Guru

Reviewer: James Van Maanen
Rating (out of 5): ***½ for Thank You, Mr. Moto; *** for Think Fast, Mr Moto; ***½ for Mr. Moto Takes a Chance, and **** for Mysterious Mr. Moto.

Think Fast, Mr. Moto, the first in the famous Asian detective series that gave Peter Lorre his rare chance to play the hero (and disc 4 in Volume One of 20th Century Fox's "Mr. Moto Collection") is quite an entertaining piece of work. Clocking in at just over an hour, this 1937 movie is exotic fun that features Lorre surprisingly subtle, underplaying a smart guy who's not averse to simply shooting a sleazbag or dumping him overboard into the middle of the ocean. (Some of our current cinematic heroes and heroines could take a lesson from Lorre and stop stupidly allowing the villain to live - thus making a dumb movie continue for another unnecessary half-hour.) Moto's side-kick here is the heir to a shipping line, nicely played by Thomas Beck, who provides a rather innocent counterpart to Lorre's all-wise-all-the-time sleuth. The first Moto I've seen, it was good enough to have me queuing up for the rest. The DVD quality is rich and sharp, as well.

Reviewer: Erin Donovan
Rating (out of 5): ***½

Is it Really So Strange? examines the enormous popularity of the 80s Manchester pop band the Smiths (and its massively charismatic and mysterious lead singer, Morrissey) with young Hispanic and Latino kids in East Los Angeles. It sounds incredibly niche but director William Jones transcends the "hey, look at my t-shirt collection" consumerist bent that stains fandom to show how these kids have used the lyrics and persona of Morrissey to carve out an identity for themselves in a place that nearly condemns all of their religious, cultural, sexual and personal expressions.

One of the most fascinating sections of the film starts when the subjects begin to account their fan-geekery exchanges such as fainting at a brief touch of Morrissey's hand at a concert, stalking him at his home, tattooing his autograph on their bodies and tough guys ("greasers") breaking down into tears at tribute band Sweet & Tender Hooligans' concerts. But when pressed almost every fan interviewed in the film insists they would probably not enjoy spending any length of time with the man outside of his performances, citing his narcissism, cynicism and possible racism as factors that would shatter the image they hold of him and that, ultimately, it's the music, not the
personalities, that saves lives.

The film was recorded with a one-chip camera and with many of the interviews recorded only using the local mic, so it can be a bit excrutiating at times to make out what people are saying. But Is It Really So Strange? remains a great story, told in perhaps the only way it could: low-fi.

In a similar vein: My Life With Morrissey, Gypsy 83, 24 Hour Party People, New York Doll (Moz was president of the NY Dolls fan club).

Linkage: The director's website; Sweet and Tender Hooligans tribute band (Strange features several members along with footage of their performances).

Reviewer: James Van Maanen
Rating (out of 5): ****

Yes, some Samurai action does figure in The Hidden Blade but action lovers best be warned that this mostly quiet, thoughtful and lovely movie is more about justice, kindness, decency and - especially - love. Call it a classy chick flick with some swordplay. Director and co-writer Yoji Yamada has now made nearly 100 films (including the recent Twilight Samurai). His new one steeps you in the time and habits of 1800s Japan, as western influence - particularly in weaponry - was beginning to assert itself. At the outset, we meet three samurai: one of them leaves for fame and fortune elsewhere, and we remain behind with the family of one of other two, watching as love grows between master and servant, and the story twines around loss, politics (particularly greedy incompetent overlords). Though lengthy, the movie is never slow or uninteresting because the scenes of daily life are filled with such fascinating detail and the plot strands come together gracefully and believably. While Yamada integrates all his themes beautifully, it is the love story that attains most impact: Here is a film that demonstrates what real love is - how it grows and survives against heavy odds - about as well as any I've seen. The swordplay arrives rather far along: a riveting and suspenseful climactic battle and a denouement featuring the blade of the title that is quietly shocking. Despite some violence and a bit of gore, I'll bet most women will love this film. Men - along for the fights and thrills - may learn a number of useful things about communication and caring in a foreign culture that applies quite well to our own. The Hidden Blade, a very special movie, was nominated for multiple Japanese Academy awards. Though it won only for its art direction and actresses, it's hard to imagine anything topping it in the other realms.

More reading: Samurai primer >>

Reviewer: James Van Maanen
Rating (out of 5): ***½

It often seems as if Australian filmmakers do something pretty odd for our digitalized, high-concept times: They put people first. The best Aussie writers and directors stock their films with characters who are rich and complex, funny and moving, and above all, real. Recent examples have included Two Hands, Little Fish, Peaches and Somersault. Now arrives Oyster Farmer as another--maybe the best--case in point. This first full-length movie from writer/director Anna Reeves is chock-a-block with wonderful characters (lusty and unembarrassed, among other traits), an exotic locale (the Hawkesbury River, outside of Sydney, where the locals farm oysters) and a surprisingly good story that combines a bit of crime and adventure with coming of age and romance. You may guess where things are going but the lovely time you have getting there more than makes up for a whiff of déjà vu.

Reviewer: James Van Maanen
Rating (out of 5): ****½

I find it hard to believe that any movie buff out there has not yet seen Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls, the late Russ Meyer's jaw-dropping non-sequel to the equally jaw-dropping (for different reasons) Valley of the Dolls, Mark Robson's "go" at the Jacqueline Susann novel. Erin Donovan's review captures the camp of the earlier film, but Meyer's movie (made three years later) is camp of a very different order. Although classy dames like Dorothy Kingsley and Helen Deutsch did the screenplay for the original Valley (hoping somehow to have their cake and eat it, too), the Beyond script comes from Roger Ebert (yes, him), and he wants to stuff the entire meal down our throat. This was his first attempt at a screenplay and, though by decade's close he'd written two more for Meyer, nothing - from him or anybody else, before or since - has ever come close to the entertaining lunacy of this wild film. Here is the world of 1970 in all its garish colors, costumes, hairstyles and expanding sexual habits plus "Gee, kids, let's put on a rock band," transgender, decapitation, lesbian allure, crossing the color barrier and finally - I kid you not - a denouement in which Ebert and Meyer try to take us all to church.

• About Baghdad ***½
• Battleground: 21 Days on the Empire's Edge ***½
• The Dreams of Sparrows ****
• Gunner Palace ***
• Iraq in Fragments [interview] ****
• Last Letters Home: Voices of American Troops from the Battlefields of Iraq ***½
• Occupation Dreamland ****
• Uncovered: The War in Iraq ***
• Voices of Iraq **
• Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers ***
• Patriot Act: Jeffrey Ross Home Film ***
• The War Tapes ****

Not yet on DVD:
• Soldier's Pay

Also see:
• Sergio Vieira de Mello: En Route to Baghdad

The Life and Death of Col Blimp is not my favorite of Michael Powell's films, but to me, this is like saying one Van Gogh is not quite as good as another -- each film, each work, is a masterpiece in its own way, from a director who never made a weak film. And in Colonel Blimp, there is much to delight, much to revel in. What also occurred to me while watching the Criterion DVD is how a filmmaker who in many ways worked in a world, a time, a place so foreign to Americans in my generation, can still captivate so completely. With this particular film it takes a bit more time to become involved, but as with all of Powell's films is well worth the effort.

What it has, too, is an absolutely magisterial performance at its center -- that of Roger Livesey, who literally gave the performance of a lifetime as the film follows his Clive Candy over the course of 40 years, from his days as a young soldier to his last days as part of the old guard -- as he ages, Livesey is never less than convincing throughout. Unlike a lot of more recent performances in which actors age through makeup and overacting, Livesey is extraordinary, making you forget he's not actually aging. He would act in non-Powell films but it's his work in Stairway to Heaven, I Know Where I'm Going and particularly Blimp that he will forever (I hope) be remembered. (The DVD features a slight but insightful documentary about the film in which Stephen Fry does a rather keen and affectionate impression of Livesey)

To be eligible for our random drawing, send an email to contest@greencine.com, including your name, email address and, if you're a GreenCine member, your username in the email, and "One Take Only" in the subject header. Entries without all this information will not be considered. The deadline is Friday, August 25, at 12PM PST. Winners will be notified by e-mail and announced in future editions of the GreenCine Dispatch newsletter.

3rd prize winner will win a copy of the One Take Only DVD; 2nd prize will win a DVD of One Take Only and a DVD of Ab-Normal Beauty; 1st prize will win One Take Only, plus an Ab-Normal Beauty DVD autographed by director Oxide Pang!

Reviewer: Erin Donovan
Rating (out of 5): ****

In Somersault, first-time director Cate Shortland carves out a quietly insightful film about the messiness of adolescent sexuality, growing up poor and generational warfare with a sparing touch that keeps characters from suffocating under the weight of some of the more melodramatic moments. The performance of twenty-four year old Abbie Cornish cannot go without mention. In Heidi she embodies the guile and wonder of youth without veering into narcissistic petulism as wayward teenagers tend to be presented. Already this year Cornish has films coming out with Russell Crowe, Heath Ledger, Cate Blanchett and Kimberly Peirce (writer/director of Boys Don't Cry).

Reviewer: Craig Phillips
Rating (out of 5): ***½

With his shattering, if occasionally hard to watch, United 93 now out on DVD, I highly recommend paying a visit to Paul Greengrass' earlier, brilliant Bloody Sunday. The film's a knockout, so charged is the atmosphere it recreates - the fateful day in 1972 in Northern Ireland when a civil rights protest turned deadly, capturing the chaos and frenzy of street anarchy better than just about any film since Battle of Algiers. Sunday was criticized by some in Britain for having a "pro-Ireland" bias, but this is cin�ma v�rit� - gripping, even shocking stuff. Don't miss it.

Two reviewers, two very different opinions on the Anthony Mann Western The Naked Spur. Either way, both agree you should check out Mann's Westerns in general. Read on:

Reviewer: Craig Phillips
Rating (out of 5): ***½

After starting his career in Hollywood as an assistant director (for Preston Sturges, among others), Anthony Mann went on to direct a string of tough B-movies in the mid-1940s before really hitting his stride as a director of noirish crime dramas. But it was for a string of Westerns - the first of which was Winchester '73 in 1950 - he made with James Stewart that Mann made his mark.

While 1953's The Naked Spur is not the best of the Mann-Stewart collaborations - I'd reserve that slot for Bend of the River and The Man from Laramie, and The Far Country (aw, heck, they're all good!), Spur remains a taut, intelligent Western all the same. (Film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum considers it his favorite of Mann's pictures.)

Reviewer: Craig Phillips
Rating (out of 5): ****

I originally saw the truly marvelous documentary Promises at San Francisco's Jewish Film Festival a few years ago and then saw it again on the recently released DVD, and found it both times to be nothing less than one of the most moving documentaries of the last few years. It a crucial film, too, given the seemingly never-ending, tragic war between Israelis and Palestinians, and the lack of truth we receive from the evening news and the leaders of both groups. The film depicts both sides of the struggle and the daily violence they all must live with through the eyes of the children, who, sadly, are all susceptible to the propaganda spouted by their parents. Some of them also show enough of an individualist spark to give us all hope, but where they likely would have never crossed paths or acknowledged their counterparts on the "other side," the filmmakers B.Z. Goldberg (who is the on-screen presence), Justine Shapiro and Carlos Bolado took the bold step of bringing them together. The parents of the more open-minded of the Israelis, brothers Yarko and Daniel, warily allow them to accompany the filmmakers to meet the similarly athletically inclined Faraj, a short ride away but many worlds apart, in an eye-opening (for the Israelis and for us) meeting in a Palestinian refugee camp. The gathering is intensely moving, giving us hope for the future even if the headlines often make us feel the hope is short-lived. Promises manages to do what many other documents of the Middle East have not: illuminate without preaching and manipulating.

Reviewer: Erin Donovan
Rating (out of 5): ***

When the president of a floundering Madison Avenue advertising agency keels over and dies on the conference table during a meeting, the board calls for a vote to designate a new president. Each of the men are so disappointed that the bylaws prohibit voting for themselves that they all abstain by voting for the only black man on the board. And this is how Putney Swope becomes the president of the advertising agency. He decides that since the company is already doomed he might as well go down in flames. "Rockin' the boat's a drag," he says, "Whatcha do is sink the boat!" He immediately fires all the white people, renames the agency "Truth and Soul, Inc.", and puts all the clients who make war toys and cigarettes on notice.

The satire Putney Swope is a bit less cutting than it undoubtedly was in the late sixties but the film's earnest weirdness rewards multiple viewings and perhaps demonstrates that LSD was not all bad. The television spots created by the new agency include: a psychedelic montage of topless girls jumping on a trampoline before deciding to have an orgy with a random passerby (to sell Lucky Airline travel, of course), a redneck beauty queen getting pied in the face with chicken pot pies, and a double amputee hocking life insurance by proclaiming "they charge an arm and a leg, but it's worth every penny!" And then there's director Robert Downey's decision to dub in all of Swope's dialogue with his own gravelley, white voice - a decision necessitated by the actor's inability to remember his lines and the low-budget shooting schedule - that now reads like a brilliant stylistic choice.