What classics did you see last week ? (16 Sep- 22 Sep 2018)

Gringo (2018) 5/10

This is Your Death (2017) 4/10

Stakeout (1987) 7/10

Hot Fuzz (2007) 8/10

The American President (1995) 6/10

Sunset Boulevard (1950) 7/10

Leon: The Professional (1994) 6/10

Anchorman: The Legend Continues (2013) 4/10

A Thousand Acres (1997) 6/10

Erin Brockovich (2000) 8/10

Malcolm X (1992) 9/10

The Final Countdown (1980) 4/10

Fletch (1985) 8/10

 5/10


 7/10




7/10

Without Honor (1949)

www.imdb.com/title/tt0042049/reference

The Hour Of Twilight.

Without Honor is directed by Irving Pichel and written by James Pope. It stars Dane Clark, Laraine Day, Franchot Tone and Agnes Moorehead. Music is by Max Steiner and cinematography by Lionel Lindon.

A mixed bag on offer in this one, where a broth of "sins" is stirred suitably in predominantly one location. Set-up bares a striking resemblance to Hitchcock's Rope released the previous year, where a group of characters are thrust together in one living room deconstructing their sins, shattered dreams and ulterior motives - all while a supposed dead body lays prone in one of the bedrooms.

The thematics at work are prime film noir, adultery, suicide attempt, sexual aggression, jealous agenda, duping and etc, all of which only comes to life half way through the piece. Here in is the problem, the pic asks for a lot of patience from the viewer before really getting going, which although the character group dynamic is pungent with an unsavoury odour, it never fully gets out of first gear.

Things aren't helped by the flat visual look of the piece, where with the story set in daytime, we yearn for a bit of noir flourish from one of the ace noir photographers of the time. Then there's Steiner's score, which is a cracker, ebullience in abundance, only it's in the wrong film! Moorehead is wasted in what is ultimately a walk on passive role, but at least Clark and Day nail the traits of their respective characters.

No hidden gem here, and noir hunters should be advised this is only noir from a plot perspective, but enough damaged human conditioning here to make it above average. 6.5/10


The Unknown (1946)

www.imdb.com/title/tt0039067/reference

My poor poor baby.

The Unknown is directed by Henry Levin and adapted to screenplay by Charles O'Neal and Dwight Babcock from the radio play written by Malcolm Boylan and Julian Harmon. It stars Karen Morley, Jim Bannon and Jeff Donnell. Music is by Alexander Steinert and cinematography by Henry Freulich.

A wonderfully good old fashioned spooky house mystery finds a group of relatives arrive at a big mansion estate for the reading of a will. Pretty soon strange occurrences and accidents are the order of the night.

Clocking in at just seventy minutes in run time, Levin's picture doesn't have time to bore or bother with pointless filler. Standard creepy house rules apply here, shadows dominate the visuals (Freulich's photography excellent), which accentuate uneasy atmosphere as characters trawl through secret passageways, barely lit corridors, the ominous staircase and even a mausoleum that sits next to the house.

The sound mix is important because you have to have creaks and groans, and the unnerving cry of a child in the night, all is spot on there. While the characters are a ripe blend of eccentrics, suspicious suspects,intrepid investigators and a dainty dame. The mystery element holds strong throughout, and while the resolution is hardly a bolt from the blue, it pays off well enough to round out a good time spent with the viewing. 6.5/10

San Antonio (1945)

www.imdb.com/title/tt0038048/reference

This town looks as if it's full of men who step on baby chickens.

San Antonio is directed by David Butler and written by Alan Le May and W. R. Burnett. It stars Errol Flynn, Alexis Smith, Paul Kelly, S.Z. Sakall, Florence Bates and Victor Francen. Music is by Max Steiner and cinematography by Bert Glennon.

It's always interesting to compare Errol Flynn's Westerns, his work in a genre he was not overly fond of. Depending on your Western genre proclivities of course, there's a mix of the old fashioned type, where Errol flirts and is heroic, or the more serious ones where his heroism is underplayed. San Antonio is the former.

Plot has Flynn as Clay Hardin, who is the man who can prove that town impresario Roy Stuart (Kelly) is the man responsible for the rampant cattle rustling going on in the state. There's agendas gnawing away in the plot, romantic dalliances that bring the delightful Alexis Smith into prominence, and of course there's frothy comedy light relief - the proviso here is if Sakall and Bates' thing doesn't irritate you?

Flynn is ace, athletic with a handsomeness that's rarely been bettered in Hollywood, to which here he's on lovable rascal form, playing off of Smith with appealing skill. Smith is a strong foil for her leading man, holding her end up in both stern characteristics and comedy angles. While it's always great to find Kelly in a villain role, here getting his teeth into it for much viewing reward.

Unfortunately this really could have done with a better director, the blend of drama and comedy seemingly uneasy in Butler's hands. The big denouement between hero and villain is a damp squib, which is a shame as we are in the ruins of The Alamo, a poignant piece of architecture that positively demands a more extended and vigorous finale. Elsewhere, Glennon's photography is pleasing if lacking in exterior splendours, and Steiner's score will sound familiar to anyone already familiar with his work.

Gloriously pretty, vibrant and colourful, it's well weighted with good production values and a solid cast, but as fun as it is it does lack some urgency ingredients to be great. 7/10

Gojira tai Mekagojira (1974)

www.imdb.com/title/tt0071565/reference

Okinawa Oblivion.

Gojira tai Mekagojira is directed by Jun Fukuda and Fukuda co-writes the screenplay with Hiroyasu Yamamura. It stars Masaaki Daimon, Kazuya Aoyama, Akihiko Hirata and Hiroshi Koizumi. Music is by Masaru Sato and cinematography by Yuzuru Aizawa.

Toho introduce us to Mechagodzilla for the first time, a giant robotic Godzilla fashioned by aliens, cue monster smack-downs and the Earth in peril wrapped in a completely bonkers story.

Godzilla's 20th anniversary celebrations brought us this venture, a strange affair, where it's very easy to warm to and enjoyable for sure, if a tad too cheap and cheesy to be a high point of the original series wave. The human aspects plays like an odd ball spy caper, one that comes with glorious prophecies of monster doom for mankind. Sure enough, it's not long before chaos is brought down upon the city of Okinawa.

Along with the two titular Godzilla's of the title, we also get a bit of Angorus, whose actions and part in the story is a great set up, and here's a newbie joining the fray, King Caesar. Caesar is Okinawa's monster God, officially from Komainu lore in features, but actually looking like some rabid nuclear canine, but it's still great fun as Caesar and Godzilla try and repel the might of the supremely cool and lethal Mechagodzilla.

Sato's musical score is not for me, it's too cartoon like in patches and feels at odds with the peril sci-fi vibe so associated with the series. The artwork is a mixed bag as usual, where most annoying is that the Godzilla costume looks dreadfully cheap, but elsewhere great and nifty model and camera work exude a love for the series that's rather warming.

The ending by way of story wrapping sort of fizzles out, a shame since the pyrotechnics of the final battle are glorious. Which leaves us with a Godzilla film that sits somewhere in the middle tier of the rankings. But if only for introducing us to the awesome Mecahgodzilla for the first time it earns mighty respect. 6.5/10

Run (1991) 

www.imdb.com/title/tt0102818/reference

Run of the mill?

Run is directed by Geoff Burrowes and written by Dennis Shryack and Michael Blodgett. It stars Patrick Dempsey and Kelly Preston. Music is by Phil Marshall and cinematography by Bruce Surtess.

Patrick Dempsey just prior to making Run was making a marker in Rom-Com territories, so it was a surprise to many upon its release to find Dempsey the central figure in a chase thriller. Though ordinary in the grand scheme of things, it's a very tidy picture. Sprinkled with quality chase sections and nifty action work, so it's easy to forgive the lack of likable characters on show. This includes Dempsey's Charlie Farrow, who is just a little too smug and full of himself to initially get us rooting for his survival.

Narrative encompasses dirty cops pandering to the mobsters calls, the latters henchmen annoyingly one note, while Preston's sultry babe act is vastly under nourished in context to Farrow's situation. Naturally there's a good cop as well, there has to be of course, but by and large Charlie is on his own and up against it, where a whole town is hell bent on handing him into the mob boss (Ken Pogue) who wrongly blames him for the death of his bully boy son (Alan C. Peterson).

Come the somewhat disappointing finale, where the final face off is all too brief, you hopefully should feel entertained enough for time spent watching. It's not brilliant or remotely original, but enough twists, action, suspense and even comedy mark it out as above average fare. 6.5/10

Kid (1990)

www.imdb.com/title/tt0102205/reference

Hey do you believe in the bogeyman?

Kid is directed by John Mark Robinson and written by Leslie Bohem. It stars C. Thomas Howell, Sarah Trigger, Brian Austin Green, R. Lee Ermey and Dale Dye. Music is by Tim Truman and cinematography by Robert D. Yeoman.

Come 1990 C. Thomas Howell had already showed himself to be flexible in his acting wiles, here he fronts up for some straight moody seriousness as The Kid of the title. The Kid is all about revenge, returning to his home town of his youth to enact retribution on those who murdered is mother and father.

It has strong resemblance to a whole host of previous movies that operate along the same formula straight, only difference is is that's it's pitched more to a young adult audience. Some of the dialogue is crass speak, the musical score in keeping with the decade this had just left behind, and away from Howell, Ermey and Dye (the latter two doing their rough and tough acts), the acting is cringe inducing, however, this is no dead loss.

A revenge movie is easy to buy into if you can get on board with the protagonist/antagonist, and Howell manages to do this. Kid is a person of few words, instead choosing to say more by brooding and using serio visual ticks, his intensity in the role rewarding. It's quite refreshing in light of Ermey and Dye's barnstorming approach to one dimensional villainy.

The ending somewhat peters out, sadly not daring to go the whole mile for complete devine retributional closure, which marks this out as not being a must see revenge pic. Yet it has enough strengths for the undemanding viewer, I mean if only for death by tennis ball this should be marked above average.

A decent revenge movie very much of its time that's worth a look. 6.5/10

Also watched Murder on the Orient Express (2017) www.imdb.com/title/tt3402236/reference. Great if you don't already know the ending! Gorgeous photography, costuming etc, fine acting and lovely camera work. This Agatha lady was pretty cool, no?

Sweet Country (2017) www.imdb.com/title/tt6958212/reference. Second viewing required. Potent, haunting, beautiful, sad...

Done!

THE BOLD CABALLERO 1936 -First sound/color Zorro movie. He has an unusual full face mask, but when he takes it off, you can see why he wears it. Kind of a goofy Don Diego Vega who sings.

His leading lady is a most interesting character though--she becomes governor of the colony after her father is murdered (blamed on Zorro). But unlike most movies of this kind, she guesses that Vega has a secret--she says: "This Fop bit is just an act isn't it. What secret are you hiding?"
and then later she pieces together that he is Zorro.


CRY OF THE PROSTITUTE 1974 Henry Silva returns to Sicily from America to stamp out drug smugglers using dead kids to hide the drugs.
Along the way he encounters Barbara Bouchet. Has the usual over the top violence and tough guy antics like when Solva has his jaw broken and he is asked if he believes in God and he mumbles "shometimes."

Hi Julie! I hope you had a good weekend,and with Postman,I was wondering if you have seen other versions and how would you rank them? Thanks.

Not necessarily "classics" in the truest sense of the word... But they were all good films to watch. Enjoyed them all.

Hello mdf. I love The Rocketeer, I found that going back for another viewing later on in life showed it up as a far better pic than first thought back on release, a great bit of escapism. I loved Horner's score as well, purchased the CD.

Thanks for the review, wise scribble indeed.

I watched He Walked By Night for the cinematography of John Alton. The film itself is a police procedural with voice over narration. Richard Basehart is is cold villain; not much sympathy from the viewer.

I have brief thoughts on Ramrod here:

Ramrod (1947)