Maureen Kerwin Movies
- 1989
- PG13
Jason Robards plays an older Jewish man who returns to Stuttgart, Germany which he left in 1933 during the onslaught of the Third Reich. He reunites with a German man who, as a boy, was his childhood friend. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Robards, Jr., Christien Anholt, (more)
- 1984
- PG
In Misunderstood, Henry Thomas ("Elliot" in E.T.) co-stars with Gene Hackman as a son-and-father duo who through no fault of their own fail to communicate their mutual affection. Ned (Hackman) is a shipping magnate living with his family in a villa in Tunisia when he suffers through the death of his wife Lilly (Susan Anspach). It is an agony for him to tell his older son Andrew (Thomas) that his mother has died, and from that moment on, he is so overcome by his own grief -- drowning it in work -- that he unwittingly hurts the feelings of the two boys. He was always inept in relating to them, and now it is even more difficult. The two brothers compensate by inventing their own pastimes, though a visiting relative chides Ned for expecting his sons to handle themselves like adults. So just as Ned begins to realize what he has been doing, the sons try harder to keep up a good facade -- and then Andrew has a serious accident, causing all the undercurrents to suddenly emerge on the surface. Loosely based on a 1967 Italian film, Incompreso, this story first emerged as a turn-of-the-20th-century novel by Florence Montgomery and is here told by director Jerry Schatzberg, but the dialogue and plot do not reach the level set by the good interpretations of the lead actors, who transform a predictable story into an emotional experience. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Henry Thomas, (more)
- 1980
The caustic cartoons of Gerard Lauzier on the condition of the French middle classes are brought to life in this story about a man who longs for the attractions of a bohemian existence. Christian Clavier is Jerome, a married man who romanticizes and envies his actor-friend's lifestyle. When Jerome loses his job he sees a chance to pose as a wayward author and chase after women. To that end, he forgets about his wife and children and launches into the pursuit of parties, fun, and an elusive young woman. Jerome's posturing gets him nowhere, as people take advantage of him right and left, and his situation gets worse as a woman he wants to ditch keeps popping up again like a bad penny. Whatever crude, brash, and brassy intensity Lauzier limns into his drawings is somewhat diluted in this look at his world by director Francois Leterrier. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian Clavier, Nathalie Baye, (more)
- 1978
Nobody expects much of the goofy prankster who teaches at a public school. When his students get word of the principal's plan to get the troublesome teacher fired by having a school inspector observe the chaos in one of his classes, they band together to ensure that all the other classes in the school are comparatively much worse. The kids cheer when the teacher sells his novel and it becomes a best-seller. Their biggest cheers come when he finally woos the woman of his dreams. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claude Jade, Henri Guybet, (more)
- 1974
- PG
Set in the City of Light, this crime melodrama chronicles the attempts of a US drug agent to stop a major drug-lord. Though the agent realizes his three predecessors have been assassinated, and that the French government doesn't necessarily approve of the Yank's harassment of a French citizen, he is determined to succeed. Then a Parisian cop quietly suggests that Anthony Quinn himself hire an assassin to kill the drug lord. He thinks about it long and hard, before agreeing to it. Later he is shocked to learn that the assassin is an old war buddy. The hit man then works overtime to cozy up to the criminal and earn his trust. While he is doing that, the agent learns that events have changed and he must capture the drug lord alive. Unfortunately, he must first find a way to call off the professional killer before it is too late. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Quinn, Michael Caine, (more)
- 1973
Murder, industrial espionage, political intrigue and Jean-Paul Belmondo are the strengths of this French thriller. Cordell (Belmondo) is the heir of a French industrialist, who dies in an air crash. When someone almost succeeds in framing Cordell with a case of drugs, he begins to suspect that his father's death was not accidental. He hires a private detective and finds that a reporter working for his father's magazine (one of the many companies he owned) was looking into plans by another multinational to take over the company. Also, Cordell's father-in-law, a former Italian fascist, may not have given up his old loyalties. As these facts emerge, his enemies become even more determined to get him out of the way. This film caused some controversy in France where it was viewed as a sharp commentary on the society by the director, a former journalist. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Paul Belmondo, Carla Gravina, (more)
