The Amazing Spider-Man (2012, dir. Marc Webb) **.5/****

Not to be confused with the Sam Raimi-Tobey Maguire Spiderman trilogy, Marc Webb has directed a new adaptation of the Stan Lee-Steve Ditko comic book.  Was it necessary?   It stars Andrew Garfield as the new Peter Parker and Emma Stone as his love interest.  This time Peter is trying to find out the reason for the disappearance of his parents.  He finds clues that lead him to Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans) his father's former partner.  Along the way he is of course bitten by the spider which gives him superhuman strength and the ability to climb up walls.  I didn't like the film much, not because I have allegiances to any older Spiderman films but because there were too many moments that I found phoney, cliched or predictable.  The relationship between Garfield and Stone is somewhat forced and unbelievable.  The scientific gadgetry in Connor's laboratory is confusing.  I hope the new Superman film is better than this.

Hideaway (2009, dir. Francois Ozon) ***/****

A Francois Ozon's Hideaway, a young heroin addict, Mousse (Isabelle Carre) who's boyfriend recently died from an overdose, discovers she's pregnant.   She moves into a quiet cottage away from Paris and lives a tranquil, secluded existence.  Soon, her dead boyfriend's gay brother (Louis-Ronan Choisy) moves in with her.  The film centres on their developing, unconventional relationship.  Hideaway is a character study in which not a lot happens in the way of action.  The acting is good and the story is slow-moving but still quite compelling.  It is recommended to fans of French cinema and character-driven films.

Marty (1955, dir. Delbert Mann) ***.5/****

Ernest Borgnine won an Oscar for his portrayal of Marty Piletti in Delbert Mann's 1955 classic, "Marty".  It is a rewarding picture and performance to watch.  I felt akin to Marty myself being a 34-year old, never-married, single man.  Marty is a burly, lonely, and shy butcher who has arrived at the idea that he probably will never find a partner.  He lives with his mother and spends time on the weekends with his friends trying to figure out something to do to pass the time.  One Saturday night his mother suggests that he go dancing.  At first he is reluctant but eventually he gives in and attends a ballroom with his friend Angie (Joe Mantell).  It looks like it will just be another lonely, rejection-filled night until he meets Clara (Betsy Blair) and finds much in common with her.  They spend the rest of the night talking and getting to know each other.  It looks like a perfect match.  Eventually, despite reservations from his friends and mother, he decides that she is his ideal woman and decides, in the end,  to continue  to see her.  There is much to like about "Marty."  The performances are good, and the dialogue is realistic and appropriate.  Many people will identify with the two principle characters, and they undoubtably have because "Marty" one best picture in 1955 and has gone on to become a popular hit with audiences of every generation.  The film was made over 50 years ago but it still rings true today.  It teaches us that we have to trust our heart and instincts even if they go against the opinion of our family and friends.  It also shows that everyone, anywhere can find true love if they give it a bit of effort.

Sabotage (1936, dir. Alfred Hitchcock) ***/****

Hitchcock is known as the "master of suspense."  In Sabotage, there is one particular sequence which is  very suspenseful.  It involves a time bomb.  The audience knows when it will go off.  The characters however, are ignorant of its presence and as time tick away we realize that it is definitely going to go off.  I liked Sabotage for its suspense and its interesting character.  Sylvia Sidney is very beautiful and a pleasure to watch.  Oskar Homolka plays Verloc, a movie theatre owner who's wife (Sidney) slowly begins to suspect him of being a saboteur.  It is no spoiler that she is correct.   Her younger brother is the unfortunate recipient of the time bomb and the suspense is created as he is diverted on the way to his destination.  There is an undercover Scotland Yard constable who grows more and more suspicious of Verloc as the plot unfolds.  This is not the best of Hitchcock's films but it is an enjoyable early one.  The cast is good and the story and characters are admirable as well.

Imitation of Life (1959, dir. Douglas Sirk) ***.5/****

An aspiring actress named Lora Meredith (Lana Turner) is struggling to make ends meet, living alone with her 6-year-old daughter, Susie.  One day on a beach she meets a black woman, Annie Johnson (Juanita Moore) and her light-skinned 8-year old daughter, Sarah Jane.  Lora decides to take Annie on as her maid and the two women strike up a deep friendship.  Slowly, Lora's acting career begins to take flight and she takes on more and more roles and meets more and more people that will help her advance in her career.  The years go by and Lora, ten years later, is a seasoned actress who still feels that something is missing from her life.  There is a potential suitor, Steve (John Gavin) who loves her but is pushed aside to make way for the highly ambitious Lora's career trajectory.  Lora and Annie are still living together and now their two daughter's lives have become more complicated and troubled.   Susie has fallen in love with Steve and Sarah Jane rejects her black mother and refuses to accept her because of the colour of her skin.
Sirk's direction is masterful and he is an expert in putting female characters in situations where their society is at odds with their own interests.  It is highly melodramatic as most Sirk films are but it is compelling too and you feel deeply for the characters.  The acting is superb from most of the actors the only annoying one is Sandra Dee as the adolescent Susie.  The relationship between Annie and Sarah Jane is hearth-breaking and tragic.  This film is a remake of a 1934 Claudette Colbert film and is based on a novel by Fannie Hurst.  A moving, well-acted film.

 

A Late Quartet (2012, dir. Yaron Zilberman) ***/****

You do not have to be a classical music expert to enjoy A Late Quartet.  The film centres around four musicians who are part of a string quartet.  Christopher Walken's character Peter Mitchell is the oldest member of the group and he find out that he is in the early stages of Parkinson's disease.  This means that he will have to retire from the group as his co-ordination and dexterity declines.   The other members are the married couple Robert and Juliette Gelbart (Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Catharine Keener) and Daniel Lerner (Mark Ivanir).  The film depicts how Mitchell's diagnosis affects the dynamics of the group and relationship of the people involved.  It is a really enjoyable film with great performances.  It is interesting to get a realistic glimpse into the lives of classical musicians and how their decisions and eccentricities can be trying and complicated.  A nice character study and will leave you feeling good about yourself and humanity afterwards.

Broken City (2013, dir. Allen Hughes) ***/****

Broken City tells the tale of Billy Taggart (Mark Wahlberg) a an ex-cop turned private eye who is enlisted by the mayor of New York City (Russell Crowe) to find out if and who with his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is having an affair.  The mayor, Hostetler (Crowe) is in the middle of a heated campaign to be re-elected as mayor.  His main opponent (Jack Valliant) is eager to take his place and his campaign manager may or may not be having the affair with Zeta-Jones' character.  Wahlberg finds himself going deeper and deeper into the seamy underbelly of Hostetler's corruption.  Eventually, he must risk his freedom from imprisonment by revealing the corruption.  It is not the greatest film I have seen in recent times but it is a pretty entertaining film with solid performances from all the principle actors.  The screenplay is weak at times and the story can be confusing but it is good enough to be seen by fans of the actors and mysteries.