Tina's July 2013 Movies

What better way to beat the heat than to stay in and watch movies or go to a nice cold theater?  I saw some interesting movies this month, including the sci-fy soon-to-be-cult-classic, Sharknado.  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.

75.  Chaplin* (1992) – Robert Downey Jr. gives his signature performance in this biopic about the legendary movie icon, Charles Chaplin.  The British comedian went from the vaudeville stage to the big screen in the early part of the 20^th century then came to America and took Hollywood by storm.  Chaplin made movies for more than 50 years, and the majority were made by the time he turned 30.  He was a creative force, eschewing talkies in favor of silent films, and he was most famous for his Little Tramp character.  He also had a predilection for young women, marrying them young and having droves of children.  This movie pays homage to his career and old Hollywood while showing his increasing embracing of socialism that eventually led to his expulsion from the US.  With hats off to the make-up and wig folks, Downey turns in an Oscar-nominated performance.  It’s hard to remain silent about Chaplin.  3½ cans.

76.  The Whole Nine Yards* (2000) – This movie is 10 pounds of crap in a five-pound, porous sack.  Matthew Perry, as an exasperated and exasperating dentist, mugs his way through an insipid plot, generally sporting an expression that looked like he was thinking, “What has my agent gotten me into?”  Based on his sitcom work on “Friends,” Perry has comedic chops, but this mess of a movie does nothing to showcase his abilities.  (Jason Bateman would get this role if the movie were made today, and he’d be less smug and frenetic in the part.)  Perry is Oz, whose new next door neighbor just happens to be Jimmy (Bruce Willis), a hit man on the lam from the bad guys in Chicago.  Oz’s bitch of a wife tells him to rat out Jimmy to the mob in Chicago to get a big payday, and he obligingly goes along with the scheme.  Willis is cool, as only Willis can be, in his role.   Once I started watching, I stayed with it just to see if the movie would get better, but it only got worse.  The women in the movie might as well be cartoon characters, and shame on Amanda Peet for allowing herself to be in a totally gratuitous nude scene.  The most shocking thing about this movie is that it actually spawned a sequel – “The Whole Ten Yards” – which I wouldn’t watch if I were stuck on a desert island with no other form of entertainment.  I’d sing myself to sleep first.  Buy your own tuna, since this gets no cans from me..

77.  Believe In Me* (2006) – I think we have established that I am a sucker for sports movies – especially ones about an underdog team led to victory against all odds by a dedicated coach.  OK, this one isn’t exactly “Hoosiers” – the prototype classic of the genre – but it is a feel-good movie nonetheless.  Clay Driscoll (Jeffrey Donovan in an understated performance) arrives in a small Oklahoma town thinking he has been hired to be the boys high school basketball coach when he finds out that he’s been given the girls team instead.  Naturally, no one can dribble or shoot, the town has little interest in the team, the Board of Ed president resents him and does everything he can to undermine the team, and the whole endeavor appears to be a lost cause.  But Driscoll slowly but surely instills actual basketball knowledge in this rag-tag bunch, and they will do anything to make him proud.  After a six-win season, the team turns things around the next year and marches off to contend for the state championship.  If I didn’t know that this movie is based on the real-life coach Jim Keith, who coached girls’ teams for 35 years, I would have thought it was too corny to believe.  My only real criticism is that women in the 1960s (the movie takes place in 1964-65) played three-on-three basketball, not today’s five-on-five, free reigning, up-tempo game, so the credibility of the movie is somewhat altered by this anachronism.  However, this kind of sports movie, albeit corny, is something in which I want to believe.  3 cans.

78.  Night Shift (1992) –Henry Winkler is Chuck, a schnook stuck working the night shift at the morgue.  He gets the bodies, does the paperwork and likes the quiet.  Then Michael Keaton arrives as his new partner, a manic, scheming guy whose million dollar ideas are virtually all busts.  When Chuck’s neighbor, a hooker played by Shelly Long, needs help – and a pimp – Keaton sees the possibilities.  Quiet place, free at night, and money just rolling in.  Who’s gonna look for hookers amid all those stiffs?  This is an early Ron Howard movie and has its comedic genius moments, mostly by Keaton, while Winkler plays it straight.  And Long, who at this point was pretty hot in her career, contributes as – what else? – a hooker with a heart of gold.  Cute, if not memorable.  3 cans.

79.  The Heat* (2013) – My friends and I wisely picked the hottest day of the summer so far to go into a nice cool movie theater and, ironically, see a movie called “The Heat.”  Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy play two mismatched law enforcement officers, Bullock a straight-laced federal agent on a drug case, and McCarthy a rough and tumble Boston cop, who knows the mean streets and uses her street smarts to catch and threaten the perps.  You'd have to suspend your sense of reality to believe Bullock was an unpopular student in high school, but the chemistry between the two opposite characters boils over.  Bullock is strictly by the book, while McCarthy is strictly seat of the pants. McCarthy has built her specialty playing tough minded, profane and wildly funny characters.  Bullock is her usual self-deprecating character, but under McCarthy's tutelage, she gets real.  This is a funny and wild ride with two over the top characters.  It was a great way to beat the heat.  3½ cans.

80.  Murphy’s Romance (1985) – It's not often you see a love story where the principals exchange no more than a single hug.  From the time spunky divorcee Emma arrives at her new beat-up horse ranch in Arizona and meets Murphy, the local pharmacist and town guru, you know that these two people are destined to be together.  Emma is played by sassy Sally Field, while her potential new beau Murphy is played by the completely charming and disarming James Garner.  This couple is just getting to know each other as friends when Emma's irresponsible ex-husband (played by Brian Kerwin) shows up on her doorstep, broke and with the excuse that he wants to see their son.  He suspects that Murphy and Emma are an item, but in fact, the courtship has only just begun.  Even if you didn't fall in love with the movie, you'd have to admit the last scene is wonderful.  How do you like your eggs?  A fine romance, my dear, this is.  4 cans.

81.  Get Shorty (1995) – Loan shark or movie producer? Is there really much of a difference? In this entertaining film, based on the book by Elmore Leonard, John Travolta brings style and sizzle to his role as Chili Palmer, loan shark by day and would be Hollywood producer at night.  A movie buff, Chili ends up in LA to collect on a loan from a producer of schlock movies (Gene Hackman).  Before you know it, Chili is “taking meetings” with big star Martin Weir, played by diminutive Danny DeVito.  This movie manages to skewer both showbiz and Goodfellas.  The late James Gandolfini has a small part as a lovable lug named Bear, the first role I can remember seeing him play.  Everyone in this movie wants to be a producer, and there's no business like show business.  Travolta is so cool that when Chili commands, "Look at me," you can't take your eyes off of him. 4 cans.

82.  Dirty Dancing (1987) – Is there a woman alive who doesn’t love this movie?  Set in the Catskills in the age of at least a bit more innocence, “Baby” Housman (Jennifer Grey) is enduring a summer vacation with her parents and sister at Kellerman’s Lodge, a resort where she encounters dancing instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) and ends up learning more than a few moves from the slick and shirtless stud.  But beyond the superficial, the movie tries to impart a sense of fairness and equality, of acceptance, and of the love of dance.  Why Jennifer Grey was allowed to compete in “Dancing With the Stars” after all of the dancing she was trained to do in this movie still puzzles me, but she progresses from neophyte to performer while winning Johnny’s heart.  Hey, nobody puts Baby in the corner!  4 cans.

83.  Unfinished Song* (2013) – This lovely drama is about Marian and Arthur (Vanessa Redgrave and Terence Stamp), an elderly British couple who have been married for years.  They dote on each other, though they are polar opposites.  She is full of joy, while he is morose, quiet and unable to connect with their grown son.  Some of the happiness she enjoys comes from taking part in a local choir, filled with other old folks and led by a young woman who teaches them contemporary songs like “Love Shack” and “I’m Talking About Sex.”  (Incidentally, when we see old people singing in a choir, they always seem to be rockin’ that boat.)   When Marian has a recurrence of cancer, the drama amps up: Will she be able to sing at the upcoming competition?  How will he handle the situation?  Without giving away the poignant – if predictable – plot, it’s safe to say that music soothes the savage beast.  This is a short movie, but one worth seeing and pondering.  For something similar on the documentary side, check out “Young at Heart.”  3½ cans.

84.  Irreconcilable Differences (1984) – Shelley Long was “hot as a pistol and free as a bird” in the 1980s.  Here she is matched up with Ryan O’Neal as the neglectful, self-indulgent parents of a very young Drew Barrymore, who hauls them off to court to “divorce” them so she can go live with the maid, who treats her better than her bickering parents.  O’Neal, a former film professor, makes a hit movie with Long as his co-writer and begins to think he’s Orson Welles.  His second effort, a musical follow-up to “Gone With the Wind,” stars Blake Chandler (played by Sharon Stone in a part she never mentions in her bio) and is a debacle.  When O’Neal and Stone become an item, Long is left out.  She has no money, gains weight and fights over Barrymore with the noveau rich O’Neal until his career crashes and he is in the same sinking boat.  By then, Long has written a scathing novel and is wealthy and living in her former spouse’s former mansion.  Both parents overlook the child or use her as a pawn.  I’m not doing justice to this comedy, because the crisp writing and snarky delivery by Long energize this film, which never fails to amuse.  3½ cans.

85.  20 Feet From Stardom* (2013) – This documentary casts the spotlight on the largely unknown performers who sing background vocals for major rock stars.  You may not know their names, but their wondrous voices have enhanced the sound on records made by artists from Ray Charles and Ike Turner to today, with many of them – mostly women and mostly Black – still touring or recording.  These talented women don’t just do-wop behind the top-billed artist.  They ARE artists, delivering powerful solos that sometimes make the “stars” pale by comparison.  The best known singer, Darlene Love, who, as a member of the Blossoms, fronted the Crystals and Bob E. Soxx and the Blue Jeans, worked for legendary producer and creator of the “Wall of Sound” Phil Spector.  Yet the vagaries of the music business forced Love to clean houses to make ends meet even after her initial success.  She, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer and newcomer Judith Hill are called on – sometimes for a middle of the night recording session – by such stars as Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Sting and the Rolling Stones (most of whom are interviewed for the film and speak of these singers with great respect).  That soaring voice you hear on “Gimme Shelter” is not Mick Jagger’s, it is Merry Clayton’s.  Some of these women sought stardom of their own, recording albums under their own names, but, as Patty Austin notes in one of many arresting interviews, you have to really want success and sacrifice a lot to achieve it.  Some people would rather stay in the background.  But their voices are in the forefront of music as their musical gifts (as they refer to them) allow them to harmonize and find that sweet spot that makes the songs we love so memorable.  This films provides an fascinating look at the performers, the songs and the music industry.  4 cans.

86.  The In-laws (1979) – If you want to see a movie about an exasperated dentist (see #76 above), skip “The Whole Nine Yards” and rent, borrow, stream or steal this lunatic romp starring Alan Arkin as the dentist and Peter Falk as his daughter’s prospective father-in-law.  Falk – and I can’t think of anyone else who could have played this part – is a CIA operative with a case so convoluted that I won’t even try to unravel it.  Suffice to say he drafts the reluctant dentist and proceeds to put him in danger in New York and abroad.  Hilarious, even after all this time.  Many shades of Columbo in Falk’s character, and he certainly IS a character.  4 cans.

87.  In Vogue – The Editors Eye* (2012) – Although I know next to nothing about fashion, I enjoyed this documentary about the 120 years of Vogue magazine and its editors.  Each editor brought a distinct point of view and new flair to the job, injecting their own sense of style and story, making selections and planning the look of the magazine.  Iconic and feared editor on Anna Wintour is at the forefront as editor-in-chief, but her famous predecessors (like Diana Vreeland) are covered along with many of the fashion editors.  The editors are interviewed, along with photographers, designers and models, all of whom brought fashion from elegance to grunge and back to beauty.  Even after watching this, I am still perplexed by what some people regard as fashion.  3½ cans.

88.  Sharknado* (2013) – Tornadoes!  Flying sharks!  People bleeding, dying or being swallowed whole by sharks!  Hundreds spent on special effects!  This TV movie created quite a stir this month on social media, so I just had to see it for myself.  Ian Ziering, formerly of “Beverly Hills 90210” TV fame (whose career has skidded to the point where he is appearing in a Chippendale’s revue in Las Vegas) is Fin – get it, chuckle, chuckle – who tries, with his friends and estranged wife (played by Tara Reid with a one-note expression of consternation throughout), daughter and son, to fight off “the (Shark) Storm of the Century.”  This tornado is lifting sharks out of the ocean and depositing them all over the LA area, and boy, are they hungry.  There’s lots of homage paid to “Jaws” here (“We’re gonna need a bigger chopper,” one of the girls yells as she and the son fly INTO the storm to defuse it with a bomb).  Whose bight idea was that?  In fact, the only thing more entertaining than the movie must have been the production meetings.  I haven’t seen such fake sharks since the “Landshark” on Saturday Night Live’s first season.  Even the rain from the storm looks fake.  But when Ziering chainsaws his way OUT of the shark (homage to Jonah and the Whale, no doubt) and rescues the girl, well, I think I began to question the veracity of the story.  Maybe watching “Shark Week” would have been a better idea.  Still, there’s something to be said for what might be the best worst movie I have ever seen, one that is destined to achieve cult status and help Ian leave Las Vegas.  After all, those sharks could be headed to Brandon Walsh’s house in 90210, right?  Sequels have already been announced.  That’s entertainment?  Those damn sharks devoured 3 cans of tuna!

89.  First Position* (2011) – Previously unrevealed fact: I went to ballet class when I was 4.  Mom dragged me, bribing me with Hershey Bars.  Eventually I had to give up one of the two things, and guess which one went by the wayside?  That’s not the case in this enthralling documentary about kids from 10-17 who eat, sleep and breathe ballet and who are competing for scholarships and positions (no pun intended) with prestigious ballet companies from around the world in the American Grand Prix.  We follow six young dancers, ranging from a teenaged girl who was an orphan in Sierra Leone to a 16-year old boy from Colombia living on his own.  We meet a young boy who lives in Italy with his military family, and a beautiful 17-year old who seemingly can do it all but doesn’t achieve perfection on stage.  We gasp at their grace and grimace at their pain as they rehearse, stretch their muscles to beyond the breaking point, watch what they eat and even forego traditional education to follow their passion.  I am not a big ballet fan, but I defy any athletes to do what these kids can do.  I actually got goosebumps as the results were announced.  I watched this absorbing documentary on the Sundance channel and highly recommend it.  4 pairs of ballet shoes.

90.  The Lucky One (2012) – The lucky one here is the actual author, Nicholas Sparks, who has parlayed his penchant for the prodigious output of contemporary romantic books into a veritable franchise of star-crossed lovers in print and on the screen.  Not that the stories are bad, mind you, but if you see the previews and don’t remember if you have already seen the movie or read the book, that certifies that these tales all begin to read and look alike.  Here handsome Zac Efron is Logan, a former Marine on a quest to find the woman in a picture he found after a battle in Iraq and whom he credits for keeping him alive.  He simply walks from Colorado to Louisiana to find her, and she (Taylor Schilling, who is actually quite good in the role) is beautiful, wonderful and divorced from an obnoxious lout whom in real life she never would have married (OK, she was pregnant when they got hitched).  Like the other Sparks stories, there is always a secret, a tragedy and an impediment to the eventual pairing of the leads.  So, not bad, really, but not memorable, either.  Didn’t I see this one last year?  3 cans.

Customer Service?

Customer service:  Oxymoron?  Two words that sound as if they belong together, but, all too often, they clash.  Or you clash – with them.

We’ve all been there.  You call for an appointment and get a surly receptionist whose quest in life is to make your life miserable.  You call a company with a question and go away without an answer and feeling considerably more stupid than before you made the call.

Or you call with a legitimate complaint or gripe and the person whose job it is to deal with you absolutely infuriates you.

It HAS happened to you, right?

And it isn’t just people on the phone – whether you have called them or they have called you – that drive you crazy.  I was at the orthopedist’s office once with a broken leg.  The nurse, without bothering to look up, said, “Which leg is it?”  “The one in the cast,” I replied.

Recently I went to the Social Security Office where one of my friends got into a screaming match with the staff a few months back to clear up a problem (my problem, since SS declared I owed them $3500).  You shuffle in, state the reason you are there so you can get a number and sit in the waiting room for an indeterminate amount of time, until some poor civil servant decides to be less than civil with you.  Meanwhile, you wait, watching more people shuffle in, forms in hand, not knowing what they should be doing, and listen as they call out every number – except yours.  I had a number that started with the letter A (I know, A is not a number, but this is our government at work), so, naturally, they only called numbers starting with the letter B for the longest time.  Finally, the As came up, and a succession of people were called into an office to speak with a representative.  At last it was my turn.  “You need to change your name?” the rep inquired.  Well, I don’t think so, wondering if he knew something about me that I didn’t know.  He looked genuinely perturbed when I explained I was there to appeal a decision I didn’t find so appealing.  But I was smart.  I used a tactic that is rarely employed by either side but which I have found works nearly every time.  I was nice.

“When I came down to apply for Social Security, a very nice woman here who helped me told me this situation might come up, so I have contacted my former employer and have a special form and have filled out the appeal,” I explained.  Mr. Dour lightened up considerably, especially after hearing that one of his colleagues was nice to me.  Would he want to look like the bad guy?  (Of course, this could be risky, since this may be the person he hates most in the office and will do anything to undermine her, but I took the risk!)  Twenty minutes later, the rep had filled out my on-line file in four different ways to try to resolve the case.  It’s still pending, but I remain hopeful and undeterred from my nice-guy strategy.

There isn’t always a happy ending, of course.  You get those annoying calls from people who swear they aren’t trying to sell you something – even though you are on the Do Not Call list.  I ask them if they work for a non-profit or if their company is in business to make money.  If that is the case, I explain that calling me violates the DNC law and I can turn them in.  If they are dumb enough, they either can’t answer the question, hang up because they are afraid of breaking the law, or just don’t want to deal with a lunatic: Me.

Once I stayed on the line to speak with a representative to remove my name from the list and I and tried that tact.  He began swearing at me and suggested that I perform certain physical acts that I am pretty sure are impossible to do.  Instead of hanging up, I just goaded him.  “You have quite an impressive vocabulary,” I said.  “Did you get special training to speak to customers like that or is that a skill that comes naturally?”  “Do your parents know what you do for a living?  They must be so proud,” I continued.

I just started an on-line bank account and needed to transfer money from an account elsewhere to get the new account funded.  I try to do as much of this stuff as I can on-line and without having to call someone, but the old bank wouldn’t recognize the new bank’s routing number.  When I called the old bank – another hint here: Call late in the evening, when the waiting times are short and the reps have time to actually speak with you – they said I had to e-mail the question.  So why are they answering the phone, I wondered?  Anyway, I did that, waited for days for a reply, and finally called the new bank to figure out how to resolve the issue.  The new bank guy – Carlton (not Carlton the doorman from “Rhoda,” I assume) – had the problem solved while we spoke.  “Any time you have a problem, call us,” he said, sounding like he meant it.  “That’s what we are here for.”  Yeah, I know, but when does this work out, I didn’t say, biting my tongue.

When my old dryer was cleaned out but smelled like something was burning, I called the company that did the cleaning and they insisted it was fine.  The dryer nearly caught fire and ultimately I had to replace it.  Thanks for THAT helpful customer service.  When it was time to replace my washing machine, I did plenty of research and at least knew what features I wanted on the new model.  I tried a couple of big box stores, but I found the staff disinterested or not all that knowledgeable.  So I followed the advice of one of my BFFs, who always gets her appliances at a little place in Bridgewater called Barry’s.  Sure enough, the sales guy there could not have been more helpful.  We looked at virtually every model in the place, while he explained the features and found one that met my requirements.  He threw in new hoses and scheduled the delivery, which went off without a hitch.  In turn, I recommended Barry’s to another friend who had a similarly great experience, and now she and her parents will not buy appliances anywhere else. 

So the other day I had a headlight burn out on my old 1997 Mercedes (Gracie, for those of you who remember my essay on her several years ago).  Normally, I take the car to the Lube Connection, which, by the way, does a great job with oil changes and minor service; I drive in, and by the time I reach the office, they have already have my account on the computer and are ready to serve me.  But the last time this happened, I had to get the bulb from Mercedes, so I figured I’d go to the Parts department before heading over to Lube Connection.  I just assumed I would need an appointment for service at Mercedes and that would take weeks, so my plan was to get the bulb and be on my way.  I walked into Mercedes’  cool and comfy service area and was immediately greeted by Courtney, a smiling young woman who asked how she could help.  I explained the situation, prepared to get my bulb, but she said, “Have a seat and we’ll take a look at it for you.”  Really? I thought, admiring the coffee bar and pastries in the waiting area. 

Sure enough, they took a look, fixed the light, didn’t try to sell me any other parts or service and, most amazing, THEY DIDN’T CHARGE ME!   She even sent me on my way with a bottle of water because, she insisted, “it is really hot out today.” I report this with incredulity because this is the same place where, a number of years ago, I was told by phone that they could schedule Gracie for an oil change in 12 weeks.  “Twelve weeks for an oil change?” I replied.  “I can get an appointment with my oncologist in less than 12 weeks.”  But here’s the catch, according to the always grumpy woman who worked the service desk at that time – I wasn’t a customer, because I had bought the car elsewhere. 

This incident prompted a letter to everyone in the Mercedes food chain asking for the definition of a customer.  After all, I explained, all of the service for that car had been done for years at that dealership.  Did that not make me a customer?  Wouldn’t I be more inclined to buy my car from the local dealer next time if I had experienced great customer service?  According to their line of reasoning, a Mercedes owner had better not relocate from California to New Jersey and expect to have his or her car serviced, I noted.

I stopped taking the car to the dealer and didn’t return for years, until there was some major work needed.  By then, the service had improved considerably.  They gave me a Mercedes loaner (previously, they took you to a rental place for a car while yours was in the shop, and once I got stuck with a Ford Windstar Minivan that I could hardly hoist myself into to drive).  Today the grumpy lady is gone, replaced by a cheerful, helpful and genuinely nice young woman who, as it turns out, just happens to be a graduate of Douglass College.  (We like to say “Douglass Women are everywhere” and isn’t that proof?  Watch, I’ll have her in the Young Alumnae Network before she can say Mercedes Benz).  And, if today is an indication of what they have in store, I may just buy the Mercedes I am thinking of purchasing at Open Road Mercedes on Route 22 in Bridgewater.  All for providing an inexpensive part and some labor. 

Now that’s customer service!

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.