The Conversation

When one thinks of the great movies of the seventies and there were many The Conversation does not often come to mind. In fact this was not even a movie I was aware of until recently when it appeared in reference to a few other movies that I have watched.

The Conversation was the baby of Francis Ford Coppola. Fresh off his Godfather success Coppola wrote, produced, and directed this psychological thriller starring Gene Hackman.

Hackman plays Harry Caul a surveillance expert who according to one of his peers is " the best bugger on the West Coast." Through the movie we learn that a recording that Caul did years ago led the deaths of a rat in the Teamsters union as well as that mans family. He lives with that guilt. Most of what he does in his career are of the typical insurance scam, cheating spouses sort of thing but as the movie begins we see Caul and his crew performing a unique surveillance.

Two people Bernie Moran, played by Frederic Forest and a woman known only as Ann, played by Cindy Williams, yes that Cindy Williams of Laverne and Shirley fame, are walking around a public square having a conversation. The Conversation is about that conversation and it's effects on all the people. John Cazale plays Caul's assistant. Cazale soon on his way to dieing of cancer and fresh off his role as Frodo in The Godfather was, even in a small role, magnificent.

Hackman again plays an everyman. This is not some suave, debonair, spy. This is a rumpled, balding, eyeglass wearing, everyman who lives in a small nondescript apartment, obsessed with privacy and security and who when he gets home the first thing he does is take off his pants and spend his evening in his boxers. No Harry Caul will never be confused with James Bond.


When preparing the tapes for his buyer Caul becomes concerned that these tapes may lead to someone's murder. Hearing Bernie say to Laurie as they walk around the square that " he would kill us if he could" he becomes sure that his client might do just that. With his past experience this sends Harry into a state of controlled panic. What we learn as the movie progresses is that what you think you hear is often not what you hear and the results of misinterpretation are sometimes much more severe than one might think.

Also starring in this movie are a young Terri Carr and an even younger Harrison Ford along with an uncredited performance by Robert Duvall. Still the movie is Hackman's from beginning to end, a tour de force performance, with Hackman a little more out there than his normal role.


Not quite the movie I expected but certainly one that I would reccomend.

Morning Glory

Last night we watched this Rachel McAdams movie. McAdams who I first remembered from The Wedding Crashers plays a much different role in this movie. As Becky Fuller a young woman who has dreamed of working in television news since being a little girl McAdams does not have to stretch far to play the plucky " cute" girl.

Mary Tyler Moore thirty years later would not be a bad set up and in this movie it is quite effective.

After being fired from her job at Good Morning New Jersey she is hired at the network IBS, which is struggling in it's morning show. On her first day she fires the moronic male co host, played by Modern Family's Ty Burrell and is left with just Collen Peck, the long suffering female host. Diane Keaton is very good as Collen.

The show continues to falter, desperate Becky asks about Mike Pomeroy, a veteran of 40 years of hard news, who under contract to the network but living a hermit's existence at home is available. After perusing his contract she visits him and tells him to come to the show or he will have to forfeit the millions left on his contract.

As one would expect he comes begrudgingly. He is a pain in the ass. Confronted with her newsman hero acting like a jackass Becky is perplexed and hurt. Finally told the show is to be cancelled she begs for time, and makes radical changes.

Mike eventually has a softening and the show starts to show signs of life. Due to her success Becky is offered a promotion, she is not going to take it feeling that her new show is a family, Mike disappoints again, setting us up for the aplogoy and reconciliation.

One thing in watching these four movies I ahe reviewed here today is that scriptwriting on many films is just following a formula.

Not a terrible movie, McAdams is perky and cute, Ford is grumpy and old, and Keaton is kind of nondescript. I think it should have been better however with all that star power.

Cowboys and Aliens

Saturday night at the movies and tonight we went to the cheap seats to see this movie. I thought that the previews looked good this spring when we were at another movie but as often happens when it came to the theatre we did not get there.

The reviews I had read on arrival had been that it was not that good. After seeing this tonight I would have to differ. The movie is campy and silly. Anything involving Cowboys, Indians and Aliens would have to be a bit over the top.

Still the story reminds me of something one might have seen in an afternoon show at the movies on a Saturday in the fifties. The special effects now are much better but the story of the stranger armed with a special bracelet, aliens that are using people to expirment on and the fact that in the end all the humans be they ranchers, robbers or Apaches have to band together to defeat the Indians works.

It is a strong cast with Harrison Ford as the grizzled rancher ( with some affecting scenes with his adopted Mexican son) and Daniel Craig as the stranger with no memory. Olivia Wilde adds some sex appeal and does it well and for some reason at least for me this was an enjoyable movie.

One of those movies that is better than the sum of its parts if you accept it for what it is. I liked it very much.