Quickies for February 2013 Part 1

A Burning Hot Summer (2011) ✭✭✭

This is a Philippe Garrel film. It’s French, French, Lord Have Mercy French. All about jealously, betrayal, adultery and existential malaise. Unpasteurized camembert oozes from its sprocket holes. Pampered, privileged folks who have life by the testicules go around creating their own unnecessary personal misery. Monica Bellucci gets naked, but it’s in service to artistry. Or perhaps it’s its own sort of artistry. At any rate I’m not complaining. More coq au vin anyone?

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Goodbye First Love (2011) ✭✭✭✭

All about the abiding influence of first love, and how we never quite get over it. Lola Créton --who would have made a superb protagonist for Eric Rohmer-- is quite good as a young woman who ventures on despite being unceremoniously dumped by the love of her life. When he suddenly reappears several years later, the film, like Créton, throws cool-headedness to the wind. Director Mia Hansen-Love is quietly building an impressive portfolio of well-made films that deal with strong emotions, but she wisely focuses on the practical rather than pathos.

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Ruby Sparks (2012) ✭✭1/2

The follow-up from the team that brought you Little Miss Sunshine and somehow it took them six years to come up with this drivel. Uninspired, unoriginal and too cute for its own good. If Paul Dano gets any more precious I really don’t know what we’re going to do.

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The Well Digger’s Daughter (2011) ✭✭✭✭

Four stars is probably pushing it a touch, but fans of Daniel Auteuil and sunny provencal vistas will enjoy this simple morality play set in the early days of WWI. Nothing new or inventive here, but a well executed rural drama, laced with sentiment and elements of class struggle. If you liked Jean de Florette or My Mother’s Castle, you’ll find this a pleasant and enjoyable diversion.

Quickies for February 2013 Part 1

A Burning Hot Summer (2011) ✭✭✭

This is a Philippe Garrel film. It’s French, French, Lord Have Mercy French. All about jealously, betrayal, adultery and existential malaise. Unpasteurized camembert oozes from its sprocket holes. Pampered, privileged folks who have life by the testicules go around creating their own unnecessary personal misery. Monica Bellucci gets naked, but it’s in service to artistry. Or perhaps it’s its own sort of artistry. At any rate I’m not complaining. More coq au vin anyone?

---

Goodbye First Love (2011) ✭✭✭✭

All about the abiding influence of first love, and how we never quite get over it. Lola Créton --who would have made a superb protagonist for Eric Rohmer-- is quite good as a young woman who ventures on despite being unceremoniously dumped by the love of her life. When he suddenly reappears several years later, the film, like Créton, throws cool-headedness to the wind. Director Mia Hansen-Love is quietly building an impressive portfolio of well-made films that deal with strong emotions, but she wisely focuses on the practical rather than pathos.

---

Ruby Sparks (2012) ✭✭1/2

The follow-up from the team that brought you Little Miss Sunshine and somehow it took them six years to come up with this drivel. Uninspired, unoriginal and too cute for its own good. If Paul Dano gets any more precious I really don’t know what we’re going to do.

---

The Well Digger’s Daughter (2011) ✭✭✭✭

Four stars is probably pushing it a touch, but fans of Daniel Auteuil and sunny provencal vistas will enjoy this simple morality play set in the early days of WWI. Nothing new or inventive here, but a well executed rural drama, laced with sentiment and elements of class struggle. If you liked Jean de Florette or My Mother’s Castle, you’ll find this a pleasant and enjoyable diversion.

Great Moments in Headers #1

A few of our silly headers over the years...

Great Moments in Headers #1

A few of our silly headers over the years...

TCM for February 2013

February may be a short month, but TCM has compensated by cramming it full of classic goodness. Not many obscurities, but a lot of movie-lover essentials. Full schedule can be found HERE.

Below are a few of my picks. All times Eastern.

2/1

6:15 PM

ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, THE (1938)

The bandit king of Sherwood Forest leads his Merry Men in a battle against the corrupt Prince John.

Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast:  Errol Flynn , Olivia de Havilland , Basil Rathbone .

C-102 mins, TV-G, CC

The Adventures of Robin Hood

2/2

8:00 PM

CASABLANCA (1942)

An American saloon owner in North Africa is drawn into World War II when his lost love turns up.

Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast:  Humphrey Bogart , Ingrid Bergman , Paul Henreid .

BW-103 mins, TV-PG, CC,

4:00 AM

TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE, THE (1948)

Three prospectors fight off bandits and each other after striking-it-rich in the Mexican mountains.

Dir: John Huston Cast:  Humphrey Bogart , Walter Huston , Tim Holt .

BW-126 mins, TV-PG, CC,
2/3

12:15 PM

NUN'S STORY, THE (1959)

A headstrong girl fights the strictures of the Catholic church in Europe and the Belgian Congo.

Dir: Fred Zinnemann Cast:  Audrey Hepburn , Peter Finch , Dame Edith Evans .

C-152 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

3:00 PM

MISTER ROBERTS (1955)

A naval officer longing for active duty clashes with his vainglorious captain.

Dir: John Ford Cast:  Henry Fonda , James Cagney , William Powell .

C-121 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

2/4

1:00 PM

DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES (1962) 

A husband and wife fight to conquer alcoholism.

Dir: Blake Edwards Cast:  Jack Lemmon , Lee Remick , Charles Bickford .

BW-117 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

3:00 PM

SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS (1961) 

Sexual repression drives a small-town Kansas girl mad during the roaring twenties.

Dir: Elia Kazan Cast:  Natalie Wood , Warren Beatty , Pat Hingle .

C-124 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

10:00 PM

COOL HAND LUKE (1967)

A free-spirited convict refuses to conform to chain-gang life.

Dir: Stuart Rosenberg Cast:  Paul Newman , George Kennedy , J. D. Cannon .

C-126 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

12:15 AM

BULLITT (1968)

When mobsters kill the witness he was assigned to protect, a dedicated policeman investigates the case on his own.

Dir: Peter Yates Cast:  Steve McQueen , Robert Vaughn , Jacqueline Bisset .

C-114 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

2:15 AM

WILD BUNCH, THE (1969)

A group of aging cowboys look for one last score in a corrupt border town.

Dir: Sam Peckinpah Cast:  William Holden , Ernest Borgnine , Robert Ryan .

C-144 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

2/5

12:30 AM

PAPILLON (1973)

Two Devil's Island prisoners devote all of their time to hatching escape plans.

Dir: Franklin J. Schaffner Cast:  Steve McQueen , Dustin Hoffman , Victor Jory .

C-151 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

3:30 AM

LAST SUMMER (1969)

Three vacationing students set out to humiliate an insecure girl.

Dir: Frank Perry Cast:  Barbara Hershey , Richard Thomas , Bruce Davison .

C-95 mins, TV-MA, CC,

2/6

10:00 AM

LOLITA (1962)

Vladimir Nabokov's racy classic focuses on an aging intellectual in love with a teenager.

Dir: Stanley Kubrick Cast:  James Mason , Sue Lyon , Shelley Winters .

BW-153 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

Lolita

2/7

7:45 AM

WILD STRAWBERRIES (1957)

On his way to an awards ceremony, a distinguished professor thinks back on his loveless life.

Dir: Ingmar Bergman Cast:  Bibi Andersson , Ingrid Thulin , Gunnar Björnstrand .

BW-91 mins, TV-PG,

9:30 AM

VIRGIN SPRING, THE (1960)

A medieval knight seeks revenge when his daughter is murdered.

Dir: Ingmar Bergman Cast:  Max von Sydow , Brigitta Pettersson , Birgitta Valberg .

BW-89 mins, TV-14,

11:30 AM

MY LIFE AS A DOG (1987)

A young boy's life changes the summer he moves in with relatives while his sick mother tries to recover.

Dir: Lasse Hallstrom Cast:  Anton Glanzelius , Anki Liden , Manfred Serner .

C-101 mins, TV-MA, Letterbox Format

2/8

11:00 PM

GRAPES OF WRATH, THE (1940)

Oklahoma farmers dispossessed during the Depression fight for better lives in California.

Dir: John Ford Cast:  Henry Fonda , Jane Darwell , John Carradine .

BW-129 mins, TV-G, CC,

2/10

4:00 AM

STUNT MAN, THE (1980)

A man on the run joins an embattled film company run by a maniacal director.

Dir: Richard Rush Cast:  Peter O'Toole , Barbara Hershey , Steve Railsback .

C-131 mins, TV-MA, Letterbox Format

The Stunt Man

2/12

6:15 PM

MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, THE (1942)

A possessive son's efforts to keep his mother from remarrying threaten to destroy his family.

Dir: Orson Welles Cast:  Joseph Cotten , Dolores Costello , Anne Baxter .

BW-88 mins, TV-PG, CC,

8:00 PM

CITIZEN KANE (1941)

The investigation of a publishing tycoon's dying words reveals conflicting stories about his scandalous life.

Dir: Orson Welles Cast:  Joseph Cotten , Dorothy Comingore , Agnes Moorehead .

BW-120 mins, TV-PG, CC,

10:15 PM

NOTORIOUS (1946)

A U.S. agent recruits a German expatriate to infiltrate a Nazi spy ring in Brazil.

Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Cary Grant , Ingrid Bergman , Claude Rains .

BW-101 mins, TV-PG, CC,
2/14

12:00 AM

REBECCA (1940)

A young bride is terrorized by the memories of her husband's glamorous first wife.

Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Laurence Olivier , Joan Fontaine , George Sanders .

BW-130 mins, TV-PG, CC,

2/16

12:00 AM

NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)

An advertising man is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.

Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Cary Grant , Eva Marie Saint , James Mason .

C-136 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

2/17

1:30 AM

BLOW-UP (1966)

A photographer discovers a murder in the background of a candid photo.

Dir: Michelangelo Antonioni Cast:  Vanessa Redgrave , Sarah Miles , David Hemmings .

C-111 mins, TV-MA, CC,

3:30 AM

FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD (1967)

A romantic English lass can't choose among three very different suitors.

Dir: John Schlesinger Cast:  Julie Christie , Terence Stamp , Peter Finch .

C-171 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

2/18

5:00 AM

PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (1981)

A traveling salesman's music-inspired dreams lead to tragedy.

Dir: Herbert Ross Cast:  Steve Martin , Bernadette Peters , Jessica Harper .

C-108 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

Pennies From Heaven

2/19
4:00 PM

YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY, THE (1982)

Two American journalists get more than they'd bargained for during an Indonesian revolution.

Dir: Peter Weir Cast:  Mel Gibson , Sigourney Weaver , Linda Hunt .

C-115 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

MY FAVORITE YEAR (1982)

A flamboyant star throws a TV comedy show into chaos.

Dir: Richard Benjamin Cast:  Peter O'Toole , Mark Linn-Baker , Jessica Harper .

C-92 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

2/21

5:45 PM

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (1940)

An American reporter covering the war in Europe gets mixed up in the assassination of a Dutch diplomat.

Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Joel McCrea , Laraine Day , Herbert Marshall .

BW-120 mins, TV-PG, CC,

8:00 PM

DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)

An insurance salesman gets seduced into plotting a client's death.

Dir: Billy Wilder Cast:  Fred MacMurray , Barbara Stanwyck , Edward G. Robinson .

BW-108 mins, TV-PG, CC,

10:00 PM

PLACE IN THE SUN, A (1951)

An ambitious young man wins an heiress's heart but has to cope with his former girlfriend's pregnancy.

Dir: George Stevens Cast:  Montgomery Clift , Elizabeth Taylor , Shelley Winters .

BW-122 mins, TV-PG, CC,

12:15 AM

ALFIE (1966)

A British womanizer refuses to grow up until tragedy strikes.

Dir: Lewis Gilbert Cast:  Michael Caine , Shelley Winters , Millicent Martin .

C-114 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

2:15 AM

SEVEN DAYS IN MAY (1964)

An American military officer discovers his superiors are planning a military coup.

Dir: John Frankenheimer Cast:  Burt Lancaster , Kirk Douglas , Fredric March .

BW-118 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

2/23

12:00 AM

CAINE MUTINY, THE (1954)

Naval officers begin to suspect their captain of insanity.

Dir: Edward Dmytryk Cast:  Humphrey Bogart , Jose Ferrer , Van Johnson .

C-125 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

The Caine Mutiny

2:30 AM

EASY RIDER (1969)

A cross-country trip to sell drugs puts two hippie bikers on a collision course with small-town prejudices.

Dir: Dennis Hopper Cast:  Peter Fonda , Dennis Hopper , Antonio Mendoza .

C-96 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

4:30 AM

LAST DETAIL, THE (1973)

Two shore patrolmen decide to show a prisoner a good time on his way to the brig.

Dir: Hal Ashby Cast:  Jack Nicholson , Otis Young , Randy Quaid .

C-104 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

2/24

8:00 PM

TOOTSIE (1982)

An unemployed actor masquerades as a woman to win a soap-opera role.

Dir: Sydney Pollack Cast:  Dustin Hoffman , Jessica Lange , Terry Garr .

C-116 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

10:15 PM

KRAMER VS. KRAMER (1979)

When his wife leaves him, an ad exec gets a crash course in parenting.

Dir: Robert Benton Cast:  Dustin Hoffman , Meryl Streep , Justin Henry .

C-105 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

12:15 AM

AWAKENINGS (1990)

A doctor's experiments bring a group of comatose patients back to consciousness.

Dir: Penny Marshall Cast:  Robin Williams , Julie Kavner , Ruth Nelson .

C-121 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

2:30 AM

MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (1978)

A young man arrested for drug smuggling fights to survive the horrors of a Turkish prison.

Dir: Alan Parker Cast:  Brad Davis , Randy Quaid , John Hurt .

C-121 mins, TV-MA, Letterbox Format

2/25

5:30 PM

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977)

A blue-collar worker's encounter with a UFO leaves him a changed man.

Dir: Steven Spielberg Cast:  Richard Dreyfuss , Terry Garr , François Truffaut .

C-135 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

8:00 PM

WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (1988)

A tough detective tries to clear a cartoon character charged with murder.

Dir: Robert Zemeckis Cast:  Bob Hoskins , Christopher Lloyd , Joanna Cassidy .

C-104 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

10:00 PM

DEAD POETS SOCIETY (1989)

An English teacher inspires his students to seize the day with sometimes disastrous results.

Dir: Peter Weir Cast:  Robin Williams , Robert Sean Leonard , Ethan Hawke .

C-129 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

12:30 AM

GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM (1987)

In this true story, a military DJ in Vietnam risks his career to broadcast the truth.

Dir: Barry Levinson Cast:  Robin Williams , Forest Whitaker , Tung Thanh Tran .

C-121 mins, TV-MA, Letterbox Format

2:45 AM

COLOR OF MONEY, THE (1986)

An experienced pool shark coaches a young hothead on his way to the top.

Dir: Martin Scorsese Cast:  Paul Newman , Tom Cruise , Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio .

C-120 mins, TV-MA, CC,

2/27

10:00 PM

THIRD MAN, THE (1949)

A man's investigation of a friend's death uncovers corruption in post-World War II Vienna.

Dir: Carol Reed Cast:  Joseph Cotten , Alida Valli , Orson Welles .

BW-104 mins, TV-14, CC,

2/28

8:00 PM

GRADUATE, THE (1967)

A recent college graduate has an affair with his neighbor's wife, then falls for their daughter.

Dir: Mike Nichols Cast:  Anne Bancroft , Dustin Hoffman , Katharine Ross .

C-106 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

10:00 PM

PRODUCERS, THE (1968)

A Broadway producer decides to get rich by creating the biggest flop of his career.

Dir: Mel Brooks Cast:  Zero Mostel , Gene Wilder , Dick Shawn .

C-90 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

The Producers