An American Hippie in Israel (1972)

Directed by Amos Sefer
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

American hippie meets like-minded hippies in Israel and they take off into the desert as one big happy foursome. They end up on an island where they intend to leave behind war and violence. However, they only pack enough food for one night, and when their only way off the island disappears they become more and more desperate. This variation of Lord of the Flies is predictable and very, very dated. Watch Antonioni's Zabriskie Point instead.

Massacre Time (1966)

American International Pictures
Directed by Lucio Fulci
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Sony Movie Channel)

Prospector Franco Nero returns home to New Mexico in response to a letter he receives from his family. They are living in a town run by a tyrant. Nero tangles with gunslinging thugs in a series of atmospheric shoot outs and bar fights. His eventual showdown with the tyrant also reveals a hidden family secret. Fast-paced, entertaining spaghetti western from a director who is better known for his horror films in the 1970s.

Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)

Paramount Pictures
Directed by Leo McCarey
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

An elderly couple has their house foreclosed. The mother moves in with their adult son and wife, who would rather play bridge than deal with her. The father fares no better with an ungrateful daughter who doesn't want to be bothered. The couple eventually reunites in the hotel in which they spent their honeymoon fifty years earlier. I suppose there are people like those depicted here, or even worse, but to watch their selfish actions for nearly 2 hours is quite a chore. Victor Moore and Beulah Bondi as the elderly couple are contrived to elicit maximum sympathy from the audience.

Never on Sunday (1960)

Academy Awards, USA 1961

Won Oscar	Best Music, Original Song Manos Hatzidakis For the song "Ta paidia tou Peiraia" ("Never on Sunday").
Nominated Oscar	Best Actress in a Leading Role Melina Mercouri
	Best Director Jules Dassin
	Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen Jules Dassin
	Best Costume Design, Black-and-White Theoni V. Aldredge

United Artists
Directed by Jules Dassin
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

An American author and amateur philosopher attempts to reform Greek prostitute Melina Mercouri with "culture". She rejects ouzo and takes up books and painting, much to the chagrin of her numerous former customers. When it turns out he is using money from her former pimp to fund their new lifestyle, it all gets turned around. Lightweight fluff, but a winning performance by Mercouri.

A Pistol for Ringo (1965)

Cineriz (Italy)
Directed by Duccio Tessari
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Sony Movie Channel)

Gunslinger Ringo is arrested and put in jail in a typical dusty western town. Mexican bandits kidnap a wealthy family and take over their sprawling estate. Ringo is hired by the sheriff to help end the stand off. He infiltrates the bandits, but does not hesitate to help them when they offer more money than what the sheriff wants to pay. Much of the screen time is wasted on pointless romantic subplots.

Easter Parade (1948)

 

Academy Awards, USA 1949

Won Oscar

Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Johnny Green Roger Edens

MGM
Directed by Charles Walters
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Perennially happy Fred Astaire's world comes crashing down when his dance partner/lover decides to go out on her own. Just to prove she couldn't have done it without him, he picks naive saloon hall dancer Judy Garland at random one night and claims he can train her to be just as good. Judy stumbles her way through the first few routines, but eventually they do become big stars. While the dancing and colorful costumes are entertaining, their juvenile romantic entanglements are not, with Judy in love with Fred, even though he seems to just use women for his own career, and completely ignoring a younger, more appropriate man.

Dreams (1955)

Janus Films
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

A fashion model and her boss take a business trip to a nearby city. The younger one, fresh off a breakup, is picked up by an older gentleman who showers her with expensive gifts. He takes her to his mansion where his bitter daughter shows up and harasses both of them. Meanwhile, her boss arranges a meeting with her married lover in a hotel. They have one last afternoon together, when his wife shows up and gives both of them a dose of reality. One of Bergman's more melodramatic efforts, although a ride through a fun house and a nightmare on a train provide interesting detours.

December 7th (1943)

Academy Awards, USA 1944

Won Oscar

Best Documentary, Short Subjects

Directed by John Ford
My rating: BOMB
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

"Uncle Sam" discusses the state of the nation, and Hawaii in particular, with his conscience "Mr. C" the day before Pearl Harbor. Idyllic scenes of nature are interspersed with a dry account of the pineapple and sugar cane business. Particular emphasis is given to the role of Japanese labor in keeping the economy afloat. However, the friendly tone evaporates when it is speculated that most of them are actually spies sending military information directly back to Tokyo. The attack on Pearl Harbor is portrayed using poor models and very little actual footage, completely deflating any credibility. Instead, this is the worst kind of patriotic propaganda, complete with inexcusable ethnic stereotyping and dead soldiers preaching from the grave. Hilarious, shockingly awful and a complete embarrassment for director Ford.

Rawhide (1951)

Twentieth Century-Fox Film
Directed by Henry Hathaway
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

An outlaw gang takes hostages at a remote stagecoach station in the west. They stash passenger Susan Hayward and her toddler in a room with cowboy Tyrone Power who works for the line. They manage to stay alive by passing themselves off as husband and wife, while secretly chipping away at the wall in their prison room. The gangsters eventually turn on each other in a violent finale. Tense drama with some memorable characters, particularly Jack Elam as the outlaw who turns against their leader.

Stop, You're Killing Me (1952)

Warner Bros.
Directed by Roy Del Ruth
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Broderick Crawford and his cronies are forced to go legit after the end of prohibition. He plans to make a fortune with his awful beer, but goes into deep debt with the bank. Unable to pay, they show up at his mansion to foreclose. Chaos ensues when a large party of his friends gets mixed up with a suitcase full of cash and 4 dead bodies. Bizarre mixture of comedy, musical and straight gangster drama with some jarring violence. My jaw was agape when Crawford starts singing a love song to his wife!

The Sandpiper (1965)

Academy Awards, USA 1966

Won Oscar

Best Music, Original Song Johnny Mandel (music) Paul Francis Webster (lyrics) For the song "The Shadow of Your Smile"

MGM
Directed by Vincente Minnelli
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Elizabeth Taylor is an artist living on a remote California beach with her young son. She gets the attention of a local judge when her boy shows up in court for a series of minor offenses, and sends him off to a religious school headed by Richard Burton much against her wishes. Taylor and Burton butt heads over ethics, marriage and religion, to name a few topics, but ultimately fall in love. The reverend Burton must deal with the fall out with his wife and parishioners. Taylor and Burton are fascinating to watch as always, and Dalton Trumbo's screenplay is not afraid to tackle difficult subjects, although in the end it feels dated and falls to easily into the melodramatics of a love triangle.

Island of Lost Women (1959)

Warner Bros.
Directed by Frank Tuttle
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Two he-man flyers make an emergency landing on a remote Pacific island. They are greeted by a scientist and his three beautiful daughters who have left civilization behind because of the threat of the atomic bomb. They have converted a cave into a luxury home powered by solar energy. The scientist performs experiments with uranium in the living room. He destroys their plane with a ray gun, so the two men start building a raft. They spend most of the time with their shirts off and flirting with the innocent young girls who walk around in Greek togas. It's sort of like Forbidden Planet on Gilligan's Island hosted by Batman's butler Alfred. There is a serious anti-nuclear message buried somewhere in this hilariously awful film.

Blood Money (1974)

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Antonio Margheriti
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Sony Movie Channel)

After a failed robbery results in the death of a mysterious Chinese man, his son travels from China to claim the inheritance. Instead, he teams up with the gunslinger responsible for his death to search for a treasure the man has hidden. Clues are tattooed on the backsides of various beautiful women, and they travel around from one dusty western town to another in search of them. Strange hybrid of western, kung fu and slapstick comedy succeeds only in putting the viewer to sleep.

The Grifters (1990)

Academy Awards, USA 1991

Nominated Oscar	Best Actress in a Leading Role Anjelica Huston
	Best Actress in a Supporting Role Annette Bening
	Best Director Stephen Frears
	Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium Donald E. Westlake

Miramax
Directed by Stepen Frears
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Netflix)

A trio of con artists tries to out-con each other for suitcases full of cash. John Cusack is a small time prestidigitator who tricks bartenders into giving him incorrect change. His girlfriend Annette Bening is the former lover of a big time hustler and she tries to get Cusack to think bigger. Cusack's mom Anjelica Huston works the racetracks for the mob. There is not a likeable person in the bunch, which is one of the biggest problems with the film. It's a cold, unemotional portrait of liars and cheats, most of whom get what they deserve.

Highway 301 (1950)

Warner Bros.
Directed by Andrew Stone
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

A gang of bank robbers ends up with worthless money after robbing an armored car. Afterwards, they hole up in a city apartment. When the girlfriend of one of them starts talking a little too much, they murder her in cold blood. The new wife of another gang member gets scared, but her husband won't let them touch her, until he is killed in a shootout with the cops. She manages to escape in the film's best sequence, but ends up in the hospital. The cops are waiting when they show up to finish her off. There is an introductory sequence featuring the real governors of states where these events happened. Documentary style doesn't really pay off, however, the whole thing feels staged and lifeless.

Silver Saddle (1978)

Cineriz (Italy)
Directed by Lucio Fulci
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Sony Movie Channel)

A boy who witnessed the murder of his father at the hands of a gunslinger grows up to become a bounty hunter. He uses his skills to save a young boy at the center of a family dispute over an inheritance. He gets involved in their complicated scheme, eventually leading to a shootout with the "blonde cowboy". However, the boy is then kidnapped by a vicious Mexican gang and it's up to the bounty hunter to save him again. Complicated, unengaging, melodramatic spaghetti western with one too many endings.

The Wrestler (2008)

Academy Awards, USA 2009

Nominated Oscar	Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Mickey Rourke
	Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Marisa Tomei

Fox Searchlight Pictures
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(HDNet Movies)

Aging wrestler Mickey Rourke working the small time circuit reaches a turning point when he has a heart attack after a match. He reaches out to stripper Marissa Tomei, but she has trouble separating her working persona from real life, a problem he also struggles with. He also attempts to reconnect with his teenage daughter Evan Rachel Wood, but after initial success it falls apart. He eventually turns to the ring and his adoring fans as his only solace. Rourke and Tomei are excellent, though Wood's turn as the spiteful teen is a little over dramatic. Filmed in a documentary style that places the back of Rourke's head as the centerpiece of many shots gets a bit tiresome. Nonetheless, deep characters that you can care about keep it from sinking into some kind of reality TV pit. A nice return to form for Aronofsky after the disappointing The Fountain.

Fear (1946)

Monogram Pictures
Directed by Alfred Zeisler
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

A college student facing a large tuition bill resorts to murder in order to pay it. His guilt ridden conscience makes him paranoid, especially around police detectives. It appears he may get away with murder when another man is falsely accused and arrested. However, the ludicrous ending won't allow it, which may have satisfied the production code ethics but leave most viewers rolling their eyes. Adapted from Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, which I can assure you had a different ending.

Birdy (1984)

Tri-Star Pictures
Directed by Alan Parker
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Sony Movie Channel)

Teenage friends Nicolas Cage and Matthew Modine find themselves in the psycho ward after harrowing experiences in Vietnam. Modine has retreated from the world by indulging in his fascination with birds. Cage desperately seeks to reach him by recalling experiences from their past in suburban Philadelphia. They fix up a car, go to the prom and other normal teenage activities. However, it becomes apparent that Modine is already sliding into mental illness before the war, his life entirely taken over by birds. Wildly uneven, it veers from saccharine scenes of boyhood games set to "La Bamba", to brutal war scenes in Vietnam and uncomfortable nude scenes of Modine and his birds. Cage is over the top as usual, but is complemented by Modine's reserved performance.

Jane Eyre (2011)

Academy Awards, USA 2012

Nominated Oscar

Best Achievement in Costume Design Michael O'Connor

Focus Features
Directed by Cary Fukunaga
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Netflix)

Orphan girl endures a harrowing childhood in a boarding school, ends up a governess in a large rural estate. She falls in love with the master of the house, but he's got a secret from his past which prevents their marriage. Modern adaptation of the Charlotte Bronte novel is unabashed melodrama, and unwisely resorts to a few "jump scares", but is nonetheless engrossing. Beautifully filmed by Adriano Goldman on English locations.