Week 4 (Part 1): Punching Meat

Since the last update a couple weeks ago, many films have been checked off the list. I will need to break up the discussions into a few parts. First:

• Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Nominated 1958)
• Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (Nominated 1967)
• Julia (Nominated 1977)
• Rocky (Won 1976)
• On Golden Pond (Nominated 1981)
• The Robe (Nominated 1953)

The Robe (1953) is the second worst movie I've seen since starting this project. It is better than Love Story only because of its pioneering use of Cinemascope. But what an unfortunate first Cinemascope movie. Richard Burton stars as someone in a costume very similar to what he'd wear as Marc Antony a decade later in this Christian propaganda. The Robe gets a 4.3. 

Continuing in no particular order, Rocky (1976) stars Sylvester Stallone and Talia Shire in a movie about boxing that is probably responsible for almost as many art-imitating-life-imitating-art situations as The Godfather. People don't punch meat without Rocky. I think the biggest downside of the film is that it sends concerning messages about relationships, as there is something very off-putting in how Rocky woos and ultimately treats Adrian. (I am told that Adrian redeems herself in Rocky II.) The concluding fight between Rocky and Apollo Creed really is quite spectacular. Rocky is a solid Best Picture winner, and I gave it a 7.8.

People don't punch meat without Rocky

Much like the film itself, my thoughts on Cat on a Hot Tin Roof are not very interesting. I have yet to see an Elizabeth Taylor role in this project that I truly enjoy -- and hopefully that will change. Burl Ives was the highlight of this appropriately stagey Tennessee Williams adaptation that finally held my attention in the third act. Score: 5.9.

Let's talk about a pair of Jane Fonda movies. 

In Julia (1977), she's a playwright whose childhood friend (named Julia) is involved in anti-Nazi movements in World War 2. In a strong second act, the main character is smuggling money to Russia using hat boxes and other thinly veiled metaphorical devices, and it becomes a great espionage movie before, in the end, returning to its confusing and not-as-interesting premise. Score: 6.1.

A few years later, Jane returns as the daughter of Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn in On Golden Pond (1981), a movie mostly about getting old, but also sometimes about fishing. As far as I am concerned, On Golden Pond starts and ends with Hepburn's ridiculously lovable performance. I hate Henry Fonda as an old guy. This might be the only film other than Once Upon a Time in the West where he is a villain. Score: 7.6.

Speaking of Hepburn, she also (IMO) steals the show in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, a movie appropriately lauded for its premise but that is otherwise somewhat overrated. My favorite thing in this film, other than Hepburn's mom character, was the bizarre scene in which Spencer Tracy backs into a guy's car at the drive-through and gets yelled at for being old. This is supposed to be the turning point in his understanding of prejudice! Score: 6.6.