Hideo Nakata, Japan's master of suspense and unease, knocks one out of the park again with this follow-up to his Ring cycle. A neurotic single mother discovers a ghostly rising damp problem in the apartment block she moves in to with her little girl. Gradually, her sanity begins to ebb away. A squelchy study in female hysteria and maternal anxiety, yes, but also a good, old-fashioned spook flick.
Beware: this re-release of Ivan Passer's neglected 1971 movie comes billed as "starring" Robert De Niro. In fact, Two Oscars Bob, then unknown, has little more than a bit part, as a cop hassling real star George Segal, in one of his best performances as a bottom-rung junkie stealing through a wintry New York to feed his habit. Czech Passers' first US movie combines black comedy with bleakness and a nicely shabby feel which, though not entirely successful, points toward his best film, Cutter's Way.
Low-key Argentinian road movie of sorts from director Carlos Sorin. A lost dog provides the impetus for an old man to amble off on a slow journey: he's not really looking for doggie, he's hunting meaning and a decent way to die. New friends shuffle about and there's much sentiment which would be panned if this was a Hollywood flick.
The cross-cutting is seamless—'20s England, '50s California and presentday New York feeding off each other, resonating, as our disaffected heroines, played impeccably by Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep, flirt with total internal breakdown. And still, it's all about that nose. Kidman's prosthetic nose. Bumpy, spongy, and slightly off-colour. You either buy it, or you don't.
Released as part of an Eastwood box set, this finds Clint and Richard Burton breaking into a Nazi-held Alpine fortress to rescue a US general, then spectacularly blazing their way out. With bombings, knifings, shootings and that famous fracas atop a cable car, the body count is gratifyingly high. One wonders, given the bloody duo's amazing strike-rate, why they didn't ride their luck and continue straight on to Berlin.
Full of incident and introducing a slate of new characters, including Alan Cummings' edge-of-camp Nightcrawler, this workmanlike sequel plays less thrillingly second time round on a small screen. In addition to the expected commentaries, the second disc has more info about the film's making, the comic's history and what Ian McKellen had for tea on Day 28 of shooting than even a diehard fan could possibly want.
The 1961 multiple Oscar-winner may have stagey settings, Natalie Wood's singing dubbed, and a well-meant but muffed 'message', yet it crackles with wit and panache. The Jets fight The Sharks while pirouetting, Romeo and Juliet (Tony and Maria) coo amid the washing lines, and every Bernstein song's a humdinger with sizzling Sondheim lyrical gags. Cosily cool.
Howard Hawks' last western stars John Wayne and Jorge Rivero as former Civil War enemies who unite to battle a corrupt sheriff and a land-grabbing crook, aided by medicine show gal Jennifer O'Neill. It's a minor work, but likeable—the Duke's on fine form, Leigh Brackett's dialogue is snappy and there's a nice cameo by the reliably eccentric Jack Elam.
