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4480 reviews in total

Fences was a successful play like August Wilson, and it is brought to the screen more or less intact, starring Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen Henderson, and Mykelti Williamson.

The story concerns an emotionally damaged trash man, Troy (Washington) who tries to provide for his family, all the while sticking to ideas from the past that are restricting him and his family. In his world, the white man will always keep the black man down. He doesn't want his young son (Jovan Adepo) to play football and have a chance at a scholarship, nor is he interested in hearing his older son (Russell Hornsby), a musician, play. To him, working at the A&P is more valuable for your future.

Troy's wife Rose (Viola Davis) doesn't agree with him about the kids, but she does seem to love him -- that is, until he makes an announcement. She then realizes that she sublimated her life and dreams to his and has come up empty.

To say that the acting is powerful is a complete understatement. Both Davis and Washington are such powerful actors they blow you away.

The problems with Fences are that the acting is better than the story, and the story wasn't adapted to the screen. Lots and lots of dialogue, some of which I was unable to get. Nevertheless, seeing these two titans was a valuable experience.

I think we'll be hearing more from this film and its stars at Oscar time.

"Death of a Corrupt Man" from 1977 is a French film produced by Alain Delon's company, starring Delon, Ornella Muti, Stephanie Audran, Maurice Ronet, Klaus Kinski, and Delon's companion at that time, Mirelle Darc.

A deputy, Philippe Dubaye (Ronet) gets his old friend Xavier Maréchal (Delon) up in the dead of night. He says he has just killed racketeer, Serrano, who had many political connections. Serrano had proof of Dubaye's involvement in corruption in high places and was ready to use them against him.

Xav agrees to give his friend an alibi, which is not believed by the police. Everyone wants those documents and figure that Xav must have them. There are multiple car chases and attempts on his life and that of Dubaye's girlfriend (Muti).

Good film that is somewhat timely today, with all its talk of politicians stealing, people in government just in it for the money, blackmail, etc. Delon, who in this dubbing sounds like Robert Conrad, is strong in his role, as are Kinski and Audran. Ornella Muti is positively gorgeous. Mirelle Darc was only in the film because of Delon; her part could have been cut and as it was, she only had a few lines. And how about this - an Alain Delon film with no love scene. Dubbed on top of it, which I hate.

Delon favored this type of role, as evidenced by the films he produced. I saw him later in a documentary done 37 years later. Everyone recognized him, at 81, and wanted a photo with him. He was very obliging.

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I gave this a 3 because Alain Delon was in it. And that's the only reason. Although why he was in it, I don't know.

The Concorde...Airport '79: It garnered so many hysterical laughs that Universal billed it as a comedy instead of a drama. Since it didn't make much money, we can assume that didn't work either.

The plot concerns efforts to kill a TV news journalist played by Susan Blakeley who is flying on The Concorde with some documents that could bring down a prominent man and his corporation. I'd laugh at that, except some guy put a bomb on a plane to kill his mother in the '50s. The Concorde is attacked by drones, there's a bomb, and the plane starts to fall apart.

Just leave it to those pilots, played by George Kennedy, Alain Delon, and David Warner to bring it to safety in a snowbank.

I asked myself why anyone would want to embarrass themselves by appearing in this film. Okay, the old stars - Eddie Albert, Martha Raye, Mercedes McCambridge - needed the money. The TV actors wanted to be in a movie.

But there were some people with money, fame, a measure of respect, and class who had no need to debase themselves: Bibi Andersson, an Ingmar Bergman actress; Robert Wagner; Alain Delon. I felt like saying to Delon, "Honey, Selznick offered you a contract when you were 23 and you asked to be released from it when you received better offers in France. You're 44 now. IT'S OVER. You are an international superstar with no need of America."

Cicely Tyson used to live at her manager's house to cut down on the overhead so she could pick only the best roles. I guess her manager moved to a studio apartment because there she was, clutching the heart harvested for her son.

I'd say skip it - well, I will say skip it - but these are hard times for the world and you might need a chuckle. You'll have a bundle of them.

Obviously I'll watch anything with Tyrone Power or Alain Delon, but even I surprised myself with this. And I enjoyed it! Of course.

First off, may I say again that if there's anything I hate it's dubbing. Here Delon sounded like Robert Conrad. Everyone spoke English with American accents although the film takes place in France.

Someone here saw it in French because when Delon is injured and screams, his secretary tells him Burt Lancaster would never scream like that. The person who reviewed it said the name used was Belmondo. I wish I'd seen it in French.

Ex-cop Choucas, now a PI, is presently working on an embezzlement case at a pharmacist's. Then Isabelle Pigot hires him to investigate the disappearance of her blind daughter, Marthe Pigot, who worked at a foundation for the blind. Police Inspector Coccioli urges him to drop the case. But Choucas doesn't.

Choucas not only witnesses a killing, but is nearly killed himself, wounded, fights off two men in his office, and then his secretary is abducted. It doesn't seem as if anyone wants him to find Marthe.

Most of this film is a routine PI film, but it has humor, some good action, a little romance, and a bang-up finale. Delon is so sexy - and he wears the tightest pair of jeans I've ever seen. In fact, here his body has matured and the jeans push up some skin...when he shows his secretary where he was wounded, his short is off; he pulls the jeans down a little and sucks in that gut for all it's worth. Just a little trivia: This was something they always taught actors who stood in profile, but they don't seem to do it any longer. Dick Powell turned down the TV show Richard Diamond because "I can't hold my stomach in for 28 weeks."

Anyway, an enjoyable film.

Luchino Visconti's film "The Leopard" from 1963 tells the story of forming a new Sicily.

Burt Lancaster, in a beautiful performance, is Fabrizio Corbero, the Prince of Salina (the Leopard) and watches as a former peasant, Don Calogero Sedara, comes to social prominence.

The prince's nephew, Tancredi (Alain Delon, better looking than the scenery) is a modern thinker and wants to go with the new Sicily. Fabrizio is behind him and knows he is going to be a political force. Tancredi, Prince of Falconeri, solidifies his position in the new regime by marrying Don Calogero's beautiful daughter Angelica (Claudia Cardinale).

The big scene is the huge ball which lasts for 40 minutes at the end of the film.

Gorgeous cinematography, lush locations, sumptuous costumes - no expense was spared for this film. Burt Lancaster is magnificent, delivering humorous lines ("Angelica is not a slut. She might become one, but right now..."/ on marriage: "Ah, yes, one year of flame and 30 years of ashes," and my favorite, "I've had 7 children with her and I've never seen her naval."

Toward the end of the film, he gives a wonderful speech about leopards and lions and hyenas. This is followed by a scene of peasants, with the sounds of the party in the distance. The classes are going to mingle. Lancaster also says a prayer that is poignant and magnificently delivered. A very successful performance despite being dubbed in Italian.

This is the kind of films most Americans find difficult. It has three characteristics that many European films have: It's long, it's slow, and it's multilayered. And for me, it was over the top without giving us a sense of the actual revolution. Even the battle scenes for some reason did not convey it -- everyone seemed outside of it, like a quiet overthrow. Visconti was trying to show the aimlessness of the rich by having them twirl and dance, but it was too much.

Not enough happens to show us the political fight and a contrast between the new and old worlds.

But it does capture the theme that this particular leopard, Fabrizio, cannot change his spots or refuses to, feeling too old, out of touch, and seeing himself become a relic. People past a certain age can connect with this. When my sister turned 65, she said, "It's not my world anymore." I said, "It hasn't been your world since you were 49." And it's tough to take.

Tancredi, on the other hand, changes his spots more than once - he likes to be where the power is. But he's young, and he can go with the tide or be a relic starting at the age of 28.

Some classic themes couched in a beautiful-looking film, the type of movie some people look at and, when it's over, say "what was that about?"

#8 BORSALINO & CO. (1974) starred Alain Delon and Ricardo Cucciolla.

This is a sequel to the highly acclaimed BORSALINO which apparently is unavailable. Well, if there is one thing I hate it's dubbing. This was dubbed. Delon's voice was too low. The voices always sound disembodied to me.

The story takes place in the mid-1930s France, and it concerns a gangland war between the Volpone (Cucciolla) gang and the Roch Siffredi (Delon) gang. Initially, Volpone wins and plans to saturate the country with heroin, but Siffredi carefully works out his revenge.

It's a typical Godfather-type film without being the Godfather. Lots of cars crashing, violence, shooting, and a particularly unpleasant final scene. All very macho.

On IMDb one of the posters said, "Alain Delon, already past his prime..." Yeah, what a dog. He was a GOD, and with his hair slicked back, evening clothes, and beautifully tailored suits, he looked as if he walked off the pages of Italian Vogue. If your idea of "prime" is 25, that's sad. To each age its own beauty.

And what eye candy - Alain Delon.

"La Piscine" is about two impossibly beautiful people in various stages of undress having a lot of foreplay. Or so it seems. Jean- Paul (Delon) and his lover (or wife, not sure) Marianne (Romy Schneider) are vacationing in a friend's mansion in Saint-Tropez. Lots of sun, making out, and swimming.

Marianne's ex-beau, Harry (Maurice Ronet) calls to say he's in the area, and Marianne invites him and his nubile daughter Penelope (Jane Birkin) to stay with him.

It's obvious that Harry still desires Marianne, so there is automatic tension. Then Jean-Paul seduces Penelope. Soon tension leads to something worse.

"La Piscine" is a typical foreign film - the ideas are sometimes obtuse, and it moves slowly. It's also too long by as much as a half hour. It's hard to concentrate on the plot because the beauty of the stars, Delon and Schneider, and their incredible chemistry overwhelm the story - to the extent that one doesn't really understand Jean- Paul's attraction to Penelope.

What erupts is the suppressed anger of the once-suicidal Jean-Paul, the competitiveness between him and Harry, and Harry's jealous possession of his daughter, whom he only recently met. As Penelope says, he likes to have her travel with him because people often think she's his mistress.

Schneider and Delon were a famous real-life couple but had broken up about five years earlier. Their chemistry is undeniable, and it's heartbreaking to think about what happened to her. Both actors give very "movie" performances - nothing overplayed, many subtle, nonverbal reactions. All of the acting is good, and the conflict scene between Harry and Jean-Paul is excellent.

"La Piscine" is considered a classic, but I believe many Americans had a hard time with it due to its languid pace and a tendency to look for action rather than psychology. Enjoy it for the beautiful photography and beautiful actors, if nothing else.

Based on real life events, undercover agent Bob Mazur (Bryan Cranston) takes on a huge drug cartel and works to bring them down in "The Infiltrator." The film also stars John Leguizamo (who once said, "Yes, I know all the Puerto Ricans who have played Talouse Latrec"), Diane Kruger, and Benjamin Bratt.

There is action in this movie, but it's more of a study of Mazur and how he worked the identity he created for himself and moved into the drug world armed with only a tape recorder in a special briefcase. Beautifully acted, this exciting and suspenseful film moves quickly.

At one point, having avoided sex with a girl in a club by saying he was engaged, the government felt it was important for him to have a girlfriend. Though against it, Mazur finds the presence of Kathy (Kruger) very helpful. The two of them are able to befriend Roberto and Gloria Alcaino (Bratt and Elena Acayo). The idea is to entrap the top man, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, who is running a money laundering scheme. Mazur's idea is to follow the money instead of the coke.

Given today's news about the use of women in films, this movie really lines up - a few roles for women and the rest are used as sex objects.

The Infiltrator shows the effects of undercover work on those involved. Bryan Cranston as always is a marvel.

This story reminds us that even drug lords can't be described just by what they do.

Time to retire this franchise.

Big budget boredom - 007 is like Ol' Man River - he just keeps rolling along, but in the case of 007, this franchise has had it. My advice: After the first truly electrifying 13 minutes, turn this off and keep your happy memories.

In this one, Bond goes rogue after receiving a message from the beyond, in a way. He infiltrates a secret meeting and learns about the evil group SPECTRE. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, there's a new M (Ralph Fiennes) and a merger with MI5 and a decision to kill the Double O program. Might be a good idea, in fact.

Madeleine Swan (Lea Seydoux), the daughter of an old enemy, may have the clue to finishing off SPECTRE.

A good cast includes, besides Craig, Fiennes, and Seydoux, Christopher Waltz as the head of SPECTRE and Sherlock's Moriarity on PBS, Andrew Scott, one of the best of the new crop of British actors.

But all that doesn't help the script. That great budget and no one can write an exciting story. Car chases, sex with women Bond met 2 minutes ago, cartoon villains, torture - it's all there in small enough doses to make the 2-1/2 hours go by like the original Birth of a Nation.

I've seen Craig on stage twice - he's wasted here. About as exciting as flipping channels with a remote.

Leave it to Woody Allen to add that ending to a quote by Socrates.

Woody Allen is so prolific that he can't possibly knock one out of the park every time. Though "Cafe Society" has a bittersweet, thoughtful quality about it, it's not one of his best.

Jesse Eisenberg is the Woody character, Bobby, who moves to LA from the Bronx in the 1930s and drops in on his highly successful agent uncle, Phil Stern (Steve Carrell). Bobby has only been trying to see him for three weeks, but Uncle Phil finally comes through. He has Bobby work for him doing errands until he can steer him toward something better. He also asks his secretary Vonnie (Kristen Stewart) to show Bobby around.

Bobby falls for Vonnie immediately, but unbeknownst to him, she's having an affair with his uncle, who is married. Phil decides he can't leave his wife and breaks it off with her, and she and Bobby wind up falling in love. But later, it falls to Vonnie to make a choice.

Cafe Society is a little on the slow side - the acting is good, there are a few jokes, it's historically accurate (I'm always looking for films about old Hollywood to goof up like Barton Fink), and the photography and fashions are beautiful.

Woody is talking here about the road not taken and showing us two people who think about that other road often. Of course there's no answer, but it is something we all wonder about especially as we age.

I just don't think the story was tight enough - it seemed to meander.

I'm not familiar with Kristen Stewart. She has a special beauty and a nice presence and fit into the film well. Eisenberg, like most actors doing the Woody character in Woody films, takes on some of Allen's inflections. He's likable. Steve Carrell's role does not play to his strengths but he pulls it off. Someone on this board complained about Bobby's parents. I thought Jeanie Berlin, whom I haven't seen in years, was terrific and gave a very realistic performance.

Not a heck of a lot goes on in this film - it's not serious like Crimes and Misdemeanors and it's not Bullets Over Broadway, which was a comedy with serious undertones about art. I think here Allen making a choice about which it would be may have been a good idea.

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