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Before moving on to direct films like GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS, OUR TOWN, KINGS ROW and THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES, Sam Wood helmed two of the Marx. Bros.’ most famous films. OPERA came first followed by A DAY AT THE RACES two years later. As you can see from my star rating and review of RACES, I don’t think that the Marx Bros. films are classics.

They’re funny, but too chaotic at times. It’s the zaniness that some people like but it doesn’t work as a film. Otis B. Driftwood (Groucho Marx) is a shady business manager who is trying to help the rich Mrs. Claypool (Margaret Dumont, HORSE FEATHERS) get into high society by donating money to the opera. Meanwhile, Driftwood’s friends Fiorello (Chico Marx) and Tomasso (Harpo Marx) are trying to help their singer friend Ricardo Baroni (Allan Jones, A DAY AT THE RACES) get a lead part in the opera company’s performance in New York City. However, the company star Rodolfo Lassparri (Walter Woolf King, GO WEST) has different ideas, especially when it comes to Ricardo’s girlfriend and female singing star Rosa Castaldi (Kitty Carlisle, RADIO DAYS).

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The film is loosely based on the true-life story of Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day-Lewis, GANGS OF NEW YORK), an Irish man wrongfully imprisoned for 15 years for an IRA terrorist bombing that he had nothing to do with. The film is a startling case of injustice, fear and racism.

Director Jim Sheridan (IN AMERICA) took some liberties to make his point (he combined multiple people into solo characters, created characters to highlight ideas, changed dates to add drama), but like HURRICANE the end product is too powerful and poignant to make a fuss over the changes. Gerry was a petty thief in Belfast, who crossed the IRA one too many times. His father, a local businessman named Giuseppe (Pete Postlethwaite, AMISTAD), makes a deal with the IRA and sends his son to London.

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Based on Ursula K. Le Guin’s book, this Sci Fi Channel miniseries tells the tale of Ged (Shawn Ashmore, X2: X-MEN UNITED), a young man who dreams of becoming a wizard. Ged displays great gifts of wizardry, which attracts the attention of wizard Ogion (Danny Glover, LETHAL WEAPON), who has little patience for the young wanna-be wizard. So Ged heads off to a wizard school where he meets his good friend Vetch (Chris Gauthier, FREDDY VS. JASON) and causes himself a lot of trouble.

In the meantime, Ged dreams of a beautiful priestess named Tenar (Kristin Kreuk, TV’s SMALLVILLE), who trains under the tutelage of High Priestess Thar (Isabella Rossellini, BLUE VELVET). What the priestesses don’t know is that one of their own – Kossil (Jennifer Calvert, THE WAITING ROOM) – has teamed up with the warring King Tygath (Sebastian Roche, 15 MINUTES), who wants to unleash the power of the Nameless Ones to make himself immortal.

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Director Sam Wood also helmed the Marx Bros. film A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, which came out in 1935. Most of the same cast appeared in both films. OPERA is often listed as the better film, but I think that RACES is a more complete film. As you can see from my three star rating, I don’t find it a classic though.

Groucho, Chico and Harpo are wonderful comedians and performers, but their films are stock comedies, which are relatively just a string of gags. Throughout watching this and OPERA, I kept thinking, “Will future generations view Adam Sandler films as art?” I’m not saying that the Marx Bros. are bad in a Sandler kind of way, but they’re the same culturally. Broad comedy that appeals to the masses, which were very successful.

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Christopher Guest (THE PRINCESS BRIDE) has made a career out on doing mockumentaries. His most recent is probably his most subtle, which makes for bigger laughs when it succeeds. I’ve read a few comments about the film being dull. I think those are the viewers that are not getting the joke. This one is plays it very close to the bone.

The story follows a tribute concert put on after the death of famed folk promoter Irving Steinbloom. His son Jonathan (Bob Balaban, GOSFORD PARK) tries to arrange for three of his father’s favorite groups to perform – The Folksmen, The Main Street Singers and Mitch & Mickey. The Folksmen are comprised of bass player Mark Shubb (Harry Shearer, HISTORY OF WHITE PEOPLE IN AMERICA), lead singer/guitar player Jerry Palter (Michael McKean, THIS IS SPINAL TAP) and banjo player Alan Barrows (Guest). The humor of their segments comes from their recollections of their heyday and their thoughts on being retro.

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This is epic filmmaking at its best. Visual stunning. Highly dramatic. Poetically told. Director Yimou Zhang has done it again. Not since… well… Yimou Zhang’s HERO earlier this year has the screen become so fantastical.

Set at the end of the Tang Dynasty, the government has become corrupt and a rebellion has begun. The chief rebels are the House of Flying Daggers, a band of assassins who weld deadly accuracy with knives. Two police deputies Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro, RETURNER) and Leo (Andy Lau, 1993’s STREET FIGHTER) suspect that a new blind showgirl Mei (Ziyi Zhang, RUSH HOUR 2) at the brothel may be an assassin. Eventually, Jin poses as a rebel and frees Mei from prison, so that she will lead him to the new leader of the House of Flying Daggers.

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This film may be the inspiration of every Lifetime “dying woman” chick flick ever made. That doesn’t make this film bad though. You can’t slight something good for the bad things it spawns.

Judith Traherne (Bette Davis, NOW, VOYAGER) is a young socialite, who lives a carefree lifestyle of wealth and privilege. She fills her days with her friends Ann King (Geraldine Fitzgerald, WUTHERING HEIGHTS) and Alec Hamm (Ronald Reagan, KINGS ROW) partying and arguing with her horse trainer Michael O’Leary (Humphrey Bogart, TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE). She a good-hearted person and brings cheer to any room she enters. But she starts having headaches and vision problems, which led to a riding accident. The handsome Dr. Frederick Steele (George Brent, JEZEBEL) operates on her, but learns that he has only alleviated her symptoms, but can do nothing about saving her life. Complicating matters, Judy falls in love with her doctor.

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Director Michael Ritchie (DIGGSTOWN) takes a very Robert Altman-approach to this fly-on-the-wall look at a Senatorial campaign. Marvin Lucas (Peter Boyle, TAXI DRIVER) is a top campaign advisor for the Democratic Party, who convinces civil rights attorney Bill McKay (Robert Redford, THE STING) to run against Republican incumbent senator Crocker J. Jarmon (Don Porter, TV’s GIDGET).

Lucas convinces McKay to run on issues, because Jarmon is a shoo-in to win. McKay takes the bait. We discover that McKay is also the son of a popular former Californian governor John J. McKay (Melvyn Douglas, BEING THERE). Bill McKay is pretty liberal and Jarmon is pretty conservative. Jarmon is a very polished politician while McKay is a bit rough around the edges.

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This film sort of defines the image of 1950s B-sci fi/horror flicks. Two teens in love – Steve Andrews (Steve McQueen, BULLITT) and Jane Martin (Aneta Corsaut, TV’s THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW) – find themselves tormented by a killing machine from space.

In a sense, the filmmakers didn’t take the film all that seriously with the opening title song being a chipper, do-wop song about the Blob. That’s the other thing that drains the film of any real scares – the Blob. It’s a red goo that slowly creeps toward its victims. Surprisingly, the 1988 remake made the red goo seem scary… at least a little bit.

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Nick Broomfield is a fearless documentarian, who asks the tough questions and puts himself on the line for his work. In 1992, Broomfield made the powerful film AILEEN WUORNOS: THE SELLING OF A SERIAL KILLER, which chronicled how the famed serial killer Aileen Wuornos was used by many people in her life that tried to cash in on her infamy. AILEEN: LIFE AND DEATH OF A SERIAL KILLER come out to coincide with the release of the fictional version of Wuornos’ story, MONSTER. LIFE AND DEATH OF A SERIAL KILLER serves as part sequel- part re-envisioning of the original film.

The new film, which was co-directed by Joan Churchill, recaps the findings of the first film as well as fills us in on what has happened since. The new film recaps Wuornos’ life in brief much like an A&E biography would. The rest of the time the film takes advantage of Wuornos’ trust of Broomfield, giving him exclusive interviews.

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