49. The Woman in Gold* (2015) – Maria Altman (the marvelous Helen Mirren) was forced to flee from Austria as a young bride when the Nazis took over. Hitler’s henchmen forced out the Jews and stole countless pieces of art, including a Gustav Klimpt painting of Maria’s favorite aunt, Adele, which hung in her family’s apartment for years. In the1980s, following the death of Maria’s sister and with Maria living in America, she enlists the help of a young lawyer and family friend, Randall Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds) to reclaim the painting that was now hanging in a museum in Austria. This incident, a real life story that was portrayed in the outstanding documentary “The Rape of Europa,” took place just at the time a movement started seeking the return of the artwork confiscated by the Nazis to the rightful owners. Randy and Maria face seemingly insurmountable odds to pursuing their case, but they persist in both the US and Austria. Better than “The Monuments Men” (the George Clooney film), this movie is about the horror faced by the Austrian Jews, the imperviousness of the art execs who insist the painting is rightfully theirs despite its circuitous route to their museum and about the difficulty of going home and facing a dark past. 4 cans.
50. Star Man (1984) – Jeff Bridges has always been a kind of quirky actor to me, and here he finds a perfect part for that quirkiness as an alien who crashes to earth and assumes the body of a young man who has passed away. Jenny (Karen Allen), the dead man’s widow, takes him in and tries to help him rendezvous with the mother ship so he can return to his planet. Bridges’ body twitches and moves oddly as he becomes less alien and more human. Some 30 years after seeing the movie, I still remember the alien learning to drive and claiming that he understands that the red light means stop, the green light means go and the yellow light means go very, very fast. 3½ cans.
51. Frank Sinatra: All or Nothing at All* (2015) – Thanks to HBO and Alex Gibney for this detailed documentary on the life of Ole’ Blue Eyes. The emphasis is on the “All” here as Gibney uses a treasure trove of interviews and old footage to cover Sinatra’s rise from boyhood in Hoboken through his reign as the king of the Bobbysoxers, into the swinging ‘60s and, finally to the autumn of his years. There were the marriages to the loyal Nancy, the irresistible Ava Gardner, the strange match with Mia Farrow and finally to his last wife, Barbara. His career as a singer and actor had its ups and downs as Sinatra’s popularity waned in the advent of rock music but thrived in Vegas and on Capitol Records. Who can forget Frank, Dean, Sammy and the rest of the Rat Pack, the ties with the Mob, the jaunty hats, the womanizing, palling around with JFK, and finally his coronation as the Chairman of the Board? Through it all, he did it HIS way. 4 cans.
52. The Queen (2006) – Helen Mirren Month continues for me, as she stars in her Oscar-winning role as Queen Elizabeth in the aftermath of the death of Princess Diana. Raised to be royal, the Queen was not an admirer of the attractive and popular princess, particularly after her divorce from Prince Charles. HRH did not approve of Diana’s lifestyle or dating habits. She felt that holding a public funeral for the late Princess was not appropriate, and, although new to working with Prime Minister Tony Blair, she never hesitates to draw the line. But she comes under fire from the public, who increasingly see her as cold and unyielding when she refuses to publicly acknowledge Diana’s passing. Blair becomes the conscience for the country and is in the awkward position of having to take the Queen in hand and force her to mourn publicly while defending her to the media and his own henchmen. 4 cans.
53. My Cousin Vinny (1992) – I hadn’t seen the movie is a very long time and I forgot how funny it is. Vincent LaGuardia Gambini (Joe Pesci, with a huge head of hair) is the ultimate fish out of water, a stereotype of every Italian, male New Yorker, who finds himself in an Alabama courthouse defending his young cousin (Ralph Macchio, post-“Karate Kid”) and his friend on a murder charge. The “yoots” accidentally left a convenience store with an unpaid can of tuna fish (author’s note: How could I NOT like this movie?) but are identified as the same two men who killed the clerk. Vinny, armed with just weeks of legal experience after finally passing the bar exam on his sixth try, rolls into town with girlfriend Mona Lisa Vito (Marisa Tomei) and a wardrobe of black clothing and leather jackets. The Judge (a droll Fred Gwynne) doesn’t appreciate Vinny’s demeanor or attire, and keeps holding him in contempt. The byplay between Vinny and his fiancée is priceless, as is his relationship with the judge. Since this movie is a comedy, you just know Vin will come through for the boys – with a big assist from the future Mrs. Vincent LaGuardia Gambini. Well worth watching. 4 cans.
54. The Way We Were (1973) – I have watched this movie countless times (it is in my Top 5 All-Time Favorites), but this time I tried to concentrate on the political aspects of the story. I’ve always been distracted by the impossible good looks of Robert Redford and the histrionics of Barbra Streisand, playing polar opposites who fall in love. She is an outspoken (understatement) radical who supports the Communist Party in college, where he is the All-American athlete. Can politics and romance co-exist? The problem is that he is talented but not committed to anything, and she knows he is better than he seems. All I know is that the line in the theme song is true for all of us: “Can it be that it was all so simple then, or has time rewritten every line? If we had the chance to do it all again, tell me, could we? Would we?” It calls into question what we remember from our younger selves and what we treasure. For me, it’s the laughter I’ll remember from my own life – but there is no laughter. 5 cans.
No comments:
Post a Comment