Butterfly (1999) ***
Dreamy tale of a little boy whose kindly old crinkly-eyed teacher becomes a kind of surrogate grandfather. But this is the Spanish Republic, and here comes history. Elegiacal till the final scenes.
The Son’s Room (2001) ****
Many truthful moments in this story of a modern Italian family going about its everyday business and suddenly losing a son. Sympathetic, well-drawn characters. A movie with a lived-in feeling.
Hud (1963) ***
Paul Newman is a method-acting rat in this tale of adolescent rebellion lingering way too long into adulthood. He poses maybe one time too many with his thumbs in his britches. Well done but bleak.
Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness (1927) **
Historical interest, as Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack fashion a simple adventure story from footage shot in Siam. Lots of jungle critters. Six years later, these men made “King Kong.”
Iron Man (2008) ****
Two hours of genuine fun. Robert Downey Jr. carries “Iron Man” the way George C. Scott carried “Patton.” You can't take your eyes off him, except to watch Gwyneth Paltrow as his gal Pepper Potts.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
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