Big Eyes
2014  PG-13  DRAMA  1h 46min
CAST— Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz
MUSIC— Danny Elfman  DIRECTOR— Tim Burton  BASED ON— True events

     Remember those slightly creepy, borderline disturbing paintings of the children with big eyes? But what of the story behind those eyes? The original artist is a harried single parent (Amy Adams) whose inspiration is her loving daughter. But inspiration and naivete do not sell paintings. A whirlwind romance leads to wedded bliss with a charming street artist (Christoph Waltz)… and he has his own ideas as to how to sell his new wife’s work. He uses his panache and know how to finagle his way onto the pop art scene by claiming responsibility for Adams’ now wildly popular art. Years of this deception take their toll on Adams so that guilt and depression (not to mention Waltz’s increasingly erratic behavior) become daily struggles to contend with. She searches for answers to her dilemma, all to no avail… and then she gets a visit from two of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The friends in the congregation help her to come to grips with her problem. Adams decides to reclaim her life’s work by suing Waltz for the rights and everything in between. A seemingly odd choice for a directorial effort from the already eccentric Tim Burton, a subdued, slightly comedic drama, its intimacy akin to the film Ed Wood (1994), another unsung achievement from Burton. An enjoyable foray into kitsch art sure to satisfy.
OUR RATING— ***

     The Big Clock
1948  NR  DRAMA  1h 35min
CAST— Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, Maureen O’Sullivan, George Macready, Rita Johnson, Dan Tobin, Henry (Harry) Morgan
MUSIC— Victor Young  DIRECTOR— John Farrow  BASED ON— The Big Clock (novel), by Kenneth Fearing

     Tick... Ray Milland is the victim of circumstance in this thriller co-starring Charles Laughton as his villainous employer. Milland wants only to take the family on a much needed vacation, but he keeps getting sucked into more and more assignments for his boss. This time the wife leaves without him leaving him free to drink with a curvy blonde stranger, one curvy blonde stranger who just so happens to be Laughton’s gal pal. In a fit of rage Laughton kills curvy blonde stranger and does everything in his power to pin it on Milland while Milland does everything in his power to evade the pinning. It’s a classic clash of wits in a clever cat and mouse game. Granted, it takes a while to warm up, but once it does the film is totally involving. …tock.
OUR RATING— ***

     The Bigamist
1953  NR  DRAMA  1h 20min
CAST— Edmond O’Brien, Joan Fontaine, Ida Lupino, Edmund Gwenn, Jane Darwell, Kenneth Tobey
MUSIC— Leith Stevens  DIRECTOR— Ida Lupino

     Clever title. Travelling salesman Edmund O’Brien has a loving and devoted wife in Joan Fontaine. When they try to adopt a child in San Francisco the adoption agency starts an investigation into their private lives. They turn up one heck of a secret when they peek into O’Brien’s travels into Los Angeles: another loving and devoted wife in Ida Lupino… plus a baby. The sordid tale comes spilling out of O’Brien when the investigator catches up to him, a tale revealing lies, regret and sin. The film is kept decent by never allowing any two characters anything but a chaste kiss and an allusion to pregnancy. Even so, for shame, for shame.
OUR RATING— ** ½

     Big
1988  PG  FANTASY  1h 44min
CAST— Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia, John Heard
MUSIC— Howard Shore  DIRECTOR— Penny Marshall

     Josh Baskin wants to be big. So he wishes to be big. The next morning he wakes up big, as Tom Hanks. His wish is granted. But what’s he gonna do now? Big answers that question in funny, often touching ways as a kid trapped in an adult body learns how to grow up. The true highlight of the film is the completely believable performance by Hanks. As this twelve year-old man goes through life’s tough issues, we’re along every step of the way. Sentimental at times, but not over done. This is one for the whole family. Extended version also available. Later developed into a Broadway musical.
OUR RATING— ***

     Bicentennial Man
1999  PG  SCIENCE FICTION  2h 12min
CAST— Robin Williams, Sam Neill, Embeth Davidtz, Wendy Crewson, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, Stephen Root, Lynne Thigpen, Kiersten Warren, Oliver Platt
MUSIC— James Horner  DIRECTOR— Chris Columbus  BASED ON— The Bicentennial Man (story), by Isaac Asimov, The Positronic Man (novel), by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg

     Interesting (if a bit long-winded) fable preaching the pros and cons of human emotion. In 2005 an android (played by an ever inquisitive Robin Williams) is activated, its sole purpose to serve humankind. As time goes by the android begins to show signs of a personality, truly an anomaly among robots. Several years and many modifications later the world has changed by degrees; his once understanding master has passed and the oldest member of the family (once the younger of two daughters) has grown grandchildren of her own. It is soon apparent that the robot truly has succeeded in his journey to become a man, not only in appearance, but also in matters of the heart; he finds himself falling in love with his master’s now grown great-granddaughter. The film spans some 200 years but never gets bogged down in futuristic high tech gizmos; it stays pretty close to dramatic territory. It’s no classic of the genre but fans of Williams might take note.
OUR RATING— ** ½

     The BFG
2016  PG  FANTASY  1h 57min
CAST— Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Penelope Wilton, Jemaine Clement, Rebecca Hall, Rafe Spall, Bill Hader
MUSIC— John Williams  DIRECTOR— Steven Spielberg  BASED ON— The BFG (novel), by Roald Dahl

     Less than impressive effort from Steven Spielberg features giants, mutilated English and uncontrollable flatulence. An orphan named Sophie peeks out her window and sees a giant skulking around, he sees her and for some reason gently kidnaps her and takes her to a land of giants, where danger and adventure are around every corner. This particular giant, called the Big Friendly Giant (BFG, FYI) is a dream catcher; he can catch dreams both good and bad, can mix them around and, with his over-sized trumpet, blow the dreams into those who are asleep. But the BFG seems to be the only friendly giant in Giant Country; the rest are smelly people-eaters who are onto the fact that the BFG is hiding a human from them. Sophie has the idea to enlist the Queen of England in the fight against the bad guys, which is fine with the queen because she’s nice, too. The film is predictably overloaded with exaggerated CGI, nothing really convincing aside from the talents of Mark Rylance, whose performance as the BFG steals the show. If only there were much else to recommend.
OUR RATING— **
ORIGINAL— The BFG (1989)

     Bewitched
1945  NR  DRAMA  1h 5min
CAST— Phyllis Thaxter, Edmund Gwenn, Horace (Stephan) McNally, Henry H. Daniels, Jr., Addison Richards, Kathleen Lockhart, Minor Watson
MUSIC— Bronislau Kaper  DIRECTOR— Arch Oboler  BASED ON— Alter Ego (story), by Arch Oboler

     Quickie drama in which Phyllis Thaxter, an average young woman with her entire life ahead of her, begins to hear the voice of an “alter ego” inside her head. The voice eventually becomes a jealous and murderous personality, prompting Thaxter to kill. OK little fluff piece with preposterous knuckle-biter of a finale. (If you wanna know something else, the alter ego seems to have a bit more personality than Thaxter in the norm. Just an opinion.)
OUR RATING— * ½