by Jenny Jones

Prim, bookish Lina McLaidlaw (Joan Fontaine) meets handsome playboy Johnnie Aysgarth (Cary Grant) on a train. From the opening scene, the characters’ economic status is clear, as wealthy Lina bails the financially hapless Johnnie out when he is caught sneaking into first class. Lina is intrigued from the start by this dapper, obstreperous fellow who is cut from so different a cloth than her own, but Johnnie’s intentions are not entirely clear. They encounter each other again at a social gathering, and he gleefully wrangles a one-on-one walk with her in lieu of church. She protests his play to kiss her on the windswept terrain – but somewhat halfheartedly.

by Jenny Jones

3 Women is a fever dream; an eerie trip of merging and stolen identities set against the backdrop of the California desert. And it’s an apt location, for experiencing Robert Altman’s mesmerizing portrait is like viewing a mirage—the characters shift and re-form, become clearer only to lose focus.

Pinky Rose (a youthful Sissy Spacek) is an ingénue who has just moved to the golden state, taking a job at a spa for the elderly and infirm. Her trainer: Millie Lammereaux (Shelley Duvall, in a revelatory performance), an airheady single woman seemingly stuck in a 60s vortex of Breck Girl hair and entertaining in her all purple and yellow apartment, in her all purple and yellow wardrobe. (One wonders if the creators of “Breaking Bad” thought of Millie when creating the character of Marie Shrader, another character given to delusion and chromatic obsession.) Millie is all faux confidence and bluster; she chatters on incessantly about herself and her so-called social life to co-workers who have long since tuned her out. Her fellow apartment dwellers pay attention long enough to derisively refer to her as “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”  But Pinky is transfixed. She watches Millie with wide-eyed fascination, slowly incorporating Millie’s mannerisms, ideas, and ultimately insinuating herself into Millie’s life completely. She considers Millie, “the most perfect person” she ever met. Millie takes Pinky under her wing, offering her a place in her apartment and taking her to her favorite bar—a Western-themed saloon complete with shooting range run by drunk lout Edgar Hart (Robert Fortier) and his pregnant partner Willie (Janice Rule)—the third of the three women.

by Jenny Jones

jerk  noun \ˈjərk\
a :  an annoyingly stupid or foolish person
b :  an unlikable person; especially :  one who is cruel, rude, or small-minded
--Merriam Webster Dictionary Online

I long for an app with the capability of advising me which movies to revisit. It seems impossible to guess what texts from my erstwhile youth (the much-to-regret ‘80s) hold up, and which will throw a grenade through my nostalgic memories. It’s that age-old Breakfast Club vs. St. Elmo’s Fire quandary. Without such an app, I approached my beloved The Jerk (1979) with trepidation.

by Jenny Jones

Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid utilizes an innovative conceit. The plot of this hard boiled, classic-feeling noir was created through the intercutting of new black-and-white lensed scenes of detective Rigby Rearden (Steve Martin) with actual footage of noir movies from the 40s. The result is an affectionate homage to the distinctive and influential noir genre. Many of the best, model noirs are represented, such as The Big Sleep, Double Indemnity, and The Postman Always Rings Twice, and the most revered actors of the category are spotlighted, from the fast-talking Bette Davis to the iconic detective Humphrey Bogart. While a loving tribute to noir, the film also works on the level of a parody, spoofing elements of the genre. 

by Jenny Jones

L’Avventura is a masterful portrait of alienation that still feels fresh and unexpected over 50 years after its release.

Filmed in 1959 on location in Rome, Sicily, and the Aeolian islands, director Michelangelo Antonioni utilizes the sparsest of plots, making the title (translated as The Adventure) a bit of a joke. Several well-to-do friends take an excursion via yacht to swim and sun. They include troubled Anna (Lea Massari), her gorgeous friend Claudia (Monica Vitti), and her vapid fiancé Sandró (Gabriele Ferzetti). They dock at a rocky, remote, and nearly uninhabited island, where Anna and Sandro quarrel, ending with her expressing a desire to be alone. Most of the bourgeois group disperses to different parts of the island, boat, and sea. After some time elapses, the group looks for Anna, but in vain. She has disappeared.

Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Producer: Amato Pennasilico
Writers: Michelangelo Antonioni. Elio Bartolini, Tonino Guerra
Editor: Eraldo Da Roma
Cinematographer: Aldo Scavarda
Music: Giovanni Fusco
Cast: Gabriele Ferzetti, Monica Vitti, Lea Massari, Dominique Blanchar, Renzo Ricci, James Addams, Dorothy De Poliolo

Runtime: 143 minutes
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Country: Italy
Premiere: May 15, 1960 Cannes Film Festival
US Theatrical Release: March 4, 1961
US Distributor: Janus Films, The Criterion Collection