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Flashdance (1983) [R] ***

A film review by Roger Ebert for rogerebert.com on April 19, 1983.

I have a friend who has a simple test for a movie: Is this movie as interesting as the same things would be, happening in real life? A lot of movies aren’t, and Flashdance sure isn’t. If this movie had spent just a little more effort getting to know the heroine of its story, and a little less time trying to rip off Saturday Night Fever, it might have been a much better film.

My friend’s simple test applies to this movie in another way: The movie is not as interesting as the real-life story of Jennifer Beals, the young Chicago actress who stars in it. Beals graduated a year ago from Francis Parker School. She already had launched a career as a model (covers on Town & Country and Vogue), after being discovered by Chicago super-photographer Victor Skrebneski. She enrolled in Yale, took some acting classes in New York, went to an audition, and won this role

The irony is that her story, simply and directly told, might have been a lot more interesting than the story of Flashdance, which is so loaded down with artificial screenplay contrivances and flashy production numbers that it’s waterlogged. This is one of those movies that goes for a slice of life and ends up with three pies.

Jennifer Beals plays Alex, an 18-year-old who is a welder by day, and a go-go dancer by night, and dreams of being a ballet star, and falls in love with the Porsche-driving boss of the construction company, played by Michael Nouri.

These are a lot of character details even if she didn’t also have a saintly old woman (Lilia Skala) as a mentor, a big slobbering dog as a friend, a bicycle she rides all over Pittsburgh, a loft the size of a sweatshop, a friend who ice skates (Sunny Johnson), and the ability to take off her bra without removing her sweatshirt. This poor kid is so busy performing the pieces of business supplied to her by the manic screenwriters that she never gets a chance to develop a character.

Meanwhile, the movie has a disconcerting way of getting sidetracked with big dance scenes. The heroine works in the most improbable working-class bar ever put on film, a joint named Mawby’s that has a clientele out of the Miller’s TV ads, stage lighting reminiscent of Vegas, go-go dancers who change their expensive costumes every night and put on punk rock extravaganzas and never take off all their clothes and never get shouted at by the customers for not doing so.

Flashdance is like a movie that won a free 90-minute shopping spree in the Hollywood supermarket. The director, Adrian Lyne, and his collaborators race crazily down the aisles, grabbing a piece of Saturday Night Fever, a slice of Urban Cowboy, a quart of Marty and a box of Archie Bunker’s Place. The result is great sound and flashdance, signifying nothing. But Jennifer Beals shouldn’t feel bad. She is a natural talent, she is fresh and engaging here, and only needs to find an agent with a natural talent for turning down scripts. [Ebert's rating: 1.5 stars out of 4 =37.5%]

Labels: drama, music, romance
IMDb 62/100
MetaCritic (critics=39, viewers=67)
RottenTomatoes (critics=37, viewers=61)
Blu-ray

The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) [PG] ****

A film review by Dr. Svet Atanasov for Blu-ray.com on Feb. 16, 2022.

Robert Aldrich's The Flight of the Phoenix arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new program with filmmaker Walter Hill and film scholar Alain Silver; exclusive new program with biographer Donald Dewey on actor James Stewart; and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

Robert Aldrich gathered an excellent cast of international stars for this ambitious adaptation of Elleston Trevor's popular novel The Flight of the Phoenix. Despite a strong promotional campaign, however, the film did not meet studio expectations and was considered a flop. But since its release in 1965 it has evolved into something of a minor genre classic, and in 2004 John Moore even directed a loose remake for Twentieth Century Fox, titled Flight of the Phoenix and starring Dennis Quaid.

James Stewart plays the veteran pilot Frank Towns who is forced to crash land an old plane transporting oil rig workers deep into the heart of the Libyan Desert. A few of the passengers die when the plane hits the sand dunes, but the rest survive. After they bury the dead, they figure out that they have enough water for a little over ten days.

Towns takes full responsibility for the accident and tries to keep the morale up, but eventually some of the men begin questioning his authority. The first to do so is Captain Harris (Peter Finch), who thinks that waiting for a rescue mission with a limited supply of water means certain death. But the nearest oasis is more than hundred miles away and reaching it seems impossible. Nevertheless, Harris leaves the camp, and is soon after followed by Trucker Cobb (Ernest Borgnine). Meanwhile, another survivor, Heinrich Dorfmann (Hardy Kruger), announces that he is an aircraft designer and knows how to use parts of the broken plane to build a new one. Towns immediately confronts Dorfmann and declares that his plan is ridiculous, but when he describes exactly what he intends to do it becomes obvious that he could in fact succeed. However, for his plan to work Dorfmann needs everyone to get involved and follow his instructions. This immensely complicates the situation, and even after the interference of his loyal assistant, Lew Moran (Richard Attenborough), Towns refuses to see Dorfmann as anything else but an egoistic challenger who should not be trusted. While the two men openly clash and question their technical knowledge and credibility, the water supply continues to shrink.

The film is loosely broken into three uneven segments, the longest being the second one. It is in this segment that Aldrich gives each actor a chance to shine and introduces a couple of interesting what-if scenarios.

The visuals are quite wonderful and, more importantly, feel authentic. The construction of the new plane certainly looks like a very challenging project, but it is not difficult to accept that it can be made to function exactly as described by Dorfmann. The only questionable element of the project is the final phase, where the exhausted men must drag the new plane to the location chosen by Dorfmann and then test it.

Despite using the same material, Aldrich and Moore's films have very different identities. Aldrich's film has a quasi-documentary appearance and its characters certainly emerge as mortals who must roll the dice and hope that they get a chance to survive. So, there is some real drama and tension in it. Moore's film is more of a show-off piece with all the whistles and bells big-budget Hollywood productions are known for.

Labels: adventure, drama
IMDb 75/100
RottenTomatoes (critics=86, viewers=81)
Blu-ray
Criterion Films catalog entry

Blogger's comment:
In the 1840s John Stringfellow and William Henson patented designs for an Aerial Steam Carriage, a large monoplane design intended for passenger travel. In 1851 Stringfellow, working after his partnership with Henson had ended, successfully flew a small, steam-powered model aircraft, powered by a lightweight steam engine. The aircraft flew 600 meters (2,000 feet) before hitting an obstacle.

Alfie (2004) [R] ***

A film review by James Berardinelli for ReelViews.net

For me, there's a litmus test for remakes: are they sufficiently different and/or interesting in their own right that their existence is easily defended? Admittedly, it's a lot easier to argue the case for a new version of Alfie (to today's audiences, the 1966 original could be considered obscure) than Psycho, but somehow the film doesn't work as well as it should. The problem is one of context. Although director/screenwriter Charles Shyer changes the setting from '60s London to '00s New York, he otherwise stays relatively faithful to the approach (if not the specific text) of Lewis Gilbert's version. The first Alfie occurred during the birth pains of the sexual revolution, when one-night stands were the expected norm for virile young men. Applying that mindset to the AIDS era, when one-night stands can become games of Russian roulette, doesn't work. Cosmetic updates to the title character can't change the fact that Alfie is a relic lifted from one era and dropped into another one.

Having said that, however, it is necessary to point out that Jude Law does a solid job, although he's essaying a person who generates limited audience sympathy. Law does not attempt to ape Michael Caine, but makes the character his own. (Along with The Ipcress File, Alfie is the film that cemented Caine's reputation. It's odd that he doesn't have a cameo in this remake - maybe he learned a lesson from Get Carter.) Like Caine, Law seems comfortable breaking the fourth wall and addressing the audience directly. When Gilbert used the device some 40 years ago, it was fresh, but, by 2004, it is clichéd. Not to mention that it emphasizes Alfie's smugness and narcissism, making him less likable.

Shyer has never found a remake he didn't like. His recent resume is dotted with re-dos. He was involved in new versions of Father of the Bride, Father's Little Dividend (called Father of the Bride Part II so as to not confuse audiences), Once Upon a Crime..., and The Parent Trap. None of these films showed remarkable qualities, so anyone with a degree of familiarity with Shyer's career should have known about what to expect from Alfie. The original Alfie came out at precisely the right time. The remake is 40 years too late.

The storyline is one of simple karma. Throughout the first half of the film, Alfie plays the perfect womanizer, a fashion whore who goes after every pretty FBB (face, boobs, bum) he sees, without concern for the consequences. These include Dorie (Jane Krakowski), a lonely wife whose husband hasn't touched her in five months; Lonette (Nia Long), his best friend's girl; Julie (Marisa Tomei), his quasi-girlfriend who has a son Alfie adores; Nikki (Sienna Miller), who makes a convenient companion on the second loneliest night of the year (Christmas Eve); and Liz (Susan Sarandon), a confident older woman who knows what she likes. Shortly after the midpoint, the tables are turned, and Alfie discovers some hard truths about how he has been treating the opposite sex. By the end of the movie, he hasn't found happiness, but he has discovered humility. During the closing scenes, one can imagine that Charles Chaplin's Smile was written for this character (Smile, though your heart is breaking…).

Aside from Law, there aren't any standout performances. None of the women have large roles, and even the best of them (Sarandon, Miller) struggle to escape the stereotype confines in which the script pigeonholes them. As Marlon, Alfie's best/only friend, Omar Epps doesn't fare any better. Epps has one memorable moment, and it's more his facial expression than his words that make it work. Tomei is surprisingly subdued, and wears a hairdo that one could argue is paying homage to the era in which the original Alfie debuted.

Having expressed some negative thoughts about the film, however, I have to admit that Alfie grew on me. Once we get past all the smart-aleck asides offered up by the title character, and begin to get to know the real Alfie, the movie becomes more engaging. Certain individual scenes are surprisingly effective, such as Alfie's bathroom chat with an older gentlemen (who advises: Find someone to love and live every day as if it was your last), his farewell to Nikki, and the result when he finally brings flowers to a woman. Alfie shouldn't have a happy ending, and it doesn't. Thankfully, Shyer doesn't force something into the film that wouldn't fit.

Alfie has the requisite moments of pathos and humor that allow the movie to be enjoyed on some level, even if the main character occasionally feels like a walking, talking anachronism. Those who demand a sympathetic character to appreciate a film may not have a favorable feeling. I'm more open to ambiguous protagonists and anti-heroes, so this aspect didn't bother me. Still, this is a mixed bag - passable entertainment made palatable largely by Law, but the question of Why? more than What's it all about? still lingers where this remake is concerned. [Berardinelli's rating: 2.5 out of 4 stars = 62%]

Blogger's observation: Alfie's self-assessment in the final scene goes like this:

I used to think I had the best end of the deal. What have I got Really? Some money in my pocket. Some nice threads. Fancy car at my disposal. And I'm single. Yeah. Unattached. Free as a bird. I don't depend on nobody. Nobody depends on me. My life's my own. But I don't have peace of mind. And if you don't have that, you've got nothing.

Labels: comedy, drama, romance
IMDb 62/100
MetaCritic (critics=49, viewers=59)
RottenTomatoes (critics=48, viewers=51)
DVD

Love Again (2023) [PG-13] ***

 A film review by Brian Orndorf for Blu-ray.com on May 5, 2023.

Writer/director Jim Strouse made a positive impression with his last two features, guiding 2015’s People Places Things and 2017’s The Incredible Jessica James to big hearts and sizable laughs, positioning him as a helmer to watch, especially with smaller, more human tales of love and confusion. However, indie film work has its professional limitations, with Strouse trying on a studio project for size with Love Again, which is a remake of a 2016 German picture, detailing the experiences of two strangers who find each other through text-based confessions, leading to a romance that’s built on a big issue of trust. Love Again isn’t an event movie, but it does have some scale thanks to a supporting turn from Celine Dion, and the material plays to Strouse’s strengths with its presentation of wounded souls. Typical romantic comedy shallowness isn’t completely avoided, but the material makes a serviceable attempt to highlight human concerns, and chemistry with leads Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Sam Heughan is pleasant enough to lift the endeavor up when it needs it.

Mira (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) is a children’s book author struggling to come up with an idea for her latest project, still lost in the grieving process two years after the death of her boyfriend, John (Arinze Kene). She lives with her sister, Suzy (Sofia Barclay), still reminded of the man she loved, trying to work through her thoughts by texting his number, sharing her feelings with the void. Rob (Sam Heughan) is a newspaper music critic struggling to get over being dumped by his longtime girlfriend, fighting to focus on an assignment to interview Celine Dion. He receives a new phone from his boss, with the number transferred from John’s old account, allowing Rob to receive Mira’s intimate messages of sadness. Rob eventually meets Mira at the opera, sparking an immediate attraction to the woman, and their dates turn into a relationship, though the writer can’t bear to tell his love about the messages, complicating their union.

While Rob’s heartbreak isn’t immediately detailed, Mira’s sudden loss serves as the introductory scene of Love Again, with John looking to win his girlfriend over with a personal visit before work, gifting her a bag of Skittles as a token of his affection (there’s a sizable amount of product placement in the feature). They soon separate, with John killed by a drunk driver right in front of Mira, which understandably sends her into a downward spiral of grief. The story picks up two years later, with the woman unable to break free of her sadness, still clinging to John’s belongings as a way to stay in contact with his smell, finally coaxed out of the shadows by Suzy. Love Again examines Mira’s return to life, forced to perform as a writer by her publisher, while a possible return to the dating scene is considered, though she doesn’t want anything to do with dating apps, striking out with a handsy suitor (Nick Jonas).

Mira purges her feelings into texts for John’s number, confessing her fears and sadness, unaware that these messages are being received by Rob, who’s also managing heartbreak, but more pressing professional matters are found with his mission to chat with Dion, who appears in the film as a Yoda-type figure wise in the ways of love and loss. Love Again settles into sitcom-y territory with the mix-up, but Strouse fights plasticized plotting as much as possible, giving the feature over to the leads, who manage to create semi-real people in the face of ridiculousness. There’s some degree of warmth in Love Again, but it’s challenged by formula, with Rob assigned two pals at work to act as his guide into technology and human contact, giving the picture a few stabs at humor it doesn’t really need.

Rob can’t believe what’s happening with Mira, with the pair growing closer, sharing protected parts of their lives and bits of basketball-themed philosophy. He’s in possession of knowledge that will surely destroy his new relationship, and Love Again lines up with the usual in nonsense communication issues, but Strouse handles it all to the best of his ability. He has to make something accessible and familiar for fans of the subgenre, which isn’t welcome, but Love Again carries initial care for profound situations of pain, finding ways to address the reality of the mourning process without completely losing itself to cliché. [Orndorf's rating: 3 stars out of 5]

Labels: comedy, drama, romance
IMDb 5.9/10
MetaCritic (critics=32, viewers=53)
RottenTomatoes (critics=30, viewers=91)
Blu-ray
Brian Orndorf's original review
Blu-ray review by Kenneth Brown (3/5 stars)

Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) [PG] *****

A film review by James Berardinelli for ReelViews.com

At the tender age of seven, Josh Waitzkin (Max Pomeranc) becomes fascinated by the game of chess. Without giving up little league baseball, he learns how to play, hanging out with Vinnie (Laurence Fishburne) and a group of speed chess hustlers who occupy nearby Washington Square. It isn't long before Josh is able to beat them all. His father, looking to take him to the next level, employs ex-chess master Bruce Pandolfini (Ben Kingsley) as a teacher. Under Pandolfini, Josh matures as a player, and, for the first time, he starts to fear losing.

Searching for Bobby Fischer is based on the true life story of Josh Waitzkin who, at the age of sixteen, is currently (1993) the highest-ranked American player under eighteen. It isn't just Josh's tale, however. The name and image of the mysterious chess genius Bobby Fischer infiltrate this movie. Fischer is as much an icon to this game as Babe Ruth is to baseball.

How important are games to the American way of life? Have they become so crucial that we lose sight of the people playing them? And at what point does the need to win become so important that the game ceases to be fun? These are some of the questions that Searching for Bobby Fischer probes. It certainly can't answer them, but the film offers fodder for thought as it explores Josh's early career and examines the relationship between the young chess master and his sports writer father, Fred Waitzkin (Joe Mantegna).

Josh starts playing chess because it fascinates him. As soon as Fred recognizes his son's gift, however, he begins to apply subtle pressure. Winning becomes important -- perhaps too important -- and Josh is afraid that to fail at the game is to risk losing his father's love. It's then that chess becomes a burden and he stops enjoying it.

Josh has two mentors -- the street-smart Vinnie, who teaches him to play the opponent, not the board; and Bruce Pandolfini, a man who has suffered an unspecified loss in an unnamed competition, but knows the game inside out. Each has a different perspective to offer, and Josh learns from them both. One lesson, however, he is unable to take to heart -- he cannot hate his opponents, no matter how much they despise him. We never learn exactly what demons haunt Pandolfini, and it's a credit to this film that it doesn't make them explicit. There are enough clues that they can be guessed at, and Searching for Bobby Fischer relies upon the intelligence of its audience to put the pieces together.

The two key relationships explored by this film are those of Josh and his father and Josh and his teacher. While Fred never stops loving his son, he becomes obsessed by the need to win. This kind of pressure is too much to put on a young boy, no matter how gifted he is. Like Fred, Pandolfini loses sight of his young charge's innocence and age, and tries to mold him into a chess-playing machine. In some sense, the coach is fighting the ghosts of his past through Josh. It isn't until the end of the film that he is finally able to accept and love his student for who he is.

Ben Kingsley and Joe Mantegna do excellent jobs bringing their characters to life. These are men with faults, but it's those imperfections that enable us to empathize with them. Neither actor has an overabundance of screen time with which to develop a personality, but good performers can do a lot with an economy of scenes. Having only a handful of appearances, Laurence Fishburne faces an even more difficult challenge, but he nevertheless manages to convince us that he's Josh's true friend, concerned more about the boy's happiness than his success. Joan Allen, despite often being relegated to the background, gives a convincing portrayal of a mother who cares so much about her son's well-being that she's willing to take him away from his father, if necessary, to assure it.

When casting Searching for Bobby Fischer, the production team decided that instead of choosing a young name actor who might know little or nothing about chess, they would choose someone who was a chess player first and an actor second. Realism was important to the film makers -- they wanted chess-playing viewers to be spared the indignity of watching someone faking playing the game. In Max Pomeranc, an excellent choice was made. Not only is he an experienced chess player, but he acquits himself admirably in the role of Josh. He's not the best child actor to grace the screen, but he avoids the awkward obviousness of many.

Searching for Bobby Fischer is an intensely fascinating movie capable of involving those who are ignorant about chess as well as those who love it. The focus of the film is less on the actual game than it is on the people, emotions, and pressures surrounding Josh. It is a tale of human trials and triumph, not a sports movie that panders to a certain segment of the population. Chess may not be the most exciting activity to watch, but Searching for Bobby Fischer makes for engaging entertainment. [Berardinelli's rating: 3 stars out of 4]

Labels: biography, chess, drama
IMDb 73/100
MetaCritic (critics=89, viewers=74)
RottenTomatoes (critics=98, viewers=85)
Berardinelli's original review

NOTE: Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943-January 17, 2008) was an American chess Grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. He passed away at age 64 due to kidney failure, in Reykjavik, Iceland. He was a renowned child prodigy who became a world-renowned figure after winning the 1972 World Chess Championship against Boris Spassky.

Joshua Waitzkin (born December 4, 1976) is an American former chess player, martial arts world champion, and author. As a child, he was recognized as a prodigy, and won the U.S. Junior Chess championship in 1993 and 1994. He stopped playing competitive chess because he lost his love for the game, feeling alienated by the immense pressure, external expectations (fueled by the film Searching for Bobby Fischer), and a coaching style that forced him to play defensively against his natural, creative style. He felt disconnected from the pure joy of the game, leading him to abandon high-level play to pursue martial arts (Tai Chi Chuan) and focus on broader principles of learning, as presented in his book The Art of Learning.