Act of Violence

So Netflix doesn't have Act of Love, An Act of Murder, or The Act of the Heart, so I'm on to:

 

Act of Violence-1949, starring Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, and Janet Leigh

He says-Stark, well-acted drama, with crippled, embittered Ryan stalking former senior officer Heflin, who betrayed his men while a POW.  Fine vigentte by Astor as a sympathetic call girl.  3 stars.

Grant says- This was a terrible netflix disc.  Granted, the movie was 1948, so the transfer was not expected to be great, but they threw it on a disc with some other random movie, so the transfer was crap.  The movie was barely watchable and the sound was terrible.  BOMB

The Queen

 

The Queen-2006, starring Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, and James Cromwell

Leonard says-  Intriguing look inside the private life of England's royal family as Queen Elizabeth II contends with the death of Princess Diana, while her new, "modernist" Prime Minister, Tony Blair (Sheen), tries to persuade her that her stoic silence is out of step with the public's grief.  Perceptive, persuasive, witty, and poignant, Peter Morgan's script humanizes the public figure it portrays, while actual TV news footage sets the stage for the events being dramatized.  Mirren's flawless, Oscar-winning performance sets a standard met by all of her costars.  Evocative and imaginative score by Alexandre Desplat.  A follow-up to Frears' and Morgan's British TV movie The Deal, in which Sheen first played Blair.  3 and a half stars.

I say-  Very enjoyable performance, but I would have preferred it more had it been a history of Queen Elizabeth rather than just showing one week in her life.  Acting is great all around, however, I feel no need to watch it again.  The movie is only 107 minutes, but it feels much longer,  2 and a half stars.

The Crush

 

The Crush-1993, starring Cary Elwes, Alicia Silverstone, Amber Benson, and Kurtwood Smith

Maltin says- Ridiculous thriller about a thick-witted, twentysomething journalist (Elwes) who becomes the target of a pretty, obsessive fourteen-year-old Lolita (Silverstone).  A completely unnecessary Fatal Attraction/Hand That Rocks the Cradle/Single White Female clone; for a perceptive, non-exploitive look at the same subject, see the 1981 French film Beau Pere.  One and a half stars.

I say- I agree that this was unnecessary.  The whole thing made me uncomfortable, especially even more knowing that Alicia was 15 at the time of filming.  This is her first movie (according to the title credits "Introducing Alicia Silverstone"), and it's not like her career did much more except for a few films afterwords.  I mean seriously, where is she now?  But this is one of those movies that I've seen a million times in other iterations, and you can pass on it.  One half of a star.

Action Jackson

Action Jackson-1988, starring Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Robert Davi, and Sharon Stone

He says- Strictly standard B-movie fare pitting good guy Weathers (a cop) vs. bad guy Nelson.  Plenty of explosions, car chases, corpses, and noise.  2 stars.

I say- Very standard movie.  I agree with Maltin.  I was excited when I saw Carl Weathers was in this, but it almost seemed as though they were trying to make a modern blaxploitation movie and it just didn't come together.  1 star.

Action in the North Atlantic

So unable to view Across the Wide Missouri, which takes me to:

 

Action in the North Atlantic- 1943, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ruth Gordon, and the skipper from Gilligan's Island

Maltin says- Rousing tribute to WW2 Merchant Marine, with officers Bogart and Massey, seamen Hale and Levene, usual hothead Clark, and Gordon as Masey's wife.  Also shown in computer-colored version.  3 stars.

I say-  Bleh.  Very standard world war 2 movie, just thought it was incredibly slow and boring.  Not much to say here.  BOMB

In the Electric Mist

In the Electric Mist- 2009, starring Tommy Lee Jones, John Goodman, Ned Beatty, Mary Steenburgen, and Peter Sarsgaard

Maltin says- Recovering alcoholic Louisiana detective Dave Robicheaux (Jones) is trying to solve a series of gruesome murders when the corpse of a black man killed 40 years ago surfaces in a nearby marsh.  Atmospheric and well cast, this police procedural with mystical undertones is highly watchable, although some of the characters and relationships seem a bit sketchy (and may come to life more fully in James Lee Burke's novel or Tavernier's European cut, whih runs 117m.).  John Sayles has a hilarious cameo as a foulmouthed movie director.  Alec Baldwin played Robicheaux in 1996's Heaven's Prisoners.  2 and a half stars.

I say-  Odds are, you've heard of almost every cast member.  Odds are you've never heard of this movie.  There's a good reason for that!  I had really high hopes for this movie, but it just felt....long and awkward.  Jones is great, the rest of the cast is great, the cinematography is great, but the plot stunk.  Maybe a decent rental if you're a huge John Goodman fan.  1 and a half stars.

Across the Universe

 

Across the Universe-2007, starring Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood, Joe Cocker, Salma Hayek, and Bono

Maltin says- A young Brit comes to the U.S. in search of his father, and falls in love with an all-American girl, just as she (and her entire generation) experience the mind-bending changes of the Vietnam era.  Routine story is just an excuse to pictorialize- and attempt to contextualize- more than 30 landmark Beatles songs.  Imaginative at times but increasingly wearying as the song cues line up (yes, there are characters named Prudence, Maxwell, Jude, et al), famous faces appear, and the plotline bogs down.  Our favorite number: Joe Cocker singing "Come Together."  2 and a half stars.

I say- I'm going to stick with the same opinion I had of this movie when I first saw it 4 years ago: this is not that great of a movie.  I saw it today, and had the same feeling.  The plot, which is incredibly basic, is very similar to a 15 minute sequence in Forrest Gump, where it was done much better.  Seriously, take away the Beatles songs and what do you have?  Just a basic, standard, Vietnam story.  It is a beautiful looking movie though, and I feel that it would work much better on stage than it does in film.  1 and a half stars.