ORSON WELLES HYPNOTIZES NANCY GUILD WITH 'BLACK MAGIC'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcsdU-bowMNuYSBU2-n0QZqIGRFIumd5fv52JBK8fRUEyOz4eNtgeJGPPlx-5UHFa27AurPD2khtjHLhR5rpq3uReMTaTmqf5CyHoJAsTiOvRt3Xj9qOwHlFqM4-BI3_jxR06F0OgBmBff_0MP40dDenLmP2D7AMyL4OS2-YWfEcgUSYHgpF9jV1MOLw/s1022/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="1022" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcsdU-bowMNuYSBU2-n0QZqIGRFIumd5fv52JBK8fRUEyOz4eNtgeJGPPlx-5UHFa27AurPD2khtjHLhR5rpq3uReMTaTmqf5CyHoJAsTiOvRt3Xj9qOwHlFqM4-BI3_jxR06F0OgBmBff_0MP40dDenLmP2D7AMyL4OS2-YWfEcgUSYHgpF9jV1MOLw/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Orson Welles and Nancy Guild starring in BLACK MAGIC Year: 1948 Rating: **1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>As a hired actor instead of director or producer, Orson Welles — while making money for those projects he developed on his own — was used for his deep, godlike voice, but in BLACK MAGIC... released the same year as THE THIRD MAN which epitomized that sublime vocal delivery... it was his sharp, cold, piercing eyes that were the most exploited...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>He's a hypnotist after all: born the son of two 1700's-era gypsies and whose mother could actually foretell the future, he is soon orphaned when they're hanged for wielding so-called demonic powers...  </p><span></span>

adventure, akim tamiroff, berry kroeger, con man, drama, forties, frank latimore, nancy guilt, occult, orson welles, period piece, revenge, reymond burr, victorian

ORSON WELLES HYPNOTIZES NANCY GUILD WITH 'BLACK MAGIC'

Orson Welles and Nancy Guild starring in BLACK MAGIC Year: 1948 Rating: **1/2 As a hired actor instead of director or producer, Orson Welles...

MARION COTILLARD & JOAQUIN PHOENIX IN THE IMMIGRANT

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0nMIoXWb1GzFdY7ZtzL380PmA3hPn7HRye52m5kg3Bcb_5ckqZyKP_yHKnXRZ6ps0eKWcQQxf366atXIAPEBqBfhekYqG5y8mTKmt_k4MLqin4aL0Gnmodj366goOlSreadQQUgo2y1Y/s1600/j1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0nMIoXWb1GzFdY7ZtzL380PmA3hPn7HRye52m5kg3Bcb_5ckqZyKP_yHKnXRZ6ps0eKWcQQxf366atXIAPEBqBfhekYqG5y8mTKmt_k4MLqin4aL0Gnmodj366goOlSreadQQUgo2y1Y/s1600/j1.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2014</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> The term “out of the frying pan, into the fire” has never been more befitting than in THE IMMIGRANT, where Marion Cotillard plays Ewa Cybulska, a polish refugee stuck on Ellis Island during the 1920s...  <br /> <br /> About to be deported, Ewa meets Leon, played by Joaquin Phoenix, and doesn’t trust him one bit... Not even when he takes her home to an apartment, provides her with food and a comfortable bed… She obviously realizes, deep down, something’s not only up his sleeve but his heart is beating desperately there.<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXkDsXBHNNqBfTE4cYxkvYT31KgLl10zCFvBQcH5O9l4ljoxSuLV5I5G04lTd3mH_lVq0vFNNjcDRnfIjcTWz8jT_fBOLIPTNbOUKlLbj42kxwZBLbHfwd5hLAp7Bn8eU8LpDeGCKWxec/s1600/j2.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXkDsXBHNNqBfTE4cYxkvYT31KgLl10zCFvBQcH5O9l4ljoxSuLV5I5G04lTd3mH_lVq0vFNNjcDRnfIjcTWz8jT_fBOLIPTNbOUKlLbj42kxwZBLbHfwd5hLAp7Bn8eU8LpDeGCKWxec/s1600/j2.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> A bizarre "romance" ensues, which is completely one-sided and unrequited. Phoenix, no stranger to eerie, creepy losers, holds an intense candle for the soft-spoken Ewa that burns to the touch. And Leon is not just another pimp. He also runs a minstrel show where his ladies perform before snaring potential customers. <br /> <br /> The most interesting scenes involve Ewa reluctantly becoming a prostitute, all to pay for her (unseen) sister’s rehabilitation. Cotillard's expressions are morose and melancholy yet there’s a world-weary countenance mixed in: She may be new to the tricks, but is no stranger to the rodeo. And while the lovely French DARK KNIGHT RISES actress blends into the stylishly somber atmosphere, Phoenix, as a character possibly inspired by Ben Gazzara’s creative yet oblivious strip show owner in THE KILLING OF A CHINESE BOOKIE, seems surprisingly out of place… <br /> <br /> As does Jeremy Renner as Leon’s cousin, a charming magician promising Ewa a way out of the nightmare. Not only is Renner's gentleman suitor much too good to be true, he slights the film's edgy realism. Through all the exasperating torment, and no matter how many traumas our put-upon heroine suffers, it all seems too easy, somehow. 

drama, indie, jeremy renner, joaquin phoenix, marion cotillard, period piece

MARION COTILLARD & JOAQUIN PHOENIX IN THE IMMIGRANT

year: 2014 The term “out of the frying pan, into the fire” has never been more befitting than in THE IMMIGRANT, where Marion Cotillard...

PAUL W.S. ANDERSON'S POMPEII

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHmTgVt7kiOUYP8FcdQ3PrtO8JmEGWUpS3ROlMLz1dk1eB9c49MKsvVTArnhZ0YQ4ije-yy9Wtpj8_2S1MiKZr8Jc5KKr4fCcFsoaG_6LJmOoUR7bWKMh28uunXFOZnCNjqgOb-ZnMhHw/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHmTgVt7kiOUYP8FcdQ3PrtO8JmEGWUpS3ROlMLz1dk1eB9c49MKsvVTArnhZ0YQ4ije-yy9Wtpj8_2S1MiKZr8Jc5KKr4fCcFsoaG_6LJmOoUR7bWKMh28uunXFOZnCNjqgOb-ZnMhHw/s1600/5.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2014 rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> It seems like forever since Kiefer Sutherland played a jerk, something he did quite well before beating time on a television series – and right off the bat he’s the really horrible Roman who kills our future hero’s family… But the kid is much too young to do anything about it, for now…<br /> <br /> If this sounds like the opening of CONAN THE BARBARIAN, within the next half hour POMPEII becomes more like THE PRINCESS BRIDE and eventually morphs into a GLADIATOR version of TITANIC… And yet with all these influences, it’s still an original and surprisingly worthwhile motion picture that resembles an epic but thankfully keeps focused on a basic storyline. <br /> <br /> Milo, played by Kit Harrington, is the grownup version of that unlucky little boy, and as a slave he’s destined for something much better than trudging around in chains. As fate would have it, after being able to mentally bond with a dying horse, he catches the interest of a beautiful young lady, Cassia. <br /> <br /> In the love-interest role, full-lipped Emily Browning is lovely, chaste, and, like most sheltered ingénues, downright mopey… but not on an annoying level. Her father has a connection with a Roman ruler, Sutherland’s evil Corvus, visiting Pompeii for a gladiator match the following afternoon. And he really wants Buttercup’s… or rather, Cassia’s reluctant hand in a forced marriage. <br /> <br /> Meanwhile, in a murky dungeon beneath the coliseum, a battle champion named Atticus, played by a tough, slowburn Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (try reading that five times fast), is set for his final bow… so he’s promised… before being set free. And that death match will be against the newly captive Milo, who might be his only equal: not in strength but cunning agile.  <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoGJgZ65O70XPXMxKHg_JOSq8B5zLy6SPsJvViO3Ck9cN2Ls-G53VHGaFyqhjd1mWCq2cVRglUfq4_XgewRBZchpVBqFuDt_Q9NaBrF2GjPS3cM1qPQJwmDXSuJAp4GG-y7rLi4geJ2-4/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoGJgZ65O70XPXMxKHg_JOSq8B5zLy6SPsJvViO3Ck9cN2Ls-G53VHGaFyqhjd1mWCq2cVRglUfq4_XgewRBZchpVBqFuDt_Q9NaBrF2GjPS3cM1qPQJwmDXSuJAp4GG-y7rLi4geJ2-4/s1600/3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div> Beyond the unrequited romance of Milo and Cassia, the real dynamic occurs between these two fighters. With all the threats and bravado, and the eventual kinship, you’ll be anticipating this matchup... only there’s a problem… make that a <i>really big problem</i> in the form of a rumbling volcano, shadowing the entire region, threatening to turn this gladiator flick into a bonafide disaster film. <br /> <br /> Thankfully there is one chaotic coliseum battle before the historic volcano goes completely haywire. But how each character remains fighting for their lives while still viciously pitted against each other (ala TITANIC) – even when flaming lava rocks are plummeting to the earth – keeps the story character-driven, trumping the desperately futile situation… <br /> <br /> Too bad there weren't more scenes, as Bob Dylan once wrote, “spent inside the coliseum, <strike>dodging lions and</strike> wasting time.” Because director Paul W.S. Anderson created a pretty neat stage only to let it melt away during most of the second half. And while it really would have been terrific to see the two unlikely friends fight each other… just to see who’d win.... eventually there’s enough closure for every character to make POMPEII a satisfying action-packed melodrama.

2014, action, disaster, emily browning, kiefer sutherland, period piece

PAUL W.S. ANDERSON'S POMPEII

year: 2014 rating: *** It seems like forever since Kiefer Sutherland played a jerk, something he did quite well before beating time on a...

A DANGEROUS METHOD

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhClvDPcIHJnwF4M4XHS3QzQH00xkCb8I5Cvw5POQcWvm56-POUphZu_vJEiP_KPfe6RSvekyiErm47GBJqVHn63N_PzJe6Ahc37Pp3RGbyR5z8oNMNW0L6P2Jt5A2bV_YIHrUyQL_YdXrT/s1600/method.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhClvDPcIHJnwF4M4XHS3QzQH00xkCb8I5Cvw5POQcWvm56-POUphZu_vJEiP_KPfe6RSvekyiErm47GBJqVHn63N_PzJe6Ahc37Pp3RGbyR5z8oNMNW0L6P2Jt5A2bV_YIHrUyQL_YdXrT/s320/method.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b>title</b>: A DANGEROUS METHOD<br /> <b>year:</b> 2011<br /> <b>cast:</b> Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen<br /> <b>rating:</b> **1/2<br /> <br /> The analysis for this biopic directed by David Cronenberg is that Carl Jung, played by a metronomic Michael Fassbender, and Viggo Mortensen’s quietly concentrating Sigmund Freud, didn’t agree on everything. The film begins in turn of the Century England as Jung, a psychoanalyst with a beautiful pregnant wife, takes on a new patient: a savagely unglued Keira Knightley as Sabina Spielrein, a gorgeous Russian woman whose spasmodic tantrums seem more parody than authentic. But Fassbender, remaining calm throughout the tensely nerve-wracking scenes, moves the story forward as he, practicing mentor Sigmund Freud’s methods of psychotherapy, wants to take things a step further – instead of simply diagnosing patients, to provide them a means of recovery. This gives Viggo a genuine, subtle performance, mentoring Jung who's drifting towards a surreptitious affair with Spielrein. Enter Vincent Cassel as Otto Gross, a philandering maverick that Jung’s supposed to treat but who, with a devilish gleam, steers the conservative doctor into the affair that eventually ruins Freud and Jung’s friendship; which had been established through breezy bouts of dialog, each discussing their methods that, despite the title and the usually controversial director, never feels that dangerous. And despite the risque sexual romps with Knightly and Fassbender, the film lacks edge and particular scenes, like both doctors traveling to America, wind up feeling incomplete – yet the acting, reminiscent of a royal stage play, makes up for what the story leaves out… But perhaps it’s the subconscious we’re intended to embrace.

biopic, courtroom drama, david cronenberg, michael fassbender, period piece, viggo mortensen

A DANGEROUS METHOD

title : A DANGEROUS METHOD year: 2011 cast: Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen rating: **1/2 The analysis for this biopic directed ...

ALBERT NOBBS

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz4s9ZumRU-d4Ply826q4A7BfDgPfx_1sWHsAP0ciEHvnpOB7KNcjzymnl2Uyz1_9X14tq7QGuZddIjVu77hkR36Rp7Ie2SHyeA3p3RtGFHR-GqGZ7F6d_jUXkDQcPhyphenhyphen4P0jbn_XlB-QxA/s1600/glenn-close-albert-nobbs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz4s9ZumRU-d4Ply826q4A7BfDgPfx_1sWHsAP0ciEHvnpOB7KNcjzymnl2Uyz1_9X14tq7QGuZddIjVu77hkR36Rp7Ie2SHyeA3p3RtGFHR-GqGZ7F6d_jUXkDQcPhyphenhyphen4P0jbn_XlB-QxA/s1600/glenn-close-albert-nobbs.jpg" /></a></div><b>title:</b> Albert Nobbs<br /> <b>year: </b>2011<br /> <b>cast:</b> Glenn Close, Janet McTeer, Mia Wasikowska<br /> <b>rating:</b> ***<br /> <br /> Glenn Close, resembling an aged Peter Pan mixed with Levon Helm (Sissy Spacek’s father) in COAL MINER’S DAUGHTER, has some good moments: especially when reflecting on a childhood experience which led to… for means of employment but, as we eventually realize, deeper reasons… becoming a man who works in a 19th century Irish Hotel. But most of the time she’s got the countenance of a frightened deer, and seems too old for the part. And Mia Wasikowska as Helen, the gorgeous hotel maid that Albert loves, is too young – making the age difference feel odd to not only the audience, but Helen as well. Perhaps this is intentional: Albert’s yearning to find her, or rather, <i>his </i>place in the world – and dreams of owning a Tobacco Store – seem as farfetched as landing Helen as a future wife, who’s in love with a brash young drifter displaying all the negative aspects of the male species: including charm! But the best character, and the glue to the entire picture, is Janet McTeer as “Mr. Moore,” a confident freelance painter whose secret mirrors Albert’s. The scenes where both discover their true identity (to each other) are more surprising to the characters than the audience, since they really don’t look like men: but the acting, especially one hilarious scene as both go for an awkward stroll dressed like elegant women, makes it all seem genuine. And the biggest achievement is turning one contained setting – the posh Hotel – into a world of its own: giving each player their own importance therein.

drama, glenn close, period piece, tens

ALBERT NOBBS

title: Albert Nobbs year: 2011 cast: Glenn Close, Janet McTeer, Mia Wasikowska rating: *** Glenn Close, resembling an aged Peter Pan...

THE HELP

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94sUAQOAd1wdvVA5Qq8t7eLAqylGsEkhivFu6Ai4vJohbyPQsgbpd8cOoe0l025MZifx4f2rsxVsBWfkWXY-BesU_QoARy197Qquy-hTN-cY9YKk1enBKUy0dGPibZBu7S4ymMRweqpAO/s1600/the-help-31.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5644503107138847570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94sUAQOAd1wdvVA5Qq8t7eLAqylGsEkhivFu6Ai4vJohbyPQsgbpd8cOoe0l025MZifx4f2rsxVsBWfkWXY-BesU_QoARy197Qquy-hTN-cY9YKk1enBKUy0dGPibZBu7S4ymMRweqpAO/s200/the-help-31.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 166px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title:</span> THE HELP<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">year:</span> 2011<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">cast: </span>Emma Stone, Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis <br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">rating:</span> **<br /> <br /> <div> A lightweight take on an important subject – African American maids in the South during the turbulent early 1960s, with Emma Stone as Skeeter, a journalist who decides to write a book on the perspective of “the help,” beginning with an interview with central maid Abileen, played by Viola Davis, and the chemistry between these two… the core of the film… is practically non-existent.<br /> <br /> A lifeless Stone seems more fitting to a High School dramedy – and in one aspect she is: since Bryce Dallas Howard, as the ostensible Hilly – embodying every ounce of racism into a single character – acts more like a campus bully than a spoiled Belle. By the time Abileen agrees to tell her stories, something practically illegal in the town, there’s little to no drive for the audience to be part of, nor a feeling the controversial project has any sense of urgency or deep ramifications. And Viola Davis, an obviously capable actress, seems alone in a performance meant as a team effort.<br /> <br /> It’s the side-story involving the rambunctious overweight Minnie (a role created to steal the film), played by Octavia Spencer, and dimwitted white trash Jessica Chastain that… in a few scenes centering on Minnie’s advice on cooking and life… embodies more scope than the bland mainline. And Bryce Dallas Howard’s eventual “just dessert” is so unrealistic and juvenile, it’s begging for the audience to cheer, “YAY!” Director Tate Taylor’s agenda centers more on pleasing and/or manipulating the audience than to fulfill a significant story, shedding brighter light on the sway of the leaves than the storm that had caused it. </div>

drama, emma stone, jessica chastain, oscar nominated 2012, period piece, tens

THE HELP

title: THE HELP year: 2011 cast: Emma Stone, Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis rating: ** A lightweight take on an important subject – ...

RAGTIME

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGU6DQ7RdDR-ITCvZhBp5UAsENs9UeR-ZtQt7oCssDSncDOnfYDrjOh0UWzTHdsravt4g16JwvP9otV-of_jt171ABaHFl3T8dx3MJKbsLQrNFxkj85xHaI8ZvZbSIieeVx9lY4RzTgNA/s1600/patrick_ragtime1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557064149712497890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGU6DQ7RdDR-ITCvZhBp5UAsENs9UeR-ZtQt7oCssDSncDOnfYDrjOh0UWzTHdsravt4g16JwvP9otV-of_jt171ABaHFl3T8dx3MJKbsLQrNFxkj85xHaI8ZvZbSIieeVx9lY4RzTgNA/s200/patrick_ragtime1.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 140px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title: </span>RAGTIME<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">year: </span>1981<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">cast:</span> Howard Rollins Jr., James Cagney, James Olson, Brad Dourif<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">rating:</span> **<br /> <br /> With a great script, director Milos Forman can make a perfect film. With a mediocre script, Milos will make a mediocre film that looks great. Such is the case in this period drama centering on a black man, Howard Rollins, holed-up in a library with thugs (including a young Sam Jackson) and explosives because of what happened to his car and his lady. Legendary James Cagney plays a police commissioner after a long screen absence, but seems to be going through the motions: perhaps because of his advanced age. But the most frustrating aspect of this E.L. Doctorow adaptation is that it initially promises to be a big film on a grand scale, teasing us with gorgeous sets, historical tie-ins, and various eclectic characters who, by the end, mean very little.

adaptation, eighties, howard rollins jr., james cagney, milos forman, period piece, samuel l. jackson

RAGTIME

title: RAGTIME year: 1981 cast: Howard Rollins Jr., James Cagney, James Olson, Brad Dourif rating: ** With a great script, director M...