A Christmas Story

Actors: Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillon’ Darren McGavin

Rating: 9 out of 10, A recent addition to my movie collection as I strive to own all of the favorite movies of my past. Anyone who doesn’t like this can be officially labeled as a bona fide Grinch. The film centers around Ralphie who longs to receive an air rifle as a Christmas present despite the legion of adults who warn that he’ll put his eye out. The story is told through the memory of the adult Ralphie with the whimsical exaggerations of the nine year old version of himself. I loved McGavin as the apoplectic father doing battle with the family furnace and the pack of neighbor’s dogs. It’s an ode to the schmaltzy, yet bone deep truths of family at Christmas and couldn’t we all benefit from seeing that.

MVP: Billingsley as the very focused Ralphie

Mechanic: Resurrection

Actors: Jason Statham, Tommy Lee Jones, Jessica Alba, Michelle Yeoh.

Rating: 7 out of 10, In the sequel Statham is transformed into an international man of mystery globetrotting around to arrange deaths for the villain holding his girlfriend hostage. He is in full Transporter mode and his stunts are worth the price of admission. Jessica Alba plays the love interest with absolutely no chemistry with Staham. I don’t know how someone as hot as Alba can come across as almost asexual on the screen. This is Staham back in his action personae which means bring a lot of body bags as the bad guy had a seemingly endless, target rich stream of cannon fodder to be mowed down. Tommy Lee Jones was criminally underused. I liked this for the action, exotic locales, and the occasional Alba bikini shot but I think it’s safe to say it will be assiduously ignored come Oscar time.

MVP: Statham as the very dangerous Arthur Bishop

A Few Good Men

Actors: Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, Kevin Pollak, Wolfgang Bodison, James Marshall, J. T. Walsh, Kiefer Sutherland

Rating: 9 out of 10, I think this is the first film where I realized Cruise was a very good actor to go along with his action credentials as he holds his own in one of the most electrifying scenes in movie history with the iconic Jack Nicholson. The real star of this film though is the script which is smart, funny and a little self-important. I cringed a couple times at the extreme license taken with the military backdrop but it was too much fun to distract. The supporting cast is very good with Demi Moore before she became a caricature of herself and Kevin Pollack as Cruise’s conscience. The movie is worth watching in its entirety merely for that final confrontation in the courtroom.

MVP: Cruise as Lt Kaffe, defending two lone Marines against their commander

Torn Curtain

Actors: Paul Newman, Julie Andrews, Lila Kedrova, Hansjörg Felmy, Tamara Toumanova, Wolfgang Kieling, Ludwig Donath, Günter Strack, David Opatoshu

Rating: 8 out of 10, Another trip back to nostalgia with one of Hitchcock’s lesser known 1960s efforts. I got the impression Hitchcock and Newman didn’t get along well because Newman is almost a forgotten piece even though he’s the lead actor. He plays an American scientist (bit of a stretch there) who seemingly defects behind the iron curtain while trailed by his confused fiancé, Miss Andrews. While some of the spy craft seems puerile by today’s standards it’s an interesting view back to the days of my youth when the cold war was an omnipresent fact of life. 

MVP: Julie Andrews exuding star power was the loyal but puzzled girlfriend Sarah

The Summer of ‘42

Actors: Gary Grimes, Jerry Houser, Oliver Conant, Jennifer O'Neill, Katherine Allentuck, Christopher Norris  

Rating: 7 out of 10, A nostalgia piece written about the Nantucket adventures of a trio of adolescent friends confronted with coming of age in the shadow of World War 2. This one has suffered a little bit with the passage of time mainly because the time depicted in the film is so much longer ago now. The interaction between Oscy and Hermie still rings true as 15 year olds discovering their interest in girls with some of the usual associated hijinks. Houser was so good as Oscy paying the lout to the sensitive Hermie but he seemed a lot funnier when I first saw this so long ago. What hasn’t changed is the luminescent beauty of Jennifer O’Neill as the object of Hermie’s worship. The sound track is memorable in its own right and the attempted softening of what would have gotten O’Neill’s character arrested nowadays is somehow sweet. Grimes was a little too annoying for my taste  but overall the movie still works as a period coming of age piece

MVP: O’Neill as the beautiful, war bride Dorothy 

The Eiger Sanction

Actors: Clint Eastwood, George Kennedy, Jack Cassidy, Vonetta McGee, Brenda Venus

Rating: 8 out of 10, This movie actually stands up to time fairly well. It’s fairly routine spy thriller until they get to the Eiger and the photography there is nothing short of amazing, especially since it was obvious Eastwood was doing his own stunts suspended off the side of the mountain, well before CGI was around. Eastwood plays a college professor who whacks the occasional spy as a side job to pay for his art collection. George Kennedy is around in his garrulous sidekick mode which is always fun to watch. Venus playing the silent mountain climbing daughter could get me to climb a few mountains as well; easy to understand Henry Miller’s late life fascination with her.

MVP: Eastwood as Prof Hemlock, mountain climbing assassin with incredible lady luck 

The Accountant

Actors: Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J. K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, Jeffrey Tambor, John Lithgow

Rating: 9 out of 10, Affleck finally has a part perfect for his wooden style. He plays John Wick as a highly functioning autistic savant. He's ably assisted by a superb supporting cast but this is truly Affleck's film and he's great. As an accountant to the nefarious underworld his character slowly emerges through some very well done flashbacks. It's the movies folks so don't get too wound around the axle about this ever being possible - it's a great story and Affleck pulls it off with a lot of nuance and style. I really liked the movie.

MVP: Affleck as Christian Wolf, a very dangerous numbers cruncher