The recent death of Karl Malden brings to mind a series of great performances which belong in every DVD library: Patton, as General of the Army Omar Bradley; On the Waterfront, as the compassionate priest, for which he won an Oscar nomination; A Streetcar Named Desire, his Oscar winning portrayal; Birdman of Alcatraz, as the prison warden; and in a villainous role in Nevada Smith in that climactic fight with Steve McQueen, filmed in freezing water. He always slipped his family name, Sekulovich, into every portrayal, usually as an aside to another character. We won’t see his likes again. 500 Days of Summer is a middling romantic story starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt of Kill Shot and Miracle at St. Anna as a twenty-something who believes in love at first sight. Zooey Deschanel costars as a free spirit with a cynical attitude towards love, saying “life” gets in the way of true romance. The rest of the movie details, in a treacle style, how their relationship evolves to a certain point, only to be a victim of fate. Adam is an unusual love story starring English actor Hugh Dancy, the boss in Confessions of a Shopaholic, but here in a much more challenging role. His character designs the electronic components of toys while suffering from Aspergers Syndrome, a form of autism. His father has just died, and he lives alone in the large Manhattan apartment they shared. Soon a new neighbor moves in, played by Australian actress Rose Byrne, seen recently in Knowing. Their relationship develops tenderly, but not without difficulties. Amy Irving and Peter Gallagher play her parents and their subplot is as interesting as the main plot. This is a poignant, plausible story with compassionate performances. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth in the series, is a ponderous, dark film, again starring likable Daniel Radcliffe in the title role. In his sixth year at Hogwarts school, Harry finds professor of potions Horace Slughorn, played by Oscar winner Jim Broadbent, who may hold the key to many secrets concerning the Half-Blood Prince. Michael Gambon returns as Dumbledore, who tells Harry about Voldemort’s past. But there are superfluous scenes, making it self-indulgent. Or perhaps it’s because I saw it on a gorgeous summer day which was largely gone once I finally emerged from the theater. Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg is a documentary about Gertrude Berg, the actress, writer and director who created and, though it was not her original intention, portrayed “Molly” on TV’s The Goldbergs. It was in many ways a pioneering program in the Stone Age of television, 1949-56. Her show paved the way for Lucille Ball, Marlo Thomas, even Mary Tyler Moore—subsequent sitcoms about women. And who knew Middle America would watch a show about an immigrant Jewish family living just above the poverty line! Director Aviva Kemper, who made the wonderful documentary The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, about baseball’s greatest Jewish slugger, has an impressive array of talking heads, ranging from Berg’s grandchildren to historians, and even Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a childhood fan of The Goldbergs. At times, however, the film is too literal, illustrating every single remark with old video, even using some Chaplain clips of early XX century life. Still, it is a valuable record of a remarkable woman who in her way changed the face of television.
Robert Rodriguez made his name with stylish action movies like El Mariachi, Sin City and the children’s trilogy, Spy Kids. In his newest, called simply Shorts, everyone works in a company town known as Black Box. James Spader, looking bored with the portrayal, plays the autocratic head of the computer company which has made sort of a super BlackBerry-type gizmo. Jon Cryer and Leslie Mann play the parents of a boy known as “Toe,” a daily victim of schoolyard bullies. Jimmy Bennett, who portrayed the young Capt. Kirk in the recent Star Trek, is wooden as the boy in this silly story. Eventually he comes upon a magic stone which grants any wish instantly. Even the pre-teens at whom this is aimed will soon be bored by the silliness of this lily-white movie. A magic rock which instantly grants wishes? Is that all the imagination writer Rodriguez could concoct? The special effects are impressive, but you’ll be wondering why they were wasted in a trite bit of silliness like this. Kids will be bored quickly. Blood, the Last Vampire is a fast-paced thriller from the producers of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with Kiss of the Dragon director Chris Hanon, and is adapted from the 2000 movie of the same name. It deals with the arrival of hordes of demon vampires, fought by other blood suckers sworn to annihilate them. Aligned with the CIA is the one good vampire “Saya,” played by Korean actress “Giana.” Allison Miller is the daughter of the General in charge of the Air Force base in Tokyo in 1970. Though the movie is filled with sword fights, clanging steel and lots of gore, it’s done in the familiar and often mesmerizing style of Japanese action films. In fact, this is an effective thrill ride that will please fans of the genre.
Jeffrey Lyons has been a film critic since 1970 and has reviewed nearly 15,000 movies and 3,000 plays. He is the son of Leonard Lyons, whose Broadway column, “The Lyons Den,” was the most respected of its day (1934–1974). Lyons is the critic at WNBC-TV, is seen on 200 NBC stations, and also co-hosts Reel Talk, NBC’s new nationally syndicated movie show.
His “Lyons Den” radio reports are heard on more than 100 stations nationwide.
