The War at Home (1979)

Academy Awards, USA 1980

Nominated Oscar

Best Documentary, Features Glenn Silber Barry Alexander Brown

New Front Films
Directed by Glenn Silber and  Barry Alexander Brown
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, First Run Features)

A history of the anti-Vietnam War movement is presented from the perspective of students and faculty at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. It starts in the early 60s when American bombings spark impromptu demonstrations and speeches on campus. As the war becomes more organized so does the anti-war movement. Eventually the peaceful sit-ins and picketing are met with violent police resistance. The filmmakers do a good job of synthesizing an overwhelming amount of material. Fifty years later, though, the material has lost some of its power. Ironically, none of the lessons have been learned, as the country continues to lurch from one foreign war to another, though without a forced draft hardly anyone is marching in the streets in protest.

Becky Sharp (1935)

Academy Awards, USA 1936

Nominated Oscar

Best Actress in a Leading Role Miriam Hopkins

Radio Pictures
Directed by Rouben Mamoulian
My rating; 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

Orphan Becky Sharp schemes her way to wealth through a series of marriages. She relocates to the gambling mecca of Belgium, where her husband becomes overwhelmed by their debts. She falls back into poverty in England, but once again manages to talk and scheme her way out of it, starting the cycle all over again. This early Technicolor production features a particularly glorious scene in Belgium where a bourgeois ball is interrupted by Napoleon's invasion of Waterloo. Overall, though, it is talky with an exaggerated acting style more appropriate for the silent era.

True Grit (2010)

Academy Awards, USA 2011

Nominated Oscar	Best Motion Picture of the Year Ethan Coen Joel Coen Scott Rudin
	Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Jeff Bridges
	Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Hailee Steinfeld
	Best Achievement in Directing Ethan Coen Joel Coen
	Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay Joel Coen Ethan Coen
	Best Achievement in Cinematography Roger Deakins
	Best Achievement in Costume Design Mary Zophres
	Best Achievement in Sound Mixing Skip Lievsay Craig Berkey Greg Orloff Peter F. Kurland
	Best Achievement in Sound Editing Skip Lievsay Craig Berkey
	Best Achievement in Art Direction Jess Gonchor (production designer) Nancy Haigh (set decorator)

Paramount Pictures
Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
My rating; 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, Paramount)

Precocious girl hires grizzled drunkard to help her track down the man who murdered her father. A determined Texas Ranger tags along hoping to capture the man for his own advancement. They encounter various obstacles during their trek across the hostile landscape. Stilted, unnatural dialogue ruins an otherwise slick production from the Coen brothers featuring beautiful cinematography by Roger Deakins. Jeff Bridges' reinterpretation of the role made famous by John Wayne rarely rises above impersonation.

Death of a Salesman (1951)

Academy Awards, USA 1952

Nominated Oscar	Best Actor in a Leading Role Fredric March
	Best Actor in a Supporting Role Kevin McCarthy
	Best Actress in a Supporting Role Mildred Dunnock
	Best Cinematography, Black-and-White Franz Planer
	Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture Alex North

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Laslo Benedek
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

Traveling salesman Fredric March's life unwinds when he is fired from his job at 63. Already on the brink, he is thrust into conversations with long-dead relatives or relives events from his past. His wife and grown sons try to cope with his deteriorating condition, but only seem to make it worse. Stagey but effective rendering of the famous Arthur Miller play features powerful performances by many of the original cast members. Has lost none of its relevance or power in the past 50 years.

Spellbound (2002)

Academy Awards, USA 2003

Nominated Oscar

Best Documentary, Features Jeffrey Blitz Sean Welch

ThinkFilm
Directed by Jeffrey Blitz
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, ThinkFilm)

The film follows eight young teenagers from their homes and families in various parts of the country to the annual spelling bee championship in Washington, DC. The candid portraits of their life at home are revealing and often quite funny. The families help them study in various ways, some taking it more seriously than others. The nail-biting finale will have you crying for the losers and cheering for the eventual winner.

The Quiet American (2002)

Academy Awards, USA 2003

Nominated Oscar

Best Actor in a Leading Role Michael Caine

Miramax
Directed by Phillip Noyce
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Miramax)

In the early years of the Vietnam War, a British journalist fishes for a story to revive his sagging career. He befriends a visiting American doctor and they travel to the north where communists are advancing. The two friends end up in a love triangle when the doctor falls in love with his mistress. However, a brutal car bombing reveals that the doctor is not who he appears. Confusing, at times incoherent plot, Brendan Fraser is flat as the doctor and Michael Caine emotes on cue.

War Photographer (2001)

Academy Awards, USA 2002

Nominated Oscar

Best Documentary, Features Christian Frei

First Run Features
Directed by Christian Frei
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, First Run)

Documentary of photographer James Nachtwey, who gets "up close and personal" in war zones around the world. He shows no fear in the face of gunfire in Kosovo, tear gas in Palestine, disease-ridden famine camps in Africa or choking sulfur fumes in the mines of Indonesia. His black and white photographs capture the pain and suffering on the faces of those unfortunate enough to find themselves in these situations. Nachtwey himself is just as interesting: a quiet, retrospective man who struggles with the fact that he makes a living off the suffering of others, but also gives them a voice they might not otherwise have.

Amélie (2001)

Academy Awards, USA 2002

Nominated Oscar	Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Guillaume Laurant Jean-Pierre Jeunet
	Best Art Direction-Set Decoration Aline Bonetto (art director) Marie-Laure Valla (set decorator)
	Best Cinematography Bruno Delbonnel
	Best Sound Vincent Arnardi Guillaume Leriche Jean Umansky
	Best Foreign Language Film France.

Miramax
Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Miramax)

Precocious child turns into quirky young woman who decides to perform random acts of kindness towards strangers in her home town of Paris. For example, she goes to great lengths to track down a middle aged man in order to return a box of toys she found stashed away in his old apartment. Later she falls in love with a young man who collects discarded photo booth pictures and tapes them back together again, but has no idea how to go about telling him. Quirky, clever, self-conscious and dare I say annoying "fable". Shot in a high contrast, sickly green hue for a nightmarish effect at odds with the film's unrelenting optimism.

Schindler's List (1993)

Academy Awards, USA 1994

Won Oscar	Best Picture Steven Spielberg Gerald R. Molen Branko Lustig
	Best Director Steven Spielberg
	Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published Steven Zaillian
	Best Cinematography Janusz Kaminski
	Best Art Direction-Set Decoration Allan Starski Ewa Braun
	Best Film Editing Michael Kahn
	Best Music, Original Score John Williams
Nominated Oscar	Best Actor in a Leading Role Liam Neeson
	Best Actor in a Supporting Role Ralph Fiennes
	Best Costume Design Anna B. Sheppard
	Best Sound Andy Nelson Steve Pederson Scott Millan Ron Judkins
	Best Makeup Christina Smith Matthew W. Mungle Judith A. Cory

Universal Pictures
Directed by Steven Spielberg
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Universal)

Sprawling story of a German industrialist who takes advantage of the war to make his fortune, only to give it all away in an attempt to save his Jewish workers from the holocaust. Relentless and harrowing portrait of the brutality of the Nazis, the violence almost becomes numbing after awhile. Shot in gritty black and white, the amount of bloodshed may have been too much for color. The violence does make Neeson's transformation from Nazi sympathizer to Jewish savior all the more believable, however.

Breaking the Ice (1938)

Academy Awards, USA 1939

Nominated Oscar

Best Music, Original Score Victor Young

RKO Radio Pictures
Directed by Edward F. Cline
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

Poor little Bobby Breen lives on a Mennonite farm and is terrorized by his stern uncle. He eventually runs away with a local junk dealer and they live together in his shop in Philadelphia. He gets a job next door at the ice skating rink, where his singing voice leads him to some small fame and money. However, when he discovers the junk dealer is taking a large cut of his pay, he heads back home to the farm. His uncle immediately accuses him of stealing money and he sets out to prove his innocence. Early vehicle for childhood singing star Breen has too many mean spirited adult characters.

Private Worlds (1935)

Academy Awards, USA 1936

Nominated Oscar

Best Actress in a Leading Role Claudette Colbert

Paramount
Directed by Gregory La Cava
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

Professional and private lives become intertwined with the arrival of a new superintendent at a mental hospital. He wants to institute new rules, including the removal of psychiatrist Claudette Colbert from the men's ward based solely on her gender. Her performance in several stressful situations proves him wrong. Unfortunately, the melodramatic love lives of the staff tend to take precedence over the more interesting events in the psychiatric ward.

The Quiet One (1948)

Academy Awards, USA 1950

Nominated Oscar

Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Helen Levitt Janice Loeb Sidney Meyers

Academy Awards, USA 1949

Nominated Oscar

Best Documentary, Features Janice Loeb

Directed by Sidney Meyers
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

Meditative account of a black youth from NYC who ends up at a camp in the care of a psychiatrist. In a long flashback, we see his life in a neglected home and how he rebels at school. At the camp, he is befriended by a counselor and slowly learns to trust people. The dialogue, by James Agee, is an eloquent and often poetic commentary of his inner struggles, told from the viewpoint of the psychiatrist.

Tanks a Million (1941)

Academy Awards, USA 1942

Nominated Oscar

Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture Edward Ward

United Artists
Directed by Fred Guiol
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

Whiz kid William Tracy used his photographic memory to quickly rise through the ranks in the military. He clashes with his superiors, particularly a sergeant who wants him booted out, but always gets the last laugh. He eventually becomes the CO of the camp after being mistaken for a general, endearing him to the enlisted men who originally made fun of him. Low budget programmer worth a few chuckles, with one inspired scene featuring a wild horse sending camp band members flying through the air.

Winterset (1936)

Academy Awards, USA 1937

Nominated Oscar	Best Art Direction Perry Ferguson
	Best Music, Score Nathaniel Shilkret (head of department) Score by Nathaniel Shilkret.

RKO Radio Pictures
Directed by Alfred Santell
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

Political activist John Carradine is framed and executed for murder. Years later his grown son, Burgess Meridith in his first role, travels to NYC to find a witness who can prove his father innocent. He meets the judge haunted by the thought of a wrong conviction and living in a daze on the streets of the city. He also meets the real killer, who is determined to eliminate anyone that can still point the finger at him. A tendency towards overly grandiose language, especially considering the characters, can be traced to its theatrical origins, but still a well acted drama with a memorable finale.

Manhattan Merry-Go-Round (1937)

Academy Awards, USA 1938

Nominated Oscar

Best Art Direction John Victor Mackay

Republic Pictures
Directed by Charles Reisner
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

A friendly gangster gains control of a record company, then buys off famous stars to get them to make records. A romantic subplot has the company secretary falling in love with its main star, who croons love songs, only to see him get used as bait to woo a coveted opera singer. Fluffy nonsense, but some great performances by Cab Calloway, Ted Lewis, Kay Thompson and even Joe DiMaggio.

Call Me Bwana (1963)

United Artists
Directed by Gordon Douglas
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(MGMHD)

Bob Hope, impersonating an African wildlife expert, gets called up by the CIA to recover a missing spacecraft when it crashes in the jungle. He takes along Edie Adams as a bodyguard and Anita Ekberg as a Soviet spy. Lionel Jeffries is also a Soviet spy posing as her father and attempting to assassinate Hope. Arnold Palmer shows up for a meaningless golf sequence. Hope's sexist humor has dated badly.

Children of Men (2006)

Academy Awards, USA 2007

Nominated Oscar	Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay Alfonso Cuarón Timothy J. Sexton David Arata Mark Fergus Hawk Ostby
	Best Achievement in Cinematography Emmanuel Lubezki
	Best Achievement in Film Editing Alfonso Cuarón Alex Rodríguez

Universal Pictures
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, Universal)

In the dystopic near-future, illegal immigrants are kept in cages in plain sight and everyone is subject to police brutality. Every woman on Earth has been infertile for nearly 20 years. When a young pregnant woman, and immigrant, is discovered, it's up to an unsuspecting Clive Owen to get her out of the country. Their harrowing trek through a bleak urban landscape in the midst of guerrilla warfare is a highlight, but it does at times feel like a video game. Character motivations are muddy at best.

The Usual Suspects (1995)

Academy Awards, USA 1996

Won Oscar	Best Actor in a Supporting Role Kevin Spacey
	Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Christopher McQuarrie

Gramercy Pictures
Directed by Bryan Singer
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, MGM/Fox)

Small time crooks are brought in for a line-up and thrown together in jail for a crime none of them committed. They are convinced by one of them to get revenge on the police which they pull off effortlessly. Later they attempt a much more difficult job involving a boat full of illegal guns, which ends badly for just about everyone. Confusing and overly convoluted story with a big twist ending which frankly makes little sense. There are no likeable characters, and with no one to root for no emotional involvement. Spacey's character is whiny and the least likeable of all.

Water (2005)

Academy Awards, USA 2007

Nominated Oscar

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year Canada.

Fox Searchlight Pictures
Directed by Deepa Mehta
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Fox Searchlight)

Widowed women, including some children from arranged marriages, live in a run down temple on the fringe of society in 1938 India. Their religion forbids them from remarrying, but when a handsome free-thinker falls in love with one of them she challenges that unwritten law. However, when it is revealed that these women have also been used to satisfy the desires of wealthy married men, it all falls apart. Exquisitely filmed on location in Sri Lanka, drenched in the vivid colors and music of Hindu culture, this is a pure joy to watch, even if the subject matter can get a bit melodramatic.

Woman of the Year (1942)

Academy Awards, USA 1943

Won Oscar	Best Writing, Original Screenplay Michael Kanin Ring Lardner Jr.
Nominated Oscar	Best Actress in a Leading Role Katharine Hepburn

MGM
Directed by George Stevens
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Two columnists on the same newspaper, he writes about sports she writes about international politics, spend the first half of the movie staring at each other and falling in love. Despite glaring differences, they get married. Unsurprisingly, it's not long before problems surface, with Hepburn's abrupt adoption of a Greek refugee boy without consulting her husband the final straw. They separate, and it is not until she quits her job and makes him breakfast that they reconcile... contrary to the "liberated woman" message of the rest of the film!

My Life as a Dog (1985)

Academy Awards, USA 1988

Nominated Oscar	Best Director Lasse Hallström
	Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium Lasse Hallström Reidar Jönsson Brasse Brännström Per Berglund

Svensk Filmindustri (Sweden)
Directed by Lasse Hallström
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Poor little Ingemar is having a traumatic childhood: his mother is dying and he is being passed around between relatives. He finally ends up in an idyllic country setting with a friendly uncle where he seems to find at least some fleeting happiness. Episodic and nostalgic look at childhood fears and dreams, with a wonderful natural performance by Anton Glanzelius as Ingemar.

Pat and Mike (1952)

 

 Academy Awards, USA 1953

Nominated Oscar

Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Ruth Gordon Garson Kanin

MGM
Directed by George Cukor
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Kate is a top athlete, except when her fiance is watching, then she falls apart. She travels across the county to train with shady sports promoter Spencer Tracy. She starts winning again, but he has trouble shaking his gambling connections from the past. Watch in awe as Kate takes down thug Charles Bronson and has hallucinations during a tennis match. The chemistry between her and real life lover Tracy is creepy rather than romantic, especially during an awkward massage scene.

Maria Full of Grace (2004)

Academy Awards, USA 2005

Nominated Oscar

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Catalina Sandino Moreno

Fine Line Features
Directed by Joshua Marston
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, HBO Films)

Headstrong teenager in Colombia quits her job in a flower factory when she doesn't get along with her boss. She accepts an offer to smuggle drugs to the USA by swallowing dozens of bags filled with it. She endures an uncomfortable plane ride, suspicious customs agents and unfriendly drug runners only to end up in an apartment in New York with the sister of a fellow drug runner who ended up dead. She finally gets paid for her efforts, but faces a moral dilemma over what to do with the money. The story moves along at a brisk pace, but suffers from melodramatics and unsympathetic characters.

Good News (1947)

Academy Awards, USA 1948

Nominated Oscar

Best Music, Original Song Hugh Martin Ralph Blane Roger Edens for the song "Pass That Peace Pipe"

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

Librarian and French expert June Allyson falls in love with fellow student Peter Lawford, but he only has eyes for the flashy new girl. However, when he needs to pass a French exam to play in the big football game, she manages to convince him otherwise. War-weary audiences of 1947 must have loved this rosy, nostalgic story of college life in the 1920 whose characters had hardly a care in the world. It's about as far removed from the newsreels which must have preceded its showing as a movie can get. Shot in vivid, unreal Technicolor and buoyed by bouncing, romantic songs. 

Doubt (2008)

Academy Awards, USA 2009

Nominated Oscar	Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Meryl Streep
	Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Philip Seymour Hoffman
	Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Amy Adams
	Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Viola Davis
	Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay John Patrick Shanley

Miramax
Directed by John Patrick Shanley
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

It's Philip Seymour Hoffman versus Meryl Streep in a battle of acting powerhouses. He's a priest acting a little too friendly towards one of his students, she's a nun who accuses him of impropriety. Unfortunately, she doesn't have any proof other than her suspicious nature. It all unfolds rather predictably and its stage origin is obvious as it lurches from one small set to another, but watching those two have at it is never boring.

I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955)

Academy Awards, USA 1956

Won Oscar	Best Costume Design, Black-and-White Helen Rose
Nominated Oscar	Best Actress in a Leading Role Susan Hayward
	Best Cinematography, Black-and-White Arthur E. Arling
	Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White Cedric Gibbons Malcolm Brown Edwin B. Willis Hugh Hunt

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

Soapy biography of child actor with overbearing stage mother who becomes an alcoholic in her adult years. Susan Hayward milks the despair for all it's worth, ending up a suicidal on New York's skid row. She is saved by the friendly and understanding folks at AA, for which this ultimately seems like an endorsement. Pales in comparison to 1945's The Lost Weekend, which basically covers the same ground.

Gimme Shelter (1970)

Twentieth Century-Fox Film
Directed by Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

It starts out as a rather uninteresting documentary of the Rolling Stones helping to edit a concert in Madison Square Garden. They plan a free concert in San Francisco and much time is spent watching lawyers and producers wrangle over the details. The film takes a dramatic turn, at last, when the infamous Altamont concert turns into violent chaos as the cameras roll. It's about 1/3rd of an interesting film, but harrowing and impossible to turn away from once it gets going.

The Mad Genius (1931)

Warner Bros.
Directed by Michael Curtiz
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Puppeteer John Barrymore adopts an abused boy at his traveling sideshow. He grooms him to become the ballet dancer he never could be and their dance company is an international success. However, he rules with an iron fist, succumbing to the temptations of aspiring young girls and using drugs to blackmail his stage director. The boy eventually falls in love with his costar and they flee to Paris to escape Barrymore. A fascinating, dark tale filled with symbolism and a riveting, over-the-top performance by Barrymore.