The End of Summer: Some Good News and Bad News

Hi there, dear readers.  I hope you’ve all had a terrific summer.  Thanks so much for your support of this blog so far.  Whether you’re a follower, someone who has posted comments, or just a casual reader, your interest has been one of the big factors that keeps me going with the blog, and I look forward to discussing movies with you all for a long time.  Hopefully you’ve discovered a few new ones thanks to my posts!

Now, as summer ends and school begins again, I have two pieces of news, one good and one bad.

The bad news: Since school has indeed started for me already, the frequency of my posts is unfortunately going to be greatly reduced for a while.  No, I certainly don’t intend to give up the blog for the school year, but the amount of time I’ll be able to dedicate to it will be incredibly reduced.  But please don’t despair, my friends, I will post when I can, try to put up lots of new content over breaks, and certainly come back with a vengeance next summer.

The good news: Now that I’ve completed my ’50s dramas series, it’s time for a new category of movies to blog about.  On the action side of the rotation, I’m very excited to begin blogging about the installments of arguably my all-time favorite series, James Bond.  I will admit, I am a huge 007 fan.  I’ve seen them all multiple times, I have all 22 posters in my room, and I have countless other pieces of memorabilia as well.  That being said, I’m pretty harsh on the series, and there a number of Bond films that make me quite sad (including the first one).  So remember, while I love the series as a whole, I don’t intend to be too generous to many of the movies within it.  On the other side of the spectrum, to replace the ’50s dramas, it’s time to talk about one of my favorite film genres, musicals.  As someone who was raised on show tunes and has over thirty musicals on my ipod, there are few things I love better than a great movie musical.  And there are plenty out there, as well as some mediocre ones and a few pretty bad pictures as well.  Thus we have our new alternation for  a while, Bond films and movie musicals.  I hope you enjoy it!  On to the next phase of classicfilmteen we go, and may we enjoy some great cinema in the process!

North by Northwest (1959)

“06.04.03 Mount Rushmore Monument” photo by dean.franklin on Flickr

What a fitting finale for  my ’50s series.  One of the decade’s greatest directors and biggest stars collaborate to create a thrilling, suspenseful, humorous, all-American masterpiece.  While it isn’t as chilling as, say Vertigo, this could very well be Alfred Hitchcock‘s best film, and it’s certainly his most fun.  Cary Grant is Roger Thornhill, a wimpish Madison Avenue executive who is mistaken for mysterious spy George Kaplan.  This causes him to be kidnapped and nearly killed by foreign spy Phillip Vandamm, but, when no one including his mother believes his story, Thornhill begins to investigate Kaplan, inadvertently confirming VanDamm’s suspicions.  Meanwhile, the CIA happily keeps an eye on events, as Thornhill is distracting VanDamm from their operations.   After he is framed for murder, Thornhill is forced to go on the run from both the police and VanDamm.  On the train to Chicago, he meets the beautiful, helpful, and rather seductive Eve Kendall, and she sets up a meeting with Kaplan.  However, everything is not as it seems, and a game of secrets and double-crosses emerges, from which Thornhill must save himself and the woman he thinks he loves and somehow defeat a devious villain as well.  There are just so many memorable sequences in this picture: Thornhill and VanDamm’s initial, almost ridiculous encounter, Momma Thornhill confronting VaDamm’s henchmen in an elevator, both train platform scenes, the exciting crop duster escape, the tense turned comical auction, and of course the final showdown atop Mount Rushmore.  Hitchcock definitely lives up to his title of the “Master of Suspense” here, deftly balancing joyous entertainment and a nerve-wracking, complex Cold War tale.  And, as with any of his films, there are countless wonderful in-jokes: the illegal filming at the UN building, the boy who holds his ears too early before a gun shot, and of course the legendary closing shot.  A strong screenplay by Ernest Lehman is also a big asset, alternatively dramatic and funny and keeping each character floating daintily between classic cliche and full human.  Lehman had always wanted to make “the ultimate Hitchcock film” and he arguably delivered on that goal here.   Truly terrific cinematography by Hitchcock regular Robert Burks adds a lot to the picture, keeping each shot unique and interesting, and the fast-moving score by the fantastic Bernard Herrmann, another common collaborator, is great as well.  Saul Bass‘ iconic and revolutionary title sequence, generally considered the first to include moving text, is worth noting too.  And then there’s the stupendous cast.  Cary Grant is excellent as Thornhill, initially a bumbling, naive figure who slowly comes into his own.  Perhaps at the end his transition into an action hero is a little rushed, but Grant makes him a worthwhile everyman at the heart of this spy game and is fun to watch whether in comical or intense mode.  Eva Marie Saint must overcome the stereotype that is Eve Kendall, but she does so nicely and is generally marvelous to watch.  Instead of pushing his character’s limits, James Mason enjoys the role of the villainous VanDamm, suavely and quietly hamming it up.  Martin Landau also does good overacting as (gay?) henchman Leonard.  Fun supporting appearances come from Leo G. Carroll as sympathetic but calculating spymaster “The Professor” and Jessie Royce Landis as Thornhill’s doubting, very proper mother.  No character is quite a full-fledged person, but that’s not the point here, they’re meant purely to entertain.  So if you’re searching for a jolt of adventure, look no further.  This movie provides it in spades.

4.5 out of 5

Live Free or Die Hard (2007)

“UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopter” photo by The U.S. Army on Flickr

What do Rocky, Indiana Jones, and John McClane have in common?  They all work best in trilogies.  Once you hit film number four, things veer downhill, as exemplified by this mediocre installment in the Die Hard series.  Calling it bad would be too harsh, but showering it with praise far too kind; it’s just an average, get-what-you-paid-for, action movie.  After several top computer hackers are found dead, NYPD Lieutenant John McClane, acting for FBI, barely saves young hacker Matt Farrell from the hands of lovely assassin Mai Linh.  Linh, it turns out, is an associate of Thomas Gabriel, formerly a top member of the Department of Defense who was unfairly fired, who has used a network of hackers across to secretly put together a “fire sale”, a massive attack on everything in the nation reliant on computers.  As Gabriel broadcasts threats against the government, he first takes out the east coast’s traffic control system, then power supply, and what next?  McClane and Farrell travel across the country fighting bad guys, meeting with top hacker “Warlock”, and surviving by McClane’s wits and scrappiness, but when Gabriel captures McClane’s grown daughter Lucy, things get personal.  The major problem here is that the production team is entirely strict action people, so concepts like character, humor, and creativity resonate differently with them.  Yes, the fight sequences are generally good, as one would hope from a director like Len Wiseman who has built his career on such affairs.  There’s nothing extra memorable about them, but they certainly suffice.  Ditto regarding the screenplay by Mark Bomback, a fellow with a similar background.  The plot is exciting and the characters are all fine and worth watching, but they don’t stick with you at all after the movie ends.  Perhaps part of the issue is the picture’s expanded setting.  Unlike the first two Die Hards, where Bruce Willis had to make clever use of the perks of a particular location, and the third film, where he had to follow puzzles to certain spots in NYC, this time he is running around the coast almost at random, diminishing the series’ trademark atmosphere.  All of those fun tricks involving elevator shafts and subways are gone, and it makes a difference.  At least Willis is still in fine form, though he’s clearly aged.  His dialogue may be a little less entertaining this time around, but the man’s still got it, working hard to keep the young folks in line and the proceedings somewhat worthwhile.  And with such a mediocre supporting cast, his role couldn’t be more essential.  Justin Long is a very stereotypical sidekick as Farrel, mildly amusing, knowledgeable of the exactly right material, and ultimately heroic.  But compared to say, Samuel L. Jackson, there’s absolutely no contest.  The same applies to Timothy Olyphant‘s Gabriel, a twenty first century villain with lots of bite but little of the Max/Simon Gruber snarl.  And his relationship with McClane is a lot less fun to watch.  Maggie Q gives some spunk to Mai “sexy voice” Linh, but the character really has little to do.  Kevin Smith isn’t bad as the eccentric “Warlock”, and, speaking of spunk, that’s Mary Elizabeth Winstead‘s major emotion as Lucy, and generally it works nicely.  Marco Beltrami‘s score is yet another average aspect of the film, though the visual effects are relatively strong.  While the Die Hard trilogy was both action-packed and fun-filled, this fourth installment leans heavily toward the former.  Too heavily, in my opinion.

2.5 out of 5

Some Like it Hot (1959)

“Isham Jones Orchestra, Bain photo” photo by Infrogmation on Flickr

Voted by AFI as the greatest comedy ever, this a fabulous movie with a little bit of everything: gangsters, cross-dressing, jazz, romance, mass murder, identity crises, you name it.  And good G-d is it funny!  The picture opens in 1929 Chicago with down-on-their-luck jazz musicians Joe (the gambling, womanizing saxophonist) and Jerry (the sensible double-bassist) accidentally witnessing the Saint Valentine’s Day massacre.  When menacing gangster “Spats” Colombo notices them at the scene, they flee for their lives, disguising themselves as women to join an all-girls band headed to Miami.  Once a part of the group, “Josephine” and “Daphne” find themselves surrounded by beautiful women, none more lovely than ditzy singer and ukulele player “Sugar” Kane.  Both men befriend her, desperately trying to woo her without revealing themselves.  When they arrive at their beachside hotel, Joe creates a second disguise as bespectacled, pleasant but disinterested wealthy heir “Junior” in order to seduce Sugar.  Meanwhile, “Daphne” is courted by the aging, mamma’s boy millionaire Osgood Fielding III.  As both Joe and Jerry move deeper into their relationships and false identities, they begin to run out of tricks, and then of course the entire mafia comes to the hotel for a “Friends of the Italian Opera” conference.  This film is so entertaining and hysterical from beginning to end, and that all starts with its masterful director, the incredible Billy Wildler.  How someone could direct the haunting The Lost Weekend, the chilling Sunset Boulevard, the touching The Apartment, and this fantastic film, just to name a few, is beyond me, but Wildler gives this film such heart and spunk that you can’t help but love it.  The screenplay by Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond (who would soon share an Oscar for The Apartment) is both touching and remarkably laugh-inducing.  All of the major characters feel very real, and that makes the outrageous situations they find themselves in all the more amusing.    And, perhaps most importantly, Wildler is truly a director who can bring out the best in all of his performers.  Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon are both absolutely perfect individually and as a pair as Joe and Jerry.  Curtis’ Joe starts as the unstable member of the duo, then, in his effort to win Sugar, gains focus and stability, concocting a massive plan to win her affection.  Meanwhile, Lemmon’s Jerry is initially the sane one, ridiculing the idea to masquerade as women until it becomes a life or death situation, then begins taking advantage of his new position until he becomes totally swept up in it.  His scene of maraca-shaking joy at Osgood’s marriage proposal, soon replaced by horror as Joe calms him to his senses, is unbelievably hilarious.  Whether they’re running from gangsters, juggling multiple identities, or simply trying to deal with life as women, the twosome are phenomenal, and we never lose sight of the people behind the commotion.  Marilyn Monroe‘s Sugar is also excellent, avoiding stereotype while simultaneously spoofing it.  Her sweet innocence and extreme sexuality are wonderfully balanced here, and she really makes the character great.  Joe E. Brown is also terrific as Osgood, hamming up his every moment and ultimately getting the movie’s most iconic line.  Then there’s the marvelous George Raft, parodying himself as Spats, and earning many laughs from his intentionally overly serious role.  Charles Lang‘s strong black-and-white cinematography is another asset to the film, as are the fun songs and Adolph Deutsch‘s jazzy score.  “Well, nobody’s perfect”, but this comedy comes pretty darn close.

4.5 out of 5

Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)

“Central Park, mid-July 2008 – 46” photo by Ed Yourdon on Flickr

No, it still isn’t as good as the original Die Hard, but this sequel is fairly original, creative, and exciting in its own right, and that’s certainly an achievement.  It begins on a pleasant summer morning in NYC… with a bomb going off in a department store.  A man called Simon phones the NYPD to claim responsibility for the bomb and threatens more bombings unless John McClane, now suspended from the force, be placed in Harlem wearing a sign with a racial message which I will not write here.  McClane is saved from a group of street youths by clever shop owner Zeus Carver, and the pair learn that Simon has apparently stolen thousands of gallons of a bio-chemical explosive agent.  In order to prevent various bombs from going off across the city, they must carry out various “games” phoned to them by the terrorist.  However, Simon is soon revealed to have a dark connection to McClane’s past, and McClane realizes that his threats are just a cover-up for a massive heist.  With the clock ticking as usual, he and his reluctant partner must stop the bad guys and save the day, and, this being a Die Hard movie, you can guess how it turns out.  While the traditional formula had worked for two films, it was time for a new twist to the series, and the return of original director John McTiernan allowed for just that.  McClane finally has a strong sidekick to banter with and have some serious heart-to-hearts, and his stomping ground is larger than ever.  Furthermore, the series of riddles and puzzles that Simon presents the heroes with is quite interesting, a really inspired plot device that allows for some bloodless suspense before the eventual action sequences.  Kudos to McTiernan and writer Jonathan Hensleigh for running with the idea, though perhaps the speed with which the dynamic duo races around to opposite sides of NYC is a little ridiculous.  In general the writing is quite good, with some amusing dialogue between the leads (the foul-mouthed, quick talking McClane; sassy but highly intelligent Zeus; calm, sophisticated, but evil Simon), though perhaps the initial sign incident could have been toned down a bit, and the ending is somewhat a letdown.  Michael Kamen‘s score is as effective as ever here, and Peter Menzies Jr. does a great job with the cinematography.  Then there is that fabulous starring threesome.  Bruce Willis is still great as McClane, though perhaps he’s aged a little (the hair is starting to go already) and is a little less high-strung.  The humanity, intensity, and sense of humor are still there, however, and that’s what counts.  Willis is the series’ rock, and everyone knows it, but here he finally finds an excellent partner in crime-fighting in Samuel L. Jackson‘s Zeus.  Zeus initially wants nothing to do with the whole affair, but Simon’s threats and his personal sense of duty drive him to join the team.  His intelligence, stoic nature, and wit worthy of McClane are all highly entertaining to watch, and Jackson really makes the most of the role.  And then there’s Jeremy Irons as Simon, chewing through scenery with his thick accent and appearing to have the best time out of anyone.  You can’t help but enjoy him.  Graham Greene, Colleen Camp, and Larry Bryggman also have nice appearances as members of McClane’s squad.  Tired of action sequels that are just weaker versions of the original?  Look no further, here’s a fun summer adventure for you.

3.5 out of 5

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

“untitled” photo by mhowry on Flickr

The fact is, this movie is simply one of my all-time favorites.  Terrific story, marvelous cast, and one of the best screenplays ever, the picture is absolutely magnificent.  Based on the Tennessee William play, it is centered around Brick Pollitt, a washed-up athlete, and his gorgeous, loving, conniving wife Maggie “the Cat”.  The pair are currently staying on the estate of his parents, Big Daddy and Big Mamma, for the celebration of Big Daddy’s sixty-fifth birthday.  Also present are are Brick’s brother Gooper, his wife Mae, and their huge, noisy, uncontrolled brood of children, standing in stark contrast to Brick and Maggie’s childless, recently tempestuous marriage.  When Big Daddy finally comes home from the hospital (where he was told untruthfully  that his cancer is gone), he ignores Gooper’s clan for Maggie, but she cannot convince Brick to stop drinking and communicate with his father to ensure that they receive a piece of the family fortune.  As the evening progresses, old feuds are unearthed, dark secrets are brought to life, and everyone is tested and changed as they never thought possible.  And maybe, just maybe, the family will find peace.  There’s basically nothing wrong with this film.  From beginning to end, it’s exciting and entertaining, humorous and heartbreaking, and truly phenomenal.  A major reason why is the absolutely spell-binding cast.  First there’s Elizabeth Taylor‘s magnificent Maggie.  She is the pulse of the movie, always working furiously and constantly on the move, and from Maggie’s first moment on screen we’re entranced by her beauty and fierce determination.  Taylor has made many great films, but this performance may be her most intense (or perhaps second to Virginia Woolf…)  Then we have Paul Newman‘s terrific performance as Brick, a man totally consumed by self-pity and despair.  He is incredibly hatable, constantly spurning the woman and family who love him, but quite sympathetic as well.  This was one of Newman’s first major film roles, and his layered, powerful performance cemented his spot among the ranks of top actors.  Burl Ives is arguably the scene-stealer of the film, with his very powerful yet ultimately flawed Big Daddy dominating his every moment.  He’s another one you love and loathe simultaneously.  Judith Anderson is great as well as Big Mamma, slowly but steadily gaining strength as the story progresses.  Also excellent are Jack Carson as Gooper, the mild-mannered brother in the room full of chaos, Madeleine Sherwood as the over-the-top, wild Mae, and Larry Gates and Vaughn Taylor as the family doctor and deacon respectively.  Everyone is just so good, and watching the high-energy personalities collide is intense and thrilling throughout.  The production team also does an excellent job here.  Director Richard Brooks knows how to bring out stellar performances from the whole gang, and he also creates a terrific atmosphere for the various proceedings.  By the end of the picture, we all know the “plantation” almost as well as the characters do, and it fits the story perfectly.  While the screenplay, adapted by Brooks and James Poe, has been criticized by many for greatly toning down the elements of homosexuality in the original play, it still soars, twisting and turning and leaving the viewer constantly in suspense.  No character is left one-dimensional, and everyone receives their due.  And the dialogue is fantastic!  William H. Daniels adds strong cinematography to the project too, with color that alternates between sharply jarring and gently soothing.  Cat is simply an all-around winner, a classic that must be viewed.  And then viewed again.

5 out of 5

Die Hard 2 (1990)

“Aeropuerto de Gran Canaria Tower” photo by Håkan Dahlström

Perhaps it’s incredibly similar to its predecessor, and yes the plot is a little over the top, but this picture is still definitely an entertaining action flick.  And, like the original Die Hard, its heart and soul is undeniably Bruce Willis as scrappy, quick-witted LAPD Lieutenant John McClane.  It’s been exactly a year since the events of the first film, and this time McClane is waiting at Washington Dulles International Airport to meet his wife Holly’s flight.  He soon gets in a gunfight with some suspicious men in army uniforms, at least one of them a mercenary believed to be dead.  However, the airport police captain refuses to respond to McClane’s fears of impending disaster.  Or at least until Colonel Stuart, formerly of the US Special Forces, and a group of armed men take over the airport’s air traffic control system from a secret base in a nearby church, demanding the release of a captured drug lord who is being extradited to the US.  As countless airplanes, including Holly’s, slowly run out of fuel in the air, McClane and the airport team must fight the villains, using various areas and features of the airport to begin picking off Stuart’s team.  When a special forces team arrives, it seems that things are all over for the bad guys, but, a few intense fight scenes and clever plot twists later, the real battle is only just beginning.  Of the three Die Hard sequels, this one is clearly the most connected with the original.  The situations are practically the same: a group of terrorists are threatening innocents and, because no one will listen to him, McClane must slowly wear them down singlehandedly.  But Willis gives the good cop so much humanity and humor that watching him go through it all again is okay.  Whatever new obstacle he might encounter, we know that McClane will find a fun, creative way to overcome it while killing a few bad guys and releasing a few profanities in the process.  And an airport is certainly a fun playground, of sorts, for him to carry out his work from.  Director Renny Harlin doesn’t add anything to the proceedings, but, with Willis and the formula going strong, he really doesn’t need to.  Steven E. de Souza and Doug Richardson bring a quality screenplay to the table, presenting a plot that does twist and turn nicely, as well as some terrific action sequences.  The scale is a little larger this time around, and it works well, particularly with Oliver Wood‘s strong cinematography.  Michael Kamen‘s score is again fine, though nothing spectacular.  This is truly Willis’ film, but his supporting players are more than entertaining enough.  William Sadler is violent and menacing as Colonel Stuart, a dangerous operator who’s seemingly thought of everything.  Bonnie Bedelia is quite good as Holly, this time showing even more spunk and leadership aboard her hovering plane.  Other returnees are William Atherton as amusingly overdramatic reporter Dick Thornburg and Reginald VelJohnson far too briefly as Sargeant Powell.  Dennis Franz is great as skeptical Airline Police Captain Lorenzo, as are Art Evans as the airport director of communications and John Amos as the highly capable commander of the special forces unit (you’ve got to love the racial diversity in these films).  Franco Nero also makes a nice appearance as the fought-over drug lord.  It’s nothing revelatory, but this is certainly a fun action movie, and, if you liked Die Hard, you’ll enjoy this one too.

3 out of 5

An Affair to Remember (1957)

“Le Diamant” photo by Trondheim Havn on Flickr

On one hand, this is an incredibly stereotypical romantic movie.  Guy meets girl; each is engaged, so they agree to just stay friends; everyone else sees right through them; they finally realize their feelings for each other just when they have to separate; they agree to meet again on a set date in the near future; when the big day comes, something goes horribly wrong; still we all know there’s going to be a happy ending.  However hackneyed this premise might be, few films pull it off more wonderfully.  This movie draws you in from scene one, and, while you realize the sappiness of the proceedings, you can’t help but feel entertained.  The guy in question here is Cary Grant‘s Nickie Ferrante, an internationally known playboy with a secret knack for painting.  Grant smartly keeps the character from getting overly charming, instead making Nickie a somewhat awkward but very lovable figure.  The girl, whom he meets aboard a cruise ship from Europe to America, is lovely nightclub singer Terry McKay, played nicely by Deborah Kerr.  Terry is also a complex character, confident and spunky yet incredibly self-conscious, and she initially makes every effort to avoid any serious connection with Nickie.  However, especially once she sees his tender side when they visit his grandmother on the Mediterranean coast, she can’t help but fall.  Kerr and Grant have excellent chemistry, both romantic and comic.  Some of the movie’s best scenes, in fact, are their obvious efforts to not be seen with each other.  After finally embracing their love on the voyage’s final night, they agree to stay apart for six months to make sure their feelings are real then meet on the top of the Empire State Building to start a life together.  I won’t spoil things too much, but let’s just say that fate gets in the way this time, leaving one of them heartbroken and the other broken in other places.  How they try to go on afterward is the subject of the movie’s second, more uneven but still entertaining half.  Director Leo McCarey, remaking his 1939 film Love Affair, keeps the potentially bland story constantly imbued with energy and great humanity.  Nickie, Terry, and their companions aren’t just puppets on a screen, they act like real people, and this gives the whole project a very sincere feel.  Delmer Daves‘ and Donald Ogden Stewart‘s screenplay (written for the ’39 movie) aids this effort immensely, balancing cheesy cliche with moving realism.  McCarey’s talent with comedies and musicals also comes in handy here, adding a terrific touch of fun, but the singing children in the second half do get a little overly schmaltzy.  Bright, pleasant cinematography by Milton Krasner is another asset to the picture, as are Hugo Friedhofer‘s score and the titular tune by Harry Warren.  A strong supporting cast also makes a big difference here, the major standout being Cathleen Nesbitt as Nickie’s grandmother Janou.  Graceful, joyous, and full of life, she completely dominates her section of the movie, winning the audience’s absolute love and admiration, as well as uniting the tentative lovers.  Ultimately, you want Nickie and Terry to end up together for her sake at the very least.  Richard Denning is also good as Terry’s eternally (overly?) faithful fiancee Kenneth, and Neva Patterson is fairly bemusing as Nickie’s sweet but surprisingly jilted bride-to-be Lois.  But their stories don’t really matter.  What matters is two people destined for each other and the heartwarming, Hollywood-style affair that they share.  And boy oh boy is it memorable.

4 out of 5

Die Hard (1988)

“Los Angeles Police Department” photo by Tim Wang

Yipeekayay!  One of the greatest action movies ever made, this rip-roaring good time is not for the faint of stomach or hearing, but otherwise absolutely worth a view.  Bruce Willis stars as NYC Police Officer John McClane who has come to LA on Christmas Eve to reconcile with his estranged wife Holly.  He finds her at the company holiday party in their skyscraper headquarters, possibly on the verge of a relationship with another man.  However, while McClane is changing in a side room, brilliant terrorist Hans Gruber leads a group of highly armed (mostly blonde, German) associates into the party and takes everyone else hostage.  Using every trick and tool available, McClane begins a one-man war against the terrorists, who it turns out are planning on stealing millions of dollars from the company.  He eventually gains the emotional support of gun-shy LAPD Officer Al Powell, but the various cops, FBI agents, SWAT troops, and other forces sent against the building are all killed and/or play right into the villains hands.  While McClane himself slowly manages to thin out the ranks of Gruber’s team, the mastermind eventually learns that Holly is his wife and prepares his getaway and a final trap for the scrappy hero.  No, there isn’t much deeper meaning to this picture.  But G-d almighty is incredibly fun!  Every facet and aspect of the building is used in some capacity to advance the plot and create an exciting scenario, and the suspenseful story progresses through a number of thrilling action set pieces.  The real center of the movie is Willis’ McClane, however.  With his cocky back-talk, hysterically foul mouth, increasingly dirty undershirt, and fantastically resourceful nature, few screen characters are more iconic.  This was the film that made Bruce Willis a star, and he more than deserves his acclaim for it, creating a well-rounded, very human antihero that began a whole new generation of action leads.  Director John McTiernan is an old hand at such films (with Predator, The Hunt for Red October, and The Last Action Hero to his name), and he provides Willis with a terrific world to inhabit.  Steven E. de Souza and Jeb Stuart‘s clever, witty screenplay also nicely maximizes McClane’s quick-tongued nature.  Honestly, the whole production team really gels, resulting in a picture that is uniformly entertaining.  No one tries to take the plot too seriously, and in fact you could call the movie a major satire of modern society, with law enforcement, the army, and the media all depicted as inept fools.  Dramatic cinematography by Jan de Bont is another asset, as is Michael Kamen‘s score.  The strong supporting cast helps immensely as well.  Alan Rickman‘s Hans Gruber is remarkably menacing with his slow, deep, accented voice and methodical, polished plan.  His various interactions, both in person and by walkie-talkie, with the gritty McClane are phenomenal.  Reginald VelJohnson gives great heart to Powell, really the only friend out there for McClane in a sea of bad guys and arrogant morons.  He is wonderful and even touching, and he manages to undergo quite a character arc.  Bonnie Bedelia is also good as Holly, who of course turns out to be heroic despite her irritating beginning, Alexander Godunov‘s terrorist Karl is broodingly, frighteningly evil, the gunslinger to the calculating Gruber, and William Atherton‘s obnoxiously dumb reporter is fairly amusing.  If it’s possible to have a fun time watching death and violence, this is honestly it, because violence has rarely had such an engaging perpetrator.

4.5 out of 5

Vertigo (1958)

“Finite staircase” photo by gadl on Flickr

Such an awesomely creepy and suspenseful movie.  Only Alfred Hitchcock could put together such a triumph, a  terrifying masterpiece that transitions from supernatural mystery to love story to erotic thriller.  And few stars could handle anchoring such a unique picture besides the magnificent James Stewart, rarely in finer form than here.  After his previously undiscovered acrophobia (fear of heights) results in another officer’s death, Stewart’s San Francisco detective John “Scottie” Ferguson retires to relax with his old flame Midge.  However, former acquaintance Gavin Elster asks him to tail his wife Madeline, whom he thinks has become possessed by the spirit of her ancestor Carlotta Valdes, a historical figure who committed suicide.  Scottie is initially skeptical but takes the assignment and is slowly convinced.  After Madeline jumps into the San Francisco Bay, he saves her, and the pair begin an affair.  He then takes her to the location of her recurring nightmare, hoping to cure her, but she jumps off the top of the bell tower, with Scottie’s acrophobia leaving him helpless to interfere.  Scottie is devastated, but he eventually sees a woman named Judy who bears a surprisingly strong resemblance to Madeline, and he begins to spend time with her, trying to turn her into the love he lost.  And then things get really painful to watch.  This is a movie that starts out merely unsettling then slowly progresses to downright horrifying.  The ghost story is bizarre, yes, but only a little weird at first, then becomes rather scary.  But its Scottie’s obsessive attempts to transform Judy into Madeline that are truly frightening.  Rarely have I seen such a genuinely unnerving, eerie sequence in cinema.   Hitchcock gradually ups the tension, then occasionally throws in a moment of sudden drama, such as Madeline’s “did that really just happen” jump into the bay.  He has a phenomenal screenplay by Alec Coppel and Samuel A. Taylor to work with, often relying on long moments of silence to throw off the viewer and increase the mood of dark uncertainty.  These silent moments are in turn filled by Bernard Herrmann‘s absolutely spellbinding score.  From the ridiculously freaky opening music to the haunting love theme to the heart-racing nightmare, the score is undoubtably one of the greatest ever written, a perfect mix of Gothic horror and modern dissonance.  The cinematography by Robert Burks was also somewhat revolutionary, adding the simultaneous zoom-in track-back to filmmakers’ repertoires.  As mentioned earlier, James Stewart gives very likely his greatest performance ever in this picture.  Initially he sticks to his usual, somewhat naive but likable persona, and watching this figure encounter the seemingly supernatural affair is quite entertaining.  However, in his effort to regain his lost love through Judy, he unwittingly becomes a monster, an obsessive tyrant, thrillingly disturbing to behold.  This is Jimmy at his darkest, an unparalleled shift into villainy.  Kim Novak is excellent as well in the dual role of Madeline and Judy, seductively and icily gorgeous.  She shines as both the confused, insane wife and her sassy, privately-guilt ridden replacement.  Barbara Bel Geddes‘ Midge isn’t a particularly deep character, mostly a sounding board for Scottie’s thoughts.  Still, Bel Geddes turns her into a somewhat tragic figure, possibly still in love with Scottie, but she disappears for the final chapter of the piece.  Tom Helmore rounds out the cast as Elster, a fairly irrelevant, one-dimensional role.  Some movies need blood and guts to chill, but not this one.  Hitch, Stewart, and Herrmann can do it old-school style, and there’s nothing freakier.

4.5 out of 5