Brad Renfro stars as a street smart Louisiana boy who tangles with a member of the mob as that man is about to commit suicide. The mobster reveals the whereabouts of a body everyone is searching for, and after his suicide, everyone comes to believe that the boy knows the truth - he has both the Mob and the FBI after him for it. The always great Tommy Lee Jones leads the way for the FBI, while it's up to small time lawyer Susan Sarandon to defend and protect the boy, her client. Sarandon is terrific as the emotionally wounded lawyer trying to keep everyone at bay. Renfro is extremely good as the kid/client, completely believable and self-possessed. The story moves along well, being highly entertaining without ever becoming too improbable as films like this sometimes do. At the heart of the film is the relationship between attorney and client, very well written and played. The Client is the kind of film to watch on a rainy/snowy day when a movie is the best option.

This film tells the story of a young man in Italy and the English and American women who had a profound impact on his life. When his father wants little do to with his illegitimate son, he is taken care of by his father's English secretary Joan Plowright and her art-loving friend Judi Dench. A friend of his late mother, wealthy American Cher, becomes a benefactress. Since the story takes place in the 1930s and 1940s, WWII figures prominently into the film, as the women assume that Mussolini isn't as bad as the press outside of Italy report. Chief among his supporters is Maggie Smith, the widow of the former British Ambassador. The women all learn truth about Mussolini as their young charge learns how to be a man. With a cast like this one (Cher, Dench, Plowright, Smith, and Lily Tomlin), of course the acting is very good. Director Franco Zeffirelli does a terrific job establishing the atmosphere and mood of the time, with beautiful shots of Florence, the Italian countryside, and great works of art. The film does tend to wander a bit and does lack credibility in a few places. But this is a rare chance to see such great actresses together, and with a few good moments of dramatic tension, it's an easy film to watch.

Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey star as a brother and sister, who while on vacation in the Cornish countryside, fall in love with a house for sale and decide to buy it. The home is surprisingly cheap, and they quickly discover why. Doors open and close, the upstairs studio is cold and damp and somehow menacing, the animals won't go upstairs, and worst of all, just before dawn the moans of a crying woman echo through the house. Somehow connected to all this and in terrible danger is Gail Russell, the daughter of the man who sold the house. Her parents lived in the home, and her mother died there. It becomes very clear that she is in danger every time she visits the house unless Milland and Hussey can find an answer as to why they have "uninvited" guests. If this excellent ghost story had been made today, the emphasis would be on computer generated special effects to deliver the chills. But that's not what makes this such an effective film. The dark, candle lit cinematography, the restrained performances and direction, and the measured approach to presenting the chills is what makes it work. The story and mystery are involving, presented in a way that makes the viewer believe it could actually happen. Milland and Hussey are very good, and Gail Russell delivers a sympathetic performance as Stella. The only criticism of the story is the character and performance of Cornelia Otis Skinner as a woman who knows the truth of what happened with Russell's mother. She is over the top in a film where everyone else is restrained, and the parts of the story that shift the focus from the house to the insane asylum that Skinner runs interrupt the flow of the film. But other than that, this is a perfectly crafted film that delivers a terrific, suprisingly effective ghost story that make it tops in that genre. The film establishes a mood and credibility that make it a real winner.

Lame is the first word that came to mind as I was watching this all-star World War II morale booster. I really wanted to like it a lot more than I did, but the plot's framing device killed it for me. Robert Hutton plays a soldier on leave who visits the Hollywood Canteen with one hope ... to get a kiss from Joan Leslie, that All-American girl next door. He does, and a phony romance develops between them that pretty much ruins the film. It's oh-so-sweet and innocent and trite. Fortunately, there are some good moments that don't feature the wholesome couple. The film is populated by the best talent at Warner Brothers, mostly playing themselves. Dane Clark doesn't play Dane Clark, but instead Hutton's army buddy, and he supplies the film's humour as he tries to win over Ida Lupino, Alexis Smith, Joan Crawford, and Janis Paige. Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre have a short but terrific scene together where they use their sinister screen personas to great effect. There are some good musical numbers performed, along with other appearances by such classic stars as Jane Wyman, Barbara Stanwyck, Jack Carson, Dennis Morgan, Joe E. Brown, and the Hollywood Canteen's founders, Bette Davis and John Garfield. So although I did enjoy seeing so many great actors from yesteryear out of character for a change, I just wish that screenwriter and director Delmer Daves had come up with a better framing device to move the film along. Sixty years later it doesn't stand up very well, and I can't imagine that audiences back then really bought into it either.

Bette Davis stars as Miss Moffat, who inherits a home in a Welsh mining town and decides that she will educate the young, especially the boys, who are otherwise doomed to a life in the mines. One student, played by John Dall, gets her attention when he reveals depth beyond what she expected, and before long, they are working hard towards getting him a scholarship to Oxford. However, the housekeeper's conniving daughter threatens to ruin everything. Davis is very good as the crusading, very emotionally controlled middle-aged teacher, only once in a while letting us see her act. The supporting cast are all good, with Dall especially strong as the student fighting against his background. There is the occasional moment of stiff dialogue, but there are also some terrific lines as the intense relationship between teacher and student is explored. Irving Rapper doesn't have much punch as a director in this or any of his other films that I have seen, but the story is the kind that will draw you in and having you rooting for the underdog.

Moulin Rouge traces the life of artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and his paintings of the famous French nightclub. Jose Ferrer gives a strong, emotionally controlled performance as the crippled artist who is unable to accept love in his life. A large part of the film centres on his relationship with a streetwalker tiringly overplayed by Colette Marchand. Not a great deal of time is actually spent in the Moulin Rouge, which is unfortunate since it may have injected some needed life into the story. The film left me cold. Toulouse-Lautrec had a very difficult personality (at least as portrayed in this film), making him a hard character to relate to, and there wasn't enough spectacle or life in the story to at least hold on to. I wish I could add to the raves about this film, but for me it was a very unsatisfying viewing experience.

Gregory Peck stars as a general sent in to replace Gary Merrill, another general of a failing daylight bombing group. Merrill has become too close to his men, clouding his judgment and allowing the men to view themselves as the "hard luck" squad. Peck decides to take a very different approach. He plays it tough, wants everyone whipped into shape, expects nothing but the best, and hopes that by eventually restoring a sense of pride after some successful missions, the men will come around. Needless to say, the men resent him and his approach, transfer requests pour in, and it becomes questionable whether Peck's strategy can work. Peck is outstanding as the general, a perfect choice for the role. Merrill and Hugh Marlowe both give unusually strong performances, and Dean Jagger as a Major working in the office, delivers a subtle, humourous, and very intelligent performance that helps to anchor the film for the viewer. Although there are some good action sequences, this film isn't about the action of the War. It's about leadership and building pride, and it could apply to any organization. It also shows what an unreal thing war is, and what it does to the men involved. Twelve O'Clock High is an outstanding war film, not because of the rah-rah heroics, but because of it's honest and real approach to the men whose lives are being put on the line. Ordinary men are called upon to do extraordinary things.

The legendary Howard Hawks directed this WWII classic about the Mary Ann, a B-17 bomber lead by Captain John Ridgely and featuring crew members Gig Young, Harey Carey, Arthur Kennedy, Charles Drake, George Tobias, Ray Montgomery, and John Garfield. On a routine mission to Hawaii, the crew arrives just hours after the Pearl Harbor attack and find themselves thrust into war. Other stops include Wake Island and the Philippines. Of course, one of the purposes of this film was to rally the American spirit, and it features some of the anti-Japanese dialogue you'd have to expect. But the film succeeds beyond the propaganda value. The action sequences are well filmed and exciting, with terrific aerial action and some good ground sequences, too. The camraderie amongst the crew is credible. Each member has his own small "back story" as you would expect, but these fine character actors make it all very believable (Harry Carey is a particular standout). This film is a true WWII classic.

In one of his lesser starring efforts, John Wayne plays the leader of a construction company that goes on to help form the Fighting Seabees, an armed group of workers. Prior to the Seabees, the construction crews building air strips and other military installations weren't allowed to carry arms. Wayne is stubborn and determined to say the least, and he pushes to have his men armed for battle as they work on curiously named islands in the Pacific during the Second World War. The film's focus is torn between the establishment of the Seabees and Wayne's romance with journalist Susan Hayward. Neither plotline is developed enough, and considering that it appears to be a war film, there's not much to the fighting in the film. It's not a bad film, but it suffers from a low budget and a script that needed much more work. However, there is a rare chance in this film to Big John jitterbug, which is good for a laugh.

Although I usually get a kick out of watching the Seventies' disaster flicks, I have to say I was kind of hoping the quake would kill off most of the cast in this one, since the characters are so underdeveloped and unlikeable, I didn't care what happened to any of them. Charlton Heston, jaw firmly clenched, stars as an engineer in a bad marriage and beginning an affair with struggling actress Genevieve Bujold. His wife is played by a screeching, over the top Ava Gardner, and her father is played by Lorne Greene (ok ... think about that for a moment) who happens to be Heston's boss. Others include the necessary George Kennedy as a frustrated cop, Richard Roundtree as a daredevil motorcyclist, and Victoria Principal as Roundtree's partner's sister. If you thought Principal had big hair in her Eighties' soap opera days, get a load of the 'do they put her into in this film. I don't know how she managed not to tip over from the weight of it! She must have been left with back problems. But back to the story, or what there is of it. A huge earthquake strikes Los Angeles, placing the lives of all these fine citizens in peril. Skyscrapers fall, buildings explode, fires are everywhere, floods begin. Other than a mild interest in the Bujold character and her son (she's the only touch of class in this movie), I didn't like or care about anybody else, and if you don't have that, the film is pretty much over after the special effects stop. The effects are good for the most part, but the script and direction and acting are so poor they ruin the rest of the film. It's a disaster alright, but probably not in the way the producers intended it to be.