Tina's June Movies

There is a lot of variety in this month's movies, almost all of which I saw for the first time, and none of which really stood out to me, unless you like movies about financial crises and tort reform (which I did, I'll admit). Numbering picks up from May, and new movies are indicated with an *.

JUNE *=First time movie
69. Fire & Ice* – McEnroe/Borg (2011) – This HBO special documents the intense rivalry of tennis players John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg in the early 1980s. McEnroe was the tempestuous upstart, Borg the stoic Swede, and of their memorable matches, none is remembered more than their epic battle at Wimbledon. McEnroe won a nearly interminable 4th set tiebreaker 18-16, but Borg won the 5th set and the Wimbledon trophy. I was a big tennis fan at the time, and I recall that match vividly. Each man would go on to win many championships, but Borg abruptly retired at age 25, leaving McEnroe without a comparable rival but with a lifelong friend. These men and their contrasting styles made tennis a compelling sport in the 1980s, and the fire and ice they brought to the game has been lacking since. 4 cans.
70. Get Him to the Greek* (2010) – Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) is a man with a mission impossible. His task, which he must accept as a low-level lackey for a music company, is to escort rock superstar Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) from London to Los Angeles to perform in a concert intended to revive his flagging career. Along the way the mission becomes an exercise in observing and participating in boorish rock star behavior, with drinking, drugs and women waylaying our heroes from their destination. I endured this movie without laughing even once, because even the few clever references were overshadowed by scenes that were supposed to be funny that I thought were insipid, silly or disgusting. The movie was well played, particularly by Brand as the lonely and self-indulgent caricature of a rock idol and Hill as an affable loser who becomes his friend. I’m just glad I didn’t pay to see this one in the movies. 2½ cans.
71. Play Misty For Me* (1971) – Long-haired, 70s clad DJ David Garver (Clint Eastwood) has an ardent fan in Evelyn (Jessica Walters), who calls him nightly to request that he play “Misty” for her. Actually, she is less an ardent fan than a psychotic lunatic stalker. After a few sexual encounters, Evelyn’s take on their relationship is quite different from Dave’s, and she is determined to make him love her by pulling a bunch of bizarre and scary stunts to get his attention. The laid-back DJ can’t figure out how to discourage or get rid of her as he pursues a relationship with former girlfriend Toby (Donna Mills, sporting the quintessential 70s shag haircut). This movie, directed by Eastwood, portrays him as the strong, silent type, the same kind of character he would go on to play in so many movies. It came long before “Fatal Attraction,” with Glenn Close as a psychotic lunatic woman, but has nearly as much suspense – though not carried out as well (no boiling rabbits on the stove). 4 cans.
72. Love in the Afternoon* (1957) – The lovely Audrey Hepburn is French cello student Ariane, daughter of a detective (Maurice Chevalier). Intrigued by her father’s dossier on middle-aged playboy “Mr. Flanagan” (Gary Cooper), she meets up with the businessman in his hotel and begins an unlikely affair. They listen to music provided by Flanagan’s band of music-playing gypsies and exchange no information about each other, including first names. Of course, she’s read his dossier, so she knows exactly what kind of man he is, but all he knows is that she is a girl whose name begins with the letter A, and he calls her “The Thin Girl” (oh, if only anyone would ever call me that!). She convinces him that she’s been around the block as many times as he has, which makes her even more mysterious and interesting. There is nothing Gary Cooper can do to convince me he is anything other than wooden as an actor, but this is a somewhat amusing charmer from legendary director Billy Wilder and it has an “Ahhhh” ending. 3 cans.
73. The Holiday* (2006) – Unlucky in love Brit Iris (Kate Winslet) and California girl Cameron Diaz swap houses for the Christmas season to escape their problems with men and promptly meet new men in this movie by Nancy Meyer. If only life were that simple. Winslet adapts easily to beautiful Hollywood, making friends with screenwriter Eli Wallach and composer Jack Black. Meanwhile, back at Winslet’s remote English cottage, Diaz has only to open the door to find Iris’ brother, played by Jude Law, stopping by unexpectedly. Guess the rest – go ahead, you can do it. The women are charming, if a little befuddled by their love lives, and the men are too good to be true. (So is Diaz’ wardrobe, if we are to believe all those coats and outfits came out of the one bag she lugs into the house. But I digress.) Overlooking the improbability of it all, I still found this movie satisfying in a chick-flick kind of way. Diaz and Law look sensational, Winslet a little bedraggled and for once Jack Black does not overact. 4 cans.
74. Heart Like A Wheel* (1983) – Bonnie Bedelia portrays the real-life Shirley Muldowney, the first professional female drag racer, in this bio-pic. Supported by her mechanic husband, Shirley sets out to break into the male, good-ole-boy dominated sport after a successful local career as an amateur drag racer on the streets of Schenectady. Fellow racer Connie Kaleta (Beau Bridges) takes more than a professional interest in Shirley’s booming career, setting up the off the track drama. Bedelia’s Shirley is a tough-as-nails woman at the beginning of the age of women’s lib who retains a touch of vulnerability. The whole movie felt a little Lifetime-y to me. 3 cans.
75. Dear John* (2010) – Hunky, hulky Channing Tatum plays John, a special forces soldier on leave from the Army in Charleston when he meets beautiful college student Savannah (Amanda Seyfried). Two weeks is enough for them to fall in love and pledge that they will be together after John's tour of duty is up in a year. But when he decides to reenlist, Savannah makes different plans. This is a typical Nicholas Sparks story, with attractive main characters facing life-changing choices and working hard to make the audience cry. Tatum is handsome but needs elocution lessons, while Seyfried is all doe-eyed innocence as the girl he loves. The acting here is grade B at best, with the exception of the always marvelous Richard Jenkins as Tatum's coin-collecting father. This is a sweet movie, but to me, everything comes in second to Sparks' earlier work, "The Notebook." 3 cans.
76. Too Big to Fail* (2011) – This HBO drama serves to remind us of the financial crisis of 2008. With a large cast (William Hurt, Ed Asner, Paul Giamotti, Mathew Modine, Billy Crudup, Topher Grace) mixed in with actual news reporters on TV, the program combines dramatization and documentary in an effective recounting of the financial crisis that saw Bear Sterns and Lehman Brothers go down. When the Federal Government, led by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulsen (Hurt) refuses to bail out Lehman, the market begins to crumble and the Feds look desperately to avert a repeat of 1929. This movie is a little tough to follow, with the heads of major banks popping in and out and leaving you to remember who’s who, but it is an interesting story that makes you think about how disaster could be one failure away. In the end, we survived as an economy, but it is disquieting to consider that 10 banks control 77% of assets in the United Sates as a result of the fallout from this crisis. 4 cans, and especially suited for economists.
77. Hotel (1967) – The St. Gregory is the dowager hotel of New Orleans, still elegant but beginning to fade and woefully behind the times in this adaptation of the Arthur Hailey book. Owned by irascible but loyal Melvyn Douglas, the hotel needs investors to keep it from being swallowed up by a chain run by egotistical Kevin McCarthy. There is a large cast of characters in this hotel, led by Rod Taylor as the efficient general manager and brightened by cagey thief Karl Malden (trademark fedora and all). Merle Oberon, shot in soft focus, plays the Duchess in her last movie role. Not a terrible movie, but hardly a grand hotel. Plenty of vacancies here. 3 cans.
78. A Matter of Taste/Serving Up Paul Liebrandt* (2010) – This profile of chef Paul Liebrandt traces the New York career of the young chef, whose level of taste and sophistication exceeds those of the restaurants that employ him. The exacting chef, the youngest to ever garner three stars from The New York Times (at age 24), turns out food that is equal in artistry and taste. When the restaurant where he works is forced by the economy to turn casual, Paul is left making sophisticated burgers. He drifts around the food scene until he teams up with legendary restaurateur Drew Nieporent to create Corton. There we see the long hours, creative vision and dedication required to run a restaurant. As the new establishment gears up and finally opens, Liebrandt and the staff await the review of The New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni, whose judgment can make or break the restaurant. I’ll give this documentary 3½ stars, since Liebrandt undoubtedly would find a can of tuna quite offensive.
79. Hot Coffee* (2011) – In reading this review, my sister will roll her eyes and say, “Why would you watch a movie about tort reform?” Well, we all know – or think we know – about the 1994 case where an elderly woman spilled coffee on her lap and sued McDonald’s because the coffee was too hot. Contrary to the lore about the case, it turns out she wasn’t driving at the time and that her legs, shown in the movie, were severely burned. She sued only because McDonald’s refused to cover her medical expenses, and today, as a result, McDonald’s’ coffee is 10 degrees cooler when served. But the judgment against McDonald's started the push for tort reform and capping damages, all led by a clever PR campaign and not by a grassroots push to keep malpractice costs down and doctors in their practices. This HBO documentary presents several heart-rending cases where caps on damages were insufficient to care for people seriously injured by negligence. The piece chides President Bush and his crony, Karl Rove, for their efforts to protect the interests of corporations over the individual. 3½ cans.
80. Going the Distance* (2010) – Erin and Garrett (Drew Barrymore and Justin Long) meet at the Centipede arcade machine and begin a relationship for the remainder of her 6 weeks in New York, before she has to return to Stanford to finish her master’s degree. An aspiring writer, Erin lives with her married sister (a delightful Christina Applegate) while she seeks a newspaper job, waits tables and tries to maintain a long distance relationship with New York-based music flunky Garrett. Will she find a job? Will one of them make the cross-country trip for a visit or a possible permanent move? Could Garrett’s best buddies be any grosser or Erin’s sister any more uptight? These burning questions are examined during the course of this film, starring once upon a time real-life couple Barrymore and Long, whose on-screen chemistry is real even if Drew seems a little long in the tooth for Justin. They’re cute, the movie’s cute, and the supporting players are very strong. There were a few good laughs, but don’t invite me to dinner at her sister’s house. 3½ cans.