056. Papillon

056. (08 Feb) Papillon (1973, Franklin J. Schaffner) 48



An entertaining adventure, but Papillon is hardly a film for the ages. From his shoddy ability to show the passage of time to a couple wretched dream sequences, Schaffner makes questionable choices that keep his film from feeling accomplished. Above all, the runtime's insanely bloated. I'm sure the film could go without any number of things like a montage of Steve McQueen cavorting with an island girl.

The fact that this is regarded as McQueen's best performance suggests what an oxymoron that is. He and Dustin Hoffman are believable buddies, but neither is strong here. Lovely, varied photographed and Jerry Goldsmith's score are the strongest assets. I'm frankly surprised Goldsmith managed an Oscar nomination, even though his score is magical, since it's not in use for the vast majority of the film.

QUARTET

QUARTET
Written by Ronald Harwood
Directed by Dustin Hoffman
Starring Maggie Smith, Billy Connolly, Tom Courtenay and Pauline Collins

Jean: You must understand; I was someone once.
Sissy: I thought I was someone now.

Celebrated and famed actor, Dustin Hoffman, marks his directorial debut with QUARTET, and he does so in as safe a fashion as he possibly could. Based on the stage play of the same name, and written by the same man, Ronald Harwood, QUARTET is one of those delightfully cheery movies about the foibles that befall the aged, as they learn to face their own mortality. Serious ailments, like dementia for instance, become endearing quirks and we laugh, or at least we’re supposed to, when someone forgets what they were going to say or someone else pees themselves. It’s not that death and dying should be portrayed as impending horror but making light of it like this just makes Hoffman seem somewhat in denial about his own life.

All the action in QUARTET, confused or otherwise, takes place at Beecham House, an assisted living home for elderly opera singers and musicians. The residents are preparing for their annual concert, a tribute to the famous composer, Verdi, on his birthday. The funds raised at this concert are particularly vital this year, as if they don’t bring in a certain amount, the home might not be able to run for another year. I believe this is also the rough premise of the third STEP UP movie, but I could be mistaken. This year though, the show could stage an operatic coup, if it plays its cards just right. The home’s newest resident, and a highly reluctant one at that, is Jean Horton (Maggie Smith), and her presence at the home completes a famous quartet of singers, whose recording of Verdi’s “Rigoletto” is considered one of the best in history. There is just one tiny problem. Jean no longer sings.

As she has gotten older, Jean has noticed the wear on her voice get stronger. And so, one day, she just decided to stop singing altogether. Rather than face the reality of her journey, she would rather remember only the past and pretend like the future isn’t coming. She is a true diva though so this behaviour is entirely acceptable of course. What she, and her fellow house mates are not though, are well fleshed out characters. Instead, Hoffman gives us nothing but saccharine charm that moves along with such plain predictability, that by the time Verdi’s birthday roles around, there is no more mystery to be had. A life without any surprises to look forward to? That sounds like death to me.

Midnight Cowboy

Midnight Cowboy, 1969
Directed by John Schlesinger
Nominated for 7 Oscars, Won 3
Up against: Anne of the Thousand Days, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Hello Dolly!, Z

Joe Buck has left his life in Texas behind and come to New York City to become a "hustler", a freelance sex stud. But things are harder than he'd imagine it to be. The streets are meaner, and Joe has his demons to fight. But then he meets Ratso, a down-and-out crook but outcast. Ratso and Joe form an unlikely friendship, and end up both needing each other if they are to survive life in New York City. Especially since Ratso's health isn't very good and Joe is a naive country boy.

Midnight Cowboy's claim to fame is that it is the only Best Picture winner to be rated X. While it has since been bumped down to an R rating, it was very interesting that it won. It was also released a year after the Hays Code (a code set out by MPAA of what was appropriate and not appropriate to be in films). It was also a slightly controversial film. It contained scenes of homosexuality, and a lot of sex and nudity. Interestingly, the film that won the year before was Oliver!, a movie was a G rating. Shows how different movies are that the Academy awards Best Picture.

This film was definitely not a favourite Best Picture winner of mine. While I adore Dustin Hoffman, and he was really very good in this film, I found the picture rather dull. Sure, it was sad, and Joe was wildly messed up, but I found it a bit of a bore most of the time. The story was slow-moving, and while the acting was good, it wasn't my cup of tea.

It was definitely a well made film. It looked great. Hoffman and Voight made a good team and had great chemistry, and the costumes were good. I can appreciate the movie for that, but, similar to this years Lincoln, it just wasn't the movie for me.

While they gave Joe a very troubled past, and made Ratso a mysterious person, someone we never truly get to know or understand, they seemed a little flat to me. The constant flashbacks at the beginning of Joe's life, and his visions of what he wished he could do in certain situations were a little much. Though I guess the flashbacks at Joe's worst memory was very meaningful to the story and added a lot.

While this film is remembered as the X-rated film that won Best Picture, I feel like there wasn't much more to it. It was unnecessarily explicit, and was very slow moving.

Acting- 8/10
Directing- 8/10
Screenplay- 7/10
Music - 6.5/10
"The look"- 8/10
Entertaining- 6/10
Emotional Connection- 6/10
Rewatchability- 2/10
Did I like It?- 6/10
"Total Package"**- 7/10  

 Total: 64.5/100

Alternate Best Actor 1971: Results

5. Dustin Hoffman in Straw Dogs- Hoffman performance is not overly interesting early on but he more than makes up for it in his brutal last act change.

4. Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry- Eastwood gives a incredibly strong performance as both a commanding and humorous leading man, as well as in his portrayal of a driven police officer.

3.  Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory- Wilder gives a entertaining performance that is both darkly funny as well as genuinely heart warming.

2. Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange- McDowell gives a terrific unforgettable performance that creates a truly disturbing portrait of a youthful man who gets his joys through violent depravity.

1. Michael Caine in Get Carter- I must say this is exceedingly close, and that really does include Eastwood and Wilder as well. All four are amazing performance and each are arguably the best performances from each actor. Nevertheless for the moment I give it to Caine for his incredible performance as a cold professional killer, whose want is revenge is unstoppable.

Overall Rank of the year I also included a few performances I do not intend to review in the future.

1. Michael Caine in Get Carter
2. Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange
3. Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
4. Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry
5. Gene Hackman in The French Connection
6. Peter Finch in Sunday Bloody Sunday
7. Topol in Fiddler on the Roof
8. James Coburn in Duck, You Sucker!
9. Timothy Bottoms in The Last Picture Show 
10. Dustin Hoffman in Straw Dogs
11. George C. Scott in The Hospital
12. Peter Ostrum in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
13. Rod Steiger in Duck, You Sucker!
14. Sean Connery in Diamonds Are Forever
15. Donald Sutherland in Klute
16. Walter Matthau in Kotch

Alternate Best Actor 1971: Dustin Hoffman in Straw Dogs

Dustin Hoffman did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying David Sumner in Straw Dogs.

Straw Dogs is a somewhat interesting film about a seemingly pacifist man who moves to England with his English wife and finds trouble by the way of violent locals.

Dustin Hoffman here really tires hard not to give any sort of trademark Hoffman type of performance, he even curtails his particular vocal tics here. He portrays his character of a former professor and attempting to become a writer as a sort of an average man. Hoffman really stays this way through almost the entire film which is actually exactly the point of the film, and in this way Hoffman is effective. He stands in his spot in terms of the film just as David does as David is always viewed as an outsider by the locals, and as certainly imperfect by his wife who he does not pay enough attention to due to devoting himself to his work.

Hoffman is actually perfectly naive here as David, because he shows that David always stays as a fish out of water in the country, and never knows exactly how to deal with his wife's problems with him. Hoffman correctly stays in this average guy approach as he genuinely conveys that David does seem to be out of element when it comes to all that he must suddenly deal with that is completely different than his life back home in the United States. Hoffman interestingly always plays David with a certain degree of ambiguity though and in his portrayal of ambiguity there are certain shades to his character he suggests at.

Although Hoffman certainly does not portray David as anyone special he most certainly does not portray him as this great guy nor this horrible man either exactly but there are suggestions of both in his scenes with his wife. Hoffman always shows that David is sort of trying to affirm his wife of his love, yet Hoffman shows a certain standard quality to this like in a way David has become stale in showing his love to his wife. At the same time he consistently shuts her down as he wants her to fit his view of the relationship again it is not purposeful coldness Hoffman shows but rather an insensitivity to his wife's need. Hoffman's portrayal of this earlier makes his later inability to recognize that his wife has suffered a traumatic rape actually believable.

Hoffman's performance up until the end I won't say is fascinating but it most certainly fulfills its need, and brings to life the final segment of his character when David violently defends his home from the locals. A key aspect of the film and Hoffman's performance is that there is not really much of a transition of David to becoming a violent psychopath it is sudden as if it was always within David and just needs something to set him off. Hoffman actually due to his degree of ambiguity earlier actually does realize this sudden transition effectively, and his most powerful moments of his performance certainly come in the final act when the true nature of David is finally revealed.

In these final moments Hoffman is brutally intense as David, as we see that his violence is pure, and there is not a hint of hesitation. When he says he is going to slit someone's throat there is doubt there is no doubt in the truth of the words as portrayed by Hoffman, he is truly chilling because of the difference in David shown is so great. The important part of it is that seemingly pacifist David not only becomes a violent man but in fact a sadist. Hoffman is exceedingly off putting here because he shows that David in fact enjoys hurting and killing the men, because there was an inner psychopath in David all along. This is great final act turn by Hoffman. Although I won't say he is truly remarkable until this point, but his earlier moments frankly needed to be that way to make his final scenes are strong as they are.

Alternate Best Actor 1971

And the Nominees Were Not:

Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry

Michael Caine in Get Carter

Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange

Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory

Dustin Hoffman in Straw Dogs
I will be reviewing five performance from a year that are either considered to be among the five best of the year, as well as one's considered iconic or very memorable in regards to an actor's filmography. These will not necessarily all be good or great performances just notable one's for the year in question. I will perhaps even throw in a terrible performance on occasion as long as it is extremely risky, the only type of performance I want  to avoid is a phoned in boring one.

So for the first year I will take a look at performances of five men portraying not exactly the most hinged of characters. Feel free to predict the ranking as well as if any of them will unseat Gene Hackman for the French Connection, if you accurately predict my ranking of just the five you can request the next year i do, just make sure it is in a different decade, as well one performance you would like to review for that year.

Rain Man

Rain Man, 1988
Directed by Barry Levinson
Nominated for 8 Oscars, Won 4
Up Against: The Accidental Tourist, Dangerous Liasons, Mississippi Burning, Working Girl

Synopsis: Charlie Babbit is living in LA, working as a down-and-out automobile salesman. When Charlie hears word that his father has died, he barely feels anything. He and his father have had an estranged relationship since Charlie was sixteen years old, when he borrowed his fathers 1948 Buick convertible without permission, with his friends, got pulled over for 'stealing a car', and his father left him in jail for 2 days while he friends all made bail. Charlie goes to his father's funeral, and then learns that his father's money ($3 million) is going into a trust, and Charlie has only been left the 1948 Buick, and his father's prized rose bushes. While in searches of finding out who the $3 million has gone to, he discovers he has an older brother. His name is Raymond, he's an autistic man living at a home for special needs patients, and he has inherited the $3 million. Charlie is angry, he never knew about Raymond, and that Ray has no need for this money. He decides to "take" his brother from his home, and tries to bargain him for the money, all while traveling cross-country with his autistic brother, hardly knowing how to deal with him.

When I started up this project, my mum was really excited that I would be watching this movie. My dad too, and several other people I knew told me this was an amazing movie. So naturally, I was excited to watch it. I was even more excited after watching Kramer vs Kramer, and seeing Dustin Hoffman as a great actor.

Personally, I found the plot a little slow. Most of the movie was spent in Charlie and Ray traveling across country, and Charlie getting annoyed and yelling at Ray, and Ray just being, well, Ray, and living in his own little world. There was a small plot about Charlie's car company, how it's about to go under, and how he'll owe people a lot of money, and he's broke. There's the little plot about the $3 million, and trying to gain custody of his brother so he can have the money. Oh, and all the funny things they do on their way to LA, like Charlie finding out Ray has a special talent with numbers. They go to Vegas and Ray counts cards so that Charlie can pay back his clients, with which their deals have fallen through. But this movie is really about Charlie and Ray. Charlie trying to come to terms on how to deal with Ray, about how Ray isn't "in there somewhere", this is just how he is. And just dealing with the fact that he had a brother he never knew about.

But above all, this was really a showcase for Dustin Hoffman. Dustin Hoffman playing Ray, the autistic man, who recites "Who's On First?" when nervous, watches Jeopardy at 5 everyday, has lights out at 11, and doesn't like to fly on planes because they crash, likes clothes from K-Mart, and memorizes everything he reads. While Dustin Hoffman was originally cast as Charlie, he changed his mind after encountering Leslie Lemke, who was blind, mentally handicapped, and had cerebal palsy but who could play full piano concertos by ear. He spent a year working with autistic people and their families to try and understand them better, and how they think, and deal with relationships. And this really paid off. Dustin Hoffman was so utterly convincing that I couldn't believe he was that father I had seen in Kramer vs Kramer, that he wasn't autistic. Even though Hoffman reportedly said that this was his "worst work" while filming, he won his second Oscar. And rightly so. His performance was absolutely incredible. While autism was known to some people in the 80's, Hoffman really give a face to what autism was, and really changed people's perspectives on it.

And then there's Tom Cruise. Many people seem to not mention how really good he was too. He and Hoffman had such great chemistry, and you really believed they were somehow brothers. Charlie is erratic and abrasive, and he simply cannot understand Ray at first, thinking his needs and antics are an act. But he slowly comes to terms with who Ray is, and what Ray is to him. And he plays this so well. He's really able to hold his own much of the time, and does a great job.

Overall, this movie was a wonderful treat. The acting was superb, even if the story was a tad weak and didn't really wrap everything up in the end. Hoffman gave one of the best performances I've seen thus far. This film also features Hans Zimmers first Hollywood score, and got Dustin Hoffman his second Best Actor award, as well with winning, Picture, Director and Screenplay. Overall, a good movie.

8/10

Kramer vs. Kramer

Kramer vs. Kramer, 1979
Directed by Robert Benton
Nominated for 9 Oscars, Won 5
Won BP Over: All That Jazz, Apocalypse Now, Breaking Away and Norma Rae

Synopsis: Ted Kramer is caught off guard when his wife, Joanna, announces she's leaving him, and leaving their 5 year old son. Ted is a career man, and while he likes to think he has a clue about his son, he doesn't really. Slowly, he grows to know his son well, and become a better father than he ever was. And once he settles into that role, his son loving him and he loving his son, Joanna returns and wants their son, Billy, back.

This film won a lot of the big awards that year. Dustin Hoffman won Best Actor, Meryl Streep won Best Supporting Actress, Robert Benton won Best Director, It won best adapted screenplay, as well as Best Picture. While it was a little bit cliche, here 33 years later, I know at the time the idea was quite original. The father a workaholic, seeing divorce from (kind of) equal sides. It was a moving story about the pain of divorce, and just how selfish it is, especially when there's a child in the picture.

I thought this was an emotional piece about a father who's able to turn his life around for his kids and about how divorce ruins lives. Ted Kramer hardly knows his child when his wife leaves him (not unlike Matt King in this year's The Descendants), but after working hard, getting to know his son, and realizing just what it takes to not just be a father, but to be a "daddy" to his little son, changed their relationship. It shows just how much parenthood changes you, and just how much family matters in your life, whether you want it to or not. It's the age-old idea that while career is important, don't make it the most important thing.

Dustin Hoffman played Ted Kramer perfectly. He was able to bring out so many sides of Ted, and make him such a real person. We saw the angry sides of Ted, telling his son he hates him, angry his wife left him, and angry the lawyers in court won't listen to him when he's trying to say his son is everything to him. We see him become the better parent, supporting his son, listening to him, and realizing all his son wants is love from his father. He doesn't care if his father is doing all the "right things" a father should do, he just wants his daddy to love him. With that being said, Billy, played by Justin Henry, was also nominated for his acting. He played Billy so well, really bringing him to life, and really seeming to understand the character. We see his immense sadness, and his pure joy, and his anger. He is still, currently, the youngest nominee in Academy History, being 8 years old.

Continuing on the acting note, this was Meryl Streep's first Oscar win, and second nomination. While she didn't have a very large part in the film, she was really good. She was such an unsympathetic character, yet at the same time, you almost did sympathize her. She brought the perfect balance of vulnerability to the role, yet a fierceness of a mother wanting her child back. She captured who Joanna Kramer was so well, and, again, brought her to life. But did I expect anything less of Meryl? I did not.

Overall, I liked the film very much. It was moving, and heartbreaking, and endearing. It may me ponder the idea of marriage, and just how sad it is nobody seems to be able to keep their promises anymore. And this film showed the consequences of that. People's lives are ruined, and they are very hard to fix. So many things in marriages can be fixed if one only tries. Had Joanna sought help for her marriage, things would've been very different. But the vows say "for better or for worse". So when the worse comes, why do people use it as an excuse to divorce? If anything, that's the time to stand firm in your relationship, and really try. Because marriage isn't easy. Feelings are easy, commitment takes effort.

8.25/10

033. Kung Fu Panda 2

033. (28 Jan) Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011, Jennifer Yuh) 28



The first Kung Fu Panda looked cheap and ugly, so it's irritating that this is more of the same. The gags here are outright awful; there's not a genuinely funny joke in the film's runtime. The voice cast is among the most underwhelming in animation's history.

The plot unfolds terribly. Action sequences become anticlimactic because of the poorness with which their handled. The characters are at the top of a collapsing tower, for instance, and somehow manage to easily slide off a building's roof below after falling more than a dozen stories. That's stupid, but what's far more objection is how the film's final moments set up another sequel.