Classic Movie Picks: January

by Lani

Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies Now Playing guide for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)

My New Year's resolution is to "discover" a new film each month by watching something I've never seen before. January has many interesting prospects; in fact, of the 21 films I've listed here, I've only seen 7! Happy New Year, and here's to another year of classic movies!

Star of the Month: Angela Lansbury
I first came to know Lansbury on TV, as novelist & amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote. At that time, I had no idea that television was just the latest arena of entertainment in which Lansbury had made her mark. As Robert Osborne details in his Star of the Month article, Lansbury's long career includes great successes in film, on Broadway, and on television - a feat that arguably no other entertainer can claim. TCM is airing her films each Wednesday in January and I've singled out some of my favorites below; however, the entire month's line-up looks strong. I am especially looking forward to the TCM premiere of a production of Sweeney Todd which was filmed for television in 1982, and stars the Broadway cast. I also highly recommend TCM's Private Screenings interview with Lansbury, airing on January 25. True to form, her interview is one of the best of the series!
1/4, 12:15 AM - The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
1/11, 10:15 PM - The Three Musketeers (1948)
1/18, 10 PM - The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
1/18, 2:15 AM - The Court Jester (1956)
1/25, 8 PM - Private Screenings: Angela Lansbury
1/25, 9 PM - Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1982)
1/25, 11:30 PM - Death on the Nile (1978)

Starring Joseph Cotten
He may not be the Star of the Month, but Joseph Cotten is an actor who I always enjoy watching. Cotten gets the spotlight in prime time on January 2nd. That evening I'm especially interested in the premiere of The Steel Trap (1952), a race-against-the-clock thriller co-starring Teresa Wright (another of my faves) as Cotten's wife. He also stars in the period drama Under Capricorn (1949) on January 19, part of the month-long tribute to cinematographer Jack Cardiff, and in Love Letters (1945), a romance co-starring Jennifer Jones. In one of those "only in Hollywood" situations, Cotten had previously starred opposite both Wright and Jones - in Shadow of a Doubt (1943) and Since You Went Away (1944), respectively - but both times he played the actress's older uncle, not a love interest!

1/2, 11:15 PM - The Steel Trap

1/19, 8 PM - Under Capricorn

1/21, 10 PM - Love Letters

1/3: Happy Birthday, Marion Davies!

6 AM - 6:30 PM, 9 films

These days Marion Davies is probably better known for her real-life role as William Randolph Hearst's girlfriend, rather than for her many films. Hearst's championing of Davies' film career, for better and worse, is the stuff of Hollywood legend. Teen-aged Marion was already a Broadway veteran when Hearst vowed to make her a star in pictures. He used his newspapers to give Davies publicity and even created a production company devoted to making her films; however, Hearst's insistence that Davies star in serious dramas, rather than the comedies at which she excelled, also hampered her career. Despite the behind-the-scenes machinations on her behalf, the truth remains that Davies was a charming performer whose talent speaks for itself.

1/31: Governor's Award Winner - James Earl Jones

12 AM - Claudine (1974)

2 AM - Gardens of Stone (1987)

As a prelude to February's "30 Days of Oscar" programming, tonight's films honor the Governor's Awards recipients for 2011, including two TCM premieres starring James Earl Jones. I'm especially interested in Claudine, a working-class romance that was made as a conscious alternative to the blaxsplotation films of the 70s. It was the first, and unfortunately last, project of the Third World Cinema Corporation, a partnership of famous black artists that set out to train minorities in film production and make films which presented a dignified portrayal of African-American life. Gardens of Stone is a story of soldiers stationed at Arlington Cemetery during the Vietnam War; it boasts a rich cast of character actors, including Elias Koteas, Dean Stockwell, and Laurence Fishburne, and was directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

BONUS: TCM is honoring more pioneering African American filmmakers - Charles Burnet, Gordon Parks, Ossie Davis, Sidney Poitier, Melvin Van Peebles - on January 16.

Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It

by AJ

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is an intense action thriller that by many accounts, including my own, is the best of the series. This movie finds IMF team leader Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and the entire Impossible Mission Force disavowed after a mission inside the Kremlin goes terribly wrong. Nevertheless, his team still has to stop a madman from instigating nuclear holocaust, but without the vast resources they would normally have.

The most thrilling scene involves Cruise scaling the side of the world’s tallest building in Dubai. He’s more than 100 stories up and the special gloves that provide an extra strong grip aren’t very reliable. The real thrill comes when he has to figure out how to get back down the side of the skyscraper - without the gloves. This sequence, like the rest of the movie, is expertly shot and edited and completely engaging. I was too wrapped up in the action on screen to wonder about the movie magic behind these incredible sequences. The action set-pieces are exciting, but not over the top; I found myself thinking what Ethan Hunt must have been thinking in those situations: “This is a terrible idea, but it’s all I can think of right now.”

The Dubai skyscraper sequence is the centerpiece of the movie, but the other action scenes before and after aren’t lacking in any way. Most action movies are only concerned with explosions, guns, fights, and noise. Ghost Protocol has all of those things, but they are never without a purpose and are certainly not run of the mill. Like every action movie in recent years, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is influenced by The Bourne Identity and its sequels, but it doesn’t flat-out copy Bourne (unlike a lot of recent action movies). It’s well paced, has interesting characters, a not-too-flimsy but not-too-complicated plot, great visual effects, and did I mention thrilling action?

Credit for all of this goes to cinematographer Robert Elswit, editor Paul Hirsch, and especially director Brad Bird, whose previous films are the animated The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and The Iron Giant. Bird's live-action debut proves that talent and skill can translate to any type of film.

Christmas may have passed, but it’s not too late to treat yourself to one of the best films of the year. And for an extra treat, see it in IMAX or the new IMAX Experience, the sound system is the same even though screen is not a true IMAX screen (6 stories tall, 8 stories wide) but you’ll be too engrossed in the movie to notice.

Best of 2011 Gift Guide

by Lani

Many film critics have already published their "Best of the Year" lists, but as a member of the general public I haven't had a chance to see some of the year's most critically-acclaimed films. There are many intriguing films coming to theaters before the end of the year, and I hope to add some of them to my personal "best of" list. However, some of my favorite films of 2011 are already out on DVD. With roughly a week of shopping time left before Christmas, here are some suggestions that should appeal to any movie-lover on your list.

Cedar Rapids - Ed Helms (The Office) stars as naive, small-town insurance agent Tim Lippe, who is called upon at the last minute represent his company at the annual regional convention. Tim must rely on three convention veterans (John C. Reilly, Anne Heche, and Isiah Whitlock, Jr.) to help him navigate his way through the intimidating, and sometimes corrupt world of Midwestern insurance. This film could easily have been called Mr. Lippe goes to Cedar Rapids because, in the tradition of Frank Capra's classics Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, it is the story of an innocent in cynical world. Helms is an appealing everyman whose guileless sincerity is never grating, and Reilly is hilarious as "wild man" Dean Zeigler. If given the choice between Helms' gang of bros from The Hangover 2 and his Cedar Rapids pals, I'd be be cashing in my drink tickets at Horizons with Zeigler & Co. every time.

Super 8 - Anyone who embarked on some creative effort as a child - whether it was making a movie, putting on a play, or forming a band - knows the thrilling potential of such a scheme to go from fun to fiasco fairly quickly. One minute you're making a werewolf costume out of tin foil and Styrofoam cups, the next you're wearing that costume, handcuffed, in the back of a police cruiser. (That exact situation never happened to me, of course...) I was reminded of that thrill while watching the young protagonists of Super 8 set out to make their zombie movie, despite facing near-death as witnesses to a spectacular train derailment. The accident may have unleashed a dangerous alien force upon their small town, but the kids will have to wait a couple days while their film is developed to know for sure (they didn't have handheld digital video recorders in 1979, after all). Director J.J. Abrams intentionally pays homage to the films of Steven Spielberg, balancing the sentimentality of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial with the moodier atmosphere of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. And like Spielberg did with Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore in E.T., Abrams has cast talented young actors to play characters who actually resemble real children.

Bridesmaids - A lot of the press around this film labels it as a raunchy comedy...but for women! However, what I really appreciated about this movie was not that it showed women "acting like men," but that it showed women acting like regular human beings. So many films that center on "best friends" do little to establish why the two women would be friends in the first place; so when the supposed besties suddenly turn on one another in order to further the plot, there's no sense of loss because their friendship seemed unlikely to begin with. (I'm looking at you, Bride Wars.) In contrast, the friendship in Bridesmaids between maid-of-honor Annie (Kristen Wiig) and bride Lillian (Maya Rudolph) feels true; and when the stress of the wedding causes friction between them, it doesn't feel contrived. I think of this film as one part The 40-year Old Virgin, one part I Love Lucy, and a little bit Anne of Green Gables. Wiig shines as the down-on-her-luck Annie, proving she has a range beyond the manic characters she's known for on Saturday Night Live. The supporting cast is also excellent, especially Melissa McCarthy as a brash in-law and Rose Byrne as a too-perfect trophy wife.

Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen's latest film may not be his best, but it is his biggest hit with audiences so far. What makes it so appealing? Well, there's the charming lead performance by Owen Wilson as Gil, a fledgling novelist who idealizes the arty, bohemian milieu of Paris in the Twenties. Then there is the element of fantasy, which Allen previously used to great effect in The Purple Rose of Cairo; one night Gil finds himself living his 1920s dream, rubbing shoulders with Hemingway, Picasso, and an enchanting Parisian fashion designer named Adriana (Marion Cotillard). And, of course there is Paris itself. Just as he did in Manhattan, Allen begins this film with scenes of the title city set to a gorgeous piece of music. Even if you don't share Gil's rose-colored view of Paris (sorry, no city is better when it's raining out), you can't help but be a bit swept away by this opening sequence.

Cedar Rapids, Super 8, and Bridesmaids are all currently available on DVD and Blu-Ray. Midnight in Paris will be available on Tuesday, December 20. Happy Holidays!

Classic Movie Picks: December

by Lani

Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies Now Playing guide for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)

12/6, 8 PM & 11 PM - A Night at the Movies: Merry Christmas (2011)
This new TCM documentary is all about iconic holiday films. The Night at the Movies series offers the standard fare of film clips mixed with interviews, but there are always interesting bits of trivia that make these hour-long docs worth a look.
BONUS: TCM has scheduled 30 holiday-themed films this month and you probably haven't seen them all, so why not tune in on December 6, 13, 16, 20, 24, and 25 for a little Christmas spirit!

12/10: Directed by Edward Dmytryk
8 PM - The Caine Mutiny (1954)
10:15 PM - Obsession (1949)
12 AM - Back to Bataan (1945)
1:45 AM - The End of the Affair (1955)
3:45 AM - Till the End of Time (1946)

Edward Dmytryk worked his way up through the studio system from messenger boy to editor at Paramount, and eventually directed films for Monogram, Columbia, and RKO. As one of the Hollywood Ten, Dmytryk was blacklisted for his connections to the Communist Party and imprisoned for 6 months on the charge of contempt of Congress. After a brief exile in England, he went before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1951, and agreed to name names. His testimony made him a controversial figure, but he continued to work directing studio films for 20 more years. Tonight's line-up features two pre-HUAC war films (Back to Bataan, Till the End of Time), one psycho-noir made in England (Obsession), and two of his high-profile post-blacklist efforts (The Caine Mutiny, The End of the Affair).

Till the End of Time has particular significance for Dmytryk since it was on this film that he met his second wife, actress Jean Porter. Though they were married until Dmytryk's death in 1999, the union had an unfortunate effect on her career - because their romance began while Dmytryk was still legally married to his first wife, MGM punished Porter by refusing to hire her again. Despite the controversy that surrounded him, Dmytryk was a skilled director whose films are worth watching.

12/13, 11:45 PM - The Great Rupert (1950)
Jimmy Durante and Terry Moore star in this film about a poor family who receives a little help from above - in the form of a squirrel named Rupert. It is a cute, holiday film which young children (and, of course, the young-at-heart) will especially enjoy.

The 12/13 showing is part of TCM's Christmas programming, but this film is also playing on 12/3 at 9 AM.

12/22, 8 PM - On the Case with Nick and Nora!
I'm especially looking forward to the early Christmas gift of all six films starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as amateur detectives Nick and Nora Charles. The first, The Thin Man, is probably the best, but all these films are worth watching for the great interplay between Loy and Powell.
BONUS: Star of the Month William Powell is featured every Thursday in December. I always enjoy his mix of wit and style, with a generous dollop of broad comedy, but never more than when he's paired with the delightful Myrna Loy. Including the Thin Man films, Powell and Loy appeared onscreen together 14 times - and you can see seven of their collaborations starting at 8 PM on 12/29 and extending into the next morning!

12/27, 1:15 AM - Daleks -- Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1967)

Attention Whovians! Fans of Dr. Who may enjoy this film which is loosely based on the British TV series, if only to spot the changes made to the characters during the translation from small screen to big screen. Peter Cushing plays a human doctor named Who, not an alien Time Lord as on TV, traveling through time with his granddaughter, niece, and a London policeman to thwart an invasion by the dastardly Daleks.

Happy Holidays!

A Filmable Feast

by Lani

It's ironic that most films about Thanksgiving, a holiday built around a meal, don't really highlight the food. If the meal is featured at all, it's usually because something went wrong in the kitchen. So in order to properly whet your appetite for Thanksgiving dinner, I will not be suggesting films which take place during the holidays. Instead I've assembled a "filmable feast" of movies in which food and drink are the stars.

But first, to put you in a thankful mood, watch The Good Earth (1937). Even an overcooked turkey will taste better than the dirt soup eaten by Wang and O-Lan as they battle drought, famine, and locusts in rural China.

Okay, at this point you may need a cocktail. I suggest a festive martini with society sleuths Nick and Nora Charles of The Thin Man (1934) or perhaps a White Russian alongside The Dude in The Big Lebowski (1998).

A good meal needs a good wine. If you need proof, just take a trip through Napa Valley with Sideways (2004). In fact, the characters in this film feel that wine is so essential, they often skip the part about the good meal. Pinot noir, the preferred wine of Paul Giamatti's Miles, is actually said to pair well with turkey. And after hearing Miles extol the virtues of pinot for nearly two hours, you'll want to taste what all the fuss is about.

Alright, now that the drinks have been served let's get to the main course. It is impossible to watch Big Night (1996) without wanting to taste the food on screen; this film exists solely to make mouths water. Brothers Primo and Secondo, played by Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci, prepare the feast of a lifetime in anticipation of an appearance by musician Louis Prima at their struggling New Jersey restaurant. The centerpiece of the meal is the timpano, a daunting construction of meat, pasta, cheese, and sauce inside a pastry crust. (In the movie, it takes Primo an entire day to prepare the timpano; however, this Mario Batali recipe lists a much shorter prep time of 1 hour and 5 minutes, so perhaps it is feasible in the real world.) The meal is so heavenly, it inspires a compliment to the chef you may want to use at your Thanksgiving dinner: "This is so f*cking good, I should kill you!"

If the Italian food of Big Night doesn't make you hungry, I don't believe you; however, here are some honorable mentions featuring delicious-looking food spanning many cuisines: Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) - Taiwanese, Tampopo (1985) - Japanese, Babette's Feast (1987) - French, Ratatouille (2007) - cartoon.

And for something sweet to finish the meal, why not Chocolat (2000)? Sure, pumpkin pie may be traditional, but as this film demonstrates, chocolate has the power to unite estranged families--perfect for the holidays! Especially if you've been drinking a lot of pinot noir! You might even feel like swapping your after-dinner coffee for hot cocoa with a pinch of chile.

While thinking about films that showcase food, I struggled to come up with any that featured truly American cuisine, which seemed a shame since Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday. But then I was reminded of a scene in Spanglish (2004) in which Adam Sandler makes the most delectable sandwich ever captured on film. Let this scene be your inspiration for the day after Thanksgiving. Yesterday's turkey is today's turkey sandwich!

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the feast!

Classic Movie Picks: November

by Lani

Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies Now Playing guide for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)

11/1: Writer/Director/Actor

8 PM - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975)

9:45 PM - Sleeper (1973)

11:30 PM - Modern Romance (1981)

1:15 AM - Modern Times (1936)

3 AM - Jour de Fete (1949)

4:30 AM - Three on a Couch (1966)

Sure, I've seen most of these before - I've even recommended them here before - but after a month of spooky movies, isn't everyone ready for a good laugh? Tonight's line-up features 6 of cinema's best comic triple threats from America and abroad. If you are a student of comedy, you should check these off your "need to see" list!

11/8: And then that happened...

11:15 AM - The Titanic Incident (1955)

6 PM - The Last Days of Pompeii (1935)

There are some days when I just know the TCM programmers love to have fun with their jobs - how else to explain the scheduling of two stories dealing with best laid plans going awfully awry due to notorious disasters? (It couldn't be a coincidence, right? I prefer to think it is yet another twisted joke from the TCM elves.) In an episode from Screen Director's Playhouse a husband and wife try to con a British lord out of his money...aboard the Titanic. In Pompeii, an ambitious man's position of wealth and power is complicated by his son Christian sympathies (this is 79 A.D., after all)...and the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Pompeii also features Basil Rathbone as a scene-stealing Pontius Pilate.

BONUS PICK: 11/17, 9:45 PM - Juggernaut (1974)

More tragedy at sea! From that fertile period of disaster films, the 1970s, Juggernaut puts Richard Harris, Omar Sharif, and a set of bombs aboard a transatlantic ocean liner.

11/10: Four Daughters & Claude Rains

8:30 AM - Four Daughters (1938)

10:15 AM - Daughters Courageous (1939)

12:15 PM - Four Wives (1939)

2:15 PM - Four Mothers (1941)

Most people think of Claude Rains as a worldly, continental type (think Capt. Louis Renault in Casablanca) and not as a small-town family man. However, he plays just that sort of character in this popular series of films. Real-life sisters Priscilla, Rosemary, and Lola Lane, plus Gale Page, play Rains's daughters. Four Daughters, the first film to team this group, was so well-liked, it was nominated for Best Picture of the Year and co-star John Garfield was nominated as Best Supporting Actor. Four Wives and Four Mothers continue where the first film left off; you can probably guess the plot developments from the titles. Daughters Courageous is not exactly a sequel, though it stars most of the same actors in very similar roles to their Four Daughters characters.

11/25, 3:30 AM - UHF (1989)

Something I never thought I'd see on Turner Classic Movies: the "Weird Al" Yankovic movie! With all the weirdness on display, 3:30 AM seems like just the right time slot for this one.

11/27: Sergei Eisenstein

12 AM - Strike (1925)

2 AM - Ivan the Terrible Part 1 (1947)

3:45 AM - Ivan the Terrible Part 2 (1959)

And, finally, one for the film geeks...As one of the greats of Russian cinema, Sergei Eisenstein pushed the film medium forward with sophisticated storytelling techniques. He fought against the common opinion that films should be simple, plain, and realistic. Though he is best-known for Battleship Potemkin, he made many accomplished films, including tonight's selections. Despite his revolutionary tendencies, Eisenstein was commissioned by the Soviet government to create a three-part historical epic glorifying the first tsar of Russia. Ivan the Terrible Part 1, in which Ivan struggles to unite a divided empire, was well-received. However, Part 2 was banned because Ivan's vicious actions began to resemble Stalin's regime a little too closely; and Part 3 was destroyed.

Notes from the 2011 Austin Film Festival

by Lani

The 2011 Austin Film Festival wrapped up on October 27 and after a week of watching films one stood out above the rest: The Artist.

The Artist is set in Hollywood in the late 1920s and early 1930s as silent films gave way to talkies and movie "stars" first took hold of the public's imagination. Jean Dujardin plays popular film star George Valentin, a combination of Douglas Fairbanks, John Gilbert, and Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly's character in Singin' in the Rain). If Valentin's name brings to mind Rudolph Valentino, that's not the only reference to classic movies you'll notice. A sharp eye will spy nods to many well-known films, from The Thin Man to Citizen Kane, as well as bits of true Hollywood history.

Singin' in the Rain is an obvious influence for The Artist as the two films share similar storylines about an actor who can't cope with the change to talking pictures. However, The Artist goes to a much darker place dramatically and contains a lot less singing. In Singin' Don Lockwood bounces back from the dumps after a night of moping over sandwiches and milk. Let's just say that after the failure of Valentin's last-ditch effort to maintain his stardom, he does not head for the milk. Nevertheless, this film closes with the best kind of Hollywood ending: an exultant musical number.

I knew that Dujardin was adept at comedy from his starring roles in the OSS 117 spy spoofs. He can make an entire theater laugh simply by breaking out in a big, cheesy, movie star smile. However, in The Artist he proves that he is capable of much more than campy charm. I was especially moved by a scene late in the film when his star has faded and he encounters a young actress he once helped who is now a leading lady. As he politely listens to her, conflicting emotions of happiness and pain subtly play upon his face, and your heart breaks for him.

Have I mentioned that The Artist is a silent film itself? It could have been a gimmick, but writer-director Michel Hazanavicius uses the lack of dialogue in a very smart way. He highlights physical comedy and visual gags, while the title cards are often punchlines themselves.

This is an excellent film that many people, not just classic film aficionados will enjoy; however, as a "silent" film with a foreign pedigree, it will probably only appeal to a niche market. If you are a film lover, urge your local theater to show The Artist - it is a wonderful big screen experience.

And classic film fans should also keep an eye out for Sal, directed by James Franco. This film follows the final day in the life of Sal Mineo, an actor that Franco and the film's star Val Lauren have long admired. Mineo was twice nominated for an Oscar, but never became a big star. At age 37, he was poised for a career resurgence with his first chance at directing a film, but his life was cut short by a random, senseless crime. Though it is not a documentary, much of the action and characters in Sal are based on real events and people in Mineo's life. It is a quiet and thoughtful portrait of an artist; consequently, Sal seems even less likely than The Artist of reaching theaters outside New York and L.A. However, I think the intimate style of this film will translate just as well on a small screen if you miss it in theaters.