Colors

Colors
Orion
April 29, 1988
Crime Drama
DVD
D+

My main interest here was the glimpses of '80s Los Angeles, although it was nice to hear the title track and get the MST3K joke a little better.  Dennis Hopper directed.

The Color Purple

The Color Purple
Warner Bros.
December 18, 1985
Historical Drama
DVD
D

In my review (posted seven years ago,  https://rereadingeverybookiown.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-color-purple.html) of the Alice Walker novel, I talk about how disappointing it was to revisit, but I have never been a fan of the movie, which I saw in '94.  It doesn't help that I'd already read two negative reviews by critics I admire (Pauline Kael and Kathy Maio), at least one of whom pointed out the imbalance of emotional tones, and the wackadoodle timeline.  Yep, sure enough, revisiting this flick a quarter century later, you get two little girls playing in a sunny field, and one of them is revealed to be heavily pregnant, and yet the music doesn't miss a beat.  And then the next thing you know it's "Winter 1909" and the girl is giving birth, followed (but not immediately) by a scene set in "Spring 1909," where her baby is now seven months old!  I didn't even stick around for Whoopi.

Collateral

Collateral
DreamWorks
August 6, 2004
Romance, Drama
DVD
C-

I mean, I know IMDB says "Crime, Drama, Thriller," but it honestly isn't much of an action movie in the first quarter hour.  It's mostly about the meet-cute between a male cabbie and a female lawyer.  And Tom Cruise shows up a bit to be vaguely creepy, taking this down from a C.  Michael Mann directed.

Colette

Colette
Lionsgate
September 21, 2018
Historical Drama
DVD
C-

A miscast Knightley fails to show (at least in the first quarter hour), the wit, vivacity, and naughtiness of the title character, and in fact the movie seems like it should've been called Willy, considering how much screen time Colette's unappealing husband gets.  Still, the period (1893, the same as the opening of Coco avant Chanel) details are well done, and I appreciate that they threw a cat onscreen in the opening.  Wash Westmoreland directed.

Code Unknown AKA Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages

Code Unknown AKA Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages 
Artificial Eye
15 November 2000
Drama
DVD
C

Michael Haneke wrote and directed this story about how lives collide in Paris, which perhaps has potential but I didn't feel drawn in enough to go beyond the first fifteen minutes.

Coco Before Chanel AKA Coco avant Chanel

Coco Before Chanel AKA Coco avant Chanel
Warner Bros.
22 April 2009
Historical Drama, Romance
DVD
B-

This is an interesting but not absorbing look at the early life of the famous French fashion designer, with at least as much focus on her romantic relationships as on her evolving sense of style.  The movie gives a good sense of Tautou's versatility, since Coco is nothing like Amelie.  (And I recall her character in A Very Long Engagement as being different as well.)  Anne Fontaine directed and co-wrote, based on the book Chanel and Her World by Edmonde Charles-Roux

Coal Miner's Daughter

Coal Miner's Daughter
Universal
March 7, 1980
Historical Drama, Romance, Musical
DVD
B

I saw this at the time and enjoyed it, although, yes, it was upsetting for a twelve-year-old girl to watch the (non-explicit) deflowering of a bride not much older.  And as a woman forty years later, it still is difficult to hear the child bride saying no and her husband insist that the first time must be rough.  The movie, based on Lynn's autobiography, doesn't sugar-coat that life, and it is a tribute to the performances of Spacek and Jones as Loretta and "Mooney" that they are fascinating to watch, even when their actions are not admirable.  I'm using the "romance" tag, although it's more a movie about how a couple stays together than how they get together. 

I mostly know Michael Apted for the Up series, and he's an interesting choice for director not just because he's British but because those every-seven-years documentaries show how some people grow up, and this movie is definitely about Loretta coming into her own and yet retaining her innocence and modesty.  (The "horny" scene is funny, including Mooney's comment that "that's no act.")  Oddly enough, Apted doesn't do much to individualize the various child characters, other than Loretty's bratty kid brother Herman.  And, really, other than D'Angelo's vivid Patsy Kline and Levon Helm as Loretta's father, this is really a two-person story, where even Minnie Pearl doesn't get a line as herself.

Clue

Clue

Paramount
December 13, 1985
Historical Comedy, Crime Comedy
DVD
B-

So, I sort of remember this movie from the time, in that I remember what a critical and commercial failure it was and how I didn't see it in the theater partly because of that, and partly because I thought I'd have to go three times for all the endings, and that seemed like a rip-off.  So I caught it on cable, maybe all at once, maybe in bits and pieces.  I liked it and vaguely remembered it, but I haven't watched it in, oh, I'm going to say thirty years.

It would probably be a C+ without its game (pun intended) and very recognizable (to me) cast.  (I have to omit Kellye Nakahara, but I was delighted to see her outside of M*A*S*H.)  The story does drag a bit, especially during the "splitting up in pairs" part, but there's enough amusement and, yes, intrigue that it mostly held my interest throughout.  I also like the use of 1954-appropriate songs, like "Sh-Boom," and the bit of political satire.  Note that this is sort of the second movie I've reviewed where Michael McKean plays gay, unless you count ending #3.

John Landis co-wrote the story and this was Jonathan Lynn's first directorial gig (seven years before the much more acclaimed My Cousin Vinny).

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Columbia
September 18, 2009
Children's, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Romance
DVD
B

I saw this at the time and am very pleased to say it holds up, in visuals (despite advances in the last decade or so), music, humor, intelligence, etc.  And, yes, it counts as a romance, since the nerd-love between Flint (Bill Hader) and Sam (Anna Faris in what I've always thought of as the Drew Barrymore role) is sweet and better done than in a lot of romcoms.  The voice casting is overall solid, and I like how Mr. T is cast so much to type it's basically self-parody.  There are a lot of great throwaway jokes, visual and sound, and the music is just a lot of fun.  (The pacing could be a shade better and I wouldn't say I was riveted, so B is as high as I'll go.)

This is based on the (much shorter) picture book by Judi and Ron Barrett.  Phil Lord and Christopher Miller did the adaptation and co-directed.

Close-Up

Close-Up
Celluloid Dreams
1 February 1990
Drama
DVD
C-

The first quarter-hour of this is mostly a day in the life of a cab driver.  Abbas Kiarostami directed and wrote, based on a true story (with many people playing themselves).

Closer

Closer
Columbia
December 3, 2004
Romance
DVD
C-

Another movie that proves that attractive people don't automatically have chemistry with each other, although it would help if they could talk like real people instead of a stageplay.  Mike Nichols directed.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Columbia
December 14, 1977
Sci-Fi
DVD
C-

I did watch the entire movie when I was nine, but this time I was bored for the first ten minutes, and then things perked up a bit when it switched to the "ordinary people."  Spielberg directed and co-wrote.

A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange
Warner Bros.
13 January 1972
Sci-Fi, Crime Drama
DVD
F+

I've known of this film by reputation for decades, so I suppose I was biased going in, but it really is an unpleasant viewing experience, pointlessly so (at least in the first quarter-hour, which I had to make myself watch).  I won't rate it lower though because the unpleasantness is filmed stylishly, and this wasn't the dull slog of 2001.  Kubrick not only directed but adapted the Anthony Burgess novel, which apparently is very different.

The Clock (1945)

The Clock (1945)
MGM
May 25, 1945
Romance
DVD
C-

A soldier, who's so "green" he's never ridden an escalator before, bumbles his way into a secretary's heart.  Vincente Minnelli directed his future wife.

The Client

The Client 
Regency/ Warner Bros.
July 20, 1994
Crime Drama
DVD
D+

A parable about the dangers of preteen smoking, based on the John Grisham novel and directed by Joel Schumacher. 

Cleopatra (1963)

Cleopatra (1963)
Fox
June 12, 1963
Historical Drama
DVD
D+

At least the '30s version got Cleo onscreen relatively quickly.  This version spends five minutes on the overture and then opening credits, followed by a heck of a lot of Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison).  So ironically, I can't tag Elizabeth Taylor or anyone else who shows up after the first quarter-hour.  Joseph L. Mankiewicz directed, and this is based on various books.

Cleopatra (1934)

Cleopatra (1934)
Paramount
October 5, 1934
Historical Drama
DVD
C

I think I've tried to watch this before and, while it's better than the '60s version (coming up next), I still couldn't get into it today.  Colbert is sexy and her costumes are stunning, but I just didn't care enough about what should be a fascinating story.  (Even the famed entrance-rolled-in-the-rug scene didn't have enough panache.)  DeMille directed of course.

Clear and Present Danger

Clear and Present Danger
Paramount
August 3, 1994
Drama
DVD
D

Laughably bad acting (especially by Moffat as the president) and script, the latter based on a Tom Clancy novel.  Oh well, at least you get to see Han Solo palling around with Darth Vader.  Phillip Noyce misdirected.

The Inspector General

The Inspector General
Warner Bros.
December 31, 1949
Historical Comedy, Musical
DVD
C-

Well, I guess this gets some sort of award for being just barely released in the '40s.  I didn't find it one of Kaye's best, but obviously I've seen worse comedies lately.  Henry Koster directed.

Life with Father

Life with Father
Warner Bros.
September 13, 1947
Historical Comedy
DVD
C-

I've seen this before, maybe more than once, but I couldn't really get into it today, although, like Topper Returns, it has nice sets and costumes, and an interesting cast.  (I tuned out before Liz Taylor though.)  This is based on the Clarence Day memoir of the same name, and Curtiz directed nine years after The Adventures of Robin Hood, and five years after Casablanca.  

Topper Returns

Topper Returns
United Artists
March 21, 1941
Comedy, Fantasy
DVD
C-

While this has quite the early '40s cast, and the sets and costumes are impressive, I found it hard to care about the characters or the story.  And finding out that, after the obligatory first quarter-hour, the Joan Blondell character, the annoying, wisecracking but unfunny, gal-pal would be the ghost du jour, I'm glad I quit before getting in deeper.  This is loosely based on the Topper novel by then already "late" Thorne Smith.  Roy Del Ruth directed.

That Uncertain Feeling

That Uncertain Feeling
United Artists
April 20, 1941
Romcom
DVD
B-

I said that Nothing Sacred was a romance and a comedy but not a romcom.  Well, I think this is, although, yes, with the Lubitsch touch.  It is a triangle where an insurance-salesman (Douglas, going from boring to scheming) woos and tricks his wife (Oberon, lovely and fun), who's strayed with a "genius" musician (Meredith, both irritating and surprisingly sexy).  Although slow-moving at times (something I've noticed in other Lubitsch movies), it is witty and at times laugh-out-loud funny, with a good cast, including, yes, a scene-stealing Eve Arden.  The movie bombed at the time, but while I don't think it's on the level of Design for Living (reviewed here https://reviewingeverymovieiown.blogspot.com/2014/02/design-for-living.html), it is better than I expected, especially compared to the other "comedy classics" so far.

Nothing Sacred

Spoiler on the original poster!

Nothing Sacred
United Artists
November 25, 1937
Comedy, Romance
DVD
C+

I really don't know what I think of this movie and I was on the C/C+ fence in the first ten minutes and the last ten minutes.  Ultimately, I can marginally recommend it, for its cast and some of its script.  I like some of the offbeat humor, like the Calvin Coolidge joke (yes, I am the world's oldest 52-year-old), as well as its observations about the press.  Given the title, I guess I shouldn't be too shocked that a couple has a fistfight, while declaring their love, even though he keeps telling her to shut up and she's lied to him and the world, especially New York City, about having radium poisoning.  This is that odd movie that is a comedy and a romance without at all being a romcom, although, yeah, it's got a heck of a meet-cute.

William A. Wellman directed this eighteen years before Blood Alley.

The Milky Way (1936)

The Milky Way (1936)
Paramount
February 7, 1936
Comedy
DVD
C-

Forgettable talkie for silent-star Lloyd, with Verree Teasdale as a scene-stealing wisecracker, sort of like an early Eve Arden.  Leo McCarey directed, but this is no Duck Soup.  

My Man Godfrey

My Man Godfrey

Universal

September 6, 1936

Comedy
DVD
C-

I've seen this all the way through once or twice, but to be honest, I've never warmed up to it.  This time, it seemed a bit shrill and unfunny, although of course Lombard's wardrobe is great and there are scattered good lines in the first quarter-hour.  Based on the Eric Hatch novel 1101 Park Avenue and directed by Gregory La Cava.

Judge Priest

Singing about the laundry
while doing the laundry

Judge Priest
Fox
September 28, 1934
Historical Comedy
DVD
D-

The jaw-dropping racism aside-- Stepin Fetchit (AKA Lincoln Perry) as a slow chicken thief, Hattie McDaniel as a maid singing about housework!-- this is definitely not a "classic comedy."  John Ford directed.

Palooka

Palooka
United Artists
January 26, 1934
Sports Comedy
DVD
D+

Ham Fisher adapted his own comic strip, with the always middle-aged-looking 30-year-old Erwin as the young boxer.  Note the totally gratuitous postcard of topless "native women."  Benjamin Stoloff directed.

Mr. Robinson Crusoe

Mr. Robinson Crusoe

United Artists

August 19, 1932

Comedy
DVD
C-

Mildly racist, mildly racist (at least in that first quarter-hour) movie about a hyper middle-aged survivalist who makes a bet about living on a desert island with his dog.  At least the scenery's nice.  Fairbanks stars and co-wrote, while Edward Sutherland directed.

Speak Easily

Speak Easily
MGM
August 13, 1932
Comedy
DVD
C+

While this is never as funny as it promises to be, it's an amiable enough movie, both as pre-Code saucy as Thelma Todd (cast to type as someone with "sex appeal") and as bumblingly innocent as Buster Keaton playing an unworldly professor.  Jimmy Durante tells a lot of deliberately bad jokes, and the film meanders, but it's a pleasant 80 minutes or so.  (And a time capsule of course, with "drag" used in the "Varsity Drag" sense.)  Edward Sedgwick directed.

The General (1926)

The General (1926)
United Artists
January 2, 1927
Historical Comedy
DVD
C

While this started out promisingly, with a sly, whimsical sense of humor, about a poor schnook whose girlfriend pressures him to enlist in the Civil War, my attention wandered by the half-hour mark, when he was trying to keep the train going.  Keaton stars, co-directed (with Clyde Bruckman), and co-wrote, based on the William Pittenger book The Great Locomotive Chase.  

The Gold Rush

The Gold Rush
United Artists
June 26, 1925
Comedy
DVD
C-

Chaplin wrote, directed, and stars as the Little Tramp, well, "The Lone Prospector" here.  This is from a "Classic Comedy" collection, which seems to go chronologically, and I'm not big on silents.  Hopefully, I'll like some of the talkies.

Clash of the Titans (2010)

Clash of the Titans (2010)
Warner Bros.
April 2, 2010
Action, Fantasy
DVD
C-

I kind of liked the look of this (even in 2D) but I didn't care about the story, and, no, I haven't seen the '81 version.  Louis Leterrier directed.

Clash by Night

Clash by Night
RKO
June 6, 1952
Drama
DVD
C-

Stanwyck and Monroe onscreen together, seals in Monterey Bay, and that's about the extent of what I liked.  Fritz Lang directed.

Claire Dolan

Claire Dolan
Studio Unknown
May 1998
Drama
DVD
D

A plain, depressed prostitute's mother dies.  My main entertainment was MST3King when Claire shakes the priest's hand at the funeral, "That'll be fifty bucks."  Lodge Kerrigan wrote and directed this American-French indie.

City on Fire (1987)

City on Fire (1987)
Cinema City & Films Co.
13 February 1987
Action
DVD
D

This is very bloody but I did like the music.  Ringo Lam wrote and directed.

City of Angels

City of Angels
Warner Bros.
April 10, 1998
Fantasy
DVD
D-

Remake of Wings of Desire, which I've never seen, but it was creepy seeing Cage as an angel put his hands on everyone's shoulders and read their minds.  (This is the fourth Cage movie I've rejected so far by the way.)  And then it turns into a medical drama!  Brad Silberling directed.

City Hall

City Hall
Columbia
February 16, 1996
Drama
DVD
D+

Mildly interesting story marred by bad acting, including Cusack's New York accent.   Harold Becker directed.

Circle of Iron

Circle of Iron
AVCO Embassy Pictures
25 July 1978
Action
DVD
C-

A Bruce Lee story without Lee.  There are some surprisingly beautiful scenery shots, but you know, it's an action movie, so I wasn't gonna stick around.  Richard Moore directed.

Cinderella Man

Cinderella Man
Miramax
June 3, 2005
Historical Drama, Sports Drama
DVD
D+

Biopic about '30s boxer James J. Braddock.  Ron Howard directed.

Cinderella (1950)

Cinderella (1950)
Walt Disney
March 4, 1950
Children's, Fantasy
DVD
C

This was never one of my favorite Disney movies, even limiting the choice to '50s animation.  The first quarter hour is mostly about Cindy waking up, interacting with the animals of the household, and of course singing.  The co-directors were Clyde Geronimi (who also did Bambi), Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske.

Chuck & Buck

Chuck & Buck
Artisan Entertainment
July 14, 2000
Dramedy
DVD
D+

Sort of creepy story of a sort of creepy man, played by Mike White, who wrote the screenplay.  Miguel Arteta directed, years before Beatriz at Dinner and Alexander and the Terrible...Day.

The Chronicles of Melanie AKA Melānijas hronika

The Chronicles of Melanie AKA Melānijas hronika
Studio Unknown
21 November 2016
Historical Drama
DVD
D+

True story about a woman and her son who are sent to Siberia in 1941.  Viesturs Kairiss wrote and directed.

A Christmas Story

A Christmas Story
MGM
November 18, 1983
Historical Comedy
DVD
C

I've watched this all the way through in the past and been mildly entertained, but I've never understood the fuss about it.  Watching it by myself this time, I made it to the quarter-hour mark.  Jean Shepherd co-wrote the screenplay, based on his novel In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, with director Bob Clark, and he is the narrator.

A Christmas Carol AKA Scrooge (1951)

A Christmas Carol AKA Scrooge (1951)
Renown Pictures
30 November 1951
Historical Drama, Fantasy
DVD
C-

The famous short story, directed by Brian Desmond Hurst like a ghost story, including spooky music.

Chocolat

Chocolat
Miramax
December 15, 2000
Historical Drama
DVD
C+

I definitely would've rated this higher at the time I saw it, almost twenty years ago, but this time it felt very cliched, if mildly entertaining.  My favorite aspect was the use of color, from shades of chocolate brown to Vianne's signature red.  This is based on the Joanne Harris novel and directed by Lasse Hallström.  Note that I'm not using the "romance" tag, because Depp's character doesn't show up until almost halfway through, and this is proof that two attractive people (him and Binoche) will not necessarily have chemistry together.

Chilly Dogs AKA Kevin of the North

Chilly Dogs AKA Kevin of the North
Studio Unknown
Released in France in 2001 but to American home DVD in 2003
Sports Comedy
DVD
D

For some reason, my library shelves this as a children's movie, despite the mild profanity (e.g. "ass") and a joke about prostitutes judging a john's penis size.  Certainly, the movie is stupid enough for what some people think children's movies should be, but I can't imagine many kids being entertained by it.  Bob Spiers directed.

Childstar

Childstar
TVA Films
28 January 2005
Dramedy
DVD
D+

Unfunny and unmoving story about the title character and the equally unpleasant people surrounding him, although I'll admit it was interesting to see a 57-year-old Alan Thicke do a self-parody of his Growing Pains character.  Don McKellar directed, co-wrote, and played the driver character.

Children Who Chase Lost Voices

Children Who Chase Lost Voices AKA Hoshi wo Ou Kodomo
Media Factory
7 May 2011
Anime, Fantasy, Action
DVD
B+

Makoto Shinkai wrote and directed this stunning story of a 12-year-old girl in 1970s rural Japan who sets out on a journey to an underground world without fully understanding why.  To say that the story doesn't quite live up to the visuals is no insult, since my eyes were dazzled throughout.  The mountain scenery of the "real world" is actually more amazing to me, but I love the world of Agartha (inspired by multiple cultures) in all its wonder and terror, too.  The voice acting is solid (I listened to the American dub but heard bits and pieces of the Japanese original in the extras), the music, especially the poignant "Hello, Goodbye, and Hello" closing song, ably supports the onscreen action and emotions.  There is humor, the world's most gray-moraled substitute teacher, a sidekick kitten who's not what he seems, puppy love, interesting fight scenes, grief and healing, and so much more.  Not quite an A-, but highly recommended, even if you think you don't like anime.  And if you do like anime, you can't miss it!

The Children Act

The Children Act
A24
24 August 2018
Drama
DVD
C-

Depressing tale of a judge (Thompson) whose marriage is breaking up as she takes on challenging cases.  Ian McEwan based the screenplay on his novel.  Richard Eyre directed.

This is the 100th C- I've given on this blog, so a high percentage of the movies I check out aren't terrible but I don't really want to continue beyond the quarter-hour mark.