Michael May's Blog, page 69
March 7, 2019
The ABC Murders (2018)
Who's in it?: John Malkovich (Dangerous Liaisons, Mary Reilly, The Man in the Iron Mask, Jonah Hex), Rupert Grint (the Harry Potter movies), and Shirley Henderson (Rob Roy, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)
What's it about?: A serial killer taunts aging Hercule Poirot into coming out of retirement and braving nationalistic bigotry to solve murders in post-WWI England.
How is it?: It's a great mystery, because c'mon, Agatha Christie. But Malkovich is sadly not a good Poirot. I've been reading the first couple of Poirot novels since re-falling in love with the character thanks to Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express. So I've got a definite vision of who Poirot is and what he looks and acts like. Malkovich isn't him. His mustache is absolutely mundane and he doesn't fuss over his appearance at all. His beard lacks symmetry, which wouldn't be a problem for any other character, but it's unimaginable for Poirot.
And then there's the detective's grumpy, depressed personality. That's a script problem, but still an issue. The adaptation is eager to be relevant and includes a subplot about English nationalism and a distrust of foreigners. Poirot has always been an outsider to English society, but the literary version handles that status with humor, grace, and a great deal of pride. Malkovich's Poirot has been worn down by it.
That's not the only change in the character, either. The mini-series questions the traditional narrative that Poirot was a Belgian police officer before coming to England to do private detective work. It builds a new, cynical backstory for the character that I found unnecessary. And that's the heart of my problem with The ABC Murders. Poirot is shoved sideways into an adaptation that's desperate to be relevant and unashamed about changing the character to support the themes. In my opinion, if you have an established character who's at odds with the theme of your story, it's the theme that needs reworking, not the character.
Bonus points for Rupert Grint as the lead police detective though. I always enjoy seeing him.
Rating: Three out of five little grey cells.
March 6, 2019
Greystoked | Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (1946)
Noel and I welcome my good friend Carlin Trammel ( Nerd Lunch , Dragonfly Ripple , Pod James Pod ) for a jam-packed episode about leopard cults, home invasions, '50s sitcoms, colonialism, and Acquanetta.
March 5, 2019
A Little Princess (1995)
Who's in it?: Liesel Matthews (Air Force One), Eleanor Bron (Help!, Absolutely Fabulous), and Liam Cunningham (First Knight)
What's it about?: A young English girl named Sara (Matthews) enters an American boarding school when her father (Cunningham) goes to war. But her positive outlook is challenged when her dad is reported dead, his finances frozen, and the school's sour headmistress (Bron) changes Sara's status from privileged student to persecuted servant.
How is it?: This was my second time seeing this version of A Little Princess (there's a 1939 adaptation starring Shirley Temple that's also quite good). I watched it back in the day mostly because it was directed by Alfonso Cuarón, but also because it's based on a book by Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of the enjoyable gothic novel for children, The Secret Garden.
A Little Princess is absolutely lovely and I fell for it just as hard the second time. Sara is an amazing character who proves that her optimism and kindness are not tied to her circumstances. Some horrible things happen to her, but she's a source of light and warmth to everyone she meets. Especially other girls in the school who are struggling. Sara insists that all girls are princesses, which sounds trite and naive until it becomes clear that what she actually means is that all girls have value, even the ones causing her to suffer. It's a moving example of loving one's enemies and as soon as I finished it, I contacted my local bookstore to order a copy of the novel.
Rating: Five out of five hardy heroines.
March 1, 2019
Mystery Movie Night | The Hustler (1961), Caddyshack (1980), and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
David leads Erik, Evan, Dave, and I in a discussion of billiards, Baby Ruths, and Blockbuster Video.
00:01:34 - Review of The Hustler
00:13:53 - Review of Caddyshack
00:32:41 - Review of The Lost World: Jurassic Park
00:57:15 - Guessing the Connection
February 28, 2019
Wonder Man (1945)
Who's in it?: Danny Kaye (White Christmas), Virginia Mayo (Captain Horatio Hornblower RN), and Vera-Ellen (also White Christmas)
What's it about?: When a nightclub comedian is murdered by the mob, his ghost teams up with his nerdy twin brother to bring the killers to justice.
How is it?: Danny Kaye's second movie was also the screen debut of Vera-Ellen, who teams up with him again in White Christmas. I'm going to need to watch through her filmography alongside Kaye's. She's amazing in White Christmas and her dancing is just as impressive in Wonder Man where she plays another nightclub performer who's dating Kaye's comedian character.
I like the story here much more than Up in Arms. Kaye is great in both of his roles, but he's especially funny as the hapless, introverted, totally uncomfortable bookworm who sees a ghost that nobody else can. Virgina Mayo plays the woman that the academic brother is interested in and she's great, too.
Rating: Four out of five wacky, but vengeful ghosts.
February 27, 2019
Hellbent for Letterbox | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Pax's last few picks have been building to this and we're finally here. He introduces me to the George Roy Hill classic, written by the legendary William Goldman (Rest in Peace) and starring the best-looking, most charming men of '70s cinema.
Pax also looks at the related Mrs. Sundance, Wanted: The Sundance Woman, and Butch and Sundance: The Early Days. And I talk about watching a listener-recommended show, the short-lived Peacemakers starring Tom Berenger. All this and some Pony Express.
February 26, 2019
Sólo con Tu Pareja (1991)
Who's in it?: Daniel Giménez Cacho, whom I didn't know from anything else. Also very many other talented actors whom I also didn't know.
What's it about?: When a philanderer (Cacho) two-times the nurse who's processing the test results from his latest physical, she sends him a fake report that says he has HIV. Just in time for him to for really for true fall in love with his new neighbor.
How is it?: In addition to Danny Kaye, I'm also going to work through Alfonso Cuarón's filmography this year. He's been one of my favorite directors for a while, but there are key films of his that I haven't seen and I want to correct that. I want to move him to Favorite Director of All Time, but that claim needs some validating.
Sólo con Tu Pareja (English translation: Only with Your Partner) was Cuarón's first feature film, but you can't tell that from looking at it. It's impressive. Leave it to Cuarón to direct a comedy about AIDS and suicide that's both moving and funny. Cacho's character is a lech, but he's also super charming and I understand why he's so successful at seduction. The film is beautiful to look at too, with photography by three-time Oscar winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (Gravity, The Bird Man, The Revenant). Considering the subject matter (which I felt bad laughing about), Sólo con Tu Pareja is an amazing achievement.
Rating: Four out of five pleasant players.
February 25, 2019
Dragonfly Ripple | Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
David and I talk about the funniest Marvel movie, whether the humor works for us as part of the MCU, and how Ragnarok changes everything.
February 21, 2019
Up in Arms (1944)
I miss doing these short movie reviews. And since I'm watching my way through a couple of filmographies this year, I thought it might be nice to document them instead of just briefly mentioning them in my Year End Wrap-Up next January.
Who's in it?: Danny Kaye (White Christmas), Dinah Shore (lots of '70s variety and sketch shows), Dana Andrews (Night of the Demon, Laura), and Constance Dowling (whom I didn't know before, but dang she's cute)
What's it about?: It's J Geils Band's "Love Stinks": The Movie. She loves him, but he loves her, but she loves somebody else. In the military.
How is it?: After enjoying Danny Kaye for years in annual viewings of White Christmas, I decided to finally look at some of his other films this year. This was his first starring role and it's a funny one, though not as hilarious as I expected.
Shore is in love with Kaye who's in love with Dowling who's in love with Andrews who (in a not so shocking twist) is actually in love with Dowling back. There's a lot of lead-up before the four of them join the army and are deployed to the South Pacific. The plot is extremely loose, really just something to hang some wacky hi-jinx and mediocre songs on, but it's easy to see why Kaye became a star. He and Shore (whose voice gets a lot of deserved attention) do some cool scat singing, which I enjoy. And it's always nice to see Dana Andrews.
Rating: Three out of five singing soldiers.
February 18, 2019
Filthy Horrors | Frankenstein Is the Monster
Darla, Jess, and I get flustered about Frankenstein. Or maybe that's just Kenneth Branagh's abs. And maybe that's mostly me. At any rate, we cover the Mary Shelley biopic starring Elle Fanning, the novel itself, and more movie adaptations than you can shake a pitchfork (or a torch) at.
