Cinematic Odds & Ends  

August 12, 2010   

This is a column the likes of which I have not attempted before, so bear with me. Occasionally I find there are bits and pieces of movie related information that may be of interest to some of you who follow my column on a weekly basis. Some of this information may not be enough to fill an entire column and so this week I’ll address several things movie-related that may or may not prove to be of interest. At any rate, here goes.

Tom Mankiewicz RIP
(1942-2010)
The name Tom Mankiewicz may not ring a bell for most of you out there but I can almost guarantee all of you reading this that you have come into contact with this man’s work at some point in time. Mankiewicz, who died of pancreatic cancer on July 31, came from a filmmaking dynasty. He was the son of director Joseph L. Mankiewicz (All About Eve, Sleuth) and the nephew of Oscar winning screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (Citizen Kane). The younger Mankiewicz first gained attention as the writer of “Diamonds are Forever” (1971), which would turn out to be Sean Connery’s last official appearance as James Bond (though he would return in a 1983 Warner Brothers attempt at a Bond film which was not a part of the official Bond franchise). Mankiewicz went on to pen another Bond film, “Live and Let Die,” which would also be the first for the new series star, Roger Moore. In 1977, producer Alexander Salkind, attempting to mount a new “Superman” film, hired Mankiewicz to whittle Mario (The Godfather) Puzo’s telephone book sized screenplay into manageable shape. Mankiewicz would go on to do the same thing for the film’s sequel, “Superman II,” which was filmed simultaneously. Though Puzo received sole screenplay credit on both films and Mankiewicz only received credit as a ‘creative consultant,’ it is widely acknowledged that a large percentage of what wound up on screen in the two films is the work of Mankiewicz. The writer would also pen the script for the cult film, “Ladyhawke,” which was also directed by ‘Superman’ director Richard Donner.

In 1987, Mankiewicz would also break new ground by writing and directing one of the first adaptations of an old television show to film, “Dragnet,” a practice that has become all too common these days. Although, Tom Mankiewicz had not been active in films for awhile, his contributions live on. Tom Makiewicz, may you rest in peace.

Life During Wartime (2010)
Several months ago, I penned a column on indie movie director Todd Solondz, and in that piece I mentioned that a sequel to Solondz’s controversial 1998 film, “Happiness”-it was dumped by its original distributor, Universal, due to its subject matter-was forthcoming. Well, that film, “Life During Wartime,” has finally been released and can be found in both theaters and on cable by demand.

It goes without saying that the films of Todd Solondz are not for everyone’s taste and that is true of his latest concoction as well. The original film, “Happiness,” was about a very dysfunctional family and the people that stumble into the path of their lives. The film included such characters as an obscene phone caller and a pedophile, among others. I found it to be riveting for every moment of it 140 minute running time and on my list as one of the best films of the nineties.

Photo: Todd Solondz’s Life During Wartime

“Life During Wartime” updates us ten years later on the characters from that previous film. For example, the pedophile from the first film gets out of prison and tries to reconnect with his splintered family and so on. The characters in the film are portrayed by a totally different cast this time around but it doesn’t detract from the film’s power. It isn’t quite as good as the original but it certainly has more bite, more depth, and is more challenging than the majority of what you will find in theaters today.

Inception (2010)
Okay, I’m going to fess up and admit that I didn’t like this film. Since the film seems to be the talk of the nation and everyone seems to genuinely love it, it isn’t exactly easy to admit this but I feel that I must. Why didn’t I like it, you say? Well, I will admit that the film has an intriguing premise and looks great. Heck, it even held my attention for the first hour and some change, but I feel the film totally ran off the tracks during its final hour. For one thing, the dream state as depicted in the film doesn’t resemble any dream I have ever had. There is no nonsense dialogue or illogical visual shifts that permeate my dreams and most everyone else’s that I have discussed the subject of dreams with. Instead, these dreams look as if they incorporated unused footage from the 1968 film “Ice Station Zebra,” or the James Bond film that took place in the Swiss alps, “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”

To top it all off the ratio of emotional payoff to action is way off base here and when it was all said and done I just felt emotionally cold, confused, and couldn’t wait for the blasted, loud, and cacophonous thing to end. Perhaps I’m just a bit intellectually shallow but in case some of you didn’t like the film I wanted to let you know that you were not alone in the world.

Photo: Scene from Inception

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