Movie Round Up

Saw four movies over the "holiday" season, including the last, It's Complicated yesterday evening. Here's a brief rundown:

Sherlock Holmes: Downey is a first class thespian and Jude Law's Watson is more in keeping with what Doyle may have had in mind. Otherwise, it's okay but too short on sleuthing and too long on superhero action stuff.

Invictus: Another Eastwood effort that refreshes for no other reason than you don't have to be 13 years old and/or an idiot to enjoy it. That said, it's the kind of movie that should be made for 13 year olds because it is both entertaining (first rule of the "craft"--I hate that word) and educational. Freeman is splendid as Mandela. When his character chastises an ANC meeting for its vote to do away with the rugby team, Springboks and their colors (long associated with apartheid) because that only serves to punish and bring them down to the level of their oppressors and further alienate a country sorely in need of unity, it's a topical lesson for today. Eastwood does that kind of thing without being heavy handed, something that's apparently out of reach in the rest of Hollywood. In other words, he makes his point without lecturing. Otherwise, a little rugby action and all and all, not a bad few hours to sit back and watch.

Up in the Air: once again, a movie for grown ups and a fairly interesting story with a few turns here and there. Clooney is excellent as the uber road warrior who has no life outside of his self imposed exile from relationships and career away from anything resembling a family and four bedrooms and a lawnmower. If you're in bidness, you'll relate to aspects of the story in ways you might have to Glengarry Glen Ross.

It's Complicated: not necessarily for grown ups but teenagers will probably wretch at the sight of Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin doing the nasty, so that's a good thing. It's got Streep as a kind, successful without too much effort woman running a gorgeous bakery that makes the most gorgeous culinary creations, and lives in a gorgeous Spanish style house with a gorgeous architectural project in the works to make it even more gorgeous, and a gorgeous garden with gorgeous tomatoes, and gorgeous friends to share chardonnay, and gorgeous kids who drive correct cars, and two gorgeous men--Baldwin and Martin (well at least one gorgeous one) lusting after her. In short, it's female porn. Don't know if a "male" version is in the works with Baldwin assuming the Streep role and his suitors played by Jenna Jameson and Tera Patrick but I'll keep my eyes open for it. Anyway, lots of forty and fifty something women in the audience and I'm pretty sure most of them had to change their panties after it was over. You are a guaranteed lock, LOCK to score after taking this in with the missus but stop off somewhere first to ply her with a couple of cosmos in order to upgrade to multiple positions. That is, unless and until of course you return home to find a sick teenager throwing up all over the place which then throws the spousal unit out of overdrive and into the mother and pajamas gear. Just great. Anyway, some pretty good laughs along the way and as far as chick flicks go, this one isn't that bad to sit through.

All that said, the best movie I saw over the last week was one I caught yesterday while visiting my mom and it's one I've seen probably fifteen times; In Harm's Way which was showing on TCM. Shellback doesn't like it because of it's decidedly awful special effects (it was made in 1965 and the rather brief naval action is pretty amateurish, especially in today's light). But, it's mostly a movie about some pretty strong characters and the cast is above and beyond first rate: John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal, Burgess Meredith, Brandon de Wilde, Bruce Cabot, etc., etc. Preminger and whomever he had helping him had a great eye for the Hawaii at and after Pearl Harbor. The bitch slap scene with Douglas and Patrick O'Neal is worth the price of admission itself. The movie doesn't even get close to mention in terms of, say, the fifty or even hundred best films of all time and there is nothing, NOTHING being made today that even gets close to it. There are others like it that I have to watch whenever I'm channel surfing and stumble onto it--we all have them. A final note on Preminger's film: the sex is inferred but far sexier than anything overtly shown today. In fact, it's downright racy and we're in 2010. That is, ladies and gentlemen, a lost, lost art.