Fail-Safe (1964)

Fail-Safe

Call No: TEMP 2223

Last week, Sidney Lumet died. I don’t expect you to know who that is, so I’ll catch you up by telling you that he was a director, and who directed my favourite film 12 Angry Men. Since there are few things in the world that make us more reflective than death, and because I knew no other films of his outside of my favourite, I decided to write my final film review about one of Sidney Lumet’s other great and critically acclaimed films, Fail-Safe.

Fail-Safe takes place in the sixties, when the Cold War is anything but cool and tensions are running high between the Americans and the Soviets. When a computer malfunction sends a squadron of fighter planes on an unauthorized and irretrievable bombing mission towards Moscow, the President and his team of officers must find a way to convince the Soviet leader that it is an accident and not to return fire. But for the Americans, this means helping their enemies to shoot down their own planes. Can the Soviets successfully stop the planes from reaching Moscow? Can the President convince the leader that it was a mistake? And what is he prepared to do if the planes reach their target? The answer isn’t what you might think.

Mrs. Brown (1997)

Mrs. Brown

Call No: PN1995.9.H5 M77 1990z

I realize that this is the second Judi Dench film that I’ve reviewed this week, but in my defense I’ve wanted to watch Mrs. Brown for some time now, and had no idea that she would be in Chocolat. Of course, watching too much Judi Dench is never a problem – the woman is a powerhouse of talent that often leaves you nothing short of impressed. It’s no wonder that she’s been knighted. If anything, I’m surprised it took them so long to do it.

Mrs. Brown tells the story of Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) and her years of friendship with John Brown (Billy Connolly). After years of mourning the death of her husband Prince Albert, Queen Victoria is surprised by the request and arrival of John Brown, a Scottish stable attendant and gardener whom her husband was fond of. Determined to do something about the Queen’s misery, the headstrong Brown slowly begins to make a difference, pulling the Queen back to joys of life. Unfortunately her servants and politicians become concerned with Brown’s unquestionable influence over the Queen, calling her “Mrs. Brown”, and determine to do something about it. As a result, the friendship between Queen Victoria and John Brown is put to the test. But when two worlds are pulling apart, is it really strong enough to survive?

The Lady Vanishes (1938)

The Lady Vanishes
Call No: TEMP 866

There’s no question that Alfred Hitchcock made his mark in the cinema. During his life he directed fifty-four feature length films from 1925 to 1976. He was known for being meticulous in storyboarding and setting up every single shot months before filming began. He expected only the best from his actors and was known for his determination and no-nonsense attitude. An actor once approached him and asked what his motivation was in the scene. Hitchcock replied without delay, “Your salary”. He was a perfectionist of the highest order, and even remade his own movie The Man Who Knew Too Much (the original was in 1934, the remake in 1956). His most popular films seem to be those made after WWII, such as Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, North By Northwest, and his most famous Psycho. Fewer people have seen his earlier works. The Lady Vanishes is one of these.

The premise is very simple: As a group of people wait out a storm for their train the next day, a young woman named Iris befriends an elderly lady named Miss Froy. The two board the train together but within hours of doing so, Miss Froy disappears. What is even stranger is that no one seems to remember who Miss Froy is. Add in a dash of romance with a flirtatious stranger, a pinch of unusual situations, and a teaspoon of passenger secrets, and you’ve got a mystery so entertaining that it could have been written by Dame Agatha Christie herself. (If the premise of the film sounds familiar, it’s because the Jodie Foster film Flightplan also follows the same plot.)

Hotel Rwanda (2004)

Hotel Rwanda
Call No: PN1997.2 .H66 2005

My viewing of Hotel Rwanda was a complete accident. After an afternoon of channel surfing, one of my housemates pulled up a list of free movies that our cable box provides. Hotel Rwanda was on that list. She’d always wanted to see it. Not knowing anything about it except for the fact that it was available at the library. I said sure. I could watch the movie and take notes or do some homework on my laptop at the same time. Within the first half hour, my laptop was completely forgotten.

The year is 1994, and a civil war is brewing between the Tutsi and Hutu people of Rwanda. Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle) is a hotel manager who has a climbed his way to the top, always willing to do anything for anybody. But when civil war breaks out the hotel becomes a place of refuge, Paul finds himself alone. He tries his best to manage the chaos, all the while wondering why help isn’t coming. He soon begins to realize that they are alone in this fight and that someone will have to make a stand. That someone will have to be him.