44/2210. Jules et Jim (1962)
You know a movie with a "love" story like this has to be (loosely) based on a true story, because it's just too bonkers to be credible fiction. It's well made, well written, well acted... I just didn't enjoy spending time with any of the characters, all clearly doomed by their own selfishness.

45/2211. Operation Pacific (1951)
This movie was remade, also with John Wayne, as In Harm's Way. That one's much better (with a larger budget). Watch it instead.

46/2212. Four Daughters (1938)
The plot of this melodrama is a little thin, relying heavily on the charm of the Lane sisters to keep the viewer entertained while John Garfield chews the scenery doing his best Oscar Levant impersonation. I'd probably watch it again just for Priscilla Lane.

47/2213. Bridge of Spies (2015)
I'm still not a particular fan of Spielberg's penchant for pushing his audience's emotional buttons, but I do appreciate his perspective on a true history story that utilizes Tom Hanks' unique talents to show us how an "everyman" with integrity, compassion, and determination can make a cold (war) world a better place.

48/2214. Carrot Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery (2023)
At last! These are my favorite of the Hallmark mysteries. This is the first new entry in this series in years (because star Allison Sweeney has been working on other projects), and there's a bit of a disappointing casting shake-up with the introduction of a long-lost sister (a la Roy in "The Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie Show" episode of The Simpsons). I'm willing to forgive almost anything to get more of these, especially after such a long wait.

More to come.

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Last week, TCM ran a documentary on early 20th-century filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. I've seen at least parts of a few of Micheaux's films, including his response to Birth of a Nation earlier this year. I didn't include the documentary in my most recent movie reviews because I typically like to work my way through what I watch chronologically. However, we are running out of June, and I really should cover this one before the calendar turns to July.

59/2225. Oscar Micheaux: The Superhero of Black Filmmaking (2021)

As you can see from the title, documentarian Francesco Zippel really plays up the superhuman efforts that Micheaux had to perform to get his films about Black American life and starring Black Americans shown to (mostly Black) audiences. The film focuses on Micheaux's works and achievements but is light on actual biographical details of the man himself, admitting that many aspects of the man's personal life are unclear.

But what motivates me to post this during Superman Month is that Micheaux was born to a freed former slave in Metropolis, Illinois! That was 1884, about 90 years before the city embraced its tenuous connection to the Superman mythos.

The documentary concludes with a lamentation that Metropolitans would choose to erect a giant statue to a fictional hero instead of a true native son. But to be entirely fair, Micheaux was public about the social struggles of his early life in Metropolis, and he left town for good at the age of 17. On the other hand, everyone knows that once Superman moved to Metropolis, he stayed there.

A statue might be a bit much, but at the very least, you'd think they'd give him a plaque. Or a star on the sidewalk. If it's good enough for D.W. Griffith....

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39/2205. Barely Lethal (2015)
Pay television likes to show this movie late at night, probably for nostalgic 20-somethings. I think this is a rare case of a script (and cast) being better than the final execution. I only watched it all the way to the end because it was filmed in Georgia, and I wondered if I would recognize anything. I didn't.

40/2206. Gold Diggers of 1937 (1936)
I liked this somewhat more than Gold Diggers of 1935. (Of the three numeric "Gold Diggers" films, I'd still only recommend Gold Diggers of 1933.) There are just too many horrible doing horrible things to one another to enjoy too much time in their company when they aren't singing and dancing.

41/2207. Black Adam (2022)
I said I'd never watch it... then on a Sunday afternoon with nothing better to do, I did. It's... okay. The plot is too thin, many of the characters are too poorly developed, the third act grafts on a zombie subplot... and it's just so damn violent for a superhero movie! Honestly, as a DC comic book guy, I have real problems with the presentation of well-established Justice Society members as morons and pawns, but my biggest gripe is that Black Adam kills everyone, and he's supposed to be the idea of the kind of hero the world needs? #MakeMineSuperman

42/2208. Atlantis: The Lost Continent (1961)
Sadly, this has nothing to do with Aquaman. It is, however, the 60s equivalent of a super-hero action film, as the inhabitants of a scientifically advanced society pay for their hubris with the destruction of their world. You know, like what happened to the planet Krypton.

43/2209. A Walk in the Sun (1945)
"Nobody dies" is Private Rivera's mantra in this "Day In The Life" approach to World War II. The enemy is always present but never clearly seen, and most of the run time is taken up by bits of conversation as the soldiers try to keep the horrors of war out of their minds. The influence on Saving Private Ryan is obvious. It's really very, very good.

More to come.

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33/2199. Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935)
Not as good as Gold Diggers of 1933, but that's partly due to the fact that Gold Diggers of 1933 is so very, very good. The opening is fantastic, and there's a lot of enchanting Busby Berkley choreography in here. Too bad almost all of these "gold diggers" themselves are intrinsically unlikeable characters.

34/2200. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)
I don't know how entertaining this silly mock-autobiography will be for people less familiar with Weird Al's discography than I am, but my mother's beau, who doesn't know Weird Al from a normal one, seemed to enjoy it fine.

35/2201. April in Paris (1952)
The song-and-dance numbers in this musical comedy should be better known, but the otherwise tired script and the mismatched pairing of naive Doris Day and sad-sack Ray Bolger make watching a bit of a chore. Keep an eye out for the rainbow of poodles late in the third act scene used as the source of the cover image of the August 9, 1952 issue of Collier's Magazine. (Google it.)

36/2202. All About Eve (1950)
Not to be confused with The Three Faces of Eve (which I have done), this is the one about a sociopath, not a split personality. They both have Academy Award winning performances, of course, but this is the one that grabbed Best Picture. It probably deserves it, especially because of Bette Davis's ability to convey rare onscreen character growth (and George Sanders' delightfully manipulative theater critic).

37/2203. The Jane Mysteries: Inheritance Lost (2023)
Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Channel lost Candice Cameron Bure to Great American Family, so they grabbed Bure's Full House sister, Jodie Sweetin, with diminishing results. Solvable purely by formula alone, this isn't particularly recommended.

38/2204. Garage Sale Mysteries: Searched & Seized (2022)
The last installment of Lori Laughlin's signature Hallmark mystery series feels simultaneously contrived and comfortable, much like a Murder She Wrote episode, which is certainly the point. Too bad there won't be any more of these, at least on Hallmark. (While Hallmark frowns on bribing college officials, Great American Family doesn't, so Laughlin followed her Full House stepdaughter over there after she got out of prison. Man, the behind-the-scenes on these made-for-tv Hallmark movies is getting wilder than any of their murder mysteries.)

More to come.

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28/2194. The Brothers Warner (2007)
TCM kicked off their month celebrating 100 years of Warner Brothers movies with this documentary about the founding brothers themselves. It's not particularly kind to youngest brother Jack, but from what I've heard in the past, that's appropriate. If I have any complaints, it's that it glossed over the Hollywood blacklist era and the end of the dynasty, but it did have a lot of ground to cover.

29/2195. Safe in Hell (1931)
A woman who believes herself to be a murderer goes on the lam to a island populated with rapists and thieves. You think that scenario is what the title is referring to until you get to the final act. It's an interesting twist, though too abrupt to be entirely satisfying.

30/2196. Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
Every bit a classic! I'd seen most of it before, especially the Busby Berkely orchestrated dances with neon violins and Bonus Army soldiers on a treadmill, but I finally sat down and watched it from end to end. I'm glad I did. I'll be glad to do it again and again.

31/2197. Colorado Territory (1949)
Ok, I have to admit that I watched this for a whole hour before finally realizing it is exactly the same plot as High Sierra and I Died a Thousand Times. It definitely works better as a western.

32/2198. Tab Hunter Confidential (2015)
This documentary of the life of screen idol Tab Hunter was made by his lover, and it succeeds on the strength of Tab's apparent honesty while staring down the fourth wall. Of course, it was that charisma that made him a star in the first place (despite his questionable acting ability). His willingness to admit that is what makes this a worthwhile watch for classic film fans.

More to come.

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24/2190. The Menu (2022)
Part thriller, part horror, all social satire, The Menu reminds me very much of absurdist French films, and that's a big plus in my book. So is this cast, especially Anya Taylor-Joy as a horror-heroine who just might survive if she can figure out and abide by the killer's rules. Lots of fun.

25/2191. Curious Caterer: Grilling Season (2023)
I think this is the second installment in this Hallmark Murders & Mysteries series, and it suffers from an early fatal flaw when a character says something that seems so randomly out-of-character, it immediately identifies him as the murderer. Oh, well. If only real-life murders were this easy to solve.

26/2192. The First Nudie Musical (1976)
Ron Howard is in exactly one shot of this weird artifact of mid-70s cinema trends. I won't say it doesn't have some good ideas and funny moments, but the whole thing could have benefited greatly from a tighter focus in direction and editing. (Seriously, directing and editing comedy is a hard job — much harder than dramas; timing is everything! — and not everyone has the talent for it.) I'm inclined to pick on the actors, but some of them are clearly playing intentionally talentless characters; the porn star auditioning for a singing role earned a hearty laugh.

Don't let the naked dancing chorus line distract you from what's really front and center: a whole box of Coke!

27/2193. The League of Gentlemen (1960)
This otherwise charming heist film is hampered by the fact that the audience is told early that all of the participants are cads, so you know the movie is never going to let them get away with a successful robbery. The ending is especially unsatisfying because of how abrupt it is. (Would anyone watch Oceans Eleven a second time if the crew was surrounded by police outside the Bellagio as the credits rolled?)

More to come.

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From this week's Newnan Times-Herald:

Quote:

The Coweta County Sheriff's Office has been hosting the conference since 1993, offering free training for law enforcement and first responders in areas such as long range precision rifle (above photo) K-9 handling, DUI detection, use of force, State Opioid Adapted Response and the legalities of various aspects of policing.

Personally, I had my fill of "long range precision rifle K-9 handling" the one time I watched Old Yeller.

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19/2185. Michael Shayne: Private Detective (1940)
I love these sorts of breezy mystery movies. The formula here would go on to propel countless television episodes for decades to come for a good reason. Fun, if not particularly memorable.

20/2186. Dom Hemingway (2013)
Just about every character in this film is completely despicable, and, apparently, the viewer is intended to enjoy the constant set-backs of the titular protagonist. Jude Law is clearly having a blast, but outside of a couple of jokes delivered by co-star Richard Grant, I can't say that I joined him.

21/2187. Lost in Translation (2003)
When this came out, it was the talk of my art school. People loved it. I can see why. It's different and charming. I don't relate to it personally, but I admit that probably says more about me than the film. I can certainly see why the artists loved it.

22/2188. The Divorcee (1930)
When a wife discovers her husband has been disloyal, she repays the favor in kind and tells him about it. He acts like a complete hypocritical ass, sending their relationship into a tailspin. This sort of melodrama is not normally my bag, so why do I keep watching them? I'll let you know when I figure it out.

23/2189. The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (1953)
A musical movie written by Dr. Suess should NOT be this boring. It's almost like they were trying to make it terrible for some reason. If you have the opportunity to see stills of the sets and costumes, do so. But do not watch! (I considered trying to make this entry rhyme, but the movie does not deserve that kind of effort.)

More to come.

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14/2180. The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964)
This was another movie that TCM ran in honor of Martin Scorsese's birthday, and it's also on the list of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. So I watched it. It's shot like a documentary about an angry young man, but it's very loyal to its source material. The important takeaway is that the life story of Jesus is really quite shocking. The establishment hated him for preaching love, which remains a surprisingly difficult message for real humans to get behind. Very good.

15/2181. Rock Dog (2016)
Despite a stellar cast and a pretty good script, this animated film demonstrates the oft overlooked value of texture artists (and to a lesser extent, 3D modelers). The whole world "feels" distractingly shallow, as though it was made by a committee of amateurs, which is a real disappointment. In the hands of a Disney or Dreamworks (or anyone with a better eye for detail), this could have been a fantastic film.

16/2182. Within Our Gates (1920)
This silent film is essentially a contemporary rebuttal of D.W. Griffith's racist The Birth of a Nation. Unfortunately, it stars weak actors performing a weak narrative and is therefore not particularly entertaining. However, it is a very interesting historical document.

17/2183. Going Home (1971)
Jan-Michael Vincent is not a good enough actor to carry this story about a boy trying (and badly failing) to come to terms with his father's (pointless) murder of his mother, but the real question isn't so much why he was cast but why anyone would want to make this film at all.

Or, for that matter, why Coca-Cola would sponsor it.

18/2184. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021)
I'm glad I watched this (bitter)sweet and unusual animated film at home, because I had access to closed captioning. I wouldn't have been able to understand *anything* if I'd seen it in a theater. I guess what I'm saying is that maybe the filmmakers should have treated this more like a foreign film and included subtitles. Cute, though.

More to come.

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8/2174. Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant (1942)
I adore these pre-television medical dramas. This is exactly the formula that hospital procedurals are still using 80 years later (plus or minus a little male chauvinism).

9/2175. Black Legion (1937)
Humphry Bogart plays an honest working man who is naturally disappointed that the American Dream is passing him by. He does not handle this well, and his runaway emotions lead him to be taken advantage of by would-be populist thugs up to no good. It's a good cautionary tail, and I'm so happy that this sort of thing can't happen anymore.

10/2176. DC League of Super-Pets (2022)
This is a DC Comics comic-book movie for people who aren't familiar with DC Comics. Sure, it's for young children, but you'd think the people in charge could have read at least one DC Comic book featuring the Legion of Super-Pets. I did not care for it.

11/2177. Smart Blonde (1937)
This is the first in a series of mysteries featuring whip smart female newshound Torchy Blane (played by Glenda Farrell). I've always loved the movie trope of the fast-talking 30s girl reporter (see Barbara Stanwyck in Meet John Doe or Jennifer Jason Leigh in The Hudsucker Proxy), so of course I think this is very good.

12/2178. Fly Away Baby (1937)
Torchy's second movie hits the will-they-or-won't-they-get-married button pretty hard (and has a weak ending), but it also establishes that the chemistry and formulas in the first movie were no fluke.

13/2179. The Adventurous Blonde (1937)
Torchy Blane's third movie (of 9) is better than the previous installment, even if the murderer was obvious from the beginning. I'd love to see the next 6, and one day I will.

More to come.

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