Men In War

Movies to See Right Now

by
LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT

OUT NOW

  • The brilliantly original Chinese neo-noir Long Day’s Journey into Night is a Must See.
  • The Aretha Franklin concert film Amazing Grace is, at once, the recovery of a lost film, the document of an extraordinary live recording and an immersive, spiritual experience.
  • Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen are pleasantly entertaining in the improbable Beauty-and-the-Beast romantic comedy Long Shot.
  • In The Chaperone, Downton Abbey’s writer Julian Fellowes and star Elizabeth McGovern reunite for a pleasing character study of self-discovery in 1921 America – it’s deeper than it first appears to be.
  • Ramen Shop is a lightly-rooted dramedy about a Singaporean-Japanese family’s reconciliation. There’s also a metaphorical foodie angle.
  • The bio-documentary An American Story: Norman Mineta and His Legacy is available from PBS.

ON VIDEO

This Memorial Day weekend, I’m recommending that you binge OJ: Made in America., the  eight-hour ESPN documentary series.  It made my list of Best Movies of 2016.  The trailer is on the film’s homepage. You can watch the entire movie on ESPNWatch and on some other streaming platforms such as iTunes and Hulu.

Elisabeth Moss’ powerhouse performance as a monstrously narcissistic and drug-deranged rock star Her Smell is the acting tour de force of 2019. The movie could have been a great one if shorter, but Moss makes it worthwhile watch nonetheless. Her Smell is out of theaters, but it’s already streaming on Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play, an available on DVD from Redbox. 

And I just caught up to the hypnotically compelling Burning.  This 2 hour, 28 minute slow burn begins as a character study, evolves into a romance and then a mystery, and finally packs a powerful punch with a thriller climax. It’s a superb achievement for director and co-writer Chang-dong Lee. You can stream Burning from Netflix, Amazon, iTunes and Vudu.

ON TV

On May 27, Turner Classic Movies brings us two particularly authentic war films, both set in the Korean War. In Men in War (1957), an infantry lieutenant (Robert Ryan) must lead his platoon out of a desperate situation. He encounters a cynical and insubordinate sergeant (Aldo Ray) loyally driving a jeep with his PTSD-addled colonel (Robert Keith). In conflict with each other, they must navigate through enemy units to safety. Director Anthony Mann is known for exploring the psychology of edgy characters, and that’s the case with Men in War.

The Steel Helmet (1951) is a gritty classic by the great writer-director Sam Fuller, a WWII combat vet who brooked no sentimentality about war. Gene Evans, a favorite of the two Sams (Fuller and Peckinpah), is especially good as the sergeant. American war movies of the period tended toward to idealize the war effort, but Fuller relished making war movies with no “recruitment flavor”. Although the Korean War had only been going on for a few months when Fuller wrote the screenplay, he was able to capture the feelings of futility that later pervaded American attitudes about the Korean War.

For something completely different, there’s Slap Shot (1977) on TCM on May 29. Paul Newman plays the dissolute player-coach of a failing minor league hockey team in a failing Rust Belt mill town. Things look hopeless until the Hanson brothers show up – three kids who look like nerds and play like goons. Very funny and a great performance by Newman.

Paul Newman (center) in SLAP SHOT

 

SLAP SHOT

Movies to See Right Now

by

THE RIDER

ICYMI here’s my remembrance of movie poster artist Bill Gold. And here’s my running list of Best Movies of 2018 – So Far. You can already stream some of them.

OUT NOW

    • The MUST SEE is The Rider. A young man’s rodeo injury threatens to keep him from his passions. Filmed in South Dakota with non-professional actors, The Rider is emotionally powerful and genuine – and not a bit corny.
    • Tully, the insightful and compelling dark comedy from the brilliant and brave team of Diablo Cody, Jason Reitman and Charlize Theron.
    • A Quiet Place is as satisfyingly scary as any movie I’ve seen in a good long time. Very little gore and splatter, but plenty of thrills. I’m not a big fan of horror movies, but I enjoyed and admired this one.
    • Godard, Mon Amour is, at the same time, a tribute to the genius of Jean-Luc Godard’s early cinema and a satire on the insufferable tedium of the political dilettantism that squandered the rest of Godard’s filmmaking career. This is a very inventive film, written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist). The more Godard films that you’ve seen, the more you will enjoy the wit of Godard, Mon Amour.

ON VIDEO
The recent capture of the Golden State Killer reminded me of Zodiac, from the master of the serial killer genre, David Fincher. video pick Zodiac can be streamed from Amazon (included with Prime), iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

 

ON TV

On May 28, Turner Classic Movies brings us two particularly authentic war and post-war classics.  I always recommend watching The Best Years of Our Lives around Memorial Day.  It’s an exceptionally well-crafted, contemporary snapshot of post WW II American society adapting to the challenges of peacetime. Justifiably won seven Oscars. Still a great and moving film.

In Men in War (1957), an infantry lieutenant (Robert Ryan) must lead his platoon out of a desperate situation.  He encounters a cynical and insubordinate sergeant (Aldo Ray) loyally driving a jeep with his PTSD-addled colonel (Robert Keith).  In conflict with each other, they must navigate through enemy units to safety. Director Anthony Mann is known for exploring the psychology of edgy characters, and that’s the case with Men in War.

Robert Keith and Aldo Ray in MEN IN WAR

coming up on TV: a Korean War movie sampler

by

Gene Evans in THE STEEL HELMET
Gene Evans in THE STEEL HELMET

Turner Classic Movies usually serves up war movies on the Memorial Day weekend, and, on May 27, TCM will present an uncommon slate of Korean War movies.  Most of the featured films were made between 1951 and 1957 – more or less contemporaneously with the conflict.  If you want to survey this subgenre, here’s your chance.

The best two are:

  • Men in War (1957): An infantry lieutenant (Robert Ryan) must lead his platoon out of a desperate situation, and he encounters a cynical and insubordinate sergeant (Aldo Ray) loyally driving a jeep with his PTSD-addled colonel (Robert Keith). In conflict with each other, they must navigate through enemy units to safety. Director Anthony Mann is known for exploring the psychology of edgy characters, and that’s the case with Men in War.
  • The Steel Helmet (1951) is a gritty classic by the great writer-director Sam Fuller, a WWII combat vet who brooked no sentimentality about war. Gene Evans, a favorite of the two Sams (Fuller and Peckinpah), is especially good as the sergeant. American war movies of the period tended toward to idealize the war effort, but Fuller relished making war movies with no “recruitment flavor”.  Although the Korean War had only been going on for a few months when Fuller wrote the screenplay, he was able to capture the feelings of futility that later pervaded American attitudes about the Korean War.

And these two are unusually thoughtful “message” films:

  • The Rack (1956):  A returning US army captain (Paul Newman) is court-martialed for collaborating with the enemy while a POW.  He was tortured, and The Rack explores what can be realistically expected of a prisoner under duress.  It’s a pretty good movie, and Wendell Corey and Walter Pidgeon co-star.
  • The Hook (1963):  A small unit of GIs is ordered to kill a North Korean prisoner, and this stagey screenplay explores the morality of following – or resisting – orders that violate civilized standards.  Kirk Douglas gives one of his testosterone-laden performances.

On the same day, TCM is also airing One Minute to Zero (1952), Target Zero (1955) and Battle Hymn (1957).

This time around, TCM is not showing the three most well-known Korean War movies:   The Manchurian Candidate, Pork Chop Hill and M*A*S*H.   The precursor to M*A*S*H*, of course, was  Battle Circus, a 1953 Humphrey Bogart film about a camp full of rowdy army surgeons.

And here’s a curiosity among Korean War movies: War Hunt,  a 1962 film about a rookie (Robert Redford) joining a Korean War unit as a new replacement with John Saxon as the platoon’s psycho killer.  Along with Redford, Sidney Pollack and Francis Ford Coppola are in the cast, making War Hunt the only film with three Oscar-winning directors as actors.   Don’t blink, or you’ll miss Coppola as an uncredited convoy truck driver.

Robert Keith and Aldo Ray in MEN IN WAR
Robert Keith and Aldo Ray in MEN IN WAR

Movies to See Right Now

by

Domhnall Gleeson in EX MACHINA
Domhnall Gleeson in EX MACHINA

The one MUST SEE in theaters is the intensely thoughtful Ex Machina.  I really like the thoughtful and authentic dramedy I’ll See You in My Dreams, and it opens more widely next week.   Far from the Madding Crowd, is a satisfying choice for those looking for a bodice ripper.  If you’re looking for a scare, try the inventive and non-gory horror gem It Follows.  Don’t bother with Slow West, a failed Western that never gets into rhythm.

My DVD/Stream of the Week is the role of character actor Richard Jenkins’ career – The Visitor. It’s available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play ad Xbox Video.

Turner Classic Movies always programs a war movie marathon on Memorial Day weekend. I recommend two of the very best Korean War movies – both airing on May 24:

The Steel Helmet (1951) is a gritty classic by the great writer-director Sam Fuller, a WWII combat vet who brooked no sentimentality about war. Gene Evans, a favorite of the two Sams (Fuller and Peckinpah), is especially good as the sergeant. American war movies of the period tended toward to idealize the war effort, but Fuller relished making war movies with no “recruitment flavor”. Although the Korean War had only been going on for a few months when Fuller wrote the screenplay, he was able to capture the feelings of futility that later pervaded American attitudes about the Korean War.

Men in War (1957): An infantry lieutenant (Robert Ryan) must lead his platoon out of a desperate situation and encounters a cynical and insubordinate sergeant (Aldo Ray) loyally driving a jeep with his PTSD-addled colonel (Robert Keith). In conflict with each other, they must navigate through enemy units to safety. Director Anthony Mann is known for exploring the psychology of edgy characters, and that’s the case with Men in War.

Gene Evans in The Steel Helmet

TCM’s Korean War Marathon

by

On June 24 and 25, TCM is showing fourteen straight Korean War movies: The Steel Helmet (1951),  Men In War (1951) , Men Of The Fighting Lady (1954), I Want You (1951), Battle Circus (1953),  Tank Battalion (1958), Mission Over Korea (1953), Battle Taxi (1955), The Bamboo Prison (1955), All the Young Men (1960), Take the High Ground! (1953), Time Limit (1957), The Rack (1956) and  Hell in Korea (1956).

If you’re gonna watch just one, I recommend The Steel Helmet, a gritty classic by the great Sam Fuller, a WWII combat vet who brooked no sentimentality about war.  Fuller and Peckinpah favorite Gene Evans is especially good as the sergeant.

This time, TCM is not showing the three most well-known Korean War movies:   Manchurian Candidate, Pork Chop Hill and M*A*S*H.

Earlier this year, TCM broadcast War Hunt,  a 1962 film about Robert Redford joining a Korean War unit as a new replacement with John Saxon as the platoon’s psycho killer.  Along with Redford, Sidney Pollack and Francis Ford Coppola are in the cast, making War Hunt the only film with three Oscar-winning directors as actors.   Don’t blink, or you’ll miss for Coppola as an uncredited convoy truck driver.