54 San Diego Reader January 5, 2017


MOVIES


Shūsaku Endō’s dark Japanese novel. Nor is there so much as a hint of


levity in this saintly slog. Given the source material, how could there be? Even Harvey Keitel’s Judas in Scors- ese’s Last Temptation of Christ — an elegantly filmed series of Bible sto- ries — sports red curls and speaks in a Brooklyn accent. It’s not just the source material


that proves problematic, it’s Scorsese’s dreary presentation that accounts for the quick disconnect. The closer he gets to Him, the more problemati- cally pious things become. All of his protagonists are not-so thinly veiled Christ figures. Is it me or was Casino Scors-


ese’s last full-blown masterpiece? He enjoyed showing audiences the proper way for Joe Pesci to perform a fountain pen tracheotomy almost as much as he did a third act resurrection of a seem- ingly “dead” Ace Rothstein. Garfield no doubt came at the stu-


dio’s insistence, a desperate box office concession to audiences who loved him as Spider-Man. His clipped accent and I Was a Teenage Werewolf hair- comb were distracting at best. Ditto Liam Neeson, who is allowed but two expressions: pained and more pained. One had hoped for a stylishly


engrossing epic going in, something along the lines of Anthony Mann (El Cid, The Fall of the Roman Empire) or the director’s mentors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (The Life and Death of Col. Blimp, The Red Shoes). Silence falls somewhere between David Lean at his dreariest (Ryan’s Daughter) and George Steven’s sanctimonious


you manage to keep a straight face when Don Rickles tried to play pimp to your good-girl taxi dancer in The Rat Race?” It got such a big laugh out of her


that I offered up use of my throne and wheeled the only other chair in the room in Judy’s direction. Pulling up a floor, I spent the next ten min- utes parked at her feet while Debbie held court. She talked about Rickles break-


The Greatest Story Ever Told. It took two viewings to realize one


was enough. Onward to his next offer- ing, The Irishmen.


— Scott Marks


TEN MINUTES WITH DEBBIE REYNOLDS


“Hi, this is Debbie. If you are over 30 and have been inactive or have any ankle, knee, or back problems, you should have a medical checkup before starting any exercise program.” The preceding disclaimer appears


under the opening crawl of Do It Deb- bie’s Way, a star-studded exercise video led by Debbie Reynolds. There was no need to Google it for accuracy. I’ve seen Do It Debbie’s Way more times than Citizen Kane, Duck Soup, His Girl Friday, Hot Rods to Hell, and Casino combined. The entire preamble remains forever soldered in my brain.


Hidden Figures: Janelle Monae, Taraji P. Henson, and Octavia Spencer bring the brains. Cousin Ruthie lived in Van Nuys


and knew how much Scotty wanted to “be near the movies.” She arranged through a friend for a job as a video- tape duplicator at the long defunct offices of Video Associates. I arrived in Los Angeles on October 21, 1984, the day Francois Truffaut died, and stayed until June 26, 1985, the day after my father died. For eight months I was paid to


sit in a dark room and run off copies of The Jane Fonda Workout Tape and Do It Debbie’s Way. The job consisted of staring at a 25-inch monitor, eyes searching for even the slightest glitch or imperfection in the transfer. The moment a flaw was detected — and it was rare — a call was placed to the videotape room. With the press of a button, the bank of 250 VCRs clicked to a halt before the quality-control team manually ejected the cassettes


FILM FESTIVALS


CHULA VISTA CIVIC CENTER LIBRARY 365 F St., Chula Vista 619-691-5069


Film Forum: Sully Director Clint Eastwood masterfully retells the true story of the “Miracle on the Hudson.” Capt. “Sully” Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) makes an emergency landing on the Hudson River after his plane is disabled by a bird strike. Miraculously, all 155 passengers and


6 pm. Sponsored by Friends of the Chula Vista Library. Wednesday, January 11, 5:30pm


LIBERTY HALL THEATER AT PARADISE VILLAGE


2700 E. 4th St., National City


Film Discussion Class: All the King’s Men Robert Penn Warren’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel is a blistering indictment of the corrupt underbelly of politics. Broderick Crawford won an Oscar for his performance in this allegory of the rise and fall of a backwater populist who becomes the electorate’s messiah. 1949. 110 minutes. With instructor Ralph DeLauro in Liberty Hall, on the second floor of Paradise Village Senior Living. Wednesday, January 18, 7:00pm


REMINGTON CLUB II


16916 Hierba Dr., Rancho Bernardo 858-673-6340


crew on board survived the harrowing ordeal, and “Sully” becomes a national hero. Despite all the accolades, the famed pilot faces an investigation that threatens to destroy his career and reputation. 2016. 96 minutes. PG-13. Free mini concert featuring the music duo “Hans and Danise” at 5:30 pm, free film screening at


Film Discussion Class: The Meddler A brassy and breezy valentine to mothers everywhere. Susan Sarandon stars as a recent widow and bundle of enthusiasm who uproots herself from New Jersey to L.A. to be closer to her daughter and channel her optimism and generosity toward a new purpose. With Rose Byrne and J.K. Simmons. 2015. 100 minutes.


Continuing Education Center at Rancho Ber- nardo. With instructor Ralph DeLauro on the second floor. Info: 858-487-0464. Wednesday, January 25, 1:30pm


SCHULMAN AUDITORIUM AT CARLSBAD CITY LIBRARY


1775 Dove Lane, Carlsbad 760-602-2049


Carlsbad Film Series: Hail, Caesar! A Hollywood fixer, Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), in the 1950s works for a film studio to keep big name stars from scandal and public scrutiny. When Baird (George Clooney), the studio’s big- gest star, goes missing Mannix’s work becomes more difficult trying to hold off the gossip columnists. Wednesday, January 11, 6:00pm


Carlsbad Film Series: Adaptation Charlie Kaufman (Nicolas Cage) writes the way he lives, with difficulty expressing passion. His twin, Donald, lives the way he writes, uninhibited. Susan (Meryl Streep) writes about life but can’t live it. John’s life is a book, waiting to be adapted. Their stories intertwine with unpre- dictable results. Movie special features begin at 5:30pm Wednesday, January 18, 6:00pm


Carlsbad Cinema Series: Trumbo The story of the Hollywood 10, writers blacklisted during the communist witch-hunts of the late


1940s and 1950s. Dalton Trumbo and others refused to give Congress information about the film industry and their colleagues and were jailed. Dalton used words and wit to win two Academy Awards and expose the absurdity and injustice under the blacklist. Pre-show introduction and post-show discussion led by Brandon Cesmat. Brandon teaches Humanities


ing up the crew between takes. Occa- sionally she would look at the monitor and crack wise about one of her back- ground celebrity exercisers. The cast included Teri Garr, Shelley Winters, Jaye P. Morgan, Rose Marie, Virginia Mayo, Terry Moore, Dionne War- wick, and Florence Henderson. When pressed, Debbie would not reveal the personal significance behind Rose Marie’s black bow. This Hollywood giant was gracious


to be degaussed and reused. Debbie was friends with the owner,


a wild-eyed Hungarian named Judy. Imagine you’re sitting at work, watch- ing Debbie Reynolds hold calisthenics court, and then you turn your head and out the window see the real deal walk past. It was a Targets moment, and if the reference to Peter Bogdanov- ich’s first film doesn’t register, shame on you for not owning a copy. Unable to leave my taping shack in


mid-dub, I ran to the window and gave it a couple of taps. Using a keycard, the door sprung open and in sailed Judy and her pedigreed pal. Judy intro- duced us with, “Debbie, I’d like you to meet Scott. He knows everything about movies.” “Really?” smiled Debbie. “Is there


a favorite one of mine that comes to mind?” “Of course,” I replied. “How did


enough to spend ten minutes remi- niscing with a videotape duplicator trapped in a booth at Sunset Boule- vard, just east of Western. In the eight months I spent in her service, Jane Fonda never once showed her face. Alav ha’shalom, Debbie Reynolds. — Scott Marks


MOVIE LISTINGS


All reviews are by Scott Marks, Matthew Lickona, and Duncan Shepherd. Priorities are indicated by one to five stars and antipathies by the black spot. Unrated movies are for now unreviewed. Thousands of past reviews are available online at SDReader.com/movies.


Allied — Say this for director Robert Zemeckis: it takes guts to open a World War II story in Casablanca and then tell a story that turns the World War II classic Casablanca inside out. (Apparently, the problems of three little people do amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.) But that may be all that can be said for him here. And guts, alas, are not the same as energy, or scenebuilding, or even a sense of felt life. (When your wife asks to spend a day forgetting about the war, maybe don’t take her to picnic within sight of a downed bomber?) Even when stars Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard — Allied spies who start to enjoy their assumed roles as husband and wife during an assassination operation — are in the midst of a party or a war zone, the music and talk and bombs and gunfire fade into the background, so that they hardly seem real. (Often, they aren’t.) And when they’re alone? They might as well be the last souls on earth (Pitt in particular looks miserable enough to have witnessed Armageddon). That makes Cotillard the sole bright spot, and even she risks being upstaged by her fantastic wardrobe. 2016. — M.L. ★ (AMC FASHION VALLEY; AMC MIS- SION VALLEY)


at California State University San Marcos. Each event begins at 1:30pm with a cinema chat, the film screens at 2pm, and post-show discussion follows. Made possible in part by the Carlsbad Library and Arts Foundation’s Robert H. Gartner Cultural Endowment Fund. Saturday, January 21, 1:30pm


Amityville: The Awakening — The famous haunted house in the town with the friendly name is at it again, this time going to work on a comatose boy whose family moved to the area seeking a medical miracle. Franck Khalfoun directs. 2017 (IN WIDE RELEASE)


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