Topper (1937)

Academy Awards, USA 1938

Nominee Oscar	Best Actor in a Supporting Role Roland Young
	Best Sound, Recording Elmer Raguse (Hal Roach SSD)

MGM
Directed by Norman Z. McLeod
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, VCI Entertainment)

Cary Grant and Constance Bennett are bored millionaires who spend their time drinking and dancing. One day they are killed in a road accident due to his careless driving. They become transparent "ghosts", not sure if they are headed to heaven or that other place. They decide they have to do a good deed to insure it is heaven. They set their sights on henpecked bank president Roland Young. Through their invisible antics they teach him that drinking and leaving his wife is the true road to happiness. He buys their old car and promptly crashes it on the same curve that killed them, but survives to figure out that he was happy after all. Dreadful Hollywood "classic" that is dead-on-arrival. 

Marvin's Room (1996)

Academy Awards, USA 1997

Nominee Oscar

Best Actress in a Leading Role Diane Keaton

Miramax
Directed by Jerry Zaks
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Echo Bridge)

Middle-aged Diane Keaton, who has spent her adult life taking care of her bed ridden father, is diagnosed with leukemia. She contacts her sister, Meryl Streep, whom she has not seen in 20 years and her sister's son, Leonardo DiCaprio, in the hope that one of them will be a match for a bone marrow transplant. Streep and son struggle to get along so it is up to Keaton to show them how to love each other, and their extended family. Streep and DiCaprio seem forced, but Keaton is irresistable in her role. There are some awkward comedy scenes that threaten to spoil everything, but the drama, and heart, keeps it afloat. 

The Sound Barrier (1952)

Academy Awards, USA 1953

Winner Oscar	Best Sound, Recording
Nominee Oscar	Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Terence Rattigan

British Lion (UK)
Directed by David Lean
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Lionsgate)

A British pilot marries the daughter of a wealthy owner of an aviation company secretly working on a new jet airplane. After the war, he becomes a test pilot for the company. Together with his wife's brother, they perform dangerous tests intended to break the sound barrier. Both are eventually killed, leaving his wife to wonder if her father cared about them at all. She moves in with her husband's friend and wife, also a test pilot, who eventually succeeds in breaking the speed of sound. She reconciles with her father. Tedious near-documentary will test anyone's endurance. Misfire from the usually reliable director Lean.

The Seven Little Foys (1955)

Academy Awards, USA 1956

Nominee Oscar

Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Melville Shavelson Jack Rose

Paramount Pictures
Directed by Melville Shavelson
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Shout Factory)

Bob Hope plays vaudevillian Eddie Foy, a woman-hater who inexplicably falls in love with a pretty Italian ballet dancer. Before he knows it, they are married with seven kids. He spends most of his time on the road performing, not realizing his wife is sick until he unexpectedly comes home and finds her dead. He decides to make the kids a part of his act, and takes him on the road despite their objections. Eventually they learn to love each other. Cloying biography with the usual quota of bad Bob Hope jokes. The one scene in which he dances with James Cagney is a gem, but cannot save the film. 

Horton Hears a Who! (2008)

Twentieth Century Fox
Directed by Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Fox)

An eccentric elephant hears a voice coming from a speck and believes it contains a hidden world. He communicates with the mayor who confirms his suspicions. However, no one else in Horton's jungle can hear the voices, leading to conflict with an authortarian kangaroo. She conspires with a vulture to get rid of the speck, which Horton keeps on a clover, by stealing it and then dropping it into an immense field of clovers. Horton is not deterred and after picking exactly 3 million clovers finds the speck. The kangaroo then resorts to her monkey friends and tries to destroy the speck in a vat of boiling oil, but the inhabitants make enough noise to be heard at the last possible second. Lackluster remake of the much shorter, and much better, 1970 TV special based on the book by Dr. Seuss. 

Nightcrawler (2014)

Academy Awards, USA 2015

Nominee Oscar

Best Writing, Original Screenplay Dan Gilroy

Open Road Films
Directed by Dan Gilroy
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Universal)

Jake Gyllenhaal plays an amoral thief who becomes a "stringer": racing to the scene of crimes and selling video to the local news. He soon finds out that the bloodier the video the more money he can make. Rene Russo is the news director with whom he finds a common bond and manipulates her for both money and sex. He hires Riz Ahmed as an assistant, who is desperate for any job at all and works for next to nothing. Gyllenhaal becomes obsessed with fame and money, staging scenes for dramatic effect and eventually becoming involved with a crime himself. He tips off the police and plans to film a dramatic arrest, which goes horribly wrong but makes for great TV. Gyllenhaal is chillingly effective as one of the most vile antiheroes in recent memory. Ahmed is excellent as his moral foil and Russo is perfectly cast as the desperate middle aged news director. It takes place mostly at night on the streets of LA, hypnotically captured by cinematographer Robert Elswit.

Sweet and Low-Down (1944)

Academy Awards, USA 1945

Nominee Oscar

Best Music, Original Song James V. Monaco (music) Mack Gordon (lyrics) For the song "I'm Making Believe".

Twentieth Century-Fox Film
Directed by Archie Mayo
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Fox)

James Cardwell plays "Johnny Birch", a young trombonist who gets his big break when his kid brother tricks none other than Benny Goodman to come to their house by stealing his clarinet! Benny offers him a job on the spot, and soon they are out on the road with his big band. Slinky jazz singer Lynn Bari tries to seduce him, as does wealthy socialite Linda Darnell. The poor guy just can't seem to choose. Bari's manager convinces him to strike out with his own band, but when they fail he has to come crawling back to Benny for a job. The music is great, the acting and plot not so much. Benny should stick to playing his clarinet. 

The Cell (2000)

Academy Awards, USA 2001

Nominee Oscar

Best Makeup Michèle Burke Edouard F. Henriques

New Line Cinema
Directed by Tarsem Singh
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Warner Bros.)

Jennifer Lopez is a psychologist who participates in experiments allowing her to enter the minds of comatose patients. The police ask her to enter the mind of a serial killer to help locate one of his victims still alive. She finds a horrific world populated by the sadistic side of the killer as well as his innocent side as a child. She gradually learns about his traumatic childhood but is unable to win him over and become trapped in his mind. Police officer Vince Vaughn agrees to undergo the procedure to save her and finds a clue to the whereabouts of the missing victim. Vivid set production influenced by modern art as well as the rock videos that Singh had directed in the 80's and 90's. Lopez is miscast, but even she can't spoil this immensely entertaining and creative film. 

The Brave Little Toaster (1987)

Hyperion Pictures
Directed by Jerry Rees
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Disney)

Household appliances languishing in an abandoned cabin, band together on a quest to reunite with their owner. Along the way the survive various natural hazards, such as a thunderstorms and a waterfall, eventually ending up in a spare parts shop. They manage to escape to the city where the simply look up the address of their former owner. He is headed to college and after a trip to the cabin to retrieve them turns up empty, is searching for replacements. They are all reunited after a long, thrilling climax in a junkyard. Odd entry in the Disney catalog, dated by unwelcomed musical interludes in the worst 80s style. Made by some of the same animators who went on to form Pixar, and does share some rudimentary similarities to Toy Story. 

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

Academy Awards, USA 1959

Nominee Oscar	Best Picture Lawrence Weingarten
	Best Actor in a Leading Role Paul Newman
	Best Actress in a Leading Role Elizabeth Taylor
	Best Director Richard Brooks
	Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium Richard Brooks James Poe
	Best Cinematography, Color William H. Daniels

MGM
Directed by Richard Brooks
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Warner Archive Collection)

Paul Newman is "Brick", a pathetic alcoholic in an unhappy marriage, apparently unable to get over the suicide of his best friend in college. He blames his wife, Elizabeth Taylor, whom he suspects of sleeping with his friend, and they have frequent, bitter fights. Meanwhile, his father, Burl Ives, celebrates his 65th birthday, unaware that he has just been diagnosed with cancer, which is being hidden from him by his doctor and family. The truth finally comes out, releasing pent up emotions between all of these various family members. The acting is phenomenal, but it comes precariously close to unintentionally hilarious at times, particularly Ives' treatment of his family. The changes to the Tennessee Williams source material are substantial and detrimental to the story, which is why Newman's explanation for the cause of his problems never quite makes sense. 

Stuart Little (1999)

Academy Awards, USA 2000

Nominee Oscar

Best Effects, Visual Effects John Dykstra Jerome Chen Henry F. Anderson III Eric Allard

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Rob Minkoff
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Sony)

A quirky suburban couple adopts a mouse from an orphanage and take them home as their new "son". Their other, human, son, isn't buying it, nor is their pet cat, who schemes with some alley cats to get rid of him. They send a married couple posing as Stuart's real parents, and he reluctantly goes to live with them. His human parents soon discover the ruse and launch a massive manhunt to find him. However, it is not until the cat gets invovled that they have any success. If you can somehow suspend disbelief enough to accept the rather far-fetched premise, it can be a lot of fun. 

The Secret of NIMH (1982)

MGM/UA
Directed by Don Bluth
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, MGM/Fox)

When the home of a timid field mouse and her ailing son is threatened, she enlists the help of a colony of rats to help move it. This leads her deep into their strange world, where they make electricity and engage in other activities beyond a normal rat's intelligence. Turns out these are escapees from a human experimental facility to boost intelligence. She becomes embroiled in their politics, including an attempt by a power-hungry rat to take over as leader. They agree to help her since her husband had died while helping in their initial escape from the human facility. Don Bluth's directorial debut is a dark story in the vein of Watership Down and The Plague Dogs. 

The Dark Mirror (1946)

Academy Awards, USA 1947

Nominee Oscar

Best Writing, Original Story Vladimir Pozner

Universal Pictures
Directed by Robert Siodmak
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Olive Films)

Olivia de Havilland plays identical twins, one of which is suspected of murder. The police are frustrated by their mutual alibis and the prospect of a "perfect murder". They hire a psychologist who specializes in twin studies, who soon discovers which of the two is capable of murder. He falls in love with the other one, and they set a trap to get her to confess. Gimmicky murder mystery, with Lew Ayres too old for his role as the psychiatrist who falls in love with the "good" de Havilland. 

Unfinished Business (1986)

Academy Awards, USA 1986

Nominee Oscar

Best Documentary, Features Steven Okazaki

Directed by Steven Okazaki
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Docurama)

Eye-opening history lesson on the internment of Japanese Americans in concentration camps after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Told from the perspective of several survivors, who are suing the government for that massive mistake. Will make you think differently about Franklin Delano Roosevelt. However, the film tends to be too clinical and lacks the necessary emotional punch to make it more effective.  Ambient soundtrack by Harold Budd, Brian Eno, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius.

Hotel Transylvania (2012)

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Sony)

An overprotective Dracula tries to keep his teenage daughter away from a human visitor to their elaborate hotel in Transylvania. The fall in love anyway, forcing Dracula to hide him from the other "monsters" in the hotel, who both despise and are afraid of humans. The hotel chef however discovers the secret and threatens to expose the human, and have him for dinner. Dracula is forced to come clean with his daughter, and re-examine his attitude towards humans. Very entertaining update of the old Rankin-Bass movie Mad Monster Party?

A Hole in the Head (1959)

Academy Awards, USA 1960

Winner Oscar

Best Music, Original Song Jimmy Van Heusen (music) Sammy Cahn (lyrics) For the song "High Hopes"

United Artists
Directed by Frank Capra
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Olive Films)

Frank Sinatra is a small-time hotel owner in Miami threatened with eviction when he can't pay the bills. He lives beyond his means trying to impress people with fancy cars and clothes. He also is a single dad with a young son. He contacts his brother and tries to get the money, lying about the reasons. They make the trip down and find out the truth. They give him the money anyway because of his son, but he loses it gambling. They set him up with pretty widow Eleanor Parker, but he can't give up kooky girlfriend Carolyn Jones (who is great in her role). Eventually he gets his priorities straight. Annoying "Capra-corn" with Sinatra miscast as a very unlikeable fellow. Blame this movie for the equally annoying song "High Hopes".

The Rains of Ranchipur (1955)

Academy Awards, USA 1956

Nominee Oscar

Best Effects, Special Effects

Twentieth Century-Fox Film
Directed by Jean Negulesco
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Twilight Time)

Lana Turner is unhappily married to British Lord Michael Rennie. He needs her money while she needs his company, so they stay together. She has numerous affairs in the open, with her latest conquest being Indian doctor Richard Burton. However, disaster strikes the area in the form of flooding and a dramatic dam break. Burton is kept busy saving lives, stranding a sick Turner. It is her other friend, Fred MacMurray, who has his own issues, who ends up saving her. Uneasy mix of ludicrous melodrama and overbaked disaster scenes, with poor special effects. Richard Burton is wooden, MacMurray unintentionally hilarious as an alcoholic. However, it does look and sound great, as only big-budget productions from the 1950's can. 

Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)

Academy Awards, USA 1959

Nominee Oscar

Best Foreign Language Film Italy

Lux Film (Italy)
Directed by Mario Monicelli
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Criterion Collection)

A petty crook bungles a car theft in Rome and is sent to prison. He comes up with a scheme to rob a pawn shop after learing from a fellow inmate that he put in a weak wall between it and the apartment next door. Stuck in prison, he tries to find someone else to take the rap and serve the time by paying him money. A struggling boxer takes him up on the offer, but the police are onto them and they both end up in prison. However, the boxer gets an early release and assembles the gang of inept, small-time crooks to pull-off the pawn shop heist. It all goes hilariously wrong. Classic Italian film is still laugh out loud funny today.

Le Plaisir (1952)

Academy Awards, USA 1955

Nominee Oscar

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White Max Ophüls

Columbia Films (France)
Directed by Max Ophüls
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Criterion Collection)

An anthology of three stories dealing with the theme of "pleasure". The first and last sections are rather short and act more like bookends for the main, much longer middle section. In it, a brothel from Paris travels to the countryside to attend the first commune of their madam's young niece. Their departure causes chaos in the lives of the men they leave in Paris, as does their arrival in the small, conservative village. While there, the madam's brother falls in love with one of the girls, causing the expected complications. It's all very expertly directed by Ophuls, but it was his set decoration that got him the Oscar nomination.

The Little Prince (1974)

Academy Awards, USA 1975

Nominee Oscar	Best Music, Original Song Frederick Loewe (music) Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics) For the song "Little Prince"
	Best Music, Scoring Original Song Score and/or Adaptation Alan Jay Lerner Frederick Loewe Angela Morley Douglas Gamley

Paramount Pictures
Directed by Stanley Donen
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Paramount)

Pilot Richard Kiley crash lands his small plane in the Sahara Desert. He is approached by a little kid dressed as a prince who claims to be an alien. He tells Kiley stories about his travels through the universe. Bob Fosse plays a dancing snake (naturally) and Gene Wilder is The Fox. Everyone involved looks very uncomfortable, except Fosse who looks quite comfortable. There is no question as to where Michael Jackson got his dance moves after viewing Fosse in action. Otherwise, this is incredibly silly and borderline incomprehensible, even by 1970s standards. 

Toy Story 4 (2019)

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Directed by Josh Cooley
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(theatrical showing)

Woody and pals now belong to a girl named Bonnie. Woody senses she needs his help at her first day in Kindergarten. leading to the creation of "forky". Bonnie becomes attached to forky, so much so that Woody has to stowaway in the family RV when they go on vacation. Forky escapes and is kidnapped by an evil doll living in an antique shop with creepy ventriloquist dummies who do her bidding. She sets her sights on Woody when she discovers he has a working voice box and wants it to replace her own. Woody and pals devise an elaborate rescue for forky. Entertaining enough, I suppose, but does the world really need another Toy Story movie?

Tequila Sunrise (1988)

Academy Awards, USA 1989

Nominee Oscar

Best Cinematography Conrad L. Hall

Warner Bros.
Directed by Robert Towne
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Warner Bros.)

Mel Gibson, a former drug dealer in LA trying to go straight, clashes with his old buddy Kurt Russell, a detective who suspects he may be dealing drugs again. Mel hangs out at a restaurant where deals are known to happen. Kurt questions restaurant owner Michelle Pfeiffer, and they soon embark on a love affair. Mel is not too happy about the arrangement, and suggests to her that Kurt may be using her just get information. Infuriated, she breaks up with Kurt and starts a steamy, literally steamy, affair with Mel. Well, it turns out that Mel was dealing drugs, but only a little bit for a friend, and secretly meeting with a Mexican drug lord posing as a DEA agent. I think. The plot twists got a little too twisty for me, as did the multitude of explosions and boat chases for the big finale. Did I mention steamy?

Flirtation Walk (1934)

Academy Awards, USA 1935

Nominee Oscar	Best Picture
	Best Sound, Recording Nathan Levinson (sound director)

First National Pictures
Directed by Frank Borzage
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

Dick Powell is an Army private with a penchant for singing and a reputaion for goofing off while on the job. He is assigned to drive the general's daughter to a party, but instead takes her to a romantic moonlight parking spot and a nearby luau. They instantly regret their impulsive kiss, both pretending to not really care. Her fiance, an officer, is not so easily fooled, so Powell decides to go to West Point to get even and become an officer. To everyone's surprise he succeeds. For graduation he writes a play dramatizing his love for the general's daughter. She shows up in time to play the part. They have an on-stage kiss which rekindles their old feelings and sets in motion the expected happy ending. Part saccharine romance, part documentary on West Point, with Powell miscast and looking lost.