Movies I Watched in August, Part 1

How about this? We're only a week into September and I've already got the first installment of the August movie recap up! Will wonders never cease? Solid, smart action movie with a clever script (courtesy of writer/director Christopher McQuarrie) and just the right sprinkling of jaw-dropping stunts. (I was a little surprised they led with Tom Cruise dangling from the plane, but I guess that's following in the grand tradition of the James Bond films, which these are definitely the 21st century offspring of.) Cruise somehow shows his age a bit in the face (I thought that might never happen), but he never slows down for a second, and it's nice to see Simon Pegg get bumped up to full sidekick status this time around. Two more things I liked: 1. The female lead (Rebecca Ferguson) was genuinely compelling and mysterious (and named after Ingrid Bergman's character in "Casablanca") without any romantic subplot being forced upon her. 2. Spoilers: It was refreshing to see our heroes defeat the badguy and then NOT kill him -- just take him into custody while savoring their victory. Nicely done, team. Decided to show Allie this classic, and though her attention wavered at times (I coaxed her into sticking with it with the promise that Scout dressed up like a ham at the end), I thought it still hung together beautifully. Admittedly, it covers a lot of ground, with the family drama, the evocation of childhood, the depiction of racial tension and the threat of looming violence, but it never feels draggy or overblown, mostly thanks to the low-key script (by Harper Lee and Horton Foote) and the grounded performances of Gregory Peck and Mary Badham (as Atticus and Scout). The scene that got me -- and always gets me -- is the one at the end when we finally meet the mysterious Boo Radley (Robert Duvall in his film debut) and Atticus, showing the same respect he shows everyone, introduces him as "Mr. Arthur Radley." It's a small touch that speaks volumes. (By the way, how do you like the way one of the greatest movies ever made about children says right on its poster that it's NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?) Amy and I actually saw the notoriously bad 1996 movie "The Island of Dr. Moreau" in the theater, so we were curious to watch this documentary that charts the descent into madness of the entire production from the perspective of the film's first director, Richard Stanley, who was arguably the first one to leap into the abyss. It's a fascinating story, to be sure, but the doc itself was merely so-so, never seeming to reach the potential of the story it was telling. (This was a movie, after all, where Marlon Brando invited the smallest man in the world to be his co-star, Val Kilmer played his part as a Brando imitator and Fairuza Balk had to be dragged back to the set when she wanted to flee the production.) In other words, it's no "Hearts of Darkness" -- but it's still probably worth a look. I'd never heard of this 1950 Humphrey Bogart movie, but when it turned up on TCM (where else?), I gave it a look and was glad I did. Bogey plays a test pilot working in the post World War II era who risks his life to prove that maybe having an ejection seat in a jet isn't a bad idea. The film plays like an off-brand "Casablanca" at times, with Bogart romancing a woman in Europe during the war then being reassigned to duty stateside before they can get married, only to have her turn up again with another man. (It all works out happily, unlike in "Casablanca.") As a bonus, you get Raymond Massey playing one of his typically gruff (but admirable) Raymond Massey rich guys along with some fun flying sequences -- both actual footage (from World War II) and wonderfully dated effects work (from Bogey's test pilot days). It's no classic, but it is a great example of how enjoyable your average "old movie" could be.