Tina's July Movies

July
71. More Than a Game (TV) – Long before he became the world’s most sought-after free agent, LeBron James was an athletic kid playing basketball and winning championships in Akron, Ohio, with three good buddies. This film shows a lanky 11-year old James, one of several good players regularly trouncing AAU teams, through his evolution into a 17-year old man-child, winning state and national high school championships. But it is more than the LeBron show, as he and his friends develop into accomplished basketball players, young men and good friends. Talent like LeBron’s may come along once in a generation, but it is teamwork that ultimately wins championships. 4 cans.
72. Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (Montgomery with Nan and Hank) – At 75 and with a face only a plastic surgeon could love, Joan Rivers is a desperate woman. She is desperate for recognition as the comedy pioneer she was and still is, desperate for acceptance and desperate to keep working. Her greatest fear is a blank page in her “book,” the calendar in which she writes down all of her engagements. “Ask a nun why she is a nun,” she says in attempting to explain why she is still doing gigs in Wisconsin, on cruise ships and at 4:30 in the afternoon in the Bronx. With staff to pay and a New York apartment in which even she admits Marie Antoinette could live, the insecure icon needs the money, the fame and to be on the stage, the only place where she is truly happy. There is a sense of loneliness and sadness to this movie, which documents one year in Rivers’ life but refers back to her many highs (as permanent guest host on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show) and lows (when Fox cancelled her own talk show, Johnny refused to ever speak with her again and her husband committed suicide). But in the end, it is a revealing and honest look at a very funny woman doing what she does best – make us laugh – and she is still damn good at it. 3½ cans.
73. The Paper Chase (TV) – The trials and tribulations of law students at Harvard are played out in this 1973 film starring a floppy-haired Timothy Bottoms as first-year student Hart and the great John Housman as formidable Professor Kingsfield. They develop a mutual respect even as Kingsfield refuses to acknowledge that he knows Hart’s name. A young Lindsay Wagner (before she became the Bionic Woman), Edward Hermann (before he played FDR and lots of grandfathers) and James Naughton (before he became a song and dance man on Broadway) co-star. This movie was turned into a very good TV series and educated those of us not in law school about how tough it is to get out alive. 3½ cans.
74. I Am Love (Montgomery, with Dee and Sheila) – You start with a love story, add Italian scenery and throw in a dash of food, courtesy of the chef character in the movie, and you have a recipe for success, right? Not so fast. A great performance by Tilda Swinton as the bored Russian mother in a wealthy Italian family whose son decides to open a restaurant with his friend Antonio, a chef. Seduced by the chef’s enormous prawns, Momma begins an affair that seems somewhat far-fetched, and the foreboding music tells you that this is not going to end well. I wanted more – more food, more sunny countryside scenes and a more handsome lover with better assets than those on display here. I am love – no. I am disappointed – yes. 3½ cans.
75. Unfaithful (HBO) – Richard Gere is not enough for Diane Lane, at least not after she (literally) bumps into young Frenchman Olivier Martinez and begins a torrid affair in this movie. If Martinez had played the Italian in the movie above, I would have given “I Am Love” another star. I’ve liked Diane Lane’s work since she appeared as a 14-year old in “A Little Romance” way back when. I also loved her in the movie in which she had a torrid affair with Viggo Mortensen, “A Walk on the Moon.” Here, her face as she returns home on the train after her initial tryst with Martinez reveals both ecstasy and guilt. Great performance in a very satisfying film. My favorite part is when she knows that he knows but he doesn’t know that she knows that he knows. You know? 4 ½ cans.
76. Presumed Innocent (TV) – Harrison Ford stars in this whodunit courtroom drama as a prosecutor accused of killing his former lover, fellow attorney (Greta Sacchi). As in the two movies I saw immediately preceding this one, the lesson here again is that no good can come from having a hot affair. I will bear that in mind, just in case an opportunity presents itself. Ford gives an almost sleepy performance, with little dialog to help him convince us of his innocence. I won’t tell you how it ends, but I remember seeing this years ago and not expecting the twist in the case. 3½ cans.
77. Toots (Sundance Channel) – Saloonkeeper to the stars Toots Shor was the toast of New York from the 40s to the 60s. Long before places like Studio 54 attracted the rich and famous, Toot’s joint was the hangout for Sinatra, Gleason and DiMaggio, as well as sportswriters, newspapermen and mobsters. This documentary recounts the days and nights of the gregarious barkeep and his famous and infamous cohorts. Rich in anecdotes and interviews with Toots and his pals, this is a portrait of a true New York character, someone who met Pope John and called him a “helluva guy.” So was Toots. 3½ cans.
78. Flash of Genius (Blockbuster rental) –This film focuses on the inventor of intermittent windshield wipers, Dr. Bob Kearns, played by Greg Kinnear in a surprisingly interesting movie about patent violations. After striking a deal with Kearns, Ford rained on his parade by coming out with its own product, claiming its engineers invented it. Kearns struck back, doggedly taking on the giant company at the cost of first his sanity, and then his marriage and family. Don’t we always root for the underdog? Next time I turn on my wipers, I will think of Kearns and his contribution to automotive safety and innovation. 3 cans.
79. The Turning Point (TV) – This ballet-themed movie is on point as former ballerina Shirley MacLaine and fading ballerina Anne Bancroft, once BFFs, reflect on their respective choices and achievements as they battle for control over the promising career of MacLaine’s coming of age daughter. Harboring decades of resentment, they have to come to terms with each other and the paths they have chosen. Did MacLaine’s character get pregnant because she was in love or because she was afraid she wasn’t good enough to make it as a ballet star? Did Bancroft’s Emma give up everything to be a prima ballerina? This is the movie that brought the gravity-defying Mikhail Baryshnikov to the screen. Great performances and a stellar catfight. 4 cans.
80. The Kids Are All Right (in Montgomery with Dee and Angela) – Annette Bening is an uptight doctor with control issues and her partner, played by Julianne Moore, is a new age, middle aged woman looking for the right vibe – or something. When the kids in the title, an 18-year old daughter by Bening and a 15-year son named Laser by Moore, track down their sperm donor dad (Mark Ruffalo), relationships begin to change for everyone. Rough around the edges Ruffalo, a single restaurateur who is way too cool to be a real dad, nonetheless brings some perspective to the kids that their Moms could not. He also brings something to Moore that Bening cannot. She had him at “Hello!” 4 cans.
81. Three Days of the Condor (TV) – Robert Redford stars in this suspenseful film as a low-level CIA analyst. He can’t imagine that his mundane job – reading books – could possibly uncover a rogue CIA network that results in the deaths of all of his co-workers and leaves him on the run. He needs help and a place to hide, for which he randomly grabs Faye Dunaway, who is initially terrified but eventually – well, he IS Robert Redford, you know. Good story, if a little tough to follow, and Redford looked great in 1974. 4 cans.
82. Yankee Doodle Dandy (TCM) – As a movie aficionado, I have to admit I was embarrassed that I had never seen this All-American movie, but what better month to see it than in July? Tough guy actor James Cagney goes back to his song and dance man roots to portray George M. Cohan, composer, actor, singer, patriot and Broadway producer. Cohan was responsible for such classic tunes as “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” “Over There,” and “Give My Regards to Broadway.” Cagney emulates Cohan’s odd dancing style, tapping with a stiff-legged gait while bent from the waist, and he was impressive enough in this role to win an Oscar. The production numbers are grand but cheesy. I know it is considered a grand old movie, but it’s just not my cup of tea. 3 cans.