her otherwise.

What Works Well: The picturesque rural setting provides postcard-quality backdrops to this adaptation of writer Ronald Harwood's play, and the soundtrack of classical music snippets enhances the sense of staid sophistication. The lead performances are predictably elegant, Billy Connelly enjoys delivering a stream of unfiltered innuendos, and the extras animating Beecham House include actual retired British musicians. 

What Does Not Work As Well: No amount of visual and aural beauty can hide the wafer-thin content. The characters reside at the skimpy sketch level, their late-in-life afflictions treated purely for laughs, and the resolutions of the big dilemmas (will Reg and Jean reconcile? will she sing again?) are oh-so-predictable. In reaching for a respectable running time, director Dustin Hoffman resorts to plenty of padding.

Conclusion: Glaring gaps within graceful grandeur.



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Movie Review: Flight From Ashiya (1964)

Genre: Rescue Adventure  

Director: Michael Anderson  

Starring: Yul Brynner, Richard Widmark, George Chakiris, Shirley Knight  

Running Time: 100 minutes  

Synopsis: A cargo vessel breaks up in rough seas off the coast of Japan, and the US Air Force Rescue Service is dispatched to pluck survivors out of the ocean. The rescuers include Major Sergeant Mike Takashima (Yul Brynner), Lieutenant Colonel Glenn Stevenson (Richard Widmark), and 2nd Lieutenant John Gregg (George Chakiris). Flashbacks reveal stories that shaped the men: Gregg was traumatized by a rescue-gone-wrong in the German mountains; Stevenson found his great love (Shirley Knight) and learned to hate during World War Two in Manila; and in the North Africa campaign, Takashima romantically pursued a Tunisian girl (Danièle Gaubert).

What Works Well: The cast is rich in talent, and the plot's ambition is not in doubt: co-writer Elliott Arnold (adapting his novel) traverses snowy mountains, raging oceans, the North Africa desert, and wartime Manila to cover distinct dramas. The bookend ocean rescue is a straightforward story of heroism, sacrifice, and overcoming psychological barriers, while the flashbacks coalesce around the theme of loss. 

What Does Not Work As Well: With no one story to focus on, the four episodes stumble on hokey improbabilities, and none are sharp enough to stand on their own merits. Sappy romantic interludes dominate for long stretches, and while both Stevenson and Takashima fall madly in love based on momentary infatuations, at least Takashima's lusty pursuit ends in a non-recoverable tragic (and unintended) comedy. The writing is rudimentary, the emotions superficially one-dimensional, and the recruitment propaganda is of the in-your-face variety.

Conclusion: The rescuers need rescuing from dangerous contrivances.



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Movie Review: Shelter (2014)

Genre: Romantic Drama  

Director: Paul Bettany  

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Jennifer Connelly, Bruce Altman  

Running Time: 105 minutes  

Synopsis: On the streets of New York City, Tahir (Anthony Mackie) is a homeless illegal immigrant from Nigeria. He meets drug addict Hannah (Jennifer Connelly), who is also living on the streets and suicidal after the collapse of her previous life. They start a friendship that evolves into a romance, and although their fortunes momentarily improve when they secure an apartment, an illness poses another serious challenge.

What Works Well: The desperate daily struggle to find food and shelter is the background context for Paul Bettany's directorial debut. In an unforgiving New York City during the winter, services are scarce and bureaucratic, often leaving Tahir and Hannah on their own and susceptible to external threats and internal demons. Their backstory revelations round them into real people paying a heavy price for character flaws and past decisions, but no less worthy of empathy.

What Does Not Work As Well: The two protagonists are almost too easy to like. Tahir is pious and noble, his transition from a background of violence to a man intent on living honorably presenting a significant narrative gap. Hannah seems to suffer no serious after-effects from a heroin dependency. The scenes of emotional crescendo between them border on contrived, while unsurprisingly, their romance is more transactional than passionate.

Conclusion: Love among the human ruins.



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Movie Review: The Iron Curtain (1948)

Genre: Cold War Biographical Espionage Drama  

Director: William A. Wellman  

Starring: Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, June Havoc  

Running Time: 87 minutes  

Synopsis: During World War Two, Soviet military cipher expert Igor Gouzenko (Dana Andrews) is assigned to the Soviet embassy in Ottawa. He is soon joined by his pregnant wife Anna (Gene Tierney), and witnesses the expansion of a spy network under the leadership of "Paul" (Berry Kroeger), a Soviet agent who has infiltrated Canada's parliament. Several Canadian atomic weapons program employees are turned into spies, but the birth of Igor's son changes his perspective. 

What Works Well: Based on actual events that became known as the Gouzenko Affair, this is a straightforward story about the hardening of the Cold War's early front lines. Director William A. Wellman balances spy machinations deep in the embassy bowels with public-facing efforts to exert influence, spread communist ideas, and attract traitors to the cause. The exterior scenes are filmed on location in Ottawa, while the soundtrack is rich with Russian classical music.

What Does Not Work As Well: Despite the short running length, the pacing in the first two thirds is lumbering, Igor an uninteresting and mostly passive observer of the Soviet spy machine kicking into gear. His transition from faithful soldier to defector is handled with clumsy suddenness, while the bumpy storytelling leans on inelegant narration.

Conclusion: The curtain is patchy.



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Movie Review: Scoop (2024)

Genre: Biographical Drama  

Director: Philip Martin  

Starring: Billie Piper, Gillian Anderson, Rufus Sewell, Keeley Hawes  

Running Time: 103 minutes  

Synopsis: In 2010, a New York paparazzo snaps a photo of Prince Andrew (Rufus Sewell) with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In 2019, the Prince's private secretary Amanda Thirsk (Keeley Hawes) is still attempting to rehabilitate his reputation and connects with BBC Newsnight producer Sam McAlister (Billie Piper) to discuss a possible interview. When Epstein is rearrested and then commits suicide in prison, the pressure builds on Andrew to give his side of the story, and he agrees to an interview with Newsnight's host Emily Maitlis (Gillian Anderson).

What Works Well: The interview that ended Prince Andrew's public life is the punctuation mark at the end of a strategic dance between press and palace. With the televised event now a part of journalistic history, director Philip Martin develops tension by exploring the BBC team's anxieties (how does the national broadcaster challenge a Prince?) as well as their star-struck emotions within the monarchy's renowned halls. The screenplay is based on Sam McAlister's book, and here she is portrayed as a misfit doggedly pursuing an unlikely opportunity by forging a bond with Amanda Thirsk. Andrew's loyal assistant is desperate for him to emerge from the shadow of a sordid association, in a classic case of high risk and high reward.

What Does Not Work As Well: The public comeuppance of a largely irrelevant royal is of only so much interest. Here Epstein is a tertiary presence, and his victims barely feature.

Conclusion: A bursting bubble of self-delusion is an impressive spectacle.



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Movie Review: Mid90s (2018)

Genre: Coming Of Age Drama  

Director: Jonah Hill  

Starring: Sunny Suljic, Lucas Hedges, Katherine Waterston  

Running Time: 85 minutes  

Synopsis: The setting is a non-descript Los Angeles neighbourhood in the mid-1990s. 13 year-old Stevie (Sunny Suljic) lives with his abusive older brother Ian (Lucas Hedges) and their young single mother (Katherine Waterston). At the local skateboarding shop, he meets a group of older teenagers: Ray hopes to be become a pro skateboarder; his best friend Fuckshit is more interested in partying; Fourth Grade says little and is attached to his digital video camera; while Ruben is closest to Stevie's age and the first to welcome him into the group. As he spends more time with his new friends, Stevie is exposed to the joys and hazards of early adulthood.

What Works Well: Jonah Hill's directorial debut is an edgy look back at a sun-drenched and unglamorous corner of Los Angeles, where kids without a functional home create their own within the burgeoning skateboard culture. Hill draws outstanding natural performances from a young cast, led by Sunny Suljic as a young teen receiving a crash course in peer pressure, independence, acceptance, group dynamics, challenging authority, and girls. Anguish and humour mix into moments of magic as unkempt foul-mouthed street kids are transformed into genuine people worth caring for, carrying their own version of hopes and dreams.

What Does Not Work As Well: The "leave them wanting more ethos" is marginally overplayed: Stevie and his friends are hitting their stride when the credits roll. 

Conclusion: Friends as alternative family.

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Movie Review: Assignment - Paris (1952)

Also Known As: Assignment: Paris; Assignment - Paris!  

Genre: Cold War Espionage Drama  

Director: Robert Parrish  

Starring: Dana Andrews, Marta Toren, George Sanders, Audrey Totter  

Running Time: 84 minutes  

Synopsis: Nick Strang (George Sanders) runs the Paris desk of the Herald Tribune newspaper. His reporters Jimmy Race (Dana Andrews) and Jeanne Moray (Marta Toren) start a romance while covering the story of an American imprisoned in Budapest on spying charges. With Jeanne on the trail of an even bigger story about the Hungarian Prime Minister plotting a break from Russia, Jimmy is assigned to Budapest, while Hungarian communist officials eager to root out dissidents keep a close eye on both reporters.

What Works Well: This Cold War drama peeks behind the Iron Curtain and is unafraid to cram a complex plot within a short running time. Romance, ambassadorial machinations, spies, dissidents, investigative reporters, and prime ministerial secret plots all find a niche in William Bowers' screenplay (adapting a book by Paul and Pauline Gallico). Director Robert Parrish rounds the intrigue by affording many scenes to the Hungarian communist antagonists, and finds some innovative camera angles to supplement the tension.

What Does Not Work As Well: Too much is going on for the 84 minutes of running time, and some storylines (including the romance and the initial American imprisoned in Hungary) are all but abandoned despite considerable early investment. The need to hustle the plot along forces plenty of logic shortcuts.

Conclusion: An effective but over-ambitious assignment.

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Movie Review: Eddie The Eagle (2015)

Genre: Biographical Sports Drama  

Director: Dexter Fletcher  

Starring: Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, Christopher Walken  

Running Time: 106 minutes  

Synopsis: Despite physical ailments and no natural talent, Englishman Michael "Eddie" Edwards (Taron Egerton) grows up dreaming of becoming an Olympic athlete. His mother is sympathetic, but his blue collar father scoffs at his ambition. With the 1988 Calgary winter games looming, Eddie stumbles upon ski jumping and realizes Britain has no athletes in the sport. He relocates to a training facility in Germany, where he encounters the scorn of other jumpers, but also meets former US Olympian Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman), who never fulfilled his potential but may now be able to coach Eddie.

What Works Well: This is a traditional and impossible-to-dislike feel-good sports biography, celebrating the spirit of participation and the journey of determination as much more important than results. Taron Egerton brings a naive likeability to the role of Eddie, and director Dexter Fletcher deploys self-deprecating humour to acknowledge the more bizarre aspects of an unlikely quest. The ski jumping scenes convey the dramatic thrill of a gravity-defying sport. 

What Does Not Work As Well: The complete absence of any original or unexpected content underlines the embrace of safe and old-fashioned storytelling, with Hugh Jackman exceptionally familiar as a natural talent who swerved away from success and into the bottle. A faux triumphant music score does not help, nor does the gnawing sense that the celebration of loophole-exploiting mediocrity is simply undeserved pomp.

Conclusion: The spirit of an eagle, the achievements of a warbler.



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Movie Review: Escape From Zahrain (1962)

Genre: Action Adventure  

Director: Ronald Neame  

Starring: Yul Brynner, Jack Warden, Sal Mineo, James Mason, Madlyn Rhue  

Running Time: 93 minutes  

Synopsis: American companies are exploiting the oil wealth of the (fictional) Arab country Zahrain. Imprisoned inspirational revolutionary leader Sharif (Yul Brynner) is freed in a daring rescue mission led by idealistic university student Ahmed (Sal Mineo). American embezzler Huston (Jack Warden) and maniacal murderer Tahar (Anthony Caruso) are accidental beneficiaries of the breakout. To escape across the desert, the group steals an ambulance and take nurse Laila (Madlyn Rhue) hostage, but army troops are in hot pursuit.

What Works Well: This B-movie ambulance desert trek carries echoes of Ice Cold In Alex and Sahara, while the Robin Estridge script, adapting a Michael Barnett book, offers basic but still perceptive commentary about foreign power resource exploitation in the Middle East. Director Ronald Neame pauses only briefly for conversations, preferring to keep the ambulance on the move and pointed towards trouble, including skirmishes with ground and air enemy forces, dwindling water and fuel supplies, unforgiving terrain, and internal group tensions. The talent-rich cast is allowed to dwindle in size as the hazards multiply, with James Mason stealing his one scene in an uncredited appearance.

What Does Not Work As Well: Character depth is lacking, some of the locales are painfully studio-set, and after a promising prologue, Sharif's enemies dissolve into a mirage of hardware operated by tactless troops.

Conclusion: Dusty, gritty, and a bit sunburnt.

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