Inside Job - Charles Ferguson - 2010
This is a catch-up viewing as it is among the acclaimed/popular movies of the last decade or so that I had still not seen.
It is a documentary about what led to the 2008 financial-collapse/Great-Recession and the reaction to it and dealing with it. Despite following the documentary trope of being comprised mostly of talking heads, voice-over narration, and archival footage, it manages to create quite compelling drama, almost as if it was a narrative film. Much of this comes from simply allowing "experts" to hang themselves with their own words while they are being interviewed.
I am glad that the film dealt with how money from wealthy finance bigwigs not only buys off politicians but also university economics departments; however, I wish it expanded on this to show how this money not only corrupted government policy leading to reckless financial deregulation, but, also how it corrupted academic economics leading to fraudulent teaching of the way the economy actually works. There was a very small hint of how this financialization not only leads to bubbles and busts, but, also how it saps the economy's productive capacity, when an interviewee states that physical engineers build bridges while financial engineers build dreams that turn into nightmares. It is too bad a lot more time was not devoted to this.
This is one of the slickest-looking documentaries I have seen. While much is a result of simply interviewing many wealthy people in luxury offices, a lot is also owed to aerial photography of New York City. I thought this photography was more stock footage; but, when I read the end credits I did see that the film employed its own aerial photographers and even helicopter pilots.
One stunning irony is that Matt Damon narrates this; and, Damon just recently has been the celebrity spokesperson for crypto.com.
8.5/10
Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Once Upon a Time in America (1984) - 8/10 - A big gangster film that takes place in multiple time periods with much of the action taking place during Prohibition or shortly thereafter plus 35 years later. Overall, I thought it was a good movie, though I'll admit to starting to get bored with the 1960s era at times. There were other negatives, but they were outweighed by the positives.
Diabolique (1955) - 8.5/10 - The owner of a boarding school is a mild mannered woman who teaches at the school. Her husband is the principal and can be cruel. His mistress is also a teacher there, but she gets along with the man's wife. The two women decide to murder the husband, but something funny starts happening when the body disappears. This is a nice thriller with good performances. I had guessed what was going on earlier in the film, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment.
Le Trou (1960) - 8.5/10 - Four prisoners in a particular prison cell have been planning an escape for quite some time. Their plans may be in jeopardy when another inmate is transferred into their cell due to construction at the prison. The film features quite a bit of interesting preparations as the prisoners put their plan into motion. It's a very nice film.
High and Low (1963) - 8/10 - An executive for a shoe company is about to leverage all he has to take over the company so that he can push it in the direction that he want. Before this deal is complete, his young son's companion, the son of the man's chauffeur, is kidnapped and a huge ransom is demanded. This is a very nice Akira Kurosawa drama with plenty of police work in tracking down the kidnapper. The police work manages to be pretty interesting.
Diabolique (1955) - 8.5/10 - The owner of a boarding school is a mild mannered woman who teaches at the school. Her husband is the principal and can be cruel. His mistress is also a teacher there, but she gets along with the man's wife. The two women decide to murder the husband, but something funny starts happening when the body disappears. This is a nice thriller with good performances. I had guessed what was going on earlier in the film, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment.
Le Trou (1960) - 8.5/10 - Four prisoners in a particular prison cell have been planning an escape for quite some time. Their plans may be in jeopardy when another inmate is transferred into their cell due to construction at the prison. The film features quite a bit of interesting preparations as the prisoners put their plan into motion. It's a very nice film.
High and Low (1963) - 8/10 - An executive for a shoe company is about to leverage all he has to take over the company so that he can push it in the direction that he want. Before this deal is complete, his young son's companion, the son of the man's chauffeur, is kidnapped and a huge ransom is demanded. This is a very nice Akira Kurosawa drama with plenty of police work in tracking down the kidnapper. The police work manages to be pretty interesting.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Top Gun: Maverick (Joseph Kosinski, 2022) 7/10
The world's biggest movie star - Tom Cruise - returns to the big screen after a delay of four years courtesy the global pandemic. I saw Top Gun in real time way back when it came out but was never a fan of the film. Or of the star. However, I found myself closely awaiting the sequel's release and it must be old age - I'm a month older than the star - that has made me agreeable to the idea of not only this sequel but was actually looking forward to seeing the star back on screen. Not withstanding all the film's clichés and the plot points which one could see coming from a mile away this movie delivers big time. Starting with the star himself who is still extremely trim and fit but finally and thankfully with age lines around his familiar face which give him character. I loved the way how the camera closes in on him - as he smiles, smirks, sports his eye-glasses - in the old fashioned Hollywood way where the star gets the full glamour treatment. The generic plot has Maverick's old flight-foe turned mate, Iceman (Val Kilmer), a retired Admiral, who ropes him in as instructor to a group of top gun graduates to train them to fly into an unnamed country - the script seems to imply "Russia" - and why not, since they are once again Enemy # Uno for the (Wild) West after attacking Ukraine - and after a death-defying flying course through difficult terrain bomb the enemy and their uranium reserves. There is also a return to the past and a misunderstanding with one of the young flyers who is the son of "Goose", Maverick's deceased buddy from the first film. A very mature Jennifer Connelly plays the love interest and its wonderful to see two actors of a certain age play lovers on screen with superb chemistry and a far cry from the more common but ridiculous teaming of older male stars opposite much younger female starlets. The film is replete with expected jingoistic moments - and the usual rivalry-banter between the younger crop of characters - but surprisingly has many emotional moments scattered throughout as well. All the brief scenes with and about Val Kilmer are tear inducing as friendship, loyalty and bromance get highlighted. There are telling brief bits by Ed Harris and Jon Hamm as senior officers sceptical about Maverick. The final daring mission is the film's pièce de résistance as the low altitude flights and the dogfights take on an exhilarating high helped in great part by a heady mix of cinematography, sound, editing and superb visual effects. Cruise and company have delivered a sequel they can be proud of.
Scarlet Thread (Lewis Gilbert, 1951) 5/10
Shifty cockney pickpocket (Laurence Harvey) teams up with a one-armed, well-mannered college educated crook (Sydney Tafler) and participates in a jewel robbery that goes wrong and ends up with a murder. On the run the two men end up at Cambridge University and hide out in the home of the dean where the cockney seduces the old man's daughter (Kathleen Byron). Based on a play the thriller soon runs out of steam as the two crooks end up squabbling. What isn't too clear is if the older crook is jealous because he fancies the woman too or is he jealous of the woman because he has a crush on the cockney. Byron shines as the spinster who opens up after being seduced. Stiff B-film set in claustrophobic surroundings at Trinity College Cambridge.
A Rumor of Angels (Peter O'Fallon, 2000) 6/10
Lonely boy, grieving for his dead mother and neglected by his mostly absent father (Ray Liotta), befriends an eccentric old widow (Vanessa Redgrave) who gradually draws him out of his shell. Banal little film gets a lift with the presence of the remarkable Redgrave - tall, tough and abrupt - and the lovely Maine location. The plot points dealing with the supernatural are erratic and luckily do not intrude into the sparkling relationship between the boy and the old lady. Liotta and lovely Catherine McCormack (as the boy's stepmother) stay mostly on the periphery of the story until the end when the obligatory reconciliations take place.
The Gingerbread Man (Robert Altman, 1998) 5/10
Altman is an odd choice as director to be involved in a John Grisham thriller. Quirky film has tons of atmosphere - an approaching hurricane adds to the ominous goings on - but Branagh's southern drawl comes off very annoying even if it sounds authentic. One loses track of the plot listening to Branagh talk with that accent. Successful lawyer (Kenneth Branagh), known for getting crooks off in court, comes to the help of a waitress (Embeth Davidtz) who wants her crazy dad (Robert Duvall) put away. When the old coot escapes after he is incarcerated the lawyer comes under threat - a car blows up, his already troubled relationship with his ex-wife (Famke Janssen) comes to a boiling point when he first takes his two kids from school without her permission - there were threats to their lives - and later gets into a chase when the kids are kidnapped from him. Helping him is his trusted assistant (Daryl Hannah) and a seedy private eye (Robert Downey Jr.) while lurking around is the woman's ex-husband (Tom Berenger) who hates her. Ludicrous plot keeps getting worse as it goes along with coincidences piling up leading to a twist ending one saw coming up from a mile away.
The world's biggest movie star - Tom Cruise - returns to the big screen after a delay of four years courtesy the global pandemic. I saw Top Gun in real time way back when it came out but was never a fan of the film. Or of the star. However, I found myself closely awaiting the sequel's release and it must be old age - I'm a month older than the star - that has made me agreeable to the idea of not only this sequel but was actually looking forward to seeing the star back on screen. Not withstanding all the film's clichés and the plot points which one could see coming from a mile away this movie delivers big time. Starting with the star himself who is still extremely trim and fit but finally and thankfully with age lines around his familiar face which give him character. I loved the way how the camera closes in on him - as he smiles, smirks, sports his eye-glasses - in the old fashioned Hollywood way where the star gets the full glamour treatment. The generic plot has Maverick's old flight-foe turned mate, Iceman (Val Kilmer), a retired Admiral, who ropes him in as instructor to a group of top gun graduates to train them to fly into an unnamed country - the script seems to imply "Russia" - and why not, since they are once again Enemy # Uno for the (Wild) West after attacking Ukraine - and after a death-defying flying course through difficult terrain bomb the enemy and their uranium reserves. There is also a return to the past and a misunderstanding with one of the young flyers who is the son of "Goose", Maverick's deceased buddy from the first film. A very mature Jennifer Connelly plays the love interest and its wonderful to see two actors of a certain age play lovers on screen with superb chemistry and a far cry from the more common but ridiculous teaming of older male stars opposite much younger female starlets. The film is replete with expected jingoistic moments - and the usual rivalry-banter between the younger crop of characters - but surprisingly has many emotional moments scattered throughout as well. All the brief scenes with and about Val Kilmer are tear inducing as friendship, loyalty and bromance get highlighted. There are telling brief bits by Ed Harris and Jon Hamm as senior officers sceptical about Maverick. The final daring mission is the film's pièce de résistance as the low altitude flights and the dogfights take on an exhilarating high helped in great part by a heady mix of cinematography, sound, editing and superb visual effects. Cruise and company have delivered a sequel they can be proud of.
Scarlet Thread (Lewis Gilbert, 1951) 5/10
Shifty cockney pickpocket (Laurence Harvey) teams up with a one-armed, well-mannered college educated crook (Sydney Tafler) and participates in a jewel robbery that goes wrong and ends up with a murder. On the run the two men end up at Cambridge University and hide out in the home of the dean where the cockney seduces the old man's daughter (Kathleen Byron). Based on a play the thriller soon runs out of steam as the two crooks end up squabbling. What isn't too clear is if the older crook is jealous because he fancies the woman too or is he jealous of the woman because he has a crush on the cockney. Byron shines as the spinster who opens up after being seduced. Stiff B-film set in claustrophobic surroundings at Trinity College Cambridge.
A Rumor of Angels (Peter O'Fallon, 2000) 6/10
Lonely boy, grieving for his dead mother and neglected by his mostly absent father (Ray Liotta), befriends an eccentric old widow (Vanessa Redgrave) who gradually draws him out of his shell. Banal little film gets a lift with the presence of the remarkable Redgrave - tall, tough and abrupt - and the lovely Maine location. The plot points dealing with the supernatural are erratic and luckily do not intrude into the sparkling relationship between the boy and the old lady. Liotta and lovely Catherine McCormack (as the boy's stepmother) stay mostly on the periphery of the story until the end when the obligatory reconciliations take place.
The Gingerbread Man (Robert Altman, 1998) 5/10
Altman is an odd choice as director to be involved in a John Grisham thriller. Quirky film has tons of atmosphere - an approaching hurricane adds to the ominous goings on - but Branagh's southern drawl comes off very annoying even if it sounds authentic. One loses track of the plot listening to Branagh talk with that accent. Successful lawyer (Kenneth Branagh), known for getting crooks off in court, comes to the help of a waitress (Embeth Davidtz) who wants her crazy dad (Robert Duvall) put away. When the old coot escapes after he is incarcerated the lawyer comes under threat - a car blows up, his already troubled relationship with his ex-wife (Famke Janssen) comes to a boiling point when he first takes his two kids from school without her permission - there were threats to their lives - and later gets into a chase when the kids are kidnapped from him. Helping him is his trusted assistant (Daryl Hannah) and a seedy private eye (Robert Downey Jr.) while lurking around is the woman's ex-husband (Tom Berenger) who hates her. Ludicrous plot keeps getting worse as it goes along with coincidences piling up leading to a twist ending one saw coming up from a mile away.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Stop Making Sense (1984) - 9/10 - Great music with the Talking Heads and a great show as well.
A Silent Voice: The Movie (2016) - 8/10 - Shoya and some of his classmates bullied a deaf girl named Shoko when they were in elementary school. Shoya took the blame for the whole thing and was then ostracized and bullied himself for years after. He's remorseful and is contemplating suicide, but decides to try and reconnect with Shoko in order to apologize first. The film is a bit slow at times, but is a good adaptation of the manga.
Foo Fighters: Back and Forth (2011) - 9/10 - A nice documentary looking at the formation of the band, how they function as a group, and a bit about the creation of their albums. Lots of interviews, concert footage, and practice footage.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) - 8/10 - A fun movie starring Angela Lansbury as a woman studying to be a witch through a correspondence course. She has to take in three young children who have been evacuated from London during WWII and they soon learn of her abilities. There is music, humor, and an enjoyable film.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022) - 8/10 - Tom Cruise returns as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, the aging pilot who is still a captain, even after decades of service. He is called back to Top Gun to serve as an instructor for a special mission. He also has to face people and memories from his past. It's a good movie and hits a lot of the right chords, though I thought it was a bit predictable. It is still solidly entertaining and fun.
The Little Kidnappers (1953) - 8/10 - Two young boys arrive in Nova Scotia from Scotland to live with their grandparents after the death of their father in the Boer War. Their stern grandfather is feuding with a neighbor that he accuses of stealing his land. The brothers get caught up in this feud a bit before coming across an abandoned baby. This is a nice film that takes place in 1904.
Gun Crazy (1950) - 8.5/10 - Bart grew up crazy about guns and became an excellent shot, but didn't want to hurt anybody. He falls for a lady sharpshooter that he meets at a carnival and the two later go on a major crime spree. This is a very nice film noir.
Le Corbeau (1943) - 8.5/10 - Somebody in a town in France starts sending out poison pen letters slandering a local doctor and also accusing others of improprieties. The people in the town are greatly disturbed and search for the author of the letters, which are signed 'Le corbeau'. I enjoyed the film quite a bit. It is a very nice noir film with a smart script and good acting.
Late Spring (1949) - 10/10 - Noriko (Setsuko Hara) is a 27 year old woman who smiles and laughs a lot. She is very happy living with and taking care of her widowed father (Chishu Ryu). Noriko's aunt thinks that she should marry and convinces Noriko's father about this. Noriko has no interest in marriage, but faces constant pressure from her aunt, father, and a close friend. You can see the happiness in her diminish as this goes on. It's an excellent film and the performances by Hara and Ryu are excellent as well.
A Silent Voice: The Movie (2016) - 8/10 - Shoya and some of his classmates bullied a deaf girl named Shoko when they were in elementary school. Shoya took the blame for the whole thing and was then ostracized and bullied himself for years after. He's remorseful and is contemplating suicide, but decides to try and reconnect with Shoko in order to apologize first. The film is a bit slow at times, but is a good adaptation of the manga.
Foo Fighters: Back and Forth (2011) - 9/10 - A nice documentary looking at the formation of the band, how they function as a group, and a bit about the creation of their albums. Lots of interviews, concert footage, and practice footage.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) - 8/10 - A fun movie starring Angela Lansbury as a woman studying to be a witch through a correspondence course. She has to take in three young children who have been evacuated from London during WWII and they soon learn of her abilities. There is music, humor, and an enjoyable film.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022) - 8/10 - Tom Cruise returns as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, the aging pilot who is still a captain, even after decades of service. He is called back to Top Gun to serve as an instructor for a special mission. He also has to face people and memories from his past. It's a good movie and hits a lot of the right chords, though I thought it was a bit predictable. It is still solidly entertaining and fun.
The Little Kidnappers (1953) - 8/10 - Two young boys arrive in Nova Scotia from Scotland to live with their grandparents after the death of their father in the Boer War. Their stern grandfather is feuding with a neighbor that he accuses of stealing his land. The brothers get caught up in this feud a bit before coming across an abandoned baby. This is a nice film that takes place in 1904.
Gun Crazy (1950) - 8.5/10 - Bart grew up crazy about guns and became an excellent shot, but didn't want to hurt anybody. He falls for a lady sharpshooter that he meets at a carnival and the two later go on a major crime spree. This is a very nice film noir.
Le Corbeau (1943) - 8.5/10 - Somebody in a town in France starts sending out poison pen letters slandering a local doctor and also accusing others of improprieties. The people in the town are greatly disturbed and search for the author of the letters, which are signed 'Le corbeau'. I enjoyed the film quite a bit. It is a very nice noir film with a smart script and good acting.
Late Spring (1949) - 10/10 - Noriko (Setsuko Hara) is a 27 year old woman who smiles and laughs a lot. She is very happy living with and taking care of her widowed father (Chishu Ryu). Noriko's aunt thinks that she should marry and convinces Noriko's father about this. Noriko has no interest in marriage, but faces constant pressure from her aunt, father, and a close friend. You can see the happiness in her diminish as this goes on. It's an excellent film and the performances by Hara and Ryu are excellent as well.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
The Gilded Age (Michael Engler & Salli Richardson Whitfield, 2022) 8/10
Snobbery in late 1800s New York society could be just as vicious as in turn of the century England as seen in writer Julian Fellowes' other dramatic serial "Downton Abbey". However, nobody here can match the deadly wit of Abbey's Dowager Countess of Grantham (played by Dame Maggie Smith). Two women here do try and give that character a run for her money - Mrs Astor (Donna Murphy), who rules New York society with an iron hand, and to a lesser extent the equally snobbish aunt (Christine Baranski) of the series' main character - a young penniless wide-eyed orphan (Louisa Jacobson) who arrives at the New York house of her two estranged aunts (Baranski & sweet spinster Cynthia Nixon) and gradually enters rigid New York society which includes the Nouveau riche Russell family living across the street - a robber baron (Morgan Spector) and his relentlessly determined wife (Carrie Coon) who use their money to try and gain entrance into "polite" upper class society. The series weaves these characters' children into the plot with their own pairings which sometimes leads to happiness but often to disappointments as well. The screenplay also takes a look-in at the Black upper class - a young ambitious African-American journalist (Denée Benton) and her family - and the domestic workers downstairs. Sumptuously mounted series (season two is in the pipeline) is livened up considerably by the four veteran actresses - Baranski, Nixon, Murphy and Coon) - with lead Jacobson (Meryl Streep's daughter) playing a somewhat dull character whose storyline more or less follows Henry James' "Washington Square". Also making a mark in brief roles are Jeanne Tripplehorn as a socialite shunned by high society because of a scandal in her past, Audra McDonald as the black writer's mother, Debra Monk as a maid and Nathan Lane as a popular arbiter of social taste during the Gilded Age.
The Silent Partner (Daryl Duke & Curtis Hanson, 1978) 7/10
Cat and mouse game between a meek bank teller (Elliott Gould) and a cunning bank robber (Christopher Plummer) after the former anticipates the robbery and steals the money before the crook can get his hands on it. Susannah York as the love interest and bank colleague is mostly wasted in an underwritten part but the screenplay allows Plummer to shine for the first time on screen. A mostly bland actor through most of his screen career until this film he suddenly came into his own playing a character of pure malevolence who also gets to perform a stomach churning violent act. The inventive screenplay (by Curtis Hanson who would go on to direct L.A. Confidential) keeps things moving at a brisk pace.
Man Bait (Terence Fisher, 1952) 4/10
Lonely bookshop owner (George Brent), with an invalid wife, makes a pass at his sexy blonde clerk (Diana Dors). She, along with a crooked friend, starts blackmailing him which eventually leads to murder. Low budget British B-noir has screen veterans Brent and Marguerite Chapman (as an assistant in love with him) trapped in subpar material although the film was one of many early ones that created a springboard for sexy Dors to rise up the ladder of stardom.
Snobbery in late 1800s New York society could be just as vicious as in turn of the century England as seen in writer Julian Fellowes' other dramatic serial "Downton Abbey". However, nobody here can match the deadly wit of Abbey's Dowager Countess of Grantham (played by Dame Maggie Smith). Two women here do try and give that character a run for her money - Mrs Astor (Donna Murphy), who rules New York society with an iron hand, and to a lesser extent the equally snobbish aunt (Christine Baranski) of the series' main character - a young penniless wide-eyed orphan (Louisa Jacobson) who arrives at the New York house of her two estranged aunts (Baranski & sweet spinster Cynthia Nixon) and gradually enters rigid New York society which includes the Nouveau riche Russell family living across the street - a robber baron (Morgan Spector) and his relentlessly determined wife (Carrie Coon) who use their money to try and gain entrance into "polite" upper class society. The series weaves these characters' children into the plot with their own pairings which sometimes leads to happiness but often to disappointments as well. The screenplay also takes a look-in at the Black upper class - a young ambitious African-American journalist (Denée Benton) and her family - and the domestic workers downstairs. Sumptuously mounted series (season two is in the pipeline) is livened up considerably by the four veteran actresses - Baranski, Nixon, Murphy and Coon) - with lead Jacobson (Meryl Streep's daughter) playing a somewhat dull character whose storyline more or less follows Henry James' "Washington Square". Also making a mark in brief roles are Jeanne Tripplehorn as a socialite shunned by high society because of a scandal in her past, Audra McDonald as the black writer's mother, Debra Monk as a maid and Nathan Lane as a popular arbiter of social taste during the Gilded Age.
The Silent Partner (Daryl Duke & Curtis Hanson, 1978) 7/10
Cat and mouse game between a meek bank teller (Elliott Gould) and a cunning bank robber (Christopher Plummer) after the former anticipates the robbery and steals the money before the crook can get his hands on it. Susannah York as the love interest and bank colleague is mostly wasted in an underwritten part but the screenplay allows Plummer to shine for the first time on screen. A mostly bland actor through most of his screen career until this film he suddenly came into his own playing a character of pure malevolence who also gets to perform a stomach churning violent act. The inventive screenplay (by Curtis Hanson who would go on to direct L.A. Confidential) keeps things moving at a brisk pace.
Man Bait (Terence Fisher, 1952) 4/10
Lonely bookshop owner (George Brent), with an invalid wife, makes a pass at his sexy blonde clerk (Diana Dors). She, along with a crooked friend, starts blackmailing him which eventually leads to murder. Low budget British B-noir has screen veterans Brent and Marguerite Chapman (as an assistant in love with him) trapped in subpar material although the film was one of many early ones that created a springboard for sexy Dors to rise up the ladder of stardom.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Bend of the River (1952) - 7.5/10 - Jimmy Stewart is a reformed border raider who is leading a group of farmers to their land in Oregon. They have a number of things to deal with, including raids by Shoshone warriors and a merchant who decides to hold back their winter supplies when prices rise due to a gold strike. It's a pretty solid and film, though not as good as Winchester '73.
Destry Rides Again (1939) - 8/10 -The town of Bottleneck is run by a crooked gambler/saloon owner in conjunction with the corrupt mayor. When a local ranch owner is cheated, the sheriff goes to investigate and isn't seen again. The town drunk is named sheriff and he sends for the son of a famous lawman to serve as his deputy. Jimmy Stewart gives a nice performance as the laid back deputy and Marlene Dietrich has a big role as Frenchy, a popular singer at the saloon. The fight between Dietrich and Una Merkel during the film was very good and the movie as a whole is as well.
The Tall T (1957) - 7.5/10 - A former ranch foreman loses his horse in a bet so he hitches a ride on a hired coach that is transporting newlyweds. Outlaws hijack the coach and take the passengers prisoner, figuring to get a ransom for the wife who is from a wealthy family. This is a pretty standard, but enjoyable western.
Wagon Master (1950) - 8/10 - Two horse traders decide to help escort a group of Mormons across the desert to their new home. Along the way, they encounter a gang of criminals, natives, and others. This is a pretty laid back John Ford film that was entertaining.
El Dorado (1966) - 8/10 - An aging gunfighter (John Wayne) helps his old friend (Robert Mitchum) who is a sheriff trying to keep a greedy rancher from stealing the water rights from another rancher. There is plenty of action and a fair amount of humor as well. A young James Caan plays Mississippi, a 'stray' picked up by Wayne along the way.
Comanche Station (1960) - 8/10 - Randolph Scott rescues a woman who is being held by the Comanches and sets out to get her home to her husband, but there are a few obstacles in his way. It's pretty straightforward and I enjoyed it.
Ride Lonesome (1959) - 8/10 - A bounty hunter (Randolph Scott) captures a man wanted for murder and teams up with a couple of outlaws and a widow to get the man to Santa Cruz to be hanged. The bounty hunter has to avoid the man's brother and friends who aim to save the man. This is another nice Boetticher film.
The Goddess (1934) - 8/10 - After finishing Center Stage, I decided to watch an actual movie starring Ruan Lingyu. In this film, she portrays a single mother who works as a prostitute in order to support her young son. She falls under the control of an ignorant thug, but still raises money to put her son into a good school. Her secret occupation causes problems when it becomes more generally known. Ruan Lingyu did a nice job in this and I certainly liked it more than the biopic about her.
The Killer (1989) - 7.5/10 - An assassin takes an interest in a nightclub singer after she is accidentally blinded during one of his jobs. He decides to take on one last big job to help pay for a cornea transplant, but is double crossed and now has assassins after him as well. He finds an unlikely ally in a police officer investigating his latest job. The bullets sure were flying through a good portion of the movie. It's kind of ridiculous, but is still plenty of fun.
A Touch of Zen (1971) - 8/10 - A scholar/artist becomes involved with Yang, a warrior noble whose family has been targeted by the emperor's eunuch, who holds a lot of power in the court. The first hour was my favorite as we get to know the characters a bit and things aren't quite as fast paced. There is a lot more action after that, including nice scenes in the bamboo forest and with the ghost fortress. A pretty nice film overall.
Wild Rose (1932) - 7.5/10 - Jiang Bo is a painter who lives in the city with his wealthy family. He travels to the country to do some painting and befriends Xiao Feng, a country girl with a lively personality and a talent for mischief. When her father disappears, he brings her back with him to the city, though his father disapproves of her. I enjoyed this quite a bit, especially due to Renmei Wang who played Xiao Feng.
The Peach Girl (1931) - 7.5/10 - A couple who work on a farm have a daughter and plant a peach blossom on the day they bring her home. The girl is the same age the son of the mistress who owns the property and the two children become friends. When they grow older, they fall in love, but the mistress sees class distinctions and refuses to allow their relationship. It's a pretty good melodrama and I enjoyed Ruan Lingyu's performance as the grown up 'peach girl'. Jin Yan was also good as her lover.
Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978) - 8/10 - This film came out the same year as Drunken Master. Jackie Chan is a drudge at a kung-fu school and is often used as a practice dummy by the teachers. He becomes friends with a wandering beggar who teaches him snake fist style and Jackie becomes a talented fighter. It was pretty entertaining.
Destry Rides Again (1939) - 8/10 -The town of Bottleneck is run by a crooked gambler/saloon owner in conjunction with the corrupt mayor. When a local ranch owner is cheated, the sheriff goes to investigate and isn't seen again. The town drunk is named sheriff and he sends for the son of a famous lawman to serve as his deputy. Jimmy Stewart gives a nice performance as the laid back deputy and Marlene Dietrich has a big role as Frenchy, a popular singer at the saloon. The fight between Dietrich and Una Merkel during the film was very good and the movie as a whole is as well.
The Tall T (1957) - 7.5/10 - A former ranch foreman loses his horse in a bet so he hitches a ride on a hired coach that is transporting newlyweds. Outlaws hijack the coach and take the passengers prisoner, figuring to get a ransom for the wife who is from a wealthy family. This is a pretty standard, but enjoyable western.
Wagon Master (1950) - 8/10 - Two horse traders decide to help escort a group of Mormons across the desert to their new home. Along the way, they encounter a gang of criminals, natives, and others. This is a pretty laid back John Ford film that was entertaining.
El Dorado (1966) - 8/10 - An aging gunfighter (John Wayne) helps his old friend (Robert Mitchum) who is a sheriff trying to keep a greedy rancher from stealing the water rights from another rancher. There is plenty of action and a fair amount of humor as well. A young James Caan plays Mississippi, a 'stray' picked up by Wayne along the way.
Comanche Station (1960) - 8/10 - Randolph Scott rescues a woman who is being held by the Comanches and sets out to get her home to her husband, but there are a few obstacles in his way. It's pretty straightforward and I enjoyed it.
Ride Lonesome (1959) - 8/10 - A bounty hunter (Randolph Scott) captures a man wanted for murder and teams up with a couple of outlaws and a widow to get the man to Santa Cruz to be hanged. The bounty hunter has to avoid the man's brother and friends who aim to save the man. This is another nice Boetticher film.
The Goddess (1934) - 8/10 - After finishing Center Stage, I decided to watch an actual movie starring Ruan Lingyu. In this film, she portrays a single mother who works as a prostitute in order to support her young son. She falls under the control of an ignorant thug, but still raises money to put her son into a good school. Her secret occupation causes problems when it becomes more generally known. Ruan Lingyu did a nice job in this and I certainly liked it more than the biopic about her.
The Killer (1989) - 7.5/10 - An assassin takes an interest in a nightclub singer after she is accidentally blinded during one of his jobs. He decides to take on one last big job to help pay for a cornea transplant, but is double crossed and now has assassins after him as well. He finds an unlikely ally in a police officer investigating his latest job. The bullets sure were flying through a good portion of the movie. It's kind of ridiculous, but is still plenty of fun.
A Touch of Zen (1971) - 8/10 - A scholar/artist becomes involved with Yang, a warrior noble whose family has been targeted by the emperor's eunuch, who holds a lot of power in the court. The first hour was my favorite as we get to know the characters a bit and things aren't quite as fast paced. There is a lot more action after that, including nice scenes in the bamboo forest and with the ghost fortress. A pretty nice film overall.
Wild Rose (1932) - 7.5/10 - Jiang Bo is a painter who lives in the city with his wealthy family. He travels to the country to do some painting and befriends Xiao Feng, a country girl with a lively personality and a talent for mischief. When her father disappears, he brings her back with him to the city, though his father disapproves of her. I enjoyed this quite a bit, especially due to Renmei Wang who played Xiao Feng.
The Peach Girl (1931) - 7.5/10 - A couple who work on a farm have a daughter and plant a peach blossom on the day they bring her home. The girl is the same age the son of the mistress who owns the property and the two children become friends. When they grow older, they fall in love, but the mistress sees class distinctions and refuses to allow their relationship. It's a pretty good melodrama and I enjoyed Ruan Lingyu's performance as the grown up 'peach girl'. Jin Yan was also good as her lover.
Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978) - 8/10 - This film came out the same year as Drunken Master. Jackie Chan is a drudge at a kung-fu school and is often used as a practice dummy by the teachers. He becomes friends with a wandering beggar who teaches him snake fist style and Jackie becomes a talented fighter. It was pretty entertaining.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
You Only Live Twice (Lewis Gilbert, 1967) 6/10
Bond goes to Japan and gets involved with three girls who are saddled with disappointingly underwritten parts. The good Bond girls are Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi) & Kissy Suzuki (Mie Hama) who Bond marries in a fake Japanese wedding ceremony while made up "slant-eyed" â la Anna May Wong (the American woke generation would have a major shit-fit "waking up" to this image of Bond which is akin to Al Jolson singing "Mammy" in black face) - and the obligatory bad Bond girl, red-haired Helga Brandt (Karin Dor) who has an unpleasant swim with a bunch of piranhas. For the first time after four films we get to see more than just a white pussy as the scarred face of Blofeld (Donald Pleasence) is finally revealed and who is upto his usual dastardly self. Someone is using a mysterious unidentified spacecraft to swallow up the spacecrafts of both the USSR and the USA. Blofeld's iconic hidey-hole is inside a volcano designed by Bond regular Ken Adams - in fact a lot of the futuristic sets here are repeated (with slight variations) by Adams from his designs on a previous Bond film "Goldfinger" and Stanley Kubrick's "Dr Strangelove". The plot moves slowly until the explosive finalé involving an army of ninjas. Roald Dahl threw out most of Ian Fleming's plot from the book and came up with new stuff in his screenplay. Connery looks old and his toupée seems rather flustered on his head. There are the usual bit appearances by "M" (Bernard Lee), Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) and "Q" (Desmond Llewelyn). The iconic Aston Martin is missing but we get to see "Little Nelly", a mini helicopter that Bond flies and which shoots down four regular helicopters chasing it. By this time Bond was beginning to get on Connery's nerves and I don't blame him for jumping ship after this film for this is a rather shoddy (though watchable) installment. Nancy Sinatra sings the title song.
Khamosh Pani / Silent Waters (Sabiha Sumar, 2003) 8/10
Stirring but sad film about the rise of fundamentalism in Pakistan in 1979 during General Zia's dictatorship. This leads to intolerance, violence, and the reassertion of patriarchal control of women. Middle-aged widow (Kirron Kher) gets by on her late husband’s pension and by teaching the Quran to young girls. Her 18-year-old son, Saleem (Aamir Malik), is a handsome loafer who scoots off for secret rendezvous with his sweetheart, Zubeida (Shilpa Shukla), a teen from a much richer family. Nagged by Zubeida to get a job, Saleem drifts into the circle of some Islamic fundamentalists, joins their cause, and is soon harassing Sikhs who’ve been given permission to enter the country as pilgrims. The son's fundamentalist friends hear that his mother still has Sikh sympathies, and they pressurize him to get her to publicly re-state her faith in Islam. However, flashbacks to the violent Partition of 1947 hint that the boy's mother is hiding a secret even he doesn’t know. The film is a strong indictment of the intolerance and the abuse of women caused by religious differences. It helps us to better appreciate the vulnerability of women during times of political crises.
28 Weeks Later (Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, 2007) 8/10
Post-apocalyptic horror film is a direct sequel to Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later (2002). The first outbreak of the highly contagious, rage-inducing virus caused a pandemic leading to the breakdown of society. NATO salvages a safe zone in central London where survivors are housed. A couple (Robert Carlyle & Catherine McCormick) find their shelter compromised and are attacked by zombies. The scared husband manages to get away leaving his wife to be attacked. Later he is reunited with his two children (Imogen Poots & Mackintosh Muggleton) who break protocol, leave the safe zone and return to their house where they find their cowering mother. She is taken under custody and tests are run which show she has the virus but is only a carrier. When her guilty husband goes to see her he kisses her and gets infected resulting in pandemonium. He attacks other residents in the safe zone and gradually turns many into zombies. The government decides to bomb the safe zone and kill all civillians infected or not. The two kids manage to escape with a military sniper (Jeremy Renner) and a doctor (Rose Byrne). Riveting chase sequences with horrific, gory set pieces make this one of the superior thrillers in the zombie genre.
Con Air (Simon West, 1997) 8/10
Completely over-the-top action thriller about a parolee (Nicolas Cage) returning to his wife and daughter after a long prison sentence who just happens to be on a plane transporting a group of cutthroat convicts being transferred to a maximum security prison. The eclectic group of prisoners are played by an eclectic group of actors - a witty career criminal (John Malkovich), his partner and a terrorist (Ving Rhames), a serial killer and child molester (Steve Buscemi), a serial rapist (Danny Trejo) and other assorted criminals who are all in on a plan to breakout. Trying to stay one step ahead of the gang of derelicts in sabotaging their plan is the parolee and a U.S. Marshall (John Cusack). Superbly filmed action set pieces with the plane landing, getting stuck in a sand drift, taking off again, being chased by helicopters and finally ending with a spectacular crash landing on the Vegas strip. And let's not underestimate the screenplay for wringing a few sentimental tears involving a stuffed bunny rabbit and the parolee's sweet little daughter. The film is a guilty pleasure.
Bond goes to Japan and gets involved with three girls who are saddled with disappointingly underwritten parts. The good Bond girls are Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi) & Kissy Suzuki (Mie Hama) who Bond marries in a fake Japanese wedding ceremony while made up "slant-eyed" â la Anna May Wong (the American woke generation would have a major shit-fit "waking up" to this image of Bond which is akin to Al Jolson singing "Mammy" in black face) - and the obligatory bad Bond girl, red-haired Helga Brandt (Karin Dor) who has an unpleasant swim with a bunch of piranhas. For the first time after four films we get to see more than just a white pussy as the scarred face of Blofeld (Donald Pleasence) is finally revealed and who is upto his usual dastardly self. Someone is using a mysterious unidentified spacecraft to swallow up the spacecrafts of both the USSR and the USA. Blofeld's iconic hidey-hole is inside a volcano designed by Bond regular Ken Adams - in fact a lot of the futuristic sets here are repeated (with slight variations) by Adams from his designs on a previous Bond film "Goldfinger" and Stanley Kubrick's "Dr Strangelove". The plot moves slowly until the explosive finalé involving an army of ninjas. Roald Dahl threw out most of Ian Fleming's plot from the book and came up with new stuff in his screenplay. Connery looks old and his toupée seems rather flustered on his head. There are the usual bit appearances by "M" (Bernard Lee), Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) and "Q" (Desmond Llewelyn). The iconic Aston Martin is missing but we get to see "Little Nelly", a mini helicopter that Bond flies and which shoots down four regular helicopters chasing it. By this time Bond was beginning to get on Connery's nerves and I don't blame him for jumping ship after this film for this is a rather shoddy (though watchable) installment. Nancy Sinatra sings the title song.
Khamosh Pani / Silent Waters (Sabiha Sumar, 2003) 8/10
Stirring but sad film about the rise of fundamentalism in Pakistan in 1979 during General Zia's dictatorship. This leads to intolerance, violence, and the reassertion of patriarchal control of women. Middle-aged widow (Kirron Kher) gets by on her late husband’s pension and by teaching the Quran to young girls. Her 18-year-old son, Saleem (Aamir Malik), is a handsome loafer who scoots off for secret rendezvous with his sweetheart, Zubeida (Shilpa Shukla), a teen from a much richer family. Nagged by Zubeida to get a job, Saleem drifts into the circle of some Islamic fundamentalists, joins their cause, and is soon harassing Sikhs who’ve been given permission to enter the country as pilgrims. The son's fundamentalist friends hear that his mother still has Sikh sympathies, and they pressurize him to get her to publicly re-state her faith in Islam. However, flashbacks to the violent Partition of 1947 hint that the boy's mother is hiding a secret even he doesn’t know. The film is a strong indictment of the intolerance and the abuse of women caused by religious differences. It helps us to better appreciate the vulnerability of women during times of political crises.
28 Weeks Later (Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, 2007) 8/10
Post-apocalyptic horror film is a direct sequel to Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later (2002). The first outbreak of the highly contagious, rage-inducing virus caused a pandemic leading to the breakdown of society. NATO salvages a safe zone in central London where survivors are housed. A couple (Robert Carlyle & Catherine McCormick) find their shelter compromised and are attacked by zombies. The scared husband manages to get away leaving his wife to be attacked. Later he is reunited with his two children (Imogen Poots & Mackintosh Muggleton) who break protocol, leave the safe zone and return to their house where they find their cowering mother. She is taken under custody and tests are run which show she has the virus but is only a carrier. When her guilty husband goes to see her he kisses her and gets infected resulting in pandemonium. He attacks other residents in the safe zone and gradually turns many into zombies. The government decides to bomb the safe zone and kill all civillians infected or not. The two kids manage to escape with a military sniper (Jeremy Renner) and a doctor (Rose Byrne). Riveting chase sequences with horrific, gory set pieces make this one of the superior thrillers in the zombie genre.
Con Air (Simon West, 1997) 8/10
Completely over-the-top action thriller about a parolee (Nicolas Cage) returning to his wife and daughter after a long prison sentence who just happens to be on a plane transporting a group of cutthroat convicts being transferred to a maximum security prison. The eclectic group of prisoners are played by an eclectic group of actors - a witty career criminal (John Malkovich), his partner and a terrorist (Ving Rhames), a serial killer and child molester (Steve Buscemi), a serial rapist (Danny Trejo) and other assorted criminals who are all in on a plan to breakout. Trying to stay one step ahead of the gang of derelicts in sabotaging their plan is the parolee and a U.S. Marshall (John Cusack). Superbly filmed action set pieces with the plane landing, getting stuck in a sand drift, taking off again, being chased by helicopters and finally ending with a spectacular crash landing on the Vegas strip. And let's not underestimate the screenplay for wringing a few sentimental tears involving a stuffed bunny rabbit and the parolee's sweet little daughter. The film is a guilty pleasure.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
La donna scimmia / The Ape Woman (Marco Ferrari, 1964) 9/10
A seedy entrepreneur (Ugo Tognazzi) discovers a woman (Annie Girardot) in a convent who is born with a genetic condition that has her face and body covered with straight black hair. He decides to pass her off as an ape-like freak from Africa and trains her to copy the sounds and movements of a primate - Pygmalion in reverse. The act is a success and he takes her to Paris where she becomes a strip artist on stage. Bizarre, daring and poignant satire makes sharp digs about racism and man's inhumanity towards man. Inspired by the tragic story of Julia Pastrana a 19th-century woman exploited as a freak show attraction by her manager. Ferrari's film, set in the present, examines exploitation, abuse, and discrimination in a really powerful way and he shot two endings - a tragic and a happy one. Both Tognazzi and Girardot give superb performances.
Figures in a Landscape (Joseph Losey, 1970) 6/10
Cryptic story, with elements of Kafka, has two escaped convicts (Robert Shaw & Malcolm McDowell) on the run as figures across an un-named landscape. They are relentlessly pursued and mentally tortured by two men in a black helicopter. Nothing is explained about the men, their background or the country they are running across. Shaw, who also wrote the sparse screenplay - based on the book by Barry England - gives an animalistic ferocious performance while McDowell, who usually plays full throttle to the gallery, is remarkably restrained throughout creating an interesting contrast between the two men. The story appears to be an extended metaphor about the basic human quest to be free from constraints and rules and not so subtly mocks government power, warfare and confined borders. Richard Rodney Bennett's eerie Bafta nominated score accompanies the action on the screen superbly shot by the great Henri Alekan. Steven Spielberg's first film "Duel", which came a year later, has many elements of this film.
Everything Everywhere All at Once (Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, 2022) 2/10
Wtf is this film about? When a white film nerd crosses hands with an Asian film nerd (the two directors aka "Daniels") you get this bat-shit crazy film. It's like an amateur cook in the kitchen for the first time who has been tasked to create a meal and since he's an absolute loony bin he throws in just about every ingredient available into the pot - comedy, action-adventure, mystery, noir, martial arts, animation - hell, even the apes from Kubrick's movie get to make an appearance as we hear snippets of Richard Strauss’s “Also Sprach Zarathustra”. Chinese-American Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) runs a struggling laundromat business. Her husband (Ke Huy Quan - the perky Asian kid from "The Goonies - now grownup ofcourse) is about to serve her divorce papers, her cantankerous old father (James Hong) has arrived from China, an IRS auditor (Jamie Lee Curtis with a huge paunch and wearing a frumpy white wig) is going through her accounts, and she cannot reconcile to the fact that her estranged daughter (Stephanie Hsu) is a lesbian with a white partner. Her husband suddenly informs her that she is just one of many, many Evelyns spread out in many parallel universes and out to kill her is their daughter. Soon everyone is jumping between verses (Doctor Strange did that too this year) as they attack and get attacked. This convoluted nonsense disguises what, at its center, is a very simple story about an estranged family who look towards forgiveness and love. The two nerds wrote the film for Jackie Chan but offered it to Michelle Yeoh (who also produced) allowing her to go through this action-packed crap totally confused for the most part. That is the screenplay's fatal flaw keeping the main character confused and in denial for most of the film's running time so it becomes difficult for the equally confused audience to root for her. Loud, obnoxious film is just too nerdy to be fun although the action is livened up by the ladies' fingers which increase in size and get sucked and an assassin brandishes a large penis-dildo during a crucial moment. Not funny at all.
The Northman (Robert Eggers, 2022) 5/10
Over the top Viking version of the Hamlet story. This is far from the one written by Shakespeare, who took direct inspiration from the medieval Scandinavian legend of Amleth (played here as an adult by Alexander Skarsgård). When his father, the King (Ethan Hawke), is murdered by his bastard brother (Claes Bang) and who then kidnaps his mother (Nicole Kidman), the child Prince escapes death and is raised by a band of Vikings. Years later he discovers the whereabouts of his father's assassin who was usurped of his kingdom by a Danish king and hides as a lowly farmer in Iceland and now married to his mother. He manages to board a ship bound for Iceland and becomes a slave on the farm of his intended victim. However, he is in for a rude awakening when his beloved mother gives him a few home truths about his father and himself - Kidman gets to perform a fiery monologue spitting, raving and flashing her eyes with rage at her first born. Superbly shot on magnificent bleak locations in Ireland and Iceland by cameraman Jarin Blaschke. Anya Taylor-Joy plays the love interest and there are vivid cameos by Björk as a sorceress and Willem Dafoe as a wise court jester. Half baked film takes more than a few rote pointers from "Game of Thrones" in its depiction of a savage world gone by. Visually stunning but empty spectacle.
A seedy entrepreneur (Ugo Tognazzi) discovers a woman (Annie Girardot) in a convent who is born with a genetic condition that has her face and body covered with straight black hair. He decides to pass her off as an ape-like freak from Africa and trains her to copy the sounds and movements of a primate - Pygmalion in reverse. The act is a success and he takes her to Paris where she becomes a strip artist on stage. Bizarre, daring and poignant satire makes sharp digs about racism and man's inhumanity towards man. Inspired by the tragic story of Julia Pastrana a 19th-century woman exploited as a freak show attraction by her manager. Ferrari's film, set in the present, examines exploitation, abuse, and discrimination in a really powerful way and he shot two endings - a tragic and a happy one. Both Tognazzi and Girardot give superb performances.
Figures in a Landscape (Joseph Losey, 1970) 6/10
Cryptic story, with elements of Kafka, has two escaped convicts (Robert Shaw & Malcolm McDowell) on the run as figures across an un-named landscape. They are relentlessly pursued and mentally tortured by two men in a black helicopter. Nothing is explained about the men, their background or the country they are running across. Shaw, who also wrote the sparse screenplay - based on the book by Barry England - gives an animalistic ferocious performance while McDowell, who usually plays full throttle to the gallery, is remarkably restrained throughout creating an interesting contrast between the two men. The story appears to be an extended metaphor about the basic human quest to be free from constraints and rules and not so subtly mocks government power, warfare and confined borders. Richard Rodney Bennett's eerie Bafta nominated score accompanies the action on the screen superbly shot by the great Henri Alekan. Steven Spielberg's first film "Duel", which came a year later, has many elements of this film.
Everything Everywhere All at Once (Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, 2022) 2/10
Wtf is this film about? When a white film nerd crosses hands with an Asian film nerd (the two directors aka "Daniels") you get this bat-shit crazy film. It's like an amateur cook in the kitchen for the first time who has been tasked to create a meal and since he's an absolute loony bin he throws in just about every ingredient available into the pot - comedy, action-adventure, mystery, noir, martial arts, animation - hell, even the apes from Kubrick's movie get to make an appearance as we hear snippets of Richard Strauss’s “Also Sprach Zarathustra”. Chinese-American Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) runs a struggling laundromat business. Her husband (Ke Huy Quan - the perky Asian kid from "The Goonies - now grownup ofcourse) is about to serve her divorce papers, her cantankerous old father (James Hong) has arrived from China, an IRS auditor (Jamie Lee Curtis with a huge paunch and wearing a frumpy white wig) is going through her accounts, and she cannot reconcile to the fact that her estranged daughter (Stephanie Hsu) is a lesbian with a white partner. Her husband suddenly informs her that she is just one of many, many Evelyns spread out in many parallel universes and out to kill her is their daughter. Soon everyone is jumping between verses (Doctor Strange did that too this year) as they attack and get attacked. This convoluted nonsense disguises what, at its center, is a very simple story about an estranged family who look towards forgiveness and love. The two nerds wrote the film for Jackie Chan but offered it to Michelle Yeoh (who also produced) allowing her to go through this action-packed crap totally confused for the most part. That is the screenplay's fatal flaw keeping the main character confused and in denial for most of the film's running time so it becomes difficult for the equally confused audience to root for her. Loud, obnoxious film is just too nerdy to be fun although the action is livened up by the ladies' fingers which increase in size and get sucked and an assassin brandishes a large penis-dildo during a crucial moment. Not funny at all.
The Northman (Robert Eggers, 2022) 5/10
Over the top Viking version of the Hamlet story. This is far from the one written by Shakespeare, who took direct inspiration from the medieval Scandinavian legend of Amleth (played here as an adult by Alexander Skarsgård). When his father, the King (Ethan Hawke), is murdered by his bastard brother (Claes Bang) and who then kidnaps his mother (Nicole Kidman), the child Prince escapes death and is raised by a band of Vikings. Years later he discovers the whereabouts of his father's assassin who was usurped of his kingdom by a Danish king and hides as a lowly farmer in Iceland and now married to his mother. He manages to board a ship bound for Iceland and becomes a slave on the farm of his intended victim. However, he is in for a rude awakening when his beloved mother gives him a few home truths about his father and himself - Kidman gets to perform a fiery monologue spitting, raving and flashing her eyes with rage at her first born. Superbly shot on magnificent bleak locations in Ireland and Iceland by cameraman Jarin Blaschke. Anya Taylor-Joy plays the love interest and there are vivid cameos by Björk as a sorceress and Willem Dafoe as a wise court jester. Half baked film takes more than a few rote pointers from "Game of Thrones" in its depiction of a savage world gone by. Visually stunning but empty spectacle.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Rising Sun (Philip Kaufman, 1993) 7/10
Sean Connery returns to Japan after 26 years but this time not as James Bond but as a veteran cop. And he is not in Japan but embroiled in a kinky murder case that takes place during a party given by a multinational Japanese corporation in Los Angeles. The victim is a high class call girl (German super model Tatjana Patitz) and mistress to a crooked Japanese (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) who immediately becomes a suspect as he was known to be a violent man around her. The LAPD cop (Harvey Keitel) on the case wants the investigation to be handled discreetly as the Japanese Corporation does not want its image tarnished so a legendary, now retired cop (Sean Connery), is called in to dig around. He is an expert on Japan having spent time there and is teamed with a new partner (Wesley Snipes). The casting of these two lead actors immediately puts it into "misfit-buddy" territory as they delightfully clash but work in perfect sync as well. Apart from their predictable banter - Connery is wise while Snipes plays straight man to him - the screenplay also touches on racism and American-Japanese friction and business competition (today America's animosity, which changes every few decades, is geared full-on towards China which is perceived to be a source of threat and envy). The convoluted plot moves in so many directions towards the end that the murder almost seems like a red herring. Slick flashy film allows Connery to do his thing while Snipes, as the deadpan comic relief, provides not only good chemistry but also a few tricks which he pulls out of his sleeve. Based on the novel by Michael Crichton.
Narrow Margin (Peter Hyams, 1990) 7/10
Loose remake of the classic Richard Fleischer film from 1952 has Hyams once again borrowing from other far superior films to bring his version to a newer audience. A chase film set on a moving train has a cop (Gene Hackman) accompanying a reluctant witness (Anne Archer) to a murder by the goon of a Mob Boss (Harris Yulin). They are pursued by the goon (J.T. Walsh) and another killer (James Sikking) and a cat-and-mouse game ensues. As with all such films the potholes in the screenplay have to be ignored in order to enjoy the thrills. This is the period when Hackman was in every other film and it's nice to see Archer in full-on feisty mode where she even gets to run on top of the moving train while dodging bullets.
Connecting Rooms (Franklin Gollings, 1970) 6/10
Old fashioned, sad look at a group of people living in a shabby London boarding house owned by a gossipy old biddy (Kay Walsh). Middle-aged musician (Bette Davis), now down on her luck and playing her cello as a street busker, is involved with a much younger songwriter (Alex Kanner) who not only selfishly uses her for her money but is also bedding two younger girls on the side. The screenplay, based on a play, mainly revolves around her relationship with a retired school professor (Michael Redgrave) who is trying to escape from a scandal in his past. Both lonely souls form a friendship that gradually develops via the connecting door between their rooms. The two stars go through their familiar paces and come through with touching performances.
Sean Connery returns to Japan after 26 years but this time not as James Bond but as a veteran cop. And he is not in Japan but embroiled in a kinky murder case that takes place during a party given by a multinational Japanese corporation in Los Angeles. The victim is a high class call girl (German super model Tatjana Patitz) and mistress to a crooked Japanese (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) who immediately becomes a suspect as he was known to be a violent man around her. The LAPD cop (Harvey Keitel) on the case wants the investigation to be handled discreetly as the Japanese Corporation does not want its image tarnished so a legendary, now retired cop (Sean Connery), is called in to dig around. He is an expert on Japan having spent time there and is teamed with a new partner (Wesley Snipes). The casting of these two lead actors immediately puts it into "misfit-buddy" territory as they delightfully clash but work in perfect sync as well. Apart from their predictable banter - Connery is wise while Snipes plays straight man to him - the screenplay also touches on racism and American-Japanese friction and business competition (today America's animosity, which changes every few decades, is geared full-on towards China which is perceived to be a source of threat and envy). The convoluted plot moves in so many directions towards the end that the murder almost seems like a red herring. Slick flashy film allows Connery to do his thing while Snipes, as the deadpan comic relief, provides not only good chemistry but also a few tricks which he pulls out of his sleeve. Based on the novel by Michael Crichton.
Narrow Margin (Peter Hyams, 1990) 7/10
Loose remake of the classic Richard Fleischer film from 1952 has Hyams once again borrowing from other far superior films to bring his version to a newer audience. A chase film set on a moving train has a cop (Gene Hackman) accompanying a reluctant witness (Anne Archer) to a murder by the goon of a Mob Boss (Harris Yulin). They are pursued by the goon (J.T. Walsh) and another killer (James Sikking) and a cat-and-mouse game ensues. As with all such films the potholes in the screenplay have to be ignored in order to enjoy the thrills. This is the period when Hackman was in every other film and it's nice to see Archer in full-on feisty mode where she even gets to run on top of the moving train while dodging bullets.
Connecting Rooms (Franklin Gollings, 1970) 6/10
Old fashioned, sad look at a group of people living in a shabby London boarding house owned by a gossipy old biddy (Kay Walsh). Middle-aged musician (Bette Davis), now down on her luck and playing her cello as a street busker, is involved with a much younger songwriter (Alex Kanner) who not only selfishly uses her for her money but is also bedding two younger girls on the side. The screenplay, based on a play, mainly revolves around her relationship with a retired school professor (Michael Redgrave) who is trying to escape from a scandal in his past. Both lonely souls form a friendship that gradually develops via the connecting door between their rooms. The two stars go through their familiar paces and come through with touching performances.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Man of the West (1958) - 8/10 - Link Jones (Gary Cooper) is on his way east to hire a schoolteacher for his small community. He and two others get stranded when their train is attacked by outlaws. Link leads the others to the house where he was raised which happens to be nearby. However, his outlaw uncle and his gang are still living there. Cooper was way too old for the role, but I thought he did a decent job.
Winchester '73 (1950) - 8/10 - Lin McAdam (James Stewart) arrives in Dodge City in search of Dutch Henry Brown. The two take part in a shooting competition for a rare Winchester rifle. After the competition, Dutch leaves town in a hurry with McAdam in pursuit. The story mostly follows the trail of the rifle as it changes hands a number of times. Stewart is good in his role, but the supporting cast shines as well, including Dan Duryea as a slightly crazed outlaw named Waco Jones and Shelley Winters as a woman caught up in the middle of things.
Drunken Master (1978) - 8/10 - Jackie Chan is the son of a kung fu master with his own school. He has skill, but enjoys getting into trouble. The father sends his son to train with a drunken old man with his own unique style of fighting. There is plenty of comedy and entertaining fights.
The Legend of the Drunken Master (1994) - 7.5/10 - Wong Fei-Hung accidentally gets caught up in a plot to smuggle Chinese artifacts out of the country. It's a good film and there are plenty of good fights, but it isn't as much fun as the original Drunken Master film.
Winchester '73 (1950) - 8/10 - Lin McAdam (James Stewart) arrives in Dodge City in search of Dutch Henry Brown. The two take part in a shooting competition for a rare Winchester rifle. After the competition, Dutch leaves town in a hurry with McAdam in pursuit. The story mostly follows the trail of the rifle as it changes hands a number of times. Stewart is good in his role, but the supporting cast shines as well, including Dan Duryea as a slightly crazed outlaw named Waco Jones and Shelley Winters as a woman caught up in the middle of things.
Drunken Master (1978) - 8/10 - Jackie Chan is the son of a kung fu master with his own school. He has skill, but enjoys getting into trouble. The father sends his son to train with a drunken old man with his own unique style of fighting. There is plenty of comedy and entertaining fights.
The Legend of the Drunken Master (1994) - 7.5/10 - Wong Fei-Hung accidentally gets caught up in a plot to smuggle Chinese artifacts out of the country. It's a good film and there are plenty of good fights, but it isn't as much fun as the original Drunken Master film.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (Sam Raimi, 2022) 7/10
Hell hath no fury as a.....single and childless woman....who wants to traverse between universes in search of where she can be reunited with her two kids. Former Avenger gone rogue - The Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) - fits this bill and like a maniac goes after a hispanic kid (Xochitl Gomez) who has the power to move between different universes. This is the same kid with a pair of lesbian moms due to which half the Arab world banned this movie - including Pakistan for 3 days but then the censors here miraculously capitulated and, hallelujah, allowed the film to be released with nary a cut - that "pesky" bit of dialogue remains in the film unscathed and I'm happy to see that maybe some men here are not scared of lesbians as I had accused them of. Anyway coming to the rescue of the kid is Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) with help from Wong (Benedict Wong), and his former lover Dr Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) - who here gets married to a black man which "feels" terribly absurd, not because a white woman cannot or should not marry a black man but it comes off very contrived and forced just to appease black America. Wish the country would "wake up" already and stay "awake". The screenplay also brings on (as surprise cameos) other familiar superheroes but based in a different universe other than "earth". And since Sam Raimi is at the helm we get an homage to "The Evil Dead" with a rampaging cadaver and for good measure we also get to see "Nightwalkers" - presumably an homage to "Game of Thrones"? The pithy plot gets totally overwhelmed by a constant barrage of special effects - no quiet moment to be found here as there is a steady stream of CGI. Bruce Campbell - a Raimi regular - has an amusing cameo as a pizza vendor who closes the film with an amusing line and we also get to see a post-credits appearance of a sexy A-list Hollywood star who is introduced as Clea - a sorceress from the Dark Dimension who arrives to enlist the help of our titular hero. Sift through all the psychedelic and disorienting weirdness and you will enjoy the convoluted plot. Cumberbatch, as always, makes a droll superhero.
Year of the Gun (John Frankenheimer, 1991) 4/10
Insipid little thriller is far from Frankenheimer's best. The story is set in Rome during the late 1970s at the height of the terror created by the Red Brigade. An American journalist (a bland Andrew McCarthy) inadvertently falls foul of the Brigade when the fiction novel he has written about a terrorist group falls into their hands and they assume that he knows all about their plans to kidnap and kill Aldo Moro the Prime Minister of Italy. While his plot is pure fiction it coincides with the plans of the Brigade. He manages to escape an assassination attempt and goes on the run with a gutsy American photographer (a pre-stardom Sharon Stone) who in fact got him in this mess in the first place. All he wanted was to write a bestseller so he could get married to the estranged wife (Valeria Golino) of an industrialist. Nothing really works in this lackluster film - the director's trademark chase sequence here consists of an uninspired attempt at out running two killers on a bike, the leads appear to be sleepwalking although both leading ladies get to perform highly animated sex scenes with McCarthy which momentarily brings the film to life. Even the back alley Rome locations used in the film are shabby. Apparently it was a troubled shoot with financing running out and the director trying to shoot on the cheap in order to complete the film. Which could also be why he chose to cast the film with McCarthy and Stone who probably came in cheap. Skip this.
The Firm (Sydney Pollack, 1993) 7/10
King of the legal thriller - John Grisham - was in full-on vogue during the 1990s as his bestsellers were lapped up back-to-back by Hollywood. And after seven all-star adaptations Hollywood suddenly and mysteriously decided to call it quits on the author's works. This one was the first to reach the screen packaged with Tom Cruise leading a heavy duty cast of stars. A young hotshot lawyer (Tom Cruise), just out of Harvard law school, is offered a job by various prominent New York law firms. Since he has risen out of his poverty stricken background he decides to choose the job offer from a small firm in Memphis because they offer him a high salary with numerous perks on the side. While he is enthusiastic and full of trust, his wife (Jeanne Triplehorn) is more cautious but also gives in to the offer. And then the shit hits the fan when the FBI informs him that his firm works for the Mob and he is trapped by his bosses into doing their bidding. His house is bugged and the firm is blackmailing him for a sexual indiscretion conveniently arranged for him as a trap into which he falls. Since its "eager-beaver" Cruise, the firm is in for a surprise because he decides to fight back. Cruise is surrounded by a bunch of very colorful characters - the deceptively sweet head of the firm (Hal Holbrook), the sinister security chief (Wilford Brimley), a shrewd senior partner & kindly mentor (Gene Hackman), his convict brother (David Strathairn), a sleazy detective (Gary Busey), the man's loyal secretary-lover (Holly Hunter, in "Dolly Parton" mode, and nominated for an Academy Award), an FBI agent (Ed Harris), and a Chicago Mob Boss (Paul Sorvino). Pollack directs briskly although the screenplay turns incredibly convoluted during the last half hour with lots of busy action that makes no real sense but is smoothly put over allowing the audience to think they have understood it all. Slick but pedantic thriller with a pleasing star turn by Cruise.
Pane, amore e... / Scandal in Sorrento (Dino Risi, 1955) 6/10
Retired police Marshall (Vittorio De Sica), a brash and loud mouthed braggart, returns to his hometown and finds his voluptuous tenant, a fishmonger (Sophia Loren), refusing to vacate his house. In the meantime he temporarily moves into the house of a saintly repressed widow (Lea Padovani). With this set up its only a matter of time before the womanizing old lecher makes a play for both ladies who have a few tricks up their own sleeves. Silly third film of a trilogy with De Sica's character - he romped in the previous two films with Gina Lollobrigida - but he is perfectly matched here with Loren - flashing eyes, loud mouthed and talking nineteen to the dozen - who gives the old goat a run for his money. Interesting to see Sorrento during the 1950s which is lovingly photographed in colour by Giuseppe Rotunno. De Sica is always fun to watch doing his usual shtick.
Hell hath no fury as a.....single and childless woman....who wants to traverse between universes in search of where she can be reunited with her two kids. Former Avenger gone rogue - The Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) - fits this bill and like a maniac goes after a hispanic kid (Xochitl Gomez) who has the power to move between different universes. This is the same kid with a pair of lesbian moms due to which half the Arab world banned this movie - including Pakistan for 3 days but then the censors here miraculously capitulated and, hallelujah, allowed the film to be released with nary a cut - that "pesky" bit of dialogue remains in the film unscathed and I'm happy to see that maybe some men here are not scared of lesbians as I had accused them of. Anyway coming to the rescue of the kid is Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) with help from Wong (Benedict Wong), and his former lover Dr Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) - who here gets married to a black man which "feels" terribly absurd, not because a white woman cannot or should not marry a black man but it comes off very contrived and forced just to appease black America. Wish the country would "wake up" already and stay "awake". The screenplay also brings on (as surprise cameos) other familiar superheroes but based in a different universe other than "earth". And since Sam Raimi is at the helm we get an homage to "The Evil Dead" with a rampaging cadaver and for good measure we also get to see "Nightwalkers" - presumably an homage to "Game of Thrones"? The pithy plot gets totally overwhelmed by a constant barrage of special effects - no quiet moment to be found here as there is a steady stream of CGI. Bruce Campbell - a Raimi regular - has an amusing cameo as a pizza vendor who closes the film with an amusing line and we also get to see a post-credits appearance of a sexy A-list Hollywood star who is introduced as Clea - a sorceress from the Dark Dimension who arrives to enlist the help of our titular hero. Sift through all the psychedelic and disorienting weirdness and you will enjoy the convoluted plot. Cumberbatch, as always, makes a droll superhero.
Year of the Gun (John Frankenheimer, 1991) 4/10
Insipid little thriller is far from Frankenheimer's best. The story is set in Rome during the late 1970s at the height of the terror created by the Red Brigade. An American journalist (a bland Andrew McCarthy) inadvertently falls foul of the Brigade when the fiction novel he has written about a terrorist group falls into their hands and they assume that he knows all about their plans to kidnap and kill Aldo Moro the Prime Minister of Italy. While his plot is pure fiction it coincides with the plans of the Brigade. He manages to escape an assassination attempt and goes on the run with a gutsy American photographer (a pre-stardom Sharon Stone) who in fact got him in this mess in the first place. All he wanted was to write a bestseller so he could get married to the estranged wife (Valeria Golino) of an industrialist. Nothing really works in this lackluster film - the director's trademark chase sequence here consists of an uninspired attempt at out running two killers on a bike, the leads appear to be sleepwalking although both leading ladies get to perform highly animated sex scenes with McCarthy which momentarily brings the film to life. Even the back alley Rome locations used in the film are shabby. Apparently it was a troubled shoot with financing running out and the director trying to shoot on the cheap in order to complete the film. Which could also be why he chose to cast the film with McCarthy and Stone who probably came in cheap. Skip this.
The Firm (Sydney Pollack, 1993) 7/10
King of the legal thriller - John Grisham - was in full-on vogue during the 1990s as his bestsellers were lapped up back-to-back by Hollywood. And after seven all-star adaptations Hollywood suddenly and mysteriously decided to call it quits on the author's works. This one was the first to reach the screen packaged with Tom Cruise leading a heavy duty cast of stars. A young hotshot lawyer (Tom Cruise), just out of Harvard law school, is offered a job by various prominent New York law firms. Since he has risen out of his poverty stricken background he decides to choose the job offer from a small firm in Memphis because they offer him a high salary with numerous perks on the side. While he is enthusiastic and full of trust, his wife (Jeanne Triplehorn) is more cautious but also gives in to the offer. And then the shit hits the fan when the FBI informs him that his firm works for the Mob and he is trapped by his bosses into doing their bidding. His house is bugged and the firm is blackmailing him for a sexual indiscretion conveniently arranged for him as a trap into which he falls. Since its "eager-beaver" Cruise, the firm is in for a surprise because he decides to fight back. Cruise is surrounded by a bunch of very colorful characters - the deceptively sweet head of the firm (Hal Holbrook), the sinister security chief (Wilford Brimley), a shrewd senior partner & kindly mentor (Gene Hackman), his convict brother (David Strathairn), a sleazy detective (Gary Busey), the man's loyal secretary-lover (Holly Hunter, in "Dolly Parton" mode, and nominated for an Academy Award), an FBI agent (Ed Harris), and a Chicago Mob Boss (Paul Sorvino). Pollack directs briskly although the screenplay turns incredibly convoluted during the last half hour with lots of busy action that makes no real sense but is smoothly put over allowing the audience to think they have understood it all. Slick but pedantic thriller with a pleasing star turn by Cruise.
Pane, amore e... / Scandal in Sorrento (Dino Risi, 1955) 6/10
Retired police Marshall (Vittorio De Sica), a brash and loud mouthed braggart, returns to his hometown and finds his voluptuous tenant, a fishmonger (Sophia Loren), refusing to vacate his house. In the meantime he temporarily moves into the house of a saintly repressed widow (Lea Padovani). With this set up its only a matter of time before the womanizing old lecher makes a play for both ladies who have a few tricks up their own sleeves. Silly third film of a trilogy with De Sica's character - he romped in the previous two films with Gina Lollobrigida - but he is perfectly matched here with Loren - flashing eyes, loud mouthed and talking nineteen to the dozen - who gives the old goat a run for his money. Interesting to see Sorrento during the 1950s which is lovingly photographed in colour by Giuseppe Rotunno. De Sica is always fun to watch doing his usual shtick.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
3:10 to Yuma (1957) - 8.5/10 - Glenn Ford stars as an outlaw who gets captured while lingering for too long after robbing a stagecoach and killing the driver. He's going to be sent by train to Yuma and a poor rancher (Van Heflin) agrees to escort him for $200, which he needs to keep his ranch running. The outlaw's gang aims to free him and the escort duty won't be easy. Ford and Heflin give very nice performances and I liked the film a lot. It's been too long since I saw the remake to compare them, but I'd rate them about the same.
Johnny Guitar (1954) - 8/10 - Vienna (Joan Crawford) owns a saloon outside of town and is waiting for the railroad to come through so that she can cash in. Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden) arrives at the saloon after witnessing a stagecoach robbery on the way there. A mob shows up at the saloon looking for the people who they suspect committed the robbery and the woman leading the mob (Mercedes McCambridge) tries to convince the rest to bring Vienna in as well. I thought that Crawford was excellent in the film and Hayden was also very good. I didn't like McCambridge much, though, in her role as the main adversary.
Johnny Guitar (1954) - 8/10 - Vienna (Joan Crawford) owns a saloon outside of town and is waiting for the railroad to come through so that she can cash in. Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden) arrives at the saloon after witnessing a stagecoach robbery on the way there. A mob shows up at the saloon looking for the people who they suspect committed the robbery and the woman leading the mob (Mercedes McCambridge) tries to convince the rest to bring Vienna in as well. I thought that Crawford was excellent in the film and Hayden was also very good. I didn't like McCambridge much, though, in her role as the main adversary.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
I Was Born, But... (1932) - 8/10 - A family moves into a new home due to their father's job The two young boys in the family have trouble with a gang of boys in the neighborhood and avoid school for a while as a result. The boys also have to learn the realities of what adults must sometimes do in order to keep a good job. This is a very nice film.
Ip Man (2008) - 8/10 - Donnie Yen stars as Wing Chun master Ip Man in this biopic. The film starts in China in 1935 where Ip Man is well known in his home city, but is modest and reserved. His family is forced into poverty when the Japanese invade and he survives by working at a coal mine. The Japanese general in charge is a martial artist and recruits local martial artists to fight with his troops, earning a bag of rice if they win. Ip Man is not interested in that, but fights for other reasons. This film was very entertaining and had good fight sequences. It was certainly more interesting than the later film, The Grandmaster, which was also about Ip Man.
The Mississippi Gambler (1953) - 8/10 - Tyrone Power stars as a riverboat gambler named Mark Fallon who insists on an honest game and won't stand for cheating at cards. He falls for the sister (Piper Laurie) of a man he beats at cards, but she doesn't want anything to do with him, despite her father approving of him. The story is nicely told and Power is very good in the lead role. Paul Cavanagh is also good in a supporting role as the wealthy father of the woman Fallon is interested in.
Singing Guns (1950) - 7.5/10 - Vaughn Monroe is a stagecoach robber who feels wronged by the mining company and has accumulated a large fortune in stolen gold. After saving the life of the sheriff, the town makes him deputy while he recovers, not realizing who he really is. The only person who knows is the local doctor (Walter Brennan) who is trying to get him to turn to the side of good. I thought it was a pretty solid film.
Ip Man (2008) - 8/10 - Donnie Yen stars as Wing Chun master Ip Man in this biopic. The film starts in China in 1935 where Ip Man is well known in his home city, but is modest and reserved. His family is forced into poverty when the Japanese invade and he survives by working at a coal mine. The Japanese general in charge is a martial artist and recruits local martial artists to fight with his troops, earning a bag of rice if they win. Ip Man is not interested in that, but fights for other reasons. This film was very entertaining and had good fight sequences. It was certainly more interesting than the later film, The Grandmaster, which was also about Ip Man.
The Mississippi Gambler (1953) - 8/10 - Tyrone Power stars as a riverboat gambler named Mark Fallon who insists on an honest game and won't stand for cheating at cards. He falls for the sister (Piper Laurie) of a man he beats at cards, but she doesn't want anything to do with him, despite her father approving of him. The story is nicely told and Power is very good in the lead role. Paul Cavanagh is also good in a supporting role as the wealthy father of the woman Fallon is interested in.
Singing Guns (1950) - 7.5/10 - Vaughn Monroe is a stagecoach robber who feels wronged by the mining company and has accumulated a large fortune in stolen gold. After saving the life of the sheriff, the town makes him deputy while he recovers, not realizing who he really is. The only person who knows is the local doctor (Walter Brennan) who is trying to get him to turn to the side of good. I thought it was a pretty solid film.
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La Bataille du rail / The Battle of the Rails (René Clément, 1946) 10/10
Clément's film - about the efforts of the Resistance to disrupt the German war machine in France by disrupting their railroads - was partly financed by the Resistance themselves in order to disapprove International perception at the time that the French had easily capitualated and collaborated with the Nazis. Shot like a documentary with a cast of non-professionals the film is an exercise in suspense as it depicts the brave railway workers trying to sabotage and stay one step ahead of the Nazi menace. Clément won a richly deserved award for his direction at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival. The cinematography is by the distinguished Henri Alekan who had escaped a POW camp and had been part of the Resistance.
La Traversée de Paris / The Trip Across Paris (Claude Autant-Lara, 1956) 9/10
"Buddy-Comedy" set during the dark days of the Nazi occupation of Paris. An unemployed taxi-driver (Bourvil) makes ends meet by working as a
blackmarketeer delivering pork in suitcases in the stealth of night during curfew hours. When his partner is arrested he offers the position to a stranger (Jean Gabin) he meets at a café. The man soon asserts himself and terrorizes the grocer (Louis de Funes) into giving him more money for the delivery of the pig which has been cut up and placed into four suitcases. The two men embark on their journey across Paris as they try to evade curious onlookers, hungry dogs, various cops and the Germans. The two bicker constantly, a startling discovery is made about one of them as they eventually end up captured by the Nazis. Will they make it out of the mess or not? The cynical portrayal of the Occupation, contrary to de Gaulle's very different viewpoint, made the film controversial. The screenplay, very loosely based on the short story "La Traversée de Paris" by Marcel Aymé, uses the cover of a comedy to depict the harsh realities of life for the average frenchman during the Occupation. Autant-Lara depicts, through dark humour, a life where men and women scrounged for a living, became collaborators to survive and were hardly the innocent victims of occupation folklore. Expressionistic lighting by Jacques Nateau creates the deathly and dangerous atmosphere. This was the first and only time the two stars appeared on screen together and both give outstanding performances. Bourvil received the Best Actor prize at the Venice Film Festival while Gabin was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor. Classic french film is a must-see.
Lost Command (Mark Robson, 1966) 6/10
France and its chequered colonial follies in both Indo-China and Algeria where we get to see the exploits of a Basque battalion commander (Anthony Quinn). At the disastrous 1954 Battle of Dien Bien Phu he manages to stay alive despite all odds and is captured with his friends - a military historian (Alain Delon), an Indochina-born Captain (Maurice Ronet), a surgeon (Gordon Heath) and an Algerian-born paratrooper (a miscast George Segal). After the armistice they return to France via Algeria which is in the midst of retaliating against French rule. Shorn of his command for refusing to obey orders from his superiors he seeks help (and a bit of romance on the side) from a Major's widow (Michèle Morgan) to get command of a new regiment in the Algerian war. He recruits all his old comrades which brings him into direct conflict with his Algerian friend who is now fighting against the French to liberate his country. The historian falls in love with the Algerian's sister (Claudia Cardinale) and realizes his nation's misconduct towards Algeria. Based on the best-selling 1960 novel "The Centurions" by Jean Lartéguy, the film has a strong pro-peace message with dashes of romance thrown in for colour. Quinn is typically boistrous and lusty with fine performances by Delon and Cardinale. Old fashioned action-packed film has a rousing score by Franz Waxman and wide screen cinematography by Robert Surtees
The Hunted (William Friedkin, 2003) 7/10
Friedkin, known for his car chase films - "The French Connection", "To Live and Die in LA" - comes up here with another form of chase. Running on foot through forest terrain. An ex-special forces vet (Benicio Del Toro), suffering from accute battle stress - he saw far too many senseless killings in Kosovo - goes on the run while mentally unbalanced and brutally kills four deer hunters slicing them into pieces. The FBI (Connie Nielsen) gets the Army trainer (Tommy Lee Jones), who made the maniac into a killer, to go after him. The relentless chase through streets, on a high bridge, through forests and up and down waterfalls is bone crunching madness as the two men go at each other hammer and tongs (actually self made knives from stones) as they fight to the death in hand-to-hand combat. The plot is really thin having seen it play out in countless films before and since - it is like watching Rambo in "First Blood" but minus America's post-Vietnam guilt-trip. It is fascinating to see Jones' stamina at his age - still in chase mode years after "The Fugitive" - and keeping up with the younger and much more fit Del Toro. The action scenes are superbly shot - all quiet stealth - with the two protagonists acting suspiciously like a father-son duo engaged in some mysterious tussle.
Ronin (John Frankenheimer, 1998) 8/10
Frankenheimer's almost plotless film throws the viewer right in the midst of pulsating action without any formal introduction. Five "Ronins" - Samurai warriors without masters who have become hired killers - are a former American Intelligence agent (Robert De Niro), a french gunman (Jean Reno), an English firearms specialist (Sean Bean), a German computer specialist (Stellan Skarsgård) and the designated driver (Skipp Sudduth). They are hired to retrieve a briefcase (a MacGuffin which basically triggers what little plot the film has) by an IRA operative (Natascha McElhone) on behalf of a rogue operative (Jonathan Pryce). The briefcase is also desperately wanted by the Russians and the Irish which makes the whole enterprise rather tense. The statistic on the film says that over 80 automobiles were destroyed during filming so it is packed with set pieces involving chase sequences on the roads of Paris and Nice. De Niro leads the superb cast with tightly pursed lips and has great chemistry with the laconic Reno. Frankenheimer's hard-edged direction propels the film through various twists and turns mostly behind the steering wheel of a careening vehicle. Exciting film.
The Day the Earth Caught Fire (Val Guest, 1961) 7/10
The film came about out of paranoia resulting from the Cold War but it actually holds a lot of truth as it shows accute climate change the result of a nuclear explosion. Both Russia and the United States accidently test the H-bomb simultaneously - one detonating it in the North Pole and the other in the South Pole - causing the earth to tilt from its axis and go hurtling towards the sun. Low budget disaster film uses a London newspaper office as its center point with journalists trying to figure out why there are floods in the Sahara desert, earthquakes, excessive rain, eclipses and rising temperatures in different parts of the world. Leo McKern is a gruff no-nonsense senior reporter, Edward Judd is the divorced alcoholic star reporter and Janet Munro his new squeeze. Interesting matte-based special effects. The perceptive screenplay won the Bafta award.
The Very Edge (Cyril Frankel, 1963) 5/10
A happily married couple find their marriage in jeopardy when the wife (Anne Heywood) is stalked and assaulted by a psychotic man (Jeremy Brett). The shock causes her to lose the baby she is expecting and the resulting paranoia makes her turn away from her husband (Richard Todd) who is tempted by his secretary (Nicole Maurey). When the crazy man is caught the couple's life returns to normalcy until he suddenly escapes and goes again looking for the woman he is obsessed by. Creepy psychodrama goes overboard in trying to be sensational but Brett nails the part and he seems to have more of a connection with Heywood than she has with Todd. This tilts the film's sympathy somewhat towards the psycho which is sort of fatal for what the story was trying to achieve. Fine supporting cast.
Ah Wilderness! (Clarence Brown, 1935) 5/10
Brown tackled Eugene O'Neill's nostalgic memory play after a string of racy films with Garbo and Crawford. Stiff Americana is about small-town life during the turn-of-the-century and allows MGM to cast a great group of character actors as the family members of the high school graduate (Eric Linden). There is his father (Lionel Barrymore), the fussing mother (Spring Byington), a younger brother (Mickey Rooney), an annoying sister (Bonita Granville), and the spinster aunt (Aline Macmahon) in love with the tippling Uncle (Wallace Beery hamming it up). Cecilia Parker is the young love interest who refuses to kiss him but enjoys his quotes of Oscar Wilde causing her father (Charley Grapewin) to put a stop to their budding relationship. So he gets drunk at the hands of a woman of bad repute. Meanwhile the younger kids play with firecrackers during the 4th of July holiday. The film's best moments are the scenes between Barrymore and Beery as they try to out ham each other. Rooney later starred in a musical version in color at MGM playing the role of the older brother.
The Red Sea Diving Resort (Gideon Raff, 2019) 6/10
A reckless Mossad agent (Chris Evans) and his team (Alessandro Nivola, Haley Bennett, Michiel Huisman, Alex Hassell) help to evacuate thousands of jewish Ethiopian refugees from war torn Sudan to Jerusalem with the help of the Israeli Navy and Air Force. They do it by striking a deal with the Sudanese government to buy and refurbish a sea resort and use the premises to secretly house refugees before smuggling them out via the sea. The local rabid police captain suspects them but they manage to hoodwink him and help 400 refugees fly out from an abandoned airfield in a plane arranged by a CIA officer (Greg Kinnear). Rousing film, although with a screenplay full of potholes and dollops of melodrama, showcases a true story where many people targeted for death were saved. Sir Ben Kingsley plays a high ranking Mossad agent who is behind the mission. The screenplay distorts a lot of what actually happened as it amalgamates a lot of incidents for dramatic effect.
Clément's film - about the efforts of the Resistance to disrupt the German war machine in France by disrupting their railroads - was partly financed by the Resistance themselves in order to disapprove International perception at the time that the French had easily capitualated and collaborated with the Nazis. Shot like a documentary with a cast of non-professionals the film is an exercise in suspense as it depicts the brave railway workers trying to sabotage and stay one step ahead of the Nazi menace. Clément won a richly deserved award for his direction at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival. The cinematography is by the distinguished Henri Alekan who had escaped a POW camp and had been part of the Resistance.
La Traversée de Paris / The Trip Across Paris (Claude Autant-Lara, 1956) 9/10
"Buddy-Comedy" set during the dark days of the Nazi occupation of Paris. An unemployed taxi-driver (Bourvil) makes ends meet by working as a
blackmarketeer delivering pork in suitcases in the stealth of night during curfew hours. When his partner is arrested he offers the position to a stranger (Jean Gabin) he meets at a café. The man soon asserts himself and terrorizes the grocer (Louis de Funes) into giving him more money for the delivery of the pig which has been cut up and placed into four suitcases. The two men embark on their journey across Paris as they try to evade curious onlookers, hungry dogs, various cops and the Germans. The two bicker constantly, a startling discovery is made about one of them as they eventually end up captured by the Nazis. Will they make it out of the mess or not? The cynical portrayal of the Occupation, contrary to de Gaulle's very different viewpoint, made the film controversial. The screenplay, very loosely based on the short story "La Traversée de Paris" by Marcel Aymé, uses the cover of a comedy to depict the harsh realities of life for the average frenchman during the Occupation. Autant-Lara depicts, through dark humour, a life where men and women scrounged for a living, became collaborators to survive and were hardly the innocent victims of occupation folklore. Expressionistic lighting by Jacques Nateau creates the deathly and dangerous atmosphere. This was the first and only time the two stars appeared on screen together and both give outstanding performances. Bourvil received the Best Actor prize at the Venice Film Festival while Gabin was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor. Classic french film is a must-see.
Lost Command (Mark Robson, 1966) 6/10
France and its chequered colonial follies in both Indo-China and Algeria where we get to see the exploits of a Basque battalion commander (Anthony Quinn). At the disastrous 1954 Battle of Dien Bien Phu he manages to stay alive despite all odds and is captured with his friends - a military historian (Alain Delon), an Indochina-born Captain (Maurice Ronet), a surgeon (Gordon Heath) and an Algerian-born paratrooper (a miscast George Segal). After the armistice they return to France via Algeria which is in the midst of retaliating against French rule. Shorn of his command for refusing to obey orders from his superiors he seeks help (and a bit of romance on the side) from a Major's widow (Michèle Morgan) to get command of a new regiment in the Algerian war. He recruits all his old comrades which brings him into direct conflict with his Algerian friend who is now fighting against the French to liberate his country. The historian falls in love with the Algerian's sister (Claudia Cardinale) and realizes his nation's misconduct towards Algeria. Based on the best-selling 1960 novel "The Centurions" by Jean Lartéguy, the film has a strong pro-peace message with dashes of romance thrown in for colour. Quinn is typically boistrous and lusty with fine performances by Delon and Cardinale. Old fashioned action-packed film has a rousing score by Franz Waxman and wide screen cinematography by Robert Surtees
The Hunted (William Friedkin, 2003) 7/10
Friedkin, known for his car chase films - "The French Connection", "To Live and Die in LA" - comes up here with another form of chase. Running on foot through forest terrain. An ex-special forces vet (Benicio Del Toro), suffering from accute battle stress - he saw far too many senseless killings in Kosovo - goes on the run while mentally unbalanced and brutally kills four deer hunters slicing them into pieces. The FBI (Connie Nielsen) gets the Army trainer (Tommy Lee Jones), who made the maniac into a killer, to go after him. The relentless chase through streets, on a high bridge, through forests and up and down waterfalls is bone crunching madness as the two men go at each other hammer and tongs (actually self made knives from stones) as they fight to the death in hand-to-hand combat. The plot is really thin having seen it play out in countless films before and since - it is like watching Rambo in "First Blood" but minus America's post-Vietnam guilt-trip. It is fascinating to see Jones' stamina at his age - still in chase mode years after "The Fugitive" - and keeping up with the younger and much more fit Del Toro. The action scenes are superbly shot - all quiet stealth - with the two protagonists acting suspiciously like a father-son duo engaged in some mysterious tussle.
Ronin (John Frankenheimer, 1998) 8/10
Frankenheimer's almost plotless film throws the viewer right in the midst of pulsating action without any formal introduction. Five "Ronins" - Samurai warriors without masters who have become hired killers - are a former American Intelligence agent (Robert De Niro), a french gunman (Jean Reno), an English firearms specialist (Sean Bean), a German computer specialist (Stellan Skarsgård) and the designated driver (Skipp Sudduth). They are hired to retrieve a briefcase (a MacGuffin which basically triggers what little plot the film has) by an IRA operative (Natascha McElhone) on behalf of a rogue operative (Jonathan Pryce). The briefcase is also desperately wanted by the Russians and the Irish which makes the whole enterprise rather tense. The statistic on the film says that over 80 automobiles were destroyed during filming so it is packed with set pieces involving chase sequences on the roads of Paris and Nice. De Niro leads the superb cast with tightly pursed lips and has great chemistry with the laconic Reno. Frankenheimer's hard-edged direction propels the film through various twists and turns mostly behind the steering wheel of a careening vehicle. Exciting film.
The Day the Earth Caught Fire (Val Guest, 1961) 7/10
The film came about out of paranoia resulting from the Cold War but it actually holds a lot of truth as it shows accute climate change the result of a nuclear explosion. Both Russia and the United States accidently test the H-bomb simultaneously - one detonating it in the North Pole and the other in the South Pole - causing the earth to tilt from its axis and go hurtling towards the sun. Low budget disaster film uses a London newspaper office as its center point with journalists trying to figure out why there are floods in the Sahara desert, earthquakes, excessive rain, eclipses and rising temperatures in different parts of the world. Leo McKern is a gruff no-nonsense senior reporter, Edward Judd is the divorced alcoholic star reporter and Janet Munro his new squeeze. Interesting matte-based special effects. The perceptive screenplay won the Bafta award.
The Very Edge (Cyril Frankel, 1963) 5/10
A happily married couple find their marriage in jeopardy when the wife (Anne Heywood) is stalked and assaulted by a psychotic man (Jeremy Brett). The shock causes her to lose the baby she is expecting and the resulting paranoia makes her turn away from her husband (Richard Todd) who is tempted by his secretary (Nicole Maurey). When the crazy man is caught the couple's life returns to normalcy until he suddenly escapes and goes again looking for the woman he is obsessed by. Creepy psychodrama goes overboard in trying to be sensational but Brett nails the part and he seems to have more of a connection with Heywood than she has with Todd. This tilts the film's sympathy somewhat towards the psycho which is sort of fatal for what the story was trying to achieve. Fine supporting cast.
Ah Wilderness! (Clarence Brown, 1935) 5/10
Brown tackled Eugene O'Neill's nostalgic memory play after a string of racy films with Garbo and Crawford. Stiff Americana is about small-town life during the turn-of-the-century and allows MGM to cast a great group of character actors as the family members of the high school graduate (Eric Linden). There is his father (Lionel Barrymore), the fussing mother (Spring Byington), a younger brother (Mickey Rooney), an annoying sister (Bonita Granville), and the spinster aunt (Aline Macmahon) in love with the tippling Uncle (Wallace Beery hamming it up). Cecilia Parker is the young love interest who refuses to kiss him but enjoys his quotes of Oscar Wilde causing her father (Charley Grapewin) to put a stop to their budding relationship. So he gets drunk at the hands of a woman of bad repute. Meanwhile the younger kids play with firecrackers during the 4th of July holiday. The film's best moments are the scenes between Barrymore and Beery as they try to out ham each other. Rooney later starred in a musical version in color at MGM playing the role of the older brother.
The Red Sea Diving Resort (Gideon Raff, 2019) 6/10
A reckless Mossad agent (Chris Evans) and his team (Alessandro Nivola, Haley Bennett, Michiel Huisman, Alex Hassell) help to evacuate thousands of jewish Ethiopian refugees from war torn Sudan to Jerusalem with the help of the Israeli Navy and Air Force. They do it by striking a deal with the Sudanese government to buy and refurbish a sea resort and use the premises to secretly house refugees before smuggling them out via the sea. The local rabid police captain suspects them but they manage to hoodwink him and help 400 refugees fly out from an abandoned airfield in a plane arranged by a CIA officer (Greg Kinnear). Rousing film, although with a screenplay full of potholes and dollops of melodrama, showcases a true story where many people targeted for death were saved. Sir Ben Kingsley plays a high ranking Mossad agent who is behind the mission. The screenplay distorts a lot of what actually happened as it amalgamates a lot of incidents for dramatic effect.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Heaven's Gate (1980) - 7/10 - This is based loosely on the Johnson County War in Wyoming toward the end of the 19th Century. Wealthy cattlemen try to intimidate and murder small ranchers, including a number of immigrants, who are challenging them on the use of the land. I was enjoying the film quite a bit for the first hour or so, but then started to lose interest. The film has really nice cinematography and I never completely lost interest, but it felt bloated and overlong. Overall, I thought it was a decent film with the potential to have been much better. Of course, the production problems, cost overruns, and other issues doomed its release early on.
Shenandoah (1965) - 7.5/10 - James Stewart stars as a farmer in Virginia during the Civil War who has a big spread that he works with his six sons, his daughter, and his daughter-in-law. Confederate and Union forces are in the vicinity near his farm, but he wants no part of the war and just wants his farm and his family to be left alone. His youngest son is mistaken for a Confederate soldier and taken prisoner so he goes off in search of him. I thought this was a pretty good western, even if it doesn't take place out west.
Lawman (1971) - 8/10 - Burt Lancaster stars as a lawman from a town called Bannock who travels to the town of Sabbath with a list of names of cowboys who shot up Bannock and unknowingly killed a man earlier in the year. One of the men on the list challenged him before he got to town and is now dead. He meets with the town marshal and sets a deadline for the next day for the men to turn themselves in. He says that none of the men will be killed and they will get a fair trial in Bannock, but some of the men have other ideas. I thought this one was really good.
Shenandoah (1965) - 7.5/10 - James Stewart stars as a farmer in Virginia during the Civil War who has a big spread that he works with his six sons, his daughter, and his daughter-in-law. Confederate and Union forces are in the vicinity near his farm, but he wants no part of the war and just wants his farm and his family to be left alone. His youngest son is mistaken for a Confederate soldier and taken prisoner so he goes off in search of him. I thought this was a pretty good western, even if it doesn't take place out west.
Lawman (1971) - 8/10 - Burt Lancaster stars as a lawman from a town called Bannock who travels to the town of Sabbath with a list of names of cowboys who shot up Bannock and unknowingly killed a man earlier in the year. One of the men on the list challenged him before he got to town and is now dead. He meets with the town marshal and sets a deadline for the next day for the men to turn themselves in. He says that none of the men will be killed and they will get a fair trial in Bannock, but some of the men have other ideas. I thought this one was really good.