Seven Days in May

1964 film about a rogue Air Force general who opposes the President's treaty with the Soviet Union, and puts in place a plan to overthrow the President and take power to save the nation. Burt Lancaster is cold and calculating, Kirk Douglas spry as his aide, Ava Gardner subdued as his mistress, Frederic March understated yet passionate as the President. Clichés eventually seep in, of course, but it remains a powerful film. I'd love top see it reprised

Invictus

Put in Clint Eastwood, Morgan, Freeman and Matt Damon, add Nelson Mandela, and who will criticize it? 2009 film got 75% at RottenTomatoes.com (Delivered with typically stately precision from director Clint Eastwood, Invictus may not be rousing enough for some viewers, but Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman inhabit their real-life characters with admirable conviction.) I was not terribly impressed: acting was excellent, but it seemed clichéd.

Married life

Seeing a review of a new film in the Times, starring Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton, I decided to get films with McAdams. This is one. An added attraction, for me, was the presence of Chris Cooper.

Chris Cooper's character, Harry Allen, is married, but has fallen in love with Kay  Nesbitt (Rachel McAdams), herself a young widow. harry's best friend, Richard Langley (Pierce Brosnan), narrates the film and (eventually) steals Kay from Harry. Unwilling to hurt his wife, Pat (Patricia Clarkson), Harry decides to kill her by poisoning the powder she takes nightly for her regularity or headaches. However, Pat herself is having a fling with a neighbor from the country where they have a cottage.

It sort of works. Somehow, though, it feels as if Chris Cooper is not quite stretched out, though he does do a good job. Brosnan is good, as well, as are Clarkson and McAdams. Yet, there is a but...

Zigazak!

A patron called up today, looking for this book. Peninsula does not own it, but other libraries do.


Two evil spirits wreak havoc on the town of Brisk's Hanukkah celebration, until the town's wise rabbi puts a stop to their mischief.

It all starts today

Directed by Bertrand Tavernier ('Round Midnight). A teacher struggles to make a difference in the lives of his students. Very typically French, in some respects: the characters talk ceaselessly, there is a lot of cheek kissing. In telling the story of a pre-school director, the film shows a slice of French life which is not shown by all the cooking shows that extoll Gallic life. Many of the students in the school are from poor families; one, a cute girl whom the etacher engages and tries to help, suddenly dies at her mother's hand, overdosed on thorazine when the nopther despairs of their economic challenges.

One reviewer has it this way: Director/co-writer Bertrand Tavernier, known for the realism in his films, takes the same matter-of-fact approach here, immersing the viewer in the very bleak everyday living conditions of the children and their families. While this sets a decidedly somber tone, it doesn't bludgeon; as tragedies take place, providing a tonic is the quiet heroism of Daniel and his efforts to challenge the system. True to the overall realism, Daniel is no perfect paragon of virtue; he has his share of character flaws (foremost, ego), and all facets of his personality are vividly conveyed by Torreton. But his--and the film's--the unwavering sense of cautious hope keeps the experience from being a draining downer and makes it a profound study of an all-too-common human condition.

Running with Scissors

Wanted to watch something with Jill Clayburgh acting; she passed away last Saturday. Strange, weird film. Enjoyable, I suppose. In a weird sort of way. Certainly not the run-of-the-mill film.

This entry appears in Clayburgh TCM profile: "Nip/Tuck" creator Ryan Murphy was so impressed with the now character actress that he also tapped her to play the depressed adoptive mother of Augusten Burroughs in his film version of the author's best-selling memoir, "Running with Scissors" (2006) - in which she was often cited as the best thing about the depressing, bizarre film.

Zone

Saw it today.

It Happened in Flatbush

Forgettable 1942 film about baseball. Lloyd Nolan does a credible Brooklyn accent. William Frawley does a nice job as a general manager. Carole Landis plays the heiress who decides to keep the Brooklyn team she inherits. As an aside, Robert Osborne of TCM said that Landis killed herself at age 29 despondent over her broken affair with Rex Harrison (a fact not mentioned in other venues).