Track the Films You Watch (2008) - Page 6

42nd Street Freak · 01-15-2008, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by george kaplan

The Thin Red Line

What's more ridiculous than a bunch of tough gang members ballet dancing through the streets of New York? How about an entire company of infantry on Guadalcanal consisting of philosophers/poets? In a word - three hours of yawning.

Could not agree more.
And all those 'please take us seriously as artists' actors jumped in for pointless cameos just to be involved in this 'great' moment in cinema.
War has never been so.......................................... up its own arse.

**HTF Ads**

PatW · 01-15-2008, 01:10 PM

Strange Cargo (1940)

This is an odd movie but still intriguing if a bit self-righteous at times.

A group of prisoners on Devil's Island plan an escape. Among them is a bible spewing man who is a Christ-like figure. I guess who he is becomes apparent at the end.

All the actors performed well especially Gable as a wise-cracking if talkative convict. Joan Crawford plays Julia a woman who has fallen on tough times. I've never thought much of Joan Crawford and her performance here hasn't convinced me otherwise. Ian Hunter as Cambreau was an interesting figure. Virtuous if alittle preachy, he was a nice constrast to the motley group of convicts assembled here. Interesting film, full of symbolism that made for an enjoyable watch.

Pete York · 01-15-2008, 07:40 PM

1/13/08

Beware, My Lovely (1952) Dir: Harry Horner

Credulity-straining thriller from the pioneering producer team of Collier Young and Ida Lupino, aka The Filmakers (with Lupino pitching in with some uncredited direction).

Robert Ryan is the ‘peril’ and Ida Lupino is the ‘woman’ in this entry in the ‘woman in peril’ style film. Ryan plays Howard Wilton, a tightly-wound psychotic handyman drifter (noooo, Ryan? I know, hard to believe). Lupino is the lonely war widow, Helen Gordon, who hires Howard to do some work around her house. Things go downhill from there as Howard makes Helen a prisoner in her own home.

Howard has a nasty secret, not that he could reveal it. You see, consciousness is a real challenge for him. He has a habit of coming to and finding his employers dead. This is part of the film’s problem. The nature of Howard’s psychosis is so extreme that it is nearly impossible to believe that he’s been free to roam from town to town unobstructed, even in the year 1918 (when the film is set). He can’t remember anything that happened ten minutes ago. His violent, threatening, anti-social tendencies are set off by the smallest and most common of things (a young girl flirting, inadequacies involving the war, due to his being rejected for service). I don’t know how he even made it past the interview with Helen. There are other implausabilities. If you were locked in your house with a madman, but nonetheless left on your own for periods of time, couldn’t you figure out a way to escape?

Ryan, I think, is defeated by the material. It feels like he’s overplaying his hand. His series of tics and spasms and the tightly coiled bursts of dementia all have a been-there, done-that robotic feel to them. At this point in his career he’d probably played this character, to some degree, ten times and it shows. We are encouraged to empathize with Howard (I didn't) through shown bits of humanity, like him being stopped in his tracks by a music box and his relating to a group of children who won’t judge him. Lupino just has to act frazzled and in distress, which she is capable of and does.

The picture had one thing going for it; what would be the eventual resolution of the conflict? So naturally there was a disappointing ending that was abrupt and ineffective.

Of slight interest was a recurring motif where the camera would catch Howard’s reflection (in mirrors, water, Christmas tree decorations). This indicated something going on, or about to go on, in his head. Horner (1953’s Vicki), who made his reputation in production design, does a fine job of making the house feel like a prison. Credit too, the always reliable RKO art department for the work on the house.

In the end, sub-standard work from the principals, who all have much better films to their credit.

out of 4

1/14/08

I Wouldn’t Be in Your Shoes (1948) Dir: William Nigh

Impressivley credentialed ‘B’ (Steve Fisher script from Cornell Woolrich story) from poverty row studio Monogram entertains on its own terms.

We open on a group of death row prisoners. No names, they refer to each other by numbers, newest to oldest. The focus is on ‘Five’, whose time is about up. His real name is Tom Quinn (Don Castle) and the film tells his story in flashback, until we rejoin present day near the end to find out his ultimate fate. Tom, along with his wife, Ann (Elyse Knox), comprise a down-on-their-luck husband-and-wife dance team. He’s unemployed and she’s an ‘instructor’ at a low-rent dance hall. One night, out of frustration, Tom throws his shoes out the window of their apartment at some wailing cats. When he goes to retrieve the shoes, he can’t find them. The next day Ann finds that the shoes have been placed outside their door. Tom runs into his own stroke of luck when he finds a wallet empty of all but a couple thousand dollars. Meanwhile, across the courtyard, there’s been a murder and all the police have to go on is a perfect shoeprint left in the mud outside the victim’s apartment. The print ends up being from Tom’s shoe and the money turns out to belong to the victim. Tom is arrested, convicted and sentenced to death. Coincidentally, one of the arresting officers, Inspector Judd (Regis Toomey), happens to know Ann from the dance club. It’s left to Ann to conduct her own investigation in a race against time for her husband’s life. Along the way she enlists the aid of Judd, who is an admirer of hers, and together they work to try and save Tom.

The acting is standard ‘B’ movie acting, with leads that don’t quite have the ability or charisma that the big studio ‘stars’ had. Regis Toomey is good, though, in a meatier role than he would normally get. Not too many other familiar faces, outside of Tito Vuolo playing a – ta da! – ethnic grocer.

This film being based on a Woolrich story, you know there’s going to be outlandish twists and wild coincidences. You either roll with it and have fun or you get bogged down in the inconsistencies. I had fun. Because films like this are so dependent on the shock-suspense quality, there’s not too much to gain beyond a single viewing. However, genre fans will find that I Wouldn’t Be in Your Shoes accomplishes its modest goals and is a nice surprise.

out of 4

PatW · 01-15-2008, 09:48 PM

Tequila Sunrise (1988)

An interesting modern film noir written and directed by Robert Towne better known for his screenplay of Chinatown. Dale McKussic (Mel Gibson) and Nick Frescia (Kurt Russell) are attracted to the same woman restaurant co-owner Jo Ann Vallenari ( Michelle Pfeiffer). McKussic (Mac) a former drug dealer is trying to leave his old life behind after he completes one more deal. Nick, a friend of Macs, is the new head of the narcotics unit and suspects that Mac has gone back to his old life. Both romance Jo Ann, one with lies and the other with the truth.

I don't know who is prettier in this movie, Pfeiffer or Gibson. Certainly they are two of the most beautiful faces to inhabit the film world in the 1980's. The cinematographer certainly knows that and films these two stars to their absolute best advantage. Everything in this film is beautifully shot, from the sunsets to the lovely blue eyes on Jo Ann's face. This is a well acted film from the smart characters to the even smarter dialogue. 2/3 of the film works for me and then it falls apart for the last part of the movie. The problem lies with Raul Julia. Such a great actor but in this movie he hams it up especially in the last part of the movie. The final scene on the boat between Gibson and Julia was just cringe worthy. This movie is worth a watch if for the strong acting of the three leads.

george kaplan · 01-15-2008, 10:31 PM

Hans Christian Andersen

While not the masterpiece that The Court Jester is, this is still top-tier Danny Kaye, thanks in no small measure to the wonderful Frank Loesser songs.

Crazeologie

This was Louis Malle's student film, and as a student film, it undoubtedly deserves an A. However, just as an A paper in a college English course doesn't translate into a great novel, outside the context of a student film, this would be pretty weak.

Michael Elliott · 01-15-2008, 10:33 PM

01/13/08

Voice of the Whistler (1945)

William Castle

Fourth film in Columbia's series is once again directed by William Castle but he also co-wrote the screenplay here. This time out Richard Dix plays a rich man who will dead within a two month period. Not wanting to spend his last months alone, he offers a nurse (Lynn Merrick) a great opportunity. She marries him to bring him happiness and he'll leave her his millions. They go through with the plan but all of the sudden he starts to get healthy again. This is certainly the best film in the series so far and it works mainly due to the great story they are working with. There's a lot of twists and turns throughout the short 60-minute running time but it all leads to a highly believable ending. Dix is very good in his role as is Merrick and the two work perfectly well together. The screenplay offers both of their characters a chance to grow, which certainly isn't normal for this type of B movie. Castle does a very good job with his direction and proves he could direct something without gimmicks.

Mysterious Intruder (1946)

William Castle

Fifth film in Columbia's The Whistler series has Richard Dix playing a private investigator who gets a case from an old man who is looking for his niece. Soon the old man is dead and the PI might have had something to do with it. This is a pretty good entry in the series, although the screenplay falls short when compared to the previous film. I think the biggest problem here is the plot itself, which is quite confusing and even in the end it didn't seem to work itself out very well. The film only ran 61-minutes so perhaps that's why the story didn't have time to work itself out as well as it should have. Dix once again turns in a good performance with Charles Lane, Barton MacLane and Nina Vale offering fine support. Castle's direction is good throughout, although it could have probably been better with a better script.

Bucket List, The

Rob Reiner

Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman learn that they're both going to die of cancer so they set out on a trip to see and do everything they've wanted to in life. As I type this little review I've been out of the theater for about ten minutes and I must admit that my blood is boiling in anger. This is an incredibly bad, worthless, mean spirited and downright tasteless movie that really, really pissed me off. The first forty-five minutes we see the two legends on screen bleeding, puking and slowly dying. Is this a good way to start a comedy? Seeing this stuff gets one in a rather depressed mood and at the same time we have childish acts going on, which are meant to make us laugh but all these jokes did was come off very distasteful to me. When the road trip/buddy picture starts the material was just weak and not very funny. We of course then come to the forced ending, which begs us to cry but by this point I was wanting out of the theater as quick as I could get out. This movie jerks the viewer around so much that it's rather shocking to see the talent involved. If it weren't for the two stars then i'd probably be ripping this film a lot more but I'll be respectful to them and say I hope this isn't their last film. Nicholson is all over the place and really delivers one of the worst performances I've seen from him since his pre-fame era. Freeman seems to be sleepwalking through the role but I suspect both actors knew this material was weak and were doing whatever they could to try and save it. Freeman plays the wise, quiet guy and Nicholson goes over the top to try a milk any laugh that he can get out of the script. It just doesn't work. A really big misfire as far as I'm concerned.

01/14/08

Crime Wave: 18 Months (2008)

Unknown

History Channel documentary about an eighteen-month period from 1933 to 1934, which are considered the most violent period in American history due to an outbreak of organized crime, which included Dillinger, Machine Gun Kelly, Bonnie & Clyde, Baby Face Nelson and various others. This documentary does a great job with the timeline of events, which all these things happened and it also discusses the rise of the FBI, which itself was an interesting story. The FBI had to be among the biggest idiots in the history of American considering some of the mistakes they made while trying to bring down these gangsters. Several secret missions were blown, innocent people killed and even Dillinger got away from them countless times. I found it interesting that when they finally killed Dillinger he was at a gangster movie, Manhattan Melodrama, with Clark Gable.

Secret Bride, The (1935)

William Dieterle

The governor's daughter (Barbara Stanwyck) secretly weds the D.A. (Warren William) but hours after the wedding he receives information that the governor has been taking bribes for paroles. This is your typical, fast paced drama from Warner that has a decent story but works mainly to the star power. William was born to play these types of roles and he steals the film delivering a very strong performance. William has such a calm, cool and collective way to deliver these types of performances and most of them are always worth watching. Stanwyck is also very good, although she delivers a few truly campy moments including one scene where she gets upset and punches a table. You'll know the scene when it happens. The two of them work well together and really carry the story which isn't the strongest in the world but it makes for a fun 64-minutes.

Wild Elephinks (1933)

Dave Fleischer

Popeye and Olive Oyl land in the jungle and must fight off various animals including a wild elephant and a gorilla. I'm really shocked to see how much I'm enjoying these early Paramount cartoons but so far they've all been a lot of fun with this one here being one of the best. There's some great action, nice animation and a lot of funny lines including a great exchange of words between Popeye and the King of the Jungle. It seems the gorilla kidnapping Olive subplot is a homage to King Kong.

Sock-A-Bye, Baby (1934)

Dave Fleischer

Weaker but still entertaining Popeye vehicle has him babysitting and beating up anyone or anything that dares to wake the kid up. There's plenty of action in this short but there aren't as many laughs as normal. The highlight is a great sequence where Popeye punches a radio, which sends his fist across the country to the actual guy singing and knocks him out. There's another rather funny moment where the baby steals Popeye's pipe and begins smoking it. The baby falls asleep right after his few hits so I'm guessing Popeye was smoking something other than tobacco.

Let's You and Him Fight (1934)

Dave Fleischer

Popeye and Bluto in the ring fighting it out. I think this is the first of the Popeye shorts that didn't make me laugh a single time. If all you want is action then there's quite a bit here but most of the jokes fall flat on their faces. Wimpy makes a cameo here, which is the highlight of the film.

01/15/08

Val Lewton: Man in the Shadows (2008)

Kent Jones

Martin Scorsese produced and narrates this documentary that takes a look at the life and career of producer Val Lewton who hated the horror genre but become best known for his horror titles like The Body Snatcher, Bedlam, I Walked with a Zombie and Cat People. I personally find many of Lewton's horror movies overrated but they are popular so I understand the need to do a documentary on them but to do one on Lewton never really made much sense to me. It's even more senseless when you consider that another documentary, Shadows in the Dark was just made in 2005. As with that documentary, there really isn't much to Lewton so we learn very little. He didn't do interviews, didn't have any on camera stuff and in reality there's very little known about him so we don't learn a thing. When they discuss the movies we still don't learn anything outside the fact that Lewton hated horror movies and didn't want to work with Boris Karloff. Since there's nothing to Lewton I just can't justify having two documentaries about him and in the end neither of them do much. Roger Corman, Robert Wise and Japanese director Kiyoski Kurosawa are the only movie people interviewed and both only get a few clips.

Youth Runs Wild (1944)

Mark Robson

Val Lewton produced this WW2 drama about teenagers who start getting into trouble while the older folks are either working or fighting in the war. Lewton hated horror films and wanted to be taken more serious and I guess this film was his attempt to do that but the movie is really boring and bland. The strange thing is that Lewton's horror films didn't contain much horror and this juvenile film doesn't contain too much stuff dealing with the subject. There's a subplot of a tire stealing ring, another story dealing with teenage love and yet another dealing with a soldier returning home. None of them work and together they just make for a mess of a film. The film should have centered on one story and followed it but as it is the film just becomes tiresome even at 67-minutes. Bonita Granville of Warner's Nancy Drew series gets top billing but she too is rather bland, which was a disappointment since I enjoyed most of her early roles. Glenn Vernon, Kent Smith and Lawrence Tierney co-star.

White Buffalo, The (1977)

J. Lee Thompson

An all-star cast highlights this rather strange tale of Wild Bill Hickok (Charles Bronson) who goes looking for the albino buffalo that is haunting his dreams. I'm a die-hard Bronson fan but this film has always left me rather disappointed, which is a shame because the story is there for a classic action film but what we end up getting is a rather bizarre movie that doesn't know what it wants to be. The film has all sorts of characters coming and going, which is part of the problem because the hunt for the buffalo is the most interesting thing yet we get very little of it. The final twenty minutes are certainly the best thing about the movie as the action finally starts going and it's pretty exciting as well. Bronson is good in a way only Bronson can be but it's Jack Warden who steals the show as his sidekick. The supporting cast includes Will Sampson as Crazy Horse, Clint Walker, Slim Pickens, Stuart Whitman, Kim Novak and John Carradine. The buffalo itself looks very silly and sometimes brings laughs but it looks marginally better in the long shots. Some of the dialogue is also very silly including a hilarious sequence where Bronson tells a man to watch his mouth while in the presence of a lady. Even though the film doesn't work as a good movie it does manage to be somewhat interesting as a real head scratcher but Bronson and director Thompson would go onto some better films.

42nd Street Freak · 01-16-2008, 11:52 AM

I like "The White Buffalo". A clever melding of fact and fiction with great atmosphere a sense of pathos, a great cast and some fun blood spattered attacks. Needs a good DVD release.

Death Sentence

Stupid logic (or lack of) in the writing and almost as liberal as I was fearing. Glad I only rented it.

***SPOILERS*****

The fact is Bacon was PUNISHED for not allowing a guy who nearly sliced off his son's head to get a lousy 3 years in prison for it was annoying enough. But there was more.

For most of the film Bacon is not even getting revenge (one clumsy kill aside that was almost accidental) he's running for his life and defending himself. That's not revenge.
That same plot would work if there had been no dead son.
That set-up would still work out the way it did if he was just a witness to a crime, or had a microfilm the bad guys wanted...whatever.
It was nothing to do with being a vigilante and getting revenge.

Spoiler:

He's been punished to such an extent it was a 'criminals have human rights too, don't take the law into your own hands', liberal wet dream!

The final 30 minutes was the only time any real revenge was taken. And this is how the film should have been after his Son was killed!

Spoiler:

And then we had that old chestnut..."You're just like me, look what I made of you".
Well no, he's not.
The bad guy killed Bacon's son for no reason at all, he killed his son for fun.
Bacon or his family had done nothing to him and would have never entered his life if he had not gone out with his gang and killed his son.

Bacon killed for what was done to him and his family.
They killed Bacon's son for absolutely nothing.

Spoiler:

More liberal crud.
I was amazed we didn't have that other farcical old liberal chestnut "it won't bring them back" (well no, but not killing the scumbags wouldn't bring them back either!)

Bacon should have gone bad-ass on them after his Son's death.
Such a shame, as the mad as hell, gun-toting, ass-kicking Bacon is the one we should have had from the start. We should not have had to wait

Spoiler:

This is why the "Death Wish" films will always remain the ultimate vigilante flicks. Because Kersey does nothing until hurt is done to him or his, and then he walks off a free man, unpunished for doing what was right. THAT is the vigilante flick people want!
They want to at least see on the screen what they can't see in real life. Such is the nature of cathartic entertainment.

Spoiler:

And the fact the film spent all its time punishing Bacon and tut-tutting at him and what he was doing means it was hypocritical as well, as it was tut-tutting and wagging its finger at him even as it was laying on the 'cool' vigilant visuals and attitude at the same time!
It delivered gory vengeance, lost of guns, a mean car to drive and mad new look for bacon...while all the time rubbing our noses into how 'wrong' he was.
Talk about having your cake and eating it!

And as for the script...

Spoiler:

Could have delivered, should have delivered, but in the end the vigilante crowd pleasing was too late

Spoiler:

How I miss the 70's and 80's where almost all vigilante film had the vigilante walk away unpunished with the job done. But in the fetid PC environment of the 21st century even the good guys and the ones wronged, need to be punished.

PatW · 01-16-2008, 05:00 PM

Michael

Why did you give The Bucket list 1 1/2 stars if you absolutely hated it? As much as I like the two stars involved, if I'd seen it and hated it, the movie would get zero stars from me. Just curious.