Track the Films You Watch (2008) - Page 2

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2008)

01/01/08

Killer That Stalked New York, The (1950) Earl McEvoy

B-budget noir about a female diamond smuggler (Evelyn Keyes) who is trying to sneak some priceless diamonds into NYC from Cuba. While the police are tracking her down they learn that the woman also has smallpox, which threatens the entire city. The story here is a very interesting one but sadly the film never manages to do anything with it. The film really doesn't know if it wants to settle on the diamond story or the smallpox one and the two really don't mix well together. The biggest problem is the direction, which is also all over the place. With a story like this you'd expect some sort of tension or suspense but none never happens. Keyes is pretty good in her role but the screenplay really doesn't do her any justice as our feelings for her character are never really made clear. Charles Korvin, William Bishop and Dorothy Malone round out the cast. The ending is pretty good and picks the film up a bit but that's about all there is.

Here Comes the Navy (1934) Lloyd Bacon

Standard action from Warner about a cocky loudmouth (James Cagney) who joins the Navy so that he can get even with a Captain (Pat O'Brien) but Cagney ends up falling in love with his sister (Gloria Stuart). This film starts off with a great bang but as the movie goes along things become quite predictable and rather flat. The first part of the movie is great with a lot of fighting and insults being thrown by Cagney. Needless to say Cagney is very energetic and delivers another fine performance. His relationship with Stuart is also handled very well as the two actors have a lot of chemistry together. O'Brien is in good form as well and he and Cagney do their magic unlike any other duo. The biggest problem comes in the middle where the story pretty much gets weighted down by the familiar bit where the cocky Cagney must learn what it means to be a normal human being and shut his mouth up before it gets him in real trouble. The action scene at the end is very nice as is the funny ending. The most shocking scene comes when Cagney sneaks off the boat in blackface.

Mabel and Fatty's Married Life (1915) Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle

When Fatty Arbuckle leaves town, his wife (Mabel Normand) stays home alone and then gets scared thinking that gangsters are after her. These early Fatty shorts have been really hit and miss with me and this one here is a miss. There's really nothing too funny here, although there are a couple nice stunts where Fatty is standing in the road and nearly escapes getting hit by some passing cars.

Fatty's Restless Fling (1915) Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle

Fatty Arbuckle's wife is sick and tired of him coming home drunk so she makes him go to the shower while she goes out to the store. Instead of staying in Fatty goes to a poker game but when it's broken up by the police he fears about his wife finding out. This is one of the best shorts I've seen from Arbuckle who, as the director, keeps things moving at a very nice pace. There's plenty of laughs to be found here with a great sequence where Fatty is trying to get away from his wife, the cop and a woman's husband. There's also a great gag of Fatty constantly getting shot in the butt.

Fatty's Chance Acquaintance (1915) Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle

Fatty's wife drags him to the park so that she can read but once there he leaves her when he spots a prettier woman. This short drags in spots but there are still a few nice laughs including a thief getting chased around the park by a elderly cop. There's also a nice sequence with Fatty trying to get his wife to let him buy a drink. Frank Hayes steals the show as the cop.

Hatchet (2006) Adam Green

Extremely gory slasher pic has two best friends and an assortment group of people heading out to the Louisiana bayou where they are stalked by a deformed killer. It seems each and every years there's a horror film that starts all kinds of buzz among horror fans and this film is the current talk of the community. More often than not these films turn out to be duds but I really enjoyed this film, which is clearly a throwback to the 80's slasher period. The film contains a lot of connections to older films with its cast that includes Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Tony Todd (Candyman) and Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th 6-9) who plays the killer here. What really makes this film fun are the countless kills, which contain an over the top amount of gore as well as some rather graphic but fun violence, which got the film an NC-17. After watching the film I can see why that rating was given because the violence is non-stop and includes countless decapitations, a sander in the mouth and various other kills. The performances are all rather one-note but they're good enough for this type of film and all of the characters are fun at least. We get quite a bit of nudity so add that onto the death scenes and you've got a pretty entertaining little film. The make up effects were done by John Carl Buechler who previously directed Friday the 13th 7. There's also quite a bit of humor, which pokes fun at the genre and for the most part the laughs work as well.

01/02/08

Project Grizzly (1996) Peter Lynch

Documentary on Troy Hurtubise, a canadian man who was attacked by a grizzly so to get revenge he builds a protective suit and goes out to find another grizzly to fight. If this guy sounds strange then that's because he really is. The ending is a disappointment as the fight never happens but everything that comes before this is pretty entertaining because this guy is just so damn weird. He rambles on about stuff he has no idea about and I can't help but wonder if this guy was the inspiration for all those Holiday Inn commercials that you see all over television. Apparently Quentin Tarantino is a big fan of this movie and I'm sure he could have fun turning this into a movie of his own.

That Little Band of Gold (1915) Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle

Fatty and Mabel Normand are married but after the wedding he starts going out every night with his friends. Mabel finally demands that he takes her to the opera but once there he runs off with another woman for some drinks. Like many of Arbunkle's two-reelers, this one here spends about fifteen-minutes building everything up for the ending but none of it is very funny. Some of these two-reelers are very weird because it seems that they are never going for laughs and there's just way too much dead time before we get down to the action. Charley Chase can be spotted playing a telephone operator.

Fatty's Faithful Fido (1915) Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle

Fatty and his bitter rival (Al St. John) get into a fight but Fatty's dog Fido saves the day. Later in the evening the rival hires two thugs to jump Fatty but the plan backfires. This is a pretty good short that moves by pretty quickly and contains some funny stunts and a couple nice fight sequences. The highlight is certainly the dog, real name Luke, who steals every single scene he's in. There's a great chase sequence where the dog has to climb up a ladder and do various other stunts.

When Love Took Wings (1915) Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle

Fatty and two other men must battle to win the hand of a young woman who they all love. There aren't too many laughs here but the film moves at a very fast pace and manages to stay entertaining throughout. Frank Hayes steals the show as the father who isn't afraid to throw a few punches to protect his daughter. there's a nice twist at the end, which will take anyone by surprise.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2008)

It's easier to read if everyone has their lists on the first couple pages. We had 2500 posts last year so it would be tough searching for someone's list if they were scattered around.

Plus, I like going through the first couple pages and seeing what others are watching. It actually helps me pick what I might watch next, reminds me of what just got released on DVD and so on. Often times the lists will remind me of a film I've been meaning to watch but had forgotten about.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2008)

01/03/08

Hollywood Hist-O-Rama: James Cagney (1962) Joseph R. Juliano

Short bio of James Cagney gives a six-minute introduction to his career with various stills from his motion pictures. Needless to say, with such a short running time there's nothing here to learn but the film remains fun for a quick stroll down his career.

Mabel's Wilful Way (1915) Mabel Normand & Mack Sennett

Mabel Normand gets tired of sitting with her parents so she sneaks out to the park where she runs into Fatty and trouble follows. This is a pretty good short that goes by very quickly and also contains a lot of laughs. There are many highlights including Fatty feeding a bear with his mouth, a cop who likes to hit up on Fatty and a wonderful sequence with Fatty and Mabel on a slide.

Alas and Alack (1915) Joseph De Grasse

Incomplete short has Cleo Madison telling her daughter a story about the noise in a seashell while her husband (Lon Chaney) is away fishing. The woman dreams of becoming rich one day and it seems her wishes are granted when a rich man pulls up on shore. The final six minutes of the film are missing so there's no way of knowing if she leaves with the man or stays with her husband. The most important thing about this early Universal short is that Chaney plays two roles including a hunchback in a dream sequence. The hunchback scenes have him in limited make up but it looks okay. The special effects are pretty good for the time and Madison makes for a good lead. Hopefully the final minutes will be found someday.

Torpedo Squadron (1942) John Ford

John Ford made several shorts during world War 2 but this one here is rather unique. The footage shot for this film was originally meant for another movie but not too long after this was filmed all but one of the men from Torpedo Squadron 8 were killed in battle. This film opens up with a brief introduction of the events and then goes straight to the footage of the men with their names inside an "In Memory" plaque. What really took me off guard is how loose and calm these men are even though they are getting ready to leave for battle not knowing if they would return or not. The bravery of these men really comes out even though we see very little of them. The film was shot in Technicolor, which is another added bonus. The movie runs just under seven minutes but it's probably the best stuff I've seen from the Ford shorts.

01/04/08

Fatty's Plucky Pup (1915) Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle

Two-reeler has Fatty in love with his neighbor but he's afraid to tell her. Before he even gets a chance to tell her she is kidnapped by some bad men but thankfully his dog Plucky knows where she is. Here's another two-reeler where it seems like no one even tried to get a laugh. There's not a single laugh in the film, which isn't good since this runs twenty-seven minutes. The opening sequence with Fatty setting is bed on fire is amusing but not funny. The majority of the second half deals with the dog running around various obstacles and again, this is amusing but not funny.

Doorway to Hell, The (1930) Archie Mayo

Early gangster picture from Warner tells the rise and fall of Louie Ricarno (Lew Ayres) who started up a beer racket before retiring yet he gets back in after his youngest brother is killed by rival gangs. This film suffers from some technical issues like many films from this era in terms of sound recording but overall it's a pretty entertaining little film, although it's been forgotten today due to Little Caesar and The Public Enemy, which were released the following year. There's plenty of action and tough talk but Ayres is really the wrong guy for the lead. For starters, he looks like a kid so he never comes off too threatening and whenever he pushes the other gangster around it just makes them look like wimps. Ayres also comes off laughable during the scenes where he's trying to show outrage and anger. James Cagney steals the film as Ayres' sidekick and he's his typical, high energy self. Dwight Frye also has a small role here, which was the first of his career.

Public Enemy, The (1931) William A. Wellman

James Cagney stars as a guy who grew up poor but quickly works his way up the criminal ladder. I think this is the best of all the early gangster pictures, although the film still has a few flaws. Even the flaws can't stand in the way of all the action, drama and laughs the film has going for it. I never really gave much credit to Wellman but since I've been watching countless films of his I paid closer attention to little details here that would later show up in others films of his. The way he takes the camera off the action is what really stood out and this gimmick always works for the director. It's used here when the man at the piano is shot and moving the camera off the action makes for more drama and works a lot better than if we had seen the shooting. Jean Harlow and Mae Clarke are both great in their roles but there's no denying that this is Cagney's picture from start to finish. This is certainly one of the greatest performances out there as Cagney's free and easy acting makes for a very memorable role. The way Cagney just seems to float within the scene adds to the fun. There are countless great scenes in the film including the grapefruit scene but my favorite is the one where Cagney is dressed in black walking towards the camera in the rain.

Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade (1978) Joe D'Amato

Reporter Emanuelle (Laura Gemser) is doing a story on the white slave trade and tracks everything to a gangster living in Africa. Not happy stopping there, Emanuelle comes back to America and begins working undercover. This is probably the best of the D'Amato/Gemser Emanuelle movies but that's not saying too much. Unlike the other films in the series this one here at least manages to be entertaining without having to have a woman jerk off a horse as was seen in Emanuelle in America. This film here has a pretty interesting story and it moves along without too many boring spots. Needless to say there's a lot of sex scenes with Gemser taking on various men and women and these here are without a doubt the best scenes. D'Amato makes most of these very erotic, which is another thing missing from others in the series. I wouldn't say Gemser gives a good performance but she is comfortable in the role and you can't complain about seeing her naked throughout the film. The scenes in Africa are well shot and it's nice seeing some of the wildlife. Some of the American scenes were lifted from Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals but this just adds to some of the cheap fun. Original title: Via della prostituzione, La.