With our terrific friend, the talented author John Grant (Paul Barnett) and his wife Pam at Joey’s in Hewitt
HOPE AND GLORY director John Boorman at Film Forum on Wednesday night for a Q & A of his fabulous new film QUUEN AND COUNTRY
by Sam Juliano
Allan Fish is back, and this is cause for celebration for all of us here at Wonders in The Dark! Physically he is rebounding wonderfully, and he is back on the movie trail. The very best news in a very long time, and a time to give thanks!!
The Oscar show was a mixed bag. Birdman is a very good film for sure, but definitely not more deserving than Boyhood nor Selma, and the results of the entire marathon presentation were so predictable. I managed to win my own Oscar pool at our annual party attended by over 30, with 21 of 24 correct predictions, but the year wasn’t very challenging. The best aspects of the show were the speeches by Eddie Redmayne, Julianne Moore and the screenwriter of The Imitation Game, and Lady Gaga’s buffo rendition of the songs from The Sound of Music.
It was great to connect with my great friend, site regular and author John Grant (Paul Barnett) and his lovely wife Pam at Joey’s in Hewitt, New Jersey on Friday night for a chat at the musical show performed by singer and guitarist Gene Focarelli. Just a wonderful time with dear friends, with all but Melanie in attendance. the food was fine, and the music -song standards from the 60’s and 70’s- excellent.
We all got to see renowned film director John Boorman at the screening of his new film Queen and Country on Wednesday night. The 82 year-old director, offered up some fabulous deadpan humor during his introduction and Q & A after the showing. We had seen his masterpiece Hope and Glory two nights earlier on Monday. On Saturday night we saw a double feature in the Charles Laughton Film Festival, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Miserables:
Hope and Glory (1987) ***** (Monday night) Film Forum
Queen and Country **** 1/2 (Wednesday night) Film Forum
Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) ***** (Saturday) Film Forum
Les Miserables (1936) **** 1/2 (Saturday) Film Forum
Charles Laughton as Quasimodo in 1939 classic THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME.
Click on names for archives
Writers/Founders
It was great to see y’all the other night, Sam, but that’s a truly dreadful photo of me that Lucille took! Surely any of the others must have been better.
I didn’t bother watching the Oscars show, but will try to track down those three acceptance speeches you mention.
John, you look terrific there—you do quite underrate your larger-than-life physical presence my friend! Just about everybody has agreed the show was torture to witness in large measure, but yes it did have its moments, that are indeed worth investigating.
It was utter joy meeting up with you and Pam!!! 🙂
Quite the busy week Sam. Would have loved to see John Boorman, and Mr. Grant. Congrats on the Oscar pool. I never made it to the end, and I too did not approve of the Birdman win.
I hear ya Frank. I liked BIRDMAN, but no way it should have won the big prize. It didn’t even make my own Top 10. Definitely a great time with my friends John and his wife, and getting to listen to Mr. Boorman, who made everyone laugh riotously at the start when he made fun of the long after-film credits scroll, telling the audience that 90% of the names on it “did fuck all” for the film!!
Have a great week my friend.
I watched part of the Oscars last night Sam. I tuned in right as they were presenting the Best Cinematographer Award. What I saw these past couple of weeks…
The Disappearance Of Eleanor Rigby *** Bland indie romance with a dumb plot development. Nothing special, though Chastain is good as always. Don’t have much to say since the movie seemed so listless and ordinary.
Force Majeure ****1/2 Another wonderful foreign film from 2014 puts to rest any idea of this being a weak year in cinema. Darkly funny, with some thought-provoking moments. Force Majeure had great rhythm and was well edited. Superb cinematography also. I love how the problems of one couple start infiltrating the lives of the other.
Annabelle * I enjoyed The Conjuring, which brought plenty of genre thrills. This prequel, unfortunately, whiffed in every possible way imaginable. So bland, I struggled to stay awake.
Virunga **** I thought this documentary was going to be about endangered Gorilla’s in Africa, instead Virunga is about so much more. Powerful stuff.
Slowly but steadily I’m catching up to everything in 2014. I still need to see Winter Sleep, Foxcatcher, Interstellar, One Day Two Nights, Whiplash, Starred Up, Kill The Messanger, and a few other odds and ends, but 2014 is definitely coming into focus for me. I’ve now seen two ***** films and three ****1/2 films IMO, with some heavy hitters still to go.
Maurizio, I know well you are no adherent of the Oscars so your viewing revelation surprises me! Ha! But the show itself was nothing to celebrate over, too many boring patches and the wrong choice for Besr Picture and Director, though I liked BIRDMAN to a point. That cinematography award by the way should have gone to MR. TURNER, not BIRDMAN!! The two amazon parrots in my basement did react gleefully the next day though!! Alas I agree with you completely and unequivocally on ELEANOR RIGBY. Yes, FORCE MAJEURE is exceptional -one of the best films of the year- and you frame it beautifully. Yes, a further example that 2014 is quite memorable largely because of the superlative lineup of foreign language cinema and documentaries. Yes it is darkly funny and that avalanche scene is wholly unforgettable, and it is a fascinating character study indeed. I haven’t even bothered to see ANNABELLE, and your one star rating sounds perfect. VIRUNGA is indeed much more than a documentary about engendered gorillas and is powerful stuff, and I dare say you have some superlative stuff awaiting you, especially WINTER SLEEP, since you already greatly admire the director. But I have high hopes that you will connect with INTERSTELLAR, ONE DAY TWO NIGHTS and WHIPLASH of the others, though something tells me you will like STARRED UP quite a bit!! Thanks so much for the spectacular wrap my friend!!
I watched the Oscars last night, too. As usual, they dragged on too long. Neil Patrick Harris started off great and then ended up pretty lousy. The In Memoriam montage was lovely–why did they need to throw in a whole sad song after that? And then the Sound of Music tribute–you’re right Sam that Lady Gaga killed it, which I was not expecting, but why have that whole thing at all? It probably took at least 10 minutes when you add in the commercial break, and it was at a point in the show when everyone was already getting tired and waiting for them to wrap it up.
Anyway. Birdman is a good solid choice. It’s really quite a wild and unusual pick for Best Picture, and a comedy to boot, which doesn’t happen often. I liked it, but it is kind of overwritten and empty underneath, it’s just that its style and jazzy energy keep it highly entertaining throughout.
Anyway, I’m still getting my blog back on track, and should have my write-up of Best Movies of 2014 up by tomorrow night. So come around, anyone who’s interested. http://www.petrifiedfountainofthought.blogspot.com
-Oh! I did see a couple movies I could leave comments on, I suppose:
Jupiter Ascending ***–This movie is a cheesy mess, but I loved most of it anyway. I cannot in any way guarantee that anyone else will like it, but there’s something so gee-whiz excitable about it and good-natured that it’s infectious. It’s like the covers of a whole bunch of ’30s/’40s/’50s paperback sci-fi covers were brought to life, with little concern being given to making them feel realistic or fit together anyway. If you liked Guardians of the Galaxy, John Carter, Pacific Rim, and some of the wackier stuff Doctor Who does, check it out.
Kingsman: The Secret Service **1/2–This movie tries to be the ultimate fanboy wet-dream, filled with wild ideas and riffs on every aspect of James Bond and the whole super-spy genre. And some of it is really great. I wanted to like it. But the whole thing is shot through with a deep vein of vulgarity and meanness that undercuts all of the movie’s better instincts/higher emotions. It ends with a damsel in distress offering the hero anal sex if saves the world–and then when he does, he runs back to her and she turns over to offer her naked butt to him in porny POV shot, and then we cut to black! It’s this ugly juvenility that ruins the movie for me. I saw Jupiter Ascending and Kingsman back-to-back, and even while the latter was a far tighter, more coherent, and clever movie, one of them was sweet at the center and one of them was nasty, and I much preferred the sweet.
Song of the Sea ****1/2–This movie is just lovely. Everyone should see it when you can.
Stephen—-Thank you so much for the fantastic response here my friend! Thrilled to see you are getting your blog up and running again. I see see some of the posts and answered modestly, but I do need to take a good hard look at your best film of the year list, which I will do in short order. Your analysis of the Oscar show seems pretty much dead on, and I do agree that as good as Lady gaga was, it was just an odd choice for this particular show, no matter how much I adore THE SOUND OF MUSIC. The MC did sputter out, and the show was once again a tedious marathon. I really disliked THE KINGSMAN, and concur the vulgarity wears thin and is way over the top. And I love the way you size up the enterprise as juvenile, which is in in spades. I didn’t myself find any brilliance to speak of, but i know it has some fans. I did not yet see JUPITER, but much appreciate this splendid assessment. So I gather then by what you say that it is a guilty pleasure of sorts. And I agree completely on THE SONG OF THE SEA, which is just what you say it is. Thanks again my friend!
Hello Sam and everyone!
Well, it’s been quite the week alright. Glad to hear about Allan and about how well it all went with your party. On my part, I had a small meeting with some friends and we watched the Oscars and played some games. Nice stuff. I also wrote 10 days of Oscars feature at my blog, 10 reviews of 10 nominated films. HArd work, but rewarding.
So, the movies I saw last week:
– Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007, Sidney Lumet) ****1/2 Saw it for a project that you’ll probably see soon enough. Amazing movie by the way.
– Song of Spring (1931, Noburo Ofuji) ***1/2 While this is just a karaoke for Japanese people while they were waiting for the real film to start, this is somewhat emotional in terms of how the song might’ve meant something else at that time. Longing and people lost forever while the flowers filled the air with their scent. A shame that this doesn’t come with a backing singing voice, like other small animations of the time.
– Crossroads (1928, Teinosuke Kinugasa) **** Teinosuke Kinugasa must be one of the first Japanese directors that truly exploited the medium as art and not as just another way to deliver narratives that were classic. This and “Page of Madness” are among the most visually original films that I’ve seen so far in this road through the history of Japanese cinema. The film itself though is mostly melodramatic, the story about a brother and sister who have to survive in the city while he is being shamed (and later blinded) and she is constantly on the verge of being raped by creepy old men.
– Jupiter Ascending (2015, Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski) **** This was good. It’s interesting how it’s not only mentioned, but reinforced by the personality of Mila Kunis, that the fact that she is somewhat a replication of a former Space Landlady, doesn’t make her any more special, it doesn’t give her powers and she doesn’t become strong. Things still just happen to her, just like in the rest of her life, and that doesn’t mean that it is a movie that didn’t take the chance to have a more reactive or even active protagonist, but that the film itself just followed its themes about how entitlement and privilege aren’t accurate ways of demonstrating power or superiority, at least not anymore, which is all I dare to ask for a sci fi film that is mostly fun, never truly confusing in any way, and always interesting to see how the Wachowskis manage to create a world that works within itself without too much exposition. (Damn Budget Cuts!)
– Ghost Stories of Wanderer at Honjo (1957, Goro Kadono) **** The first four minutes of this film are filled with a madness that is deprived in the rest: an assortment of classic ghost creatures from the folk ghost tales of Japan start to haunt a pair of fishermen just to get the fishes that they just got, in a playful manner they eat their bounty while they are slowly dragged into a familiar plot regarding samurais, their masters, their wives, brothers, aunts and uncles, inheritances, murders and sword fights. In what is a classic, the final scene has a man finding ghosts around him that disappear and turn into something else entirely, specially if it’s a loved one. This one gets weirder in the end as well when the creatures have another chance of appearing and make some noise.
– Lightning Bryce (1919, Paul Hurst) ** Long-Ass Serial film western with supposedly some horror elements and a lot of racism against Asians and Native Americans. Not much else to say but a reflection: there were a lot of serials back in the day, from the 1910’s to the 1950’s and in some cases beyond that. Did people really care about the continuity between each episode? Did people really follow them episode by episode? I mean, this isn’t kids stuff, this had knives…
– The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015, Paul Tibbitt) ***1/2 I guess the time travel stuff made me laugh way way more than I originally thought it would, but I guess I’m a nut for time travel stuff, even if it features talking dolphins from beyond the galaxy and Squidward Rex.
That’s all Sam, have a great week!
Once again thanks so much for yet another spectacular submission here Jaimie. I have not yet seen the Wachowski’s JUPITER ASCENDING, but will do so as soon as possible. Your capsule is favorable enough without issuing any kind of serious praise. I completely agree with you on the Lumet film, which was a late-career triumph for the renowned director. The silent CROSSROADS is brilliant stuff, and you frame it superbly here. Ah, SPONGEBOB is still around, eh? Ha! Bringing up the kids always included his regular appearances. Sounds like it is at least worth seeing once. I am sorry to say I have not seen LIGHTENING BRYCE, SONG OF SPRING nor GHOST STORIES, but your reviews make then most interesting, especially the latter. I have to check out your Oscar nominated film reviews at your blog. Thanks again my friend!
The Academy Awards — Just couldn’t bring myself to watch it. Detest ‘How I Met Your Mother’ and Neil Patrick Harris’ smirking style of comedy.
Vastly prefer the resplendent Hungarian goulash of ‘Grand Budapest Hotel’ over the navel-gazing, tricked up meta-trash of ‘Birdman.’
And Emmanuel Lubezki wins the photography prize two years in a row for two films I vehemently dislike, but loses for a work of art like ‘The Tree of Life.’
Keep on truckin’, Oscar, you never cease to mystify me.
PS Oh, yeah, The Donald better start erecting that gold-plated barrier along the Rio Grande, because “those Mexicans” are now taking over the Oscars!
Mark, we are certainly in full agreement with THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL as greater film that the one that triumphed, BIRDMAN. Innaritu’s film didn’t make my Top 10 of the year, and I was disappointed though not at all surprised it won. However I liked it to some point, and I know you detested it. I am not the biggest fan of GRAVITY, but thought it decent enough, and like the cinematography for whatever it is worth. There is no mystery to Oscar, just a regular and dire progression of injustices, with some unavoidable instances where they call it right. Great to see you here again my friend, you have been sorely missed. Have a great week! LOL on what you say about the Mexicans taking over the Oscars! 🙂
Your lovely treasure trove package arrived last Friday – thank you so much.
I am having trouble using my right hand right now and typing is quite difficult so will be short.
Your week looks wonderful and it has been awhile since you have put up 5 stars for films. I have added them to my list
Did not watch the Oscar’s just watched Downton Abby We have had TV for 4 weeks now and have watched 4 Downton Abby s and 1 Superbowl. I think we are hopeless – we have not gotten the new habit even!
Congratulations to Melanie on her award
Patricia—–so happy to hear it arrived my friend! Sorry you have had to endure the problem with your right hand. I know you’ve had a tough time as of late. The five star ratings I gave of course were for HOPE AND GLORY (1987) and THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1939), two films I simply adore. Sounds like you did very well with DOWNTON ABBY!! Thanks so much for the kind words about Melanie! I hope you have a much better week! 🙂
Sam –
I’m so glad to learn that Allan Fish is back hot on the movie trail; that’s wonderful news!
Winning 21 of 24 Oscar predictions is stellar! I saw a short clip of Meryl Streep cueing up the “In Memoriam” segment, and Eddie Redmayne’s acceptance speech. I was impressed with both.
I always enjoy when you include a photo, today’s post is no exception.
Aye Laurie—very happy news that Allan is back. Thank you so much my friend! Yes 21 of 24 was a high watermark for me, though as I say the favorites won most of the categories. I completely agree with you on Redmayne’s speech and Streep’s lead-in to that somber segment. Thanks so much for the very kind words my friend. Have an excellent week! 🙂
Sam,
Well, I haven’t check in my blogs and other things lately and found your note finally…
I’ve been busy for months preparing for movie screening events and a couple of writings (in Japanese) about movies for private publications. We did a screening of “Night Nurse (1931)” to introduce precode movies to audiences here. I did the Japanese subtitles and video materials… To simulate the experience of movie-going at the time, we included newsreels from 1931, Betty-Boop cartoon and “Blonde Crazy” trailer. It went great. It wasn’t a large audience, but the audience reaction was wonderful. After the film, we asked Mr. Reid of pre-code.com to do a presentation on pre-code films, including historical background and socio-political issues surrounding at the time. It was one of the most detailed, well-prepared and completely over-the-top presentation I have ever seen on any subject. It has been taped and up on YouTube. I will write up the article on that at my site soon.
I am preparing the next screening… making the subtitles for “The Sniper (1952)”. (You see, any film prior to 1953 is in public domain in Japan. )
Also I wrote two rather long detailed analysis on “Universal Frankenstein Sequels” and “Michael Bay’s Transformers”. Ah, I can hear your deriding curse, “Transformers?? What analysis?” Well I learned a lot, doing a comparison between Transformers and, of all things, “Ben-Hur”. It was huge task on shot lengths and shot analyses, actually measuring the length of every shot in the movie. When many critics use the term “Bayhem”, probably they don’t know what they are talking about. Actually, Bay and his team of editors are quite unique in their approaches to the action-scene editing and probably more effective than any other editing teams in contemporary Hollywood. I also did the analysis on “Grand Torino”, “Bourne Supremacy” and “Fast Five” and learned a lot.
By the way, I saw “American Sniper” a few days ago… oh well, I know it is getting more controversial than ever in United States, and the debate seems to be more political than artistic. It is very difficult to separate political aspect of this film from the whole narrative. One of the things I found very interesting (thought-provoking) is the lack of where and when. It just says “First Tour” or “Second Tour”, but you don’t know it is in 2003 or 2005. Or in Fallujah or Sadr City (until it is casually mentioned). And this vagueness prompted me to think more carefully about these events in the movie.
In any case, thanks for dropping the note to remind me to update on things with you.
MI
So great to see you back on the board my great friend! Yes, I had felt your absence acutely, and wanted to leave a comment to let you know that. That is phenomenal what you say about doing the subtitles and video materials for the modest pre-code classic NIGHT NURSE (well remember watching it at the William Wellman Festival at the Film Forum a few years back. Definitely a worthwhile venture! Wow, I would have loved to be a fly on the wall for that pre-code presentation, as that era is one of my favorites. Our friend Judy Geater would have appreciated to be there as well. And the Betty Boop and trailer for “Blond Crazy” are just what the doctored ordered, pun intended! Your promise to report on this is terrific news!!! Wow, I never knew that every film post-1953 is in the public domain in Japan! That opens up a lot of fantastic possibilities. THE SNIPER is another excellent choice to tackle! Well, I am hugely interested in the Universal monsters and BEN-HUR, but yes I am not on THE TRANSFORMERS bandwagon, but respect how you used it for comparative purposes. The time frame issues you have with AMERICAN SNIPER is definitely legitimate. I have very mixed feelings about the movie, and part of that is connected to the political controversy, but strictly for entertainment it is decent enough methinks. So thrilled you are back doing great things my friend!
It’s good to see Allan back and with such an excellent posting. Wishing him all the best.
I also hope you are having a good week, Sam. I’m jealous of you for seeing those Laughtons on the big screen, but thanks for sharing the fantastic still! Also nice to see the pic of you with John Grant, even if he didn’t like the picture! My week has been rather busy so far, but I’ve managed to see a couple of films.
I went along to Ipswich Film Society expecting to see Frank Sinatra’s fantastic performance in ‘The Man with the Golden Arm’ on the big screen, but sadly the print didn’t arrive so they had to come up with a substitute – and the choice was Billy Wilder’s ‘Kiss Me, Stupid’. Despite my pang over not getting to see ‘Golden Arm’, I really enjoyed the Wilder film, and was quite surprised to see that most critics don’t seem to like it – I thought it was very witty and clever, and surely not much ruder than ‘The Apartment’!
I’ve also seen an early British talkie on DVD, ‘Fascination’ starring Madeleine Carroll, which I’m going to write up for a blogathon – quite good although a bit rough around the edges, and with very bad sound as it’s from a decaying nitrate.
Anyway, wishing all the best to all at Wonders.
Judy—-in behalf of Allan, I thank you so much! The week has been going along fine, but it remains mighty cold around here. Winter just doesn’t want to let go. I would have liked to see more films in the Laughton Festival, but those two worked into the schedule, though we have all seen them many times over the years, like others in the festival. It has been years since I saw KISS ME STUPID, and your invigorated response makes me want to take another look. That was surely a bizarre occurrence with the print mix up, but it did seem to have worked out for you. That could well be Sinatra’s best role, and film, though I know FROM HERE TO ETERNITY fans would argue otherwise. But as I say I will take another look at that Wilder. I look forward to your upcoming review on FASCINATION, which I have not yet seen! Thanks again for the fabulous comment here my friend, and have a fine upcoming weekend!
Sam,
Yes a big welcome back to Allan! Glad he is back on the film trail. I could only make it through half the Oscars, and even then, I was in and out for most of the first half. Doogie is far too smug for my taste and I found him not very engaging. My other major peeve with the telecast? Too many songs! For an award show about film, it sure seems alot like the Grammys. Why don’t they have actors doing skits or something instead of the songs? Showcase some acting or something more related to film. Each nominated song gets its own 4 minutes of fame, yet they spend less than 2 minutes talking about each of the nominated FILMS in their entirety. Sheesh.
We have been under the weather here. Laura has pneumonia, and I have a cold so this week has been challenging. I haven’t caught up with any films this week as I’ve been too tired in the evenings to tune in. This weekend I’m hoping to pick up some of the films I’ve missed, like Birdman, Wild, and Force Majeure.
Looks like you caught up with some classics this week. I honestly can’t recall if I’ve ever seen Hope and Glory before. It doesn’t sound familiar to me. I will need to look into that one. Have a great weekend Sam!
Aye Jon, definitely celebration time at Wonders in the Dark! And Allan sounds quite upbeat as well he should!
Most people have the same issue with the Oscars, and with this particular host. The show is always much too long, and the motivation to stay the course is fueled much more by wanting to know what wins -as of late their choices have been rather dire- rather than the mundane aspects of the show itself. This is all a given with the overwhelming majority–where do we see anyone singing the show’s praises? Ha! Yes the song category has yielded some of the worst choices on record in the past years, but that has been the routine for decades. They always perform all five nominees, and this practice has notoriously slowed the show down, as if it needed another reason. Very very sorry to hear your wife has had a bout with pneumonia! I hope it did not require hospitalization. I’ve had that twice in my life, and one of those times I was inside for two days. FORCE MAJEURE particularly of those planned viewings is the one I’d be most interested in hearing your response to! LEVIATHAN, WINTER SLEEP, TWO DAYS ONE NIGHT and VIRUNGA are others that immediately come to mind that you should see if the opportunity availas itself.
Despite the difficulty as of late to figure you out – 🙂 – I’d lay down a half million in Vegas that you will adore 1987’s HOPE AND GLORY, and I plan this week to make it very easy for you to see it! Ha! It is YOUR kind of movie John!!
Have a great weekend my friend!
wow – “The Hunckback of Notre Dame” on the big screen, that’s got to be the pick of the week. What was the print like? Would love to see Criterion release that one.
Bobby J., my friend, thank you!!! The days when you were on the MMD in comprehensive force were the glory days for the site, and just so great seeing you back!! Yes, the print for THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME was rather pristine for sure!! I too would celebrate if Criterion would tackle this, though I am thinking Warner has the rights. Seeing it again was cinematic bliss, and I was thrilled to have my son Sammy along, watching it for the very first time! Thanks so much my friend!
Sam, that is absolutely great news about Allan! I am so glad to hear it.
I was thrilled to read of the Boorman Q and A. What a unique and special experience that is! I will be looking forward to seeing his latest. Also reading your post reminded me that I still to run down the Laughton HUNCHBACK. That is not one unfortunately I have seen yet.
This week was mostly still BREAKING BAD for me but I did manage one film at home, Bujalski’s COMPUTER CHESS. I think I am a probably a bigger fan of the filmmaker than you are but like you his latest did leave me a little disappointed. I remain very interested to see what he continues to do as I believe strongly in his talent and intelligence but it is hard to tell where exactly his career will end up going.
Hoping you are having a great week. Thanks so much, Sam!
Thanks so much Jeffrey! I will relay your kind words to Allan! Yes, the Boorman Q & A was fascinating, and the director sported a great caustic wit and some wonderful insights into the making of the film. You did remember well that I was no fan of COMPUTER CHESS, even though -ironically- I have been a passionate chess player through my life. But I am probably way too harsh on the director all things considered, especially in view of the excellent reviews he’s received through his career. Thanks so much my great friend! Yes HUNCHBACK is definitely essential. Have a great upcoming week!