Tina's June 2013 Movies

June was not a stellar month for movies, but at least almost every one of the 9 I saw was new to me. That's the good news. The bad news is that they all rated 3 1/2 cans. Movies marked with an * are the ones I had not seen previously, and numbering picks up from the previous month. They are rated on a scale of 1-5 cans of tuna, 5 being the highest accolade. Better luck next month.

66.  De-Lovely* (2004) – Kevin Kline is delightful and delicious as Cole Porter in this biopic about the legendary composer of such hits as “In the Still of the Night,” “Anything Goes,” and “Everytime We Say Goodbye.”  Ashley Judd plays Linda Lee, his wife and his love, though she knows before they get married that his sexual interests are with men.  Still, their relationship as portrayed here is rich and loving in a non-sexual way, until he stops exercising discretion.  The story is told by the elderly Porter and a producer as they watch his life unfold.  I didn’t care much for the device, though it gives the older version of Porter an opportunity to comment on what was happening in his life as they take place.  Always dapper and well-groomed, Cole and Linda are a well-to-do society couple, attending and throwing parties, living in a sumptuous style, with Linda encouraging him to express his talents – which he does willingly on Broadway and Hollywood.  No American songbook could be complete without the tunes of Cole Porter, and it was a treat hearing them performed by modern-day artists such as Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morrisette, Diana Krall and Elvis Costello.  Now that I’ve seen the movie, I want to hear more.  3½ cans, primarily for the music. 
67.  The Trouble With the Curve* (2012) – Clint Eastwood reprises his irascible old codger character in this tale of Gus Lobel, a baseball scout with failing eyes and a tough-minded daughter (Amy Adams as Mickey), a lawyer who turns up to help him.  Justin Timberlake plays a former phenom pitcher whose arm troubles have led him into scouting.  He and Gus are sent to North Carolina to scout a player who might just be a number one draft pick, but, who it turns out, has a bit of trouble with the curve.  I’m not sure what kind of role I would want Eastwood to play in a movie at this late stage of his career, but I know I have seen this type of character in all of his recent movies – a tough guy who needs no one but who does have a bit of a soft spot in his heart for someone who deserves it.  I’ll admit I am a Justin Timberlake fan, and I thought he did a credible job as he inevitably falls for Mickey (no curveball there).  Not a great movie but just fine for baseball fans.  3½ cans.
68.  Friends With Benefits* (2011) – Justin Timberlake hasn’t made many movies, but now I have seen two of them in the past two days.  Here he is Dylan, an art director lured to New York from LA by an aggressive headhunter named Jamie (Mila Kunis).  Since he knows no one, he starts to hang out with the attractive but single Jamie.  He’s been told by women he’s dated that he’s emotionally unavailable and she’s been told she has her own issues, so they decide to embark on a strictly physical relationship as great good friends.  You can imagine how this works out in the long run.  Nonetheless, the relationship is fun to observe and Timberlake is developing a charming screen presence.  3½ cans.
69.  The Stranger* (1946) – Orson Welles stars in and directed this suspenseful story about a Nazi war criminal who has built a new life as a professor in sleepy Harper, Connecticut.  That’s until Edward G. (for G-man) Robinson comes along to track him down.  The tension gets more and more taut, but for God’s sake, people, stay clear of that clock tower!  I’m not a huge fan of Welles as an actor, and I almost laughed out loud at the look on his face when his wife (Loretta Young) surprises him by being alive towards the end.  But I’ll give him major props for the direction of this movie, for how he builds the tension, and for how he masters the film noir genre.  After two consecutive Justin Timberlake movies, it was good to remember what the classics look like.  3½ cans.
70.  The Courtship of Eddie’s Father* (1963) – “People, let me tell you ‘bout my best friend…”  Oh, how I loved the TV show based on this movie, yet, somehow, I had never seen the film version.  Glenn Ford is Eddie’s father Tom, a widower caring for this little “Eddie-O,” here played by the irresistible Ronny Howard.  That kid had great timing even as a young ‘un.  (Whatever happened to him, I wonder…)  No matter who Tom dates, Eddie’s holding out for Elizabeth (Shirley Jones), the loving and pretty neighbor across the hall.  So when Tom gets serious with Rita (Dina Merrill), Eddie is distraught.  This is light fare for sure, but every now and then something light and sweet is welcomed – especially on Father’s Day.  The chemistry between Ford and Howard and Howard and Jones makes this movie highly watchable.  3½ cans.
71.  Rear Window (1954) – It is a long, hot summer for photographer L.B. Jeffries (James Stewart) as he is stuck in his apartment waiting for his broken leg to heal.  Confined to a wheelchair, he passes the time by looking out his rear window at the apartments across from his own, observing the neighbors, and, finally convincing himself that one of them has murdered his wife (not Jeffries’ wife – he dates a woman who he thinks is “too perfect” – played by Grace Kelly).  Jeff becomes an amateur sleuth, armed with binoculars and a long lens as he tries to figure out the odd actions of the man across the courtyard (Raymond Burr).  Despite some initial skepticism, eventually his girlfriend and his nurse (Thelma Ritter) have their own suspicions and become his legs as they trail the alleged murderer.  This Hitchcock classic builds the suspense crisply along the way, with minimal dialog and maximum observation and assumptions by Jeffries.  Kelly is stunning as always, and a sweating Stewart, sure that he’s seen something wrong, gives a convincing performance.  There is a lesson to be learned here:  Curtains, people, draw the curtains!  3½ cans.
72.  The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979) – Can a person who has high ideals really survive in politics?  Joe Tynan (Alan Alda, who wrote the script and plays the lead) is a good guy, a Senator from New York with a loyal wife (Barbara Harris) and two kids.  He’s about to back the Supreme Court nomination of a Judge favored by an elderly Senator (Melvyn Douglas) when he discovers that the potential nominee once opposed school integration.  With the prodding of his advisors, and the help of an attractive lawyer (a very young and comely Meryl Streep), he leads the opposition and makes a name for himself.  Soon he is being touted as a future presidential candidate, much to the dismay of his family.  His affair with Streep doesn’t ease matters on the homefront, either.  But the seduction here isn’t with Streep, it is with power and politics, which suck the life out the marriage while enticing Tynan.  Harris is a fragile woman saddled with a shellacked bouffant hairdo that we haven’t seen since, well, the 70’s.  Streep is up to her usual standard even without an Oscar for her performance, and Alda has written himself a meaty part that shows a man with a crisis of conscience.  Will the marriage work?  Will he run?  Or will he opt for family instead?  I had fun seeing all those standbys of the 70s – telephone books, rudimentary office printers, those things we stuck on our phones so we could hold them on our shoulders while we talked.   3½  cans.
73.  Up* (2009) – “Up” is a charmingly creative animated adventure starring crusty curmudgeon Ed Asner as the main voice character.  I'm not much for animated features, but this one was the best one I've seen since “Finding Nemo” – in fact, it's the only one I've seen since “Finding Nemo.”  This story is clever, the execution is exceptional and the experience is heartwarming.  The only thing missing was not having the song “Up, Up and Away” in the soundtrack.  Whether you're an adult or child, you can find something uplifting in “Up.”  3½ cans.
74.  Guilt Trip* (2012) – Picture a buddy movie, but instead of a buddy you have your mommy on board – and your mother is Barbra Streisand (Joyce).  That's what happens in Guilt Trip, when Seth Rogen, who plays Andy, has to travel cross-country on business and offers to take his mother along for the joy(less) ride.  Picture Albert Brooks and Debbie Reynolds in “Mother.”  The moms in both movies are loving and annoying in equal parts.  But that's okay here, because when she's not with him Joyce bombards him with phone calls, reminders, advice and general smothering anyway.  In this case, she's right there every minute – a little too close for comfort.  The rapport between Streisand and Rogan is really good.  For a road movie, this one doesn't exactly have a lot of action, there are enough funny bits to make it worthwhile.  I wouldn't drive 3,000 miles to see it, but it was a pleasurable ride for the most part.  3½ cans.