Hello dear readers,
I hope you are doing well, three more fun reviews, two movies I enjoyed and one I did not. Check out the reviews and if they spur you check out the movie. Thank you for reading, stay safe. (movie poster images from IMDB and Wikipedia)
Inspired by a true story, and based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Fred Waitzkin, this film tells the story of a New York City sports columnist (played by the always reliable Joe Mantegna) whose young son turns out to have a natural gift for chess. The father then finds his young son a teacher (Ben Kingsley) and begins entering the boy in competitive tournaments around the country quickly losing sight of his son and becoming fixated on winning. This is the directorial debut of master screenwriter Steven Zaillian (he wrote Awakenings and Schindler's List at this time but has gone on to write a number of other great films) he gets strong performances out of his actors and great use of NYC locations, though the beautiful look of the film is most likely thanks to legendary cinematographer Conrad Hall. The real life chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer, though name dropped in the title, really has very little to do with the movie aside from brief mentions of his career. Film critic Roger Ebert lamented that the film marketing at the time failed to make clear the movie is not a biography of Fischer. It really is an examination of how parents lose sight of being parents while living vicariously through their children and how parents can unknowingly use their children to fulfill their missed dreams. This is a must see film for any parent and a touching and very well acted story.
Paul Newman plays an aging bank robber who fakes a coma to be moved from prison to a nursing home in the country in hopes of escaping custody. One of the nurses (Linda Fiorentino), who feels stuck in the dead end town, figures out his scheme and convinces him to help her rob an armored car route that runs through a number of stops in the nearby town. The film could/should have been much better, it plays more like an edgier Hallmark TV movie and no surprise that the film's director worked mainly in British television before making this film. I did enjoy the film because of Paul Newman. This was one of his last live theatrical films (he did a number of animation and narration in his final years) and he is a joy to watch. His charisma and obvious acting abilities carry the simple film, he can grin or wink and it carries more than some actors can do in an entire hour. I'm a classic movie fan so it is always nice to see one of the greats get to do what they do, I wish the overall movie was better but Newman makes it worthwhile, Fiorentino is also good as the nurse. It is interesting to note that Newman's longtime friend Robert Redford made a similar film (which was much better) in 2018, The Old Man and the Gun. If you are a Paul Newman fan this is a movie to check out especially with its short 88 minute running time.
This is a bad movie, it could have been good but it is not. Familiar story involves an aging spy/assassin (Burt Lancaster) who the American CIA believes is now a liability so they hire his French protege, named Scorpio (Alain Deleon), to kill him. What is set up as a thrilling chase is nothing of the sort, most of the movie focuses on office bureaucracy, the two assassins personal lives, plans of where the other may go, and faux discussions of morality. The two stars are good and it is filmed in Europe. There is a great action sequence right in the middle of the film involving a chase and fight at a construction site which is easily the highlight. Worst of all is the final showdown between the two assassins, it's a big let down especially after nearly two hours. Skip this one.
Until next time readers.
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