@BUFFFILMBUFF

In Peter Weir’s MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD set during the Napoleonic Wars, a brash British captain (Russell Crowe) pushes his ship and crew to their limits in pursuit of a formidable French war vessel around South America. Based on Patrick O'Brian's series of novels this is a superb adventure film. There is a realism which gives us a real sense of what seafaring life was like...

François Ozon’s adaption of Albert Camus’ THE STRANGER is a beautifully shot bore. The novel is probably not going to adapt well to film. It is hard to feel anything when your main character is so completely detached. This can be done in a novel as you can convey the interior thought and emotion but that can be hard to do cinematically. Of course the novel is a classic of existentialism so thi...

David Frankel’s THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2 is the extremely slick sequel about life in a high fashion magazine. Meryl Streep again plays the imperious editor and Anne Hathaway her foil. The script traffics in changes in publishing and how social media has affected it. With most of the original cast back everyone with predictable story arcs. There is some dried eyed sentiment here and there. All...

Victor Fleming’s 1932 RED DUST is pre-code joy with three perfectly matched stars. Jean Harlow and Mary Astor vie for the attentions of Clark Gable on a steamy rubber plantation. Expert camerawork by Hal Rosson and sly dialog enhance the performances. A delight and highest recommendation. (Remade in 1953 where Gable again plays the lead this time pursued by Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly.). Yet ano...

In James Vanderbilt’s NUREMBERG a WWII psychiatrist (Rami Malek) evaluates Nazi leaders before the Nuremberg trials, growing increasingly obsessed with understanding evil as he forms a disturbing bond with Hermann Göring (Russell Crowe). While something this serious does reek of Oscar bait and reportedly some of the facts were altered for dramatic effect, this is still an absorbing film boosted b...

Angus MacLachlan’s A LITTLE PRAYER is a lovely little gem about the complicated relationships in a southern family. The authenticity of the accents and behaviors are small miracles when characters from below the Mason-Dixon Line are so often portrayed as cliches with bad accents painful to the ear. Strong cast with David Strathairn as a protector of his daughter in law (Jane Levy) when he discov...

Jonathan Glazer’s BIRTH is a unique and sometimes disturbing tale of eternal love. A woman (Nicole Kidman)who becomes convinced that her deceased husband has been reincarnated as a ten-year-old boy (Cameron Bright). Glazer direction reminds me of Kubrick and the film has an odd look with desaturated colors and an emphasis on shades of green. The script has a lot of loose ends but Kidman’s delic...

John Ford’s 1953 MOGAMBO is a remake of RED DUST released two decades earlier. Clark Gable plays the lead once again where he is pursued by Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly. Shot mostly on location in Africa, though some scenes are in a studio. It was a difficult shoot and reportedly Gable and Kelly had an affair while on location. Shot in Technicolor by two master cinematographers Freddie Young and ...

TARZAN AND HIS MATE from 1934 is arguably the sexiest of the series. Produced during the pre-code era both Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan wear minimal loin clothes and there is even an extended underwater sequence with a totally nude Jane. The production itself is fairly spectacular with some effective special effects. Weissmuller plays the monosyllabic ape man wonderfully. Direction...

In Claude Sautet’s 1960 CLASSE TOUS RISQUES (THE BIG RISK) a ruthless criminal (Lino Ventura) flees from police pursuit, involving more and more casualties. While seeking revenge he must also find a safe place for his two young sons. Rich and complex in its characters and situations it was ignored at the time as the French New Wave was getting more attention but has since been acclaimed as a cla...