Movies I Watched in May, Part 2

Here we go -- two old movies and three virtually brand-new ones (or as close to brand-new as you're going to get on this blog)...


I suppose it’s no coincidence that submarine movies are manly affairs, being that (aside from “Operation Petticoat,” I guess) you don’t find many women on submarines – or at least you didn’t in the era that most submarines movies were made (or are set). This one practically drips with testosterone, most of it emitting from the two leads: Clark Gable (playing the old commander looking for one last shot at his Japanese nemesis) and Burt Lancaster (the young would-be commander whose opinion of Gable gradually shifts from "dangerous lunatic" to "slightly less dangerous genius.") It’s a lot of fun in a claustrophobic way, with all the hallmarks of the submarine genre perfectly in place: sweaty crews, tense scenes of silent running (hence the title) and, of course, the lovable new kid getting killed midway through. Plus, besides Gable and Lancaster, you also get the great Jack Warden (as Gable’s assistant) and Don Rickles (in his movie debut). It’s corny, sure, but it’s also beautifully made thanks – as the end credits tell us – to the inevitable cooperation of the United States Navy.


Now here’s the polar opposite of “Run Silent Run Deep,” a period romance involving two women. Set mostly in director Todd Hayne’s wonderful recreation of 1950s New York, it’s the story of a young shopgirl (Rooney Mara), a wealthy socialite (Cate Blanchett) and the love they shared, which was strictly verboten in 1958 America. Based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith, it’s a simple story, but one fueled by curiosity, fear and good old fashioned sexual tension. Being an old Ohio boy, I especially like the detour the movie took to the Buckeye State, but that’s just a pit stop on the way to inevitable trouble, of course, which comes in a form I admit I wasn’t expecting (and won’t spoil here). “Carol” isn’t a big, flashy movie, and despite the subject manner, it’s not even an overtly sexual one (except for one scene), but it’s a solid human drama exploring two lives that randomly intersect. In a perfect world, there would be a lot more movies like this.


If forced at gunpoint to name my favorite actor, I’d have to go with Edward G. Robinson. He was good – and often great – in every movie he made, and what’s more, he was always enjoyable to watch. Even when the material wasn’t the best (and at several times in his career, it wasn’t), he always brought his A game. Which brings us to “Illegal,” a mostly forgotten 1955 movie that’s actually a remake of a mostly forgotten 1932 movie called “The Mouthpiece." Robinson plays a dedicated district attorney who gets an innocent man convicted of murder (it’s a pre-“Star Trek” DeForest Kelley!). When he realizes his mistake, he tries to prevent the execution, but it’s too late, and soon Edward G. is in the depths of a year-long drunken binge. When Robinson semi-sobers up, he decides he’d rather help a guilty man go free than imprison an innocent, so he becomes a high-paid mob lawyer. “Illegal” is the sort of mediocre movie Robinson was forced to make when he ran afoul of the commie hunters, but he’s solid (as always) and Albert Dekker is suitably oily as the sort of high-class gangster Hollywood used to rely on. Jayne Mansfield makes her non-extra debut as Dekker's moll, but there's not much memorable about her performance, unless you're counting its sheer awkwardness. Instead, keep an eye out for Dekker’s art collection – it was on loan from none other than Robinson himself, who happened to be one of Hollywood’s most respected art collectors.


I wouldn’t place this quite at the level of the other two great investigative newspaper movies (“Zodiac” and, of course, “All the President’s Men”), but it’s very, very good, a methodical, refreshingly non-flashy look at how the Boston Globe broke the story that hundreds of Catholic priests had been raping children for decades. That subject, of course, is so appalling that it could easily make an entire movie about the subject unwatchable (albeit necessary), but co-writer/director Tom McCarthy keeps the focus on the reporters, and we learn about the horrific crimes of the church through the interviews and research – not (thankfully) through some sort of dramatic recreations. The cast is especially good, with Michael Keaton, John Slattery, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo and Brian d’Arcy James delivering nicely understated performances -- though Ruffalo, bless his heart, is a little less understated than the others. Special points for Liev Schreiber as the new editor who launches the whole project – it’s the best work I’ve seen from him. Be sure to stick around for the end credits, when you see just how horribly the Catholic Church has behaved all over the entire world. But don't worry, I'm sure it's all better now.


I love horror movies, but it’s rare that one of them actually scares me. This one did. Set during the Pilgrim era, “The VVitch” derives much of its power from just how foreign and downright alien our American ancestors actually were. The film focuses on a family living in seclusion after the father (Ralph Ineson) is exiled from the village for his strict religious beliefs. He, his wife and their five children are getting by (barely) until one day, teenager Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy) is playing peek a boo with her infant brother and he … vanishes. The supernatural forces behind his disappearance tear the family apart, but even more destructive are the paranoia, accusations and fear that flare up in his absence. Still, this (thankfully) isn’t some psychological thriller, it’s a balls-out horror movie, and when the monsters show up, you're in for a genuinely unnerving (and exciting) experience. Blood is spilled, people die and things get as bad as they can – and then, this being a horror movie, they get worse. Taylor-Joy is a revelation as Thomasin, but the rest of the cast is creepily good, especially the kids playing her awful younger siblings. Best of all, writer/director Robert Eggers manages to generate a cool, methodical, somewhat Kubrickian mood, making us nervous about the colonial setting long before everything goes to Hell. If you’re looking for a horror movie that skips the usual clichés and gets right to the heart of what’s terrifying, check this one out. It’s beautifully made, smartly acted and, best of all, just when you think it’s gone as far as it’s going to go – it goes a little bit further.

And oh, that goat...