No Escape

Gallagher’s Forum

By Jon Gallagher

No Escape (The Weinstein Company, 2015) – Director: John Erick Dowdle. Writers: John Erick Dowdle & Drew Dowdle. Stars: Owen Wilson, Lake Bell, Sterling Jerins, Claire Geare, Pierce Brosnan, Thanawut Ketsaro, Chatchawai Kamonsakpitak, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Tanapol Chuksrida, Nophand Boonyai, Kanarpat Phintiang, Jon Goldney, Duang Maidork, Suphornnaphat Jenselius, & Barthélemy Son. Color, Rated R, 103 minutes.

Owen Wilson usually stars in or lends his voice to comedies. He’s usually pretty good in his roles, though he tends to play the same character: a second banana type with a quick wit and impeccable timing. He seems like a natural with his roles, but many times that’s because he’s improvising the dialogue rather than reciting it. Vince Vaughn, one of Owen’s frequent co-stars, also does this, but not nearly as well.

That’s the reason why I was a little anxious to see how he would handle a serious role like the one he has in No Escape, a thriller which left little room for improvisational skills.

Wilson plays Jack Dwyer, an American who has been offered a job somewhere in Southeast Asia (I don’t believe the country is ever named) by his company which will be doing something to help them with their water supply (it’s never really determined what). He takes his family – a wife and two small daughters – along with him and there is some anticipation about the culture shocks they may find there.

What they don’t plan on is the rebellion that is being staged after they arrive. A coup is about to take place and the rebellion seems to be centered around the American company that is taking over the water supply. The rebels are grabbing any American they can find and executing them in the street.

Jack, who has gone in search of a newspaper, has to not only make it back to his hotel where his family is safely ensconced, but also has to escape the country with them.

Pierce Brosnan plays a British “tourist” who is actually a British secret agent (seems appropriate for a former Mr. Bond). He is instrumental in moving the plot forward and making sure there are some dramatic moments.

There are quite a few “edge of your seat” moments including one where Jack has to toss each of his daughters from the roof of one building to another with a several story drop in between. Director John Erick Dowdle does a good job of spacing out the peaks and valleys of the plot, making sure that the valleys never drag while at the same time allowing the audience to collectively catch its breath. 

Wilson is very good in his role. Thankfully, they don’t try to make him an action hero. He remains rooted in his everyday smart-ass persona who is obviously in over his head. By allowing him to be vulnerable, it makes the escapes and near misses much more tense. 

Jack’s wife Annie is played by Lake Bell, a relative newcomer who does a great job shifting between the loving wife and mother to the scared fugitive who undergoes a dramatic transformation. 

The climatic scene is very tense and well done. SPOILER ALERT: Jack is being held by the bad guys and being prepped for execution. The bad guys grab one of his daughters and try to make her kill him by holding the gun in her hands and trying to make her pull the trigger. Finally, the rebel leader puts a gun to her head, and I won’t spoil it from there, but the ending wasn’t what I expected. I was pleasantly surprised and satisfied with the result. END OF SPOILER ALERT

My problem with the film is the lack of logic used in crafting the basic plot. It seemed that they came up with the idea – an American and his family being chased by bloodthirsty rebels – and then randomly selected a country and reason for the rebellion. I never really bought the idea of the rebels being upset with the water company, even though Brosnan does his best to tell the story from their point of view when he explains to Jack why they’re being chased. A little more thought, or perhaps a different, more compelling reason, might have turned the tide for me, but the explanation given just fell flat.

There are a number of near misses and narrow escapes, but still, the movie seemed short. At an hour and 43 minutes, it was plenty long enough, and any more escapes may have been one too many, but it still seemed like there should have been more. I wish I could nail it down better than that, but I was still surprised when the credits started to roll.

It gets a B from me, with the good points being the sequences that are tension filled, and the bad points being the vagueness and the plot holes. As for renting it, you’ve spent three bucks on worse things. If you’re in the mood for a gripping thriller, go for the gusto and rent it. It made it to video so quickly that I’m certain it’ll be in the heapie-cheapie bin at Walmart by the end of the summer.

Midnight Special

Dinner and a Movie

By Steve Herte

Midnight Special (WB, 2016) – Director: Jeff Nichols. Writer: Jeff Nichols (story and s/p). Stars: Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Jaeden Lieberher, Adam Driver, Bill Camp, Scott Haze, Sam Shepard, Paul Sparks, David Jensen, Sharon Landry, Dana Gourrier, Sharon Garrison, Allison King, & Sean Bridgers. Color, Rated PG-13, 112 minutes.

I’ve been duped. The trailers for this movie promised more than it delivered. I saw glowing streams of light coming from a child’s eyes and fiery bolides falling from the sky and I was hooked. None of it prepared me for what I saw.

We have Roy Tomlin (Shannon) kidnapping (or escaping) with his eight-year-old son Alton Meyer (Lieberher) from a Waco-esque religious cult ranch in the dark of night. They are aided by Roy’s childhood best friend and ex-state patrolman Lucas (Edgerton) as they whisk away the boy while the minions of the fanatic minister Doak (Camp) give chase.

The question “Why?” besets this movie throughout and is rarely answered. Why does the child have goggles on; why is his last name different from that of his parents, and why does everything have to be done at night?

Roy and Lucas are on a mission to get the boy to a certain location by a certain date and time before his weakening “condition” causes his death. They are in a car accident and have to seek shelter with another former cult member, Elden (Jensen). But Elden cannot resist staring into Alton’s eyes for another jolt of those intense beams that appear to be hurting the boy. Why? He says he needs to see it once again.

We learn that Alton has special powers and can channel radio broadcasts and signals from orbiting satellites. The ludicrous “prayer sessions” held by the cult quote “readings” from the various “revelations” and numbers Alton has spouted while in their keeping. They would be laughable if it weren’t for the fact that some people will believe anything. Even Pastor Doak believes Alton is speaking in tongues. And he does do a Spanish broadcast at one point.

Why is the FBI after Alton? It seems that some of the numbers he’s been speaking into scripture are top secret military locations and they consider him to be some kind of weapon. How did they even know he was speaking coordinates? That question is one of the unanswered. But when Alton brings down one of our spy satellites (the fiery bolides I mentioned before), they go all out to capture him.

Roy and Lucas swipe Elden’s van after they hear on the police radio that their car has been spotted and described by a motel manager. They make it to Roy’s wife, Sarah Tomlin (Dunst), and though she’s delighted to see Alton again, she knows they have more traveling to do.

The FBI have reluctantly recruited Paul Sevier (Driver), a psychological specialist who looks and acts like a young Jeff Goldblum. When the FBI raid one of the motels Roy, Lucas and Alton are staying at with Sarah, they capture Alton. But Alton will only speak to Paul and he convinces him to bring him back to his parents.

So now we have these parents and best friend and this strange child who gets weaker every time his eyes light up running to a destination at which they know not what will happen. And then Alton tells his “Dad” that he must go out into the sunlight. It’s one of only two scenes that are vaguely interesting in this film – this one and the second to last one – and surprise! It recharges his battery. He all well again, he knows who he is (that’s good because the audience sure doesn’t) and what he has to do. Can you say, “ET phone home?” Except, he’s not exactly an alien.

By the end of Midnight Special many, but not all, of the questions are answered. Two that are not answered are why this movie was made and how you got fooled into seeing it? Jaeden Lieberher is a beautiful, but serious little actor, Michael Shannon verges on non-believability as a character and Kirsten Dunst does what she does best: act shocked or concerned. Joel Edgerton is a strong, silent type, which is good. He does have not too many lines to remember and he mumbles those he does have. Adam Driver may grow up to be Goldblum if he studies hard. Jeff Nichols’ script probably fits on a single page for all the dialogue there is. Most of the interaction is facial expression changes and subtle nods.

Parents, if you have nothing better to do, this is a movie without vile language and a minimum of gore with flashy special effects, just none that you haven’t seen before. Its most redeeming quality is the spectacular computer-generated stage sets. But be aware. It’s an hour and 42 minutes you’ll never get back.

Rating: 2 out of 5 Martini glasses.

Tamba Indian Grill and Bar

103 Lexington Ave., New York

www.tambagrillandbar.com

I was hoping this restaurant would be a landmark Indian for me because it was so good. I knew I was approaching a count of 150, but it was only my 144th. Tamba’s exciting and varied menu on their website is what drew me to make a reservation. Its location in the Murray Hill section of Manhattan is now more famous for Indian restaurants than East 6^th Street in East Greenwich Village. 

Everything about Tamba is humble, right down to the exterior – a simple aluminum-silver framed front window with the name in lower case, soft-white neon lights. Inside, the simple string curtains lit by a single string of white twinkle lights flank the small bar. The most ornate decoration is here, a statue of an Indian goddess dancing. Otherwise the décor is low key, shades of brown and soft gold. Even the artwork on the walls is minimalist. There are at most 20 tables in the entire restaurant meticulously covered in white tablecloths and topped with glass water goblets in which are artfully folded cloth napkins.

There is no Captain’s Station and, with only two tables occupied upon my arrival, I had no problem being seated. The gentleman who seated me eventually became my server and was one of only three employees I saw during the entire meal. He went simply by the initials “B.G.” and I made no reference to the musical group of similar name. He brought me a glass of water, the cocktail card and the beer and wine list, and menu (neatly bound in leather).

The drink that attracted my attention first (and beat out a drink called the Kama Sutra) was the “Volcano Cocktail,” a sweet, bewitching combination of Demera rum, Kahlua, almond syrup and brandy. Why it has the name “volcano” I have no idea. It was cool, not hot or even spicy. I liked it, but decided not to have a second.

The food menu is extensive even for an Indian restaurant and it incorporates cuisines of Pakistan and Afghanistan as well. I was tempted by the Dosa, south Indian specialties rarely seen on Indian menus but are slowly coming into fashion. The nearest thing I can compare them to are crèpes in texture and shape, but the size of the largest chimichangas you’ve ever had. One Dosa is indeed a meal, stuffed with meat, vegetables and spices. I know, I had one long ago at the Bengal Tiger in White Plains. No way are they a side dish or an appetizer.

I looked for dishes I’ve never tried and I found them easily, though I took my time. B.G. wrote them down and after checking the serving order with me, he was off to the kitchen.

While he was thus occupied, I considered the wine list and decided on the Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon. But B.G. said he’d check and did I have a second choice? Malbec was my second choice and soon he returned with a bottle of 2014 Frontera Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina. For an extremely young red it was assertive, a rich, dark red and had a respectably strong nose and big fruity flavor. It would be perfect.

The man I took to be the manager had been roaming from table to table and now I saw the third of the three employees, a tall thin man all in black, who served me the chicken pakoras, my appetizer – shredded chicken and onion fritters with mild spices – and the mulligatawny soup – traditional Indian soup with chicken, lentils mild spices and green peas. The reddish-brown, crispy fritters were served encircling shredded cabbage and had a delightful mixture of flavors. The soup was served in a square bowl and its delicious aroma filled my nose. It was all I could do to wait until I took pictures of both dishes before eating. 

Both were amazing.

By now you must know that I’m an eavesdropper. Not an intentional one, but I hear all the conversations around me. The round table in front of me was seated with six seniors from Texas and one asked where mulligatawny soup got its name. One woman looked it up, as did I. I guessed correctly that it is an English (or rather Anglicized) name cobbled together from the original Tamil (South India) words mulluga and thanni. The recipe is Indian but when the English got a hold of it, it intensified in spice content. B.G. asked me how I wanted my main course: mild, medium or hot. I told him to make it the way it’s supposed to be made. The way Indians would eat it. He agreed, medium – or as he said, regular.

Originally, my preference for main course went to one of the Tamba specialties, a ground lamb kebab involving cashew nuts and exotic preparation, but B.G. didn’t think that it could be made that evening. He didn’t say they were out of it, he said it couldn’t be made. I didn’t question it. 

The pepper mutton fry – dry mutton curry with hot spices in Chennai style – was my other choice and was exactly what I wanted. Chennai or Madras is sometimes called the “Gateway to Southern India” and for me, this dish was a portal to Wonderland. Though it had two good-sized, foreboding black chili peppers in the mixture, it was not by any means hotly spiced. Yes, there were three bones, but one expects that with mutton and goat. But the mouth-filling flavor was grand, savory, and just a little tart. The net effect was almost sweet.

My side dish was one I’ve never seen, sambar rice. Normally Indian restaurants serve basmati rice plain or with green peas and that would be enough. This dish truly gilds the lily by mixing it with sambar, a lentil-based vegetable stew (not unlike a chowder), using broth and tamarind. It is intrinsic to Tamil Nadu in southern India. The sambar turned an aromatic rice side dish into a flavorful party. And then there’s the bread: ghobi paratha (another bread new to me) was a flat bread, cooked in the tandoor oven and stuffed with (of all things) cauliflower! It was light and heavy at the same time. The ghee (buffalo butter) made it heavy, but its extreme thinness made it light.

B.G. and the manager came to visit several times, both commenting on how much I seemed to be enjoying my meal, and I was. The manager wanted to know where I came from. When I answered Queens, he lit up. “Where in Queens?” I gave him my location and he had a relative who lives five blocks away from me. B.G. and I shared a joke about the lovely couple who dined at the next table and who had just left. I told him that she should have known if she were bringing an Argentinean to an Indian restaurant that he would order chicken tikka masala. He laughed. To explain, chicken tikka masala is such a mild dish, I call it “Indian food for those who don’t like Indian food.” I had the remainder of my rice boxed to go so that my Dad could taste it.

I noted that there was a dessert on the list (again) that I’ve never seen, chocolate kulfi and I asked B.G. about it. He put on that face that I’ve learned and said, “I don’t know if we have it tonight,” but he said he’d get me pistachio kulfi if that were true. And it was. The bright green Indian ice cream (which isn’t really ice cream at all, made with condensed milk, white bread and cardamom with flavoring) was cold and definitely pistachio. Combined with a nice, hot cup of masala (spiced) tea, it was a comforting end to a perfect Indian feast.

Tamba is five years old and I’m sure it will last long enough for me to return and try the many new (to me) dishes on the menu, as well as the familiar ones. And I shouldn’t forget the Dosa.

For the Dinner and a Movie archive, click here.

Cinéma Inhabituel for April 16-30

A Guide to the Rare and Unusual on TCM

By Ed Garea

TCM devoted the evening of March 23 to airing selected episodes of classic serials featuring Superman, Batman, the Green Hornet, Dick Tracy, Buck Rodgers, Flash Gordon, the Phantom, and Ace Drummond. “From Comics to Film” was shown in conjunction with Warner Bros.' release of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, but the Batman serials ran in full last year, and I’m wondering why TCM can’t do the same with other classic serials. Saturday morning is the perfect place to run them, and a pretty good line-up can be carved out of Saturday mornings: Start with a B-series such as The Lone Wolf, or Boston Blackie, follow with a classic serial, and then run something not seen on TCM for a long time: Cartoon Alley. This show ran the old cartoons from Warner Brothers’ Termite Terrace, and was engagingly hosted by Ben Mankiewicz. As morning becomes afternoon, a classic B noir, Western, or horror/sci-fi flick can be shown. We think it would take many TCM viewers back to their childhood, when this was a regular happening on Saturday mornings. 

JUDY GARLAND

April 22: Another evening of Garland musicals, with the best being The Harvey Girls (8:00 pm), the wonderful Easter Parade (10:00 pm) with Fred Astaire, and Summer Stock (2:00 am). TCM has run Judy’s musicals so often that a “Star of the Month” celebration loses the sense of uniqueness such a special feature should have. Granted, Judy has only 38 films to her credit, but perhaps a episode or two of her television show from 1963-64 would have been nice, and given us another window to view Judy. TCM did this when they honored Danny Kaye as “Star of the Month” by running an episode of his variety show from the ‘60s.

April 29: At 11:15 pm, it’s the seldom screened A Child is Waiting (1962), with Judy as an emotionally fragile woman who takes a position teaching mentally handicapped children. Burt Lancaster co-stars. Following at 1:15 am is Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) with Judy simply stunning as Irene Hoffman, an ordinary German woman whose Jewish friend was executed by the Nazis on suspicion that he had “improper relations” with her (“defiling the race”) and executed. Judy is simply superb, standing her ground when defense lawyer Maximillian Schell challenges the veracity of her testimony. Overall this is an excellent picture, with the acting overcoming producer Stanley Kramer’s usual heavy hand.

MORE OF THE BARRYMORES

April 18: This evening is devoted to Ethel Barrymore. An actress much more at home on the stage than on the silver screen, she still managed to amass 43 credits, and although lacking the box office appeal of her brothers, she still managed to be nominated four times for an Oscar, all in the Supporting Actress category, and won for None But the Lonely Heart (1944), as the mother of ne’er-do-well Cary Grant. Those who may have missed it over the years are in luck, for it’s being shown at 8:00 pm.

At 10:00 pm, we can see Ethel’s Oscar nominated performance as the bedridden Mrs. Warren in Robert Siodmak’s drama, The Spiral Staircase (1946). It’s a wonderful Old Dark House-type thriller with a killer on the loose, and Mrs. Warren’s only company a mute servant girl (Dorothy McGuire). A marvelously constructed film that still retains its power to shock today.

At 11:30 pm, its Ethel in Elia Kazan’s well-intentioned but clumsy racial drama, Pinky (1949), with Jeanne Crain as a young biracial woman who returns to her hometown after passing for white in nursing school. At 1:30 am, Ethel stars in the remake of Kind Lady (1951) as an innocent victim held hostage in her home by a con man and his gang. At 3:00 am, Ethel is the Mother Superior of a convent in the British Zone of postwar Vienna who gives asylum to fleeing Russian ballerina Janet Leigh in the heavy-handed Cold War melodrama Red Danube (1949). 

Finally, at 5:00 am, she stars as Katharine “Nana” Chandler in her last film, Johnny Trouble (1957), a remake of a 1943 drama, Someone to Remember. Ethel is a woman whose son disappeared 27 years ago after being expelled from school. Working as a sort of dorm mother, she meets Johnny (Stuart Whitman), a troubled young man she believes to be her grandson, and she attempts to steer him in the right direction.

April 24: Tonight is literally a mixed bag, as the Barrymores work together. Starting at 8:00 pm, it’s the only film in which all three Barrymores appeared, Rasputin and the Empress (1932). John is Prince Paul Chegodieff, Ethel (in her talkie debut) is Czarina Alexandra, and Lionel plays the mad monk himself. One would assume that with all three Barrymore, this must be one helluva picture. Unfortunately, though it’s entertaining, it’s far from great. In fact, the most fun to be had is in watching the trio trying to upstage one another.

At 10:15, it's the classic Grand Hotel from 1932 with John as the doomed jewel thief in love with Garbo, and Lionel as a dying industrialist. Following at 12:15 am is the underrated Night Flight (1933), starring John as the hard driving operations director of an air freight line in South America and Lionel as the company’s inspector, accused of being too chummy with the pilots. With a stellar cast that includes Robert Montgomery, Clark Gable, and Myrna Loy.

The brothers push on at 1:45 am in the classic Dinner at Eight (1933), an ensemble piece with John as a desperate fading movie star and Lionel as a businessman suffering from health problems as his business teeters on the verge of collapse. Though the Barrymores provide the big names, the real stars of the picture are Wallace Beery and Jean Harlow as a conniving self-made tycoon and his fed-up wife, and Marie Dressler as Beery’s socialite ex-lover. It’s definitely required viewing with outstanding performances from a supporting cast that includes Karen Morley, Lee Tracy, Billie Burke, Edmund Lowe, and May Robson.

Finally, at 3:45 am, it's John and Lionel in the delightful Arsene Lupin from 1932. John is the suave gentleman jewel thief Arsene Lupin, aka The Duke of Charmance, and Lionel is Guerchard, the French detective inspector who has made the arrest of Lupin number one on his list of Things To Do. It’s their first film together, and in many ways their best.

FROM CALIGARI TO HITLER

April 20: TCM continues its festival of Weimar cinema, concentrating on director Fritz Lang. The evening begins with his 1922 silent masterpiece Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, as both parts are shown.

At 12:45 am it’s Lang’s sequel, Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse (The Testament of Dr. Mabuse), from 1933. Here the similarity to Hitler was so strong that Goebbels banned the film from exhibition in Germany. Like its predecessor, the film reveals Lang’s understanding of the nature of crime and the criminal mind and the underlying social forces that allow it to thrive in the modern, industrialized state. 3:00 am brings us what many think is Lang’s masterpiece, Metropolis (1926), but at 5:45 am airs what I believe to be Lang’s masterpiece, M (1931).

April 27: Begin at 8:00 pm with G. W. Pabst’s Pandora’s Box (1929), a tale of the quintessential femme fatale – Lulu – played by Louise Brooks. It’s followed at 10:30 with Pabst’s Diary of a Lost Girl (1929), also starring Brooks, and even more sordid. Brooks is raped and gives birth. When she refuses to marry the father, the baby is given to a midwife and Brooks is put in a detention home. She escapes from there, moves to a brothel, inherits money, marries, is widowed in a most unusual turn of the plot, and taken in by her late husband’s grief-stricken uncle. Later she is invited to become a member of the board of directors of the deletion home from which she escaped.

At midnight, it’s Pabst’s acclaimed war drama, Westfront 1918 (1930), a film that is every bit as strong in its antiwar views and disquieting as All Quiet on the Western Front. At 1:45 am comes Pabst’s take on Brecht and Weill’s 3 Penny Opera (1931), followed at 3:45 by Kameradschaft, a tale of international cooperation after a mine disaster, also from 1931.

Finally, for all you insomniacs out there, it’s the German version of Anna Christie, starring Greta Garbo, from 1931. MGM filmed this at the same time as the English version, intended for the vast German market, where Garbo was a huge drawing card. 

JEAN GABIN

April 17: Jean Gabin is one of my favorite actors and the night offers a film of his I haven’t yet managed to catch along with one I’ve seen numerous times and which is one of my favorites. First up at 2:00 am is A Pig Across Paris, from director Claude Autant-Lara, in 1957. Set in Paris during the Occupation, the film tells the story of a hapless black marketeer named Marcel Martin (Bourvil), who must transport about 220 pounds of pork distributed in four suitcases. As this is too much for one man alone, he recruits a vagabond named Grandgil (Gabin), who claims to be a painter. A Pig Across Paris is a farce wrapped as a buddy comedy, with the duo facing numerous tricky situations (one of which is bring followed by hungry dogs) and close shaves while attempting to deliver their contraband. 

It’s followed at 3:30 am by Pepe LeMoko (1937), with Gabin in possibly his best role as the exiled Paris thief who has been hiding in the Casbah quarter of Algiers, a place where the police will never find him, as he is able to hide in the maze of tunnels and secret places supplied to him by the Casbah denizens, who make it a point never to cooperate with the authorities. Life is good, but when Pepe meets Gaby, a Parisienne who is the mistress of a wealthy Frenchman, their affair magnifies his loneliness and ultimately leads to his downfall. Director Julian Duvivier, an acolyte of the Poetic Realism movement, created a marvelously atmospheric film bolstered by the internal battle within Gabin’s Le Moko, as he struggles to uphold his tough image against the romantic melancholy that is coming to dominate his existence. Gabin’s performance sealed his reputation as one of France’s best actors and remains as one of the best ever committed to celluloid. The film was remade in the States by producer Walter Wanger as Algiers (1938) with Charles Boyer as Pepe Le Moko and Hedy Lamarr as Gaby. But the film tanked, for Boyer was no Gabin (Honestly, Chevalier would’ve been better.), and Lamarr, though drop-dead gorgeous, simply couldn’t act. Universal released a musical version of the film as Casbah in 1948 with Tony Martin as Pepe. The less said about that, the better.

ARTLESS ART

April 24: The Japanese are the last people I would have expected to make an “art” film. Simply, they don’t need to, for directors such as Ozu, Kurosawa, and Kenji Mizoguchi made their superbly crafted films into masterpieces simply by following everyday stories or adapting classic works of literature, as Kurosawa did with Shakespeare. Hiroshi Teshigahara’s Woman in the Dunes (1964), which airs at 2:00 am, is based on the 1962 novel of the same name by author Kobo Abe. Abe’s novel, Sunna no Onna (“Sand Woman”), concerns a teacher from Tokyo, Jumpei Niki, who visits a fishing village to collect insects. After missing the last bus out, the villagers lead him to a house in the dunes that can only be reached by ladder. The next morning, he finds the villagers have removed the ladder and that he is expected to keep sand out of the house with the woman who is already living there and with whom he has children. He eventually gives up trying to escape when he concludes that returning to his old life would not result in any more freedom. After seven years, he is officially proclaimed dead. 

Abe’s novel is a complex tome about the meaning of freedom in today’s society, a variation of the Myth of Sisyphus as elaborated by Camus. Like the novels of Henry James, many of which are internally, as opposed to externally, driven, it really does not translate into a movie, for movies cannot capture the necessary depth that makes the story work. Metaphors only go so far; one needs a solid storyline to move the film along, otherwise it tends to become mired in its own heaviness, which is the case with Woman in the Dunes. Yes, I know that Abe adopted the screenplay himself. His other adaptations of his works, The Face of Another and The Man Without a Map, work because they are externally based and entail movement towards a goal. Woman in the Dunes only proves that what works in a novel does not necessarily work in film, as both a separate crafts.

EDGAR KENNEDY

April 26: Beginning at 5:00 pm, TCM is running two hours of shorts starring the incomparable Edgar Kennedy, beginning with Wrong Direction (1934) and finishing with The Big Beef (1945). Made by RKO, the shorts revolved around Edgar as the put-upon husband of Florance Lake, whose sponging mother and brother have moved in and drive Edgar crazy. Utilizing Kennedy’s comedy skills, in particular the slow burn, the shorts have Edgar trying to accomplish something only to be thwarted by his buffoonish relatives. Adding to his misery is his wife’s constant defense of her mother and brother. I remember watching the shorts, which were part of a late night package with the shorts of Leon Errol and Clark and McCullough on New York’s Channel 5 called Reel Camp. TCM would be wise to make all these RKO shorts part of a regular feature.

TUESDAY WELD

April 26: Although she’s mostly forgotten today, back in the mid-‘50s to mid-‘60s, Tuesday Weld was a pop culture icon. She was featured on the cult television series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (CBS, 1959-63), along with such actors as Warren Beatty, with whom Dobie competed for Weld’s attention, and made quite a few teen movies. At 8:00 pm, TCM is screening her film debut, Rock, Rock, Rock (1956) from Columbia and produced by schlockmeister Milton Subotsky. Following at 9:45 is Because They’re Young (Columbia, 1960). With Dick Clark as the new “with-it” teacher at Harrison High, where Tuesday is a student. You can pass through Lord Love a Duck (1966) at 11:30 and the lame by-the-numbers Bob Hope “comedy,” I’ll Take Sweden (1965), until the magic hour of 3:15 am is reached. Then hold on to your seats (and DVRs), because one of the great bad movies is being shown, Sex Kittens Go To College (1960), starring Tuesday and the great Mamie Van Doren. Here’s the synopsis: A stripper with a genius IQ (Van Doren) gets a college teaching job in the science department after being chosen in a selection process determined by Thinko the Robot. Yes, you read right. If we now mention that the film was produced and directed by Albert Zugsmith, much would be explained. 

Zugsmith gave us the landmark psychotronic classic, High School Confidential (1958), as well as classics such as Invasion U.S.A. (1952), Female on the Beach with Joan Crawford (1955), Girls Town (1959), The Private Lives of Adam and Eve (1960), Russ Meyer's Fanny Hill (1964), and Sappho Darling (1968). To be fair he also gave us The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) and Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil (1958). Starring with Mamie and Tuesday are John Carradine, Mijanou Bardot (Brigette’s sister), Louis Nye, Mickey Shaughnessy, Jackie Coogan (Uncle Fester!), Vampira, and Conway Twitty. There is no actual sex in the film; the naughtiest it gets is when the strippers get down to thong panties with pasties on their nipples. Despite this, I remember looking through the movie times section of the local newspaper and seeing this film advertised at an adult theater in Newark called The Little Theater. How desperate must a pervert be to pay his money to see this? But that was part of Zugsmith’s genius – to make the marks think they were getting a lot more than he was actually supplying.

PSYCHOTRONICA AND THE B HIVE

April 16: An evening of horror spoofs is scheduled, with Young Frankenstein (1974) leading off at 8:00 pm, followed by Roman Polanski’s The Fearless Vampire Killers (1966) at 10 pm, and Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953) at midnight.

At 2:00 am, TCM Underground takes over, with Lucio Fulci’s outrageous giallo, The House by the Cemetery (1984), and the terrible Burnt Offerings (1976) following at 3:30. The latter is yet another film about a family that moves into a possessed house with the usual results. On the plus side, it has Karen Black and Bette Davis in the cast. On the minus, it’s directed by Dan Curtis. To quote critic Michael Weldon, “Dan Curtis is better off making TV films.”

April 18: A morning and afternoon of films from Val Lewton, beginning at 7:45 am with the classic Bedlam (1946), and ending at 6:15 pm with the exquisite Curse of the Cat People (1944). Lewton, no matter how many times TCM plays his films, is always worth watching for the twists and craftsmanship he brings to films that otherwise could easily be on the level of Sam Katzman’s atrocities for Monogram.

April 20: Though it’s a failed film, Leo McCarey’s The Milky Way (1936) starring Harold Lloyd as a milquetoast milkman who becomes a boxer after it appears that he knocked out the middleweight champion (William Gargan) in a brawl, it's worth your time if you haven’t yet seen it. Showtime is 3:00 pm. It’s one of many Lloyd films being screened in the morning and afternoon.

April 22: Blondes are the order of the day with morning and afternoon devoted to films about blondes or with the word “blonde” in the title. The festivities begin at 7:00 am with Glenda Farrell as Torchy Blaine in Smart Blonde (1936), followed by Farrell again as Blaine in The Adventurous Blonde from 1937. The other highlight of the day is at 4:45 pm with James Cagney and Joan Blondell in the wonderful Blonde Crazy (1931), followed at 6:15 with Jean Harlow and Lee Tracy in the raucous Bombshell (1933). 

April 23: One of the strangest films ever made is on tap at 2:00 am – director Andrzej Zulawski’s Possession (1981), starting Isabelle Adjani as a woman with strange tastes in lovers, to say the least. Tune in and watch a film that truly has to be seen to be believed.

April 30: Begin with the Lone Wolf in Passport to Suez (1943) at 9:30 am, then stick around for The Bowery Boys in Blues Busters (1950) at 10:45, The Fly (1958) at noon, Soylent Green(1973) at 2:00, Five Million Years to Earth (1968) at 4:00, and Countdown (1968) at 6:00. At 2:15 am, it’s a Larry Cohen double feature with God Told Me To (1976), and It Lives Again (1978).

TCM TiVo Alert for April 15-22

TCM TiVo ALERT

For

April 15–April 22

DAVID’S BEST BETS:

MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (April 17, 8:00 pm): This is, by far, the best version of this classic tale to hit the big screen. With outstanding performances from Charles Laughton as Captain Bligh and Clark Gable as Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, it tells a story, though not a historically accurate one, of, well, uh, a mutiny on the HMS Bounty caused by the sadistic actions of Bligh toward the crew. This 1935 film is well-acted with wonderful scenery and cinematography, and an excellent story.

NONE BUT THE LONELY HEART (April 18, 8:00 pm) While I'm not a big fan of Cary Grant's comedies, I'm greatly impressed with his dramatic roles. He's so good as a Cockney drifter in None But the Lonely Heart that I look at this 1944 film as the precursor to the classic British "kitchen-sink" films of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Those films focused on angry young men living directionless lives in post-World War II England. This film takes place in post-World War I England. Equally excellent is the legendary Ethel Barrymore as his dying mother. In addition to the amazing performances from Grant and Barrymore, the storyline is compelling, well-paced and really depressing. The movie lost money for RKO, which unfortunately meant Grant would never take on a similar role as the one in this film despite his groundbreaking performance.

ED’S BEST BETS:

MINISTRY OF FEAR (April 17, 10:15 am): Fritz Lang, along with Alfred Hitchcock, was a master of the espionage thriller. And this film is a prime example of what Lang could do when given the right source material (Graham Greene’s novel of the same name), the right screenplay (by Seton I. Miller), and the right cast, led by a superb Ray Milland. And yet, Lang thought the film was not up to par; he didn’t like the finished product. Well, Herr Lang, I did – I loved it. Milland is superb as a recently released mental patient, sent there after being wrongly convicted of killing his wife. He gets caught up in a web of espionage, and we begin to wonder if the mad house is the asylum or what passes for the real world outside the asylum’s walls. It’s a film that pulls us in, whether we want to enter or not, and one which builds to a great finish, Lang style. Lang rarely lets me down.

PEPE LE MOKO (April 17, 3:30 am): Jean Gabin is absolutely captivating as a gangster who eludes capture in the Casbah section of Algiers until his love for a beautiful woman lures him out to his capture. The role of LeMoko brought Gabin into international prominence. Beautifully photographed and exquisitely directed by Julien Duvivier. Not released until 1941 in America due to the fact that Walter Wanger remade it as Algiers. Only after its run was the original allowed to be screened in the States. Given the choice between the original and the remake, opt for the original. It’s a far better film.

WE DISAGREE ON ... THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY (April 17, 3:15 pm)

ED: B. The Year of Living Dangerously amazingly manages to recreate the Indonesia of the mid-1960s, a time when the Sukarno regime was toppling and the war in Vietnam was just getting hot. It revolves around the life of a foreign correspondent, played by Mel Gibson, who has just arrived in Jakarta and who thrives in dangerous locales. In mood it strikes a similar tone to Grahame Greene’s The Quiet American, but the direction and one special performance set it apart. The direction by Peter Weir is phenomenal, immersing us immediately in the action a we get to know the main players in the drama. The standout performance was by Linda Hunt, playing a Eurasian man named Billy Kwan. Billy haunts the peripheries of polite society and functions as a photographer who becomes invaluable to Gibson’s character by knowing Who’s Who and what plays well in the media. He and Gibson’s character, Guy Hamilton, become friends and Billy introduces Guy to the third player in the triangle, British attache Jill Bryant (Sigourney Weaver), with whom Hamilton becomes romantically involved, to the detriment of Billy, who increasingly feels pushed aside. The film is worth catching for the performance of Hunt as Kwan, a performance for which she justly earned an Oscar. It is one of the most remarkable performances in film history and makes the film a Must See for cinephiles.

DAVID: C-. It took me three tries before I could get through this film. My struggle, in part, is that this film is nearly two hours, and it failed to keep my interest for that length of time. My biggest problem is the sound mixing is about the worst I've experienced for a mainstream movie. The accents of many of the charters are far too thick for me to understand, and it's not exactly like the storyline of the 1965 overthrow of President Sukamo in Indochina – with the war in Vietnam as a backdrop – is easy to follow. I found it nearly impossible to keep track of who was who, which is a big problem trying to follow a complex story. What made it almost maddening for me is this followed two breakout performances by Mel Gibson, who plays a new foreign correspondent from Australia here, in Gallipoli (directed by Peter Weir who also directed Living Dangerously) and Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. His character in this film is not as interesting as his previous roles. Gibson was capable of a much stronger performance and Weir, who's made some excellent films, also could have done significantly better. I can't disagree with Ed's assessment of Linda Hunt's performance though I had a difficult time understanding her as well. Sigourney Weaver's talents are largely wasted in this movie as she is definitely the third lead.

For the complete list of films on the TCM TiVo Alert, click here.

Eye In The Sky

Dinner and a Movie

By Steve Herte

Eye in the Sky (Bleecker Street Media, 2016) – Director: Gavin Hood. Writer: Guy Hibbert (s/p). Stars: Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman, Jessica Jones, Aisha Takow, Bob Chappell, Lex King, Dek Hassan, Abdi Mohamed Osman, Ebby Weyime, Barkhad Abdi, Iain Glen, Phoebe Fox, & Richard McCabe. Color, Rated R, 102 minutes.

“Never tell a soldier about the casualties of war!” The last line from Lt. Gen. Frank Benson (Rickman) to Kate Barnes (Jones) echoes the agony experienced by the entire cast as the scenes played out in this modern warfare thriller.

When you have three of the top five terrorists on your watch list constructing suicide vests in a house located in a friendly country, and you have a drone poised to fire a missile to destroy them, and innocent little Kenyan girl Alla Mo’Allim (Takow) sits directly outside selling bread, what do you do?

This is the dilemma facing Col. Katherine Powell (Mirren). On the one hand, she’s ecstatic at finally tracking down the radicalized Susan Danford, now Ayesha AL-Hady (King) after months of searching, and, not only that but she has the husband Abdullah AL-Hady (Hassan) and number two, Amadu Mukhtar (Osman) in the same building. On the other, her top secret operation in cooperation with the United States military is subject to legal rules of conduct and moral judgments that threaten to delay or even prevent her capture of the targets. How does she know this? Operatives on the ground, Damisi (Weyime) and Jama Farah (Abdi), who control surveillance cameras in the shapes of a hummingbird and a beetle, have “seen” inside the safe house.

Lt. Gen. Benson meanwhile is in contact with Col. Powell through his laptop in London with representatives of the United Kingdom government who are there to witness the “capture.” When the situation evolves to a drone strike, the ramifications are heightened and the issue is “referred up” to Foreign Secretary James Willett (Glen), who is unfortunately suffering a bout of food poisoning.

When all is cleared for firing the missile and the collateral damage has been calculated, drone pilot Steve Watts (Paul) and US Air Force colleague Carrie Gershon (Fox) can see the little girl setting up her table just outside the compound in their cross-hairs. Steve’s reluctance to fire until the collateral damage or “CD” is recalculated sends the decision to the Attorney General, George Matherson (McCabe), for reassessment.

The suspense and tension throughout this film is palpable. If you do not find your heart rate increase by the end, you’re probably dead. Every actor in the cast is obviously aware of the horrific results of the decision to fire (or not) and it shows in the faces. Helen Mirren’s frustration each time her victory is put off is graphic. Alan Rickman is still the great stone face he was as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movies, but you can read the deep concern in his expressions.

It’s a frighteningly believable tale of high technology warfare done superbly without vulgarity (not one) and with minimal gore while having maximum moral teaching. It asks the difficult question of how to deal with terrorists from Somalia (an unfriendly country) imposing sharia law in neighboring Kenya (a friendly country) and making it their base of operations. From a technical standpoint, this movie deserves the term “Wow” even without the top rate actors and performances. The effects of the mechanical bird and beetle were amazing. I went to see it just because I love Mirren, but I got so much more.

Rating: 5 out of 5 Martini glasses.

China Grill

60 W. 53rd St., New York

www.chinagrillrestaurant.com/new_york

I can’t tell you exactly when I last dined at the China Grill, but it was over 12 years ago and it was my third or fourth time. It’s one of those restaurants you can’t get enough of, and so you’re compelled to return. This time it was to celebrate my dining companion’s birthday. My karaoke host suggested the restaurant and I realized that I’ve never reviewed it. Perfect.

I arrived first at the sleek black stone and glass tower that was once the CBS Building on the corner of Sixth Avenue and 53rd Street and entered through the revolving door. I marvel at the use of this cavernous space every time I’m there. The Captain’s Station is immediately to the left; beyond it are black wood bare-topped tables of the bar crowd. There are more tables to the right on a wedge-shaped platform. In all, I didn’t see one empty space. The 20-plus-foot-high ceilings are graced with pancake-like lighting fixtures in shades of flax and blushing pink as they march through a narrowing hall toward the rear dining area.

The young lady asked me to wait for my companion because they do not seat anyone until the entire party has arrived. The bar down the hall was fully occupied and the only seat was a small curved bench behind the revolving door, now occupied by a young man awaiting his take-out. I sat next to him admiring that décor. Even the floor is not just tile. There are words. I read “The Wild Animals” right beneath my feet. The walls are painted muted shades of red with fanciful dragons sketched on them.

One half hour after our reservation time, my dining companion arrived (she got off at the wrong subway station). The lady at the Captain’s Station graciously led us past the bar to the rear dining area, where she split apart two tables to make a single for us. The space has at least twice as many tables as the front area, and though they were a little more than half occupied, it was alive with conversation. I had forgotten how noisy the place was when combined with the piped-in music. We had to lean in toward each other to hear ourselves.

Our server, Jessica arrived and greeted us. When the water was poured, she asked if we wanted a drink. My lovely guest ordered a glass of the Riesling from the Mosel region of Germany and I ordered the specialty cocktail, “Shiso Crazy” – green tea infused Russian Standard vodka, cucumber, shiso (a Japanese herb sometimes called “Japanese basil”), and lime. I think she got the better of that deal. My drink was tasty, but when Jessica returned I dubbed it too namby-pamby and ordered a decent Beefeater Martini, which was almost perfect. The second one was perfect.

The four page, all-inclusive, bound menu featured cocktails, wine and beer on the first page, Dim Sum, Salads and Starters on the second, Mains, “Grand Plates” and Accompaniments on the third, and Desserts and Soufflés on the fourth. Knowing from previous experience that nearly everything on the menu was good, I found myself explaining the difference between sashimi and sushi, spicy dishes and mild dishes and the difference between authentic Chinese cuisine and China Grill’s interpretation.

When she finished the Riesling, I recommended the Sancere – “Patient Cottat” from the Loire region, France, which she found equally as good. We ordered two starters and two main courses and decided to share everything.

The blue crab, tuna and edamame guacamole tartare was an artistic little tower in shades of light green, beige and brown surrounded by pepper and herb oils with a ramekin of savory prawn crackers. It was delicious, but the tuna flavor dominated (by that I mean the “Chicken of the Sea” flavor, not the sushi flavor). I liked the crackers much more. The lobster pancakes, stir fried with wild mushrooms, red chili, scallions and coconut milk was a much better starter. Looking like a large burrito covered in shredded carrots, it was easily sliced with a spoon and served.

When there was nothing left of the appetizers but a few drops of sauce, Jessica cleared the table and another server brought our two main courses. The duck two ways was tender, pan-seared, sliced duck breast with chocolate-orange sauce and “moo-shu” style confit of duck leg with a spicy hoisin sauce. The hoisin sauce was sweet, as hoisin sauce should always be. The duck was amazing in both preparations. The pale green and white pancakes for wrapping the moo shu duck were too soft and moist to put into service as wrappers – much less hold, so we ate them as a side dish. 

The grilled Szechuan beef (marinated in sake, soy, spicy shallots and cilantro) shared its plate with a mound of crispy Chinese noodles. It made quite an impression. The blackness of the meat implied a crisp crust, which I love. The beef was tender and juicy but, as I warned my dining companion beforehand, nowhere near as spicy as a true Szechuan dish would be. In fact, it was not spicy at all. Delicious, yes. The noodles were great fun to eat and the dark brown sauce added just the touch of flavor they needed.

When I could get Jessica aside, I mentioned that we were celebrating a birthday and she nodded comprehension. Our two desserts arrived simultaneously. The bananas in a box, caramelized bananas upright in an edible cookie “box” were topped with caramel cream, a caramel drizzle, two spoons made from caramelized sugar and a lit candle. On the plate was written “Happy Birthday” in chocolate sauce.

My hazelnut tort paled in comparison. Both were wonderful and again, a lot of fun to eat. That, and a double espresso for me and a cappuccino for her ended what I call The Orientation (she’s never been to the China Grill before). We both had a great time and I still love China Grill.

For the Dinner and a Movie archive, click here.