Dark Shadows (2012)

In 1772, young Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) is living a good life in Collinsport, Maine, many years after arriving from England with his parents – Joshua and Naomi Collins (Ivan Kaye and Susanna Cappellaro). They had become wealthy and renamed the fishing village after their family name.

Barnabas has a dalliance with Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green), a witch, whom he later spurns in favor of heiress Josette du Pres (Bella Heathcote).

It turns out that Angelique is Josette's maid, and the cause of his parents' untimely death. She curses Josette, who falls to her death off a cliff. Barnabas follows her, but discovers he cannot die, thanks to Angelique's curse. Branded a monster by the townspeople, he is banished to a buried coffin, to suffer for all time.

Fast forward 200 years to 1972, and Victoria "Vicky" Winters (also played by Bella Heathcote), has arrived at the manor Collinswood to become a governess. She's greeted by Willie Loomis (Jackie Earle Haley), the manor's caretaker, and welcomed by Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer), the family matriarch.

Members of Elizabeth's family include her 15-year-old daughter, Carolyn (Chloë Grace Moretz); her brother, Roger (Jonny Lee Miller); and David (Gulliver McGrath), Roger's 10-year-old son (Victoria's charge). Also living in the manor is Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter), young David's psychiatrist.

There are ghosts about the manor, even one of Josette. But first, while digging a trench, a construction crew accidentally finds and frees the vampire Barnabas, who is awfully thirsty from his 200-year disappearance, and makes one helluva blood feast of the work crew.

Barnabas wanders into Collinsport and finds the manor in disrepair. After insinuating himself as part of the family once again, he intends to restore the manor and family fishing business to their former glory. But before he can get started, he's paid a visit by Angelique ... yes, that Angelique, who has been her own descendant through the centuries. She also owns the fishery that has driven the Collins business to ruin.

Soon, the manor is being refreshed, the business is being renovated, and fish are being procured to process (look for horror film icon Christopher Lee as Silas Clarney, an old New England-ish fisherman). That upsets Angelique, especially when Barnabas and Vicky fall in love, and she sets out to destroy him.

And that means war.

(This is as good a time as any to tell you that Vicky's been seeing Josette's ghost since she was a child, and her parents even sent her to a mental hospital as a result. Perhaps as a result of this obsession or maybe something other-worldly, she is the spitting image of Josette.)

Barnabas Collins is a black-and-white creature in a warmly colored world. Dark Shadows is quite stylish, with a certain "Mars Attacks!" quality in the characters' makeup. I love Dr. Julia Hoffman's red hair. Also, I particularly enjoyed the 70s-era songs on the soundtrack, including "Nights in White Satin" (The Moody Blues), "Top of the World" (The Carpenters), "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" (Barry White), and "Crocodile Rock" (Elton John).

However... the story and pacing leave something to be desired.

Auditioning unsuccessfully for the part of Angelique were Anne Hathaway, Lindsay Lohan and Jennifer Lawrence. Alice Cooper plays himself.

Barnabas Collins's chalk-white complexion was created with several layers of custom greasepaint. Look for the face of Jack Skellington (The Nightmare Before Christmas' principal character) when manor caretaker Willie first meets Barnabas.

Dark Shadows is based on the 1966-1971 gothic soap opera that aired on ABC and was resurrected in 1999 on NBC. Original series cast members Jonathan Frid, Kathryn Leigh Scott, David Selby and Lara Parker have cameo appearances in the film as guests at a Collingwood Manor party.

Produced on a $190-million budget, Dark Shadows earned more than $238.5 million worldwide at the box office.

Grade: C+

Double Indemnity (1944)

Who dunnit? I’ll tell you who dunnit. Walter Neff dunnit, that’s who. Aww, don't get mad at me. You'll find that out in the first five minutes of Double Indemnity anyway, when Neff  (Fred MacMurray), a successful insurance salesman, dictates a memorandum to his boss at Pacific All Risk Insurance Co.

Neff tells claims manager Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) all the background and details of the murder.

It all begins when he meets the beautiful blonde Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) after trying unsuccessfully to contact her husband (Tom Powers), whose automobile insurance policies are about to lapse. The two fence at words, Neff's interest in her becoming obvious.

Phyllis suggests an accident insurance policy on her husband for security "just in case" – a policy her husband need not know about. Neff figures out she wants to get rid of her husband. She doesn't say so, but of course she does. He refuses, then changes his mind after she visits him at his apartment and the chemistry and mutual attraction become too great for them to resist.

(Neff continues with his dictation, giving the audience all the information we need.)

They plan the perfect murder. Neff gets Mr. Dietrichson to sign the accident insurance application, after they make sure his daughter, Lola (Jean Heather), is there to witness the pitch.

The plan: Persuade Dietrichson to take a train to his Stanford reunion, arrange an "accident" so Phyllis can collect the double indemnity payable when a client dies on a common carrier. The plan works and then the insurance investigation begins. Keyes is in charge, and he has a nagging feeling that something just isn't right.

Edward S. Norton, Jr. (Richard Gaines), the company chief, thinks it's suicide, which would absolve the company of its obligation. Keyes sets him straight, but wonders why Dietrichson didn't file a claim when he broke his leg earlier, and why a passenger on the train, Mr. Jackson (Porter Hall), who talked to "Mr. Dietrichson," doesn't recognize a photo of Phyllis' husband.

And then there's Lola. Y'know, the daughter? She thinks Phyllis did it because Phyllis was her mother's nurse when she died. Complications ... complications that worry Neff, but actually kind of clear him, except that he has a conscience.

I love the look and atmosphere of Double Indemnity – harsh, high-contrast black and white, lots of dark night shadows, terse, clipped descriptive narration, tension (lots of tension) in the acting and the soundtrack (extensive use of horns and strings) ... true film noir.

Among those who were considered for the role of Walter Neff were Alan Ladd,  James Cagney, Spencer Tracy, Gregory Peck, Frederic March and George Raft. Dick Powell wanted the role but he was already under contract with another studio that refused to release him.

Double Indemnity was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Billy Wilder) and Best Actress (Barbara Stanwyck). It has been selected for preservation in the U.S. Library of Congress' National Film Registry and is regarded as a classic that defined the paradigm for future film noir.

Based on a 1943 novella by James M. Cain that appeared in Liberty magazine as an eight-part serial, the story is taken from the real 1927 trial of murderer Ruth Snyder that Cain covered as a newspaper journalist. The film is #28 on the American Film Institute's list of 100 best 20th Century American films, and #29 on its list of the 100 greatest movies of all time.

Produced on a $980,000 budget, Double Indemnity went on to earn $5 million at the box office.

Grade: A

Movie Quotations 100

"Now let things be understood. You play here and you sleep there. Downstairs on the right is the kitchen and the outdoors, all at your welcome. But don't you go poking about the house." – Mrs. Madlock (Gladys Cooper), in The Secret Garden (1949)

"It is said that blood is thicker than water. It is what defines us, binds us ... curses us." – Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp), in Dark Shadows

"Sometimes when I watch this footage, this private footage ... I mean, here they are, they're being playful and they're loving one another, and they have no idea something so much darker and sinister is about to happen." – Donna Thompson (Kether Donohue), in The Bay

"Quite frankly, I didn't even want to use you guys [Navy SEALs], with your dip and Velcro and all your gear bullshit. I wanted to drop a bomb. But people didn't believe in this lead enough to drop a bomb. So they're using you guys as canaries. And, in theory, if bin Laden isn't there, you can sneak away and no one will be the wiser. But bin Laden is there. And you're going to kill him for me." – Maya (Jessica Chastain), in Zero Dark Thirty

“You fathers will understand. You have a little girl. She looks up to you. You're her oracle. You're her hero. And then the day comes when she gets her first permanent wave and goes to her first real party, and from that day on, you're in a constant state of panic.” – Stanley T. Banks (Spencer Tracy), in Father of the Bride

"I was so drunk last night, I thought a tube of toothpaste was astronaut food." – Det. Allen "Gator" Gamble (Will Ferrell), in The Other Guys

"Live for excess. It's the American way!" – David Ershon (Steve Coogan), in The Other Guys

"There ought to be a law against fat people owning little dickie-birds." – Dr. John H. Watson (Nigel Bruce), in The Woman in Green

“History prefers legends to men.” – Abraham Lincoln (Benjamin Walker), in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

“I wouldn’t back away from what’s right just because it’s hard. My father used to say: ‘Plant your feet and stand firm. The only question is where to put your feet.’” – Mary Todd Lincoln (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Zero Dark Thirty is a historical drama about the hunt for, and execution of Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader responsible for the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center towers in New York City, the Pentagon, and the failed attack on the U.S. Capitol.

CIA interrogator Dan (Jason Clarke) is questioning/torturing detainee Ammar al-Baluci (Reda Kateb) in Pakistan. In attendance is newly assigned CIA operative Maya (Jessica Chastain); it's her first interrogation experience and it's a rough one. But Maya is tough. She can take it.

They soon have Ammar talking and Maya's every waking hour begins revolving around the quest for information and locating bin Laden. She has a difficult time convincing her superior – Islamabad Station Chief Joseph Bradley (Kyle Chandler) – that a man often mentioned by those they question is important. That man is Abu Ahmed, a trusted courier for bin Laden.

It's a dangerous life for Maya – she's having dinner at the Islamabad Marriott Hotel when it's bombed in 2008, and later survives an attempt to gun her down. Her friend and fellow agent, Jessica (Jennifer Ehle), a mother of three, is killed in a 2009 CIA Camp Chapman suicide attack.

Complications. A video confirms that her lead, Abu Ahmed, died in 2001. Or, did he? Maya is more determined than ever to kill bin Laden. It turns out Ahmed is actually Ibrahim Sayeed. Maya goes to Dan, now stationed in D.C. He goes to his boss, The Wolf (Fredric Lehne), for funds to help. He gets it, she gets what she needs.

Maya knows what she's doing, and she closes in. They eventually have enough information to brief CIA Director Leon Panetta (James Gandolfini) and later, more than four months later, to send in the Navy SEALs. The rest is history.

The title, Zero Dark Thirty, refers to 30 minutes after midnight, and also means under cover of darkness. The assault on Bin Laden's compound was shot twice – once in available moonlight, and once using night vision. The finished sequence runs 25 minutes, which is slightly shorter than the time of the actual event.

James Gandolfini wrote to former CIA chief Leon Panetta apologizing in advance if Panetta was offended in any way by the portrayal. When he didn't hear back, he thought Panetta was indeed upset. That is, until he was told that Panetta was trying to reach him but didn't have his phone number. Gandolfini thought it incredible that the head of the CIA couldn't find him.

Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) was cast as Maya, but had to drop out. In the running for various roles were Guy Pearce and Tom Hardy. The screenplay was completely rewritten when bin Laden was killed; it originally was to be about the 10-year hunt for the al-Qaeda leader.

Produced on a budget of $40 million, Zero Dark Thirty had a box office of nearly $139 million. Nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actress (Chastain, a well-deserved nomination), it won took home an Oscar for Best Sound Editing.

Zero Dark Thirty is quite a moving and powerful movie, a behind the headlines look (albeit dramatized, of course) at a most historical undertaking.

Grade: A

Angels in the Outfield (1951)

The Pittsburgh Pirates are a bumbling baseball team in the "quite normal" midst of a losing streak, firmly ensconced in last place. Their story is told by household hints columnist Jennifer Paige (Janet Leigh), whose naïveté provides refreshing insight into the vagaries of the Pirates' play.

 

Even the team announcer – Fred Bayles (Keenan Wynn) – isn't safe, being fired by the team manager, Aloysius X. "Guffy" McGovern (Paul Douglas). Bayles gets a new announcing job and sets his eyes on a new target – getting McGovern run out of town.

Now ... McGovern is quite an abusive manager, with rantings so foul that they have to be garbled on the soundtrack. Jennifer's editor encourages her to write about McGovern as she sees him. She accepts the challenge.

One night, looking for his good luck charm on the field after another loss, he hears an angel (voiced by James Whitmore) giving him what for. He's told to cut out the swearing, treat people decently, and stop the fisticuffs. Do that, and the angel guarantees wins, maybe even the pennant.

McGovern changes and so do the Pirates' fortunes, except for one lapse that derails things. Things get back on track, until one day, young orphan Bridget White (Donna Corcoran in her first film) starts seeing angels on the field. Jennifer's story about that shocks McGovern, sending him to the orphanage to talk to the 8-year-old.

Jennifer worms herself into his life, making a general nuisance of herself, trying to wrest more story angles out of him. She even takes Bridget to a ball game. Uh oh, angels in the outfield again. Is psychiatry indicated? Luckily, Sister Edwitha (Spring Byington), who runs the orphanage, decides not.

McGovern, Jennifer and Bridget spend more and more time together, becoming closer and closer. Is adoption on the horizon? Maybe, just maybe. But it does present "certain problems," i.e., adoption courts prefer adopters be married. And then, re-enter Fred Bayles, the guy with a big chip on his shoulder who's out to get McGovern. Remember?

Commissioner of Baseball Arnold P. Hapgood (Lewis Stone) reacts to a deluge of letters instigated by Bayles and sets up a formal hearing on the day that the Pirates must win to take the pennant. Tah-daaaah, Bridget to the rescue.

Wonderful ending ... Play ball!

Bing Crosby, who at the time owned about 15% of the Pirates, has a cameo where he sinks a long putt on the golf course. Barbara Billingsly (the “Beaver’s” mom, June Cleaver), has an uncredited role as John’s Steakhouse's hat-check girl. Seen being interviewed about the angels are baseball greats Ty Cobb and Joe DiMaggio.

Angels in the Outfield is based on a story by Richard Conlin (and I have no idea who he is or where the story appeared). Reputed to be the favorite movie of Dwight D. Eisenhower when he was U.S. president, it was remade in 1994, starring Danny Glover, Tony Danza and Christopher Lloyd. Future stars Matthew McConaughey and Joseph Gordon-Levitt also appeared in the 1994 version.

Grade: A-

The Bay (2012)

In 2009, Donna Thompson (Kether Donohue), a communications major at American University who grew up in Claridge, a town on Maryland's Chesapeake Bay, is on assignment to do a video story on the town's Fourth of July celebration.

What she ends up filming is a story about a government cover up that has only recently been uncovered by the piecing together of police video, news reports, amateur home movies, Skype webcam video and smart phone communications.

It actually begins six weeks earlier when two oceanographers are found dead in the water before they can file a report on their work. Other problems manifest during the July 4 celebrations – throwing up during a chicken-eating contest, boils, blisters and sores. In other words, a biological outbreak of some kind.

The local hospital is swamped and the Centers for Disease Control is contacted. Inquiries become more and more frantic as people begin dying by the dozens. When all is said and done, more than 700 of the town's 6,200 residents die.

A desalination plant that makes chicken feces-tainted sea water potable is suspected. Is Mayor John Stockman (Frank Deal) involved in a cover up? Was it started when a parasite bit a fisherman on a boat? Why did two teens who are attacked in the water disappear?

The oceanographers had been investigating fish infested with large pale parasitic isopods (Cymothoa exigua) known as the "tongue-eating louse." A real parasite, Cymothoa are normally about an inch long and attach to the base of salt-water fish tongues, eventually causing the tongue to wither away as it feeds on the fish's blood. The ones the scientists encounter have been exposed to steroids washed away from the chicken plant, growing bigger and reproducing more rapidly than normal.

The FBI shuts down Donna's blog broadcasts, the cell phone towers are turned off, and the town is placed under secret quarantine. But, trying to emulate a serious news reporter, Donna and her cameraman keep nosing around.

Home video follows Baltimore lawyer Stephanie Talbot (Kristen Connolly), her dentist husband Alex (Will Rogers), and infant son on a rented boat headed for Claridge to see her parents. They have no idea her mother has been trying to reach her to warn them not to step off the boat as her parents are at the hospital with horrible symptoms.

They reach Claridge and get off the boat. Big mistake.

Produced in the "found footage" cinema verite style, The Bay tries to emulate successful genre film such as Cloverfield, Blair Witch Project and the Paranormal Activity franchise.

The Bay is frightening to an extent ... that is, if you watch it will an unjaded eye and suspend disbelief. Unfortunately for the producers, it failed miserably, only earning about $30,500 at the box office.

Grade: B-

It Happens Every Spring (1949)

Chemistry professor Vernon K. Simpson (Ray Milland) is in love with Deborah Greenleaf (Jean Peters), a senior in his class. But it's a bit complicated – her father, Prof. Alfred Greenleaf (Ray Collins), is the school's president. And, every spring, Vernon starts to lose his concentration as baseball season gets underway.

He also considers himself too poor to contemplate marriage. That is, unless his experiments to create an insect-repelling compound are successful. But just when he has a breakthrough, a baseball comes crashing through his laboratory window. Bye-bye to the compound.

However, the soaked baseball exhibits an amazing property – it's repelled by wood. A light bulb goes on in Vernon's head. It's baseball season, and the St. Louis team needs a pitcher. So what if he ... But first, some empirical experiments with the help of a couple of students, including Schmidt (Alan Hale Jr., the future Gilligan's Island captain).

The compound, which he dubs “Methylethylpropylbutyl,” works as he hopes. Next thing you know, he's wrangled an interview and tryout with the St. Louis general manager Jimmy Dolan (Ted de Corsia) and owner Edgar Stone (Ed Begley). His new name? King Kelly.

Although Vernon's on the road to success, the people back home are suspicious of his unexplained disappearance and continued absence. Debbie has faith, unlike her father and mother (Jessie Royce Landis). It's rough for him. Vernon's continued success (including a no-hitter) attracts sports media attention, making it difficult to maintain his anonymity.

Forced to tell Debbie the truth, he ... well, Debbie doesn't believe him. Complications, complications, complications. Pennant! World Series! Uh oh ... He's run out of metylethio ... methylethpopro ... mathilopromo ... the compound liquid.

It's a good thing Vernon has teammates like catcher Monk Lanigan (Paul Douglas).

The teams in It Happens Every Spring are identified by city, but not nicknames because the movie wasn’t sanctioned by Major League Baseball. The reason? The obvious cheating in the movie. That also meant that cameo baseball player walk-ons could not be used.

It Happens Every Spring is a light-hearted, entertaining, not-so-deep fantasy movie that has its moments guarantee to bring a smile and even laughter. It's a fun movie to watch on opening day, especially if you're a baseball fan.

Grade: B