All About Eve (1950) A young woman manages to work her way into the entourage of an aging star. What' begins innocently enough eventually takes on a decidedly different turn as time passes. Long friendships will be challenged before the final act. Margo Channing (Bette Davis) gets it right when she utters the classic movie line "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night".
This is one of the great classics of the movie world. The dialogue crackles, the cast is spectacular (Davis, Anne Baxter, Celeste Holm, George Sanders, Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlowe, Thelma Ritter, even Marilyn Monroe in a very small role), Joseph Mankiewicz wrote and directed. Bring all that talent together in the same place and you shouldn't miss. This one doesn't miss on any point. The story of ambition and deceit reads every bit as true today as it did 60+ years ago.
How good is this movie? It was the first movie ever to rack up 14 Oscar nominations (the next one would be "Titanic") and the only movie to score 4 nominations in the top female categories (Davis and Baxter for Best Actress and Ritter and Holm for Supporting Actress. Legend has it that Baxter angled to have her nomination placed in the Best Actress role rather than Supporting echoing the role she played. In the end some historians believe that the two cancelled each other out resulting in the win for Judy Holliday in "Born Yesterday")
This was a title that I knew but had never seen before. It lived up to its reputation.
Rating - **** Recommended
The Game (1997) - This movie presents me with an interesting variation. The cast is wonderful, the director does a wonderful job, the story is intense, intricate and gripping. The only problem is that periodically the script just gets really dumb. There are some serious plot holes (I love when huge numbers of people appear then magically disappear and nobody notices, indiscriminate use of automatic weapons that nobody notices and quite possibly the dumbest idea for a business imaginable) that are so astounding that rather boggle the mind. But somehow director David Fincher manages to just blast by. The ending is a bit contrived and brings the movie to a limping conclusion.
Investment banker Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas) is a man accustomed to getting what he wants when he wants it. His ne'er do well brother (Sean Penn) gives him a birthday present of an all expenses paid entry into a "game" that is tailored to Nicholas' personality. What it turns into is a trip down the rabbit hole. What's real, what isn't and just what the hell is going on will take over Van Orton's life.
Interesting bit of casting - Van Ortan's housekeeper is played by veteran actress and movie sex symbol Carroll Baker. Baker was still a striking woman at 66. They even pay her a quick wink when Daniel Schorr (playing himself and harassing Van Orton via the TV. You'll understand when you watch the movie) is distracted by her when she walks through the room. It's a cute moment that is also completely out of place in the movie.
Rating - *** Worth A Look
The History Boys - (2006) The story of a group of highly intelligent but unruly boys trying to figure out how to get into Cambridge or Oxford. They've been taught by two unconventional teachers and have to find their way between the freedom they've learned and the conformity that may be required to achieve their goal.
This is a fun and startling movie. It reminds us that the core of education is supposed to be about teaching young people how to think rather than rote memorization or learning marketable skills. The dialogue is quick (if occasionally too quick to get past some of the accents) and very funny. The cast is filled with familiar names and faces (Frances de la Tours and Richard Griffiths of Harry Potter fame plus lots of others from British TV and movies). While the movie focuses on the boys and the last minute "polish" teacher (Stephen Campbell Moore) it really is Griffiths and de la Tours movie. This is a movie in the tradition of "Dead Poets Society" or "The Paper Chase". This is what I love about British film at its best. Thoughtful script with a sense of humor, fabulous acting and just a certain "feel" I'm not sure I can describe. American movies too often think that bigger is better. The Brits tend to go small and do it well.
Rating -**** Recommended
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