08/01/07
Bronx is Burning, The (Pt. 4) (2007)
Steinbrenner (Oliver Platt) promises Billy Martin (John Turturro) he won't fire him, the first anniversary of the Son of Sam killing approaches and NYC is hit with a blackout in this fourth part of the mini-series. This was the weakest of the four parts so far but the acting is still top-notch but none of the three main parts are really hammered home like in the previous parts.
Dead Silence (2007)
James Wan (
Saw) directs this horror film, which turns out to be one of the worse I've seen in recent years. A man is left in shock when his wife is murdered but he suspects it was the dummy of a murdered ventriloquist. From the opening moments until the end credits this film had me bored to tears and not once did I ever get into the film. The biggest and main reason this film is such a disaster is due to the incredibly stupid story that never grabs the viewer nor does the viewer ever care what's really going on. The direction is also pretty poor as it seems like a director being forced to do a film, which couldn't apply here since Wan did the story. The one saving grace is Donnie Wahlberg who plays the cop investigating the murder.
Sea Wolf, The (1941)
The never given his due Michael Curtiz directs this terrific adaptation of Jack London's story about a evil Captain (Edward G. Robinson) who meets his match with three new members aboard his ship. You've got a writer (Alexander Knox) and two fugitives (John Garfield, Ida Lupino) who start to see through the sadistic Captain. This is a terrific little adventure film from Warner that really packs a punch in various departments. Curtiz handles the story and action very well and it's rather amazing that to this day he's never really gotten the credit that he deserves. I think it's due to the fact that he was a director for hire but just look at how many great films he delivered in so many genres. The greatest thing in the film are the wonderful performances from the four leads as well as the supporting players including Barry Fitzgerald and Gene Lockhart. Robinson gives one of his greatest performances making you hate the Captain with a passion but at the same time feeling sorry for him. Garfield is very powerful in his role and Lupino is terrific as well.
Johnny Belinda (1948)
A doctor (Lew Ayres) tries to cute a mute woman (Jane Wyman) but when she's raped and ends up pregnant it causes problems in the small town. I really hadn't heard too much about this film except for Wyman winning the Oscar for her performance but it's certainly one of the stronger films of the decade. The only real problem is that it drags near the one hour mark and it's rather predictable but other than that this here is a very strong film. Wyman is terrific in her role and she gives one of the best performances I've seen from any actor playing a deaf person. Ayres is also very good in the film as are Charles Bickford and Agnes Moorehead as the father and aunt to the deaf girl. Stephen McNally nearly steals every scene he's in and certainly ranks as one of the greatest villains in history.
Beast of the City, The (1932)
MGM gangster film shown from the point of view of the police. Capt. Fitzpatrick (Walter Huston) is out to bring down gangster Sam Belmonte (Jean Hersholt) but is sold out by his brother (Wallace Ford) who has fallen for the gangster's girl (Jean Harlow). This film is certainly a lot different than the Warner gangster pictures as it doesn't glamorize the gangsters but instead puts the spotlight on the public for allowing gangs to rule the streets. Huston is his usual fiery self and both Ford and Harlow shine in their supporting roles. The subplot between Ford and Harlow is a bit weak but it leads to a highly powerful ending, which is among one of the best scenes from all the gangster films from this period.
Finger Points, The (1931)
Static but entertaining gangster picture has a wet-nosed reporter (Richard Barthelmess) from the South going to the big city to become a star but he soon learns that nothing is easy. After busting a gambling operation and getting nothing out of it, the reporter decides to partner up with a racketeer (Clark Gable) but soon the reporter gets too big for his current situation. This film is based on the life of Chicago Tribute reporter Jake Lingle who got involved with Al Capone and the rest is history. This film version is pretty good, although it's a bit slugish at time but this is due mostly to just how movies were during this early sound era. Barthelmess is hit and miss in his role. He's somewhat shaky during the nervous reporter segments but he settles down once he starts to enter the big shot period. Gable steals the show with his supporting performance and Fay Wray plays the love interest.
Secret Six, The (1931)
MGM gangster film should have been better under George Hill's direction with an amazing cast including Wallace Beery, Lewis Stone, Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Johnny Mack Brown and Ralph Belamy. Mastermind Stone sets up a gang led by Belamy but after a frame up goes wrong Beery takes over with a vengeance taking out anyone who gets in his way. Gable and Brown play reporters wanting to bring the gang down and Harlow is her usual mole sell. The film starts off with a terrific bang and gets off to a great start but things go way off track during the middle act when the gang tries to get elected into office. This here slows the action down and the other problem is that there are just way too many characters doing way too much for a short running time. However, even with all that said, it's impossible not to enjoy the movie due to the terrific cast with Stone stealing the way in a role, which is a lot like we saw from Brando years later in
The Godfather.
Baby Face Harrington (1935)
Raoul Walsh directed this comedy about a dorky bookkeeper (Charles Butterworth) who gets mistaken for a dangerous gangster. Una Merkel, Eugene Pallette and Donald Meek co-star in this comedy, which only runs 65-minutes yet it takes at least a half an hour to get warned up but by then it's a little too late. The first half has all sorts of stupid jokes, which aren't funny but there are also long scenes where no laughs are even gone after. Once the mistaken identity happens then things pick up with Butterworth being charming in his role. It's rather strange that Walsh would take over the gangster genre from D.W. Griffith with the landmark
Regeneration and then make one of the all time great gangster films in
White Heat but have this stuck in the middle.
08/02/07
Out of the Darkness (1985)
Made for TV movie about Detective Eddie Zigo (Martin Sheen) who is trying to keep his personal life on track while hunting down the Son of Sam killer. This movie left me pretty disappointed because it promised to "tell you new things" but it hardly deals with the actual Son of Sam case. Most of the film deals with Sheen's sick wife, which is fine but it's all very routine. The Son of Sam case is barely talked about and we really don't get too much behind the scenes info on what the police were thinking or doing at the time. Towards the end when they finally capture the guy things really pick up but by then it's too late. Sheen is good in his role as is Hector Elizondo, Robert Trebor and Joe Spinell.
Five Came Back (1939)
John Farrow directed this disaster film about a plane with twelve members who crash near the Amazon and must try and fix the plane. I was really, really disappointed in this film after hearing some good things about it. One problem is that the film runs just 75-minutes so you've got twelve characters and none of them get enough screen time to really care about any of them. Another problem is what we do get to know about the characters is nothing special as all are nothing more than predictable stereotypes. The cast, which includes Chester Morris, Lucille Ball, John Carradine, Joseph Calleia, Kent Taylor and Patric Knowles keep things moving but the typical screenplay lets them down.
I Married a Witch (1942)
A witch is burned at the stake but comes back years later as a beautiful woman (Veronia Lake) to take revenge on a relative (Fredric March) of the man who had her killed in Rene Clair's comedy. I had been meaning to watch this film for several years now but never got around to it until now and I was happy to see it was as cute, charming and sweet as I had hoped. I didn't love the movie as some do but I can see it getting better with new viewings. Both March and Lake are terrific in their roles and come off as a great couple who you would want to see together. Susan Hayward adds nice support but it's Cecil Kellaway who steals the film as Lake's Warlock father.
Just Before Dawn (1946)
William Castle directed this 7th entry in the Crime Doctor series. This time out the doctor (Warner Baxter) is called to a house to give insulin to a diabetic but it turns out to be poison so the good guy has to track down the bad guys. This was a pretty good entry but it's also pretty much just like all the rest. The film, and series, is entertaining but it's hard to get too excited about them. Baxter is his usual self but the supporting cast isn't too lively this time out. Director Castle brings some nice touches to the film but the major plot twist at the end is easy to see coming.
Flight (1929)
Frank Capra directed this early talkie about two buddies (Jack Holt, Ralph Graves) in the Navy Air Corps who fall in love with the same woman (Lila Lee). This film runs nearly two hours and one of those hours are brilliant but it's spread across the entire running time. The flight and war sequences are simply brilliant with a lot of realistic action and some breathtaking footage of the planes in the air. Had Capra only shown that stuff then this could have been another masterpiece from the director but sadly we get a stupid love story to drag everything down. Jack Holt is brilliant in his role adding a lot of humor to the part but Graves, who co-wrote the story, doesn't fair as well. Lila Lee is cute in her part but she's certainly not the greatest actress out there.
08/03/07
Ed Gein (2000)
Steve Railsback plays the infamous Ed Gein, the man who killed woman so that he could wear their skin, eat them and so on. I've seen a lot of movies based on Gein's life (
Deranged) and a lot of films influenced by his story (
Psycho, Texas Chainsaw) but this here is without a doubt the worst of the worst. I'm really not sure where to start but I guess I'll go with the screenplay, which seems to think it's a good idea for a horror film to go the first forty-minutes without a drop of gore or violence. When Gein finally gets on his murdering spree nothing is shown but instead we get countless dialogue scenes that are as boring as I'm sure Gein was in real life. Railsback gives a so-so performance, which means he tries hard to get Gein down right but he's just not good enough of an actor to pull it off. Go rent
Deranged instead.
September 30, 1955 (1977)
Coming of age film about a troubled teen (Richard Thomas) whose life falls apart when he hears that his idol James Dean has been killed. This is a rather nice homage to Dean and it was interesting seeing how some peoples lives were changed by his death but writer/director James Bridges makes one fatal mistake that kills the film and he makes the lead one of the biggest assholes who be in any movie I've seen. The main character played by Thomas thinks he is just like Dean so he tries being a rebel but instead his character comes off as a complete jerk. He's so bad that you can't help but wish someone would just beat the hell out of him. Lisa Blount plays another teen who ties to communicate with Dean through black magic while dressed up as Vampira. Tom Hulce, Susan Tyrrell and Dennis Quaid round out the cast.
Gideon of Scotland Yard (1958)
John Ford directed this disastrous tale of a day in the life of a Scotland Yard Inspector played by Jack Hawkins. Apparently this was originally meant to be the first in a series of films but the movie was blasted by critics and the public so future films were canceled and it's easy to see why. I guess it just goes to show that a legend can deliver a disaster every once in a while, which is what the film is. The comedy doesn't work, the drama doesn't work and the mystery of the killer doesn't work. The movie is incredibly flat from the opening moments to the closing sequence and this is the American version of the movie. I believe the original British cut is thirty-minutes longer so I'd hate to have to sit through that. Hawkins is decent in his role and the cinematography is nice but that's about it.
Jeopardy (1953)
John Sturges directed this intense thriller about a wife (Barbara Stanwyck) and husband (Barry Sullivan) who take their son on a vacation to Mexico so that they can go fishing but an accident happens and the husband gets his leg caught under a log. With the tide coming in, the wife has to try and get help before it's too late but she gets kidnapped by an escaped murderer (Ralph Meeker). This film seems to get mixed reviews and while it's not classic Sturges I still felt there was enough suspense packed in the 67-minute running time to make the film highly enjoyable. I've never found Stanwyck to be sexy so that takes away from some of her roles for me but she's terrific when playing it tough and that's the case here. She's really good in the tough role and Meeker is the perfect snake to go against her. Sullivan is also very good in his moments with his son played by Lee Aaker. There are a few flaws throughout the film and the ending is pretty weak but there's still plenty to enjoy here. The score by Dimitri Tiomkin also adds to the suspense.
