The Master (2012)

 This was a wretchedly bizarre film. And it shockingly wasn't based on a book, which only adds to the weirdness of the whole film.

The film is fairly straight-forward if completely odd until the end. Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) is a veteran from World War II and he has wretched PTSD, not that that is understood. He's also a sex addict and alcoholic and loses two jobs before stumbling (nearly literally) onto a boat which is the current home to a cult (and that's what they are). 

The other main character is Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman) claims to be a doctor and enjoys getting people to dreg up the past to reveal the hidden truths about them. Still, there is a band to entertain them, only all the women are nude, just the women, and Lancaster seems to like unique booze while his wife, Peggy (Amy Adams) loathes drunks. It is just a bizarre cult, but the Bible is never mentioned although they believe that the soul never dies. However, even a simple word change (from recall to imagine) can set his most devote believers off. 

Then, Lancaster's son-in-law, Clark (Rami Malek) gets the idea that Freddie's been planted as some sort of spy so they torture him but he seems to 'pass' all these ridiculous tests. However, he escapes in the desert on a motorcycle but is found only finally, Lancaster sees Freddie for the flawed human that he is and doesn't really welcome him back. I felt that Freddie got into an accident and died as he was driving quickly and had no real reason to leave. He was an aimless human (unfortunately). However, the cult has rubbed off on him (no pun intended) as he tries to the techniques on others that he meets along his journey, wherever that may take him. 

Despite the brilliant performances from the entire cast, the plot was just completely insane and quite choppy toward the end, which is a shame as the material was there and the performances lifted up the average script. Also, if this had been based on a book, either Freddie or Lancaster would have died, the world just can't handle both of them. Grade: B-

Side Notes:

-The superb supporting cast includes Jesse Plemons, Jillian Bell, Laura Dern and Patty McCormick.

-It is unclear how Freddie gets all the jobs he does.

-Amy Adams is pregnant throughout until her final scene but the pregnancy isn't a plot point and is largely ignored by most of the characters.

-Lancaster was married several times before Peggy.

-Whenever someone speaks ill of Lancaster, Freddie beats them up. He is nothing if not loyal.

-Freddie really is an alcoholic and makes moonshine at one of his previous jobs.

-It is never mentioned how Lancaster settles his debt, nor why he moves his whole organization to England.

-The most ridiculous part of the film is a movie theater worker delivering a phone call to Freddie while Freddie is just watching a movie. I can't believe that that would actually happen. 

Walk the Line (2005)

 This was another solid bio-pic, featuring brilliant performances from Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. With their electric chemistry, I'd surprised haven't appeared in more films together. 

Johnny Cash (Phoenix) only feels at home strumming away on his guitar, despite his wife, Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin) upset that they can't pay the bills. Johnny hasn't had any easy life, his older brother died when they were still children and his father, Ray (Robert Patrick) believes that the wrong son died, so that can't sit well with a child. 

June Carter (Witherspoon) on the other hand, has supportive parents, at least compared to Johnny's, even though they feel her sister was the more talented singer, and she's been on stage since she was a child. So it is inevitable that she and Johnny run into each other, literally. And then they start touring. Poor June is stuck with a bunch of drunk, horny men all the time, but she doesn't take any shit from them, putting them in their place time and time again. 

However, the touring takes its toll on John, as he turns to the pills and booze and nearly dies several times, all the while harboring a not-so-secret crush on June, cheating on his wife both mentally and physically. Viv runs away from the problem while June hits it, head on. She is the one who finally gets John clean. However, while they may be very much in love, Viv hates June and wants her to stay away from the children and John is only just clean and he asks way too many times and basically has to coerce an acceptance from her by popping the question in public so she can finally say yes.

The film ends happily, with John and his father somehow mending the fence though they must do it off camera. John's album, that he fought for (in a plot point that needed tons more screen time) is one of the top selling albums of all time and of course, he and June end up getting married happily for the rest of their lives. 

So, while the screenplay is solid, there is still so much left unsaid and uncovered. We don't know how Viv and Johnny met nor do we fully understand why she wasn't supportive of his music, when that's clearly his dream and we don't have the reason behind most of his best-selling songs and while I don't approve of the relationship between June and John, I do think the feelings were real. And you felt like you were watching John and June on screen, not actors portraying them, so that is no easy feet. Witherspoon fully deserved her Oscar and Phoenix should have won, except he lost to Philip Seymour Hoffman's Truman Capote in Capote. Grade: B+

Side Notes:

-Witherspoon's character undergoes two divorces and is judged horribly for it. 

-I wonder why Witherspoon hasn't been asked to sing more after this superb role. Same for Phoenix for that matter. 

-Goodwin is also good but you're not supposed to like her character and you don't. 

-June's father chases off John's drug dealer with a shot gun. 

-John's brother dies in a tragic accident while he was slicing wood. No one was watching him. 

-The water in the prison is truly disgusting.

-Even though it was the 60s, I surprised that John wasn't ordered to go to rehab when he arrested with his pills.

Dodsworth (1936)

 This is actually a pretty solid film, despite the triteness and simple plot line.

Sam Dodsworth (Walter Huston) is a rich businessman who owns several car factories but now, he's taken early retirement so he can travel to Europe with his wife, Fran (Ruth Chatterton). While they start out the trip with such high hopes, nothing goes to plan. Fran is far younger than her husband and appears younger than she is so she's ready to embrace life while Sam wishes to explore ancient ruins and various museums. So it is no one's surprise that during her travels, Fran manages to catch the eye of three young men, though it is not reciprocated with the first one, as he nearly assaults her and Sam doesn't have any sympathy.

Still, she nevertheless wishes to get a divorce so she can marry Kurt (Gregory Gaye), a penniless baron, only to fail to get the approval of his mother (Maria Ouspenskaya) so she reluctantly returns to her husband, even though he's finally fallen in love with Edith (Mary Astor), who is living a simpler life in Naples. He goes back and can't take her nagging, so he decides to leave her, finally putting his wants and needs before hers. 

So, while there's tons of cheating spouses (never one of my favorite themes) and it is a little dialogue heavy, but the acting is top-notch and Fran's gowns are just lovely and given the heavy themes, there are parts that remain relevant to this day. Grade: A-

Side Notes:

-Ironically, Astor was significantly younger than Chatterton.

-Chatterton was a rather famous actress of the 1920s and 30s but she's virtually unknown today.

-Though her role is painfully small, Ouspenskaya was nominated for a supporting actress Oscar anyway.

-Fran goes so far to hide her age that she refuses to admit she's a grandma.

-John Payne makes his film debut in this film.

-The scene at the beginning of the film, Fran's speech on how dreadfully boring it is to be a rich housewife is especially poignant. 

-Oscar winners David Niven and Paul Lukas have solid supporting roles.  

A Call to Spy (2019)

 This film did the best they could with a shoestring budget and a largely unknown cast. 

Based on true events, this film details how flawed the British spy system was in World War II in France, where the Nazis and SS were everywhere. Still, despite the numerous flaws, there were also successes which this film highlights. 

Virginia Hall (Sarah Megan Thomas) has a wooden leg but an Ivy-league education and wants desperately to be a diplomat but can't, because of her amputation. So she's recruited by Vera Atkins (Stania Katic) and trained to be a spy because the Nazis won't suspect a woman. However, thanks to her success, they quickly grow to suspect her as she uncovers supply lines but then, she's compromised, thanks to someone she suspected of being shady all along. This later happens with our other main character, who isn't alive by the end of the film.

Noor Khan (Radhka Apte) is a master coder and is sent to France to send coded messages back to England and then her school friend's husband turns her over to the Gestapo. Still, she remains stoic and refuses to give up Virginia's location but is killed when she is sent away to Dachau. 

Now, despite the solid performances, the screenplay needed work. I couldn't figure out how Virginia figured out the Nazi supply chain in the first place. Still, it was a decent film which deserved a far better treatment from Hollywood. Grade: B

Side Notes:

-Linus Roache is probably the biggest name this film has. He's in control of the British spy organization.

-This film manages to succeed without having any sort of love plot line though in real life Virginia Hall does get married shortly after the war.

-Virginia's wooden leg is named Cuthbert. 

Contagion (2011)

 Well, this film was certainly interesting and star-studded though I found it far more fantasy than reality given what happened in the world last year.

In this case, Gwenyth Paltrow's character eats some diseased pork, cheats on her husband, the delightful Matt Damon, has a seizure and dies in short order. She takes out her little son also, but somehow, he's immune, and the disease seizes Minneapolis and puts the CDC director (Laurence Fishburne) on edge, causing him to give his fiancé (Sanaa Lathan) privileged information and will have to pay for that.

Even more unrealistic, WHO doctor Marion Cotillard being kidnapped to save a small village, and then returning to them when the vaccines are placebos only and then there is Jude Law's character who leaves a pregnant woman to die and then fakes a cure for the dreaded illness, only to make himself rich. 

So yeah, tons of problems even though the performances were solid and they managed to make to flesh out most of the plot lines, but still. This film could have been so much more realistic and tight rather than complex. Grade: B

Side Notes:

-So apparently, this deadly illness has a 75% cure rate but none of the characters we see who become ill survive, so I can't believe that. 

-The cast is truly packed, Bryan Cranston, Elliott Gould. John Hawkes and Jennifer Ehle provide excellent support.

-Elliott Gould's character disobeys a direct order and starts finding a cure for the wretched disease. He doesn't get in trouble.

-Jennifer Ehle's character sticks the vaccine in her to experiment to prove that it works and it does.

-They auction off vaccines by birthdays. Like that would work.

-Vaccine bracelets were given to those who were safe, which I wish they would do now, even though that wouldn't go over well. 

Splendor in the Grass (1961)

 This is a rather simple film that would seem mundane today, but it is still a fascinating watch.

Bud Stamper (Warren Beatty, in his film debut) and Deanie Loomis (the always great Natalie Wood) are very much in love but given that it is 1928 Kansas, they have to control their urges, which nearly ruins both of them. 

Bud's father, Ace (Pat Hingle) has sunk all his hopes and dreams into Bud who just wants to ranch and Deanie has a mental breakdown after another classmate nearly assaults her and spends two years in a mental hospital. Fortunately, both end up content, if not happy in the end, though their path to the end isn't easy.

Now, while the plot might be trite, the film remains timely, anchored by the superb performances from Wood and Beatty, she was Oscar-nominated, he was not. But the atmosphere of the film is also great and the costumers are also great. Grade: B+

Side Notes:

-The conversation Deanie's mother (Audrey Christie) has with her daughter is especially sad and painful, saying that nice girls don't have sex and that the only reason she let her husband near her was to have a child.

-Another disturbing scene is when Bud pushes Deanie onto her knees and declare her love for him. He does apologize for this but it was upsetting nonetheless.

-Bud's father truly is a bully.

-When Bud finally does get married, he wears a wedding ring while his father never did.

-Bud's sister (Barbara Loden) is portrayed as a floozy but she's actually just comfortable with herself.

-Deanie's eventual fiancé, John (Charles Robinson) has a breakdown due to not being able to become a surgeon, but what I don't understand is how he ends up in Kansas when he's from Cincinnati. 

-Bud didn't know what a pizza is until Angelina (Zohra Lampert) shows him, in a scene that could have been a lot more romantic. 

Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

 This was actually a pretty solid film.

Black Rock is a small, one horse town in the middle of the desert Arizona and they do not take kindly to strangers, even before they start asking questions. John J. MaCreedy (Spencer Tracy) arrives and starts asking questions in regards to a missing farmer, Komoko and no one is happy to hear that. This is 1945, after all.

So, it doesn't take the modern viewer long to figure out that the bar owner, Smith (Robert Ryan) is the one who really runs the town and the sheriff, Tim (Dean Jagger) is just there to do his bidding and that Smith and several others in the town, know that Komodo is dead, killed out of spite for his Japanese heritage. And now, given that MaCreedy wants to know the truth, Smith is out for him as well. And so the game of cat and mouse begins. 

The ending is both clever and sad, given that Liz (Anne Francis) double crosses her own brother, but revenge is sweet as Smith suffers severe burns and Komdo's death was not in vain. 

So, while the plot is solid and the ending great, with snappy dialogue with great acting, there are still some issues. First of all, how does John know everyone's name even though he isn't properly introduced to most of them and given that John fought in Italy in world war two, Tracy is far too old for the role even though he is brilliant and fully deserved that Oscar nomination. Still, it is one of the few films I liked that didn't have any sort of romantic aspect to it, just a man wishing to properly honor the man who saved his life. Grade: A-

Side Notes:

-Tracy's character has one lame arm, which must have been a challenge but he handles it well.

-The supporting cast is great: Walter Brennan (the only other good guy), Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine. 

-It is hard to believe that a train hasn't stopped in that town in four years. 

-The scene where John beats up Coley (Borgnine) is great especially since everyone's been needling him for the entire film.

-You don't truly get why Pete (John Ericson) has a change of heart.

-You only learn why Smith didn't serve in World War Two, it isn't mentioned for any of the others. 

Songbird (2021)

 While the cast and concept were solid, there were just too many plot holes for this film to be something truly great.

First of all, this film should be anyone's worst nightmare, as the COVID virus keeps mutating and basically everyone is on lockdown, except those few people who are miraculously immune. Still, there is a black market for immunity bracelets and a man who manages to cheat on his wife, and couples to ship. 

But I wonder how most of those characters earn a living and are able to keep fresh food in their fridge. Sure, most of the main characters have jobs, but not all. Yet, there are implied meet-cutes, which are great. The beginning is sort of choppy but finally kicks into gear when Sara's (Sofia Carson's) grandmother gets sick and fails her temperature check (which is all done through a smart phone), and Nico (KJ Apa) can't stand the mere thought of the woman who he believes to be the love of his life get taken away to the Q Zone (quarantine). So Nico risks everything, including his life to get an immunity pass for Sara only it turns out she's been immune all along. And they're just going to let a civilian into the entrance to a Q Zone. 

That being said, the film had a happy ending, and I always appreciate that. The cast was also great and packed with talent though most of it was largely wasted, so ultimately the film failed in basically every aspect though they did manage to make LA feel abandoned. Grade: C+

Side Notes:

-Probably the best scene is when Bradley Whitford's character is shot dead with a drone.

-Wasted talent for this film includes Demi Moore, Alexandra Daddario, Craig Robinson and Paul Walter Hauser. 

-Once again, Peter Stomare portrays the main villain and he's a total asshole. 

Boys Town (1938)

 So there really isn't much to say about this film though Spencer Tracy did win his second Oscar for this film and while he is good, delivering a natural performance, the film is nothing special and though it moves quickly, it plays it safe thanks the Hays Code.

While a priest, Father Flanagan (Tracy) doesn't have a parish but rather does good works, charities and the like. Upon discovering that boys (mostly orphaned) need help more than men, he starts a children's home, with the help of his friend and storeowner Dave (Henry Hull) which expands into a fully functional town, complete with its own branch of the post office and elected mayor. 

And then the bad apple Whitey Marsh (Mickey Rooney) comes in. He's rude and arrogant but Father Flanagan doesn't let him get away with crap but when he doesn't get what he wants (elected mayor), he tries to leave and tragedy ensues. What I didn't understand is how the town gets saved without an explanation and I don't agree with the tagline that there is no such thing as a bad boy. Sure, every child should have an equal chance at succeeding in life so he can become a functional member of society but still, I cannot abide. 

It's a shame that this film was limited due to the ridiculous Hays Code, turning everything into something unrealistic and far too happy as that rarely works (Casablanca is the notable exception), as Tracy and Rooney delivered great performances. Grade: B+

Side Notes:

-While the beginning states that Father Flanagan helps boys of all races, creed and color, only white boys are shown though it appears that a Jewish one is shown.

-Only two women are shown, both nuns and have two lines between them.

A Star is Born (1954): The Judy Garland Version

 So, there is no need to recap the plot as everyone in the world knows what this film is about unless they are living under a rock so I will just talk about the pros and cons for me.

Pro: This film really gives Judy Garland a chance to show her acting chops especially toward the last part of the film. Her scene where she sobs to Oliver Niles (Charles Bickford) about Norman's (James Mason's) struggles with his never ending battle with alcoholism is especially poignant. Mason is likewise excellent. And even though the musical numbers are stuck in there largely to showcase Garland's talents (save the ones in 'The Man that Got Away') are likewise brilliant.

Cons: The ridiculous montage in the first half was just a way to cut corners in the budget, by showing a black and white pictures with voiceovers to move the plot forward is just unacceptable and the snippets of the scenes should have been shown, but they weren't. This unfortunately brings the overall quality of the film down a notch for me and that is such a shame because it was largely first rate. 

Pro and Con: Esther Blogdett's unyielding devotion to her husband. Sure, he needs all the support he can get as alcoholism is a disease but he is also holding her back and is accidentally cruel to her (that scene at the Oscars is especially heartbreaking) so I don't know if I support her decision to stay with him and give up her career for him or not. And of course, we know he makes the decision for her. 

So overall, a solid film except for the above but it is worth watching nonetheless. Grade: B+

Side Notes:

-Jack Carson and Tom Noonan also give solid supporting performances. 

-Despite her countless personal struggles, Garland manages to look younger than her age and fits the role perfectly. 

-I love how Norman and Esther (as that is her real name) get married in a courthouse, under their real names. But he still doesn't wear a wedding ring, always and forever a giant pet peeve of mine.

-Norman can't stand that by the end of the film, his wife is the main breadwinner in the family.

-Birth control and sex are never mentioned nor is the subject of children ever brought up. 

-This film does contain a great make out scene with a sandwich prop.