Movie Talk: 6 Fast Ones

Over the summer we began watching three movies every weekend. I've been meaning to give a brief rundown of them but just now have gotten the time. This isn't all of them, but it is a beginning!

• Last Action Hero: A young movie fan suddenly is pulled into the movie world of his favorite action hero (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger). Not bad but not great either. I was urged to watch this by a thoughtful movie-loving pal. To be fair, I believe it was on his list of guilty pleasures, so I won't hold it against him that we were less than enthralled. I think if we'd have seen it when it came out we would have had a much more positive response. Grade: C.
  
  
• Love in the Afternoon: a classic starring Audrey Hepburn and Gary Cooper, written and directed by Billy Wilder. Hepburn plays a detective's daughter who is fascinated by a womanizer (Cooper) on whom her father (Maurice Chevalier) has extensive files. Frothy, fun, and it works despite the age differences. Grade: A.
  
  
• Only Angels Have Wings: Cary Grant plays an unusual role, that of a pilot running a South American airline. He eschews serious relationships because his heart broken back in the Big Apple. Jean Arthur is interested in changing his mind. I picked this up because it was huge in it's day and directed by Howard Hawks. Hawks isn't afraid to kill off a character to enhance the sense of adventure and I was literally on the edge of my seat a couple of times. Plenty of plot twists make it a fun movie, if something of a soap opera. Grade: B.
  
  
• Bill Cunningham, New York: A documentary about Bill Cunningham and his obsession with documenting the way people dress on the streets of NYC. He's 80, has been taking photographs for decades, and has New York Times photographer has two New York Times style columns. I'll cover this one more later but we were quite surprised by how inspirational we found Bill himself. Grade: A.
  
  
• Happy Go Lucky: a highly praised British film about Poppy and how cheerful she is in all circumstances. After 30 minutes I truly hated Poppy. Watching her giggle and grin after having a painful back adjustment I was wondering if she was either psychotic or a drug addict. Poppy  might have been bearable had a plot of any sort been included. We didn't finish it. Grade: F.
  
  
• Lost City: a wealthy family living in Havana in the 1950s is caught up in the revolution that places Fidel Castro in power. It actually was about a cabaret owner trying to keep his club open, but unfortunately we got dragged through every travail of all his family members while that was happening. Bill Murray's character was really out of place throughout. Overall not bad and I truly empathized with parts of it, but too long and rambling. Grade: C.