rate the last movie you saw

[AndyDursin]

CANNERY ROW (1982)
5/10

One of the more puzzling Warner Archive releases of late, CANNERY ROW (121 mins., 1982, PG) was a box-office blunder that pretty much sealed the fate of Oscar-winning “Sting” writer David S. Ward as a major director (“Major League” notwithstanding). Left to his own devices here, Ward swung and missed with this adaptation of two John Steinbeck books, a WWII-era chronicle of numerous “colorful” types – a former pitcher (Nick Nolte) turned marine biologist, a down-on-her-luck woman (Debra Winger) who takes a job as a floozy, and plenty of rascals and friendly bums – that congregate along the docks of their small, rundown Monterey, Ca. town.

Ward clearly meant for this picture to be “fun” and atmospheric, and certainly the film's physical production matches his ambition: Sven Nykvist's cinematography and Richard MacDonald's sets ably set the scene, but the picture, alas, never connects. The Nolte-Winger portions are cute, but Ward pulls away from them too often with his script distracted by the grating “comical” antics of the assorted rascals (M. Emmet Walsh and Frank MacRae among them) that are never as funny or fanciful as the material believes them to be. John Huston's narration, meanwhile, attempts to bring all the elements together, but in the end, the only person seemingly happy with “Cannery Row” was Raquel Welch, who originally held Winger's role and successfully sued MGM for wrongful termination, winning a major lawsuit years after the fact.

You don't often see “Cannery Row” written in a list of unheralded films from the early '80s, but Warner Archive has brought it to Blu-Ray just the same. The 1080p (1.85) transfer and mono sound are fine, with the sole extra being a theatrical trailer.

[mkaroly]

I read both Cannery Row and its sequel Sweet Thursday within the past couple of years or so - outstanding books. Makes me afraid to watch a film adaptation of either one of them. Not a fan of Nick Nolte (vastly overrated actor IMO) either, so based on your review I will pass on Cannery Row.

[AndyDursin]

BUGSY MALONE
6/10

Alan Parker's first feature was this 1976 kids' musical that held more relevance back in the mid '70s than it does today.

"Bugsy Malone" essentially takes a formulaic '40s gangster B-movie, substitutes marshmallow-shooting "Splurge Guns" for actual blood, and casts kids (British youngsters plus American leads Scott Baio and Jodie Foster) in every role. Meanwhile, Paul Williams' songs were dubbed over by Williams himself and other adults, and are, what's worse, mostly repetitious fizzles -- save the finale, which was used in a 2009 commercial by the movie's prominently displayed sponsor, Coca-Cola (see below).

Though nostalgically shot (by Peter Biziou and Michael Seresin), the choreography and staging are very basic -- hinting at either a low-budget or highlighting Parker's relative inexperience at the time -- and the story is something that Theo didn't really gravitate towards. He watched it and laughed a few times, but I doubt he'd care about seeing it again.

Frankly, I didn't much care for it either -- unless you are a big fan of '40s gangster movies, there's not a lot of entertainment to be found since the film adheres to a formulaic plot, relying almost exclusively on the novelty of the casting of children in adult roles. Ultimately, the movie was a big hit in the UK but failed (perhaps understandably) to find a receptive audience elsewhere.

[Paul MacLean]

The Offence (3/10)

I stumbled upon this movie when trying to find something -- anything -- on Amazon Prime I hadn't already seen. I was surprised to discover a Sidney Lumet movie -- starring Sean Connery no less -- from the early 70s which I'd never heard of. Looked interesting, and movies set in Britain tend to spark my interest, so I settled-down for a viewing.

But oh my gosh, what a pretentious, overacted train wreck. Ok, I'll be charitable and call it a "noble failure", but I can see why no one remembers this movie. Connery plays a detective in a London suburb who is trying to catch a serial child molester. But worn-down by years of investigating murders, rapes, suicides, etc, he has a breakdown while interrogating a suspect and beats the man senseless.

Kudos to Connery for trying to break-out of the James Bond persona and playing a angry, un-handsome middle-aged alcoholic cop, but while he effectively portrays the detective's more brutish side, he is less convincing acting out the character's meltdown. His performance lacks nuance, and I suspect Connery simply has an intrinsic resistance -- even when playing a role -- to looking weak (which is what the character is ultimately revealed to be, beneath the truculent facade).

Trevor Howard plays a senior detective who questions Connery about the incident, but both if them really overact (especially Howard) to such an extent it becomes unintentionally funny. I blame Lumet for not directing them adequately. The stand-out performance belongs to Ian Bannen as the suspect, whose work is nuanced and introspective -- and it is striking how much his performance blows-away that of his better-known co-stars.

Photography (Gerry Fisher) is effectively moody -- the whole film looks to have been shot in existing light. Art direction is also interesting, with locations that are mostly modern, sterile buildings, with virtually no glimpse of structures from "olde England". The score, by avant garde composer Harrison Bertwhistle consists mainly of abstract chords played on early synthesizers -- it probably sounded very cutting edge at the time, but today comes across like something from a late 60s Doctor Who episode.

[andy b]

Hey Paul
To make it seem even more strange, The Offence was 1 of 2 films Connery was guaranteed by UA for making Diamonds Are Forever. It seems it was a pet project & he was behind it 100% & I understand for the exact reason you point out, it was not Bond!

I worked on this & wow did we have difficulties getting into screens, it did not find an audience was very quickly sold to television. It has though picked up quite a European following. I often wondered if it was a stage play at some point as it does seem to behave as one & I have seen the film many times & in fact own it, not exactly a fan, but I do not dislike it either. But we all have our own opinions & that is what makes it great to discuss.

For whatever reasons Connery never took the option for the second film of the 2 film deal? no idea why but it was never fulfilled. Maybe he wanted away from the Bond distributors to go his own way? who knows? Connery I suppose!

regards
andy b

[AndyDursin]

Nothing sums up the troubled post-Bond era of '70s Connery more than THE OFFENCE! Even RANSOM (THE TERRORISTS) was better, but between those and THE ANDERSON TAPES and THE NEXT MAN...it's like he couldn't have possibly done a worse job selecting projects. Even some of the films he DID make with quality directors turned out to be mostly fizzles (A BRIDGE TOO FAR, ROBIN AND MARIAN, ZARDOZ, yes a cult movie but an "acquired taste" to be sure). I'm not a huge fan of THE WIND AND THE LION either, which pretty much leaves THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING as the one project that DID work out from that time.

[andy b]

Nothing sums up the troubled post-Bond era of '70s Connery more than THE OFFENCE! Even RANSOM (THE TERRORISTS) was better, but between those and THE ANDERSON TAPES and THE NEXT MAN...it's like he couldn't have possibly done a worse job selecting projects. Even some of the films he DID make with quality directors turned out to be mostly fizzles (A BRIDGE TOO FAR, ROBIN AND MARIAN, ZARDOZ, yes a cult movie but an "acquired taste" to be sure). I'm not a huge fan of THE WIND AND THE LION either, which pretty much leaves THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING as the one project that DID work out from that time.

Andy, I guess your going from a USA perspective & of course that is where the perceived massive income is but world grosses often out gross USA / Canada income, even after strange distribution deals. But A Bridge Too Far was a huge hit, maybe not in the USA ($55 million for UA in the USA) but that film played in one cinema for 6 continuous months in Japan (1 of the few times I was involved outside of Europe with a film) & I had it playing for over a year in continuous shows throughout Europe. Ransom was funnily enough not so big, The Anderson Tapes & Robin & Marian both did well, Zardoz? hmm, never got it or understood it & I even bought the Twilight disc to try to fathom it! The Wind & The Lion plus The Man Who Would be King were most certainly the top draw of that time frame and as for The Next Man, well it kind of plummeted from just about every radar & may I point out deserved to, awful film!!

The ones I personally dealt with were Wind & the Lion, Man Who Would Be King, Bridge Too Far & The Anderson Tapes, the others either fleetingly or knew the people who were doing the "hard sell"!

but your 100% right, they guy tried to do anything that was not Bond & the public were not going to see his shows, simple as that & some of the choices? well just plain strange, maybe a bit like Bronson, we have $5 million budges & $3 million to Bronson & the rest to make & promote! So Mr Connery gets paid & walks away, hey can not fault that, it is his job!

regards
andy b

[Paul MacLean]

I often wondered if it was a stage play at some point as it does seem to behave as one & I have seen the film many times & in fact own it, not exactly a fan, but I do not dislike it either. But we all have our own opinions & that is what makes it great to discuss.

Thanks for all these anecdotes, Andy!

I looked-up The Offence, and it turns out it was actually based on a stage play, penned by one of the writers of Z Cars (a series I understand was very good, but has never been shown in the US to my knowledge).

As far as Connery, I'm amazed he's retained "A list" status throughout his career, considering some of the choices he's made. Not just those early vehicles like Zardoz and The Next Man, but much later stuff -- Cuba, Five Days One Summer, Outland, Wrong is Right, The Presidio, The Avengers and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (which he chose instead of Lord of the Rings!).

[AndyDursin]

Agreed -- don't forget ENTRAPMENT and RISING SUN too! Personally I think OUTLAND is pretty good and underrated. Sure it's a "western in space" but compared to a lot of the junk he made in the 70s and 80s, it's well made and watchable (FIVE DAYS ONE SUMMER, there's another one! LOL)

I do wish he agreed to star in LORD OF THE RINGS but committing to living in New Zealand for that long a duration of time at his age, I can understand why it didn't appeal to him. If it was 1 movie, he probably might've done it. He tried the "franchise thing" with LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN and it fizzled though I recently watched it and it's not half-bad, and has some good ideas (that weren't all effectively developed, sadly). Certainly better than THE AVENGERS!

[Eric Paddon]

1776 (1972)

-There is a bittersweet quality watching it this year I have never known before. All the pride in our history that this film embodies and which I fell in love with is rapidly disappearing over night in our country thanks to a handful of Marxist agitators and their rear-end kissing enablers in our so-called media and popular culture who cloak their bigoted sanctimony in a sea of undeserved self-righteousness and nobility.

-There is one section of this film that is so timely and it shows how there was a time when a liberal like Peter Stone had enough common sense about our history to point out a truth. Although it isn't historically accurate it gets to the heart of the matter why the Founding Fathers, even those who detested slavery and wanted it abolished, could NOT do so at the time this nation was being formed. It's all summed up brilliantly in two moments by Franklin.

"These men, no matter how much we disagree with them, are not ribbon clerks to be ordered about. They're proud, accomplished men, the cream of their colonies and whether you like it or not, they and the people they represent will be part of this new nation, that you hoped to create. NOW EITHER LEARN HOW TO LIVE WITH THEM, OR PACK UP AND GO HOME!"

And later, when Adams warns him that if they give in on slavery, "posterity will never forgive us."

"That's probably true, but we won't hear a thing about it, we'll be long gone. Besides, what will posterity think we were, demigods? We're men, no more, no less, trying to get a nation started against greater odds than a more generous God would have allowed."

So simple and easy to understand then. Because we knew how to teach it that way. Today, we have lost our way. And I fear, irrevocably.

[Paul MacLean]

Today, we have lost our way. And I fear, irrevocably.

Call me a hopeless optimist (if that's not an oxymoron!) but I think things are going to turn around.

[mkaroly]

I look at history generally speaking as great pendulum swings. If we have swung too far to the right then the pendulum swings too far to the left in response. Sometimes it takes reaching the extremes to see that the middle is the goal. The world can exist at the extremes only for so long before the extreme collapses. We are going through this now it seems to me.

[AndyDursin]

Unlike other times in American history nearly every major institution in the US right now is controlled by the left. Academia, the media, pop culture, much of Corporate America..they have a pipeline for their ideas and can set this current conversation where you are being pegged as "racist" if you don't meet their checkmarks for beliefs, speech and attitudes. It is a chilling time, but we should probably have this convo over on the Politics thread!

At any rate, we watched about 45 minutes of 1776 with Theo last night. Not sure how much he understood, but he knew "they were arguing" and we tried to explain what was happening. What a great film, a unique musical and work of art -- even with the historical licenses it takes, it gets most of what matters right. And one you'd never see today unless all the main roles were played by transsexuals.

[Paul MacLean]

At any rate, we watched about 45 minutes of 1776 with Theo last night. Not sure how much he understood, but he knew "they were arguing" and we tried to explain what was happening.

You gotta show him Lincoln next!

[AndyDursin]

LOL I can safely skip that one! (Unless we need him to fall asleep)

Now THERE'S a movie that "couldn't be made today" also! Unless RuPaul played Abe...