What classics did you see last week ? (3 Mar - 9 Mar 2019)

Howl (2015) A werewolf on a train. A fun idea and has some good, creepy atmosphere.



Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland (2016) A movie spun off from the TV series. Makes American Pie look like Shakespeare in comparison.



The Dark Crystal (1982) Jim Henson's fantasy movie, sort of a "Fraggle Rock Meets The Lord of the Rings." Luckily I watched it with subtitles on because the voices were hard to understand.



Now You See Me 2 (2016) The sequel to the first one!



Fall Time (1995) A noir-ish 90's crime movie. The most interesting thing to note for me was that Stephen Baldwin swears like a sailor on shore leave, taking the Lord's name in vain, only to become a hardcore Christian afterwards. He probably wishes this movie didn't exist now.



Other People (2016) Has some great acting by Jesse Plemons and Molly Shannon and was the most worthwhile thing I saw all week. Great movie.

No!
It just took me a couple of years to convince my son to watch the 1948 Musketeers. He already loved the 70s films and after enjoying Gene Kelly et al he insisted we watch the other versions we own.
As for COMC, the Richard Chamberlain version was on tv last week and then we got the newer one from the library.

Haven't seen the 25th Anniversary Concert - but I'm guessing my daughter has it (she has EVERYTHING LES MIS). I'll seek it out.

One of the many mistakes of my life - was in London in 1995 and part of the package was a show. Our choices came down to Les Mis and Miss Saigon. I convinced my wife to go with the latter for the ridiculous reason that it was "newer". It was O.K. but I'll always regret not going with Les Mis.

Hi all,I hope everyone had a good weekend,and I've recently seen:

Robbert Hossein Noir:



The Road to Shame (1959) 10

Credited as an "Assistant editor", Michel Deville's regular co-writer/editor Nina Companeez makes her distinctive mark on editor Laurence Mery-Clark's cutting style, in outstanding, jarring smash-cuts giving the fight scenes a blunt edge,and Companeez's smash-cuts for unexpected confrontations Rossi faces giving them a from out of nowhere sense of surprise. Loitering around like a street rat, Robert Hossein gives a excellent performance as the dead-eyed Noir loner Rossi, whose stubbornness to brush off the threats from gangsters has Hossein gives Rossi a rough and tumble manner, shoving aside any thug blocking him from his dame love. Slithering round the drugged dames, (which includes a very good Magali Noël as Coraline Merlin) Philippe Clay is an utter creep as gangster Tom. Carrying a wry smirk, Clay has Tom hand out punishment to "trouble" with an abrasive strike that puts anyone who speaks up back in line.

Drugging all the women to join the white slave trade, director Edouard Molinaro & cinematographer Robert Juillard give the hazy state a quality touch of sleaze, exposing the bare flesh of the sexy ladies, and giving the fight scenes peculiar tools (the only Noir where plant pots are used as weapons?) Jazzing up the dark side streets with a breezy Jazz score from Art Blakey, Molinaro ignites an excellent seedy Film Noir atmosphere, panning the long streets Rossi drags his heels down, and in tightly coiled shots holds Tom lurking in the shadows set to pounce on Rossi. Welding the editing styles of Clark and Companeez with ease, Molinaro superbly matches the elegance of panning shots round the house with frenzied close-ups,whip-fast tracking shots and fast-moving wide-shots stylisation smashing into Rossi's face. Set over one night, Albert Simonin and Gilles Morris-Dumoulin's adaptation of Morris-Dumoulin's own novel tensely place Rossi and Tom as two sides of the same Noir loner coin, via Rossi being drained of nothing else to care for but holding his dream woman again, while Tom has long ago beaten up any remains of remorse or regret for a desire to go up the black market food chain,as they both walk down the road to shame.



OSS 117 Is Not Dead (1957) 6

Spying five years before the 007 franchise really got the Euro Spy movie genre rolling, Jacques Berland & Jean Jean Levitte adaptation of Jean Bruce's novel investigate OSS 117's espionage activities from a "Mystery" angle, playfully spun from OSS having to try keep an eye on the wealthy Mr Lead's safe, in order to slyly find who is stealing documents/microfilm from it. Whilst OSS and his gentlemen detective manner are put in the title, the writers make vixen Consuela (played by a foxy Jacqueline Pierreux) the alluring agent of the tale, thanks to Consuela being tied to the seedy night clubs in town and a feisty edge over keeping micro secrets to herself. Along with introducing the cute future OSS 117 regular Magali Noël to the series as agent Muriel Rousset, director Jean Sacha and cinematographer Marcel Weiss bring a Pop-Art sparkle from overlapping smash-cuts in the bars and on the grounds of the Lead household, as Agent OSS 117 eyes completing his first mission.

Lucky Jo (1964) 8



Criss-crossing Jo and the gangs doing robberies and going to jail over the opening, co-writer/director Michel Deville continues his 11 film collaboration with co-writer/editor Nina Companeez via the low-lighting giving the titles a Film Noir appearance, which is contrasted by stylisation of the editing and camera moves tilting it all to a sparkling "Caper" atmosphere. Rolling with the punches on cops and thugs, Deville and Companeez go gloriously over the top for the fight scenes,as Jo keeps his hat safely on whilst having tables/chairs thrown at him, (all of which have no impact!)which are cleared up by Jo with punches that have a wooden thump sound effect. Filmed on the streets of Paris,Companeez and Deville send the old man & the gun Jo out on the streets with debonair rapid-fire whip-pans and tracking-shots gliding along to Jo's sleigh attempts to get back in the game.

Taking their hats off to Pierre Lesou's novel, the adaptation by Deville and Companeez's smartly keep Jo's straight-ahead state of mind serious, while playing up the comedic Caper edges, which sees Jo underhandedly make an attempt to help a fellow crook escape appear to be him helping out the cops, along with not taking no for an answer, by pushing into all the side deals, dames and killings which have flowered since his group splintered whilst Jo was in the slammer. The only time they appeared together, Pierre and Claude Brasseur give delightful turns as commissaire Loudeac and Loudeac Fils dit Junior, who Claude has falling over himself with fear over Pierre's commissaire Loudeac barking orders at everyone as a hard-nosed cop. Proving to all his former gang that he still has it,Eddie Constantine gives a terrific, charismatic performance as Jo, thanks to Constantine having Jo hit all his dirty deeds not as a thug, but with the professional slickness of an old pro who knows how lucky he is.



L'équipage (1935) 8

Pre-dating by a decade the "buddies exchanging wisecracks whilst proudly serving for their country" genre that would become a staple of US cinema from WWII,co-writer/(with Joseph Kessel) director Anatole Litvak's adaptation of Kessel's own novel lands in WWI with the thick bond of friendship between Maury and Herbillon brightly burning, but brilliantly curls it into the melancholy,rather than the comedic. Welcoming the viewer to the partying and high-flying times of the squad, the writers gradually bring the love triangle laying under the surface between Helene and her husband Maury's bond with Herbillon onto the horizon, which darkens the sky on a richly melodrama final.

Gathered round the pubs of WWI singing army songs such as "auprès de ma blonde", director Litvak & Henri Georges-Clouzot's future regular cinematographer Armand Thirard soar into action with beautiful, ultra-stylised overlapping dissolves unlocking the heart of the love triangle, and sweeping the dissolves along the aftermath of the battlefields. Appearing to be a mix of real and studio shot, Litvak and Thirard give the sky fighting action scenes a real weight, via elegant wide-shots capturing the strategic alignment of the planes, matched by close-ups in the planes on the emotions running across the faces of the pilots. Holding a love for each other, Charles Vanel, Jean-Pierre Aumont and " Annabella" each give excellent performances as the the tangled loves, via Vanel digging into the big hearted, world weariness of Maury, Aumont keeping Herbillon aching to keep his romance and friendship beating, whilst Annabella has Helene strike an alluringly tragic nerve, as Helene looks to the sky, and sees the flight into darkness.



Night of Lust (1963) 7

Lusting for 72 minutes, co-writer/(with Guy Fanelli ) director Jose Benazeraf & cinematographer Edmond Richard take the Film Noir of early 50's French cinema, and twist it into the French New Wave (FNW) (a movement about to past its peak after Truffaut's great The Soft Skin unexpectedly failed at the box office in 1964.)Not playing the credits or Chet Baker's wonderful improvised Jazz score until 15 minutes in, Benazeraf loads up a enticingly brittle, experimental atmosphere, tracking the rival gang battles with stylish long-lens shots which keeps critical actions, (a kidnapping phone call, shoot-outs) obscured in the foreground, whilst examining the mundane events such as cards that the henchmen play to pass the time. Skirting towards what was to come with Italian Crime by adding a dash of naked women and a delightful catfight, Benazeraf gives each of them a FNW twist, via via viewing a striptease from a side mirror in a pub, and fluidly darting the camera across the faces of the ladies tangled in the fight.

Bringing Anne-Marie Devillers novel into daylight, the adaptation by Benazeraf and Fanelli have the rival gang fight spill out in short,sharp,shocks across the streets,but builds up the majority of the Film Noir thrills by focusing on the tangled state of hostage Nora, who along with clawing into a Femme Fatale rivalry with fellow dame Wanda, gets left by the road side as the guys are drawn into the darkness of their gang war. Slammed into a car as a hostage, sexy Yvonne Monlaur gives a excellent turn as Nora, whose alluring, subtle facial expressions captures Nora's fears during the night of lust.

Mirages de Paris (1933) 7



Awe-struck by the sights and bright lights of Paris, cute Jacqueline Francell, (who died after suddenly fainting on stage in 1962 at just 54 years old) gives an enchanting performance as Madeleine,whose wide-eyed excitement at becoming star of Paris is captured with a twirl by Francell. Holding Madeleine back from her dreams, co-writer/(with René Pujol/Victor Trivas and Hans H. Zerlett) director Fyodor Otsep gives the boarding school a wooden, drab appearance, sawn open in winding tracking shots round the corridors where there are no classes that fulfil Madeleine's dreams. Putting her best foot forward arriving in Paris and getting involved in theatre, Otsep makes an early staging in the " fantastique" genre, (which became popular during the Occupation) in the productions Madeleine joins having grand, extravagant sets captured by Otsep's graceful pans across the stage. Magicking up a wish-fulfilment tale, the writers finely balance Madeline facing knock-backs over her love of stars,with a sweetly natured sincerity over Madeline stepping on stage and making the mirages of Paris real.

A Bullet in the Gun Barrel (1958) 6



Making his film making debut without the involvement of future editor/co-writing collaborator Nina Companeez, directing auteur Michel Deville offers tantalising glimpses to his future recurring motifs when co-writing/co-directing here with Charles Gerard, as jolts of Deville's abrupt smash and match-cuts are layered over Dick and Tony's money handling deeds. Whilst not blending seamlessly together, the set-pieces likely done by Charles Gerard (who did more acting than directing) have a refined Film Noir atmosphere, with the relaxed motions during well performed music numbers in the night club,and stilted wide-shots in the final, creating an oddly gentle vibe. Writing a year later the outstanding Film Noir The Road to Shame (1959-also reviewed), the screenplay by Albert Simonin and the two co-directors present a neat and tidy Film Noir package, whilst whilst not aiming for psychological depth, finds thrills in war vets Tony and Dick having to weigh how much trust they give to friendly gangster Pepere,as the last barrel is emptied.

Other flicks:



Inferno (1953) 10

Joining in the 3D craze late, 20th Century Fox's entry has an existential third dimension visible even in 2D. Left to die on a mountain top in the Mojave Desert, director Roy Ward Baker & cinematographer Lucien Ballard, (who earlier worked with the lead on Berlin Express (1948)-also reviewed) bravely keep dips into Donald's inner monologue as the lone "voice" in the Desert, in order to play out large sections of the opening hour dialogue-free, with lone yelps and screams being the only sounds Donald makes on his crawl to survival. Making every inch he moves look life-threatening, Baker and Ballard display a subtle eye for the use of 3D in long depth of field shots giving the mountain a nerve- wrecking long-drop appearance that is tied to an isolated Film Noir atmosphere.

Going to Hammer Horror a few years later, Baker unveils his excellent skill in carrying the existential with the pulp, (which would become visible in Baker's Hammer classic Quatermass and the Pit (1967) ) where the deserted wasteland filled with only a loner pulling himself to survive, is matched by cheerfully over the top chairs being "thrown" at the audience, and the mental inferno Donald faces being transformed into a visual pit of hell for the final.

One of only a few films he would write, (he did also write for some TV shows) the screenplay by Francis M. Cockrell takes a sharp, precession approach to the hernias of Duncan and Femme Fatale Geraldine, (a nose to the grindstone William Lundigan and a calculatingly icy Rhonda Fleming) in the limited snippets of them cackling drawing what awaits Donald if he survives the Desert. Spending most of the title following just one character, Cockrell drills into Donald's psychology state with cracking dialogue expressing the thin Film Noir line he is on between giving up to die, or dragging his heels for a chance to survive, and a mirage of revenge. Digging his burnt hands into the sand and dirt, Robert Ryan gives an incredibly expressive performance as Donald. Spending the first hour with no other actor and no dialogue to say, Ryan carves out the anguished pain and fury of Donald in subtle withering body movements and acceptance to death when looking into the inferno.



The Kissing Booth (2018) 7


Directing for the first time since 2015's TV Movie Liar, Liar, Vampire, writer/director Vince Marcello & cinematographer Anastas N. Michos display an impressive ease over shaking the Rom-Com and YA Drama up together, via slick panning shots and criss-crossing sparkly montages dancing to Lee and "Elle's" friendship smoothly sitting side by side with circling panning shots and a Teen Drama soundtrack for the blossoming romance between Elle and Noah (who the makers don't try to hide is a foot taller than her.)

Taking Beth Reekles's YA novel out of the booth, Marcello keeps the heightened romance that the genre is known for intact, but pins it down with a Rom-Com playfulness, from the initial dancing bond which leads to friends Elle and Lee making a list of rules to follow in life, to Noah and Elle having to find sly ways to hide their romance. Sharing almost every scene together, Joey King, Joel Courtney and Jacob Elordi each give bubbly turns as Elle, Lee and Noah Flynn, with King bringing out Elle's tenderness for the brothers, who Courtney and Elordi keep in a confrontational state,as the kissing booth opens.

For some reason, I had the idea that this was going to be an Alan Ladd - Veronica Lake film so it was a bit of a surprise to learn other wise but I was game anyway. Going into it totally unprepared as I was, the "gimmick" was a bit of a shock... and not in a good way. I really hatred the "seen thru his eyes only" thing. It was like watching a series of actors auditioning for their roles by hitting their marks and reading their lines off of cue cards. Audrey Totter mugged excessively and that did not help.


Robert Montgomery (who also directed ) made rare appearances IN the film …


Lloyd Nolan was most believable despite the awkward staging. A Very young, dark haired, Jayne Meadows had a small role but I did not recognize her.


I know this is a classic "gotta see it" but it left ne with a <shrug>.

Road House (1989)--What The Oscar was to the 1960s, this is to the 1980s--an unintentionally hilarious drama with over-the-top acting and plot. Patrick Swayze stars as a bouncer hired to train other bouncers the mystical tenets of, uh, bouncerism. He has to constantly take on the vicious henchmen of the town villain, played by Ben Gazzara--we know he's a villain because, in his roomful of hunting trophies, he not only has stuffed bears and rhinos, but also a whole family of tiny little monkeys, stuffed and on display. He gets help from the legendary Bouncer of All Bouncers, played by Sam Elliott in full head-cocking glory. The movie is full of great moments for manly men--Wild barfights!  Explosions! A monster truck gone wild! Shirtless Patrick Swayze in tight jeans! And a few shots of topless strippers to distract from shirtless Swayze. If you enjoy film parodies, you might like this so-bad-it's-good movie.

A Star is Born (2018)--yet another version of the 1937 and 1954 films (and that other Streisand one, which I haven't seen and don't want to). At least Fredric March and James Mason, in the earlier versions, are kind of attractive at the start; Bradley Cooper's  character has constant alcohol sweats and hair so dirty you can almost smell it throughout the movie. If you like Lady Gaga, you might like this. Otherwise, it's okay, but nothing too outstanding.

Overboard (2018)--another remake, this time of the Goldie Hawn/Kurt Russell comedy. Eugenio Derbez is kind of funny, but Anna Faris is somewhat less than inspired in this so-so comedy.

Keanu (2016)--Key and Peele pose as hitmen in order to recover a lost kitten. Not as funny as their TV sketch comedy show, but an okay time-waster of a film.

To Sir, With Love 2--Mr. Thackeray retires after nearly 30 years of teaching at the tough London school. At his retirement party (where Lulu sings that song again), he's asked what he's going to do now. Well, of course he's now going to teach at an even tougher inner-city Chicago school! Sure.
   "Sir" now has to face, instead of water balloons and sawed-off table legs, knives and guns. He reasons with the kids, they all come to worship him as their hero, and everybody's happy. In feel-good inspirational teacher movies like this, the teacher never has to deal with kids with serious behavioral issues, drug problems, etc. If only it were this easy. Still, an enjoyable film for those who liked the 1967 original.

Houseboat (1958)--Cary Grant is a widower with three lonely, resentful children who hires runaway heiress Sophia Loren as their housekeeper. Guess what happens next. Predictable but enjoyable fluff. Grant reportedly fell in love with Loren for real during the making of this movie, but romance is more complicated in real life.