BOND VS. BOND: THE MANY FACES OF 007

BOND VS. BOND: The Many Faces of 007. Paul Simpson. Race Point Publishing; 2015.

This huge coffee table book is divided into several informative sections. First we meet James Bond creator, Ian Fleming, and look into his background and his various 007 novels. Simpson also examines other authors who have written James Bond adventures, including John Gardner and Raymond Benson, as well as writers, such as Jeffery Deaver, who contributed only one novel. Then each actor who played Bond in the major movies -- from Sean Connery of Dr. No to Daniel Craig of Casino Royale -- gets his own chapter, and there is an additional section of other Bond portrayals, such as Barry Nelson on Climax!. There are sidebars on cars, gadgets, villains and "Bond girls." Aside from a comment here and there, the book offers no critical analysis of the books or films, but it does offer a wealth of behind-the-scenes details and is generously illustrated throughout. Major Bond fans will enjoy this enormously. 

Verdict: Beautiful tome on the most famous film series of all and then some! ***. 

REGRESSION

Ethan Hawke

REGRESSION (2015). Written and directed by Alejandro Amenabar.

In 1990 Detective Bruce Kenner (Ethan Hawke of Sinister) investigates a case wherein a 17-year-old girl, Angela (Emma Watson), has accused her father, John (David Dencik), of raping her. She also tells stories of numerous masked people -- Satanists -- coming into her room and holding unholy rituals. Kenner doesn't believe in Satan, but he does believe that there are cults of Satanists performing rituals involving animal and even child sacrifice. As he investigates further, he becomes more and more paranoid, and is convinced people are following him. He also discovers that at least one police officer, George (Aaron Ashmore of Fear Island), may be one of the Satanists.

Hawke and Aaron Ashmore

One thing I liked about Regression is that it isn't the usual sub-literate Church vs Satan movie. I believe the lack of supernatural and grisly events is what turned many critics against the picture, as it is absorbing, well-acted, and well-made for the most part. Hawke and Watson are fine, and there is also good work from Ashmore, Dencik, David Thewlis [Wonder Woman] as a psychiatrist, Peter MacNeill as the chief of police, Lothaire Bluteau as a creepy Reverend, a dynamic Dale Dickey as Angela's grandmother, and Devon Bostick as her troubled brother, Roy. (If I have one quibble about the film is that it's hard to feel complete sympathy for a character who throws his son out of the house for being gay, although this is not necessarily condoned.) 

Verdict: Nominal horror film has the courage to eschew graphic, nauseating gore and keep the devil out of the equation. ***. 

AKRON

Edmund Donovan  and Matthew Frias

AKRON (2015). Directed by Brian O'Donnell and Sasha King.

Interested in athletics and each other, college students Benny (Matthew Frias) and Christopher (Edmund Donovan) begin dating. All goes swimmingly for a while until Chris takes Benny down to Florida to hang out and meet his mother, Carol (Amy da Luz). Unfortunately, Carol feels compelled to tell Benny that she was the woman driving the car -- with a much younger Chris in the back seat -- when she accidentally hit and killed Benny's brother years ago.

Matthew Frias and Joseph Melendez

Things begin to unravel, with Benny's parents, who had liked Christopher, objecting to the relationship because Chris' presence will be a constant reminder of the tragedy. Benny, for his part, reacts in an immature fashion. But will the two boys be able to overcome what seems like an insurmountable difficulty in their relationship? Akron sets up an interesting situation, but doesn't do that much with it, coming off at times like a lightweight "after- school special." Benny's mother seems completely unforgiving of Carol, even though she was apparently neither criminally nor legally liable for what happened. Akron can at least boast some excellent performances from the two men in the leads, as well as da Luz and especially Joseph Melendez and Andrea Burns as Benny's parents. Akron is a step in the right direction, but it's too low-key and non-dramatic to make much more than a minor impression. The film's depiction of a loving family that is fully supportive of its gay son is refreshing and admirable, however.

Verdict: Nice try, but ...  **1/4. 

THE PRICE OF VALOR: THE LIFE OF AUDIE MURPHY

THE PRICE OF VALOR: The Life of Audie Murphy, America's Most Decorated Hero of World War II. David A. Smith. Regnery; 2015.

Audie Murphy, a poor farm boy who became the most decorated hero of WW2, beat the odds in combat and then also beat the Hollywood odds by becoming a movie star.  Murphy was never considered any kind of Laurence Olivier, but he gave convincing performances in films that employed his limited range and made good use of his pleasant but often angry and bitter demeanor. Murphy suffered from what today we would call PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), which made it tough on his two wives, the first of which was actress Wanda Hendrix [The Admiral Was a Lady].; he also had a fling with actress Jean Peters [Vicki]. The first half of the book recounts Murphy's adventures as a soldier overseas, the campaigns he was part of, and the bravery he showed which led to him taking, and saving, many lives. At first he was contemptuous of other soldiers who broke down or cried in sheer terror, but he eventually developed some compassion for them. Never anxious to be seen as a "hero," his survivor guilt insured that he thought the real heroes were the men who died overseas.  As an actor Murphy appeared in the film version of his self-effacing memoir To Hell and Back, starred in John Huston's The Red Badge of Courage, and in addition to a variety of western films, appeared in everything from Bad Boy to The Unforgiven. Forever seeking the excitement of his early years, he developed a gambling addiction, suffered from perpetual nightmares, and always carried a gun. As he got older, Murphy found that times had changed to such an extent that he was seen as a a mere World War 2 relic; even his beloved westerns had undergone a psychological change. Ironically, after surviving so much during the war, he died in a plane crash at the age of 45. The Price of Valor is probably not the last word on Murphy, but it is a readable, fast-paced book that gives the reader most of the facts. Not a film historian, author Smith briefly covers the films but the book can't really be considered a career study.

Verdict: Informative look at the life of Audie Murphy. ***.

THE FANTASTIC FOUR/ DOOMED: THE UNTOLD STORY

The Thing

THE FANTASTIC FOUR (1994). Director: Oley Sassone.
DOOMED: THE UNTOLD STORY OF ROGER CORMAN'S THE FANTASTIC FOUR (2015). Director: Marty Langford.

Roger Corman co-produced the first film adaptation of Marvel's Fantastic Four comic book, but whether it was never meant to see the light of day, or if Corman and others were paid off so that this low-budget treatment wouldn't interfere with a big-budget version from Fox (with Marvel in control, which it wasn't with this production), or both, is debatable. Doomed! is a documentary in which various actors and other participants in the production discuss making the film, as well as the disappointment and betrayal they felt when they learned after all their efforts that the film would never be released. Told by Roger Corman that he had received a check for a couple of million dollars, probably not to release the picture, Alex Hyde White (who played Reed Richards and is the son of Wilfrid Hyde-White) remarks in Doomed! that "Everyone did well except us, the people that made the movie." Two brothers even spent their own money putting together an orchestra to play their ambitious score for The Fantastic Four. Apparently, wisely or not, nearly everyone involved with the film was convinced that the movie would be a big, big break for their careers. Unfortunately, that was not the case. This was a Roger Corman film, and the cost of the production was only a million dollars. Hardly enough to make a super-hero blockbuster. Doomed! is an entertaining, well-done documentary bolstered by interviews from personable actors such as Hyde-White and Joseph Culp (who played Dr. Doom and is the son of Robert Culp) and several crew members and creative types.

As for the film itself, it has surfaced in bootleg tapes and is on youtube. The Fantastic Four is not terrible by any means, but it can't compare to the version that eventually emerged ten years later: Fantastic Four. The acting is a mix of solid and professional (Hyde-White, Rebecca Staab as Sue Storm) and the uneven and amateurish (like a high school play) , and one mistake was to include a silly (if well-acted) character named the Jeweler (Ian Trigger) who is sort of an annoying substitute for old FF foe, the Moleman. The FX are uneven, but there is a nifty enough climax with the Human Torch trying to outrun a devastating light beam in order to save New York City. There are confusing elements in the script, and instead of our heroes gaining powers due to cosmic rays, there's something about a space project called "Colossus" that never makes that much sense. There are also odd moments, such as when after the foursome's spaceship crashes on earth, the boys seem to take forever to wonder where Sue is. Joseph Culp's performance as Dr. Doom is problematic -- he has a great voice, but he over-gesticulates and often speaks over-portentously as if he were playing a character in a cartoon. Perhaps the best thing about the movie is an excellent score by David and Eric Wurst with its attractive theme music. Virtually all of the actors in the film went on to have many more credits.

Meanwhile, the big-budget Fantastic Four had a sequel entitled Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and the series was unsuccessfully rebooted with Fantastic Four in 2015.

Verdict: Doomed! ***.
              The Fantastic Four. **1/2.

WOODY THE BIOGRAPHY

WOODY: THE BIOGRAPHY. David Evanier. St. Martin's; 2015.

This "biography" of filmmaker, comic and actor Woody Allen is much more of a rumination on the man than a full bio, although Evanier does his best to hit all the important bases. The author doesn't really start to get into his subject's life story until a quarter of the way into the book, and focuses on certain key films while virtually ignoring many others. In more or less chronological order he also looks at Allen's relationships with wives, girlfriends, and children -- Louise Lasser, Diane Keaton, Mia Farrow, and others --  and ends up the book with a long dissection of the sordid Woody-Mia Farrow mess. clearly coming down on Allen's side. Evanier doesn't necessarily gloss over Allen's failings as both filmmaker and man (he deservedly hates Stardust Memories, for instance, as well as Interiors, and isn't blind to Allen's character flaws) but the book does function primarily as a defense of some of Allen's actions and especially of Mia Farrow's charges of child molestation. (We must remember that his lover Soon-Yi, was an adult at the time their affair began, but still one has to wonder at the inappropriateness, vulgar audacity, and staggering lack of sensitivity that led to Allen having a relationship with his girlfriend's daughter, who was also the sister of his own children. Soon-Yi's motivations for taking up with a comparatively homely middle-aged but famous and wealthy man I'll leave to others to ponder). Woody: The Biography has some interviews with people who know and worked with Allen, and an interview with Dick Cavett is reproduced in its entirety but functions more as padding than anything else. Although Allen did not cooperate with the book as such, he did agree to answer some of Evanier's questions via email, but these don't seem to have provided that much enlightenment.

Verdict: Interesting read, but only an average bio. ***.

CRANE: SEX, CELEBRITY, AND MY FATHER'S UNSOLVED MURDER

CRANE: SEX, CELEBRITY, AND MY FATHER'S UNSOLVED MURDER. Robert Crane and Christopher Fryer. University Press of Kentucky; 2015.

Whatever the title may say, this is more a book about the life and career of Robert Crane, the son of actor Bob Crane (Hogan's Heroes) than a biography of the elder Crane or an investigation into his murder. There has already been a book about the murder investigation, as well as a film, Auto Focus, which looked at Crane's life and death and his obsession with making videos of himself having sex with numerous women. Whether Crane was a "sex addict" or used this pastime to deal with his disappointment over a fading career (he was doing dinner theater at the time of his death), is open to debate. Crane [Man-Trap] was a typical self-absorbed "star" who jettisoned his first wife for the bimbo who played a bosomy secretary on Hogan's Heroes, causing a rift between two families that has never been healed. Large sections of the book deal not with Bob Crane's life and death, but with the younger Crane's job as publicist and gofer for forgotten actor John Candy. The best sections of the book actually deal with young Crane's moving account of his first wife's battles with, and death from, cancer. Young Crane, who is not so young anymore, comes off in some ways as a little old-fashioned. His preoccupation with himself means that there are gaps in his father's story, such as a more detailed examination of his affair (and subsequent marriage to) the Hogan's Heroes secretary and his first wife's reaction to its revelation. Crane objects to his half brother Scotty selling "porn" videos of their father on line, but the elder Crane's ego and joy in his sexual prowess as well as his obvious exhibitionism may have meant that he couldn't care less and even would have liked the idea. [While Bob Crane may not have been a fighter for sexual freedom, as Scotty suggests, he was not a molester or rapist and the condemnations of his activities seem a little hypocritical in Hollywood and elsewhere.] Young Crane argues that he didn't auction off the jacket his father wore on Hogan's Heroes, which he had every right to do, for money -- it brought in $40,000 --  but to see how much interest there would still be in his father. Sure. A freelance writer who formerly worked for Playboy, Crane's prose is memorable, but the chief feeling you take away from this book is his contempt for his father, whose side he can rarely see. Young Crane writes how his father wasn't interested in hosting a party for his son's book on Jack Nicholson (the actor cooperated with the book but years later snubbed the younger Crane), and it doesn't seem to occur to him that this might have made his dad feel rather small.

Verdict: If you're interested in the life of Bob Crane's son ... **1/2.

TRIGGER MORTIS -- A James Bond Novel

TRIGGER MORTIS. A James Bond novel. Anthony Horowitz. 2015; HarperCollins.

Trigger Mortis takes place after the events of Ian Fleming's Goldfinger. James Bond is back in London co-habiting with the apparently happily bisexual Pussy Galore. Both of them are aware that this will not be a long-lasting romance, and in a scene that is somewhat comical Pussy meets up with her next lover a few chapters into the book. Then Bond is ordered to become an undercover auto racer in order to save the life of speedster Lancey Smith, who has been targeted by those nasty Russians of SMERSH. Meanwhile Bond also encounters a sinister Korean man named Jason Sin, who seems to be in league with SMERSH and unveils a diabolical plan to wipe out half of Manhattan. Sin's origin includes the horrifying true-life massacre at No Gun Ri -- in which hundreds of innocent refugees, mostly women and children and the elderly -- were mowed down by U.S. soldiers with orders to kill (although some claim this was an unfortunate "accident"), an event that had a devastating impact on the few survivors. Bond's female helpmate in this is the unfortunately named Jeopardy Lane (ugh!). Horowitz has done a good job of updating Bond and exploring his psychology while remaining faithful to the 1950's period, and there is plenty of action, hair-breath escapes and death traps, and a finale thrilling enough to please any serious 007 fan.

Verdict: Excellent James Bond adventure! ***1/2.

SPECTRE

SPECTRE (2015). Director: Sam Mendes.

James Bond (Daniel Craig) seems to have two adversaries in this outing. One is Ernst Stavros Blofield (Christoph Waltz of Inglorious Basterds [sic]), who is running the organization, SPECTRE, a group that links together previous villains and deaths in 007's sphere. The other is Max Denbigh or "C" (Andrew Scott), the head of the Center of National Security, who thinks M (Ralph Fiennes of Wrath of the Titans) and his methods are hopelessly out of date. M sends Bond out on an assignment that has him infiltrating a SPECTRE meeting, one of the best and most suspenseful scenes in the movie. Other characters include Marco Sciarra (Allesandro Cremona), who engages Bond in Mexico City, and the Bond women include Lucia (Monica Bellucci), the widow of an infamous criminal, and Dr. Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux), the daughter of another criminal named White (Jesper Christensen), who may have secret knowledge of SPECTRE. Craig is terrific as Bond, Waltz makes an effective Blofeld, and the other actors are good, including nice turns by Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, and Ben Whishaw as "Q." The cinematography by Hoyte Van Hoytema is excellent, and there's a good score by Thomas Newman, although the title tune is all but ruined by the dreadful "singing" of Sam Smith. A train fight doesn't compare to the one in From Russia with Love.

Verdict: Sinister, but not as thrilling as it ought to be, although it's not a bad 007 entry. ***.

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MICKEY ROONEY

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MICKEY ROONEY. Richard A. Lertzman and William J. Birnes. Gallery/Simon and Schuster; 2015.

Well ... this is an exhaustive, frank, detailed,  ugly, and often exasperating biography of the great Mickey Rooney, whom most people agree was one of the most talented people in movies or on the stage, and whose private life was an absolute mess. Lertzman and Birnes present a portrait of a man who really had no identity or personality aside from the always-on Mickey Rooney, and who had little empathy for others, including his many wives and sadly neglected children (Rooney didn't even attend his own son's funeral). But we're also treated to glimpses of Rooney stealing the show as a little boy in burlesque, becoming the "Mickey McGuire" of the silents, then turning into Andy Hardy. Then there's his descent into show biz has-been status, his insistence on remaining in the limelight and continuing his career despite the odds, his comeback with "Sugar Babies" on Broadway, The Black Stallion in films, and Bill on television; his messy divorces, gambling debts, and so on. The authors investigate how Rooney wound up a virtual pauper in old age after making millions (especially from the highly successful Sugar Babies) -- even after factoring in tax debts, gambling losses, and expensive spending habits (by this time Rooney no longer needed to pay alimony or child support), there should have been much more money. Although charges were leveled against Rooney's family members, the authors here seem to conclude that it was the legal fees that done him in, fees which the lawyers are still collecting from Rooney's estate. A month before his death, Rooney disinherited all of his biological children -- an eyebrow-raising situation that apparently didn't make the judge suspicious. Then there are the tempestuous marriages to the likes of Ava Gardner, Martha Vickers, and even one wife who was brutally murdered by her lover while Rooney was in the hospital. The worst claim made about Rooney in this book  is that he was a pedophile, even though the information is all hearsay. The source for a story in which a 14-year-old Liz Taylor went down on Rooney in a dressing room is not Rooney's ex-wife (who allegedly first told the story and is now deceased) but a friend of hers, making it double hearsay! This kind of thing cheapens the book and calls a lot of other things into question. [At least we're spared that nonsense about Norma Shearer having sex with Rooney in her dressing room.] Then there are strange omissions: there's a photo of Rooney making his directorial debut with star Helen Walker, but absolutely no mention of the film in the text. Some of his movie appearances and his performances in them, especially in the first half of the book, are given short shrift. A description of a celebration for Rooney's 90th birthday, written by the event's organizer, reads like a report from a press agent and has no real value, Along with fresh interviews, some of the material is recycled from Rooney's memoir and Arthur Marx's biography. While Rooney was once awarded a special Oscar and was nominated more than once, he never received an AFI or Kennedy Center honor, and should have. Rooney is typical of show biz types who are extremely talented but fall short -- no pun intended -- as human beings.

Verdict: Certainly absorbing, if at times suspect, look at a fascinating Hollywood figure. ***.

45 YEARS

Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay

45 YEARS (2015). Writer/director: Andrew Haigh.

Kate Mercer (Charlotte Rampling) and her husband Geoff (Tom Courtenay of Dr. Zhivago) are about to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary with a big party. In shades of Roald Dahl's "Crystal Trench," Geoff then gets a letter telling him that the body of his old flame, Katya -- who fell into a crevasse decades ago while the two vacationed in Switzerland -- has been discovered perfectly preserved in ice. Now 45 Years could have gone in any of a number of directions. Will the police show up to arrest Geoff for murder? Will Kate wonder about her husband's true actions all those years ago? Since 45 Years is neither a thriller nor a suspense film (not even psychological suspense) what we really get is a very deliberately-paced examination of a marriage in crisis. Is Kate making too much of Geoff's earlier relationship with the long-dead and once very pregnant Katya, or has she come to realize that for the whole 45 years of her marriage she's only been  a substitute for her? [The much talked about final shot makes it pretty clear which is which, or at least what Kate thinks is which.] The film has been wildly overpraised in critical quarters, excoriated elsewhere, but I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. Based on a very short story, this probably would have made a much more effective and interesting half hour television drama than a feature film that is three times as long. The performances of the two leads, especially that of former "ice princess" Rampling [The Verdict], are excellent. Rampling also came in for a fair share of criticism from those, remembering her earlier image, who still think she comes off frigid, but I confess that is not at all apparent in her performance. It's a pleasure to see a film about senior citizens, even the elderly, in this day and age (although it's a question if thirty-something film critics can really relate to it) but I just wish this had been a more memorable movie. Strange that 45 Years received an R rating for a couple of four-letter words that every kid has heard and for an aborted bedroom sequence that is much less steamy than anything seen in afternoon soap operas. I mean 45 Years is not a film where breasts are flashed and limbs torn off every other minute! I wonder if some people liked the film more than they might have simply because this is the case?

Verdict: Interesting premise, good performances, but ultimately ... so what? Subtlety can be over-rated. **1/2.

SINISTER 2

SINISTER 2 (2015). Director: Ciaran Foy.

In this sequel to the creditable horror thriller Sinister, the unnamed deputy (James Ransone) --  now fired from the police force -- who helped out the writer in the first film,  continues his investigation into the horrible murders of several families. He plans to burn down certain houses to prevent people from living in them, but discovers that Courtney Collins (Shannyn Sossamon) and her two sons, fleeing a dangerously abusive husband and father, are now living in the targeted house. Young Dylan (Robert Daniel Sloan) is visited by the ghosts of the families' dead children, who take him to the cellar to watch films detailing the deaths of the the families in what are essentially snuff movies. Dylan's brother, Zach (Dartanian Sloan), also sees the ghosts, but is jealous that they seem to prefer his brother's company. As the ex-deputy looks into the legends of the demon Bughuul, the dead childrens' unhealthy influence ensnares the two boys even as their father makes his presence known and continues his abuse. The former deputy rushes to save Courtney and the boys from a dreadful fate ... Sinister 2 is as compelling a horror film as the original, disturbing and suspenseful, with mostly sympathetic characters, a loathsome father (the oddly named Lea Coco), and some excellent performances. Ransone [Prom Night], Sossasom and Coco are impressive, although they have tough competition from some very talented child actors, including the little Sloan brothers, and Lucas Jade Zumann as Milo, the leader of the ghost-children. Some of the "home movies" border on torture porn, however, and it's interesting that all of the talented youngsters who appear in the film would not be permitted to see the R-rated feature in theaters. There are several scary moments and quite a few repellent ones, including one with alligators and another with rats that reminds one of a classic EC horror story. Don't expect any sympathy for the victims, which is perhaps the most chilling thing of all.

Verdict: Creepy in spades. *** out of 4.

STONEWALL (2015)

Danny gets his first view of Manhattan

STONEWALL (2015). Director: Roland Emmerich.

After he is discovered having sex with another man, Danny Winters (Jeremy Irvine) leaves his small town and his coach-father's rejection and comes to Manhattan. There he meets an excitable drag queen named Ray (Jonny Beauchamp), who befriends him and falls for him unrequitedly. Ray is part of a group of gay hustlers, street people and "queens" who congregate on and around the Stonewall bar in Sheridan Square, a mafia-run dive that caters to different elements of the gay community. Danny, who is masculine and very handsome, has no sexual feelings for the effeminate Ray, but winds up in a brief relationship with Trevor (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), who works for the early gay rights group, the Mattachine Society. After a series of misadventures, Danny winds up in the Stonewall during a police raid, but this time the angry patrons fight back and a riot ensues ... One would hope that a movie based on this seminal event in Gay Liberation would be better than this, but Stonewall seems overrun with cliches and caricatures. Many people objected to the fictional character of Danny -- white, masculine and good-looking (as if there are no white, masculine, good-looking gay guys!) -- because he doesn't typify the more outre customer of the Stonewall, but considering the fact that a great many white gay guys traveled from their small towns to make their way to Greenwich Village (including the Stonewall), this seems unfair. (And there have certainly been plenty of movies about queens and transvestites so why not equal time?) A bigger problem is that this fictional character takes center stage, throwing the first brick and shouting "gay power!" Worse is that Danny's misadventures in New York with pathetic old johns and sometimes obnoxious drag queens with attitude -- Ray's hopeless crush on Danny, for instance, although, oddly, I almost found myself hoping this unlikely couple would make it -- have been done so often that you think you're seeing something made twenty years ago. (Sheesh, we've even got the bit about the gay guy coming home to discover the man he loved has gotten married!)  Films have been made in which gay characters wind up at the Stonewall riots, and that's what this should have been -- but it shouldn't have been called Stonewall. Jon Robin Baitz' screenplay tries to touch all bases, but with so much time given over to Danny's less interesting and over-familiar life story, there's not much room left for the event itself. If Ed Murphy (Ron Perlman) -- who was involved in the bar, was said to be a criminal, and later became a gay activist -- were alive today he would undoubtedly file a lawsuit. Of the actors Beauchamp does a pretty fine job with Ray, and the British Irvine is credible as Danny, although at times he over-acts when his character over-reacts. He's another English actor who sounds perfectly American (a gift that doesn't always work the other way around.) Meyers is good as Trevor and successfully disguises his Irish origins. Perlman is certainly vivid as Murphy, and there are other effective performances among the large supporting cast. While this is not a terribly good picture -- a shame, considering its honorable intentions -- there are some good scenes, such as when white leather guys come to the defense of a black drag queen that Murphy is about to beat (although Keller's, where the scene takes place, was not a leather bar, and this is more of a "feel-good" moment than a real one). This is not the first fictionalized movie about the Stonewall Rebellion.

Verdict: For a movie based on a real event and certain real characters, this seems rather unreal at times. But some viewers may well find it inspiring and powerful although it, unfortunately, seems to catalog a variety of stereotypes. **1/2.

TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL

TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL. Tab Hunter and Eddie Muller. Algonquin Books.

TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL (2015). Director: Jeffrey Schwarz.

As this documentary is based on a book, I'll start with a review of Hunter's autobiography:

Once a movie star, always a movie star – and is there anything on earth more self-absorbed than a movie star? Tab Hunter tells how a great-looking guy with absolutely no acting experience managed to become fading star Linda Darnell's leading man in one of her last pictures, and then moved onward and upward to become a movie star in his own right, appearing in such films as Damn Yankees and The Pleasure of His Company. He doesn't gloss over how he quickly descended to the depths as a Hollywood has-been, then made a comeback of sorts by co-starring with Divine in two funny movies. Hunter's story is reasonably absorbing and somewhat enlightening about Hollywood, but what it mostly does is remind us of the shallowness of movie stars – all movie stars. Not being normal people, they just don't get it. For instance, on one page Hunter (or rather his co-author) writes how disappointed he was that his then-agent Henry Willson wasn't behind him more when he tested for an important role. He complains that Willson didn't care if he got the role as long as it was one of his many clients. So much for loyalty Hunter complains, or words to that effect. What did Hunter expect Willson to do – focus only on him and to hell with all of his other clients!!! It just doesn't occur to Hunter how hypocritical he sounds. Considering that he's out of the closet – a decision that may have had more to do with the fact that his sexual orientation was pretty much an open secret as opposed to true self-acceptance on his part -- Hunter refers to certain people he dislikes as “fags” a lot more often than he should. But then, Hunter comes across as moderately likable but not especially bright. This is by no means an essential read but many people will find it absorbing.

Now on to the film version:

Tab Hunter Confidential was produced by Hunter's long-time companion, so this can hardly be taken as an unbiased examination of the subject and his career. First it seems obvious that Hunter -- who left the Catholic Church years ago due to its attitudes, which made him feel like an outcast, and who has rejoined the virulently homophobic institution in his elder years (there are organized religions that welcome gays, for Pete's sake) -- is not exactly a poster boy for Gay Liberation. One senses that Hunter became openly gay for career reasons more than out of a true acceptance of his sexuality, which still seems to embarrass him. Nevertheless he makes an appealing subject for a biography -- Hollywood heartthrob is secretly gay -- and while he talks briefly about considering marriage to a woman, he doesn't cop out and claim to be bisexual. As in his memoir, Hunter comes off as relatively likable if not exactly an intellectual. The documentary consists primarily of a long, frank interview with Hunter interspersed with comments from everyone from John Waters to Clint Eastwood, Darryl Hickman and Mother Delores Hart, a former co-star of Elvis Presley's who became a nun. Hunter talks about his affair with Tony Perkins, as well as relationships with a prominent figure skater and others, but completely glosses over how and why these relationships came to an end (but one can guess: career reasons). Hunter finally settled down with a young producer, Allan Glaser, who was thirty years younger than Hunter, making him definitely come off like a typical movie star, gay or not. The documentary also offers clips of Hunter's recording career -- he had a nice enough voice but tended to go flat a little too often -- and film highlights, such as a genuinely strong performance in Gunman's Walk as a psychopath. Hunter was better in his second film, Island of Desire, than he gives himself credit for, and his performance of "Reproduction" was a highlight of Grease 2. Hunter also talks about his arrest at a gay party and the report of it in Confidential magazine. NOTE: Director Jeffrey Schwarz also directed the superb documentary Vito, on author and gay activist Vito Russo.

Verdict: Book ***. Film: ***.

CAROL

Lovers: Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara

CAROL (2015). Director: Todd Haynes.

"What use am I to her, to us, if I'm going against my own grain?"

In the 1950s Carol Aird (Cate Blanchett) is in the process of divorcing her husband, Harge (Kyle Chandler), when she spots Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara) behind the counter of a department store -- and vice versa. Despite differences in age and class, the two embark upon a friendship and then into a full-fledged sexual and romantic affair. Trouble arrives when Harge decides to sue for sole custody of their adorable daughter, Rindy (Sadie Helm), on charges of aberrant morality. In desperation Carol sends Therese out of her life, but will they ever be able to renew their relationship? Carol is based on "The Price of Salt" by Patricia Highsmith (better known for her thrillers such as Strangers on a Train), perhaps the only lesbian novel that has a positive ending for the two ladies. The climax milks the suspense as we wonder if Rooney can get over the hurt and abandonment she felt and embrace a new life with Carol. The acting in this is good, although Blanchett at first seems too affected and even predatory, but Mara is perfect at delineating her character's hesitation, desire, and acceptance of her sexuality. Kyle Chandler scores as the discarded husband, as does Sarah Paulson as Carol's friend and ex-lover, Abby. and there are notable turns from Trent Rowland as Therese's boyfriend, Jack, Cory Michael Smith as a deceptively nerdy private eye, and John Magaro and Jake Lacey as Therese's friends and co-workers. Carol is handsomely produced, and has a sensitive, if occasionally overly sombre, musical score by Carter Burwell [Mildred Pierce], as well as superior production design (Judy Becker) and photography (Edward Lachman). [The screenplay is  by Phyllis Nagy who sports an almost comically out-dated butch haircut as if she were living in the fifties.] Rooney played a rather negative lesbian/bi character in Side Effects.

Verdict: While this has been riotously over-praised in some quarters, it is a well-acted and worthwhile movie that scrupulously avoids dumb stereotyping. ***.

VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN

James McAvoy as Victor Frankenstein 

VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN (2015). Director: Paul McGuigan.

"An exquisite show of depraved lunacy."

Victor Frankenstein (James McAvoy) rescues a hunchbacked clown (Daniel Radcliffe) from the circus where he is horribly mistreated, discovers his hump is merely a fluid sac and removes it for him, christens him "Igor" after a missing friend, and importunes the grateful fellow, who also has much medical and scientific knowledge, to help him in his research into cheating death. However, a pious Scotland Yard inspector, Turpin (Andrew Scott), is determined to find out what the two are up to and stop them from their unholy mission. Victor Frankenstein hasn't much to do with Mary Shelley's novel -- no surprise there -- but it is very well-acted by all, including Jessica Brown Findlay as Lorelei, another circus performer whose life is saved by Igor (but who doesn't really fit in smoothly with the rest of the movie); Freddie Foxe as the wealthy and sinister Finnegan, who supposedly wants to help Victor; and Charles Dance [Alien 3] as Victor's highly disapproving father. Victor Frankenstein is entertaining and fairly unpredictable for most of its length, but the final quarter, with the birth of monster Prometheus (Spencer Wilding), is very busy but not as thrilling as intended because of insufficient direction and editing. The scenic design is striking, however, and there's a nice enough throbbing score by Craig Armstrong with some very pretty end title music. McAvoy [X-Men: First Class] continues the recent tradition of rather handsome Victor Frankensteins, such as Harry Treadaway of Penny Dreadful.

Verdict: Doesn't quite cross over into camp. **1/2.

STAR WARS PART VII -- THE FORCE AWAKENS

Mark Hamill as the aged Luke Skywalker

STAR WARS PART VII -- THE FORCE AWAKENS (2015). Director: J. J. Abrams.

Scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley), former storm trooper Finn (John Boyega), and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) team up with Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and the ridiculous Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) to find the long-missing Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and to destroy an installation that sends out planet-ravaging death-beams. The main antagonists in this are the First Order, who, naturally, want to take over the universe. Our heroes, under the command of General (formerly Princess) Leia (Carrie Fisher of The Women) also have to contend with one Kylo Ren (Adam Driver of This is Where I Leave You), who happens to be the corrupted son of Solo and Leia. I confess I've never been that carried away with the Star Wars movies, but this one (which sometimes seems like a retread of the original film) is colorful, has some good acting -- Daisy Ridley makes an especially good impression -- striking scenic design, and excellent FX. The man-eating, tentacled Rathtars are interesting creatures, and one of the best scenes is a suspenseful confrontation between Solo and Kylo Ren. It's been forty years since the original Star Wars and it's ironic that of the three leads, the oldest, Harrison Ford, looks the best, looking younger than his years, with Fisher and Hamill not having aged well at all and looking much older. J. J. Abrams also directed the Star Trek reboots.

Verdict: Frankly, despite all the money spent on it this is not nearly as much fun as certain of those classic cliffhanger sci-fi serials that inspired this. but it has its moments. **1/2.

FANTASTIC FOUR (2015)

The supposed Dr. Doom

FANTASTIC FOUR (2015). Director: Josh Trank.

I thought the original Fantastic Four film franchise, which consisted of two films, was perfectly good, but the FF was rebooted with this mediocre, but not totally awful, picture, which fans and critics seemed to hate, to put it mildly.  Fantastic Four does have a number of problems, the first being that the cast appears to be a little too young. As Reed Richards or "Mr. Fantastic," Miles Teller [Whiplash] completely lacks the charm of Ioan Gruffudd in the original films. Kate Mara [House of Cards], as Susan Storm or the "Invisible Girl" looks, as usual, as if she's twelve. [Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Bell play, respectively, the Human  Torch and the Thing.] The origin of the team and how they gained their powers has been changed from a trip to outer space and an encounter with cosmic rays, to a journey to an alternate dimension called "Planet X." The "Dr. Doom" (Toby Kebbell of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) of this movie only remotely resembles the venerable character from the comic books (admittedly Doom was a bit different in the previous films as well). There are too many military complications in this, and a tiresome plot, but there are some interesting touches, and the film, while disappointing, is not that bad. There's a good score by Marco Beltrami and Philip Glass. As of now Marvel is no longer publishing its flagship title (which first appeared in 1961!), and the failure of this film will probably not change that situation any time soon, for shame. See The Silver Age of Comics for more info on the FF.

Verdict: Better stick with the X-Men. **1/2.

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY

Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson in the tub

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY (2015). Director: Sam Taylor-Johnson.

"I don't make love. I fuck. Hard." -- Christian. 

Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) interviews handsome 27-year-old billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) and eventually falls into a romance with him -- of sorts. Christian is a "dominant" who needs to be with a "submissive" and goes so far as to show Ana his s&m playroom. Ana turns out to be a virgin -- quite literally -- making her perhaps not the best person to be a happy candidate for the kink and fetish scene. Another problem is that Christian tells Ana that he's not really looking for a romance, doesn't like to be touched (without permission) and draws up a contract for her to sign detailing her rights and responsibilities as to being his submissive. Now most women not into the kink scene would run screaming into the night at this point, but dumb Ana (or not so dumb, remember Chris is a handsome billionaire) continues to see Chris, although she holds off on signing that contract. Clearly things will not go well for this couple ... Despite the erotic trappings, Fifty Shades of Gray is old-fashioned at its core, does nothing to explore the scene with any depth, and amounts to little more than a romantic fantasy crafted by the book's author, E. L. James, who is highly unlikely to be lusted after by a handsome billionaire. This is only the umpteenth movie to have a heroine falling for a guy who wants no entanglements (at least at first) and there's even a point when he tells her what amounts to "don't get hooked on me, baby!" That said, Fifty Shades of Grey is not as cheesy as it sounds, because the actors are quite good, the production gloss high, and the direction solid. I'll leave it to others to judge if this is a sad story of a man unable to commit due to his kinks, or a clueless woman who can't deal with the fact that the man she loves has kinks (what in a less enlightened era would be called "perversions") in the first place. Conventional at its heart, there is nothing that risky or edgy to the movie [it might have been fun to have Ana find Christian in bed with his hunky chauffeur.] While Dakota Johnson is attractive and appealing, by Hollywood standards she is comparatively plain, which may or may not be the point, but makes the sex scenes less sizzling than they are, perhaps, meant to be. No less than two sequels are being filmed even as I post.

Verdict: This might have worked better if it had been played as a wild and campy comedy. **1/2.

JURASSIC WORLD

The "Indominus Rex" faces down the cast

JURASSIC WORLD (2015). Director: Colin Trevorrow.

Jurassic Park has been rebuilt and sightseers flock to it in droves. Everything seems safe and secure. But an animal worker named Owen (Chris Pratt) is alarmed to learn that the new star attraction, a creature called "Indominus Rex," may be much more dangerous and intelligent than expected. Naturally, this creature breaks out of confinement, along with all manner of dinosaurs, and the body count begins. As usual, there are young kids involved in the action, the nephews of an administrator named Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard). When a nice assistant who tries to help the boys is tossed around for what seems like hours by hungry pterodactyls and a sea beast, which eventually devours her, it seems incredibly sadistic (and perhaps her boss would have made a better victim) -- worse, neither the kids nor anyone else ever express the slightest remorse about her death; but then the characterization in this is minimal, a problem the actors do little to resolve. The effects are excellent, the Indominus makes quite a villain, the movie is fast-paced and entertaining, but while the dinosaurs may be warm-blooded some of the humans behind it aren't. The third highest grossing movie ever! Chris Pratt is the once-chubby sitcom actor who reinvented himself as a lean, if thick-necked, "hunk." This is not as good as Jurassic Park III.

Verdict: Exciting if dumb creature feature. **1/2.