Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Academy Awards, USA 1992

Winner Oscar	Best Music, Original Song Alan Menken (music) Howard Ashman (lyrics) For the song "Beauty and the Beast". Howard Ashman's nomination and award were posthumous. His partner Bill Lauch accepted the award on his behalf.
	Best Music, Original Score Alan Menken
Nominee Oscar	Best Picture Don Hahn Beauty and the Beast (1991) became the very first full-length animated feature film in cinema history to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
	Best Sound Terry Porter Mel Metcalfe David J. Hudson Doc Kane
	Best Music, Original Song Alan Menken (music) Howard Ashman (lyrics) For the song "Belle". Howard Ashman's nomination was posthumous.
	Best Music, Original Song Alan Menken (music) Howard Ashman (lyrics) For the song "Be Our Guest". Howard Ashman's nomination was posthumous.

Buena Vista Pictures
Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Walt Disney)

A cold-hearted prince is turned into a beast after refusing shelter to a peasant woman. He is cursed to stay that way unless he learns to love and is loved in return by the time the last petal falls on a hexed rose. Years later, a woman ventures into his castle looking for her lost father. Could she be the one? The angry beast imprisons her in exchange for releasing her father. She befriends the animated objects in the house, themselves once human, and cautiously tries to break through to the beast. They eventually hit it off after he shows her his library and they share a dance in the ballroom. However, an old admirer from the village arrives to try to take her away, forcing the beast to fight for her. Despite dying in the process, there is a happy ending. This is Disney. The animation is not all that good, and the CGI even worse, but it is buoyed by Alan Menken's Broadway-style songs.

Toy Story 2 (1999)

Academy Awards, USA 2000

Nominee Oscar

Best Music, Original Song Randy Newman For the song "When She Loved Me".

Buena Vista Pictures
Directed by John Lasseter
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Walt Disney)

Woody gets stolen by a toy collector who want to sell him. Woody's toy friends make the treacherous journey from their room to try to rescue him. Woody finds out his background as the sheriff for an old TV show, and meets other characters from the show, including potential romantic partner Jessie. He confronts an existential crisis when he realizes that kids grow up and abandon their toys, but he could become immortal if preserved in a collection. His friends show up and convince him that being loved by a child is better than immortality. First, they have to escape the toy collector and make a last second escape from a jet airliner. The ending seems to go on forever, but still an entertaining entry in the popular franchise. Some amusing Star Wars references involving Buzz Lightyear and his arch enemy Evil Emperor Zurg.

Gay Purr-ee (1962)

Warner Bros.
Directed by Abe Levitow
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Warner Bros.)

A spoiled country cat named Mewsette dreams of the big city of Paris and runs away at the first chance, followed by her country admirer and his young sidekick. She is befriended by a city slicker who takes advantage of her naivety and hands her over to a "madame" for a make over, with the ultimate plan of selling her as a mail order bride. After a long trek, her country friends arrive in the city and begin to look for her, but end up in the hands of the same city slicker who tricks them and sends them to Alaska. They strike gold and make their way back to Paris to rescue Mewsette, now homeless on the streets. Enjoyable animated feature from UPA, with Judy Garland providing the speaking and singing voice of Mewsette and Robert Goulet as her admirer. Although the animation itself is rudimentary, the backgrounds are bright, colorful palettes inspired by the best French artists of the late 1800's, the time period in which the story is set.

Rango (2011)

Academy Awards, USA 2012

Winner Oscar

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year Gore Verbinski

Paramount Pictures
Directed by Gore Verbinski
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Paramount)

In this animated tale, Johnny Depp is a pet chameleon who ends up in the Mojave Desert. He is befriended by a slightly eccentric female iguana who takes him to her hometown of Dirt. The old western town is in the midst of a drought and water is a precious commodity controlled by the bank and the mayor. The animal residents are plagued by a hawk, which Depp accidentally slays, turning him into the town hero and new sheriff. He soon finds out the mayor is corrupt and vows to expose him, but must defeat the mayor's gunslinging snake. Depp's droll characterization anchors this intelligent spoof of the western genre, filled with movie references to everything from Don Knotts to Sergio Leone.

Return of the Jedi (1983)

Academy Awards, USA 1984

Winner Special Achievement Award	Richard Edlund Dennis Muren Ken Ralston Phil Tippett For visual effects (statuette).
Nominee Oscar	Best Art Direction-Set Decoration Norman Reynolds Fred Hole James L. Schoppe Michael Ford
	Best Sound Ben Burtt Gary Summers Randy Thom Tony Dawe
	Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing Ben Burtt
	Best Music, Original Score John Williams

Twentieth Century-Fox Film
Directed by Richard Marquand
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Harmy's Despecialized Edition)

Picking up where Empire Strikes Back left off, Luke and friends rescue Han from Jabba the Hut, barely escaping with their lives. Luke pays another visit to Yoda, who is dying. Meanwhile, the Empire is building another, stronger Death Star, and the Rebellion is planning another, bigger attack to destroy it. First, they must disable a "shield" on a nearby planet, getting help from the cute, fuzzy, but resourceful native Ewoks. Luke surrenders to Darth Vader before the attack in the hopes of converting him to the "Good Side", while Vader and his Emperor hope to turn Luke to the "Dark Side", setting up the final light saber battle. The final film of the original trilogy suffers from comic relief and an overabundance of poorly conceived aliens. At times it's like an episode of the Muppet Show, complete with the humor. While I like the Muppet Show, it has no place in a Star Wars movie. Luckily, the Luke vs Vader story line provides a satisfying emotional climax to the series, although it is followed by an interminable and unbearable Ewok celebration.

The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Academy Awards, USA 1981

Winner Oscar	Best Sound Bill Varney Steve Maslow Gregg Landaker Peter Sutton
Winner Special Achievement Award	Brian Johnson Richard Edlund Dennis Muren Bruce Nicholson For visual effects (statuette).
Nominee Oscar	Best Art Direction-Set Decoration Norman Reynolds Leslie Dilley Harry Lange Alan Tomkins Michael Ford
	Best Music, Original Score John Williams

Twentieth Century-Fox Film
Directed by Irvin Kershner
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Harmy's Despecialized Edition)

The Rebels who destroyed the Death Star in the first Star Wars film have been driven into hiding on a remote ice planet. The Empire has sent probes in search of them, one of which lands near their base. Luke gets trapped outside at night and attacked by a snow creature, but survives with the help of Han. Their location exposed, the base is attacked by the Empire and must be abandoned. Meanwhile Luke, following the ghostly advice of Obi-Wan Kenobi, travels to a swampy planet in search of a Jedi master named Yoda, who turns out to be anything but what he expected. His training is interrupted when Han and Leia are captured by Darth Vader. Luke goes to rescue them, confronts Vader and learns some vital new information about his family tree, setting up the third film in the series. Highly entertaining pulp has lost some of the freshness of the original film, sidetracked by a strained romance between Han and Leia, and an equally melodramatic turn in the story of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. The cliffhanger ending, apparently an ode to the serials from which it takes inspiration, required a 3-year wait for resolution for those of us that saw it in the original theatrical release!

Surf's Up (2007)

Academy Awards, USA 2008

Nominee Oscar

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year Ash Brannon Chris Buck

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Ash Brannon and Chris Buck
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Sony)

Teenage surfing penguin in Antarctica gets picked to participate in a surfing contest named in honor of his hero. He challenges the reigning champion, a penguin appropriately named Tank, to a duel but loses miserably. The lifeguard/love interest takes him to an "uncle" to recover, who turns out to be long lost surfer he idolizes, living alone in a hut in the jungle. Gradually the younger penguin coaxes him out of retirement to teach him that surfing is not just a sport, but a way of life. Surprisingly good "surfing penguin" movie presented as a semi-documentary, with Jeff Bridges perfectly cast as the laid back, philosophizing surfing legend.

Star Wars (1977)

Academy Awards, USA 1978

Winner Oscar	Best Art Direction-Set Decoration John Barry Norman Reynolds Leslie Dilley Roger Christian
	Best Costume Design John Mollo
	Best Sound Don MacDougall Ray West Bob Minkler Derek Ball Derek Ball was not present at the awards ceremony.
	Best Film Editing Paul Hirsch Marcia Lucas Richard Chew
	Best Effects, Visual Effects John Stears John Dykstra Richard Edlund Grant McCune Robert Blalack
	Best Music, Original Score John Williams
Winner Special Achievement Award	Ben Burtt (as Benjamin Burtt Jr.) For sound effects. (For the creation of the alien, creature and robot voices.)
Nominee Oscar	Best Picture Gary Kurtz
	Best Actor in a Supporting Role Alec Guinness
	Best Director George Lucas
	Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen George Lucas

Twentieth Century-Fox Film
Directed by George Lucas
My rating: 4 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Harmy's Despecialized Edition)

George Lucas updates old Saturday matinee serials with slick special effects and an epic, galaxy-spanning story to create one of the most influential, and successful, films of all time. His hero is Luke Skywalker, a bored teenager on a remote desert planet, who reluctantly joins a rebellion against the evil Empire in possession of a weapon capable of destroying planets. He is joined by a pair of wisecracking robots who sound a lot like Laurel and Hardy, an aging Jedi knight with mystical powers and a hot shot pilot with a fast spaceship to get them around. First, they have to rescue a princess from the hands of Darth Vader, a towering, sinister figure who is the ultimate villain. Lucas populates his story with an imaginative variety of alien creatures, some of whom are major characters despite speaking no recognizable language. The soundtrack consists of assorted synthesized sounds, chatter, and bleeps, with a soaring score by John Williams. Incredibly, Lucas has disowned the original version in favor of a souped-up, CGI-ridden "special" edition which is anything but special. Luckily, you can still see the original version if you look hard enough, and that is the only way to see the film.

Top Hat (1935)

 

 Academy Awards, USA 1936

Nominee Oscar	Best Picture
	Best Art Direction Carroll Clark Van Nest Polglase
	Best Dance Direction Hermes Pan For "Piccolino" and "Top Hat".
	Best Music, Original Song Irving Berlin For the song "Cheek to Cheek".

RKO Radio Pictures
Directed by Mark Sandrich
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Warner Bros.)

Fred Astaire is a dancer (what else) in London to star in the new show of his friend Edward Everett Horton. His late night tap dancing in the hotel wakes up downstairs neighbor Ginger Rogers. He falls in love with her at first sight and follows her around London to no avail. He meets her again in Venice and she finally admits she loves him too. However, she mistakenly believes he is married to her friend, who unwittingly encourages the romance. The thoroughly confused Ginger instead marries her Italian costume designer. Fred eventually sets it all straight, luckily for everyone the marriage was fake, and they sail off in a fake Hollywood Gondola into the fake Venice sunset. Barely tolerable Astaire/Rogers vehicle at least has some funny moments involving the mistaken identity, but otherwise fails to meet its greatly exaggerated reputation.

Beau Geste (1939)

  

Academy Awards, USA 1940

Nominated Oscar	Best Actor in a Supporting Role Brian Donlevy
	Best Art Direction Hans Dreier Robert Odell

Paramount Pictures
Directed by William A. Wellman
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Universal)

A brief opening scene takes place at a desert fort where dead men have been propped up to fool the attacking Arabs. It works, but when reinforcements arrive they are confused by the scene. We then flashback to the childhoods of three brothers who were at the fort. They yearn for adventure in the French Foreign Legion, which continues into their young adult years. The household is threatened with bankruptcy by their absent father, forcing their overprotective mother to consider selling the family diamond. One of the brothers steals it then runs away to join the Legion, quickly followed by the other brothers. The story comes full circle and we witness the events that took place at the beginning, only this time are privy to details not earlier known. It's a bit of a gimmick but for the most part works. The three lead actors are a little old for their characters (Cooper's character is in his early 20s but Cooper was 38 years old), but the supporting character actors are superb: J. Carrol Naish as a thief and especially Brian Donlevy as the brutal Sergeant who commands the fort.

The General Died at Dawn (1936)

 

 Academy Awards, USA 1937

Nominated Oscar	Best Actor in a Supporting Role Akim Tamiroff
	Best Cinematography Victor Milner
	Best Music, Score Boris Morros Score by Werner Janssen.

Paramount Pictures
Directed by Lewis Milestone
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Universal)

Gary Cooper is an American hired by Chinese rebels who want to overthrow their brutal warlord but lack the necessary guns. They send him to the big city of Shanghai to make a deal at a shady hotel. Along the way, he falls in love with the daughter of a man working for the warlord. When he realizes it, they have a big falling out in the hotel, but when she admits she loves him and regrets misleading him they make up. However, the warlord catches up with them and imprisons them on his ship in the harbor. They are tortured and threatened with execution, but Cooper manages to talk him out of it after the warlord is fatally shot and slowly dying. This action/adventure/drama is a mixed bag. Cooper struggles to deliver dialogue that is unnatural and poorly written. However, director Milestone experiments with split screens and other innovative techniques for the time and cinematographer Victor Milner provides plenty of shadow and atmosphere, particularly in the final scenes on the boat.

Peter Ibbetson (1935)

Academy Awards, USA 1936

Nominated Oscar

Best Music, Score Irvin Talbot (head of departmment) Score by Ernst Toch.

Paramount Pictures
Directed by Henry Hathaway
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Universal)

A boy's idyllic childhood in a mansion outside of Paris comes to an end when his mother dies. He is adopted by an uncle and brought to England, leaving behind a childhood sweetheart. As a young adult, he is an architect sent to a country estate to build a horse stable. He falls in love with the married woman who is directing the job, and she with him, little realizing they are the same childhood sweethearts in the opening scenes. Her jealous husband confronts him with a gun but he kills him first and is sentenced to life in prison. Separated from his sweetheart, they are able to meet each other in their dreams, which they share. This goes on for a few decades until she dies. However, she is able to reassure him in another dream that she is waiting for him in heaven. Dreamy romance that gets more and more implausible until an ending that just makes you shake your head and wonder what they were thinking.

Design for Living (1933)

 
Paramount Pictures
Directed by Ernst Lubitsch
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Universal)

Commercial artist Miriam Hopkins falls in love with two men she meets on a train: artist Gary Cooper and playwright Fredric March. They live together in a rundown Paris garret struggling to make ends meet. She can't decide between the two, so decides to move in as a "friend" and help them with their careers. March finally gets a hit play and goes to London, leaving her alone with Cooper to resume their relationship. When he returns after a few months, Cooper leaves for an exhibition and she starts anew with March. They all have a big falling out. Years pass and Miriam marries her boss for his money. Cooper and March show up at one of their big parties and it all starts over again. Silly situational comedy with everyone other than Hopkins overacting. The pre-code sexual references are a bit startling, but still tame by today's standards.

The Emperor's New Groove (2000)

Academy Awards, USA 2001

Nominated Oscar

Best Music, Original Song Sting (composer/lyricist) Dave Hartley (composer) For the song "My Funny Friend and Me".

Buena Vista Distribution
Directed by Mark Dindal
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Disney)

A spoiled teenage Incan king is turned into a llama by a recently fired assistant. He ends up at the home of a peasant that he had planned to demolish in order to build his own personal vacation getaway. The king promises to save his neighborhood if the peasant takes him back to the palace, and they set out together for the long trek. They overcome many obstacles, eventually ending up at a diner where they meet the assistant that tried to poison him and fight to turn him back into a human. David Spade as the Incan king Kuzco is almost as irritating as his character. The irreverent asides and breaking of the fourth wall to talk directly to the audience is cumbersome and distracting. John Goodman as the good-natured peasant is a little more tolerable. Still, this is a lesser Disney work which is already beginning to age.

The Gay Divorcee (1934)

Academy Awards, USA 1935

Won Oscar	Best Music, Original Song Con Conrad (music) Herb Magidson (lyrics) For the song "The Continental".
Nominated Oscar	Best Picture
	Best Art Direction Van Nest Polglase Carroll Clark
	Best Sound, Recording Carl Dreher (sound director)
	Best Music, Score Max Steiner (head of department) Score by Kenneth S. Webb and Samuel Hoffenstein.

RKO Radio Pictures
Directed by Mark Sandrich
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Warner Bros.)

Ginger Rogers travels to England with her domineering aunt to get a quick divorce from her absentee husband. They hire incompetent lawyer Edward Everett Horton to stage a tryst in a hotel room with a hired Italian lover. Meanwhile, Fred Astaire falls in love with her at first sight when she steps off the boat and searches in vain for her all over London. By coincidence, he is friends with lawyer Horton, and goes with him to the seaside hotel where the arranged lover is to meet Rogers. Instead, Fred and Ginger dance the night away to "Night and Day" by Cole Porter and "The Continental" in the big finale. Featherlight romantic comedy typical of the time period.

The Last Days (1998)

Academy Awards, USA 1999

Won Oscar

Best Documentary, Features James Moll Ken Lipper

October Films
Directed by James Moll
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, USA Home Entertainment)

Hungarian survivors of the Holocaust recount their experiences during the final months of WWII. They describe in vivid detail how their families were torn apart and sent to concentration camps in Poland. Old documentary footage is also incorporated. Later, they travel in modern times to their old home towns in Hungary and the concentration camps. An incredibly moving and emotional film, with some of the most horrifying imagery I can remember from the concentration camps. Executive producer Steven Spielberg states in the introduction that he considers his work with the Shoah Foundation the most important of his life.

That Darn Cat! (1965)

Buena Vista Distribution
Directed by Robert Stevenson
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Disney)

Teen Hayley Mills finds a wristwatch around her cat's neck, and concludes it must belong to a bank teller who was recently kidnapped. She talks FBI agent Dean Jones into believing her and he convinces his superior. Several agents are assigned to tail the cat on his nightly rounds in the hopes he will lead them to the kidnappers. After a few false starts, he does exactly that. Absurd comedy, the last Hayley did for Disney, filled with familiar character faces, including Dorothy Provine, Roddy McDowall (in one of his worst overacting performances), Neville Brand, Frank Gorshin and even Elsa Lanchester as a nosy neighbor. Easy to digest but ultimately forgettable.

In Which We Serve (1942)

Academy Awards, USA 1944

Nominated Oscar	Best Picture
	Best Writing, Original Screenplay Noël Coward

British Lion Film (UK)
Directed by Noël Coward
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Criterion Collection)

The survivors of a sinking British warship recount their lives leading up to the outbreak of WWII. The captain, Noel Coward, remembers the idyllic previous summer spent with his wife and children in the countryside. He would be called to duty aboard the doomed ship rescuing stranded soldiers in Norway. Next, seaman John Mills recounts his whirlwind romance with pretty Kay Walsh while on shore leave. While he is called away for duty, his new wife and her relatives meet tragedy during the London Blitz. Back in the present, the survivors are hauled aboard a British destroyer and part ways for their new assignments. It is impossible to separate this production from the time in which it was made, the early days of WWII, and not to recognize it for what it is: a very well made piece of propaganda. It is nonetheless very entertaining, with some incredible shots of the sinking ship and a particularly moving flashback to the Blitz.

Cinderella (1950)

Academy Awards, USA 1951

Nominated Oscar	Best Music, Original Song Mack David Al Hoffman Jerry Livingston For the song "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo"
	Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Oliver Wallace Paul J. Smith
	Best Sound, Recording C.O. Slyfield

RKO Radio Pictures
Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske and Wilfred Jackson
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Disney)

Orphaned Cinderella lives with her stepmother and stepsisters where she is relegated to the role of housemaid. Her only friends are the mice and birds that live around the estate. One day the King sends sends out an invitation to all eligible maids in the kingdom to a royal ball where he hopes his son will find a bride. Cinderella's stepsisters receive an invitation, but her stepmother will only allow her to go if she can finish all of the cleaning and find a suitable dress. When she accomplishes both, the stepsisters ruin her dress in a jealous fury, leaving Cinderella alone in the garden crying. Her "Fairy Godmother" appears out of nowhere, casting a spell which allows her to go the ball after all. She dances with the prince, who falls in love with her, only to leave abruptly at midnight when the spell ends. She leaves behind a glass slipper which, after much ado, reunites the couple. Disney's iconic story almost loses itself in the antics of the mice who have to contend with house cat Lucifer in Tom and Jerry fashion, but eventually finds itself when it returns to the main characters.

The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935)

Academy Awards, USA 1936

Won Oscar	Best Assistant Director Clem Beauchamp
	Best Assistant Director Paul Wing
Nominated Oscar	Best Picture
	Best Director Henry Hathaway
	Best Writing, Screenplay Achmed Abdullah John L. Balderston Grover Jones William Slavens McNutt Waldemar Young
	Best Art Direction Hans Dreier Roland Anderson
	Best Sound, Recording Franklin Hansen (sound director)
	Best Film Editing Ellsworth Hoagland

Paramount Pictures
Directed by Henry Hathaway
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Universal)

In British ruled India, Gary Cooper is in charge of two new arrivals, one of whom is the son of the unit's commander. Cooper had arranged for the boy to be sent as a favor, but the commander receives him coldly and refuses to treat him with anything resembling favoritism. Feeling rejected, the boy turns to alcohol, and they falls for a local slave girl sent to kidnap him for information. Although is father doesn't send help, Cooper feels responsible and heads out with the other recruit in the middle of the night. They end up getting captured as well, sent to prison and tortured for information. While they manage to keep quiet, the boy doesn't, leading to a final battle between the natives, who have stolen ammunition, and the British military company. Ambitious but ultimately flat adaptation of an autobiography, with Cooper miscast and California locations a poor, and obvious, substitute for India.

Pickup on South Street (1953)

Academy Awards, USA 1954

Nominated Oscar

Best Actress in a Supporting Role Thelma Ritter

Twentieth Century-Fox Film
Directed by Samuel Fuller
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Criterion Collection)

Pickpocket Richard Widmark ends up with stolen microfilm intended for the Russians. His victim's boyfriend is a spy, and after being bribed comes looking for him. The police are in on it as well, and when she fails to get the film back they tell her what is really at stake. She starts to fall in love with Widmark, but the street smart thief thinks it is just a ruse and milks the film for all the bribe money he can get. However, her boyfriend gets a gun and the game becomes deadly serious. Although Thelma Ritter got the Oscar nomination as a police informant, the entire cast puts on a character acting clinic: Widmark as the pickpocket, Jean Peters as the tough but pretty girl caught in the middle and Richard Kelly as her increasingly desperate boyfriend. Director Fuller portrays all of these marginalized characters with sympathy and keeps the plot moving at a brisk pace.

Secrets & Lies (1996)

Academy Awards, USA 1997

Nominated Oscar	Best Picture Simon Channing Williams
	Best Actress in a Leading Role Brenda Blethyn
	Best Actress in a Supporting Role Marianne Jean-Baptiste
	Best Director Mike Leigh
	Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Mike Leigh

October Films
Directed by Mike Leigh
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Fox)

A black optometrist in London decides to find her birth mother when her adopted one dies. Records yield a name and address, and luckily for her the family still lives there after a couple of decades. Her real mother is at first hesitant, but soon welcomes her if not with open arms at least with acceptance. They hide her identity from other family members, who have their own problems. The whole dysfunctional group comes together for a birthday party where everything is revealed. Instead of being cathartic it is almost hilarious, and certainly not intentional. Overblown melodrama had me rolling in laughter instead of tears.

Jerry Maguire (1996)

Academy Awards, USA 1997

Won Oscar	Best Actor in a Supporting Role Cuba Gooding Jr.
Nominated Oscar	Best Picture James L. Brooks Laurence Mark Richard Sakai Cameron Crowe
	Best Actor in a Leading Role Tom Cruise
	Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Cameron Crowe
	Best Film Editing Joe Hutshing

TriStar Pictures
Directed by Cameron Crowe
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Sony)

Hotshot professional sports agent Tom Cruise gets fired after publishing a memo deriding the greed of the profession. He manages to retain one client, an equally flamboyant football player, and one employee, who is secretly in love with him. Those two relationships take similar arcs: his business relationship with the client becomes more personal, while the one with the employee becomes more romantic. Cruise's over-the-top performance will either win you over or leave you flabbergasted at his lack of self-control, but maybe that's the point of his character. After two hours, though, I had had enough of one Jerry Maguire.

Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)

Academy Awards, USA 1995

Nominated Oscar	Best Picture Duncan Kenworthy
	Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Richard Curtis

Gramercy Pictures
Directed by Mike Newell
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, MGM/Fox)

Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell have a one night stand after meeting at a mutual friend's wedding. She heads back to America supposedly gone for good, but they meet a few months later at another wedding and have a repeat performance in bed. Grant is totally smitten by this point, but her new fiance gives him little hope. The third wedding is for MacDowell and her stuffy older boyfriend, which he reluctantly attends. One of his friends dies suddenly during the ceremony, leading to the sole funeral in the plot. The fourth and final wedding is his own, to an old flame he is not really sure about, which turns into a fiasco when MacDowell shows up and tells him she has split from her husband. There is, of course, a happy ending. Contrived "rom-com" is pleasant enough I suppose, but entirely predictable and with hardly a brain between any of the characters.

Broadcast News (1987)

Academy Awards, USA 1988

Nominated Oscar	Best Picture James L. Brooks
	Best Actor in a Leading Role William Hurt
	Best Actress in a Leading Role Holly Hunter
	Best Actor in a Supporting Role Albert Brooks
	Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen James L. Brooks
	Best Cinematography Michael Ballhaus
	Best Film Editing Richard Marks

Twentieth Century Fox
Directed by James L. Brooks
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Criterion Collection)

Professional and personal lives intertwine at a Washington, DC, network news room. Not shot newcomer William Hurt is the weekend anchor; perky Holly Hunter is the neurotic, love-starved producer; and deadpan Albert Brooks is the journalistic moral conscience. Hunter is in love with Hurt, while Brooks in in love with Hunter. It's an uneasy mix of romance and drama that resembles the TV situation comedies that director James L. Brooks is better known for, and somewhat dated.

Prizzi's Honor (1985)

Academy Awards, USA 1986

Won Oscar	Best Actress in a Supporting Role Anjelica Huston
Nominated Oscar	Best Picture John Foreman
	Best Actor in a Leading Role Jack Nicholson
	Best Actor in a Supporting Role William Hickey
	Best Director John Huston
	Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium Richard Condon Janet Roach
	Best Costume Design Donfeld
	Best Film Editing Rudi Fehr Kaja Fehr

Twentieth Century Fox
Directed by John Huston
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Kino Lorber)

Mob hit man Jack Nicholson falls for mysterious beauty Kathleen Turner at a family wedding. While in California carrying out a hit, he finds out she is the wife of his target, but naively believes that she is not part of the robbery of a casino that resulted in the hit. They get a quick Mexican wedding, but a jealous former lover pits the family against them. Turner turns out to not only be involved in the robbery, but to be a hit man for hire herself. Soon the husband and wife find themselves contracted to kill each other, which unfolds one night in their bedroom. Confusing film can't seem to decide if it wants to be a comedy, a satire of gangsters, a drama or a romance, so ends up a little bit of all of them. Nicholson's faux New York accent makes him seem overly stupid. Still, it is entertaining and Nicholson and Turner are well-paired.

Bambi (1942)

 

 Academy Awards, USA 1943

Nominated Oscar	Best Sound, Recording C.O. Slyfield (Walt Disney SSD)
	Best Music, Original Song Frank Churchill (music) Larry Morey (lyrics) For the song "Love Is a Song".
	Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture Frank Churchill Edward H. Plumb

RKO Radio Pictures
Directed by David Hand
My rating: 4 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Disney)

Young fawn Bambi lives under the protection of his mother deep in the woods. Unknown to him, he is to be the new "prince" of the forest, a position currently held by his father. All the forest animals show up soon after his birth to greet him, including Thumper, a shy but lively rabbit, and Flower, a lazy but friendly skunk, who remain lifelong friends. After an idyllic first year, Bambi's mother is shot and killed by "man", portrayed off screen as an invading evil presence in the forest. Another year passes, and the trio of friends are now lovesick teenagers, with Bambi falling for a doe named Faline. However, a nearby campfire gets out of control and soon the forest is in flames. Bambi manages to escape with the help of his father. Disney's fifth, and best, animated feature is an incredible technical achievement in addition to being an emotional plea for the sanctity of the forest and its inhabitants.

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Academy Awards, USA 2016

Won Oscar	Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Mark Rylance
Nominated Oscar	Best Motion Picture of the Year Steven Spielberg Marc Platt Kristie Macosko Krieger
	Best Writing, Original Screenplay Matt Charman Ethan Coen Joel Coen
	Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score Thomas Newman
	Best Achievement in Sound Mixing Andy Nelson Gary Rydstrom Drew Kunin
	Best Achievement in Production Design Adam Stockhausen (production design) Rena DeAngelo (set decoration) Bernhard Henrich (set decoration)

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Directed by Steven Spielberg
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, DreamWorks)

Insurance lawyer Tom Hanks reluctantly agrees to represent an accused Soviet spy being railroaded by the government during the Red Scare of the 1950s. The idealistic Hanks meets resistance even when he brings up valid reasons that the man is not being treated fairly. He wins the man's respect and friendship, even after he is sent to prison. Later, an American pilot shot down over Russia while spying also ends up in jail, and Hanks is assigned the task of negotiating a trade for the Russian spy. The period detail is impressive, but Spielberg's slick style, and huge budget, results in a glossy, artificial feel inappropriate for the material.

Fantasia 2000 (1999)

Buena Vista Pictures
Directed by Don Hahn, et al
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Disney)

Not so much a sequel but rather another installment of Fantasia, in which classical music pieces are interpreted by Disney animators. In the intervening 60 years, animation has come to rely more on computer assistance, and this was made right around the transition. As a result, the animation can be a bit clunky at times. Between animated segments are live-action bridges featuring various hosts, such as Steve Martin, Bette Midler, Angela Lansbury and others, some of which are embarrassingly bad. Still, the music soars, and occasionally even the animation manages to keep pace.

Tess (1979)

Academy Awards, USA 1981

Won Oscar	Best Cinematography Geoffrey Unsworth Ghislain Cloquet Posthumously.
	Best Art Direction-Set Decoration Pierre Guffroy Jack Stephens
	Best Costume Design Anthony Powell
Nominated Oscar	Best Picture Claude Berri Timothy Burrill
	Best Director Roman Polanski
	Best Music, Original Score Philippe Sarde

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Roman Polanski
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Criterion Collection)

When peasant girl Nastassja Kinski's father discovers the family may have aristocratic origins, he sends her off to nearby relations in hopes of finding a job. Instead, she is seduced and raped by the wealthy son who lives there. She runs away before giving birth to their child, who eventually dies. Later, she works on a dairy farm and falls in love with an aspiring farmer. However, when she confides her past to him on their wedding night he rejects her, then goes on an indefinite missionary trip to Brazil. Left to fend for herself, Kinski takes up again with her wealthy rapist. However, when her husband unexpectedly returns home, she murders her lover to reunite with him. They spend a few days on the run, only to be surrounded by police at Stonehenge. Yes, Stonehenge. Exquisitely filmed melodrama in which no expense was spared to recreate late 19th century farming practices, just gaze upon that working steam powered piece of equipment! It's mostly to no avail, as Kinski's emotionless performance struggles with the material.

Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

Academy Awards, USA 1942

Won Oscar	Best Writing, Original Story Harry Segall
	Best Writing, Screenplay Sidney Buchman Seton I. Miller
Nominated Oscar	Best Picture Columbia
	Best Actor in a Leading Role Robert Montgomery
	Best Actor in a Supporting Role James Gleason
	Best Director Alexander Hall
	Best Cinematography, Black-and-White Joseph Walker

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Alexander Hall
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Criterion Collection)

Boxer Robert Montgomery is accidentally taken to heaven by an inexperienced angel to save him from a plane crash he was supposed to survive. The angel-in-charge, Claude Rains, promises to find him a new body to live out the rest of his life. He eventually ends up taking over a crooked playboy recently murdered by his wife. He sets out to repay those who were swindled, falling in love at the same time. However, when he is destined to be murdered again (why didn't the angels anticipate this?), he is forced yet again to find another body. This time he ends up a boxer in the middle of a fight for the world championship, fulfilling his real destiny, and ends up with the girl he met while in the second body. Preposterous fantasy nonsense, with Montgomery's usual deer-in-headlights performance, which some find endearing, I just find annoying.

Mystic River (2003)

Academy Awards, USA 2004

Won Oscar	Best Actor in a Leading Role Sean Penn
	Best Actor in a Supporting Role Tim Robbins
Nominated Oscar	Best Picture Robert Lorenz Judie Hoyt Clint Eastwood
	Best Actress in a Supporting Role Marcia Gay Harden
	Best Director Clint Eastwood
	Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay Brian Helgeland

Warner Bros.
Directed by Clint Eastwood
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Warner Bros.)

Three childhood friends in Boston living in the same neighborhood as adults find their lives intersecting after  the daughter of one of them is murdered. One friend, now a detective for the state police, suspects the third, who is dealing with a traumatic event in their childhood. As the police detectives slowly zero-in on a suspect, the father of the murdered girl takes matters into his own hands. The trio of lead actors, Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon and Tim Robbins, have a field day with the material, but it is Penn who has the most emotional impact as the grieving father turned vigilante.