REVIEW: Café Society

Directed by Woody Allen
2016 Romance Drama
1 hour 36 minutes
From Lionsgate

Starring
Jesse Eisenberg
Kristen Stewart
Steve Carell
Blake Lively
Jeannie Berlin
Carey Stoll
Ken Stott
Parker Posey

Ida Lupino

Few would doubt that she was one of the premier actresses of the 1940s, a superbly gifted dramatic actress who more than held her own against the likes of Hepburn, Stanwyck, Davis and Crawford but never attained the glittering reputation that those women acquired.  Housed at Warner Bros during her peak years, she was often referred to as the poor man's Bette Davis and, in fact, assumed a number of parts that Davis turned down.

REVIEW: Captain Fantastic

Directed by Matt Ross
2016 Comedy Drama
1 hour, 58 minutes
From Bleecker Street Media

Starring
Viggo Mortensen
George McKay
Frank Langella
Samantha Isler
Annalise Basso
Nicholas Hamilton
Shree Crooks
Charlie Shotwell
Kathryn Hahn
Steve Zahn
Ann Dowd

Tormented: Robert Walker

I basically felt inadequate, unwanted and unloved since I was born. I was always trying to make an escape from life.  I was an aggressive little character but what nobody knew but me was that my badness was only a cover-up for a basic lack of self-confidence, that I was really more afraid than frightening.

Walter Pidgeon

He was the perfect gentleman.  Don't take my word for it. It would be a rare article on him that does not make mention of that fact.  He was usually nattily dressed, often with a cravat, and to me he was most distinguished.  There was a superiority about him although never displayed in such a way as to demean others. That superiority often led to roles of authority... military officers, studio heads, senators, law enforcement... all of which elegantly suited him.  He seemed steady as a rock, kind and wise and utterly likeable.

Patricia Neal

The lady bewitched me from the start.  She was strong, there was always an air of authority about her.  Occasionally she had a tongue that could slice meat but ordinarily she was simply very good at facing down the opposition.  Her characters sometimes used sex as a lure but it was her braininess that always cinched the deal for me.  This was one determined human being... it was always so apparent.  The lines were blurred between her characters and who she was as a person. I saw nothing of the victim in her.

Dennis Morgan

Who?  Who is he?  Don't feel too bad if you don't know.  I suspect most of you don't although I would happily be wrong if that's not the case.  While he was an accomplished dramatic actor and an especially fine singer, his best film was a comedy and he only made a handful of good films out of 59.  Oddly, he was the highest-paid male actor at Warner Bros during the 1940s and that is really saying something considering that studio boasted such talents as James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Errol Flynn and John Garfield.  And Dennis Morgan was just about the best-looking actor around.  So, what's missing here? Why is he not as well-known as those coworkers?

Good 40s Films: The Search

1948 War Drama
From MGM
Directed by Fred Zinnemann

Starring
Montgomery Clift
Ivan Jandl
Aline MacMahon
Jarmila Novotna
Wendell Corey

REVIEW: The Legend of Tarzan

Directed by David Yates
2016 Action Adventure
1 hour, 49 minutes
From Warner Bros & Village Roadshow

Starring
Alexander Skarsgard
Samuel L. Jackson
Margot Robbie
Christoph Waltz
Djimon Hounsou
Jim Broadbent

Happy 100th, Olivia

To Miss Olivia de Havilland
I know we all wish you the happiest, healthiest, sweetest, luckiest, tastiest, brightest, sunniest and best of birthdays. You have just joined a pretty exclusive group. It's lucky to have you.