Movies I Watched in August, Part 2

Part Two (of three!) of the August recap -- I watched a lot of movies this month!


I’ve owned the book this movie was based on for years. It’s a fascinating conversation between Alfred Hitchcock and Francois Truffaut, who was a groundbreaking film critic before he became one of the legendary directors of the French New Wave. The book itself goes through Hitchcock’s career (and actually, before that, his early life), taking each film in stride with Hitch explaining – usually with the help of extensive still photos and frame blow-ups – how he directed some of his classic scenes. You know the ones – the Statue of Liberty climax of “Saboteur,” the dinner conversation in “Shadow of a Doubt” and, of course, the shower scene in “Psycho.” I guess I was expecting – and sort of hoping – that’s what “Hitchcock Truffaut” the movie would be, a deep dive into Hitch’s techniques and how he perfected (and perceived) them, but that’s not what it is, not really. It’s a documentary about the book itself – how Truffaut conceived it, how it was put together (with the help of a very dedicated translator) and how it was received (big-name directors chime in here, including Wes Anderson, Martin Scorsese and David Fincher.) It’s a good movie, don’t get me wrong, and fascinating for a film nerd like me, but I guess I was hoping it would be more about the movies and less about the book.


As I shockingly revealed on the 50th anniversary of “Star Trek” last week, I’ve only seen two episodes of the TV series in any of its forms. However, I have seen every single “Star Trek” movie, most of them (including the interminable “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” in the theater, and have enjoyed them all to various degrees. And this one? I liked it a lot, better than J.J. Abrams 2009 “Star Trek” reboot and much, much more than 2013’s “Star Trek Into Darkness.” I felt like everything came together nicely in “Beyond,” with the actors well-established in their roles, the ghosts of the original series finally put to rest (with the “death” of the old Spock) and a storyline that was genuinely exciting and suspenseful. Even the use of the Beastie Boy’s “Sabotage,” which seems so grindingly off-note in the trailer, worked nicely here. Apparently, though, in the grand scheme of things, "Star Trek Beyond" was a box office disappointment, which is a shame because after watching this movie, I’m dying to see the next one. If, that is, there is a next one.


We decided to show this 1984 comedy (fantasy? Horror movie?) to the kid, figuring she loves cute things and wanton destruction, so it would be right up her alley. She liked it, I suppose, though she got pretty hung up on the (admittedly) confusing rules about keeping Gremlins. Among her questions: Can you bathe them? What if they get wet while drinking? When does the “don’t feed after midnight” prohibition elapse? Sunrise? Noon? She makes some good points, but they certainly don’t hurt the movie’s fun factor. It’s so fast-paced, clever and violent (a lot of people – innocent people – are killing by the title characters) that it can’t help but be entertaining. It’s the perfect movie for director Joe Dante to helm, a good-natured (though, like I said, violent) comedy that pays tribute to all sorts of Hollywood history (especially “It’s a Wonderful Life.”) Plus, there’s Phoebe Cates’ classic monologue about the Christmas when her dad played Santa and wound up getting stuck in the chimney – and dying. That, to be honest, is the reason we waited to show “Gremlins” to Allie – she didn’t learn the truth about Santa until last fall -- and I definitely didn't want her to learn it this way.


Interested, dated (and interestingly dated) political drama about the competition between two contenders for their party's presidential nomination. One of them, the older, wiser, more trustworthy candidate, is played by (who else?) Henry Fonda. The other, a younger, less scrupulous, more hard-nosed candidate, is played by Cliff Robertson. What makes the movie -- written by consumate insider Gore Vidal and directed by a pre-"Planet of the Apes" Franklin Schaffner -- interesting is that the lines aren't quite so cleanly drawn. Fonda has a history of extra-marital affairs that everyone has been covering up, and if Robertson is a weasel (and he is), at least he's an unapologetic one. The big twist involves a possible homosexual affair deep in Robertson's military past (with Shelley Berman, of all people!), and the suspense comes from learning whether or not Fonda will use this bit of salacious gossip (whether it's true or not) to wreck Robertson's chances. The movie ends with a twist that manages to be both underwhelming and surprising, so I won't spoil it here, on the off chance that you actually are inspired to watch a 52-year-old political movie thanks to this blog post. Bonus points go to the cast, which also includes Edie Adams, Ann Sothern, Kevin McCarthy and one of my favorite actors the pre-Code era, the great Lee Tracy.