UNSINKABLE

UNSINKABLE: A MEMOIR. Debbie Reynolds and Dorian Hannaway. William Morrow; 2013.

In Debbie Reynolds' first autobiography, she went into her divorce from Eddie Fisher -- who ran off with Liz Taylor -- and how her second husband completely drained her bank account and left her broke. In this sequel, Reynolds writes affectingly of two major incidents since that period. The first is her marriage and divorce to her third husband who, at least as portrayed in the book, was a monstrous hustler who took his wife for everything she was worth, all the while using her money to support his long- time mistress. During one confrontation, he kept asking Debbie to step out on the 12th story balcony, which might well have been her finish. Coinciding with this is her narrative of the Debbie Reynolds Hotel and Casino, which her husband apparently managed to run into the ground.

Once she was extricated from that mess, Reynolds now had to find a home for all the items of Hollywood memorabilia that she had amassed over the decades. This section of the book also has real suspense as the lady discovers that people in Hollywood don't especially care that much about its history. With one plan after another for the museum crumbling despite her and others' best efforts, all of the items (including the dress Marilyn Monroe wore in The Seven Year Itch) finally were sold in a huge auction that netted Reynolds millions.

This is about enough for two thirds of a book, so Reynolds has a final section in which she recounts some familiar stories about her coming to Hollywood, losing Eddie Fisher to La Liz, and so on, then has an annotated list of all of her movies, what she thought of them, and interesting behind-the-scenes details. Reynolds tells of the time she had to get a drunken Donald O'Connor off the stage when he tried to join in when Fred and Adele Astaire started dancing, and reveals that David Janssen [Man-Trap] was convinced he was the son of Clark Gable and drank himself to death over it! Who knows?

For much of its length, Unsinkable is a real page-turner, and for that we can thank Reynolds' co-auhor, (Ms.) Dorian Hannaway, who does a splendid job of telling the movie star's story.

Verdict: Very readable, well-done, and entertaining memoir. ***1/2. 

MY WAY: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY PAUL ANKA

MY WAY: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. Paul Anka with David Dalton. St. Martin's Press; 2013.

Seeing Anka in some low-budget films early in his career, I remembered how my sister had been a big fan of his, and recalled some of his early hits which he both wrote and performed ("Diana;" "Put Your Head On My Shoulder;" "Puppy Love"). My curiosity sparked, I decided to give Anka's memoir a try. Although he's hardly the most riveting figure, there was enough interesting material about the music industry back in the day, and how it's changed, to keep me reading -- at least at first. Aggressive and talented, the 15-year-old Canadian Lebanese teen successfully promoted himself into a career in New York and elsewhere. Anka writes how the "British Invasion" of the Beatles and others wiped out most of the other teen idols of the period, and Anka had to reinvent himself as a Las Vegas club act and write songs for singers other than himself (Sinatra's "My Way" is the most famous, although Anka only contributed lyrics to a French melody). The early sections of the book, in which Anka tells of interacting with performers he spent a lot of time with while on the road in buses and hotels, are more interesting than the rehashed stuff of the later chapters, in which Anka tries to make himself a mini-member of the Rat Pack. Frankly, the stories about Sinatra and the gang and all the mobsters simply seem recycled from other books. If we're to believe Anka, every famous person he encountered became a close friend. The most jaw-dropping moment occurs when Anka writes of ending his 38-year marriage to his first wife because "getting divorced from Anne was just something I had to do for myself." Huh! Quite a few pages later Anka writes how in his sixties he got involved with a much younger personal trainer whom he married and who apparently took him to the cleaners. While I wouldn't exactly call the book a "tell-all," there is some material about Sammy Davis Jr..'s  bisexuality (already mentioned in more than one previous book) and an anecdote about Angie Dickinson giving her husband Burt Bacharach a blow job while she was driving in their car, something Dickinson probably didn't need to see in print. Lest you think this makes My Way a fascinating read, be advised that for much of its length the book is just tedious name-dropping. The material is so badly organized, jumping around in time and back and forth from subject to subject (such as Sinatra), that it's as if the co-author just took Anka's stream of consciousness ramblings and absolutely made no attempt to make them coherent. Things are repeated -- and even contradicted -- throughout the book. Despite this, the book received some startlingly good reviews, such as an embarrassing one from the Huffington Post. Anka clearly did not know Donald Trump would become president, or he would have played him up even more in the book.

Verdict: Some people should not write their life stories. **.

STRANGER BY THE LAKE

Pierre Deladonchamps

STRANGER BY THE LAKE (aka L'inconnu du lac/2013). Written and directed by Alain Guiraudie.

At a gay cruising spot on a bucolic lake in France, Franck (Pierre Deladonchamps) strikes up an odd friendship with a portly, middle-aged and lonely man named Henri (Patrick d'Assumcao). But the target of his lust is Michel (Christophe Paou). Franck and Michel get together in the woods, and afterward Franck clearly sees Michel drowning his ex-lover, Pascal (Francois-Renaud Lebarthe). But does Franck chose to do anything about it, or say anything to Inspector Damroder (Jerome Chappatte)? No he doesn't -- and therein lies the problem. Stranger By the Lake is less a story of sexual or romantic obsession than it is a study of gay self-hatred, with everyone in the movie seeming to have a death wish, and a hero who can be best described as a wimpy loser. Although he makes some minor noises of sympathy over Pascal, Franck seems to embody the callous and negative attitude that Inspector Damroder wrongly ascribes to the entire gay community -- or at least the guys at the lake -- as if the Inspector is meant to be openly gay writer/director Guiraudie's surrogate. Ridiculously over-praised (but only in some quarters), Stranger By the Lake has been called "Hitchcockian," which is an insult to the Master, who would never have allowed such one-dimensional characters as well as such a minimal degree of suspense. The picture is so sexually explicit that it often borders on porn, making it seem as if the gay characters exist solely to have sex with strangers, and that Franck, who wants a relationship, is an aberration. It's very strange -- and a little sad -- that such a regressive movie would be made by a gay filmmaker in the 21st century -- and in France no less.

Verdict: Despite the somewhat pretty men and settings, this is pure schlock. *1/2.

DOCTOR MABUSE

Jerry Lacy as Doctor Mabuse

DOCTOR MABUSE (2013). Written, directed and produced by Ansel Faraj.

Doctor Mabuse (Jerry Lacy) has returned and is determined that the world will once more know his name. Opposing him is young Inspector Lohemann (Nathan Wilson). Lohemann reports to Inspector Von Wenk (Linden Chiles). and goes to two sisters, Madame Carrozza (Lara Parker) and Madame Von Harbau (Kathryn Leigh Scott), the former of whom is a medium, for information. Then nothing much of interest happens. The Death Ray Mirror of Dr. Mabuse may not have been any great shakes, but it wasn't as much of an effort to sit through as this embarrassing and pretentious mess. Ansel Faraj's approach may seem creative, but he's no Orson Welles, and the movie plods along with limited entertainment value. You might think it's fun to see some of the cast members of the original Dark Shadows TV show appearing in this movie, but the movie is too bad to do much of anything for them. Of Lacy, Parker, and Scott, the last-named gives the best performance, with Parker being typically overwrought and Lacy not having a clue as to how to play the diabolical doctor, and who can blame him? The movie at least seems colorful, although there's way too much use of blue screens in lieu of sets, and Bill Wendel's score works overtime to try to drum up some suspense and excitement, of which their isn't any. Like the film itself, the younger cast members are amateurish, but I would like to see Wilson, who is not unappealing, and Bahia Garrigan, who plays the sexy Christina, in something else. Hopefully something much, much better. There was actually a sequel to this, which I have no intention if sitting through. Like in the earlier films, Mabuse takes over another character at the end of this flick.

Verdict: Oy vey! Enough to make Mabuse come out of his grave. *1/2.

CRUISING / INTERIOR: LEATHER BAR

Al boogies in  the gay bar 

CRUISING (1980). Director: William Friedkin.

INTERIOR: LEATHER BAR (2013). Director: James Franco; Travis Mathews.

Steve Burns (Al Pacino) is assigned to go undercover in the gay leather milieu to see if he can get leads on whoever is murdering the patrons of these bars. Burns feels uncomfortable in his assignment, but his superior (Paul Sorvino) talks him into continuing. Burns seems to have caught the killer when another murder occurs .... Modern-day viewers may wonder what the fuss was about when they look at this through 21st century eyes. But in 1980, decades before LBGT sections on Hulu and Netflix, there weren't that many films about the gay lifestyle, and it was enraging that the best that two major filmmakers (Pacino of The Godfather and Friedkin of The Exorcist)  could come up with was this mediocre slasher film that exploited the gay community, presenting one-dimensional characters to be slaughtered. Most of the film's opponents (which included this critic and activist) didn't object to the movie exploring the gay s & m scene (which was always more about role-playing than anything else) but to its complete failure in any way to positively illuminate that scene aside from sexual activity. While Cruising is well-produced, with a lot of atmosphere due to James Contner's cinematography, and Pacino's performance is okay, it is a much less effective* "slasher" film than, say, the original Friday the 13th,which came out the same year. (Friday the 13th was also much more influential, and while also excoriated by critics, made a lot more money than Cruising.)

Seen today, how is the movie? Well, it's still mediocre, not only due to its exploitation of gay men but to its penny dreadful script. Its use of multiple maniacs (which is apparent once you try to figure out who the killer is) only makes the pic much more confusing than it needs to be. Then there's that ridiculous early sequence where we see two men clad half in leather and half in drag -- like that ever happens (except maybe on Halloween)! At one point Burns expresses sympathy for a gay suspect beaten by police (in an utterly ludicrous sequence that was supposedly based on fact), which makes the implied ending more ridiculous. (This suggests that Burns murdered his friendly gay neighbor as the character did in the crappy source novel)  There's no point in trying to figure out who the different murderers are because it's clear that -- while Friedkin today tries to make it sound like he had some master plan all along -- the movie is simply badly structured and edited, a sloppy hack job in every sense of the word. Friedkin and company could have made a much more positive (and coherent and fascinating) film while remaining true to its thriller/slasher origins. 

One of the cast members of Interior: Leather Bar

And now we come to Interior: Leather Bar, a silly documentary made by actor James Franco and Travis Mathews. The idea was to recreate the supposedly lost forty minutes cut from Cruising that presented more raw footage from the backroom gay bar scenes. The reality is that only a few minutes have been recreated; most of the film is about actor Val Lauren's discomfort in being associated with the project. In some sequences he looks like he'd rather be anywhere else than in this movie. There's at least one gay sex scene, and James Franco admirably talks about why it's unfair that such scenes are often suppressed in major theatrical movies, which is not the case with straight sex scenes. The whole idea of this movie seems to be to get a group of both gay and straight actors in a room and have them interacting in a homoerotic manner, but I get the impression this is more about the filmmakers' fantasies than anything else. One can imagine this is one way the recognizable Franco can be in a gay bar without actually being in a gay bar!

[*Friday's shock/murder scenes are better handled, the film has more suspense, as much atmosphere, and its characters are no less dimensional than Cruising's. In addition, the movie's victims aren't members of a persecuted and marginalized community, unless you think camp counselors are a minority group.]

Verdict: Cruising: **1/2.
              Interior: Leather Bar *1/2.

CRAB MONSTERS, TEENAGE CAVEMEN, AND CANDY STRIPE NURSES -- ROGER CORMAN: KING OF THE B MOVIE

CRAB MONSTERS, TEENAGE CAVEMEN, AND CANDY STRIPE NURSES -- ROGER CORMAN: KING OF THE B MOVIE Chris Nashawaty. Abrams; 2013.

This is a huge, heavily illustrated coffee table book that tells all you could possibly want to know about Roger Corman, his production methods, his character, the people he worked with and who got his start from him, and so on. There isn't much film criticism in the book, however, and there is little astute judgment of the Corman product or what made him effective as a director. A number of snappy, well-directed Corman films aren't even covered. Instead of a straight text biography, Crab Monsters is comprised primarily of chapter introductions that provide an overview, and quotes from those who know and have worked with the famous producer/director. Corman was willing to exploit everyone and everything to make a buck and stay in business, and he reinvented himself more than once. Corman first made adroit little movies like Attack of the Crab Monsters and It Conquered the World, then graduated to the impressive color spectacles of the excellent Pit and the Pendulum and Masque of the Red Death, He made a film entitled The Intruder that was close to his heart but didn't make a dime, and didn't direct a picture for twenty years after his disappointment with Von Richthofen and Brown. His last directorial effort, Frankenstein Unbound, was a disappointment to everyone. Along the way he produced dozens of pictures, capitalized on the biker trend, the LSD trend, the women-in-prison trend, and the sexy nurse trend, among others. After starting more than one film production company, and making mostly direct-to-video features, Corman started working with the Syfy channel, churning out dozens of silly, repetitive monster movies. As a director/producer, Corman's legacy is limited to a comparatively small amount of pictures, with much of his output (especially as producer) consisting of -- let's face it -- pretty forgettable movies, but he did give a lot of people a start in the business. Corman has hired more women than anyone else, though it's uncertain if it's because he's a male feminist or because he can get the gals more cheaply, or just recognizes talent when he sees it. Lavishly illustrated, the book is great to look at, and there are a lot of interesting quotes from a variety of individuals. Unfortunately, some information is repeated a little too much, first in the overview, then in the captions, then in the interviews, but all in all this is a praiseworthy show. Corman received a special Oscar for his body of work and his contributions to the industry. He was a talented director and it's too bad that he didn't concentrate on that more in his later years.

Verdict: Corman devotees will love this! ***.

LUCKY ME: MY LIFE WITH -- AND WITHOUT -- MY MOM, SHIRLEY MACLAINE

LUCKY ME: MY LIFE WITH -- AND WITHOUT -- MY MOM, SHIRLEY MACLAINE. Sachi Parker with Frederick Stroppel. Gotham; 2013.

It isn't easy for children of celebrities, especially if they have similar ambitions, to be in the shadow of self-absorbed parents. Of course, some of these children feel entitled to enjoy their parents' connections and money, and this is certainly true of Sachi Parker, who has no problem with nepotism. Still, as the daughter of a wealthy movie star -- if we're to believe this account -- she received only sporadic attention, conditional love, and little support, financial or otherwise. Some driven movie stars become extremely protective of their territory to the point of almost becoming jealous of their talented offspring.

Then we have Sachi's father, an incredible scam artist and borderline child molester. Sachi writes about how her possibly pansexual father would climb in bed with her and act not at all in a fatherly fashion, and would squeeze her buttocks while dancing with her after she was grown. She witnessed him ruthlessly beating his mistress. Yet later in the book she is anxious for this creep to meet his grand-children! Why? You'd think she would keep them as far away from him as possible. It's these inconsistencies that make you realize that much of Lucky Me has to be taken with a grain of salt.

As in her life, Sachi Parker is clearly anxious with this book to establish herself as "somebody." hence I believe many of the anecdotes in this book are highly exaggerated or even fictionalized. If you look at Lucky Me as a semi-autobiographical novel it makes a little more sense. The book begins with Sachi learning that her mother has something to tell her that will finally make it clear why she was raised in Japan far from Shirley MacLaine. (Sachi's mother and father remained married for decades, but lived in separate countries and maintained an open relationship -- husband Steve Parker had a Japanese mistress as well.) Three quarters of the way through the book you learn what the big secret is and it's one of the most hilarious things I've ever read. I've never thought of MacLaine, talented though she may be, as having too much upstairs, but, honestly, she must be as dumb as a bucket of rocks! While the book maintains interest in the final quarter, it loses some steam, recounting Sachi's acting efforts and film/stage appearances.

So what are we to make of this? Did Sachi Parker have the misfortune of having two of the worst parents who ever lived? Did MacLaine have virtually no maternal instincts? Are she and brother Warren Beatty cut from the same cloth of ruthless ambition in which no one else ever really seems to matter? Or is the disinherited Sachi just another Christina Crawford, hating her mother for not handing her a successful career, fame, and riches on a silver platter? You can judge for yourself. But one thing that has to be said is that for much of its length Lucky Me is an absorbing and highly amusing read, and that the book is very well-written by co-auhor Frederick Stroppel. Her long story involving flatulence on a movie set could have been left out, however.

Verdict: Weird, suspect at times, but undeniably fascinating. ***1/2.

OLDBOY

Elizabeth Olsen and Josh Brolin

OLDBOY (2013). Director: Spike Lee.

Joe Doucett (Josh Brolin) is a self-destructive, hard-drinking douche bag of a man who has little to do with his ex-wife and baby daughter. One night he wakes up in what seems to be a hotel room -- and spends the next twenty years there as the world goes by, "missing" such events as 9/11 and the New Orleans hurricane. He learns through the TV that his ex-wife has been raped and murdered. When Joe gets out, he makes up his mind to find out who imprisoned him and why. Oldboy is a remake of a 2003 Korean film, and while it certainly has a fascinating premise, its execution is problematic; one wishes Lee hadn't tried so hard to emulate Quentin Tarantino. At one point, Joe takes on a half dozen nasty hoods all by himself a la Captain America; such scenes as this push the film right up to the edges of camp. Once you accept that the movie has become increasingly far-fetched and even ridiculous, you can get caught up in the suspense of wondering what exactly is going on, although some viewers may not care. The movie has a twisted ending which may have fooled some people into thinking this is better than it really is, but you may be asking yourself if it really adds up to anything. Brolin [American Gangster] gives an excellent performance, and there is nice work from Samuel L Jackson [Twisted], Elizabeth Olsen, Sharlto Copley, Michael Imperiolo, and James Ransone [Sinister 2]  as a doctor, among others. The lead character is definitely an asshole but he probably doesn't deserve all that happens to him. There is no attempt to actually make Brolin or other characters look twenty years older; in the early scenes a 45-year-old Brolin is playing 25.

Verdict: Arresting at times, but there's less here than meets the eye. **1/2.

SOLO -- A James Bond Novel

SOLO. A James Bond novel. William Boyd. HarperCollins; 2013.

The year is 1969 and James Bond's boss, "M," asks 007 to intercede in a civil war going on in a small West African nation, Zanzarin. Oil has been found on one tribe's land, and said tribe decides to secede instead of sharing the bounty with the entire country. The head of this new nation of Duham is Solomon Adeka, who might have to be "taken care of" because Duham is now seen as a threat to certain oil interests. Portraying a journalist, Bond infiltrates Duham with the help of a pretty agent named Blessing Ogilvy-Grant, and encounters the vicious mercenary Kobus Breed and a millionaire philanthropist named Hulbert Linck who is using his money to bring arms and more mercenaries into Duham to fight against Zanzarin forces. Betrayed by familiar faces and nearly killed, Bond winds up in Washington, D.C., on an unsanctioned (or "solo" mission) where he re-encounters some of the Duhami players as well as Felix Leiter of the CIA, and comes face to face with hard and cold facts of war and oil. Solo is a more serious and sobering James Bond novel than usual, with less of the more flamboyant aspects of the 007 books written by Ian Fleming and John Gardner. Suspenseful and intriguing, the only flaw in Solo is that there is no really memorable villain for Bond to match wits with, as Kobus Breed is merely an especially nasty underling. Still, this is a solid, entertaining Bond book. A questionable aspect of the book is how an agent of Bond's ability can be taken by surprise -- by a group of men, no less -- sneaking up on him on more than one occasion.

Verdict: Solid 007. ***.

PARKER

Jason Statham as Parker

PARKER (2013). Director: Taylor Hackford.

Back in the sixties author Donald Westlake (writing as Richard Stark) wrote a whole series of novels starring ruthless career criminal, Parker. The series stopped, and Parker disappeared for quite a few years, until he came back in, eh, "Comeback." Two books later there was "Flashfire," of which Parker is an adaptation. Parker is not a total sociopath -- he doesn't blow away his partners-in-crime so he can steal their share of the take -- and he doesn't kill unless he absolutely has to. Still ... The Parker novels are well-written and entertaining -- "Flashfire" is one of the best -- but there are critics who badly overrate them. One critic suggested that the Parker novels are "not just masterpieces of the genre, but masterpieces period." Well -- the books are fun but you sort of forget them the minute you're through, and it's hard to think a novel is a "masterpiece" when it has so little resonance. I think this is an example of fans over-praising something that they pretty much know is pure pop culture and a guilty pleasure.

As for Parker, Jason Statham, who has appeared in many movies that wouldn't especially interest me, makes a perfect lead but for the fact of his English accent (Parker is very, very American). There have been some changes from the novel, but for the most part it sticks to the main story. Parker feels he has been cheated out of his share of a robbery, and takes after the other men, who are now planning a big heist in tony Palm Beach. He is aided by a realtor named Leslie (Jennifer Lopez of Gigli), who lives with her mother (Patti Lupone) and hates her life. Michael Chiklis [Fantastic Four] is vivid as the head of the gang that Parker's after; Bobby Cannavale has a couple of brief scenes as a cop who likes Leslie; and Nick Nolte, playing a character who is not in the novel, sounds like Daffy Duck and looks like the wreck of the Hesperus. Emma Booth plays Claire, Nolte's daughter, who appears in the Parker novels but doesn't have much to do in this installment. The best scene details a vicious hotel room fight between Parker and a hit man.

Parker doesn't seem to have gotten much publicity. Other films made from Parker novels include The Split, The Outfit, and Point Blank. The best of these is The Split.

Verdict: Holds the attention but nothing special. The book is better. **1/2.

PHIL SPECTOR

Helen Mirren and Al Pacino with Major Hair

PHIL SPECTOR (2013 telefilm). Writer/director: David Mamet.

Record producer Phil Spector (Al Pacino) invites young actress Lana Clarkson (Meghan Marx) to his home and she winds up being shot to death in his study. Arrested for murder, Spector first hires lawyer Bruce Cutler (Jeffrey Tambor) and then importunes an at-first disinterested Linda Kenney Baden (Helen Mirren) to represent him in court. Baden tries to prove his innocence by suggesting Clarkson somehow committed suicide. Playwright Mamet has put together a teleplay that is only suggested by real-life events -- or at least he "suggests" same -- but the basic facts are in the movie even if slanted. Tambor and Mirren [Hitchcock] are excellent and Pacino makes a weird if compelling Phil Spector, decked out in a hairdo that he considered an homage to Jimi Hendrix. Spector's wife Rochelle is not depicted, and the victim, Lana Clarkson, gets very short shrift. Ultimately the whole project is cynical and superficial, bolstered only by some good performances.

Verdict: Holds the attention but not much else. **1/2.

PIT STOP

Marcus DeAnda and Bill Heck

PIT STOP (2013). Director: Yen Tan.

In a small town in Texas, Gabe (Bill Heck), who is still close to his ex-wife (Heather Kafka) and children, has discovered that his male lover, still married, wants nothing more to do with him. Meanwhile, Ernesto (Marcus DeAnda) is waiting for his boyfriend, Luis (Alfredo Maduro), to finally move out even as he visits the nursing home where another ex-lover (who left him for another man) lies in a coma. Linda is clearly still in love with her husband, and goes on a date with a chubby but appealing fellow at work, Winston (John Merriman), to whom Gabe is a little cruel. Les (Corby Sullivan) is a gay teacher who goes on a date with Gabe, but is still pining for the married man who dumped him. Will Gabe and Ernesto get past their personal problems and ties and ever get together? Pit Stop, a study of pain, loss and loneliness, is low-key, well-written, and beautifully acted by the entire cast. Bill Heck has a beautifully-delivered speech in his car when he tells Les about the man he had been hoping to spend the rest of his life with and how it all went wrong. Some people see this as having a happy ending, but to me it was rather open-ended. In any case, it could have used another thirty minutes running time, the rare occasion when you think a movie is actually too short. The film is full of interesting and telling little details. Pit Stop may move a lot of people to tears -- either because they have no lover, or because they wish their lover looked like DeAnda or Heck!

Verdict: Notable independent feature with several excellent performances. ***.

FREE FALL

Hanno Koffler (top) and Max Riemelt

FREE FALL (aka Freier Fall/2013). Director: Stephant Lacant.

Marc Borgmann (Hanno Koffler), a German in the police academy, has a pregnant girlfriend (Katharine Schuttler) but finds himself attracted to the more open Kay (Max Riemelt), a very handsome fellow male cop. Marc tries to resist his attraction, but the affair has repercussions both on the job and within his family. Free Fall seems somewhat dated for the 21st century -- its story of a closeted, guilt-wracked man, although such men certainly still exist, smacks more of the 1970's. The characters are not developed enough, which is particularly true for Kay, who seems to exist only to be sexy and "torment" Marc. [You might also be left with the sense that Kay is a bit out of Marc's league.] In other words, it's all been done before and done better. Even That Certain Summer, made forty years (!) earlier for American television, was more progressive. The acting is quite good, however. This got much more enthusiastic reactions than it deserved. If taken as a parable that shows how old-fashioned shame screws up a gay person's life it might have some resonance, but that may be giving it too much credit.

Verdict: Downbeat, rather regressive (however unintended), and a little pointless. **.

THE MAN WHO SEDUCED HOLLYWOOD

THE MAN WHO SEDUCED HOLLYWOOD: The Life and Loves of Greg Bautzer, Tinseltown's Most Powerful Lawyer. B. James Gladstone. Chicago Review Press; 2013. An A Capella Book.

Now that pretty much all of the major stars of classic Hollywood have been written about ad nauseam, authors have turned to supporting players [Mary Wickes] or talented minor stars who never quite got the breaks [Ann Dvorak]. And now The Man Who Seduced Hollywood is about a fringe figure who has wandered into biographies over the years, lawyer Gregson Bautzer, who dated famous stars such as Joan Crawford, Lana Turner, Ginger Rogers,  and Dorothy Lamour [and who married Dana Wynter of Invasion of the Body Snatchers fame], and who made a great many deals for the power brokers of Hollywood, as well as representing them and their players in court. Bautzer was tall, dark and handsome, but he also had a severe drinking and anger management problem; he also had completely undistinguished WW2 military service. At times the hero worshiping-tone seems overdone and unwarranted, but while the material isn't always presented in the most dramatic fashion, this is still a workmanlike and interesting job.

Verdict: Behind the scenes in Old Hollywood. ***.

OLIVIER Philip Ziegler

OLIVIER. Philip Ziegler. MacLehose; 2013.

This is a very entertaining overview of the life and career of Lord Laurence Olivier which makes it clear that if he lived for anything, it was his art. The book examines his emergence as a fine if often controversial Shakespearean actor, his three troubled marriages (to Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright), his career in films, including work in Hitchcock's Rebecca, The Prince and the Showgirl, Carrie (in which he gave a particularly superb performance), and other films, and especially his job as director of the National Theater, which was beset with difficulties but which he was determined to hold on to. There are also behind-the-scenes details of the productions of Olivier's Shakespeare films to go along with his numerous stage performances of the Bard. Whether he was director, star, or both, Olivier always liked to take charge, which sometimes put him in conflict with the rest of the cast. One of the most amusing aspects of the book is how it recounts Olivier's rivalry with the other two Great Actors of his day, Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, not to mention his attitude towards American film stars such as Kirk Douglas. Olivier may well have loved his wives and children, but he was, above all, An Actor. Author Ziegler may not have a background in film or theater -- most of his books are historical works -- but he still manages to do well by his subject.

Verdict: Absorbing look at the world of Laurence Olivier. ***1/2.

ANN DVORAK: HOLLYWOOD'S FORGOTTEN REBEL

ANN DVORAK: HOLLYWOOD'S FORGOTTEN REBEL. Christina Rice. University Press of Kentucky; 2013.

Like many of us, Christina Rice first discovered Ann Dvorak in a videocassette of Three on a Match decades after the film had been released, and became a fan, intrigued by the reasons why this talented actress didn't have a much bigger career. Biographies written by fans can often be superficial love-fests, but Ms. Rice has avoided that trap by not only doing solid research, having access to personal letters, but by recognizing that Dvorak could sometimes be her own worst enemy. Dvorak took on Warner Brothers in court before Bette Davis did; the trouble was, Bette Davis was Bette Davis and Ms. Dvorak was nowhere in that league of fame and clout. She was poised for potential stardom when she got married [to first husband, actor-director Leslie Fenton of The House of Secrets and Pardon My Past] and simply took off for a several months-long honeymoon all over the world and never quite got back in the studio's good graces. She had ambition but it was at war with a certain need for independence which was frequently stymied by her marriages, all three of which had definite difficulties, to put it mildly. Rice not only examines Dvorak's film roles thoroughly, but absorbingly details her personal life, such as when she followed British Fenton overseas during WW2 out of devotion to him, but afterward found she'd outgrown him; her troubled relationship with her mother, who'd appeared in silent pictures but was long forgotten; and her on-again off-again third marriage to Nick Wade which played out in Hawaii and elsewhere; not to mention her austere final days when she worked on various abortive projects to no avail. Dvorak gave some fine performances throughout the years, with a particularly excellent portrayal in A Life of Her Own; she also appeared in such films as Scarface, The Strange Love of Molly Louvain, Gangs of New York, Flame of Barbary Coast, The Private Affairs of Bel Ami and The Walls of Jericho, among many others. The book is enriched with some great personal photos as well.

Verdict: Excellent biography of an actress forgotten by all but old film buffs. ***1/2.

SHARKNADO

Sharks fly through the air in Sharknado

SHARKNADO (2013 telefilm). Director: Anthony C. Ferrante.

A hurricane picks sharks right up out of the water and sends them flying inland where they cause havoc. Leading the charge against the sharks are Fin Shepard (Ian Ziering), feisty if annoying Nova (Cassie Scerbo), and grizzled "old" George (John Heard). This Syfy channel original may have a unique premise but it's sunk by a bad script and mostly mediocre acting, with fair-to-middling computer FX. A scene when Fin attacks a shark falling out of the air with a chainsaw makes little sense since it's unlikely the shark would even survive the drop. Even if you love monster movies there's absolutely no reason to go out of your way to see this one. Gore-geeks will be disappointed that there are no grisly beheadings or disembowelments.

Verdict: For the most part clumsy and stupid. **.

BEHIND THE CANDELABRA

Matt Damon and Michael Douglas

BEHIND THE CANDELABRA (2013 telefilm). Director: Steven Soderbergh.

There seems to be no way around the fact that popular entertainer Liberace (Michael Douglas) was a big, flamboyant, outrageous gay stereotype, and this telefilm makes no attempt to get around it. It is also based on the book by Liberace's [ex] lover Scott Thorson (Matt Damon), so really has to be taken with a grain of salt. Thorson appears to be a type of [supposedly bisexual] hustler who moves in on Liberace even as Liberace moves in on him -- and suggests he move in with him. The movie suggests that the promiscuous entertainer eventually wanted to replace Thorson with a younger model, making him little different from a lot of straight guys. The one thing the telefilm has going for it is the acting, with Douglas [The China Syndrome] giving an outstanding performance that almost makes Liberace likable, and Matt Damon [The Departed] is not far behind him. Rob Lowe is also quite good as the shady "feelgood" Dr. Startz. Dan Ackroyd and Cheyenne Jackson [The Most Happy Fella] also have significant roles, and Debbie Reynolds is fine as Liberace's mother. Soderbergh also directed Douglas in Traffic.

Verdict: It's well-acted and certainly holds your attention, even if it often comes off like a gay dirty joke. ***.

SIDE EFFECTS

Jude Law in a tense moment

SIDE EFFECTS (2013). Director: Steven Soderbergh.

Emily (Rooney Mara) welcomes her husband, Martin (Channing Tatum) home from jail after his incarceration for insider trading, but the changes in her life depress her and cause her to attempt suicide. A sympathetic shrink named Dr. Banks (Jude Law of Alfie) prescribes a new drug recommended by Emily's previous analyst, Dr. Siebert (Catherine Zeta-Jones). When Emily apparently slaughters her husband while sleepwalking, it is not only the drug that is called into question, but Dr. Banks himself. As he finds his life unraveling, he uncovers disturbing information about Emily -- maybe she wasn't sleepwalking when she murdered her husband? Or is he clutching at straws? Side Effects is a twisty thriller, with a good idea and interesting sequences, but it's not that well done all told. One of the characters sort of comes off like an old-fashioned evil lesbian [perhaps for no other reason than to show some girl-on-girl action]. Jude Law and Mara give good performances, but the most impressive is Zeta-Jones [Ocean's Twelve], with Ann Dowd also making an impression as Martin's concerned mother. This modern version of the old Lauren Bacall thriller Shock Treatment is quite contrived but has a satisfying conclusion and a nice score from Thomas Newman.

Verdict: Always read the label. **1/2.

PRISONERS

Jake Gyllenhaal and Hugh Jackman

PRISONERS (2013). Director: Dennis Villeneuve.

The young daughter of Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman of The Wolverine) and her friend disappear, and the main suspect is a geeky guy, Alex (Paul Dano), with a van and the mind of a ten-year-old. The police haven't found enough evidence to arrest Alex, so Keller and his friend, Franklin (Terrence Howard of Iron Man), whose daughter also disappeared, kidnap him in an attempt to get him to talk, a situation that leads to horrible torture that appalls Franklin and his wife (Viola Davis of Doubt) even as Keller reminds them of how their children are also suffering. There's also a priest (Len Cariou) who has a corpse in his basement, which may or may not figure in with the main case. Jake Gyllenhaal [Source Code] is the detective trying to figure out what Keller is up to, and Melissa Leo is Alex' horrified mother; both are quite good. Jackman offers an outstanding performance as the tormented, enraged and desperate father; he has a particularly good scene in tears in the police station. Prisoners is absorbing and thought-provoking, but the mentally deficient suspect is a cliche, and there are improbable moments, such as when cops don't call for back-up or ambulances. Still, it certainly holds the attention and has some powerful sequences.

Verdict: This probably won't work for everyone. ***.