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From ZERO to 6 ♥s. 100% ad-free. Run on pure love for movies, documentaries and TV-series. December 2024: Countdown to: Lists of the best and worst of 2024 - Upcoming review: Ishtar (1987) - Now with 2,300+ reviews!
Eagerly anticipating this week ... (17-24)
Johnny Depp's Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness (2024)
Jerry Lewis looks his trademark loony self on this bright and colorful poster for Frank Tashlin's The Geisha Boy
An American magician without much traction in his career flies to Japan to help entertain US troops there, but soon a local orphan boy clings to him...
The Geisha Boy is written and directed by Frank Tashlin (The First Time (1952)), based on a story by Rudy Makoul (Teenage Thunder (1957)).
As often the case in Jerry Lewis' (Boeing, Boeing (1965))/Tashlin films, the level is unsteady: Lewis is too much, and a bit later he is funny, and then a bit later too much again and ...
The story is somewhat bizarre: Lewis ridicules Japanese in some sequences, but the boy simply loves him regardless. (Still, the bizarro factor is surely higher in Lewis' infamous lost Holocaust clown movie, The Day the Clown Cried (1972).)Little Robert Hirano as the orphan boy is unbeatably cute.
[The Geisha Boy premiered 3 December (Chicago) and runs 99 minutes. Shooting took place from June - August 1958 in California, including Los Angeles. The film recorded 1.3 mil. admissions in France but other release details are regrettably scarce online. Tashlin returned with Say One for Me (1959). Lewis returned in Don't Give Up the Ship (1959). 1,807 IMDb users have given The Geisha Boy a 6.5/10 average rating.]
A cool and smudgy, dirty-looking, sand, blood and tar-colored poster for Giancarlo Santi's The Grand Duel
A sheriff captures a young man, who is sentenced for execution, and brings him to the town of Saxon City. But here the town's powerful tyrants don't agree with the sheriff about the transgressions of the young, long-haired delinquent!
The Grand Duel is written by Ernest Gastaldi (Prey of Vultures/Un Dólar de Recompensa (1972)) and directed by debuting Giancarlo Santi (Once Upon a Time in the West/C'era una Volta il West (1968, first assistant director)).
Lee Van Cleef (Ripcord (1962-63)) is the sheriff, who can stop a bullet with his teeth and control everything, and Alberto Dentice (The Girl Who Couldn't Say No/Tenderly (1968)) is photogenic as the doomed junior. The film is full of fun and good action, - in particular falls and explosions, - and many stand-offs, before the story arrives at the evil brothers of Saxon City: One of them gay, in a white suit, with ugly pockmarks in his face and a predilection for massacres!
The Grand Duel is obviously almost a knock-off of Sergio Leone and others' great spaghetti western hits from the preceding years; it is complete with an Ennio Morricone-like score (by Sergio Bardotti (Summertime Killer/Un Verano para Matar (1972)) and Luis Bacalov (Sea of Dreams (2006))), close-ups by the boatloads and lots of returning, 'significant' flashbacks. Don't look for a dramatic of thematic width here, but The Grand Duel is entertaining.
Watch the film's title sequence here
Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertain
[The Grand Duel was released 29 December (West Germany) and runs 98 minutes. Shooting took place in Italy, including Rome, around July 1972. The film was not released in most of its 13 listed markets until in 1974, including USA. Some of the film's score was reused in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003). Santi returned withQuando c'era Lui... Caro Lei! (1978). Van Cleef returned in Mean Frank and Crazy Tony/Dio, Sei Proprio un Padreterno! (1973). 2,660 IMDb users have given The Grand Duel a 6.5/10 average rating.]
The recurring cast members of the third season of Lena Dunham's Girls in a messy hotel room arrangement makes up its poster
Creator/co-director/co-star Lena Dunham's (Camping (2018, TV-series)) amusing New York-set youth comedy returns with regulars Hannah (Dunham), Marnie (Allison Williams (American Dreams (2004, TV-series)), Jessa (Jemima Kirke (Wild Honey Pie! (2018)) and Shoshana (Zozia Mamet (The Boy Downstairs (2017)) as the girls, and regular boyfriends Adam (Adam Driver (Frances Ha (2012)) and Ray (Alex Karpovsky (Happy Baby (2016)).
The following contains SPOILERS:
Jessa has been to rehab, and three of her friends drive up to take her home from there, but all four are caught in teenage-like behavior systems (ep. 2: Truth or Dare). Hannah's crazy magazine editor boss (John Cameron Mitchell) gets found dead in the Hudson River, and Hannah's response doesn't compute as the proper amount of grief according to her surroundings (ep. 4: Dead Inside). Hannah escalates her blunted reaction by using his funeral as a venue for her getting a good book deal. Marnie begins an illicit affair with Shoshana's first real boyfriend Ray. Hannah somehow lands a job at GQ magazine and worries about her creative writing, and whether boyfriend Adam will cheat on her, as he has landed his first Broadway acting job.
A rather extreme episode (ep. 9: Flo) has us meeting Hannah's mother (whom we knew), but also her aunts and cousin - and the group of women seem to compete in being the most unbearable, hysterical, ridiculous and bothersome. This, of course (?), around the passing of Hannah's grandmother (June Squibb). Luckily not a relatable episode on my part.
Jessa relapses to her drug problem, as Marnie explores her singing talent, and Adam breaks up with Hannah for a spell. She quits her magazine job and trashes everyone there on the way out, and later discovers Ray and Marnie's affair. (Quite funny ep. 11: I Saw You).
Shoshana discovers Ray's infidelity and is infuriated, but her attempts at winning him back are unsuccessful. Jessa helps a handicapped artist she works for with euthanasia, then thinks twice and calls 911. For Hannah, the series ends on a high note, with a promise of something new.
The child-like young adult characters sometimes are more pathetic and irritating than funny, as the season kicks off, and their very short perspective on reality also wearies considerably, especially in the first half of the season.This puts a depressant weight on the show, which only in its best episodes feels fresh still in season 3, which ends with a promise of a new start for Hannah, still a good hook to return to Girls.
Best episodes:
Episode 7: Beach House - Written by Dunham, Jenni Konner (Undeclared (2001, TV-series)), Judd Apatow (This Is 40 (2012)), Sarah Heyward (SKAM Austin (2018, TV-series)); directed by Jesse Peretz (New Girl (2011-12))
The four girls take a weekend trip to Marnie's parents' swanky Hamptons house, where Marnie's meticulous activities and 'healing' program gets scrapped, as Hannah instead invites Marnie's gay ex and his three gay friends to party and spend the night with them. Steam is let out in this maybe one of the best episodes of the series overall.
Episode 12: Two Plane Rides - Written by Dunham, Heyward; directed by Dunham
Hannah is accepted to writers' grad school in Iowa. Adam is sulking after his Broadway premiere and pushes her away from him. The Marnie-Ray-Shosh situation culminates. Jessa has a life/death dramatic experience.
[Girls -
season 3 premiered 12 January - 23 March on HBO and runs 12 episodes
averaging 28 minutes, totaling approximately 336 minutes. Shooting took
place in New York. The season had ratings from 278k to 1.11 mil. viewers
in North America, an improvement from the previous season. The cast
returned in season 4 in 2015. The season was nominated for 2 Golden Globes and 2 Emmys. Dunham also wrote Cover Girl (2014, short) and acted in Happy Christmas (2014) during the year of season 3. Kirke did not get more credits before season 3; Mamet gave a voice performance in Back to Backspace (2014, TV short) and acted in High School USA! (2013-15); and Williams returned in College Musical (2014) and Peter Pan Live! (2014, TV movie). Girls - season 3 is certified fresh at 91 % with an 7.85/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
The two male stars hold guns and look tough in a blueish light, surrounded by darkness, on this poster for John Gray's The Glimmer Man
An odd couple of LAPD homicide detectives are up against a highly active serial killer with a religious spin on his misdeeds.
The Glimmer Man is written by Kevin Brodbin (Mindhunters (2004)) and directed by John Gray (Footlights and Flatfeet (1984)).
Se7en (1995) meets 48 Hrs. (1982) in this abomination, a thoroughly uninspired, poorly erected construction filled with racial stereotypes and clumsy attempts at humor. The stars, Steven Seagal (The Onion Movie (2008)) and Keenan Ivory Wayans (I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988)) exude no qualities together on-screen.
The Glimmer Man has the obligatory fights, which with their awkward moves will delight some Seagal fans, as he here sports Asian dresses and pearls with no explanation offered. The giant explosions are also on hand here, but The Glimmer Man is still a bottom of the barrel turkey.
[The Glimmer Man was released 4 October (USA) and runs 92 minutes. Tommy Lee Jones dropped out of playing the villain part shortly before shooting; Brian Cox took over. Shooting took place from February - May 1996 in Los Angeles, California. The film opened #2, behind The First Wives Club, to a 7.6 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its second week and grossed 20.3 mil. $. The-Numbers.com claims that the film made 16 mil. $ internationally, which would give it a 36.3 mil. $ final gross and designate it a huge flop. Gray returned with 9 TV movies, miniseries and TV-series before his theatrical return with White Irish Drinkers (2010)). Seagal returned in Roseanne (1996, TV-series) and theatrically in Fire Down Below (1997); Wayans in Most Wanted (1997). The Glimmer Man is rotten at 11 % with a 3.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
A picturesque, dramatic, beautifully colored dramatization of a US Civil War scene makes up this fine poster for Edward Zwick's Glory
In 1862 during the American Civil War, Colonel Shaw of the Northern Union army is tasked with forming its first unit made up of African-American soldiers; the men's engagement is finally honored in battle.
Glory is written by Kevin Jarre (Rambo - First Blood Part 2 (1985, story)), based on the letters of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and novels Lay This Laurel (1973) byLincoln Kirstein (Paul Cadmus (1984)) and One Gallant Rush (1965) by Peter Burchard (Jed (1960, short story)), and directed by great Illinoisan filmmaker Edward Zwick (About Last Night (1986)).
The film is an enormously handsome production, and James Horner's (Vibes (1988)) score is deeply affecting. Zwick gets masterful performances from especially Denzel Washington(A Soldier's Story (1984)), who shines up against Morgan Freeman (Nurse Betty (2000)), Matthew Broderick (Marie and Bruce (2004)) and Cary Elwes (Walk the Talk (2007)).
Glory also has a truly captivating story with real presence of history to it. It therefore disappoints some to note that the film apparently has several factual errors in it.
Still this is arguably Zwick's finest film, a nearly masterful work.
Watch a short 30th anniversary teaser for the film from TCM here
Cost: 18 mil. $
Box office: 26.9 mil. $ - North America only
= Uncertain
[Glory was released 15 December (USA) and runs 122 minutes. Shooting took place from February - April 1989 in Georgia and Massachusetts, including Boston. The film contains several factual errors/fictional inventions: No soldiers marched in cold mud without boots at the time; flogging had been abolished; and the majority of the unit's soldiers were not former slaves, - among other things. The film opened #17 to a 63k $ first weekend in 3 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #8 and in 811 theaters, grossing 26.8 mil. $. It is impossible to ascertain the film's box office status without international gross numbers. The North-American gross alone only gives the film status as 'big flop', but the world gross could be high enough to alter this - or perhaps it wasn't. The film was nominated for 5 Oscars, winning 3: It won for Best Supporting Actor (Washington), Cinematography (Freddie Francis (Our Virgin Island (1958))) and Sound. It lost Best Art/Set Decoration to Batman and Editing to Born on the Fourth of July. It also won 1/5 Golden Globe nominations, was nominated for a BAFTA, won a Grammy and a National Board of Review award, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Zwick returned with Thirtysomething (1987-90) and theatrically with Leaving Normal (1992). Broderick returned in The Freshman (1990); Washington in Heart Condition (1990); Elwes in Days of Thunder (1990); and Freeman in The Earth Day Special (1990, TV special), The Civil War (1990, TV documentary miniseries) and theatrically in The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990). Glory is certified fresh at 93 % with a 7.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
A man dramatically throws his arms in the air before a woman's enlarged face on this highly uninformative poster for Fatih Akin's Head-On
A German woman with Turkish roots marries another German-Turkish man to get her conservative Turkish family off her tail. But their agreement upon a strictly proforma marriage doesn't work the way she had imagined...
Head-On is written and directed by great German filmmaker Fatih Akin (Short Sharp Shock/Kurz und Schmerzlos (1998)). The original title translates to, 'up against the wall'.
Akin has made a brave and wonderful film here, which lays bare the patriarchal hypocrisy of the Turks as well as their destructive social control. His honest reveal here makes it tragic that the film didn't inspire consequences for German immigration policies. Head-On shows us the destitution and despair which exiled Turks and especially their children and grandchildren can wind up with, when they remove themselves from their parentage. Finally it is a major win for the film that it manages to show this dramatic course interlaced with subtle, infectious humor and warmth.
The musical pieces, - beautiful traditional Turkish songs seemingly recorded by the Bosporus Strait in Istanbul, - are strange and fascinating breaks in the story, which keeps one's focus aligned on the foreign reality, which the German Turks operate in.
Both lead roles are acted with undaunted and deep connection by Birol Ünel (King of Thieves/König der Diebe (2003)) and Sibel Kekilli (What a Man (2011)), and especially the latter is fantastic as Sibel; beautiful, charming, heart-breaking, funny and reckless. Head-On is one of the year's finest cinematic experiences.
[Head-On premiered 12 February (Berlin International Film Festival) and runs 121 minutes. Shooting took place in Germany and Istanbul, Turkey. The film opened #58 to a 5k $ first weekend in North America, where it peaked at #51 and in 9 theaters, grossing 435k $ (4 % of the total gross). The film's 3 biggest markets were Germany with 5.3 mil. $ (48.2 %), Italy with 1.3 mil. $ (11.8 %) and Turkey with 1.1 mil. $ (10 %). The film won the Golden Bear prize in Berlin, was nominated for a David di Donatello award, won 2/7 European Film award nominations, was nominated for an Independent Spirit award, won 5 German Film awards and a Goya award, among many other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one. Akin returned with a segment in Visions of Europe (2004), Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul (2005, documentary) and theatrically with The Edge of Heaven/Auf der Anderen Seite (2007). Ünel returned in Kalbin zamani (2004); Kekilli in Kebab Connection (2004). Head-On is certified fresh at 91 % with a 7.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
Barbra Streisand pinches Seth Rogen's cheek in a car on this poster for Anne Fletcher's The Guilt Trip
A physicist inventor plans a pitching trip through several American states, and when he learns that he was named after his mother's great lost love, who resides in San Francisco, he invites her to join him on the trip.
The Guilt Trip is written by Dan Fogelman (Tangled (2010)) and directed by Anne Fletcher (Step Up (2006)).
As you may realize from the plot outline above, this film's title may be catchy, but it isn't very pertinent to the actual film, since it is curiosity and love more than guilt which fuels this trip. Barbra Streisand (The Owl and the Pussycat (1970)) and Seth Rogen (Neighbors (2014)) fit each other as mother and son like a glove, and her sweet and intrusive interference in his life reaps chuckles and is (for me at least) easily recognizable.
The Guilt Trip is a sweet and good-natured film, although it gets near to the inconsequential in nature; both its dramatic and humorous elements could have benefited from a gear or two more. Still the stars make up to some degree and make this an enjoyable pastime.
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: 40 mil. $
Box office: 41.8 mil. $
= Huge flop (returned 1.04 times its cost)
[The Guilt Trip was released 19 December (North America) and runs 95 minutes. The script was based on a real-life trip Fogelman took with his mother from New Jersey to Las Vegas. Shooting took place around May 2011 in Arizona, New Mexico, Memphis, Tennessee, Las Vegas, Nevada and in California, including Los Angeles. The film opened #6 to a 5.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it grossed 37.1 mil. $ (88.8 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Australia with 1.6 mil. $ (3.8 %) and the UK with 1.5 mil. $ (3.6 %). Fletcher returned with Hot Pursuit (2015). Streisand retired from acting again after the film; she has only since turned in a voice performance on an episode of Modern Family (2016); Rogen returned in 4 short and TV-series credits prior to his theatrical return in This Is the End (2013). The Guilt Trip is rotten at 37 % with a 5.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
