bankofmarquis

In the late 1950's and early 1960's, it appears that Billy Wilder was interested in 2 things:

1). Making movies about the relationship between men and women

2). Pushing the boundaries of censorship as far as he could

And with SOME LIKE IT HOT, THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH and his Academy Award winning film THE APARTMENT, he certainly accomplished both items.

For his next film, he had to go to France, for the title character of his 1963 film, IRMA LA DOUCE, is a prostitute.

Originally a vehicle for Marilyn Monroe, Wilder, instead, was "forced" to cast THE APARTMENT star Shirley MacLaine (due to Monroe's death) in the title role which reunited her with Wilder and her THE APARTMENT co-star Jack Lemmon.

And, what a stroke of luck that (probably) turned out to be. One will never know what the performance of Monroe would have been but MacLaine is pitch perfect as the street-corner hanging Parisian, the titular IRMA LA DOUCE, who just has a job to do and so she does it...and does it well.

Which the American censors weren't too keen about, but since the film is sent in France (and not the good ol' U. S. of A.), they let it pass.

Into Irma's life walks erstwhile Policeman Jack Lemmon who does not have nearly enough practicality and openness as the rest of France when it comes to prostitution and promptly arrests MacLaine and her cohorts. This results in Lemmon being fired by the police department and (due to screenplay reasons) ends up becoming MacLaines pimp - a pimp who needs Irma to earn the money, but a pimp who doesn't want her to earn the money "that way".

Such is the machinations of romantic comedies.

Based on a 1956 French musical, Wilder immediately took all of the musical numbers out of the film (he said he didn't know how nor did he WANT to know how to make a musical) and, to be honest, this film suffers for it. You can see the parts of the film where the cast would have burst into song and breathe some life into it. Without it, the scenes are overly long and fail to land more often than not.

This is NOT the fault of Lemmon and MacLaine who prove that their chemistry in The Apartment was not a fluke. They are TERRIFIC together and are a couple you are rooting for (even if the romantic comedy tropes of this film seem to really stretch credulity).

Lou Jacobi (who was supposed to play Dr. Dreyfuss in The Apartment, the part that Jack Kruschen ened up being nominated for an Oscar for, but had to drop out of that film due to other obligations) is strong as Lemmon's scheming partner, Moustache, while the rest of the characters are well cast, if thinly written (look closely for a "blink and you'll miss it" turn from a very young James Caan in his film debut).

But, ultimately, this film sags under the length of the dialogue-heavy (note I did not say dialogue-RICH) extremely long scenes that could have used musical numbers - if only someone would make a movie of that version of Irma La Douce.

Letter Grade: B (it is a Billy Wilder film with Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine after all)

8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)

Say what you will about Greek Director Yorgos Lanthimos and the oddities that are his films, but one thing you can NOT say about his films is that they are mundane.

The latest outing by the Director of POOR THINGS, a "two-hander" starring Lanthimos' stock players Emma Stone (POOR THINGS) and Jesse Plemons (KINDS OF KINDNESS) is a case in point.

BUGONIA tells the tale of High Profile, High-Scale Tech CEO Michelle (Stone) who is kidnapped by Teddy (Plemons) because Teddy thinks that Michelle is an alien (the outer space kind).

What results over the next 2 hours or so, is a cat and mouse game between Michelle and Teddy, told mostly through dialogue between the two that sometimes veers onto the absurb, but almost always finds the humanity of the characters in a world that Lanthimos posits has lost it's humanity.

It's a fascinating character study amongst a strong condemnation of our world today that is wrapped in a oddly entertaining romp thanks to the works of the two leads.

This film could have easily devolved quickly into over-acting, boredom and way-too-over-the-top absurdism if it weren't for the grounded performances of both Stone and Plemons. I've been a big fan of both performers for quite some time and Stone (with her 2 Oscars) most certainly has the credentials and heft for this type of film, but it is the work of Plemons that really pops out as he lays out his conspiracy theory to Stone in such a level-headed, thought through way that one thinks, from the beginning, that Plemons might be RIGHT and not CRAZY. Both performances are Oscar-nominee worthy.

These two characters are wrapped up and steered through this world with a sure hand from Lanthimos who actually shows some restraint in his absurb commentary of the world, while also pointing out the hypocrisies and foibles of modern civilization.

This one won't be for every one and the ending has a twist that I felt made the journey worthwhile, but some will not (I'm sure).

It's another headtrip by Lanthimos hosted by Stone and Plemons...and they are very pleasing hosts, indeed.

Letter Grade: A-

8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)

I went to see the latest installment in the Predator series of movies, PREDATOR: BADLANDS, expecting to see a gritty, somewhat gorey, perhaps a little, above a "B" movie action/adventure sci-flick flick.

Instead I got a variant on the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY style of film.

And that isn't necessarily, a bad thing.

Directed by Dan Trachtenberg (the previous 2 installments in the Predator series, PREY and the animated PREDATOR: KILLER OF KILLERS), Predator:Badlands follows "runt of the litter" Predator, Dek who goes to the most dangerous planet in their galaxy (the aforementioned Badlands) to prove his worth.

Trachentenberg, as is his style, takes what is good of the Predator series and then turns it on it's head (or maybe on it's side) and he does so here to great affect.

The first 1/4 of the film looks like your "typical" Predator movie, showing the background of the Predator's on their home planet as the clans cull the weak, sending our hero, Dek on his journey of discovery - and growth.

What makes this film interesting is that Trachtenberg then melds the Predator series with the Alien series, not through a "Alien vs. Predator" battle, but through an encounter with the Weylan-Yutani organization in the guise of synthetic being Thia (Elle Fanning).

Dex and Thia (and another creature that I won't spoil) form a ragtag group that works together to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds.

A familiar formula, right? But in Trachtenberg's capable hands, it works very, very well.

Fanning is interesting in the duel roles of Thia/Tessa and brings heart and comradeship with Dex to the fore, providing a core duo that the audience is rooting for.

It's an interesting twist for the Predator series - and one that works well, thanks to Trachtenberg and sets an interesting precedent for future Predator films to come.

Letter Grade: A- (I'm hust as surprised as you are).

8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)