JUNE 2005 MOVIE VIEWING #729 - #733

22 Wednesday
Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles 1942 109 mins) 2/ 5
[ABC] 2nd viewing.
Not as strong as Citizen Kane but some startling cinematography, and fine acting by Joseph Cottons. Welles' voice over work is brilliant, great narration and the end of the film is so original and unique. Whilst not a great film, an important film as this was one of the two films that Welles had complete control over, but lost that control when he went overseas and the studio heads re-shot and recut the film.

21 Tuesday
Trial (Mark Robson 1955 141 mins) 2/ 5
[TCM] 1st viewing. Film #733
Glenn Ford is a Legal University Lectures without any courtroom legal experience. He therefore agrees to take on a case involving a Mexican boy charged with murder. as requested by a local lawyer. He soon becomes embroiled in fund raising politics while ultimately believing in the justice system when everyone else is ignorant of its failings. Not a bad film, Glenn Ford is quite convincing here. Arthur Kennedy received an Oscar nomination for his portryal of a corrupt lawyer, and Katy Jurado is convincing as the Mexican boy's mother. Some nice pieces of cinematography by Robert Surtees ( of The Sting / Last Picture Show / The Graduate / Ben Hur fame)

14 Monday
Batman Begins (Christopher Nolan 2005 141 mins) 1/ 5
[Rivoli Cinema 1] 1st viewing. Film #732

Such a disappointing film- considering the director (of Memento fame), and main star Christian Bale (of American Psycho fame) are two of my most favourite movie people and are so talented. This film is far too long firstly. Secondly, the story was boring. Not only that, but I had no idea what was going on in the first part of the film, with characters introduced with really no back story. Bale, while out of costume cuts a suave Bruce Wayne figure, he didn't seem to really fit the Batman model I was hoping. I guess the fact I didn't care about villains or what they were doing added to my disinterest. The only redeeming quality would be the look of the film, but even that caused confusion during fight scenes. Pass on this film.

13 Monday
Lady on a Train(Charles David 1945 94 mins) 2.5/ 5
[FOX Classics] 1st viewing. Film #731
Very simply, Deanne Durbin witness a murder from the window seat of the train she is travelling on. The remainder of the film, is the bumbling, accidental way she goes about solving the murder. An enjoyable film which gets the story rolling right from the first shot. Deanne is really wonderful , with a really enjoyable disposition and the situations she gets herself into and out of are quite comical. More of a black comedy than a serious murder mystery. Deanne sings three songs including 'Silent Night' over the phone to her father. Nice cinematography and good acting all around , especially by Edward Everett Horton as Mr Haskell.

11 Saturday
Suddenly (Lewis Alen 1954 95 mins) 3.5/ 5
[DVD] 1st viewing. Film #730
A wonderful idea of a film- the President of the United States is on a train that will stop in a small town called 'Suddenly.' It is here that the hitman Frank Sinatra plans to assassinate the president by hijacking a house on the hill near the train station. This is the film Lee Harvey Oswald saw days before he assassinated JFK. Sinatra is wonderful in his portrayal of a killer fighting the demons of his war past. He is perfect for this role, and the moments where he turns and talks directly to the camera are effective. Good cast all around- some of the dialogue is a bit staged but great concept which holds the interest right to the end.

5 Sunday
The Assassination of Richard Nixon (Niels Mueller 2004 95 mins) 3.5/ 5
[Rivoli Cinema 5 4.50pm 1st viewing. Film #729
An intriguing studying into the mind of Samuel Bicke (Sean Penn), who believes it is wrong in society to lie, especially as salesmen, but then contradicts his life by lying about many things throughout the film which ultimate drives him to wanting to fly a plan into the White House.
Sean Penn is mesmerising in this film, and Jack Thompson is really quite good (surprisingly) as his salesman boss. The look of the film, with its drained colours and the bookend narrative really works well. An enjoyable film that most people will find depressing but which is an intriguing look into the mind of man slowly going mad. Also worth mentioning Naomi Watt's performance, it took me ages to figure out it was her.