The kerfuffle regarding Disney/Hulu and Jimmy Kimmel was distressing for a number of reasons. We were on the verge of cancelling both when Kimmel was brought back—and while I didn’t cancel either service, I did actually write and mail a physical letter to Disney. So far, no response, but that’s not too surprising. It has made me think that I will be pushing my way through a lot of Disney/Hulu over the next few months in the hopes of actually fully and finally cancelling both services.
What I’ve Caught Up With, September 2025 Part 2
Film: Summer Storm (1944)
A story of multiple failed romances, betrayals, and unrequited love, Summer Storm is the sort of blustery soap opera-like film that certainly pleased the melodrama craving public of the time. Former Russian count Volsky (Edward Everett Horton) tries to sell a book manuscript to Nadina Kalenin (Anna Lee). The manuscript tells the tale of Judge Fedya Petroff (George Sanders), who was once engaged to Nadina. In the story, he talks about his great love for Olga (an absolutely radiant Linda Darnell), a serving girl who has dreams of grandeur and the complete lack of morals that will allow her to get there. The melodrama is strong, but it’s hard to have something that isn’t worth watching at least for a little with a cast this good.
Film: First Men in the Moon (1964)
Based on an H.G. Wells story, a group of astronauts go to the moon only to discover it has been visited by Earthmen before them. Most of the movie is told in flashback. Arnold Bedford (Edward Judd) has a shoot-first attitude and his fiancée Kate (Martha Hyer) has a tendency to get in the way of things. The mission is headed by Joseph Cavor (Lionel Jeffries), who has invented a material that essentially rejects gravity, forcing the group off planet. It’s honestly not a great film. What it has going for it is a lot of stop-motion work from Ray Harryhausen, who animates the Selenites and other creatures that live on the moon, so you know that’s going to be good. The science, though, is powerfully stupid.
Film: Beauty Shop (2005)
I am a fan of Queen Latifah in front of the camera and pretty much always have been. She’s versatile and immediately likeable, two characteristics that are hard to top. Beauty Shop is a spin-off from the Barbershop movies. Chicago hair stylist Gina (Latifah) moves to Atlanta to work. She ditches her prima donna boss Jorge (a wildly over-styled and very funny Kevin Bacon) and opens her own shop, bringing along her talented hayseed friend Lynn (Alicia Silverstone). Her old boss decides to try to put her out of business, and shenanigans ensue. Beauty Shop is not a serious movie, but it’s a fun one and has a lot of heart. Hell of a cast, too—Djimon Hounsou, Alfre Woodard, Andie McDowell, Mena Suvari, Della Reese, and a pre-major stardom Octavia Spencer make appearances.
Film: Under the Silver Lake (2018)
The film noir style is one that is still copied and there are plenty of variants. Under the Silver Lake is a new one on me—it’s an acid noir, a film that has a sort of film noir feel to it, but it also feels completely awash in in psychedelics. Sam (Andrew Garfield) meets Sarah (Riley Keough), who disappears in the middle of the night from her apartment. Sam’s attempt to track her down leads through a maze of indie rock bands who might be hiding secret messages and self-published ‘zines about urban legends. This is one of those movies where I genuinely don’t know how I feel about it. It’s all style, and there’s probably some substance here, but I might be either too dense or too sober to suss it out.
Film: The Forty-Year-Old Version (2020)
Playwright Radha (Radha Blank) is nearing her 40th birthday, and instead of being produced on Broadway or Off-Broadway, she’s teaching drama to disinterested high school students and wondering why she can’t even get a workshop for her latest play. She has an epiphany and decides to reinvent herself as a rapper. That’s really all there is to this slice-of-life comedy/drama, and it doesn’t need anything more. Blank is immediately likeable and immediately sympathetic. If you were a gifted kid who became overwhelmed with your dreams and ambitions and now feel like you can’t get anything off the ground, she will feel like your patron saint. Don’t miss this. Blank hasn’t made another film, and she really needs to.
Film: Dance with a Stranger (1985)
Dance with a Stranger is the story of Ruth Ellis (Miranda Richardson), the last woman to be executed by hanging in the U.K. Ellis was a former prostitute and model managing a drinking club in London. She begins an affair with David Blakely (Rupert Everett), who dreams of driving race cars and has more money than sense. Things quickly become obsessive and abusive between the two of them, and while Ruth has a clear way out in the obsessed and timid Desmond (Ian Holm), she is drawn to David in a way that is ultimately fatal. This is the story of their tragic love/hate relationship not her trial, but knowing where this ends up makes it clear where this is going from the start. Richardson is tremendous, as is Everett. It’s a good role for Holm as well, who was always worth watching.
Film: Aniara (2018)
In Aniara, the Earth has been essentially destroyed and collections of people are being moved to Mars on huge luxury ships not unlike cruise ships. The Aniara is such a ship, and is knocked off course about a week into its journey, and is forced to eject all of its fuel. The passengers are told that this will add a couple of years to the trip, but in reality, they are doomed to drift forever into the dark of space. This is a bleak film, one that shows just how small we are in the cosmos—it reminded me in that respect of The Vast of Night, but there are elements of Solyaris and High Rise here as we see the ship slowly devolves into chaos and disrepair. It’s an interesting exercise in human psychology—not an uplifting one, but oddly beautiful in its own way.
I never could get into Beauty Shop despite my love for Queen Latifah. The Forty-Year-Old Version and Under the Silver Lake are in my watchlists.
ReplyDeleteThe Forty-Year-Old Version is delightful.
ReplyDeleteThat said, Aniara might be the pick of the month for these. It's bleak and depressing, but rather darkly beautiful.
I could not for the life of me explain Under the Silver Lake. What a weird ass movie. I wasn't a fan. The Forty-Year-Old Version though? Amazing. Loved that
ReplyDeleteRight? I'm glad to know it wasn't just me. When I really feel like I'm missing the point on something, I assume it's a defect in me, so it's reassuring to know that someone else felt lost in it as well.
DeleteI really enjoyed Radha Blank. I'd love for her to make another film.
Summer Storm absolutely bears the imprint of the Chekov story that served as its basis, but Sirk manages to deal with the excessive air of impending catastrophe well. It’s really the three main performers who make the picture though. Considering Sanders was Russian born it is interesting to see him as such a character, and he displays more vulnerability than usual. Edward Everett Horton said this was his favorite of all his roles and it’s certainly one that permitted him more scope than his standard endearing but slightly daffy snook. He does very well. But of course, for me the big drawing card was, is and always will be Linda Darnell. Needless to say, she’s ravishing but she has an actual character to play here and meets the challenge. Olga feels fully in command of her destiny because of her beauty not realizing that in using it the way she does she is like a trumpet of doom, bringing disaster to all in her sphere including herself. The acclaim she won for the role turned her career around, she had been typed into pretty, decorative glamour girls previously, when she returned from loan out she was cast as several femme fatales that took advantage of her alluring edginess and humor, but 20 Century Fox never utilized her to her full potential.
ReplyDeleteMiranda Richardson is so extraordinary in Dance with a Stranger she makes everyone else, no matter how good they are, disappear any time she’s on the screen. It’s one of the greatest performances not nominated for an Oscar I’ve ever seen. The rest of the film is quite good (as are Everett and Holm) but without Miranda it would be nothing.
Beauty Shop is a recent view for me too after years on my to see list. The story isn’t anything new but Queen Latifah and the jaw dropping cast around her made it a fun ride. Kevin Bacon’s character is a total creep but he’s hilarious and obviously having a great time chewing the scenery.
I know I’ve seen First Men in the Moon and thinking it was okay at that time, but I remember very little about the actual plot.
There are three here that I know next to nothing about: Aniara, The Forty-Year-Old Version and Under the Silver Lake. All sound intriguing in their own ways though Aniara is something I’d have to be in the proper mood to dive into.
I like Edward Everett Horton (how can you not?), but he really does come across differently in Summer Storm. He's still kind of a clueless idiot, but he's far more tragic here, and he's got something more to bite into. That said, it's so clearly Linda Darnell's film. The same is true with Miranda Richardson in Dance with a Stranger. Rupert Everett is great in the film, but I think that's a role a lot of people could play--but I'm not sure there are a lot of people who could play Ruth Ellis so well as Richardson.
DeleteBeauty Shop is fun. It's a trifle, but it's a pleasant one and entertaining, and an easy watch. That's less true of First Men in the Moon just because the science is so ridiculous. The Harryhausen work is top-tier, though.
Aniara is hard to recommend because of how truly bleak it is, but there's something there that I find really intriuging. Under the Silver Lake is completely opaque and hard to recommend because of it.
That said, The Forty-Year-Old Version is a joy, and it's really worth seeking out.