bernebner Reviews

State of Play (2009)

God Awful Cowardice

[1/10 · 26 October 2009]

Instead of a story about Point Corp (read Halliburton or Blackwater) taking over control of all U.S. military operations overseas AND at home, we get this stupid sanitized version of a horny Congressman arranging the killing of his girlfriend. A cowardly cop-out all round.

This is as cheesy as Hollywood drivel gets. If mega corporations tied intimately to government are to be feared, then perhaps a large media corporation should stop making fake movies about "exposing" the criminality of these corporations. There might be a huge conflict of interest that the corporation cannot see but the audience certainly can.

At least they should stick to original rotten scripts instead of bastardizing decent British productions. As a 6 hour BBC production, doing the watching via rental DVD was a chore but it was head and shoulders above the cutesy U.S. version where the BAD corporation is mentioned vaguely and the Congressional whip implicated also vaguely and then all is forgiven them in the interest of corporate comity.

And that performance by Rachel McAdams was the most wooden performance since the last movie about Noah's arc. My God, how does this untalented, expressionless women get major or even minor roles?

The Ice Harvest (2005)

Top drawer wonderfully written Noir!

[4/10 · 16 April 2006]

The most delicious (and under-appreciated) noir of the year. I saw the flick when first released on the basis of Dargis review in the NY Times, but I don't think she quite appreciated the absolute brilliance of the movie. First Harold Ramis script is a delight from beginning to end ... the dialog (particularly between Oliver Platt and John Cussack) is of such top-drawer quality as to be exemplary! The performances are fine, their are no holes in the complex plot and there are more and more things to admire. It's even better the second time around. Cussack, Platt, Thornton, Nielsen are great AsWitchita Falls falls so you'll fall for Witichita Falls (inside joke.)

Murder at the Vanities (1934)

Don't miss this goodie!

[22 April 2004]

It's not Busby Berkeley, but it's probably the next best thing. I rented the VHS from the New York Public Library and the print was devine! Yup, they don't make 'em like this any more...not even Busbey made them this racy! The performances with the exception of Jack Oakie are uniformly terrible ... terrible in the way that early 30's movies can be (I did not include Jack Oakie in this observation, because Jack Oakie is always Jack Oakie). It's a shame that Duke Ellington section was completely wasted and as per the observation above, his efforts were probably severely cut. It's a shame that Toby Wing never made it to star status...she was a stunner par excellence and could deliver a sarcastic and/or dumb blone line with the best of them. The MARIJUANA number alone makes this flick one for the memory book.

Daughter of the Dragon (1931)

Fast paced interesting potboiler

[24 January 2004]

I had a really good time at Museum of Modern Art's January '04 showing of this rare Paramount '31 release. Potboiler par excellence with the stunning Anna May Wong giving star presence performance as daughter who swears revenge to her dying father Fu Manchu (Warner Olan). Sessue Hayakawa is the detective smitten with Ms. Wong and who `dies a hundred deaths'. Everything's in this mystery: sliding doors, heavy brocades, Eastern mysticism, London's Chinatown. Directed by Lloyd Corrigan in a most sophisticated manner

Dark Hazard (1934)

One of Robinson's finest!

[4 December 2003]

Dark Hazard is 80 minutes of sheer delight in this Edward G. Robinson '34 item directed by Alfred Green that I was totally unfamiliar with. Robinson gives a heart warming interpretation of a race track tout and gambler who falls for Genvieve Tobin, somewhat of a wasp with whom they have wedding bliss in California where he's hired to look after Sidney Toler's 1/3 interest in a dog track. His infatuation with gambling causes her to move back with her mother in (Ohio?); he follows her and patronizes the local dog track where he follows the horse Dark Hazard closely. After the horse is injured he buys it for $25 and nurses it back to health and wealth. He has left Tobin and goes back to his old flame, Glenda Farrell (at her intense best). Has all of Warner's fine snap crackle and pop ingredients of that era.

Rocco and His Brothers (1960)

Brilliant beyond belief

[5 July 2002]

I can't imagine Visconti surpassing this 1960 175-minute masterpiece (censored when shown in USA originally, now available complete on DVD). The triple threat Visconti (producer, co-screenwriter, director) pours all his passion in this epic tale of widowed Katina Paxinou leaving her poverty filled life in Southern Italy with family in tow for the big city life of Milan, hoping to better the life of her five sons, Rocco (Alan Delon), Simone (Renato Salvatori), Ciro (Max Cartier), Moroni (RogerHanin) and her youngest boy of 7. They find dwelling in the basement of a housing complex and better themselves eventually when Simone and, later, Rocco enter the world of boxing. Both become involved with a former prostitute definitively played by Annie Giradot. Simone turns brutish and attacks Rocco savagely. Rocco is a Christ like figure who forgives all and tries his best to save the family, but tragedy is in store when Simone kills Giradot in an unforgettable waterside scene. Also in the cast are a very young Claudia Cardinale and Suzy Delair. Paolo Stoppa is brilliant as the boxing impresario. Score by Nina Rota (some of which is used later in Fellini films) and photography by Giuseppe Rotunno are perfection

Phantom (1922)

Not up to Sunrise

[3 July 2002]

The print that I rented is of very poor quality. Additonally, I did not realize that not only was there not a musical soundtrack, but subtitles were in German. You can spot the Murnau talent there but I don't call this essential viewing.

Sofie (1992)

Wonderful underrated film by Liv Uhlman.

[2 February 2001]

The former actress directs wonderfully, no doubt having absorbed some of the talents of her director/husband Ingmar Bergman. Bergman wrote the script for Sophie ... about an unhappily married Jewish woman who has obeyed her parents by marrying a distant cousin instead of the gentile painter with whom she is in love. So carefully put together that one finds oneself totally absorbed in the warm atmosphere Miss Uhlman has created.