Average rating: 7.5 (6.6 if the outlier is included)
length: 1h, 19m | source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection | directed by John C Champion | why I watched: I love Joel McCrea, and will take any opportunity to watch his movies
IMDb: 6.2/10 | Rotten Tomatoes: N/A | my IMDb: 6/10 | MPAA: G
tone & texture: warm, textured/earthy
notable quote: "All there is, is good luck and bad. Both of them are part of livin'."
my notes: McCrea is marvelously comfortable in his own skin. This is one of his last films, and it's a wonderful counterpoint to his earlier work. He's calm, and seems more prone to listening than to waiting to speak. His relationships with people and animals are realistic and expressive. It's not the most complex plot ever, but what there is is entertaining and sensible.
themes: found family, hope, identity
overall: mildly recommended
length: 1h, 57m | source: my DVD | directed by McG | why I watched: I've seen it before (previously reviewed here) and was interested in a re-view
IMDb: 6.2/10 | Rotten Tomatoes: 27% / NA Audience | my IMDb: 7/10 | MPAA: PG-13
written & co-produced by Luc Besson, of The Professional and La Femme Nikita fame
tone & texture: gritty, crisp & modern
notable quote: "I'm gonna need a new suit."
my notes: this is an unsettlingly stupid movie that somehow manages to be entertaining and compelling. I f'ing HATE Amber Heard's acting, particularly in this thankless role that Meryl Streep couldn't have made comprehensible. The rest of the cast is really good, though, and manages to seem like they've got it going on. (OK, all except the CIA Director, played through a haze of cheese so thick you could stand a chip in it by Raymond J Barry.)
There's a moment toward the end of the film (1:44:19, if you want to look it up) where Costner's Renner is looking down over a balcony, at a party. He's lit from below with a neon green light. His face is creased and weathered, but his eyes are piercing. He's got a couple days' stubble and a more distinct mustache that hasn't been trimmed, so it's probably making his nose itch. He looks smart, capable, and like he needs a week-long nap. And this movie star's comfort in his own skin is why I like this movie. It's not the best action, comedy, or family film ever made, but it's hella entertaining and way more thinky than it seems.
themes: redemption, love
overall: recommended
length: 1h, 29m | source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection | directed by Alfred E Green | why I watched: it's my favorite Western (previously reviewed here and here) and I like to watch it every year or so
IMDb: 7.0/10 | Rotten Tomatoes: NA% / 71% Audience | my IMDb: 9/10 | MPAA: Approved
tone & texture: straightforward, classic Hollywood polish
notable quote: "Everybody gets law-abiding when there's a reward at stake."
my notes: it's a rare movie where there is no "bad guy", people treat others decently, there is zero cursing - and it is still engrossing and fun to watch. Joel McCrea is my vote for the best listener in cinema, and he can do it seamlessly and organically. He seems like a guy I'd like to sit on a porch with, drinking iced tea and not talking at all, just being. His McEwen character is a regular guy (who also happens to be brilliant on a horse).
themes: justice, love, courage
overall: highly recommended
Parker (2013) - "After a double-cross leaves him for dead, professional thief Parker sets out to recover both his share of the money and the principles he refuses to abandon, tracking the crew that betrayed him to an affluent Florida community preparing for a spectacular heist. Forced into an uneasy alliance with a struggling real estate agent who longs for a more exciting life, Parker must balance meticulous planning, brutal efficiency, and his own uncompromising moral code. Equal parts crime thriller, caper, and character study, Parker explores the curious honor that can exist among thieves—and what happens when that honor is broken."
length: 1h, 58m | source: I owned the DVD | directed by Taylor Hackford | why I watched: Statham, of course
IMDb: 6.2/10 | Rotten Tomatoes: 42% / 48% Audience | my IMDb: DNF | MPAA: R
tone & texture: straightforward, crisp & modern
notable quote: "If you don't tell me what I need to know, I'm gonna press down on this chair until it crushes your trachea. Trust me, it's agonizing. Plus, there's the posthumous humiliation of having been killed with a chair."
my notes: I watched a third of it before giving up. It never made me care at all for the characters or the storyline. Statham is at his best, in my estimation, in films where he's either part of a big ensemble working for a common mission (Lock, Stock, for instance, or The Expendables), or where he's a weary loner with great competence and an exhausting backstory (Redemption, Safe, Wrath of Man...). Movies where he's an incomprehensible hardass or a romantic hero (Death Race, In the Name of the King) are hard to like.
themes: identity
overall: not recommended
length: 1h, 33m | source: my DVD | directed by Max Ophüls | why I watched: I'm fascinated with the films of Anton Walbrook, who plays the Master of Ceremonies, and also with this director's films
IMDb: 7.4/10 | Rotten Tomatoes: 94% / 83% Audience | my IMDb: 8/10 | MPAA: Not rated
tone & texture: playful, classic Hollywood polish
notable quote: "I'm the personification of your desire."
my notes: such a unique premise for a movie! My favorite vignette was 'the Count and the Prostitute', with 'the Young Man and the Married Woman' a close second. Walbrook was adorable, charming and disarming as the Master of Ceremonies. My favorite film aspects were the lighting and the framing (including various shots of female characters through their ornate head- and foot-boards). I was entertained and left to think about it all.
themes: tradition vs. change, love, hope, disillusionment, loyalty
overall: strongly recommended
[the title quotation is from La Ronde]
