Present Tense: No Lord of the Rings, But the Diabolical Mr. Tucci is Worth the Price of Admission

The Film: The Lovely Bones (WingNut Films, 2009). Directed by Peter Jackson. Written by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Michael Imperioli.

Pictured: Stanley Tucci's Mr. Harvey, builder of doll houses, in The Lovely Bones.

This, That & The Other: Poor Peter Jackson. Once you've directed The Lord of the Rings trilogy, what else can you do to top it? Well, The Lovely Bones does not offer much in the way of competition. It is a garden variety fusion film - part fantasy, part murder mystery (even though you know whodunnit), part suspense. The reason to see this film is Stanley Tucci, whose deliciously sinister bad guy completely steals the show. I've loved Tucci since his magical film Big Night - a true masterpiece in every sense of the word. Tucci is magnificent in The Lovely Bones. He stands out so far and so above everybody else in the film that all the rest of his fellow actors appear to be sleepwalking. Tucci's thoroughly disturbed George Harvey is a fully realized film character - fastidious yet mumbly, sinister and, at the same time, tragic. If there is any justice, The Lovely Bones ought to finally net him the Oscar he is long overdue to receive. The rest of the characters? Mostly cardboard cutouts. I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of Saoirse Ronan, the sour-faced younger sister of Keira Knightley's character in Atonement. Of course, Ronan was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in Atonement, and maybe should have won it. Her character in The Lovely Bones - Susie Salmon - is much more likable, yet her melodramatic narration is extremely grating after a while. Only Tucci and Ronan manage to elevate The Lovely Bones to something slightly compelling. Once you walk out of the theater, you will pretty much forget everybody else in the movie.

The Bottom Line: I can't say I loved this film, but I quite enjoyed it and it kept me watching to the end. The CGI effects were thought-provoking yet limited. The screenplay contained no flagrant shortcomings, but there weren't any memorable lines to speak of. The film's suspenseful moments will make you grip your armrest. As I said, it cannot be easy for Peter Jackson to live in the shadow of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. His 2005 King Kong was admirable and had some spectacular moments, but, on subsequent viewings, it doesn't hold up quite as well. He also produced last year's slightly overrated District 9, a political/allegorical science fiction film set in South Africa. Like King Kong, D9 was compelling (and it was much more original than Kong), yet it wasn't really Jackson's film, despite the name association. The Lovely Bones will not be studied decades from now, the way The Lord of the Rings will. But it still has much going for it. It beautifully recreates suburban America the early 1970s, in a way that few films do. It rattles the nerves in certain scenes. There are interesting touches of existentialism and spirituality throughout the film. And the diabolical Mr. Tucci lights up the screen every time he is on it.

These factors made it worth the price of admission.

The Film Ron Howard Should've Watched Before Directing Splash

The Film: Night Tide (Phoenix Films, 1961). Directed and written by Curtis Harrington. Starring: Dennis Hopper, Linda Lawson, Gavin Muir, Luana Anders. Running time: 84 minutes.

My intro to the film: First viewed it in 1989. My old buddy and fellow film buff Dee Wolfe loaned it to me on VHS. Thanks, Dee! (Dee loaned me a lot of movies that I'll be reviewing here in the future...)

What can I say about this movie?: Ten things oughta sell this sucka: 1) Dennis Hopper at age 25 (six years after appearing in Rebel Without a Cause); 2) A mysterious woman named Mora (Linda Lawson) who's either a human or a sea creature/siren disguised as a woman (nah-nah-nah! I'm not givin' it away here!); 3) The great beatnik subterranean scene where Hopper's character Johnny Drake first meets the Mora - and the chemistry that later develops between them; 4) The strangely hypnotic scenes of early 1960s' Malibu and Santa Monica; 5) Luana Anders as the young woman who warns Hopper not to get involved with Mora; 6) The atmospheric cinematography by Vilis Lapenieks; 7) A surprisingly decent screenplay for such a low-budget movie by Curtis Harrington (Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet, Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?); 8) The film keeps you guessing whether Mora is really a mermaid/sea creature, and it finally resolves the mystery; 9) Why are all these people warning Hopper to stay away from Mora? Is she really so dangerous?; 10) You can watch the film free online at the Internet Archive. Most of the prints of the film that I've seen are pretty lousy in quality, but the beatnik musical sequences hold up extremely well.

Some additional ramblings: Night Tide is a compelling, dream-like, rock-bottom-budget film from the early 1960s. The oceanside setting of Night Tide, the beatnikish flute music throughout the movie and Hopper's believable performance as a confused young sailor add to the intrigue. We want the film to end happily for Johnny/Hopper, but the sense of dread deepens with each frame. This is the final film of character actor Gavin Muir, a recognizable face who appeared in countless Hollywood movies. He elevates the film several notches with his performance as Mora's troubled caretaker.

Bottom line: This movie is by no means a masterpiece, but an eerie and absorbing piece of cinema nonetheless. One of the better made low-budget films made during the heyday of Grade-Z drive-in fare. It paved the way for Herk Harvey's Carnival of Souls, released the following year. And Night Tide demonstrates that just because the budget is almost nonexistent, the film need not be a piece of schlock like The Beast of Yucca Flats.

Footnote that I didn't wish I had to add: The legendary Dennis Hopper is currently struggling with cancer. In October, the 73-year-old actor was admitted to the hospital with flu-like symptoms. While some news outlets are claiming that he is losing the battle against prostate cancer (source), he is in my thoughts. He is a wonderful actor. He has had such an amazing career. He is an icon of American cinema. And he ought to have many good years ahead of him in the movies. Let us all wish for a recovery for Dennis Hopper.

Roman Polanski's Work of Twisted Genius

The Movie: Repulsion (Compton Films, 1965). Directed by Roman Polanski. Written by Roman Polanski and Gerard Brach (adaptation and additional dialogue by David Stone). Starring Catherine Deneuve, Ian Hendry, John Fraser, Yvonne Ferneaux. Running time: 105 minutes.

My First Viewing: About 25 or 26 years ago, in a theater in Pasadena, California, with an Englishman named Mick who loved movies.

The Straight Dope: This is Roman Polanski's first English-language film, shot in mid-sixties London in glorious black and white. How to describe it to someone who hasn't see it? It's a deeply disturbing film, directed by a troubled man. I just noticed the film has a 100 percent approval rating over at Rotten Tomatoes, so the critics clearly love it. Polanski was only 32 when he made this dark horror film about a young woman Carole (played by ghostly Catherine Deneuve), a sensitive and troubled young Belgian beautician who's clearly on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She lives in a spacious London pad with her sister, Helen (Yvonne Ferneaux). There seems to be a lot of distance between the two sisters. Helen is more outgoing. She's a product of Swinging Sixties London culture. In fact, she goes on a vacation with a married man, leaving poor, tormented Carole alone in the flat for an extended period. This is where the nightmare begins, as Carole begins to spiral downward into total madness while she's a alone. The stark cinematography by Gilbert Taylor only adds another nightmarish layer onto this already surreal motion picture. Carole is not helped by the fact that she suffers from androphobia (the fear of men). While Helen is away, Carole retreats deeper and deeper into her own fragile insanity. She stays locked up in the flat, and all the food begins to go rotten (there is a scene of a decaying chicken that you will not ever forget). Best not to give too much away, other than to say that about midway through the film, you can tell it isn't going to end well. Let's just say there's a landlord in the film who really shouldn't have tried so aggressively to get Carole into bed.

Why I... uh... was troubled by this film: It's a damn disturbing movie. The rotting chicken has stayed in my mind for over a quarter of a century (that's a hell of an image not to be able to shake for 25-plus years). The film is now available from the Criterion Collection (right). There's a great sneak preview on the Criterion website (just tap the link in the previous sentence). Psychological horror films do not come any more unsettling than this one. Also, watching the film two and a half decades after I originally viewed it, I was struck by Polanski's ability to relate to women and portray them as multi-dimensional, fully realized characters. If you don't believe me, watch Repulsion - or have a look at Rosemary's Baby (1968), Chinatown (1974), Tess (1979) or Death and the Maiden (1994). Each film contains a complex female protagonist. You can trace Polanski's perceptiveness back to Repulsion.

Bottom Line: It may not be your cup of tea, but watch it anyway, if you want to see a nightmare beautifully portrayed on film. Only a troubled man like Roman Polanski, with the Holocaust in his background and a host of demons roaming around in his closet, could have created such an elegant and ultimately horrifying work of art. Grade: I am not going to grade films anymore. The "Bottom Line" entry should suffice.

The Great Depression, Bogdanovich Style

The Film: Paper Moon (The Director's Company, 1973). Directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Written by Alvin Sargent. Starring Ryan O'Neal, Tatum O'Neal, Madeline Kahn, John Hillerman, P.J. Johnson. Running time: 102 minutes.

My first viewing: Whoah Lord, I don't know. Back in the 1970s sometime. I've seen the film so many times, I've lost track. Seems like the first time I saw it, I must've been seven or eight. It came on television often in Southern California. Hell, for all I know, I might've seen it in the theaters.

The 4-1-1: Paper Moon is one of those films that's like an old friend. I watched it over and over again, much like The Wizard of Oz (1939). Firing it up in the DVD player today, I feel the same sense of comfort I experienced when I viewed it decades ago. For some reason, during the 1970s, filmmakers made magnificent movies set in the Great Depression (recall Chinatown, Bound for Glory, Boxcar Bertha, Sounder, the list goes on and on). Paper Moon is yet another wonderful Great Depression movie from the seventies. It's a movie about a con man and a little girl who may - or may not - be father and daughter. The sparks between the O'Neals (papa Ryan and sweetly Tomboyish little Tatum) is nothing short of awe inspiring. What a delight it is to watch the two of them engaged in verbal boxing matches. It still works beautifully today, 37 years later. Madeline Kahn is a damn hoot as the floozie Trixie Delight, who spends her time trying to get her hooks deeper and deeper into Moses Pray (Ryan O'Neal). Young Addie Pray (Tatum) conspires along with Trixie's African American servant Imogene (P. J. Johnson) to drive a wedge between Trixie and Moses. Watch out for scene stealer Burton Gilliam as the foolish desk clerk Floyd, who is one of Addie's many pawns in the film. Gilliam is one of those character actors who is everywhere. You'll recognize him when you see him. He has a smile that can stop a train dead in its tracks. And John Hillerman, who played snooty Higgins in Magnum P.I. during the 1980s, turns up as twin brothers. Like Gilliam, Hillerman is one of those character actors who found an awful lot of work in the 1970s. Although he's from Texas, he has one of those great Orson Welles-esque deep baritone voices. He's in top form here, especially in his role as the sheriff. This was, of course, right before he landed the part as the deliciously slimy Russ Yelburton in Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974).

The Real Star of the Film: Without question, the main reason to see this film is the astonishing cinematography by László Kovács. His stark, high-contrast black-and-white shots of Kansas and Missouri absolutely boggle the mind and recreate the grandeur of Dorothea Lange's Great Depression photographs. Thanks to him, Paper Moon bears a much closer resemblance to America in the 1930s than any films actually made at the time.

Bottom Line: Peter Bogdanovich was on fire when he directed Paper Moon. Look at his filmography: Targets (1968), The Last Picture Show (1971), What's Up Doc? (1972) and Paper Moon (1973). All superb films. Alas, after Paper Moon, he began making films like Daisy Miller and Nickelodeon. Nothing that Bogdanovich has made since Paper Moon comes close to touching the film. Thankfully, in recent years, he has been writing some wonderful film criticism and he remains one of the finest film historians in the United States today. Nobody understands the language of cinema more than Peter Bogdanovich. Without question, Paper Moon was - along with The Last Picture Show - his finest moment. Grade: A-.

Blog Spotlight: Apocalypse Later

The Blog: Apocalypse Later: Welcome to my journey of through a hundred and some years of cinema

The URL: http://www.apocalypselaterfilm.com/

The Blogger: Hal Astell

Why it's a Great Blog: Hal Astell has been blogging about film for several years. His blog actually dates back to 2000, but it really begins in earnest in 2007. Astell describes himself as a "transplant from the rain and beauty of northern England to the sun and desolation of Phoenix, AZ." He loves cinema and it shows. His output is extremely prolific and the entries are often detailed and thorough. In 2007 alone, he posted 542 times. He posts almost daily, sometimes several times a day. His film reviews are perceptive, fair and he has a great eye for detail. And he's a splendid writer to boot. He is especially into classic Hollywood cinema, which is near and dear to my heart. But his tastes are quite eclectic and he often reviews foreign films and more contemporary movies as well. His knowledge of film is encyclopedic, to say the least. And the Blog is often a sumptuous feast for the eyes, as he makes excellent use of numerous movie posters and lobby cards. Astell has, for all intents and purposes, created a masterful film reference guide which, if it were to appear in book form, would take up numerous volumes and cost a fortune. But the purpose of a Blog is to share thoughts and insights with people for free, and to that end, Astell has performed an invaluable service.

Bottom Line: Apocalypse Later might be the finest film blog I have ever encountered. I highly recommend that you take a look at it. You, like me, will probably end up spending a great deal of time there.

Present Tense: Avatar (2009) - a science fiction masterpiece for our times

The Film: Avatar (Twentieth Century Fox, 2009). Directed and written by James Cameron. Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel Moore, CCH Pounder, Wes Studi. Running Time: 162 minutes, though it feels like 62 minutes.

In a Nutshell: For once, the hype holds true. There are movies. And there is Avatar. The film is in a league of its own. If there was ever a movie mold, Avatar has shattered it. The film costs gazillions of dollars to make and, believe me, you can see every single nickel of it on the screen. Visually, there simply hasn't ever been another film like it. The crystal clear images - rendered in state-of-the-art 3D - lack the smudgy blurriness earlier generations CGI (computer graphic image) effects. Avatar, in other words, sets the special effects bar at a whole new level, the way Star Wars did back in 1977. Let me say this in big, neon letters, surrounded by blinking lights: YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS FILM IN THE THEATERS! If you don't, you'll be depriving yourself of one of the most incredible filmgoing experiences in recent history. The plot? Well, there seems to be a culture of silence surrounding this film. People who've seen it just don't talk about the plot very much. My son saw it last month and all he could say was that he loved it. Briefly: Corporal Jake Scully (Sam Worthington) is a gung-ho disabled Marine who takes the place of his recently deceased twin brother in an experiment pioneered by Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver). Turns out that Jake, Dr. Grace and Norm (Joel David Moore) are the key players in the Avatar Program. They control genetically-engineered Na'vi versions of themselves. The Na'vi inhabit the planet Pandora. They're much taller than humans. They're blue. They're cat-like. They have lithe bodies and they live in dense jungles, amidst colossal trees and cliffs that will make you uneasy if you have vertigo. The three human avatars - Jake, Dr. Grace and Norm - use their genetic shells to live among the Na'vi in order to win their hearts and minds, to pave the way for a corporation that plans to mine the planet. Adding to the intrigue: Jake has been tapped to help the Marines led by sinister Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) and the sinister corporation conquer the blue race of feline beings. To make a long story short, Jake falls in love with female Na'vi warrior Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and, like John Dunbar (Kevin Costner) in Dances With Wolves, he comes to love the people he is sent to conquer. As for the rest of the film, well... See it for yourself. I have probably already given too much away. I'm glad this Blog wasn't around when The Crying Game (1992) was out in the theaters. I probably would've given the twist ending away in that film.

Why I Loved This Film So Much: This truly is an astonishing film that leaves the viewer flabbergasted. James Horner's moving musical score harkens back to his score for Glory (1989) in its emotional power. We'll be seeing a lot more of Sam Worthington, an Australian actor who was apparently living out of his car when James Cameron cast him in the film. He delivers a heartfelt performance in the film. The rest of the actors are in top form, too, and the incredible alien animals steal all of the scenes in which they appear. Avatar is perhaps the most intensely political film to come out of Hollywood in years. But it doesn't beat you over the head with its politics. Instead, it allows you to feel the emotion of the tale, in much the same manner as the aforementioned Dances With Wolves. Avatar has been sixteen years in the making. Apparently, Cameron wrote a treatment for the film back around '94, and he believed in it so passionately, he spent much of the 2000s developing and filming it. The result is science fiction on a grand scale. It has to be seen to be believed. It is truly a work of art.

Parting Shot: Avatar should cement James Cameron's place as an auteur of the first order. Avatar is a monumental achievement. Hundreds of years from now, it will be regarded as one of the cinematic gateways into the new millennium, a seismic moment when filmmaking took a quantum leap forward. (And, damn it, after watching history in the making, I wasn't about to chuck my Avatar 3D glasses into the 3D glasses recycling bin at the movie theater). Grade: A+.

"Take Your Flunky and Dangle...": Words from a flawless film

The Film: Miller's Crossing (Circle Films, 1990). Directed by Joel Coen. Screenplay by Joel and Ethan Coen. Starring Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, John Turturro, Albert Finney and John Polito. Running time: 115 minutes.

When I first saw it: I saw Miller's Crossing when it was in the theaters in the fall of 1990, at a multiplex theater on the south side of Madison, Wisconsin.

Above: Bernie Bernbaum (John Turturro) pleads with Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne) to spare his life in the Coen brothers' masterpiece Miller's Crossing (1990).

About the Movie: Miller's Crossing was one of those films that seemed to come out of nowhere and made a lasting impression on me. This Coen Brothers' film - their first since 1987's Raising Arizona - is a brilliant homage to American hard-boiled novelist Dashiell Hammett and his taut tales of gangsters navigating their way through labyrinths of vast corruption. This is an impressive film in every respect. It contains an unforgettable musical score by regular Coen Brothers' collaborator Carter Burwell (The Big Lebowski, No Country for Old Men, etc.). The performers are utterly fantastic in their roles (even the minor players - especially the minor players!). The cinematography by Barry Sonnefeld (who would later direct Men in Black) is some of the most breathtaking in any film. Joel Coen's direction is tight, as always. But the best thing about this film - by far - is the mind-boggling screenplay, co-written by the Coens. When I saw the film in 1990, the screenplay instantly became my all-time favorite. It remains so to this day. You have to see it to appreciate it. The dialogue alone is a work of art. The film depicts the harrowing adventures of a prohibition-era tough guy Tom Reagan (stunning Gabriel Byrne), a confidant and advisor to gangster political boss Leo O'Bannon (Albert Finney). Unbeknownst to Leo, Reagan is secretly involved with Leo's girlfriend Verna Bernbaum (Marcia Gay Harden), a tough-talking gun moll. Reagan and Verna loathe one another, yet they have one problem: They're sexually addicted to each other. Byrne and Harden have intense chemistry in this film. It reverberates off the screen. They utter dialogue throughout the film like this:

Tom: All in all, not a bad guy - if looks, brains and personality don't count.

Verna: You better hope they don't.

Problem is, Leo's rival Johnny Caspar (played beautifully by John Polito) wants to knock off Verna's brother, an opportunistic bookie named Bernie Bernbaum (John Turturro). Seems Bernie has been cheating Johnny - and not just once, but over and over again. The film thrusts forward from the first frames and not a millisecond of it is wasted. Tom decides to go rogue on Leo and, in the process, gets the crap beaten out of him over and over again by various gangsters. It's amazing he's alive by the end of the film. He's probably the smartest and toughest guy in the history of gangster cinema, yet his machinations can sometimes prove puzzling. In fact, we have a difficult time figuring out his raison d'etre in the film until the final few minutes. I won't give anything away, except to say that Tom plays one gangster off of another from start to finish. His motives remain a mystery, but they become apparent by the closing credits. And it is well worth the wait.

My reasons for falling in love with this film: The stars were all lined up here: The acting, the cinematography, the direction, the musical score - and most of all, the screenplay. That dream screenplay! This is one of the few flawless films I've seen in a lifetime of watching movies. There are so many unforgettable moments in Miller's Crossing. Where to begin? My personal favorite scene is when Tom has been assigned to take Bernie Bernbaum (Turturro) out into the woods at Miller's Crossing to be executed. To watch Bernbaum/Turturro pleading for his life is to witness some of the finest acting ever captured on film in the history of Hollywood filmmaking.

Bottom line: I know the word "classic" has become hackneyed, but I can't think of another word to describe Miller's Crossing. No wonder Time magazine hailed it as one of the 100 Greatest Films of All Time back in 2005. Gangster movies do not come any better than this one. When, early in the film Leo (Finney) tells Johnny Caspar (Polito), "Take your flunky and dangle" (tough guy talk for, "You and your friend leave my office"), you know you're in store for a treat. Leave it to the Coen Brothers to take us on an authentic ride through a landscape of corruption, violence and the journey of one man who may or may not be decent. Oh, and did I forget to mention that Steve Buscemi is in the film? He's in only one scene, and it isn't very long, but I promise you: You'll never forget his slimy character, or any of the other toughs and ne'er-do-wells who inhabit this masterpiece. Grade: A+.