L
Scroll down for movie reviews beginning with this letter.
MPAA Rating is the rating given by the Motion Picture Association of America. Please note this is a voluntary rating, so some films (many times older films or obscure foreign films) are not rated.
G - General Audiences
PG - Parental Guidance Suggested
PG13 - Parental Guidance Suggested for those under 13 years of age
R - Restricted (those under 18 not admitted without parent or guardian)
NC-17 (X) - No one under 18 admitted.
USCCB Rating is the rating given by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Please note that some films are not rated simply because the Bishop’s Conference has not reviewed them.
A-I: General Patronage
A-II: Adults and Adolescents
A-III: Adults
L: Limited Adult Audience, problematic content
O: Morally Offensive
Fr. John’s Ratings
★★★★★ - Masterpiece. This film has to show aspects of cinematic excellence that are above and beyond the ordinary and even beyond the “excellent” classification. Because a true masterpiece can be determined only through its ability to endure through the passage of time, no film is even considered for this rating until at least ten years have passed from the date of its initial release.
★★★★ - Excellent
★★★ - Very Good
★★ - Fair
★ - Poor
Lady from Shanghai, The (1947) ★★★★
Length: 87 minutes. MPAA Rating: Not rated. USCCB Rating: None. Director: Orson Welles.
This taut film-noir thriller, running at a sprightly 87 minutes, is a real gem. Welles not only directed this picture but also starred in it and wrote the adapted screenplay, though his original vision was never fully accepted (more details later on).
Young and naïve Irishman Michael O’Hara (Welles) finds himself falling for a certain Mrs. Bannister (Rita Hayworth) who invites him to work on her husband’s yacht. O’Hara admits in voiceover that the whole idea is a foolish one but accepts the job anyway. He is soon confronted by the profoundly creepy Grisby (Glenn Anders), Mr. Bannister’s law partner, who asks to be murdered by O’Hara for a cool $5,000. It would be a “faked” murder, of course, and Grisby would run to a distant island hideaway.
What follows is a plot that deftly navigates several twists and turns, with each turn introducing a new macabre paradigm. Despite its roller coaster storyline, The Lady from Shanghai is quite easy to follow, especially when one fully absorbs O’Hara’s eerie monologue about a group of sharks who turn on each other. Just in case we don’t get the point, O’Hara and Mrs. Bannister meet in an aquarium in a later scene while magnified fish dart about behind them. The final scene, appropriately set in an amusement park fun house, features the iconic shootout in the hall of mirrors, a sequence that still impresses the eye.
The behind-the-scenes battle between Welles and studio president Harry Cohn could fill a few books, but the bottom line is that Welles original film has never been seen and probably never will. The concluding fun house sequence is impressive but brief – Welles wanted a scene that was about seven times longer than its current three minutes. The music by Heinz Roemheld is sweeping and beautiful – but Welles hated it and was looking for more of a documentary approach. The final film as we see it today is both entertaining and a delight for the eyes. But even this is a mere shadow of what might have been – yet another impressive but sad chapter in the life of a misunderstood auteur.
Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The (2001-2003) ★★★★★
Length: Only extended versions reviewed here: 208 minutes for The Fellowship of the Ring (1st film), 223 minutes for The Two Towers (2nd film), and 250 minutes for The Return of the King (3rd film). MPAA Rating: PG-13. USCCB Rating: A-III. Intense action and violence in a fantasy setting. Director: Peter Jackson.
Peter Jackson’s epic cinematic re-telling of Tolkein’s classic trilogy has been called the greatest fantasy trilogy ever made. And it is. Here I count all three films as one film. This is because it is one story and the three films are designed to go together (and seeing any one of the films individually is not a complete experience). Entirely made in New Zealand (including the landmark visual effects) and featuring somewhat controversial departures from Tolkein’s original intent, the films are stirring and often breathtaking. To avoid having to wrestle with contract re-negotiations and other difficulties, Jackson shot all three films back-to-back, making for a very long shoot. Howard Shore’s music is atmospheric and plumbs the depths of the story’s majestic settings. The visual effects push the digital technology of the time to the limit – so much so that no film since has matched this trilogy’s innovation and artistry. The performances should be noted as well, most especially Elijah Wood’s very affective performance as Frodo, Sean Astin’s moving performance as Sam, and Andy Serkis’ iconic and masterful interpretation as Gollum (Serkis deserves almost all of the credit as his facial expressions and body movements provide the blueprint for animating the character).
All this said, the trilogy is not without its weaknesses. Peter Jackson’s reticence to end any of his films is most apparent in the long, drawn-out conclusion to the last film, a weakness that is easily compensated for by the length and breadth of everything that precedes it. Additionally, Jackson’s penchant for sweeping camera movement and dramatic use of wide-angle lenses gets overdone sometimes – but fits in very well in this fantastical setting.