The Man In The Chair (2007) starring Christohper Plummer

I knew I would enjoy this movie from the first few moments it begins. We see an old man (Christopher Plummer) in a theater by himself enjoying a bottle of booze and watching His Girl Friday with  Cary Grant. Then as the credits roll, he's watching another classic in the darkened theater, this time The Last Time I Saw Paris and the argument scene with Elizabeth Taylor and Van Johnson, where Van throws his writings/manuscripts in a fireplace, giving up on his dreams. Immediately, Plummer's character gets up and yells at the screen; we don't hear what he's saying but we can tell he's emotionally affected by the drama (and dashed dreams), and in love with classic movies.

Then the credits montage continues with scenes of him riding the bus at night, and walking down a darkened street, eating lunch outside, or sitting/reading on a bench - suggesting he likes to get out of wherever he's living for a while. He goes to see more films, and the cycle repeats.

It's a bit mysterious at first, but as the film continues and unravels, we learn more about the grouchy old character. He lives in a home for retired film/tv veterans, and has a past career working on classic Hollywood films. 

Meanwhile, we're introduced to another character with a troubled past, a young high school cinephile and aspiring filmmaker, who wants to make a short student action film, but struggles with writing and can't pronounce "Nietzsche". The kid - when he's not stealing cars - spends his free time going to classic film screenings; at a screening of Touch of Evil, he meets Plummer. 

The rest of the movie is about their relationship, and about they work together making the short film which they are both passionate about. It's a charming buddy film about a young movie lover and the old Hollywood vet. As the kid gets to know the old man and his friends, you can sense his inner growth, and begins to consider making a documentary instead. He also teaches an elder to use Google and introduces him to blogging.

Christopher Plummer is very believable playing a cranky old Hollywood film crew member. His character is filled with loneliness and bitterness at the start of the film, but his life changes when he meets the kid; you can sense the spark of life coming back to him. I love the scene where Plummer talks and reminisces with his old, forgotten writer friend whom he encourages to help with the film. And I love how his character imparts his wisdom on the kid as they take the bus around town; he points out landmarks of classic cinema history and tells him stories about knowing Orson Welles. 

Special appearances by M. Emmet Walsh who plays a fellow resident of the home and Robert Wagner as a rich, retired Hollywood producer - and adversary - of Plummer's. 

Filmed on location in Los Angeles/Hollywood.

Written and directed by Michael Schroeder. Unfortunately, I don't know much else about what else the director has made other than some low-budget horror films in the 80s and 90s. But if I had to guess, I would say that this is a dream project of the director's and subsequently went on to pursue other endeavors. I applaud his efforts making this film; I found it enjoyable and very memorable.

Film Critic Roger Ebert didn't like the movie when it came out (see his review here), but I really liked it. I consider it a great tribute to not only the elderly, but also aging movie stars who are often forgotten in their twilight years. 

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This is an entry in the Charismatic Christopher Plummer Blogathon, hosted by Realweegiemidget Reviews and Pale Writer. December 10-12, 2022

Raquel Welch movies

Turner Classic Movies had a marathon of Raquel Welch movies the other day, and I was excited for this because it was a great chance to watch some of her movies for the first time. Either due to availability (never being on VHS/DVD) or on TV, I had never seen any of these movies before, ever.  

Unfortunately, most of the ones I watched were pretty mediocre, and not very good. Or they were just average. I wasn't missing much.  It's too bad because I feel Raquel Welch deserved much better roles and parts in better movies. I could see/imagine her in movies like Gloria or Coming Home. 

The Three Musketeers (1973)

I didn't like this movie! It really didn't interest me at all so I didn't even watch the whole movie all the way through. I don't remember Raquel Welch being in the movie very much. Sort of a cameo type role, really.

Fuzz (1972)

I also really disliked this comedy. For one, I hate the title; it just doesn't seem to fit. Raquel's role in the film is very small; she only has a few scenes as a detective which is a shame because I think she would have been great in a larger part. Burt Reynolds and Tom Skerrit have larger parts as police/detectives.  I didn't realize that most of this whole movie would took place in the police station. (Later I found out that this movie was based on some book or series of books) 

After about 10 minutes the movie's goofiness gave me the vibe of a Police Academy movie or a Barney Miller tv comedy episode, which might have been inspired by this film. Don't think I'd watch this one again.

Flareup (1969)

I also disliked this one! Raquel's part is much larger; she plays a stripper who is targeted by an assassin. She travels from Las Vegas to Los Angeles and the only interesting things about the movie is the scenery and location shots. And the cool cars. That's about it. It does have a '60s vibe to it, too. Everything else is really dull; all of the other performances are really bland and I didn't care much for this one. Don't think Id watch this one again.

Hannie Caulder (1971)

This Western is a bad film overall; I think this movie's mistake is that it tries to be a comedy when it should just be a straight-up drama/thriller/revenge story. Then I think the movie would have worked a bit better. It starts off with a trio of bumbling outlaw brothers (Ernest Borgnine, Strother Martin, and Jack Elam) who kill a rancher and then proceed to gang-rape his widow/wife who is left behind. The rape scene is very disturbing and uncomfortable to watch so early on. It's choppily edited, but that could be the director's intent. It's also very creepy to watch Ernest Borgnine (Marty) as a dirty rapist; reminded me of his character in The Wild Bunch.

The gang leaves and then wisecracks their way out of the village. There are multiple scenes showing them in various other situations joking and wisecracking with each other, like a pair of Three Stooges, and I think that was a wrong choice since it gives the impression it's meant to be some kind of comedy; there's nothing funny about rapists. 

The best parts of the movie show Hannie (Raquel Welch) planning her revenge and learning to shoot. There are some bloody sequences in the movie, which seem to be inspired by Wild Bunch, especially with all the flowing blood that shoots up into the air when people get shot.  Raquel meets bounty hunter Robert Culp who trains her. Christopher Lee has a small role as a man who lets them stay at his house for awhile. Compared to 100 Rifes, this is the lesser of the two in my opinion. 

Kansas City Bomber (1972)

I was bored with this one and didn't like it. I liked some of the roller derby scenes but honestly, they went on for too long. The movie doesn't really explain what the point of the game is, and I guess the audience is expected to know the rules. Like with Football, or Baseball, or Hockey movies, the filmmakers don't stop and tell you how the game is played.  I did like the scenes with Raquel and her children and the scenes with her at home. It made me want to see more scenes like that or even an entire movie about her with kids.

The Last of Sheila (1973)

A very odd film. It's interesting that it's Stephen Sondheim's only screenplay he wrote. He was good friends with the other co-screenwriter, Anthony Perkins, and they came up with this interesting scavenger-hunt type movie. I thought it was just "OK". I remember enjoying the movie "Scavenger Hunt" way better; maybe since it was aimed at kids more. Both movies have Richard Benjamin. 
Incidentally, Bobby Rivers' blog had an interesting post on a collaboration between Sondheim and Perkins from the 60s - read it here. 

Laura's Miscellaneous Musings: Tonight's Movie: The Last of Sheila (1973) (laurasmiscmusings.blogspot.com)

The Biggest Bundle of Them All (1968)

This is a really stupid movie! But I liked watching it and got hooked once the heist got underway --- which takes over an hour to get to. The first hour is really build-up and interplay between the Italian thief and Robert Wagner, which is really dull. Sadly, Raquel Welch's part is so small. It would have been great to see her in the Wagner role instead. Watching this movie made me want to re-watch Oceans 8 (2018) with Sandra Bullock - I always enjoy seeing how she works with her team to pull off the heist that they do in that one. 

Bundle only picks up steam once Edward G. Robinson enters the picture and becomes the mastermind behind the ultimate heist which involves a train hijacking. However it takes an hour and a half to get to those exciting parts featuring the heist, and by then I'm almost not interested. But I did like the ending and it shows how they blow the heist and their expressions. I kind of wish The Italian Job (1969) ended in a similar way where we get some satisfaction out of seeing them blow the heist. 

Compared to Topkapi, my favorite heist movie of them all, this movie is far inferior.  

The Wild Party (1975)

Terrible movie! I cannot believe this is a Merchant/Ivory film. The opening credits were really amusing, jovial, and a clever throwback to silent cinema. 

But the next ten minutes were horrid. James Coco plays a washed-up silent comedian, jealous of "up-and-comers" Buster Keaton and Chaplin. If you know your history of film you may recognize similarities between the Coco character and Roscoe Arbuckle, a heavyset comedic silent actor whose career went down in a similar way.

However, modern audiences have no idea about any of this. This film is good example of when you really need context --- some type of opening "crawl" or written prologue on the screen to give you context. 

Instead of a fun movie experience, in the first ten minutes, Coco's character slaps Raquel Welch in the face and throws a hot cup of coffee on her legs. It's really horrendous and misogynist and Coco is so unlikable that I couldn't watch this movie with any real interest. The movie is so long and boring and leads up to the titular "wild party" which doesn't take place for about an hour and a half. This movie really sucks. It's a shame that Raquel Welch had to take this part. This is a totally forgettable movie. 

Should have probably been called "The Arbuckle Story" or something like that. 

100 Rifles (1969)

I liked this movie; I liked the action and that it focuses on the Yachi indigenous people of Mexico; even though it's fictious I feel it gives a bit of an idea of how the Yachi were displaced and how they might have fought the colonizers. It also is my first time learning about the Yachi, and I feel this movie could have been better at explaining them. Instead, it aims to focus on the three fugitive characters. I like how I don't know how the three would end up at the end - which one would die (if any?), which ones would romance, which ones would leave the group, etc. And the Mexican General played by Fernando Llamas was really nasty and one of the meanest screen villains. I didn't like some of the anti-indigenous sentiment, but I could see how a movie like this was an influence on Tarantino. This movie might be the only one of Raquel's that I would watch again. 

A good blog post on the movie here at Just Hit Play

Midway (1976)

Midway was shown on American network television in June of 1992, and I remember watching it and really enjoying the battle scenes, and learning a little about the battle of Midway.

Toshiro Mifune plays Japanese Admiral Yamamoto and Henry Fonda plays American Admiral Chester Nimitz. The battle is planned and executed.

There is a subplot involving American naval captain Charlton Heston and his son played by Edward Albert, whose girlfriend is Japanese. The interracial romance was reflective of the times and relevant to the audiences of the 1970s but otherwise the film isn't  too remarkable.

It's an all star cast, so if you know your classic movie stars, you can play the game "Oh look it's .....". James Coburn, Glenn Ford, Robert Wagner, Dabney Coleman, Pat Morita, Erik Estrada, Robert Mitchum, Hal Holbrook, Tom Seleck, Cliff Robertson and more.

Read another review from the blog Mike's Take on Movies here. 

Airport (1970) and its crappy sequels (though the original wasn't so great, either)

Airplane from 1970 the first in a line of popular "disaster films" from the 70s, but was not seen as such upon first release.

The movie was based on a novel, and was treated as a serious  drama-thriller at the time, with distinguished actors such as Helen Hayes and Maureen Stapleton as ill-fated passengers.

The film itself was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. (Ms Hayes won Best Supporting Actress as an elderly, clever stowaway). Dean Martin was miscast as the plane's pilot, but he's fairly tame in his performance, thankfully. (No drinking). The movie gets interesting when a lunatic (Van Heflin) threatens to blow up the plane with a bomb he brings aboard. This was parodied in the movie "Airplane 2: The Sequel" (1982). 

The movie is sappy and long, and is probably best watched having a certain context and frame of reference.



The next movie in the series was the less-than-creatively titled Airport 1975, featuring another all star fest, and trying to bank on the popularity of the recent disaster films "Earthquake" and "Towering Inferno".

This time Charlton Heston is the man to save the day. Helen Reddy plays a singing nun and Linda Blair is a child in need of an organ transplant. These characters were later lampooned in 1980's Airplane! Gloria Swanson also appears, in her last film.

The blog Cult Movie Reviews recently posted a synopsis of this terrible film. I'm so thankful another blogger watched the movie and has written about it...so I don't have to.





 
These next films are so awful, despite having some huge names in the cast. It's amazing to me why these films were made - were the filmmakers sadistic?  The first Airport movie was a success, followed by Airport 1975, but they probably should have stopped there.

In Airport '77 (funny how the "19" in "1977" was cut from the title), Jack Lemmon saves the day, and stopping by for cameos are Jimmy Stewart and Olivia DeHavilland.

Did they need the money?

Fortunately, Jimmy is only in one or two scenes. Probably the lowest point in his filmography.

Finally, we have The Concorde: Airport 79 a disaster (pun intended) starring Robert Wagner.