First trailer for new Steven Spielberg film ‘War Horse’

“War Horse” the novel

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

It’s been a long two years since Steven Spielberg has graced the big screen with a new film – so, to make up for lost time, he has two in store for the end of the year.

First up is Spielberg’s 3-D motion-capture film, “The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn.” The film is based on an obscure, little-known (at least on these shores) comic book hero, Tintin.

I, however, am more interested in “War Horse” – Spielberg’s first live-action film since “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” the dreadful 2008 film that attempted to revive the Indiana Jones franchise.

It’s difficult to make consistently great films every time out of the gate. And even though Spielberg has amassed an impressive filmography, he also has released the occasional dud such as “Always” (1989), “Hook” (1991) and “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” (1997).

Louis Malle’s forgotten masterpiece: ‘Lacombe, Lucien’

LACOMBE, LUCIEN (1974)

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

Long before he directed the classic American films “Pretty Baby” and “Atlantic City,” French director Louis Malle was a well established and respected film maker in Europe and his native country.

He made an auspicious debut with the 1958 thriller “Elevator to the Gallows” (available on DVD through the Criterion Collection, click here) and followed it with a string of successful films that included his 1971 coming-of-age drama “Murmur of the Heart” (also available on DVD through the Criterion Collection, click here).

But perhaps Malle’s greatest achievement came in 1974 with “Lacombe, Lucien,” the story of a teenage peasant boy in World War II France who, unwittingly at first, joins the French Gestapo – gaining immediate power and respect from Germans occupying the nation.

Overlooked and underrated: Hoffman in ‘Straight Time’

STRAIGHT TIME (1978)

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

Of all the films in which Dustin Hoffman has starred, the one that constantly surprises me is the little seen crime drama “Straight Time” from 1978.

Helmed by Ulu Grosbard, a Belgian-born theater and film director, and based on the book “No Beast So Fierce” by ex-convict Edward Bunker, “Straight Time” gives us one of Hoffman’s most controlled, nuanced performances.

The story is simple: Hoffman plays Max Dembo, who at the start of the film is released from prison on parole. He vows to go straight, but finds himself ever-so-slowly unable to cope with his freedom, unable to hold a job and unable to avoid one more robbery.

This is a blistering, fascinating character study. Hoffman goes deep inside Dembo, showing us a quiet range that highlights his character’s confusion and frustration – both from dealing with a power-hungry, despicable parole officer and struggling with the lure of one more score.