Watching Movies 11/9

Movie star bios are proliferating these days, and this one is a little too much of a good thing at over 6 hours, even considering that it covers two movie stars. It's essentially Ethan Hawke's COVID project, and he zooms with top talent of today to read transcripts of interviews with Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, family members, and the people that worked with them. It's extensive, bordering on exhaustive. A great deal of effort is made to parallel their movie roles with their personal lives, which at times is a bit forced, and explains why there's more focus on the many more obscure films where Newman directed Woodward, and why films that don't fit the narrative are glossed over (no mention of Hudsucker Proxy!) I thought I had a pretty good knowledge of Newman having seen 22 of his films, but after this I feel I've only scratched the surface, and I'm much less familiar with Woodward, who spent much of the 70s and 80s making television movies. At best the doc explores how a celebrity couple juggles work and personal lives, how they maintain their integrity and turned it into effective activism and charity. 

Standard coming of age movie with a terrible title and a fantastic cast in very unappealing roles. The only one making this worthwhile is Sam Rockwell, but not worthwhile enough to recommend. It would have been a better movie if it was just about the waterpark with Rockwell as the central character. 

A massive eight-part history of New York City by Ken Burns' brother that's also the history of America. I was eager to watch it after my first visit to NY, and now I'm eager to go back with my newly acquired knowledge. New York is one of the most filmed and photographed cities in America, so there was an endless amount of stock footage to work with to keep things visually engaging. The final 3 hour episode is entirely about the history of the World Trade Center and it's surprisingly engrossing (it was added to the series after 9/11). Apparently a new episode is in the works covering the last 25 years. 

Sam Fuller heist drama with the unique setting of post-war Japan, all filmed in  Cinemascope to also serve as a travelogue. The settings are beautifully presented but I wish it had dealt more with Japanese-American relations instead of just being a Chicago-styled gangster film. It doesn't help that the widescreen makes it hard to have any intimacy with the characters and Robert Stack isn't the most dynamic lead. Robert Ryan does what he can to save the movie as the crime boss, and there's one great moment near the end before the amusement park shootout on the roof of a skyscraper. Look for DeForest Kelley as a henchman. 

I was reading a bit about the pirate Anne Bonny, so I wanted to check out this adventure yarn loosely based on her life, although there's nothing remotely factual here other than she was female and she was a pirate. It's standard studio fare about pirates doing pirate things with an unremarkable story, and the only thing of interest is Jean Peters, who was an unusual movie star. She eschewed sexy glamour roles to play tomboy characters before retiring early to marry Howard Hughes. Where Maureen O'Hara looked like a dominatrix pirate with her thigh-high boots in Against All Flags, Peters is perfect for the role. Judging from her enthusiasm with sword in hand, could have handled much more action. Unfortunately French heartthrob Louis Jourdan can't muster the Errol Flynn charm needed for his role. Jacques Tourneur's direction is sturdy and character-focused.

Ann Sheridan's husband is witness to a murder, but he flees the police thinking he'll be the next victim, and she wants to find him before the police do. This is a tight noir with a San Francisco backdrop that leans too much into exposition to explain Sheridan's background. At times her monologues are like she's reading from a novel. She's appropriately hard-nosed and cynical, but it's hard to believe she knows or cares so very little about the man she married. Also, it's her husband that's on the run, so the title is wrong (although she does run a bit at the end). Dennis O'Keefe has a good role as a duplicitous news reporter, but the movie ultimately failed to engage or build any suspense at the end (Hitchcock would have relished the roller-coaster climax). Director Norman Foster made a bunch of Mr. Moto and Charlie Chan movies in the 1930s, so it was interesting to see Chinatown and Chinese characters with prominent roles here. 

Wow! Robert Montgomery is simply amazing as a psychopath who charms a dowdy Rosalind Russell in rural England. It's sort of a murder mystery that sticks a little too closely to its stageplay roots, but that just gives room for Montgomery's performance to shine. Both Montgomery and supporting actress May Whitty were nominated for Oscars. A real hidden gem. Sadly we never find out what's in the box. It would have been a great ending to have Russell crack it open.