Hotel Reserve (Lance Comfort, Max Greene & Victor Hanbury, 1944) 4/10
Ordinary spy thriller (based on a novel by Eric Ambler) set in pre WWII France. A refugee (James Mason) from the Nazis is accused of being a spy and to prove his innocence he tries to find the actual culprits (Herbert Lom & Patricia Neal). Slow moving film is notable for the appearance of the great Lucie Mannheim as the love interest and even she looks bored in this listless actioner. Hitchcock would have worked wonders with this material.
Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
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Stolen Holiday (Michael Curtiz, 1937) 6/10
Claude Rains brings a touch of class to this woman-centric film played to perfection, as always, by lovely Kay Francis who is a rare star from the 1930s who seems so contemporary. A Russian swindler (Claude Rains) teams up with a model (Kay Francis) to fool investors into thinking they are rich and hence get them to invest in assorted schemes. Soon they become very rich while maintaining a warm but platonic relationship and separate lucrative businesses. Just as she is about to get married to her lover (Ian Hunter) the partner implores her to marry him instead to avoid going to jail for swindles that have gotten out of hand. Like all of Francis's films this is one long fashion show with the star dressed in sexy outfits by Orry-Kelly. The plot comes to a standstill in the dull love scenes with Hunter but bristle with energy whenever the great Claude Rains is on screen. Based on the story of Serge Alexandre Stavinsky, a french financier and embezzeler whose actions created a political scandal.
Claude Rains brings a touch of class to this woman-centric film played to perfection, as always, by lovely Kay Francis who is a rare star from the 1930s who seems so contemporary. A Russian swindler (Claude Rains) teams up with a model (Kay Francis) to fool investors into thinking they are rich and hence get them to invest in assorted schemes. Soon they become very rich while maintaining a warm but platonic relationship and separate lucrative businesses. Just as she is about to get married to her lover (Ian Hunter) the partner implores her to marry him instead to avoid going to jail for swindles that have gotten out of hand. Like all of Francis's films this is one long fashion show with the star dressed in sexy outfits by Orry-Kelly. The plot comes to a standstill in the dull love scenes with Hunter but bristle with energy whenever the great Claude Rains is on screen. Based on the story of Serge Alexandre Stavinsky, a french financier and embezzeler whose actions created a political scandal.
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Possessed (Curtis Bernhardt, 1947) 8/10
The only way to enjoy this intense psychological melodrama is to not probe too deeply into the actions of the characters. The screenplay moves all over the place with each scene played at fever pitch. Joan Crawford, dressed as usual by Adrian, dominates the film playing a mentally unstable woman - possibly suffering from schizophrenia - who, as the film opens, is in a catatonic state as doctors try to discover her ailment. She has more than one issue starting with her obsessive unrequited love for an engineer (Van Heflin) - a sponger and a heartless cad. When he dumps her bluntly she gets busy as nurse to an invalid who accuses her of having an affair with her husband (Raymond Massey). When the woman commits suicide she not only faces the anger of the man's daughter (Geraldine Brooks) but is confronted with the older man's marriage proposal. The final catalyst for her going completely off the deep end is the cad's return and his interest in her stepdaughter. A final act of violence makes her lose her mind. Bernhardt brings a strong touch of expressionism (courtesy of Joseph Valentine's shadowy cinematography) to the proceedings as the plot descends into noir-like territory. Crawford's complex performance holds the film together - she was nominated for an Oscar - and Geraldine Brooks is also very good.
The only way to enjoy this intense psychological melodrama is to not probe too deeply into the actions of the characters. The screenplay moves all over the place with each scene played at fever pitch. Joan Crawford, dressed as usual by Adrian, dominates the film playing a mentally unstable woman - possibly suffering from schizophrenia - who, as the film opens, is in a catatonic state as doctors try to discover her ailment. She has more than one issue starting with her obsessive unrequited love for an engineer (Van Heflin) - a sponger and a heartless cad. When he dumps her bluntly she gets busy as nurse to an invalid who accuses her of having an affair with her husband (Raymond Massey). When the woman commits suicide she not only faces the anger of the man's daughter (Geraldine Brooks) but is confronted with the older man's marriage proposal. The final catalyst for her going completely off the deep end is the cad's return and his interest in her stepdaughter. A final act of violence makes her lose her mind. Bernhardt brings a strong touch of expressionism (courtesy of Joseph Valentine's shadowy cinematography) to the proceedings as the plot descends into noir-like territory. Crawford's complex performance holds the film together - she was nominated for an Oscar - and Geraldine Brooks is also very good.
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I Am a Thief (Robery Florey, 1934) 7/10
Clearly inspired by Agatha Christie's book about the train, this variation is similarly set on the Paris to Zagreb to Budapest to Istanbul train with an assortment of characters all chasing a diamond necklace. Everybody is a suspect - the suave man (Ricardo Cortez) who buys the piece of jewellery at an auction, the mysterious and sexy young woman (Mary Astor) he flirts with on the train and a bunch of seedy looking men lurking in every compartment. The jewels are stolen and there is a murder and a cop tries to find out the culprit by gathering together all the suspects â la Poirot. Tautly paced with snappy dialogue and a surprise ending are a few of the delights this little film has to offer.
Clearly inspired by Agatha Christie's book about the train, this variation is similarly set on the Paris to Zagreb to Budapest to Istanbul train with an assortment of characters all chasing a diamond necklace. Everybody is a suspect - the suave man (Ricardo Cortez) who buys the piece of jewellery at an auction, the mysterious and sexy young woman (Mary Astor) he flirts with on the train and a bunch of seedy looking men lurking in every compartment. The jewels are stolen and there is a murder and a cop tries to find out the culprit by gathering together all the suspects â la Poirot. Tautly paced with snappy dialogue and a surprise ending are a few of the delights this little film has to offer.
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Commandos Strike at Dawn (John Farrow, 1942) 5/10
Sentimental, preachy propaganda film about the Norwegian resistance during WWII. A gentle fisherman (Paul Muni) gradually toughens his stance towards the Nazi oppressors (led by Alexander Knox) when they start torturing and killing innocent people in the village. He forms a resistance movement and then escapes to join the British before returning as head of a commando unit to attack the Nazis. An interesting cast - Cedric Hardwicke, Anna Lee, Lillian Gish, George Macready, Rosemary DeCamp, Rod Cameron, Robert Coote are wasted in underwritten roles. Muni is very good though, acting without tons of makeup on his face, and actually looks human. A much better film about the Norwegian resistance was the following year's powerful "Edge of Darkness".
Sentimental, preachy propaganda film about the Norwegian resistance during WWII. A gentle fisherman (Paul Muni) gradually toughens his stance towards the Nazi oppressors (led by Alexander Knox) when they start torturing and killing innocent people in the village. He forms a resistance movement and then escapes to join the British before returning as head of a commando unit to attack the Nazis. An interesting cast - Cedric Hardwicke, Anna Lee, Lillian Gish, George Macready, Rosemary DeCamp, Rod Cameron, Robert Coote are wasted in underwritten roles. Muni is very good though, acting without tons of makeup on his face, and actually looks human. A much better film about the Norwegian resistance was the following year's powerful "Edge of Darkness".
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Seventh Heaven (Henry King, 1937) 3/10
James Stewart's aw-shucks American drawl absolutely kills this remake of the classic silent film by Frank Borzage with Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor (who won the first Oscar for best actress). A Parisian sewer worker (James Stewart - yes, very badly miscast) rescues an abused cafe worker (the character was a prostitute in the original and with Simone Simon in the part at least they got the right nationality), gets her to move in with him, teaches her to be confident and then goes off to war just when she falls in love with him. Ludicrous remake is a disaster from the word go with french star Simone Simon not a patch on the marvelous Janet Gaynor who gave such a luminous performance.
James Stewart's aw-shucks American drawl absolutely kills this remake of the classic silent film by Frank Borzage with Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor (who won the first Oscar for best actress). A Parisian sewer worker (James Stewart - yes, very badly miscast) rescues an abused cafe worker (the character was a prostitute in the original and with Simone Simon in the part at least they got the right nationality), gets her to move in with him, teaches her to be confident and then goes off to war just when she falls in love with him. Ludicrous remake is a disaster from the word go with french star Simone Simon not a patch on the marvelous Janet Gaynor who gave such a luminous performance.
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Humoresque (Jean Negulesco, 1946) 9/10
Based on a short story by Fanny Hurst and written in an overblown manner by Clifford Odets, the film is about a classical musician (John Garfield - with the violin music played by Isaac Stern) from the slums whose promising career gets waylaid after he falls under the spell of a rich hostess / lush (Joan Crawford). The film comes into its own the minute Crawford appears - a quarter of the way into the film. The camera (Ernest Haller) is clearly in love with her as she suffers and suffers and her enraptured and sexual reactions to the musician border hysterically on camp. The famous Crawford face is captured in constant close-up revealing her drunken self loathing as she is tortured by demons - booze, men and power. She easily overshadows the entire cast including the wisecracking Oscar Levant playing the musician's buddy. The ending is a real doozy as Crawford gets a prolonged suicide scene as she walks into the ocean dressed in a black shoulder padded Adrian sheath as the interlude from Wagner's "Tristan and Isolde" plays on the soundtrack. Hysterical but slick film is great fun and the music is good too. One of four important Crawford films from the 1940s - the others were Mildred Pierce (1945; for which she won her desperately wanted Oscar), Possessed (1947) & Daisy Kenyon (1947), all of which she made in quick succession and on which most of her dramatic reputation rests today.
Based on a short story by Fanny Hurst and written in an overblown manner by Clifford Odets, the film is about a classical musician (John Garfield - with the violin music played by Isaac Stern) from the slums whose promising career gets waylaid after he falls under the spell of a rich hostess / lush (Joan Crawford). The film comes into its own the minute Crawford appears - a quarter of the way into the film. The camera (Ernest Haller) is clearly in love with her as she suffers and suffers and her enraptured and sexual reactions to the musician border hysterically on camp. The famous Crawford face is captured in constant close-up revealing her drunken self loathing as she is tortured by demons - booze, men and power. She easily overshadows the entire cast including the wisecracking Oscar Levant playing the musician's buddy. The ending is a real doozy as Crawford gets a prolonged suicide scene as she walks into the ocean dressed in a black shoulder padded Adrian sheath as the interlude from Wagner's "Tristan and Isolde" plays on the soundtrack. Hysterical but slick film is great fun and the music is good too. One of four important Crawford films from the 1940s - the others were Mildred Pierce (1945; for which she won her desperately wanted Oscar), Possessed (1947) & Daisy Kenyon (1947), all of which she made in quick succession and on which most of her dramatic reputation rests today.
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Churchill (Jonathan Teplitzky, 2017) 8/10
One of a number of recent screen biographies about the British Prime Minister. This is a small scale very intimate chamberpiece filmed mostly in close ups and heavy on dialogue. It captures Winston Churchill (Brian Cox) during the very tense days leading up to Operation Overlord, one of the most important amphibious operations in history as the Allied Forces landed on the beaches at Normandy facing heavy artillery onslaught by the Nazi might. Despite the heavy casualties the invasion was a turning point which eventually led to Hitler's defeat and the end of WWII. The controversial screenplay has Churchill vehemently opposing the plan and clashing over it with General Dwight Eisenhower (John Slattery) and Field Marshall Montgomery (Julian Wadham) while his wife Clementine (Miranda Richardson), Field Marshall Jan Smuts (Richard Durden) and King George VI (James Purefoy) try to placate and reason with him. Terrible guilt from years before when soldiers were massacred at Gallipoli in 1915 remain with the statesman and he fears a similar disaster. In actuality while the P.M. was initially opposed to the idea of a direct Allied attack he had months before reconciled to the idea of its importance. Here we get a scene where Churchill actually prays to God a day before the attack imploring bad weather so the attack could be cancelled. Cox gives a marvelous performance capturing the great man's wit, ferocious mood swings and blustery demeanor. The film also captures a glimpse of Churchill's thorny marriage - Richardson is superb as his patient, loving but often frustrated and angry wife who stood by him recognising that he came first for his country in its time of need. The camera captures every intimate moment with great precision while some of the magnificent wide shots set on a lonely beach, as Churchill walks amongst corpses, signify the man's guilt which he has carried with him for almost thirty years. The film ends with Churchill giving his famously rousing "We will fight on the beaches" speech which never fails to provide chills. Entertaining film.
One of a number of recent screen biographies about the British Prime Minister. This is a small scale very intimate chamberpiece filmed mostly in close ups and heavy on dialogue. It captures Winston Churchill (Brian Cox) during the very tense days leading up to Operation Overlord, one of the most important amphibious operations in history as the Allied Forces landed on the beaches at Normandy facing heavy artillery onslaught by the Nazi might. Despite the heavy casualties the invasion was a turning point which eventually led to Hitler's defeat and the end of WWII. The controversial screenplay has Churchill vehemently opposing the plan and clashing over it with General Dwight Eisenhower (John Slattery) and Field Marshall Montgomery (Julian Wadham) while his wife Clementine (Miranda Richardson), Field Marshall Jan Smuts (Richard Durden) and King George VI (James Purefoy) try to placate and reason with him. Terrible guilt from years before when soldiers were massacred at Gallipoli in 1915 remain with the statesman and he fears a similar disaster. In actuality while the P.M. was initially opposed to the idea of a direct Allied attack he had months before reconciled to the idea of its importance. Here we get a scene where Churchill actually prays to God a day before the attack imploring bad weather so the attack could be cancelled. Cox gives a marvelous performance capturing the great man's wit, ferocious mood swings and blustery demeanor. The film also captures a glimpse of Churchill's thorny marriage - Richardson is superb as his patient, loving but often frustrated and angry wife who stood by him recognising that he came first for his country in its time of need. The camera captures every intimate moment with great precision while some of the magnificent wide shots set on a lonely beach, as Churchill walks amongst corpses, signify the man's guilt which he has carried with him for almost thirty years. The film ends with Churchill giving his famously rousing "We will fight on the beaches" speech which never fails to provide chills. Entertaining film.
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The Bride Wore Red (Dorothy Arzner, 1937) 7/10
The film that helped label Joan Crawford boxoffice poison is actually quite amusing with MGM giving it a typically overwhelming if very artificial production courtesy of Joseph L. Mankiewicz. It's based on a play by Ferenc Molnár where the title character, a prostitute, is changed in this adaptation to a cabaret singer. The plot lifts plot points from both "Cinderella" and "Pygmalion" with Crawford's shimmering and beaded red dress (by Adrian) substituting for the slippers which plays a part in the finale. A Count (George Zucco) bets that a poor person can pass off as a lady provided she is provided with the means - enter Crawford who ends up at a posh resort in the Tyrol mountains where a peasant (Franchot Tone) falls in love with her while she shamelessly pursues a rich man (Robert Young) and tries to impress his friends - a bitchy Billie Burke and Reginald Denny. Fast paced film with Crawford very good - she has great chemistry with Tone who was her husband at the time - this was the last of their seven films together - but divorced soon after when the film flopped and she got her dreaded label.
The film that helped label Joan Crawford boxoffice poison is actually quite amusing with MGM giving it a typically overwhelming if very artificial production courtesy of Joseph L. Mankiewicz. It's based on a play by Ferenc Molnár where the title character, a prostitute, is changed in this adaptation to a cabaret singer. The plot lifts plot points from both "Cinderella" and "Pygmalion" with Crawford's shimmering and beaded red dress (by Adrian) substituting for the slippers which plays a part in the finale. A Count (George Zucco) bets that a poor person can pass off as a lady provided she is provided with the means - enter Crawford who ends up at a posh resort in the Tyrol mountains where a peasant (Franchot Tone) falls in love with her while she shamelessly pursues a rich man (Robert Young) and tries to impress his friends - a bitchy Billie Burke and Reginald Denny. Fast paced film with Crawford very good - she has great chemistry with Tone who was her husband at the time - this was the last of their seven films together - but divorced soon after when the film flopped and she got her dreaded label.
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The White Angel (William Dieterle, 1936) 7/10
Straightforward Warner Bros screen biography about the life of Florence Nightingale (Kay Francis in a major departure from her usual roles where she played floozies or an upperclass clotheshorse) - her training as a nurse and move to the front during the Crimean War against much opposition from her family and government officials. Francis gives an impassioned performance as "the lady with the lamp" with good support from Donald Crisp, Nigel Bruce, Ian Hunter, Henry O'Neill, Halliwell Hobbes, Eily Malyon and Montague Love playing assorted officials from the medical, government and newspaper professions who aid or abet her in her efforts to decrease the suffering of the injured. Beautifully shot film shows the squalid conditions the injured endured in makeshift hospitals while Nightingale and her nurses provided much needed comfort.
Straightforward Warner Bros screen biography about the life of Florence Nightingale (Kay Francis in a major departure from her usual roles where she played floozies or an upperclass clotheshorse) - her training as a nurse and move to the front during the Crimean War against much opposition from her family and government officials. Francis gives an impassioned performance as "the lady with the lamp" with good support from Donald Crisp, Nigel Bruce, Ian Hunter, Henry O'Neill, Halliwell Hobbes, Eily Malyon and Montague Love playing assorted officials from the medical, government and newspaper professions who aid or abet her in her efforts to decrease the suffering of the injured. Beautifully shot film shows the squalid conditions the injured endured in makeshift hospitals while Nightingale and her nurses provided much needed comfort.
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Kingsman: The Golden Circle (Matthew Vaughn, 2017) 7/10
This overlong sequel lacks the surprise element of the original but it has enough cheeky cartoonish moments for a rollicking good time at the movies. Kingsman agent Eggsy (Taron Egerton) is faced with the annihilation of his entire team at the hands of a rogue who was rejected from the service and now working for sweet but evil drugpin Poppy (Julianne Moore) - a relic straight out of the 1950s. For star whores (like me) this film is a treasure trove of new faces along with the old. Colin Firth, who was assumed dead, returns with an eye patch and retrograde amnesia with stiff uppercrust tongue firmly in cheek. Helping the agents is the gung-ho stateside secret service ("Statesman") headed by whiskey salesman Jeff Bridges (looking exactly like Lloyd and doing a take-off on the gruff cowboys he has played), his frontman (Channing Tatum) and computer expert (Halle Berry). Adding fuel to the fire is the Trump-like U.S. President (Bruce Greenwood) at odds with his Chief of Staff (Emily Watson). There are spectacular set pieces scattered throughout - a car chase through the streets of London, a whirling Bond-like alpine fight scene and the delirious final assault on the villain's lair where a kidnapped Elton John sings ("Saturday Night"), fights and shouts hilarious expletives. The film's non-stop hit songs on the soundtrack accompany the outlandish action (CGI galore) with John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" sung during a highly emotional but funny moment. This is an explosive, ultra-violent and darkly humourous adventure film which works mainly because of Egerton and the genius of Firth.
This overlong sequel lacks the surprise element of the original but it has enough cheeky cartoonish moments for a rollicking good time at the movies. Kingsman agent Eggsy (Taron Egerton) is faced with the annihilation of his entire team at the hands of a rogue who was rejected from the service and now working for sweet but evil drugpin Poppy (Julianne Moore) - a relic straight out of the 1950s. For star whores (like me) this film is a treasure trove of new faces along with the old. Colin Firth, who was assumed dead, returns with an eye patch and retrograde amnesia with stiff uppercrust tongue firmly in cheek. Helping the agents is the gung-ho stateside secret service ("Statesman") headed by whiskey salesman Jeff Bridges (looking exactly like Lloyd and doing a take-off on the gruff cowboys he has played), his frontman (Channing Tatum) and computer expert (Halle Berry). Adding fuel to the fire is the Trump-like U.S. President (Bruce Greenwood) at odds with his Chief of Staff (Emily Watson). There are spectacular set pieces scattered throughout - a car chase through the streets of London, a whirling Bond-like alpine fight scene and the delirious final assault on the villain's lair where a kidnapped Elton John sings ("Saturday Night"), fights and shouts hilarious expletives. The film's non-stop hit songs on the soundtrack accompany the outlandish action (CGI galore) with John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" sung during a highly emotional but funny moment. This is an explosive, ultra-violent and darkly humourous adventure film which works mainly because of Egerton and the genius of Firth.
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mother! (Darren Aronofsky, 2017) 2/10
Is this sheer nonsense posing as art? Yes, and pretentious to boot. It crams in a lot of fantastic imagery with a central character who, like Alice in Wonderland, seems to be in a nightmare that starts as a dream and gradually goes for the jugular throwing in everything and the bloody kitchen sink which literally collapses. A woman (Jennifer Lawrence), married to a successful grumpy poet (Javier Bardem) suffering from writer's block, lives in a huge house in the middle of nowhere. While she renovates the house he spends his time moping around. There is an uncomfortable distance between them until a stranger (Ed Harris) arrives at the doorstep and the husband invites him to stay much to the discomfort of his wife. The next day the stranger's wife (Michelle Pfeiffer) appears, also moves in followed by her two sons who get into an altercation with one killing the other. So far the film has been moving at a snail's pace with Pfeiffer providing the film with a little life through her inquisitive and insensitively sharp retorts. The screenplay suddenly jumpstarts to include the man's success with a new book of poetry, the wife's growing pregnancy, followed by hordes of people storming the house with absolute anarchy as part of the menu - a hole in the floor morphs into a bloody vagina, the walls seem to contain something sinister, the crowds inside the house turn violent and it resembles a battlefield with police in riot gear and zombie-like entities reaching out for our heroine who gets ready to give birth to her baby in the midst of all this chaos. Aronofsky appears to have scraped out bits and pieces off far superior films - Polanski's "Repulsion" and "Rosemary's Baby", Hitchcock's "Rebecca", Cukor's "Gaslight", bits from "The Evil Dead" and silly hysteria from assorted films about the apocalypse with religious overtones as characters take on the mantle of Satan, Eve, Cain and Abel and the house begins to depict several levels of hell. Unfortunately the title character is such a boring drip that one fails to muster any sympathy for her and Lawrence is badly miscast floundering about and clearly looking confused while trying to make some sense of the silly story. Bardem underplays when he should have been over-the-top. His part is annoyingly underwritten with Aronofsky concentrating solely on Lawrence whom he puts through the mill by throwing every possible indignity her way - they both became lovers either before, during or after the film was shot. The entire film takes place within the confines of the house and as the story progresses and more and more characters appear crammed within the walls claustrophobia sets in. Matthew Libatique's camera is in constant motion with chaotic scenes of people crowding inside the house making it feel like we are in the trenches of WWI. This is a deeply flawed film which sadly could have been better if only more focus had been given to the erratic plot which has the smell of putrid deja vu. Wonder what David Lynch might have done with this material?
Is this sheer nonsense posing as art? Yes, and pretentious to boot. It crams in a lot of fantastic imagery with a central character who, like Alice in Wonderland, seems to be in a nightmare that starts as a dream and gradually goes for the jugular throwing in everything and the bloody kitchen sink which literally collapses. A woman (Jennifer Lawrence), married to a successful grumpy poet (Javier Bardem) suffering from writer's block, lives in a huge house in the middle of nowhere. While she renovates the house he spends his time moping around. There is an uncomfortable distance between them until a stranger (Ed Harris) arrives at the doorstep and the husband invites him to stay much to the discomfort of his wife. The next day the stranger's wife (Michelle Pfeiffer) appears, also moves in followed by her two sons who get into an altercation with one killing the other. So far the film has been moving at a snail's pace with Pfeiffer providing the film with a little life through her inquisitive and insensitively sharp retorts. The screenplay suddenly jumpstarts to include the man's success with a new book of poetry, the wife's growing pregnancy, followed by hordes of people storming the house with absolute anarchy as part of the menu - a hole in the floor morphs into a bloody vagina, the walls seem to contain something sinister, the crowds inside the house turn violent and it resembles a battlefield with police in riot gear and zombie-like entities reaching out for our heroine who gets ready to give birth to her baby in the midst of all this chaos. Aronofsky appears to have scraped out bits and pieces off far superior films - Polanski's "Repulsion" and "Rosemary's Baby", Hitchcock's "Rebecca", Cukor's "Gaslight", bits from "The Evil Dead" and silly hysteria from assorted films about the apocalypse with religious overtones as characters take on the mantle of Satan, Eve, Cain and Abel and the house begins to depict several levels of hell. Unfortunately the title character is such a boring drip that one fails to muster any sympathy for her and Lawrence is badly miscast floundering about and clearly looking confused while trying to make some sense of the silly story. Bardem underplays when he should have been over-the-top. His part is annoyingly underwritten with Aronofsky concentrating solely on Lawrence whom he puts through the mill by throwing every possible indignity her way - they both became lovers either before, during or after the film was shot. The entire film takes place within the confines of the house and as the story progresses and more and more characters appear crammed within the walls claustrophobia sets in. Matthew Libatique's camera is in constant motion with chaotic scenes of people crowding inside the house making it feel like we are in the trenches of WWI. This is a deeply flawed film which sadly could have been better if only more focus had been given to the erratic plot which has the smell of putrid deja vu. Wonder what David Lynch might have done with this material?
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Princess O'Rourke (Norman Krasna, 1943) 6/10
Ten years before Audrey Hepburn was introduced to the world as an incognito princess in Rome in "Roman Holiday" there was one in New York also played charmingly by Olivia de Havilland. The plot has her interacting and falling in love with a commoner (Robert Cummings). A wonderful supporting cast adds colour - Jack Carson and Jane Wyman as his married friends, Charles Coburn as her lovable uncle and Gladys Cooper as her secretary. Silly fluff which the cast manages to keep afloat. An Oscar winner for Original Screenplay.
Ten years before Audrey Hepburn was introduced to the world as an incognito princess in Rome in "Roman Holiday" there was one in New York also played charmingly by Olivia de Havilland. The plot has her interacting and falling in love with a commoner (Robert Cummings). A wonderful supporting cast adds colour - Jack Carson and Jane Wyman as his married friends, Charles Coburn as her lovable uncle and Gladys Cooper as her secretary. Silly fluff which the cast manages to keep afloat. An Oscar winner for Original Screenplay.
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It (Andy Muschietti, 2017) 8/10
It's incredibly tough being a school kid. And if you happen to be a "loser" - weak, fat, a hypochondriac, black, new kid in town or you stammer - it's double the rough time. Stephen King's mammoth and acclaimed 1986 novel gets a new adaptation, this time for the big screen, in a vastly truncated version which only covers half the book (with a lot of plot points omitted) detailing the section with the kids - a sequel will be made covering the other half with the kids as adults. The premise of the story is deeply unsettling and downright traumatic. A child dies when a mysterious smiling clown chomps up his arm and pulls him into the sewer below a small town. His brother and his six friends - a gang of "losers" - battle the scary being who preys on kids' fears and arrives in town every 27 years to kill children. A horrific battle ensues in the underground sewers as the scared children are confronted by "It" in different forms - a leper, a werewolf, decomposed cadavers, and the smiling evil clown. The unfortunate kids not only have to battle this monster but also "evil" elements in their own homes - a young girl has to ward off her father who has been sexually abusing her and the town bully and his friends repeatedly torment, beat and mutilate the children. A scene which parallel's a young girl's menstruation (shades of "Carrie") evolves into a terrifying scene set in a toilet where blood oozes out of the sink and literally explodes covering the walls and the girl with blood. The violence is unrelenting throughout which usually in a horror film one can bear but here it is directed solely at very small children and each violent act becomes unbearable after a while. The entire cast of young actors is superb and the director has achieved what he set out to do - create a bone chilling horror film which will remain with you and manifest itself through your own nightmares.
It's incredibly tough being a school kid. And if you happen to be a "loser" - weak, fat, a hypochondriac, black, new kid in town or you stammer - it's double the rough time. Stephen King's mammoth and acclaimed 1986 novel gets a new adaptation, this time for the big screen, in a vastly truncated version which only covers half the book (with a lot of plot points omitted) detailing the section with the kids - a sequel will be made covering the other half with the kids as adults. The premise of the story is deeply unsettling and downright traumatic. A child dies when a mysterious smiling clown chomps up his arm and pulls him into the sewer below a small town. His brother and his six friends - a gang of "losers" - battle the scary being who preys on kids' fears and arrives in town every 27 years to kill children. A horrific battle ensues in the underground sewers as the scared children are confronted by "It" in different forms - a leper, a werewolf, decomposed cadavers, and the smiling evil clown. The unfortunate kids not only have to battle this monster but also "evil" elements in their own homes - a young girl has to ward off her father who has been sexually abusing her and the town bully and his friends repeatedly torment, beat and mutilate the children. A scene which parallel's a young girl's menstruation (shades of "Carrie") evolves into a terrifying scene set in a toilet where blood oozes out of the sink and literally explodes covering the walls and the girl with blood. The violence is unrelenting throughout which usually in a horror film one can bear but here it is directed solely at very small children and each violent act becomes unbearable after a while. The entire cast of young actors is superb and the director has achieved what he set out to do - create a bone chilling horror film which will remain with you and manifest itself through your own nightmares.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
The Asphalt Jungle (John Huston, 1950) 10/10
Huston dispensed with his usual all-star cast and came up with this intimate little noir which ended up becoming one of the most influential crime caper thrillers. Everyone from Dassin to Tarantino picked up ideas from this film. An almost documentary-like crime procedural film, this is tautly directed and scripted with marvelously drawn characters - a mild mannered elderly german jailbird (Sam Jaffe) gets out of prison on parole and immediately plans his last jewel robbery and gets together a diverse group of crooks - a crooked lawyer (Louis Calhern) who finances the job, a petty hood (Sterling Hayden) who wants to finance a horse farm with his share of the spoils, a hunchbacked cafe owner (James Whitmore) who is the designated driver and a safecracker (Anthony Caruso). Naturally the plan goes awry and the double crosses begin almost immediately. Adding colour to the proceedings are Jean Hagen as Hayden's sweet moll and a very young Marilyn Monroe as Calhern's innocent mistress. Superbly acted by the entire cast - with Calhern and Hayden especially outstanding -this is a taut and tense drama and a classic of the crime genre. Oscar nominations for Huston's direction, the screenplay, Harold Rosson's starkly lit cinematography and for Sam Jaffe's great performance as the mastermind whose weakness for young girls traps him. Great film.
Huston dispensed with his usual all-star cast and came up with this intimate little noir which ended up becoming one of the most influential crime caper thrillers. Everyone from Dassin to Tarantino picked up ideas from this film. An almost documentary-like crime procedural film, this is tautly directed and scripted with marvelously drawn characters - a mild mannered elderly german jailbird (Sam Jaffe) gets out of prison on parole and immediately plans his last jewel robbery and gets together a diverse group of crooks - a crooked lawyer (Louis Calhern) who finances the job, a petty hood (Sterling Hayden) who wants to finance a horse farm with his share of the spoils, a hunchbacked cafe owner (James Whitmore) who is the designated driver and a safecracker (Anthony Caruso). Naturally the plan goes awry and the double crosses begin almost immediately. Adding colour to the proceedings are Jean Hagen as Hayden's sweet moll and a very young Marilyn Monroe as Calhern's innocent mistress. Superbly acted by the entire cast - with Calhern and Hayden especially outstanding -this is a taut and tense drama and a classic of the crime genre. Oscar nominations for Huston's direction, the screenplay, Harold Rosson's starkly lit cinematography and for Sam Jaffe's great performance as the mastermind whose weakness for young girls traps him. Great film.