01/05/08
Planet of the Apes (2001)
Tim Burton
Lackluster remake of the 1968 film has an astronaut (Mark Wahlberg) crash landing on a planet where apes are kings and humans are slaves. Even though I had heard nothing but negative things about this film I went in with an open mind because most of the bad reviews I heard were from die-hard fans of the original but the film turned out to be a major dud. The most shocking thing is that Burton didn't bring any energy or excitement to the film. The first hour drags by so bad that I was having a hard time staying awake. The film picks up during it's final act but even then the battle scenes aren't as good as they should have been. I did like the ending though. Wahlberg sleepwalks through his role but I enjoyed the supporting cast. I thought Tim Roth and Helena Bonham Carter were very good in their roles and I also enjoyed Michael Clarke Duncan. Kris Kristofferson and Charlton Heston also come off good in their small roles. The screenplay is rather weak and the reworked lines from the original film come off very lame. Burton tries a lot of things in the film but I think he's held back by the PG-13 rating. I think the director should have delivered an R-rated movie and went all out on the various messages that are hinted out throughout the film and made the battle scenes real battle scenes.
Coffins on Wheels (1941)
Joe Newman
Entry in MGM's 'Crime Does Not Pay' series talks about used car salesmen who sell lemons to buyer who don't know any better. The ending here is predictable but that doesn't take away from the entertainment level. I think this is one of the best short series out there and this is another winning film. The movie certainly holds your interest from start to finish with some nice drama and serving justice.
Whistler, The (1944)
William Castle
First film in Columbia's series has Richard Dix playing a man wanting to commit suicide due to the death of his wife but he doesn't have the courage to do so. Wanting to die, Dix hires a killer (J. Carrol Naish) to do the job but then he learns that his wife is still alive so he too must try and stay alive. Based on a radio show, this first film is actually pretty entertaining due to some nice direction by Castle and the two leads turning in fine performances. The story itself is pretty interesting and the B-budget gets all out of it that it can. Dix makes for a very good leading man and his performance is very good especially during his depression scenes. Naish is a great character actor and makes for a very good killer. Gloria Stuart plays Dix secretary and does nice work, although she has the weakest character.
Crowd Roars, The (1932)
Howard Hawks
Standard Warner drama about a cocky race car driver (James Cagney) who brings his younger brother (Eric Linden) into the sport and soon the two have a falling out. Cagney eventually loses his nerve and falls from grace and must try to works his way back up. Hawks is credited with the story but it's somewhat hard to believe that he would come up with such a standard and typical story. The movie is entertaining due in large part to Cagney who once again turns in a good performance. He's his usual cocky self and the screenplay allows him to do things we've seen from him in the past including one scene where he gets tough with Ann Dvorak. Cagney shines the best during his breakdown scene, which comes off very well. Joan Blondell co-stars as Cagney's girl and she does a nice job as well. The story is very predictable and really doesn't have one original idea but there's some very good racing scenes. The screenplay is also quite hard on racing fans and the claim that all they want to see is blood. There's one violent death scene that happens during a race that is very memorable.
Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971)
Dario Argento
Final film in Argento's animal trilogy has a musician (Michael Brandon) accidentally killing a stalker but then the real trouble starts when another stalker shows up trying to kill him. I guess since this isn't on DVD certain fans talk it up as if it's a lost masterpiece but it really isn't. That's not to say this isn't a decent little film but it's certainly no way near the director's best. Argento brings his usual nice style to the film and has some great murder sequences, which are full of suspense. The murder on the stairs is certainly one of the film's highlights. The director also manages to get some good performances from the cast with Brandon making a good leading man. Mimsy Farmer is good as the wife but it's Jean-Pierre Marielle who steals the show as a gay detective. I think the film's biggest problem is the story, which isn't that special. The idea of a guilty man being stalked is an interesting one but Argento does very little with it and I picked up on who the killer was very early in the film. Ennio Morricone's score also adds a lot of tension to the film and fits the movie nicely.
01/06/08
Burning, The (1981)
Tony Maylam
Review posted in 2006
Notorious 80’s slasher was the first film by Miramax and was written and produced by the Weinstein boys and also features small roles by Jason Alexander (with hair), Holly Hunter and Fisher Stevens. A camping prank goes terribly wrong and a gardener is burned all over his body. Six years later he escapes and heads back to camp to slaughter some teens. I can’t believe it took me so long to see this somewhat legendary film but I kept putting it off because horror fans seem to hype up a lot of bad films. Over the years no other film had gotten so much hype but the movie certainly lived up to every bit of it. The special gore effects by Tom Savini are all wonderful and in this uncut version they go way beyond any other film of its era. The movie is incredibly mean spirited with its violence including one scene where five kids on a raft run into the killer. This segment is probably the greatest I’ve seen from any slasher. This film also contains more nudity than any other film of its type. Put all this together and I see why the film has become notorious over the years. There’s no doubt this was influenced by the previous year’s
Friday the 13th but I’d say this here is just as good, if not better than all of those films.
Added comments: Revisited this one since IFC just showed it a few days ago. I enjoyed it just as much this time and I'd probably say it is better than any of the F13 films. The effects by Savini are terrific and probably the best of his career.
Becoming John Ford (2007)
Nick Redman
Very good documentary that covers John Ford's years at Fox. Considering we just had a Ford documentary last year I really wasn't expecting this to offer anything new but it actually does. The one negative thing about the film is that I wish it would have spent more time discussing his silent films and talking about some of the ones that are now lost. Outside of that, this film centers on the Fox years and makes some very interesting comments about Ford the person and how this person leaked into his movies. It was somewhat sad to hear how Henry Fonda and Ford had their falling out with the director punching the actor but I guess that's just Ford. There's a lot of style on display here that seems out of place at times but this is still a good introduction to the Fox years.
Battle of Midway, The (1942)
John Ford
Henry Fonda and Donald Crisp add narration to the battle scenes shot by John Ford where the director was even wounded by enemy fire. There's really no story being told in this documentary but instead we just see a part of history in beautiful Technicolor. God knows everyone has seen countless war films but there's something unique seeing real ones here. They certainly look a lot different than what we've seen in countless fake movies.
Judge Priest (1934)
John Ford
Wonderful film has Will Rogers playing the title role who has his own way of making justice prevail. Set in a small Kentucky town, the judge must battle a wide range of subjects but all of them seem to center around a mysterious man who is charged with assault. I wasn't too thrilled with the previous Rogers/Ford film that I watched but this one here hits all the right marks. Ford's love of Southern loyalty is certainly on full display from start to finish but he also paints a film that isn't really about anything yet it's about everything. Ford paints a terrific and authentic view of the South and even manages to work other items in like patriotic war battles and moving on in time. I think some of the best moments happen between Rogers and a black man named Jeff (Stepin Fetchit) who the judge saved from being hung. The two share several scenes together and their relationship comes off very sweet and human. The performances are all extremely good with Rogers leading the way as the soft spoken judge. Tom Brown and Anita Louise are also very good as Rogers' nephew and his girlfriend. The scene stealer comes from Henry B. Walthall who plays a Reverend with a secret past that comes out during the final courtroom scene. It's forgotten today that at one time Walthall was considered one of the greatest actors out there and his performance here is very thrilling and certainly grabs ones attention.
Power of the Whistler, The (1945)
Lew Landers
Third film in the series has Richard Dix being hit by a car and losing his memory. A card reader (Janis Carter) befriends the man as the two search for his real identity but who he turns out to be is the real shock. Based on a radio show episode, this film manages to be somewhat entertaining, although it seems long even at just 66-minutes. It takes a while for the story to get going but the twist in the man's identity comes out of no where and is handled very well. This is when the film really picks up and leads to a very good final act. Dix is very good in his role and Carter comes off good as well. Landers steps in to direct this one after William Castle handled the first two. I was a little letdown that he didn't keep the action moving better because he usually handles these B films a lot better. There's some nice humor scattered throughout and also a rather mean spirited side, which includes killing of a lot of animals.
Skidoo (1968)
Otto Preminger
Extremely bizarre comedy has gangster battling hippies in the lovin' 60's. A retired gangster (Jackie Gleason) is asked by the top gangster, God (Groucho Marx) to break into prison and kill a rat (Mickey Rooney). On the outside Gleason's daughter has started dating a hippie and its up to them to try and save her dad. This was a notorious flop when originally released but it has gained a cult following over the years and in the end the film really isn't all that bad. I think the biggest problem is that Preminger simply wasn't the right guy to direct the material. He's got some great comic actors yet he gets very little from them. Most of the comedy comes from politically incorrect stuff or things that weren't meant to be funny but they come off that way. The highlight of the film is when Gleason is in prison and accidentally takes some LSD and has a wild trip afterwards. Marx also smokes some pot, which is somewhat funny but Rooney comes off rather lame. The supporting cast includes Carol Channing, Frankie Avalon, Peter Lawford, Burgess Meredith, George Raft and Cesar Romero. The film eventually runs out of steam in the final act, which again deals with an LSD trip but the jokes plays itself out way before the end.
Miracle Money (1938)
Leslie Fenton
Another winning entry in MGM's "Crime Does Not Pay" series. This time out we take a look at doctors who tell people they have cancer just so that they can scam them for money on a fake cure. Like others in the series, I guess you could say this is overly dramatic but to me that just leads to plenty of entertainment. There's plenty of drama throughout the short and one can't help but want to see the bad guys punished in the end.
Fort Knox: Secrets Revealed (2007)
Unknown
History Channel documentary about the secret history of Fort Knox, Kentucky and all the gold there. It's funny but I grew up fifteen-minutes from Ft. Knox and never really payed too much attention to its history. We all knew what was there and so on but this is actually the first time I've watched or read anything about the history. The film is okay in its early parts as it talks about why it was built in a rundown part of Kentucky and what the main purpose was. The rumors of what all goes on there also made for an interesting segment but the film starts to go off track in its second part when it deals with Gen. Patton and his building the area up for armour combat.
01/07/08
Larceny, Inc. (1942)
Lloyd Bacon
Three convicts (Edward G. Robinson, Broderick Crawford, Edward Brophy) plan to rob a bank by buying the luggage store next door and digging through the wall. Everything is going as planned until the store becomes a huge hit and the men decide to go straight but another con (Anthony Quinn) shows up and wants the bank robbed. This is a pretty pleasant little comedy that has plenty of funny moments but also a lot of heart. Robinson is perfect in his role and brings a real cuteness to the film. Perhaps it's seeing this tough guy trying to wrap up some luggage but he comes off like a teddy bear and makes for a very loveable character. Crawford and Brophy add terrific support and their coming timing adds a great many laughs. The supporting cast is just as great with Jane Wyman, Jack Carson and Quinn doing nice work. I almost didn't recognize him but Jackie Gleason has a couple great scenes as a soda clerk. Highlights include a great scene where Crawford walks out in front of a car to get some money and a prison baseball game early in the film. Woody Allen's
Small Time Crooks borrows very heavily from this film that there's really no question that Allen's film is a remake.
Movies, The (1925)
Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle
Lloyd Hamilton plays a country boy who goes to NYC and gets mixed up with a hot-head before landing a spot in the movies as a stand-in. This film was made a couple years after Arbuckle's infamous rape/murder case so he was working under his fake name of William Goodrich. This film also served as a comeback for star Hamilton who had also been blacklisted over a stabbing incident, which he wasn't involved with but it still ruined his career. Hamilton was a big silent star but today he just comes off as a mix between Chaplin and Harold Lloyd. He had a couple funny bits here but nothing that would make me go out and search for more of his film.
