Netflix's 26 New Streaming Titles - Review *

I pick Sonia.

*For Pamela Dale Pantell (And Maybe Your Mother)

It's 5 days into the New Year and a couple of items have already reached their saturation point.

I'm sick of hearing about Beyonce. Just pick someone else to talk about already. Honestly, when she is not singing she is the most boring person on earth. And lets not even talk about that lame apology she gave after being confronted with using dead astronaut voices from the Challenger disaster on her new single. For what it's worth (and I don't even know what this means) I'd rather have martinis with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor than Ms. Knowles.

Pot is legal in Colorado! Great. It's really not that big a deal to those of you who have been smoking it for years now is it? Who are you gonna play X-Box with for 8 hours if not your pot dealer? Is this really a good thing?

It's cold on the east coast and I'm very sorry about that but it's not in Southern California. Stop making me feel bad for wearing flip flops in January.

Oh no! Netflix has stopped streaming Titanic and Top Gun. Who cares, virtually every person on earth has seen those films. Netflix always rotates their streaming titles, why all the hullabaloo now? The good news is they have uploaded 26 new titles for streaming. I'm going to give quick little reviews of these films. Mainly for April's mom, Pamela Dale Pantell. That way she can know which of these new titles she should watch. I will use the standard 4 star rating structure however if I think it's a title that PDP will enjoy (or maybe your mother) I will denote that with a (P) and bold the review.

It's a hodgepodge of movies. Very unusual choices but some outstanding titles nontheless. Enjoy.

 

 

Amélie - (2002) **** (P) - One of the best films on this list. This a visually stunning movie that everyone loves. Audrey Tautou in a star making performance as the girl who tries to make everything right in the lives of those she loves. But what happens when it's time to focus on her life? French with English Subtitles. My mom refuses to watch films with subtitles. I'm pretty sure PDP can handle them. The film received 5 Oscar nominations.

American Psycho - (2000) ** - I personally didn't like this movie. Very violent adaptation of the novel by Bret Easton Ellis. Christian Bale gives an intense performance as usual however, the film looses sight of the satire that lies in yuppie 80's Wall Street and becomes a disturbing, by the numbers horror film. The outstanding cast, including Reese Witherspoon, Samantha Mathis, Jared Leto and Willem Dafoe, is completely wasted.

Big Trouble in Little China - (1986) **½ - This John Carpenter camp classic is not for everyone. Kurt Russell plays a John Wayne type truck driver who comes to town and is asked to save Kim Cattrall from the evil Chinese dark lords. I watched this hundreds of times as kid with my brother. Not sure what that says about me but I'll probably watch it again.

Breakfast at Tiffany's - (1961) ***½ (P) - Film adaptation of Truman Capote's novel about everyone's favorite mod girl, Holly Golightly. Winning classic romance also stars George Peppard, Patricia Neal and Buddy Ebsen.(!) If you haven't seen this film by now, do yourself a favor and watch it. Heck, watch it again. Oscar winner for Best Song "Moon River."


Bull Durham - (1988) *** (P) - What a treat to get to watch this film again. Three superstars in star making performances. Susan Sarandon. Tim Robbins. Kevin Costner. Sarandon plays a devout baseball fan who sleeps with one new player every year from her favorite minor league baseball team. Robbins plays Nuke, the cocky new pitcher and Costner is Crash, the veteran catcher who has been assigned to mentor him. Great fun all around and pretty sexy too. Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay Ron Shelton.

Children of a Lesser God - (1986) ** - I will go on record saying I am biased of this film. I don't like it and find it hard to watch. Mainly because Marlee Matlin won the Oscar for Best Actress, in this her film debut. Her whole performance is in sign language. That's the one novelty of this dated, hokey film. William Hurt plays a teacher at a school for the deaf and is smitten and curious by janitor (?!) Matlin. An interesting premise for a love story. (By the way Matlin beat out Kathleen Turner who had a far superior performance in the underrated classic Peggy Sue Got Married, see Kathleen Turner post here.)

The Chinese Connection - (1972) *** - This is Bruce Lee in fine form. Funny, charming and with his always excellent martial art skills. He is on the search for the murderers of his mentor. Watch out! This is one of Lee's better films. This is a not a (P) film because most mommies hate martial arts. But I enjoyed it.

Days of Thunder - (1990) - **½ (P) - This is a typical by the numbers movie about race car driving. Star Tom Cruise is at his brooding best and Robert Duvall is actually pretty good as pit crew chief but after more that at least 100 action movie cliches, it loses it's charm. Some pretty good racing stunts and some pretty-pretty shots of Nicole Kidman. I am (P) recommending this because it's a great movie for moms and dads to watch together. Directed by Top Gun director Tony Scott and Oscar nominated for Best Sound.

The Day the Earth Stood Still - (1951) - **** (P) - This is one of the best science fiction films ever made. Aliens come to earth in the form of a regal alien played by Michael Rennie. He carries a message of peace and delivers an anti-nuclear weapon warning. Most of mankind share his beliefs but not all. Directed by Robert Wise and also starring Patricia Neal and Hugh Marlowe.

Death Race 2000 - (1975) - ** - This dated action film starring David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone is over the top and is reminiscent of modern day video games. It's about extreme race car driving where participants receive extra points for running over pedestrians. It's ok if you like this sort of thing.

Ghost - (1990) - *** (P) - Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore shine in this love story. Swayze is murdered and comes back as a ghost. With the help of psychic Whoopi Goldberg (in an Oscar winning performance) he sets out to warn Moore of who his murderer is. Also Oscar nominated for Best Picture.

Good Burger - (1997) - *½ - Strictly for children. Based on the popular 90's Nickelodeon show about Good Burger fast food restaurant and the rival Mondo Burger across the street. Star Kenan Thompson has been a regular on Saturday Night Live for for a decade now. Cameo's from B-List celebrities abound including Abe Vigoda, Shaquille O'Neal and Carmen Electra.

The Grapes of Wrath - (1940) - **** (P) - I know watching this classic John Ford film may feel like it's homework but it's not. Based on the required reading novel by John Steinbeck, Wrath follows the story of the Joad family as they head out west to California during the Great Depression. All star cast headed by Henry Fonda. Jane Darwell won a Supporting Actress Oscar for playing Ma Joad as did director Ford. One of the all time greats.

Mousehunt - (1997) - **½ - Ok film of its sort follows Nathan Lane and Lee Evans who inherit a decrepit old house and string factory from their father that is infested with one determined little rodent. Slapstick comedy ensues. Gore Verbinski (The Pirates of the Caribbean) directs.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles - (1987) - *** (P) - John Hughes directs Steve Martin and John Candy in this Thanksgiving road movie with pretty good results. Martin is trying his damnedest to get home for the holiday and Candy is the obnoxious road mate he is stuck with.

Play It Again, Sam - (1972) - *** (P) - Film adaptation of Woody Allen's play directed by Herbert Ross (The Last of Shelia, Steel Magnolias). Allen plays his neurotic self trying to date after his divorce. With the help of the ghost of Humphrey Bogart, of course. Diane Keaton and Tony Roberts also star.

Raging Bull - (1980) - *** - Some people praise this as their favorite Martin Scorsese film, I think it's good. Robert DeNiro won an Oscar for Best Actor for playing boxer Jake La Motta. A close look at his violent life in and out of the ring. Nominated for a butt-load of Oscars including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress Cathy Moriarty and Best Supporting Actor Joe Pesci.

Red Dawn - (1984) - ** - World War III is upon us when the Russians invade mid-western United States.(!) The fate of the world lies in the hands of a group of teenagers who escape into the mountains. Starring a who's who list of Brat Packers including Lea Thompson, Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey and C. Thomas Howell. Harry Dean Stanton rises above the material as the father of two of the kids. Another movie I watched far too many times as a kid. For some reason this was remade in 2012.

Scrooged - (1988) - *** (P) - A retelling of the classic Dickens tale A Christmas Carol but set in the 80's in the cynical world of Television Production. Bill Murray is a hoot as the Scrooge character, an overbearing TV exec who wants his staff to work on the holiday. Full of a fantastic supporting cast that includes Karen Allen, John Forsythe, John Glover, Bobcat Goldthwait, Robert Mitchum, Alfre Woodard, Anne Ramsey and a glorious Carol Kane as Ghost of Christmas Present. Oscar nominated for Best Makeup. Directed by Richard Donner (The Goonies).

Spaceballs - (1987) - *** (P) - Mel Brooks and company try their hand at spoofing Star Wars with mostly good results. Fun enough for everyone. Mel Brooks plays 2 roles including Yogurt. "May the Schwartz be with you." John Candy, Bill Pullman, Daphne Zuniga and the voice of Joan Rivers co-star.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture - **½ - Not much to say here. This is the first film outing for the franchise and really is for the most loyal of Trekkies. Followed by many, many sequels.

The Talented Mr. Ripley - (1999) - **** (P) - One of my all time favorite films. Fantastic adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel about Tom Ripley. Tom (Matt Damon) is hired by a rich American to track down his son, Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law in a star making performance), and bring him back to the States. Instead Damon can't help but like the guy and aspires to be him. At any cost. Nominated for five Oscars the cast also includes none other than Cate Blanchett, Gwyneth Paltrow, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Philip Baker Hall. Directed by Anthony Minghella (The English Patient).

Thelma and Louise - (1991) - ***½ (P) - Now iconic road movie about two fed up women who get out of town and leave behind their men only to become fugitives. Oscar winning script by Callie Khouri and two memorable performances from Susan Sarandon and Genna Davis. Directed by Ridley Scott. Also starring Harvey Keitel and Brad Pitt's abs.

Tora! Tora! Tora! - (1970) - *** (P) - Faithful retelling of the events that led up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Told for the point of views of both American and Japanese armies. Nominated for five Oscars including a win for Best Visual Effects. The attack scene is really something!

West Side Story - (1961) - **** (P) - What can be said about this perfect adaptation of one of Broadway's biggest hits? The film won 10 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (George Chakiris) and Best Supporting Actress (Rita Moreno.)

What's Eating Gilbert Grape? - (1993) *** (P) - Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) lives in a small town and takes care of his retarded brother (Leonardo DiCaprio in an Oscar nominated performance) and his obese mother (excellent newcomer Darlene Cates) who hasn't left the house in 7 years. Great supporting cast includes Mary Steenburgen, John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover and Juliette Lewis. Directed by Lasse Hallstrom.

The Wonderful Works of Kathleen Turner - A Film Retrospective

Kathleen Turner has long been my favorite actress. Ever since I can remember I have admired her. In fact, when I was in junior high school, Mia Nelson and I would pass notes back and forth to each other in the hallways between classes. She would sign her notes Kathleen Turner and I would sign mine Michael Douglas.

Kids.

Not to long ago, my friend Padric and I compiled our list of the all time top 10 Movie Actresses. It took hours, days, weeks to whittle down our favorites, some 80 plus actresses, to just 10. We debated. We argued. We sometimes cried at the thought of who wouldn't make our list. But in the end we got our final 10. Kathleen was among them. You can read more about our grueling process on Padric's fantastic food culture blog, What Would Julia Do? Click here for part 1 of the Best Actresses post. Click here for part 2 of the Best Actresses post.

Kathleen Turner was one of the biggest box office stars of the 80's. In fact, in 1989, her box office totals ranked her the number 1 actress of the year. She has been nominated for Tony's, an Oscar and BAFTA and has won 2 Golden Globes.

She hasn't done much film work since the mid 1990's focusing instead on a stellar stage career. Unfortunately, Hollywood seems to have a short attention span and many may forget some of these fantastic films. Here I select some of her most memorable roles to share with you. For those of you that may or may not know of her career, I present to you the wonderful works of Kathleen Turner.



BODY HEAT - (1981) - *** - dir. Lawrence Kasden. Kathleen Turner, William Hurt, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson, Mickey Rourke. Turner exploded on the scene in this 1981 thriller. A wonderful homage to the film noir pictures of the 1940's. Owes a lot to Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity. Sexy and thrilling with a classic jazz score by John Barry and steamy cinematography Richard H. Kline. You practically want to wipe the sweat of the screen. Hurt and Turner are hot as hell and she nails the femme fatale. Turner earned Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for New Star of the Year.


ROMANCING THE STONE - (1984) - *** - dir. Robert Zemeckis. Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Holland Taylor, Mary Ellen Trainor. Turner plays a quite romance novelist who is suddenly finds herself in Columbia looking for her kidnapped sister. With only a cocky American vagabond (Michael Douglas) at her side. Fantastic comedy actioner in the vein of Indiana Jones is held together by Turner's very strong comedic performance. Golden Globe winner for Best Actress and Best Picture Musical/Comedy and an Oscar nomination for Best Film Editing. Followed by the sequel The Jewel of the Nile.

PRIZZI'S HONOR- (1985) - ***½ - dir. John Huston. Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Turner, Anjelica Huston, William Hickey, Robert Loggia, John Randolph, CCH Pounder, Stanley Tucci. This is one of the best dark comedies to come out of the 80's. Nicholson play a dim witted hit man who comes from a tight knit Mafia family. All hell breaks loose when he falls in love with Turner. This is the original Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The films is peppered with great performances all around. Especially John Randolph as Nicholson's father and Anjelica Huston in an Oscar winning performance for Best Supporting Actress. Golden Globe winner for Best Picture (Musical/Comedy) Actor (Nicholson) Actress (Turner) and  Director (Huston). It also received 8 Oscar nominations including Best Picture. When Oscar nominations were announced, one of the biggest upsets was Turner not receiving a Best Actress Nomination.

PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED - (1986) - **** - dir. Francis Ford Coppola. Kathleen Turner, Nicolas Cage, Barry Miller, Joan Allen, Jim Carrey, Helen Hunt, Kevin J. O'Connor, Catherine Hicks, Lisa Jane Persky, Barbara Harris, Maureen O'Sullivan, Wil Shriner, Sofia Coppola. This is one of my all-time favorite motion pictures. My favorite Coppola film and my favorite Kathleen Turner film. Look at this cast! This movie asks you, what if you knew then what you know now? What would you do differently? Turner collapses at her 25th high school reunion and when she wakes up she finds she has traveled back in time to her senior year in high school. Turner's performance is many things all at once. Heartbreaking, hilarious, gorgeous, strong. Roger Ebert had this to say, "Turner, who is actually 32, plays a teenager by making certain changes in her speech and movement: She talks more impetuously, not waiting for other people to reply, and she walks in that heedless teenage way of those who have no yet stumbled often enough to step carefully." This is masterful acting. This is a movie Frank Capra would have made if he was alive in the 1980's. Peggy Sue was the highest grossing Romantic Comedy of 1986. It received Golden Globe nominations for Best Picture (Musical/Comedy) and Best Actress. It received 3 Oscar nominations, including one for Best Actress and one for Jordan Croneweth's dream-like cinematography. I personally think it's one of Oscar's biggest travesties that Kathleen Turner did not win, she lost to someone who's name we will not speak of. Also of note is John Barry's beautiful score.

WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? - (1988) - ***½ - dir. Robert Zemekis. Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy, Charles Fleischer, Kathleen Turner. I mean, come on. Who doesn't know this movie. I would say that, arguably, Turner's Jessica Rabbit is the most popular character from the film. With her now infamous line, "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way," etched in pop culture history. This a fun live-action-comedy-cartoon-caper hybrid that pushed visual effects to new heights. It received a special achievement Oscar for animation direction and 3 competitive Oscars including Visual Effects. Also Golden Globe nominated for Best Picture (Musical/Comedy) and Best Actor (Hoskins).



THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST - (1988) - *** - dir. Lawrence Kasdan. William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Genna Davis, Amy Wright, David Ogden Stiers, Bill Pullman, Ed Begley Jr. Hurt and Turner reunite for this faithful adaptation of Anne Tyler's novel. Hurt shines in this performance of a grieving father who loses his son. Turner plays his ex-wife and Genna Davis (in an Oscar winning role) plays the eccentric new woman in his life. A film with a deliberate pace that pays off nicely in the end. Received 4 Oscar nominations including Best Picture. Golden Globe nominated for  Best Picture (Drama) and Best Score (John Williams).



THE WAR OF THE ROSES - (1989) - *** - dir. Danny DeVito. Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Marianne Sagebrecht, Sean Astin. This wonderful satire chronicles the life and marriage of rich yuppie couple Oliver and Barbara Rose (Douglas and Turner), from their first meeting at an estate auction to their fateful demise in a gorgeous chandelier. Yes, in a chandelier. When the Roses decide to get a divorce they cannot decide on what to do with their house. And shit just hits the fan from their. Douglas, Turner and DeVito are all in fine form on this, their third outing together. Very dark and violent at times, this wildly successful comedy was nominated for 3 Golden Globes, Best Picture (Musical/Comedy) Best Actor (Douglas) Best Actress (Turner).

V.I. WARSHAWSKI - (1991) - ** - dir. Jeff Kanew. Kathleen Turner, Jay O. Sanders, Charles Durning, Angela Goethals. What on earth is this movie doing on this list you ask? Well if Jessica Rabbit isn't bad, she's just drawn that way, then V.I. Warshawski isn't bad, she's just written and directed that way. Based on the hit novels by Sara Paretsky, Turner plays Chicago private investigator V.I. Warshawski. Yes the movie has a TV Drama essence about it and yes the directing is banal, at best. What do you expect from the guy who has directed such classics as Troop Beverly Hills and Revenge of the Nerds. However, Turner shines in the role of V.I. The part fits her like a glove and she is the only reason to watch this movie. Every time I catch this late night on KTLA Channel 5, I can't help but wonder at what could have been. Missed opportunities abound.

SERIAL MOM - (1994) - ***½ - dir. John Waters. Kathleen Turner, Sam Waterston, Ricki Lake, Matthew Lillard, Mink Stole, Mary Jo Catlett, Traci Lords. This is one of Waters' best films and Kathleen Turner is having a ball as the maniacal Beverly Sutphin. Beverly is the perfect mother who governs the perfect house with the perfect family and if anyone questions this or attempts to, they will be murdered. Also, just don't piss her off. Waters hits the nail on the head satirizing the media's love affair with with turning crazies into celebrities. Full of bizarre cameos, pussy willows and lots of blood. One of the best comedies of the 90's. Quotable for days.


THE PERFECT FAMILY - (2011) - *** - dir. Anne Renton. Kathleen Turner, Emily Deschanel, Elizabeth Pena, June Squibb, Jason Ritter, Richard Chamberlin, Sharon Lawrence, Michael Mc Grady. When Eileen Cleary is nominated for a top honor at her church she goes into overdrive trying to fluff up her family. This is the opposite of Serial Mom and it's a nice ying to that films yang. Here she has a lesbian daughter and alcoholic husband and her son is getting divorced and having an affair. The journey Eileen is on is one that questions her very beliefs in the church that wants to honor her. Great supporting cast. Best line, "I don't have to think, I'm Catholic."

Turner needs to do more films. That's all there is to it.