Cine Beaverhausen: Gods of Egypt

Gods of Egypt is an action-packed, f/x laden film still hanging in there at theaters. It's a fun diversion.

There seems to be some controversy over the skin tone of the cast and, yes, they do indeed seem whiter than any Egyptian I've ever met.

Nonetheless, that should not interfere with the popcorn pleasure of this wallow in fantasy.

This sword and sandal epic is great fun, designed to please. Simple-minded but totally entertaining. The attractive cast, including Gerard Butler,  is strong as are the production, direction, script and special effects.

I enjoyed this much more than I did Deadpool or London Has Fallen. Recommended weekend matinee material if your looking to just relax and have a good time. It's juvenilia, really, so feel like a kid again! This film is known in Arab coutries under the title Kings of Egypt. Family friendly, too,

Cine Beaverhausen: London Has Fallen

London Has Fallen is perfectly awful and more than a little unpleasant.

In her article, written decades ago, the late Susan Sontag presciently predicted the arrival of the disaster film in her article "The Imagination of Disaster." She wrote that science fiction is all about stirring up social anxieties and then putting them to rest. And that's what disaster flicks do. There has to be a morning after, don't you know!

Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Angela Bassett and Morgan Freeman hopped aboard this mess. I hope they received hefty paychecks because I don't think this does anything to advance their careers. As it's the USA, with Morgan as VP, that saves the day is a bit cheeky in my opinion.

The film is sloppy and absurd. Technical effects are mediocre at best. This is a whole, vile, negative piece of junk! England has gone through the blitz. Do they really want to see this film?

Not recommended except that I recommend you snub cynical and toxic garbage like this.

Cine Beaverhausen: Maggie Smith in The Lady in the Van

Far from Downton Abbey, Maggie Smith doffs her make-up and gowns to play an eccentric homeless woman who lives in her van. The UK film displays the star's amazing versatility and should have gotten her an Oscar nod. It's said to be based on a true story.

The British do films like The Lady in the Van so well. It's a charming, simple comedy with a great team of supporting players.

Smith was nominated for a BAFTRA and Golden Globe Awards though, unfortunately, won neither.

I remember going to London and seeing Dame Maggie in the West End production of Peter Shaffer's Lettice and Lovage. She would camp it up onstage with broad, bravado hand gestures. When she got thunderous applause, she'd do it again -- and again when she felt like it. She knows how to play to a crowd and how to milk things for laughs. She brings the same type of energy to her performance in Van.

There ain't nothin' like a Dame! Not Dame Maggie Smith, anyhow. I highly endorse this extraordinary film. Treat yourself to it!

Cine Beaverhausen: Dario Argento and the Modern Horror Film

Italy! Home of fashion, architecture and design... and the giallo films that are the inception of the modern horror film.

Giallo translates as yellow or, possibly, jaundiced in English. These films incorporate all of the categories of Italian fashion with blood, violence, and sometimes a little bit of sex.

Indeed, it can be argued that Alfred Hitchcock was the daddy of modern horror films when he made Psycho and The Birds back in the '60s, inspiring imitations and even remakes. But it was Dario Argento who pushed the envelope while acknowledging his debt to Hitch.

Born in Rome, Argento started as a film critic there, then started work with Sergio Leone before directing his own terror tales. My three favorites: Suspiria (1977), Phenomena ('85) and Opera ('87).

My lover at the time, Marty, and I saw Suspiria at the movies on its initial release. Marty pointed out how classic film star Joan Bennett looked drunk throughout -- and only knew when to stop when bumping into the fashionable furniture. Alida Valli's also in this film about a coven of witches running a ballet school. Jessica Harper headlines as our damsel in distress.

Phenomena stars a very young Jennifer Connelly who attends a creepy Swiss boarding school. Her psychic ability to communicate with insects comes in handy. Donald Pleasance co-stars. Very frightening climax.

And Opera is chilling but recommended for strong-at-heart horror fans.

All three are available now on dvd with plenty of extras. Warning: These films may give you nightmares.

Cine Beaverhausen: Catching Up with the Oscars and Room

Room is nominated for Best Film, Actress, Director and Screenplay. I recommend this beautifully made film.

The boy in this, Jacob Tremblay, deserves an Oscar himself. Actress Brie Lyon already won a Golden Globe. This promises to be a very interesting year of the Academy Awards.

Room is absolutely heart wrenching.  A mother, held captive with her son, escapes but has to face the scary, real world with him.

This is a story about hope and devotion. A bit of a love story, a bit of a thriller, it will stick in your memory. Based on a novel by Emma Donoghue.

I can't recommend this film highly enough. Run to see it at theaters now. Brilliant and beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!

Video Beaverhausen: Nicole Kidman Is... Queen of the Desert??

Nicole Kidman tackles risky but interesting projects. The burning question is how many box-office flops can her career withstand?

This picture paints a picture of an unchanging Middle East. It is a biopic of photographer Gertrude Bell, and a very fascinating one at that.

The sands are alive with the sight of Gertrude. Kidman looks great in this, playing a much younger character. Next thing we know she'll be playing Queen of the Jungle.

This actress is still a screen queen still despite box-office receipts, however. James Franco is her co-star. Quality drama!

I can distinctly recommend watching this flick. Unfortunate it didn't get wider distribution. After all, sand worked for Matt Damon; why not for Nicole?

Cine Beaverhausen: Steve Jobs

As far as biopics go, overall, I didn't find Steve Jobs such a hot commodity. And I have an Apple!

It is, however, well acted by Michael Fassbender in the title role, Kate Winslet, Jeff Daniels and Seth Rogen.

I found this interesting but hardly captivating. When it comes to bio-dramas, it's no Love Me or Leave Me, that's for sure. It did, however, win Kate Winslet a Best Actress Award at tonight's Golden Globe as well as one for its screenplay by Aaron Sorkin, and seems headed for the Academy Awards as well. It could turn into a box-office hit yet.

However, it felt very by-the-numbers to me. Some reporters have even said this is more fiction than fact. I think it really depends on how interested you are in your technology, frankly.

The acting and directing are all very strong. but the Jobs character, as portrayed, seems like a jerk and this movie just didn't engage me.

Cine Beaverhausen: For Mature Audiences

Theaters have found a new audience, thankfully, with an older crowd who like to go out to a good movie now and then. It's not all geared to the kiddie crowd and has lured many more mature patrons back to movie houses.

The trend seems to have started with 5 Flights Up last year, starring Diane Keaton and Morgan Freeman.

Ben Kingsley and the ever-divine Patricia Clarkson team up in Learning to Drive, a wonderful film released late last summer that I highly recommend about an attractive older woman and Ben Kingsley of Gandhi back in ethnic disguise as her instructor.

Richard Gere is a perennial and does one of his finest performance jobs in the deeply affecting Time Out of Mind, a 2015 release about a NYC homeless man of a certain age that also stars the wonderful Ben Vereen. An absolute must-see for all ages.

A Walk in the Woods stars Robert Redford, Nick Nolte and Emma Thompson in a bromance comedy that's not all fluff. And Michael Keaton continues on a comeback roll co-starring in Spotlight, based on a true story about the press uncovering a scandal within the Catholic Church. It also stars Mark Ruffalo and is highly worthy of your time.

Yes, movies recommended for mature audiences -- but not only that demographic -- are back. Baby boomers are still a big audience at theaters. Movie-makers are now clearly seeking out a niche market for the older crowd, and isn't that wonderfully refreshing?

Cine Beaverhausen: Victor Frankenstein

In this revionist but very interesting spin on on the Mary Shelley Gothic classic, Victor Frankenstein, Daniel Radcliffe plays Igor, whose point of view the story is told. I must say Mr Radcliffe chooses the most interesting and challenging projects nowadays.

So, back to the mad lab once again! It distinctly takes its influences from Hammer and Universal films.

James McAvoy plays Victor Frankenstein. Good chemistry between these fine actors. Dark and disturbing at times but that's Gothica for you. Mark Landis' screenplay is excellent.

"You know this story," says Igor right at the start. "A crack of lightning, a mad genius, an unholy creation!" And monsters are born. Resulting in the famous monster, herein played by the great Charles Dance.

At a fairly economic running time, it's well worth you time.

Cine Beaverhausen: Suffragette

The dawning of the equal rights movement for women is detailed in the movie Suffragette.

While well-received critically, this film is a box-office flop, despite the fact the Meryl Streep and Helena Bonham-Carter are in it.

With nice period detail, the film is about the dawn of the feminist movement. Sadly, it opened mid-December among stiff competition.

In Disney's Mary Poppins, the suffragette movement was made to look like something for dilettante, upper middle-class housewives, but this film tells a quite different story. Distinctly not the Disney version.

This is, in every way, a modern day women's picture, expertly made and I heartily recommend it to my readers ~~ men and women alike.

Cine Beaverhausen: The H8ful Eight

Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight is almost three hours long and deliberately old school, It has an overture and intermission. You'll definitely get your money's worth out of this film.

Frankly, I felt it could stand a little more editing as it seems a bit indulgent at times. But that's Quentin.

It is a film, however, with many virtues. It was shot using antique film lenses and the cast is fierce, notably Samuel L. Jackson in the starring role, Bruce Dern, Tim Roth, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kurt Russell. What a cast! And the support are magnificent.

It's on 70mm at most theaters though, frankly, I watched it on a promo video.

Ennio Morricone (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) did the score, so this movie certainly doesn't lack in first-rate credentials. I distinctly recommend this movie, opening Friday at movie theaters across the country!

Cine Beaverhausen: Christmas Eve with Patrick Stewart

Tonight, I watched Christmas Eve with Patrick Stewart. It's a pleasant enough comedy-drama best seen during the holidays while you're in a sentimental frame of mind.

It's about busy New Yorkers trapped in elevators on the titular holiday. They learn, of course, in the course of the film to find their humanity and to bond with one another.

It was kind of a box-office flop, at least here in the USA at least.

Herein, Mr Stewart mildly goes where man has gone before. It's no It's a Wonderful Life, though it has its moments. Frankly, I'd rather watch the Alvin & The Chipmunks Christmas movie featuring John Waters. But I'd much rather watch this than that Christmas horror film (as if we need another one) Krampus which gave me cramps, actually!

I appreciated Christmas Eve's snappy dialogue, however, and its overall cleverness. Recommended for your holiday viewing.

Cine Beaverhausen: SPECTRE

No worries, this review contains no spoilers.

SPECTRE is that nasty international organization that James Bond has been battling, I believe, since You Only Live Twice (1965). It's directed by Sam Mendez, who directed the fabulous Skyfall, and brings back its rebooted characters (M, Miss Moneypenny, Q), the famed Aston Martin, sexy Bond girls, exotic locales and plenty of action and drama.  It may not quite be the gem that Skyfall was, but it's thoroughly entertaining and enthralling with Daniel Craig as superb a 007 as ever.

At 2-1/2 hours, it can get a little taxing on the derriere, but it nonetheless will hold your interest throughout and is well worth seeing on the big screen (it's in IMax) with a box of popcorn in hand. It's certainly on par with, say, Casino Royale ('05). (Can you believe Craig has been Bond for 10 years now? He looks none the worst for wear.)

Blofeld is back, now played by Chrisoph Waltz (last seen in Tim Burton's Big Eyes). Ralph Fiennes has his own battles to save Her Majesty's Secret Service. Even Miss Moneypenny (Naomi Harris) gets into the action.

Sam Smith sings SPECTRE's theme song, "Writing's on the Wall," which I found a bit lackluster. Cinematography and special f/x work are outstanding.

SPECTRE is like an ode to the entire Bond series: a big bouquet of excitement and perpetual motion for fans. Holding out for a hero? No problem -- Bond is here. James Bond. Now at theaters everywhere. Rated PG- 13 foes sex and violence. Released through Columbia Pictures.

Cine Beaverhausen: Mission Impossible ~ Rogue Nation & Trainwreck

Viewing the fifth Mission Impossible movie and Amy Schumer's Trainwreck back-to-back tonight was virtually a study of what's wrong at the movies today (outside of the price of popcorn).

Trainwreck is sophomoric and silly with no particular cinematic style as directed by Judd Apatow. It's like a tv skit that goes on for what feels like forever, even though it's just under 90 minutes.

Pretty much a by-the-numbers modern comedy, the film is well titled as it crashes early on. It's indulgent and, unfortunately, a rather knee-jerk sort of film. Worst of all, it's just not funny.

Tom Cruise is no James Bond, as proven by Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, the fifth in a rather dreary chain of action flicks. Watch tv reruns of the classic '60s series rather than go to the movie theater for this reboot. With all its pyrotechnics, it made me yearn for the simple cleverness of the original Impossible Mission team. I also enjoyed the series as a great ensemble show; not a star vehicle.

This script has Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt character going rogue after the CIA Chief, Alec Baldwin, convinces the US Senate to disband the Impossible Mission Force. Cruise goes after a group known as the Syndicate (a poor man's SPECTRE), up to no good and supporting the rogue nation of the title.

Cruise did many of his own stunts, which is impressive. Basically, that's the only thing in this film that I found notable. My conclusion on the state of many films today is that, while elaborately produced or even strongly directed, they are not well written. Good movies start with good scripts. As true today as it was yesteryear.

Cine Beaverhausen: The Outrageous Sophie Tucker

Right from the start, The Outrageous Sophie Tucker sweeps you up with its rare archival footage that shows what a groundbreaker and grand influence she was, and still is, in the world of entertainment. Where would Bette Midler and Mae West or even Judy Garland be without this fabulous icon?

The film, from Menemsha and Innovative Films, opens with her singing in the pre-Code film, the ironically titled Gay Love. Sophie's ribald humor and camp posturing immediately made her a major figure amongst her gay audience. The zaftig Tucker wasn't afraid to push the boundaries of taste, as is immediately seen when the film, ahead of its title credits, flashes the quote: "I believe in tit for tat. And if that's the case, someone owes me a lot of tat."

The Outrageous Sophie Tucker skillfully melds performance footage with talking heads (Barbara Walters, Michael Feinstein, Tony Bennett, Carol Channing), photographs, recordings and discussion by filmmakers Susan and Lloyd Ecker. Tucker's vaudevillian roots are explored as are her relationships with other show business greats.

Controversy is not skirted: Sophie Tucker's brief dalliance with blackface during her vaudeville days, her relationship with the Mob, her many marriages, her bisexuality, her penchant for gambling, her weight problem, her friendship with J. Edgar Hoover who loved to wear Sophe's hand-me-downs. But so is her feminist approach to women's sexuality and her genius ability to market herself (advertising everything from exercise machines to plus-sized clothes for women (ahead of its time)), as well as her signature handkerchief.

Tucker sang "Last of the Red Hot Mamas," and that became her moniker from the first motion picture talkie starring a woman (Tucker).

Now, at just over 90 minutes, this film is the very essence of infotainment, people! I learned so much while being thoroughly entertained from this film by the Eckers. Viva, La Sophe!

Favorite line: "My hair makes Marie Antoinette's look like a flat-top!"

My exclusive Q&A with the Eckers: http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2015/07/exclusive-q-with-eckers-on-their-sophie.html

The Outrageous Sophie Tucker can be seen at Cinema Village, 22 East 12th St., NYC beginning Friday, July 24th.

For press reservations, interview requests, or more information, contact Richard Skipper Celebrates at Richard@RichardSkipper.com or 845-365-0720

Cine Beaverhausen: Buddy B in Jurassic World

The latest screen excursion to Jurassic Park is pure juvenilia. Kids and adolescents will love it, most likely, but adults might be left cold by the silliness of this whole, big, expensive magillah.

The scripting is poor and the set-up is so obvious, you just know who's going to get chomped by the end.

The film revolves around a genetically created new dinosaur. Maybe, if you think of this as a criticism of animals kept in theme parks, or of genetic splicing, you may find a certain interest here, though I doubt as much.

Never has an action film been so dull as far as I'm concerned. Vincent D'Onofrio, Jimmy Fallon (as himself) and BD Wong are in this; what a waste. Bryce Dallas Howard in a bad wig, stooping down from The Help, actually held my attention through this mess. Chris Pratt fills the generic hero role out nicely. Hope they all had a great payday.

With a running time of just over two hours (felt like eight), this retread reminds us of better days for this Steven Spielberg franchise. There are, to be fair, some moments of suspense but, by and large this suffers from suffocating sameness, despite all the carnage.

Raptors attempting to come to the rescue? Puh-leeze! Suspended disbelief has its limits. Awkward romantic ending.

Cine Beaverhausen: Disney's Fresh, New Cinderella

I thought Disney's live action Cinderella movie was fabulous! It's perfect for girls of all ages and for gay men as well! Kenneth Branagh's direction is assured throughout, the digital f/x are wonderful, the visual scheme is sumptuous and the film, while straight-faced, is infused with a camp quality that should make this a classic for years to come. How well this will do at the box-office, since it's violence-free, may be a question, especially in the USA.

I thought I'd miss the songs from the classic Disney animated version, but this live-action production of Cinderella more than compensates and with "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo" sung over the closing credits. Lily James is perfect as the sweet Cinderella and Richard Madden is a charming Prince Charming. It doesn't hurt that this handsome, fresh-faced young actor looks hot in white tights (worn throughout), giving good basket and showing off his tight buns when not in waistcoats with tails

In key roles, Derek Jacobi as the kingdom's king and Helena Bonham Carter as the Fairy Godmother (no longer dowdy but channeling Amy Sedaris, and also providing the voice-over narratives) inmeasurably add to adult viewers' joys. Ben Chaplin is a fine actor portraying Cinderella's father, though his strong face often made me think he'd make a wonderful Joker in an upcoming Batman film.

It is, perhaps not surprisingly, Cate Blanchett, who captivates through the movie's close to two-hour running time, as the evil stepmother. She pulls this part off deliciously, at times Lypsinka-like, in her glamorous yet diabolical and scheming role. She also has all the best lines. She makes a star entrance, giving good face when she royally turns around to look into the camera for the first time. What a great big-screen bitch this character is; you will love to hate her. I hear the costume designer based her gowns on outfits for Joan Crawford. And I predict Cate will be a legendary Stepmommy Dearest for years to come.

The stepsisters are a couple of mean girls who come across as nasty but actually somehow adorable.

Much time is spent setting up this tale which may not captivate younger viewers early on. However, it all pays off, narratively, in the long run.

This Cinderella is a bit of an animal rights activist and that's cool. Her friends, the mice, including Gus-Gus from the Disney animated film, do not speak in this film, which is probably for the best. (I always found the mice's Chipmunks-like voices annoying, even as a child.) The almost choreographic first meeting of Cinderella and the Prince on horseback before the famous ball gave a resonance to the beautiful, climactic ball sequence with its lost glass slipper later on.

I laughed and actually cried with joy during this film. I was even held in suspense though I knew exactly how this Grimm fairytale goes, surely, by now. This Cinderella has no shortage of frills. In short, I adored it.

Menchicka Booleroo!

Cine Beaverhausen: The Imitation Game

So much for The Crying Game, though you may shed some tears before Britain's hot, Oscar-nominated (Best Pic, Actor, Actress and 5 more categories) The Imitation Game is concluded. I conclude the Brits love their serious game-playing.

This 2014 film is truly a stunner with a very stiff-upper-lip attitude, yet including generous doses of humanity that touch the heart.

Benedict Cumberbatch gives his best performance yet as decrypter, computer-forefather Alan Turing in this suspenseful biopic, as Britain fights the Nazis during wartime.

Turing was a gay man trapped in a then-repressive environment that led to his barbaric "treatment" with drugs that essentially castrated men. I have the hots for BC, so this seemed especially tragic to me, turning Cumberbatch into a cumberbitch!

Keira Knightly plays her part brilliantly and reminded me of the young Jessica Lange at moments, physically and dramatically.

This is one of the Oscar-nominated films I'll absolutely be rooting for next month.

Cine Beaverhausen: Buddy Beaverhausen Ventures Into the Woods

Because dark tellings of fairy tales have become so "un-Disneyfied" and chic, returned to their dark, Hans Christian Anderson roots on tv and film lately, even today's Disney studio has come over to the "dark side" with films like Maleficent! And now comes Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods, released Christmas day and nominated for an Oscar this year. The Broadway songs are rendered superbly.

Meryl Streep enters by blowing a door down! She's a wicked witch who does a kind of a modified rap number. And she's Oscar nominated... yet again!

There's a cleverness to the lyrics and dialogue, unquestionably, in this intertwining of fairy tales. A touch of camp runs throughout, especially with performances by Streep, Christine Baranski, Tracey Ullman and Johnny Depp as a scary Big Bad Wolf, singing beautifully. (He did the screen version of Sondheims's Sweeny Todd, after all).

Directed by Rob Marshall, who directed the Broadway-based film versions of Nine (loved it) and Chicago (hated it), there is a mid-point where the story line's conceits grow a tad wearisome even if the songs and performances carry things along. Act 2 of the play is seriously compromised, however, in this film version; very Disney-ized... but in the bad way. And by the third act, we feel the film running out of petrol.

Into the Woods won a Golden Globe for Best Comedy or Musical this year as well as an AFI Movie of the Year Award. Definitely worthwhile, and I love that Hollywood is again green-lighting screen adaptions of stage musicals. Check this out and let me know your point of view.

Cine Beaverhausen: The Interview

Infotainment and celebrity interviews are so me, so why is The Interview so not me?  The movie lost me from the opening.

While Seth Rogan does his usual schtick (which is to say solid but unexceptional and not particularly funny), I have never seen James Franco perform so broadly in a desperate bid, apparently, to be the next Jerry Lewis.

Did even a smile come to my face during the film's nearly two-hour running time? Why, I don't recall that one ever did, to be honest!

Shot mostly in Canada, most of the action of The Interview takes place in North Korea. The storyline has infotainment host Dave Skylark (Franco) whisked off to do a Q&A with dictator and fan, Kim Jong-un. Dare I even type that name on the Internet? Will I be threatened? Bombed? Nuked?! Hard to imagine this film's Christmas release never happened because of bomb threats. In fact, my reason for watching this film on promotional video was to see what would happen. Kind of like calling out "Candyman, Candyman, Candyman!"

Well, wouldn't you know, the plot thickens as the CIA recruits Franco and Rogan to assassinate Jong-un. Isn't that kooky, considering how inept these two characters are? Complications ensue, but, unfortunately, not merriment.

The Interview is every bit as labored and sophomoric as one might imagine, and just as unfunny, too, coming from the director of Neighbors. While the bomb threat was publicity money can't buy (freedom for our right to watch stupid movies is something I staunchly defend), after watching The Interview, I'm telling you the bomb is the film itself. Kaboom!