My Blood Runs Cold

1965

USA

Directed by: William Conrad
Written by: John Mantley (screenplay), John Meredyth Lucas (story)
Music by: George Duning
Cast: Troy Donahue, Joey Heatherton, Barry Sullivan, Jeanette Nolan

What it's all about:
Headstrong young heiress (Heatherton) falls in love with a strange young man who may be insane (Donahue). The young man, Ben Gunther, believes he and the young woman, Julie Merriday, are the reincarnations of lovers from an earlier time. Ben convinces Julie of his beliefs and over the objections of her father (Sullivan), she agrees they should run away together. On Ben's boat, Julie finds evidence that Ben has been lying to her and that he is definitely unbalanced. Will she be able to save herself from his madness and convince him to find help before it's too late?

My thoughts:
That title makes you think you're in for some real gore and mayhem -- with Vincent Price or Christopher Lee making an appearance somewhere.  Nothing like that here.  This one is much more in the Hitchcock mold, suspense but no terror.

I really thought I'd seen all the movies Troy Donahue made back in the late-50s, early-60s, but this one got past me until now. Interesting story, with a fine supporting cast. Troy even does a pretty good acting job here, and Joey is just as cute as she could be, sporting an array of very fetching swim suits and casual beach attire. Not something that's going to exercise your intellect, but fun to watch.  Would have been a great date movie in 1965.

A couple more notes:

• Yes, the director is that William Conrad, of "Jake and the Fatman" fame.
• John Meredyth Lucas was a writer/producer for many classic TV shows from the '50s to the '80s -- most notably, the original "Star Trek" series.

My IMDb rating: 3 stars out of a possible 10

Hyde Park on Hudson

2012

Directed by: Roger Michell
Written by: Richard Nelson
Cast: Bill Murray, Laura Linney, Olivia Williams, Eleanor Bron, Samuel West, Olivia Colman, Elizabeth Wilson
MPAA Rating: Rated R for brief sexuality

Synopsis (by Google):

In June 1939, the reigning British king (Samuel West) and queen (Olivia Colman) visit President (Bill Murray) and Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt (Olivia Williams) at their New York home. War with Germany looms on the horizon, and England desperately needs the president's support. An unforgettable weekend unfolds as FDR tries to juggle international affairs with the complexities of his domestic arrangement, as seen through the eyes of the president's intimate confidant (Laura Linney).

My Thoughts:

Not great, but it had Bill Murray and that's enough reason for me to watch. I thought Samuel West made a very good George VI; likewise Olivia Colman as the Queen Mum. In fact, the entire cast was excellent and the whole film was quite enjoyable.

My IMDb Rating: 6 stars out of a possible 10

Crash

2004

USA

Directed by: Paul Haggis
Written by: Paul Haggis, Robert Moresco
Music by: Mark Isham
Cast: Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, Tony Danza, William Fichtner, Jennifer Esposito, Brendan Fraser, Chris Bridges (aka Ludacris), Terrence Howard, Thandie Newton, Michael Peña
MPAA Rating: R for language, sexual content and some violence

Synopsis (by Google):

Writer-director Paul Haggis interweaves several connected stories about race, class, family and gender in Los Angeles in the aftermath of 9/11. Characters include a district attorney (Brendan Fraser) and his casually prejudiced wife (Sandra Bullock), dating police detectives Graham (Don Cheadle) and Ria (Jennifer Esposito), a victimized Middle Eastern store owner and a wealthy African-American couple (Terrence Dashon Howard, Thandie Newton) humiliated by a racist traffic cop (Matt Dillon).

My Thoughts:

That synopsis doesn't really begin to cover the complicated ins and outs of this stark, unsettling work. Every character in the film is allowed to show both the good and the not-so-good sides of their personalities. OK, I get it -- nobody's perfect; but it got a little monotonous after a while. And there was more coincidence and foreshadowing than you'd find in a Hardy novel, with each character touching the lives of the other characters in some way -- they weave in and out of each others' existence. It was a good idea, but could have been served up with more subtlety, I thought.

Best part of the movie? Surprisingly (for me, at least) -- Chris Bridges as the wannabe carjacker Anthony. The energy level soared every time he was on screen. But many of the other actors delivered fine performances as well. Too bad they didn't have more to work with.

My IMDb Rating: 4 stars out of a possible 10

Interstellar

2014

USA

Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Written by: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Mackenzie Foy, Michael Caine, Jessica Chastain, Matt Damon, John Lithgow, Ellen Burstyn
Music by: Hans Zimmer
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for some intense perilous action and brief strong language.

Synopsis (by Google):

In Earth's future, a global crop blight and second Dust Bowl are slowly rendering the planet uninhabitable. Professor Brand (Michael Caine), a brilliant NASA physicist, is working on plans to save mankind by transporting Earth's population to a new home via a wormhole. But first, Brand must send former NASA pilot Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) and a team of researchers through the wormhole and across the galaxy to find out which of three planets could be mankind's new home. 

My Thoughts:

I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did. I'm not generally a huge Matthew McConaughey fan; but I do like sci-fi, and the rest of the cast sounded promising, so I took a chance. Glad I did -- it was so entertaining I didn't even mind that it was nearly three hours long. Of course, the "science" of time travel (if it might actually exist) is always going to be a little hard to nail down; everybody has a theory, and this spin was as good as any. And I even liked the idea of combining time travel and ghostly events -- something I thought would be annoying turned out to be very intriguing.

A few other stray thoughts:

• Loved the robots -- very original designs.
• Lots of visual references to Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. I suppose that's to be expected, but when does "homage" become "rip-off"?
• Much more entertaining than that other recent sci-fi biggie, Gravity. 
• With her hair chopped off, doesn't Anne Hathaway remind you of the young Liza Minnelli? But not quite as irritating, thank goodness.

My IMDb Rating: 6 stars out of a possible 10

Dead Souls

2012

USA

Directed by: Colin Theys
Written by: John Doolan (screenplay), Michael Laimo (novel)
Cast: Jesse James, Magda Apanowicz, Bill Moseley, Geraldine Hughes, Noah Fleiss, Jaiden Kaine
Rating: not rated

Lots of creepy atmosphere and texture in this one, but lots of confusion, too.

On his 18th birthday, Johnny Petrie (Jesse James) learns he's adopted and that he's inherited a farm in Maine. Eager to get away from the hideously circumscribed existence he's led with the aunt who raised him, he strikes out for Maine intending to make the farm his new home. When he gets there, though, he finds the place in very bad shape after being uninhabited for nearly twenty years -- since the deaths of his natural family at the hands of his (I think) grandfather, Reverend Benjamin Conroy. He also finds some locals who are less than thrilled to have him around, and a young homeless woman (Magda Apanowicz) who's been staying in the abandoned farm house.

The town's former sheriff (who is now also the town's drunk) eventually shows up to provide a little background about what exactly has been going on. I could have used a lot more help in that area.  I'm still not really sure what the heck it all meant. There was something about Johnny's brother Daniel protecting him when the rest of the family was killed. And something else about conducting a seance to contact Daniel's spirit so he could go on protecting him from evil spirits in the house. At least I think that's how it went. I never really understood why the family was killed, or why the local bully was so pissed off about it all, or why Johnny didn't just say no way am I living in that obviously haunted house. And I'm really not happy about the way they treated that dog.

My IMDb rating: 3 stars out of a possible 10

The Whisperer in Darkness

2011

USA

Directed by: Sean Branney
Screenplay by: Sean Branney, Andrew Leman
From the story by: H.P. Lovecraft
Cast: Barry Lynch, Matt Lagan, Matt Foyer
Rating: not rated


Synopsis (from Rotten Tomatoes website): 

[S]creen adaptation of the classic weird tale by legendary horror writer HP Lovecraft. Following a series of floods in rural Vermont, the bodies of grotesque creatures are found floating in several rivers. The creatures match descriptions given in certain local myths and legends. University Folklorist Albert Wilmarth (Matt Foyer) is initially dismissive of the stories, until he starts to receive a series of increasingly disturbing letters from a Vermont farmer, that hint at a horrifying truth. He travels to Vermont to investigate further, and uncovers a conspiracy that extends out into the furthest reaches of space and the darkest pits of hell.

My thoughts:

Some great atmosphere in this one, and I loved the black-and-white photography. But the pace is slow and the plot confusing. In fact, at times it seems even the actors are confused about what they're supposed to be doing. It was sort of hard for me to stick with it -- had to watch it three times to take it all in because I kept falling asleep. I guess that's not a very good recommendation, but I really didn't hate it. There were definitely some moments of genuine creepiness -- just not enough of them.

My IMDb rating: 4 stars out of a possible 10

Tim's Vermeer

2013

USA

Documentary directed by magician Teller, and produced by his stage partner Penn Jillette and Farley Ziegler, about Tim Jenison's efforts to prove his theory that Johannes Vermeer knew about and used optical devices to create his astonishing paintings.

Jenison, a successful inventor/engineer in the field of computer graphics spent nearly a decade meticulously reproducing the room pictured in Vermeer's The Music Lesson and then re-creating the painting, using just such an optical device -- a camera obscura. The film is the story of his quest, and it's absolutely fascinating.


Motion Picture Rating (MPAA): Rated PG-13 for some strong language

My IMDb rating: 7 stars out of a possible 10

Transcendence

2014

USA

Directed by: Wally Pfister
Written by: Jack Paglen
Cast: Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Morgan Freeman, Paul Bettany
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA): Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, some bloody images, brief strong language and sensuality

What it's all about:

Johnny Depp plays Dr. Will Caster, the world's foremost authority on artificial intelligence. Dr. Caster is the leader of a team conducting highly controversial experiments, with the ultimate goal of creating a "sentient" machine -- a computer with a mind of its own. When extremists try to kill the doctor, they inadvertently give him just the chance he needed to turn his theories into reality. When Will is given just one month to live, his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) comes up with a plan to upload his consciousness into the advanced computer the team has developed. Will's best friend Max (Paul Bettany) questions the wisdom of this action and is eventually persuaded to join the terrorists responsible for Will's death.

Once Will achieves virtual life in the computer, Evelyn helps him to build a sort of technological eden in a remote desert town called Brightwood where he sets about remaking the world according to his own personal designs. Eventually Will's crazed thirst for knowledge and power cause all his loved ones to admit he must be stopped, but they also realize it may already be too late.

My thoughts:

Most of the critics trashed this film, so I wasn't expecting much. But I like Johnny Depp and I try to see every movie Morgan Freeman makes, so I gave it a try. Glad I did -- it's definitely watchable. Not great, but pretty good sci-fi with a thought-provoking theme, enough action to keep it from dragging, and no enormous alien slime worms blasting their way out of anyone's midsection. A lot of it doesn't really stand up to deep thought, but hey -- it's a movie.

My IMDb Rating: 6 stars out of a possible 10

Magic in the Moonlight

2014

USA

Written/Directed by: Woody Allen
Stars: Colin Firth, Emma Stone, Eileen Atkins, Simon McBurney, Marcia Gay Harden 
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA): Rated PG-13 for a brief suggestive comment, and smoking throughout

What it's all about:

In the 1920s, magician Stanley Crawford (Colin Firth) enjoys worldwide fame as Chinese conjurer Wei Ling Soo, his stage persona. One of the most arrogant performers in the business, Stanley despises claims by phony spiritualists that they can perform real magic. At the request of his friend and fellow magician Howard (played by Simon McBurney), Stanley agrees to expose a young medium named Sophie Baker (Emma Stone). The lovely Sophie and her mother (Marcia Gay Harden) are staying with the wealthy Catledge family in their mansion in the Côte d'Azur, where Sophie has managed to ensnare the affections of young Brice Catledge. However, after attending a seance and having a few surprising encounters with Sophie, Stanley begins to change his mind about her and is left thoroughly shaken by evidence that her clairvoyant abilities just might be real.

My thoughts:

This was a very pretty movie -- the light throughout was actually magical. Unfortunately, that amazing light was just about the best thing about the film. I think it's possible I've outgrown Woody Allen. Which makes me sad because he used to be one of my favorite filmmakers -- Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, Manhattan, and Manhattan Murder Mystery are among my all-time favorite movies. But the only one of the later films I've really enjoyed was Midnight in Paris. I always have high hopes for each new release, but I keep getting disappointed. 

It's not a terrible movie -- definitely not as annoying as To Rome with Love or as mean-spirited as Blue Jasmine. And it had some really fine performances -- Eileen Atkins as Aunt Vanessa, and the enormously talented Simon McBurney as Stanley's friend Howard particularly stand out. On the other hand, Marcia Gay Harden was pretty much wasted in the role of Sophie's mother -- more mom and less Sophie would have made for a much more interesting experience.

But, of course, Sophie was the whole point of the film: the young girl who represents renewal and new life for the aging curmudgeonly male at the film's center. Love and youth as some sort of salvation. She's in nearly every one of Allen's films these days, and she seems to be getting younger and younger. In this one, she is quite literally young enough to be the curmudgeon's daughter. OK, I don't really know how old Emma Stone is, but in the movie she looks about twelve. And the film's boyish 1920s-era fashions only exaggerate that childlike appearance (indeed, at one point she's dressed in a sailor outfit, oddly reminiscent of the Von Trapp children in The Sound of Music). In a way it's interesting to see the same trope used over and over in each new film, but it's also becoming truly disturbing.

My IMDb Rating: 5 stars out of a possible 10