life is not a PG feel-good movie

Summer weather means fewer movie reviews. Here are four that you might not find on the blockbuster list....

The Last Outpost (1935) - "During WWI, the destinies of British officers Michael Andrews and John Stevenson seem intertwined on the battlefront as much as on a more personal level."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: it is part of a set of "war movies," which is a genre that I generally enjoy. 
IMDB: 6.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: 45%
story: 4/10--this is a strange idea for a movie. It takes place in Kurdistan. Cary Grant is a "suave" asshat who cannot get enough of flirting with every woman he sees, and taking advantage of his one real friend.
visuals: 3/10--there are some insanely, ridiculously racist scenes - comically Benny-Hill-esque foolish
costumes, hair & makeup: 5/10--dashing uniforms but nothing spectacular, and the racist overtones really detract. (Be advised that I am putting this into the historical context when I describe them as racist, not even by 2020 standards!)
acting: 6.5/10--hit or miss. Claude Rains was great as the honorable and tormented John Stevenson. Once again, Cary Grant's one-note character was in force, stolidly clunking through every scene as if he owned the place.

intangibles: 2/10--it is not a "war movie," by my estimation, but a psychodrama 
overall: 4.1/10

I would recommend this to: people who really, really love Cary Grant

Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004) - "Jim Caviezel stars as golf legend Bobby Jones, the icon who retired from competition at the tender age of 28."
Source: my dad gave me the DVD
I watched it because: watching golf on TV has always been one of my "secret joys," and I have missed it more than usual lately
IMDB: 6.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 26% Audience: 61%
story: 6/10
visuals: 9/10--if you love golf, you will love to see this. Beautifully pictured.
costumes, hair & makeup: 8/10
acting: 6/10--standout: Jeremy Northam (Walter Hagen) and Bubba Lewis, as Bobby Jones at age 14 - his swing is as pure as Bobby's.

intangibles: 5/10--there is almost no challenge. In a film based on life, something new has to come out so that the viewer can be hooked and stay there. Gorgeous scenery, sweet swinging, and the inevitable end of a career do not equal dramatic tension.
overall: 6.8/10
I would recommend this to: big golf fans, and devotees of Jones

Someone Like You (2001) - "After being jilted by her boyfriend, a talk show talent scout writes a column on the relationship habits of men which gains her national fame."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: it had been a while since I had watched anything, and I need to return this bag of DVDs pretty soon
IMDB: 6.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 42% Audience: 57%
story: 3/10--not wowed. This is a "you buy it or you don't" kind of movie, and it never caught me.
visuals: 7/10--pretty people acting pretty, even when they are acting like assholes. And that black dress that Ashley Judd is wearing on the DVD cover? THAT is the

neckline that I want to find in the next dress that I buy. 
costumes, hair & makeup: 6/10
acting: 6.5/10--Ashley Judd and Greg Kinnear are 'workmanlike,' for my taste. They can do anything, but nothing that they do makes me want more. Marisa Tomei, as best friend Liz, showed some sass and bite.

intangibles: 3/10--I had to look back at the description on the back of the movie to remind myself what it was about before writing this review, and it has only been a few days since I saw it. Quite unmemorable.
overall: 5.1/10

I would recommend this to: this is a "hotel-room movie." The kind of thing you can have on while getting dressed for an event, not paying attention, unoffensive and not engrossing, so it is possible to get up and leave at anytime without losing any sleep about not having seen the ending.

Eight Men Out (1988) - "A dramatization of the Black Sox scandal when the underpaid Chicago White Sox accepted bribes to deliberately lose the 1919 World Series."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: like golf, above, I have been missing seeing live baseball, and this was the next best thing
IMDB: 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 86% Audience: 80%
story: 6/10--based on a true story, of course
visuals: 7/10--it is baseball, and a bunch of young actors in their prime
costumes, hair & makeup: 7/10--period dress is fun
acting: 6/10--not much to sing about here. The standout is D.B. Sweeney as the agonized Shoeless Joe Jackson.

intangibles: 6/10
overall: 6.4/10
I would recommend this to: Chicago baseball fans

[the title quotation is by Matthew Quick, from The Silver Linings Playbook]