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Post by delon on Jun 29, 2019 13:07:51 GMT
Comments/ratings/recommendations/film posters are welcome and much appreciated
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Post by wmcclain on Jun 29, 2019 13:11:04 GMT
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Post by mikef6 on Jun 29, 2019 13:49:25 GMT
The Glass Key / Stuart Heisler (1942). Paramount Pictures. Only seven years earlier Paramount had a big box office hit with a film based on Dashiell Hammett’s novel “The Glass Key” but decided to go with another version for their new star couple Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. Political boss Paul Madvig (Brian Donlevy) decides to back a reform candidate for governor because he has fallen in love with the candidate’s daughter Janet (Lake). Medvig’s right-hand-man and chief advisor Ed Beaumont (Ladd) doesn’t think this is a good idea because of the agreements they have with the local mob. Also, Janet’s wastrel brother is seeing Medvig’s younger sister (Bonita Granville) and Madvig doesn’t like it. When the bad boy brother turns up dead, the political scene is in turmoil. Beaumont does what he can to protect Medvig but ends up in the hands of mobster Nick Varna (one of my favorite ‘40s character actors, Joseph Calleia) and his powerful and sadistic henchman Jeff (William Bendix in a very scary performance). Beaumont’s torture and spectacular escape from an upper story room in one of Varna’s joints is one of the great thrills of ‘40s thrillers. Late in the tale, Jeff again gets Beaumont into the upper room where they play a scene that could be shown as a summary of everything that noir means. Other than these two magnificent “upper room” sequences, the direction is fairly routine and static. The final Reveal of the killer is staged in an especially unimaginative way. Still, as an example of early film noir with influence down the line, “The Glass Key” remains an essential. NOTES: a) an uncredited Dane Clark can be seen in an early role; b) The Glass Key Award (in Swedish, Glasnyckeln), named after the novel, has been presented annually since 1992 for the best crime novel by a Scandinavian writer; c) The Coen’s “Miller’s Crossing” (1980) is loosely based on the plot of “The Glass Key.”   Tennessee Johnson / William Dieterle (1942). Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. This bio-pic is about the 17th President, Andrew Johnson (Van Heflin), who succeeded to the office after the death of Abraham Lincoln. Director William Dieterle could have helmed this in his sleep. He already had several A-picture biographies under his belt (Pasteur ’36, Zola ’37, Reuter ’40, and Dr. Ehrlich ’40). Indeed, “Tennessee Johnson” – the movie - looks back at the 1930s instead of forward into the post-Citizen Kane ‘40s. The early scenes of Johnson’s youth and education almost reach John Ford levels of sentimental Americana. It is when Johnson becomes President and clashes with the powerful Senator Thaddeus Stevens (Lionel Barrymore) who wants to punish the former Confederate states with martial law that the picture picks up steam. (Stevens was an actual historical character but becomes a composite figure for the sake of economy.) Johnson, who fights to fulfill Lincoln’s dream of a united nation, finds himself under impeachment and on trial in the Senate. Two face-off scenes between Heflin and Barrymore really crackle. The film as a whole could have used more of this kind of heady drama. The Macomber Affair / Zoltan Korda (1947). Benedict Bogeaus Production/United Artists. Adapted from a well-known short story by Ernest Hemingway by Seymour Bennett and Frank Arnold, the script explores some complex human relationships. Robert Wilson (Gregory Peck) is an experienced and expensive “white hunter” and trophy guide to wealthy Americans. His current clients are the Macombers, Francis and Margaret (Robert Preston and Joan Bennett). There are obvious strains in the Macomber marriage and for Francis they seem to involve issues of “what makes a man” – what is masculinity? Things come to a crisis when Francis drops his rifle and runs in the face of a charging lion. Now he has double reason to assert his courage. The film is structured with a framing device and the major portion of the story is told in flashback. So we already know at the start the Macomber is dead and was shot by his wife in the heat of the chase. Was it deliberate or accidental? What is Wilson’s culpability for giving into Margaret’s advances? Just a little bit too much is explained away in the final minutes, but the mystery of an individual marriage remains unresolved. This excellent film has sort of fallen by the wayside over the decades but it is one of the best of its year and should be seen and remembered. Fine acting by all, especially, Robert Preston. The romantic musical score is by Miklós Rózsa. B&W Cinematography is by Karl Struss (Journey Into Fear, Wonder Man). PERSONAL NOTE: I love it that modern African trophy hunters get regularly shamed on social media for their thrill killing of innocent lions, giraffes, and elephants. Shadow On The Wall / Pat Jackson (1950). Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Doting dad David (Zachary Scott) comes home from a business trip to loving 8-year-old daughter Susan (Gigi Perreau) and not-so-loving step-mother Celia (Kristine Miller). David discovers that Celia is having an affair with Crane (Tom Helmore) who is the fiancé of Celia’s sister Dell (Ann Southern). David is holding a gun as he and Celia argue until Celia cold cocks him with a hand mirror. At that point, Dell enters and uses the gun to kill her sister. Because of the circumstances, everyone believes David killed Celia, including David. He is sentenced to die in the electric chair. However, the entire thing has been seen by young Susan who represses the memory and becomes almost completely non-responsive. Enter child psychiatrist Dr. Caroline Canford (Nancy Davis). Using dolls and play therapy she begins to bring out memories in Susan which upsets her “Aunt” Dell. Dell decides that Susan must die, leading to a couple of fall off the edge of your seat set pieces. Although this is a more than adequate suspenser, what makes it stand out is its casting against type of earthy, straight-talking gal Ann Southern as a cold blooded murderer and usual slick creepy guy Zachary Scott as a nice guy and a good father. Beyond that is Nancy Davis as a capable, knowledgeable heath care provider who works independently and makes her own decisions and takes responsibility. The movie doesn’t even provide her with a male colleague to tell her that she is too pretty to be a doctor and should be married instead. I didn’t miss him. And 8-year-old Gigi Perreau gives a seasoned performance of a long time professional. She really is quite amazing. With Southern, Perreau, and Davis, the women win this one. This might be Nancy’s best role. Kansas City Confidential / Phil Karlson (1952). Edward Small Productions/United Artists. Nifty above average programmer helmed by the reliable Phil Karlson (whose career is still undergoing re-evaluation) with good performances from leads John Payne and Preston Foster. We first see Foster casing a bank from a second story apartment across the street. He then blackmails three wanted criminals to join his robbery play. And what a three they are! Get this: Neville Brand, Lee Van Cleef, and Jack Elam. I know, right? Foster always wears a mask as do the others when they meet together so no one can ever rat on another. They simply don’t know who they are working with. The key to their getaway is that they are using a delivery van painted like a real one that brings flowers to a florist next door to the bank. As the real van pulls away, the robbery van takes its place so the legit driver is being questioned and beaten at the cop station while the thieves are getting out of town. Their patsy has been Joe Rolfe (Payne) who makes up his mind to track down the people who framed him, himself. He manages to befriend Pete Harris (Elam) who he believes to be one of the men. When Harris is confronted and shot by police, Joe takes Harris’ false identity (given him by Foster) to Mexico where the meet up and split of the money is to take place. Instead of light and shadows, Karlson and his cinematographer George Diskand (On Dangerous Ground, The Narrow Margin) chose to shoot through palm fronds and give us lots of extreme facial close-ups, hiking the visual nervousness – especially in regards to Van Cleef and Brand. Not much Kansas City in “Kansas City Confidential” but you won’t miss it. A taut, tight thriller. TRIVIA: Earlier this same year – 1952 – Lee Van Cleef had made his screen debut as one of Frank Miller’s gang waiting at the train station in “High Noon.” Kingsman: The Secret Service / Matthew Vaughn (2014). Twentieth Century Fox. Tiresome modern spy spoof that does not know when to stop with the violent action. Some is good. Just going on and on and on with an action sequence, not knowing how to time them or vary them, is bad. “Kingsman” is mostly bad. This finally gave me the chance to see the bland rising star Taron Egerton. He will be sad to hear that I was not impressed. Some old-timers show up and appear to be having fun. Samuel L. Jackson is the laughing megalomaniac who is going to ruin the world with Colin Firth and Mark Strong as mentors to the potential Kingsman recruits. Best of all is, of course, Michael Caine as the ultimate head of the secret service. Like his performance in “King Of Thieves” (2018), Caine shows that he can still put some steel into his characters. Love to see him go hard. These pleasures, though, are few and fleeting.  Veronica Mars, Season 1, 22 weekly episodes (Sept 22, 2004-May 10, 2005).
Veronica Mars, Season 2, 22 weekly episodes (Sept 28, 2005-May 9, 2006).
Veronica Mars, Season 3, 20 weekly episodes (Oct 3, 2006-May 22, 2007).Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) may be a high school senior who works as a private eye but this is a million miles from Nancy Drew as Veronica’s hard-boiled voice-over immediately signals. Veronica lives in the fictional SoCal city of Neptune, a divided town. The side of town whose zip code ends in 09 (the oh-niners) are the richest of the rich. Veronica was from the other side of town – her father was the county sheriff – but she dated Duncan Kane, son of a billionaire software developer and was best friends with Duncan’s sister, Lily Kane (Amanda Seyfried). All that changed when Lily was murdered, Sheriff Mars accused Lily’s father and was subsequently removed from office in a recall election. Veronica suddenly found herself a pariah in the school hallways (“The people who say high school years are the best years of your life are usually on the yearbook staff”), but enjoying working with her father, now the owner of a private investigations business. There is usually a stand-alone mystery in each episode, plus a season long mystery arc, plus some story lines that may arc over two or three episodes. IOW, the only entry point into “Veronica Mars” is season one, episode one (well, perhaps the start of season two also). It may have been a little ahead of its time in this regard. If you take a look at the series’ ratings and viewership you will find a remarkable consistency over the three seasons – the sure sign of a dedicated cult audience. Watch for pre-star Jessica Chastain in a first season episode. Tessa Thompson and Kristen Ritter are cast regulars during year two. Well known fans include Stephen King ("Nancy Drew meets Philip Marlowe, and the result is pure nitro"), Kevin Smith (“"hands-down, the best show on television right now,” 2nd season cameo), and Joss Whedon ("Best. Show. Ever. Seriously”). I loved it. Check it out. First season cast  The bus in the background will explode just down the road killing all on board. Was Veronica supposed to be on it? This is the start of the full season 2 mystery arc.  Veronica Mars / Rob Thomas (2014). Warner Bros. Warner was convinced to back this theatrical release after a Kickstarter campaign raised $2 million in 11 hours from the show’s dedicated fans. It is now nine years after the close of the TV series so the movie picks up the characters that far along in their lives. Veronica is in NYC about to pass her bar exams and pick up a prestigious position in a prominent law firm. But she is drawn back to Neptune for her 10th high school reunion where her former unreliable boyfriend is under arrest for murder. A code of silence as well as a cadre of corrupt cops hinder her investigation. The movie is basically an expanded TV episode but any Veronica is better than no Veronica. The film is almost understandable without knowledge of the previous three seasons on TV. Cult TV at its finest.
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Post by OldAussie on Jun 29, 2019 15:59:59 GMT
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Jun 29, 2019 17:39:38 GMT
mikef6So glad you've discovered and are enjoying Veronica Mars. I was one of those loyal viewers back in the day. Pretty excited for the new Hulu episodes too. I always referred to it as surf noir.
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Post by teleadm on Jun 29, 2019 18:02:38 GMT
And here is my mixed cocktail of movies:  When one sits down and watches this kind of movie, one knows what one is going to get, lizards of all sizes running amok. Not bad but not that exciting either after awhile. I know I wasn't the target audience.  Oh no! not another romantic movie please. GF forced me to see it. That special things always happens on one special day every years is bullshit. That aside, the lead actors are charming, and regretably I begun to care for them. Cudos to the makers, one of the lead characters dies. It's a nice movie, and there is too little niceness in this world.  Not sure what to make of this Chinese movie, and the good deeds it tries to tell, saving the Himalayan Antilope from poachers, whose wool is big on the black markets. Cinamatography is great and astonishing of the Tibetean wastelands. Here is my trouble, Tibet was once a free state, not a great state runned by monks, but a free state that was over-runned by Communist China and the World didn't care as usual.  Britain's bad boys pokes fun at strict conventions again, some is outrageously fun, some is just tasteless, like the vomitting fat man.  French poster of an Italian very nice move I watched " Friends for Life" from 1955 both funny and touching. Never heard of it before. Schoolboy friendship through thick and thin, overcoming obstacles and the "threat of girls", but is also frank aboot the time they grow apart, never to see each others again. Sounds strange but maybe School reunions isn't a big thing in Italy.  Fun to watch but ancient Science Fiction from George Pal. I didn't know it was once a Cecil B. DeMille no expenses spared gigantic project.  Bye Bye and over to next poster: |
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Jun 30, 2019 10:56:28 GMT
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Post by claudius on Jun 30, 2019 12:00:35 GMT
DARK SHADOWS (1969) “Episodes 781-785” 50TH ANNIVERSARY MPI Video DVD
THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER (1938) UNITED ARTISTS 100TH ANNIVERSARY David O. Selznick’s last Novel-of-his-childhood adaptation (its failure ended the string). First saw this around Christmas 1994. Playhouse/CBS Fox Video VHS
BATMAN (1989) 30TH ANNIVERSARY Thirty years ago on June 23, 1989, I saw this film. I have been doing Anniversary watches of this film in 1999 (10th anniversary), 2009 (20th anniversary), and 2014 (25th anniversary). Warner BluRay
WYATT EARP (1994) 25TH ANNIVERSARY The other, less successful Earp film of 1993-1994. First saw this on rental back in December 1994, having already seen Tombstone that Summer. Warner DVD.
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN (2013) “Assemble! The Allied Shinobi Alliance!” Viz Media DVD.
THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1967) “Episode Nine: Assassin.” 3M 175th ANNIVERSARY Koch Video DVD
DODSWORTH (1936) UNITED ARTISTS 100TH ANNIVERSARY William Wyler’s adaptation of the Sinclair Lewis Novel, later a play by Sidney Howard. Was first introduced to this via Jerry Vermylie’s THE FILMS OF THE THIRTIES book, and seeing it listed on several classic 1930s films over the years. Saw bits and pieces here and there as early as 2012, until I saw the whole film in 2017. MGM/UA DVD.
DRAGON BALL Z (1989) “Sorry, Robot-San. The Desert of Vanishing Tears” 30TH ANNIVERSARY. One of DBZ’s first filler storylines, designed to develop Gohan’s character from babe in the woods to child fighter. It was completely excised from the original American Broadcast. I heard of this story from an Internet chatter I met in London. My DBZ: THE DEAD ZONE Pioneer DVD featured scenes of the episode, which I didn’t get to see the whole thing until Cartoon Network broadcast the new Funimation dub in the summer of 2005. Funimation DVD.
BACHELOR PARTY (1984) 35TH ANNIVERSARY One of Tom Hanks’ early hits, a 1980s sex comedy. My earliest memory of this film is the climactic ‘3-D scene’ (the hero, love interest, and villain fight off in a 3-D theater screening, inadvertedly mimicking the film’s actions.). I eventually got to have a more remembered viewing of the film on USA Network in 1994, heavily edited (the ‘Hot Dog’ scene), not seeing the full film until a VHS watch with neighbors in 2000. One of those closing credits where the credits outlast the music, with the last minute scroll in silence. CBS FoxVideo VHS
INSPECTOR LEWIS (2014) “The Lions of Namea.” Netflix.
DRAGON BALL SUPER (2017) “Showdown of Love! The Androids VS the 2nd Universe!” Cartoon Network Premiere Broadcast.
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Post by delon on Jun 30, 2019 12:35:03 GMT
All viewings on the big screen :    Highlight of my week was definitely seeing Lawrence of Arabia for the first time . Waiting until I could experience it in its full splendour has paid off, without a doubt !  Irma la Douce (1963) - 8/10 One Two Three (1961) - 7.5/10 The Fortune Cookie (1966) - 6/10 Lawrence of Arabia (1962) - 9/10 |
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Post by politicidal on Jun 30, 2019 16:32:10 GMT
The Ritz (1976) 7/10
The Purple Plain (1954) 4/10
Return of the Living Dead (1985) 5/10
The Moon Spinners (1964) 6/10
Merrill's Marauders (1962) 6/10
The Upside (2019) 6/10
On the Basis of Sex (2018) 5/10
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Post by vegalyra on Jul 1, 2019 1:10:13 GMT
 School Ties (1992) First viewing of this one, kind of a surprise gem in my opinion about anti-semitism at prep schools in the 1950's. Fraser is great in the lead role, and lots of up and coming stars are among the cast. O'Donnell, Hauser, Damon, Affleck among others. The film gets the period details right on target, it definitely "felt" like it was shot in the '50s.  8 1/2 (1963) Nothing much can be said about this one that hasn't already, it's an amazing film. The Criterion edition is beautiful. The black and white cinematography has excellent contrast. One of Fellini's best.  Pulp (1972) This was a strange one, but I really enjoyed it. Michael Caine is a cheap crime/thriller author who is hired by Mickey Rooney to write his biography who is a former big time actor, in gangster pictures especially, whose real life mafia ties were catching up to him and who was forced to leave Hollywood and relocate to homeland of Italy (here "Italy" is actually Malta which is wonderfully shot). Caine actually narrates the film throughout which is an interesting touch. I'll definitely need to watch this one again because I know I missed quite a few details, the ending took me by surprise.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 1, 2019 1:18:48 GMT
Hi all,I hope everyone had a good weekend,and this weekend I kept trying to submit a review of The Shop on Main Street to IMDb,but it kept not being accepted. Putting it up paragraph by paragraph,I realised that like late last year when I tried post for First Purge,IMDb has put "Nazi" under blocked words,yet "Hitler" is fine to use! A few hours ago I got back from going with a friend and his family to the IMAX at the Printworks in Manchester, (second biggest screen in Europe) and seeing:  Toy Story 4.9 Opening the toy box after 9 years, PIXAR display the remarkable progression of CGI from the opening scene of photo-realistic rain and the shiny reflections on plastic toys. Soaring on a dynamic atmosphere, the director Josh Cooley plays with giving shots the appearance of long "one take" panning shots, highlighting the bursting with colour character designs (which includes evil dummies!) and the pristine animation being filled with a real attention to detail of each background/setting, (from an antiques shop to inside a RV) being packed with interesting objects and visual gags in every corner. Whilst Buzz Lightyear (who has a very funny "inner voice" running gag) moving to a supporting role is notable, the writers unexpectedly make the near decade gap from the third evaporate, by the arrival of Forky taking the themes of friendship,growing up,belonging and existing which have run across all the films,are gathered together into bringing closure to the toys which they have given their owners. One of the few animated films to not have a all-out baddie, the writers unbox new toys and smoothly fit them in with the classic range,thanks to the mix of hilarious set-pieces, (such as Woody trying to stop Forky seeing himself as "trash") and striking warmth, (such as avoiding from making Gabby Gabby a mere boo-hiss villain) making this toy one which can be played to infinity and beyond. Eastern European films: One I think manfromplanetx and hitchcockthelegend would enjoy:   Full film with Eng Subs: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gfxcfn1qywEkstase (1933) 7 Part-Silent Movie/Part-Talkie, co-writer/(with Frantisek Horky and Jacques A. Koerpel) director Gustav Machaty makes both formats hold together with a refined Expressionism style spun from evocative close-ups on Hermann's face with eye-catching shards of light illuminating the disintegration of Hermann and Emil's marriage. Going on only a five page script (!) Machaty makes each snippet of dialogue count, by using it to open up Hermann's innermost feelings in crisp outdoor sequences, and to also unveil the drained state Emil and Hermann share. Adapting Robert Horky's novel into a really short and sweet script, the writers do very well at drawing a silky smooth Melodrama by holding Hermann as the key to it all,who hands out the wish fulfilment in this "Women's Picture" of falling passionate in love with a strapping young woodsmen,met at a time when Hermann's psychological sexual desires are reaching the surface. Lying that she was older than 17 when production started in 1932, Hedy Lamarr owns the film as Hermann,thanks to Lamarr taking left-field choices with her expressive performance, such as playing scenes when topless not as sexual, but joyfully free and liberating,and bringing a frustrated, downcast withdrawn state to Hermann on her marriage lacking any feeling of ecstasy.  Transport from Paradise (1963) 10. Filmed in the real Terezin Ghetto, co-writer/(with Arnost Lustig) director Zbynek Brynych & cinematographer Jan Curik present an utterly harrowing atmosphere, which dissects the Czech New Wave (CNW) stylisation with a almost documentary rawness of slightly out of focus interviews, jagged whip-pans attempting to film a unfolding event, and random lone shots of walls/buildings, (like those at the end of a reel of film.) Brynych's presentation makes a subtle comment on the manipulating manner film can be used (a staged "documentary" is shown being made,where the Nazis force the prisoners to say everything is going fine at the Ghetto for the film.) Keeping a lone sliver of Jiri Sternwald's score, Brynych (who was joined by fellow CNW film maker Juraj Herz,who has a small role and was second assistant director) brings a delicate minimalist touch to the soundtrack,as long, silent walks of the prisoners crackles with the landing of feet on the dry ground, and the growing noise of planes coming nearer in the final days of WWII,being matched by the increasing whistles from the train departing to take prisoners to camps. A survivor of The Holocaust ( a train taking him to his death in Dachau was dive-bombed by a US fighter-bomber) Arnost Lustig's (who said on the film: "The movie sometimes goes beyond the book.") intelligent adaptation of his own book with co-writer Brynych avoids any War Film stereotypes to instead hit a realist tone of the Nazis degrading/ sending the prisoners to death,in a chillingly casual manner, whilst the victims are dragged into doing depressing, mundane tasks until the train to the camps returns to the Ghetto.  Ashes & Diamonds (1958) 9 Shining when the French New Wave was gathering pace, while also being taken by the elegance of US cinema such as Citizen Kane (1941), co-writer/(with Jerzy Andrzejewski) directing auteur Andrzej Wajda & cinematographer Jerzy Wojcik create an immaculate fusion of the two, in Wajda and Wojcik using sets for truly immense wide-shots filling the screen from the floor to the ceiling, which are threaded with fluid, outdoor tracking shots gliding round the crumbling side-streets with Chelmicki. Taking place in the raw post-WWII aftermath,Wajda contrasts the dialogue via putting the title through a modern filter of dazzling, ultra-stylised low shadows and burning bright white lights, with a New Wave "in the moment" atmosphere from stark close-ups crossed with depth of field corner shots hitting Chelmicki's conflicting mind-set. Altering the adaptation from Jerzy Andrzejewski's more blunt view in the novel, the screenplay by Wajda and Andrzejewski have the fear of holding alliances linger in an air of hushed dialogue about "The Uprising", and anxiety over which new combating force (the Soviets and the anti-Communist underground forces) can get a footing over what direction the country takes. Offering little light in the title, the writers bring a sweetness to the bubbling romance between Krystyna and Chelmicki,with the care-free nature they share being finely balanced by the tightening of screws over the assassination orders weighing hard on Chelmicki's loyalties. Standing out in the middle of a grubby bar, Ewa Krzyzewska gives a mesmerising, expressive turn as Krystyna,whose flirting and compassion tugs at Chelmicki. Looking incredibly cool in every frame, Zbigniew Cybulski gives an astonishing performance as Chelmicki,due to the "natural" acting method of Cybulski bringing an intimate fragility over Chelmicki having to decide to choose either ashes or diamonds.  Jiri Menze duo: 1: Larks on a String (1969) 8 Beginning production during the Prague Spring and Alexander Dubcek's "Socialism with a human face",only to end just after the Soviet invasion and a 20 year ban being slapped on the film. The earthy, surrealist humour underneath co-writer/directing auteur Jiri Menzel's regular collaborations with writer Bohumil Hrabal are pushed to the front here via a deliriously sarcastic streak of humour ruthlessly satirising Communism (Menzel afterwards got banned for 5 years from making films) via the scatter-shot mini-tales taking in the forced workers making vast quantities of poor quality steel which no one needs or wants, and the secret police taking people to work at the yard for the most absurd reasons. Whilst being far more comedic than Closely Observed Trains (1966-also reviewed)the humanist outlook of Menzel and Hrabal is a major theme that they wonderfully continue to explore here,in the "bourgeois elements" being grounded down by guards for re-education/to become worker drones,holding onto what they hold dear, to the point of even defying the eyes of the guards with rebellious romance. Sticking posters on the walls ripping into the vapid slogans of totalitarian on "Comrades" working for the good of all, director Menzel reunites with cinematographer Jaromir Sofr and turn the scrap yard into a excellent, post-apocalypse wasteland,where tracking shots round the slabs of rusting metal make it appear all of humanity has been wiped out,only for Menzel to zoom in on the holes in the metal,to find larks on a string. 2:  I served the King of England (2006) 7 Going back into extended flashbacks as Dite rebuilds a deserted house, writer/directing auteur Jiri Menzel & regular cinematographer Jaromír Sofr dine on grand symmetry shots at Dite's (a wonderfully quirky Ivan Barnev,and a earthy Oldrich Kaiser as a older Dite) time at a grand hotel in Prague, bringing out a comedic atmosphere in the lining of waiters/guests at the hotel with Ales Brezina's brassy score. Linking the decades of Dite's life, Menzel continues building his sarcastic, humorous edge with stylised dissolves, that along with capturing his eyes over the years,gives Dite's lover the face of Hitler. Serving an adaptation of Bohumil Hrabal's (a regular collaborator) novel which came out in 1983 after getting banned from being published in 1971, Menzel wonderfully continues to peel the themes of Closely Observed Trains (1966-also reviewed) on how the Czech population did not face the severity of the Nazis edging closer to the Occupation, reported on cinema reels and radio to a half-interested crowd. Spending decades trying to get the film made, Menzel makes striking similarities between Hrabal and Trains Hrma,in both working at a train station, (Hrabal for part-time) an awkwardness where they both have an inability to fit in with the rest of the staff, and a peculiar comedic slant to their sexual encounters, as Dite learns how the king of England was served.  The Murderer Hides His Face (1966)-Thanks to Planet X for awesome rec. 10. Crawling the camera across the face of a murder victim as Pavel Blatny's brooding score stings, co-writer/(with Lubomir Mozny) director Petr Schulhoff & cinematographer Jiri Vojta plough an incredibly eerie rural Film Noir atmosphere of long,winding wide-shots catching the locals search for victims, whilst also keeping one eye on outsider detective Kalas. Attempting to sand down the stone walls of local life, Schulhoff blocks Kalsa with stylish, restrained panning shots in the cramped houses of suspects, reflecting Kalsa and Varga being squeezed out getting a full picture of the locals. The second in a 4 film series, the screenplay by Schulhoff and Mozny keep Kalsa and Varga as the lone links to the first, as they take him deep to the heart of rural Film Noir, where excellent dialogue cracks open the suspicion that the cops are held in,as "help" from the locals is pinned with threats over being not from these parts, and the locals wanting to keep things out of mind and out of sight, especially when it is outsiders trying to dig a hole into their town. Cutting the blades of grass down by at first appearing to be a search for a single missing person/murder victim, the writers brilliantly entwine the vines of mutterings and whispers from the locals into pulling Kalsa and Varga into cutting down the lies and half-truths the locals try to cover their eyes with. Receiving a less than warm local welcome, Rudolf Hrusinsky and Radoslav Brzobohaty give wonderfully calculating, hard-nosed turns as Varga and Kalas, both determined to find the killer who is hiding his face.  The Shop on Main Street (1965)8 Opening the shop just a few days before the first camps open and the "Slovak Republic" (a client state of Hitler) being created, the screenplay by co-writers/(with Ladislav Grosman) co-directors Jan Kadar and Elmar Klos surprisingly begins with the scent of a comedic tone as Tono finds his hands full with dotty Lautmannova. Beneath the comedic side, the writers gradually build a psychological study of Tono, whose poor state has him jump at the chance to be a "controller" who will get bundles of cash from taking over the business, until the seeping of Hitler's rule hits Tono with the realisation of what other locals are being complicit in. Whilst the state of Tono's mind is laid bare,the writers spend a little too long in keeping Lautmannova in a dotty mode,where instead of displaying a change in her relationship to Tono, Lautmannova is kept completely unaware and dotty,until the plot needs for her to become aware in the last 20 minutes,rather than a gradual pace. Surviving being placed in a labor camp, (and his parents and sister being murdered at Auschwitz ) Jan Kadar continues what would become a 17 year collaboration with fellow co-writer/co-director Elmar Klos with a potent atmosphere from graceful two-shot whip-pans opening the fraught relationship between Lautmannova and Tono. Unlocking the anxiety of Tono on the troops of Hitler entering the shop with fractured close-up angles, the directors & cinematographer Vladimir Novotny brilliantly build-up a dark,poetic edge touching on a Jesus motif for Tono,and a transcendence, tragic dream final.Spending the film together, Ida Kaminska and Jozef Kroner give outstanding, complimentary performances as Lautmannova and Tono,thanks to the compassionate, care-free state Kaminska dresses Lautmannova in,being a excellent balance to the raw with hurt and fear Kroner finds Tono with in the shop on main street.   A Game Without Rules/Hra bez pravidel (1967)9 Breaking in with a 8 minute robbery,the skill co-writer/(with Vaclav Sasek and Ludek Stanek) director Jindrich Polak later showed in the staging of physical comedy in 1977's Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea is on display here in the dialogue-free opening sequence, as Polak runs down the streets of Prague to the thieves staking out the jeweler's shop, who Polak follows by circling them on screen, (a clever precursor to the photos the cops are later shown to have)and grabbing them out of the middle of real crowds with swift wide-shot zoom-ins. Driving to the beat of Wiliam Bukovy's outstanding blend of Hard Jazz/ Electronic score, Polak & cinematographer Rudolf Milic shine a diamond Film Noir atmosphere,lit by intense close-ups on the faces of the robbers, covered with scars over the passage of time since the robbery, joined by crisp tracking shots diving into the shadows which the thieves try to remain under. Playing the game over 4 years (the movie skips to "Four years later") the screenplay by Polak/Sasek and Stanek weighs the passage of time down on criminologist Malek,whose inability to get all the thieves found guilty leaves Malek with a itch which leads him to cross lines and leave blood on the tracks. Going their own ways after the robbery, each gang members attempt to remain under cover becomes thrillingly splintered from mistrust seeping on from one dying during the getaway, to tense paranoia,from Malek continuing to press on and fight to get closer to them. Firming holding his ground over the passing of time, Svatopluk Matyas brings out a gripping slow-burn intensity into Malek's growing obsession leaving him as the lone figure trying to stop a game without rules. |
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 1, 2019 1:23:26 GMT
All viewings on the big screen : Highlight of my week was definitely seeing Lawrence of Arabia for the first time . Waiting until I could experience it in its full splendour has paid off, without a doubt ! Irma la Douce (1963) - 8/10 One Two Three (1961) - 7.5/10 The Fortune Cookie (1966) - 6/10 Lawrence of Arabia (1962) - 9/10 Wow! It looks like you had a amazing time at the cinema this week Delon. Was there some sort of local "special event"/Wilder season taking place?
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 1, 2019 1:27:02 GMT
Hi Aussie,I hope you had a good weekend,and did you find The Favourite (co-written by Puberty Blues Aussie creator Tony McNamara) favourable,and what is your take on the ending?
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Post by bravomailer on Jul 1, 2019 1:45:53 GMT
 8/10 – The sordid subject matter is well-trod ground, especially in the news. But Streep and Hoffman deliver outstanding performances. Streep's accent is a marvel. Fine cinematography too.
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Post by OldAussie on Jul 1, 2019 1:56:38 GMT
So many good things in The Favourite. Really interesting plot and I totally loved the 3 female leads (but Glenn Close was VERY unlucky at the oscars). The one negative was the director who made some odd choices in the look of the film - mainly that fisheye lensing or whatever it's called. When I saw he previously did that Sacred Deer movie I wasn't surprised. As for the ending I liked the suggestion that Anne realized her error in choosing Abigail over Sarah . |
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Jul 1, 2019 12:59:01 GMT
Arsenic and Old Lace. Some folk positively hate it with a passion, which I understand since screwball is always divisive. I love it myself, CG is my favourite actor of all time and I'm partial to Capra as well. Frenetic roller-coaster ride - Capra style! The Broadway show this film is based on ran for something like four years, such was the yearning for riotous rompathons in the 40s, and thus here the Capra adaptation is pretty much non stop mania. Led by the perfectly cast Cary Grant, the film barely pauses for breath, stopping only briefly to put a bit of creepy menace into the otherwise insane plot. Oh yes the plot, the elderly Brewster sisters are the dear hearts of the neighbourhood, but what folk don't realise is that they are poisoning elderly male visitors to their home to save them from being lonely! This sets us up for romps as nephew Mortimer (Grant) lurches from one incredulous scene to another upon finding out about his dear Aunt's penchant for murder. Peter Lorre & Raymond Massey add to the madness upon visiting the house, whilst John Alexander almost steals the film as the barmy uncle who thinks he is Theodore Roosevelt! But it's Grant's show all the way, rarely will you see an actor express so many faces of incredulity with such mirthful results as what Grant gives us here. A joyous performance from the great man. Directed with all the sharpness and knowing of tones we expect from Frank Capra, the film is an out and out joy. So be sure to wear a corset to stop your sides from splitting. 9/10 The Snake Pit. I'm always interested to see how the film medium from classic era treats mental illness. I'll tell you where it's gonna end, Miss Somerville... When there are more sick ones than well ones, the sick ones will lock the well ones up. The Snake Pit is directed by Anatole Litvak and adapted to screenplay by Frank Partos, Millen Brand and Arthur Laurents from the novel written by Mary Jane Ward. It stars Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Glenn Langan, Helen Craig, Leif Erickson and Beulah Bondi. Music is by Alfred Newman and cinematography by Leo Tover. Olivia de Havilland plays Virginia Stuart Cunningham, and film chronicles Virgina's time and treatment in the Juniper Hill Mental Institution. "It was strange, here I was among all those people, and at the same time I felt as if I were looking at them from some place far away, the whole place seemed to me like a deep hole and the people down in it like strange animals, like... like snakes, and I've been thrown into it... yes... as though... as though I were in a snake pit..." It's still today one of the most potent and important screen explorations of mental illness and its treatment. Backed by an astonishing performance by de Havilland, Litvak and an initially sceptical Darryl F. Zanuck (20th Century Fox supremo), led the way in bringing to the masses the subject and to treat it with stark realism. Quite often it's harrowing as entertainment, with Virgina's fractured mind laid bare under duress of treatments now seen as antiquated. It's true enough to say that some of the story features simplistic motives and means, these come as a product of the time the picture was made. But with Litvak (Sorry, Wrong Number) and his principal crew members researching the subject thoroughly, the end result is an incredible blend of dramatic heartfelt suspense and rays of humanistic hope. As Virginia weaves her way through this maze of psychological discord, with flashbacks constantly adding layers to the character's make up, Litvak presents a fascinating portrait of asylum life and the people who resided there, both as patients and staff. Some scenes are brilliantly crafted, either as visual expansions of the story or as shards of light in a dark world. One sequence sees Litvak track "dancing" silhouettes on a wall, and to then do a pull away shot upwards to reveal Virginia in the snake pit, the impact is stark in its magnificence. Another sequence takes place at a dance for the patients, where a rendition of Antonín Dvorák's "Goin' Home" turns into something quite beautiful, a unison of profound optimism that strikes the heart like the calm after a storm. Leo Tover's (The Day The Earth Stood Still) crisp black and white photography is perfectly in sync with the material, and Newman's (Wuthering Heights) magnificent score bounces around the institution like a spectral observer. With de Havilland doing her tour de force, it could be easy to forget the great work of Genn and Stevens, the former is a bastion of assured calmness as Dr. Mark Kik, the latter as Virgina's husband Robert underplays it to perfection and he gives us a character to root for wholesale. It has to be viewed in the context of the era it was made, but its influence on future movies and awareness of mental health treatments in the real world should not be understated. A brilliant production that demands to be seen. 9/10 Watched The Brood as well, link in my own post. Face/Off - one of the true greats of action cinema. It's like looking in a mirror, only, not. There's a tendency to undervalue the action movie. Certainly there's a wide expanse of land in cinema world where film fans reside, where the thought of praising an action film for being "classic" cinema is considered treason against the very word. Yet some of the artistry involved in the genre's leading lights is purely sublime, regardless of how bizarre and unlikely the plot is. Enter John Woo's berserker, ear splitting, high octane actioner, Face/Off. Rightly sitting along side the likes of Die Hard and Predator as genre pieces that showcase how good things can be when it all comes together, Woo's movie is as much fun as you could wish to have for over two hours of explosive, fantastical, unadulterated cinema. The plot sees John Travolta's serious family man cop, Sean Archer, devote his life to catching unbalanced maniacal bad guy Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage). There's some bad history between the two and when Archer manages to capture both Troy and his equally vile brother, Pollux (Alessandro Nivola), it would seem to be closure for Archer and his family. However, it's found that the Troy's have left a ticking bomb somewhere in Los Angeles, and if undetected it will flatten L.A. and kill practically everyone. So, Archer undergoes a revolutionary face-swapping procedure with the now comatose Castor and sets about getting the information from the incarcerated Pollux. But wait!, Castor wakes up and turns the tables by assuming Archer's identity, setting the wheels in motion for each man to live the others life until the Face/Off between the pair will decide their respective fate. Unbelievable? Of course. Who cares? Well nobody should really, because surely going into a film like this one is expecting the ludicrous. Both Cage and Travolta are superbly realising the spectacular nature of the script, and being mesmerising in the duality of the roles into the bargain. Make no bones about it, Woo and his team have crafted a benchmark action movie. There's a trail of thought that suggests that Woo basically keeps making the same movie, that's a fair enough point, sure enough, all of his staple action sequences and traits are evident in Face/Off. Yet Woo has delved into his characters, given them some flesh on their action bones, and then upped the anti in action set pieces to cloak them in chaotic beauty. From the opening Jet escape/pursuit set up, to the outrageous speed boat finale, the film is one long exhilarating breath taker. Joan Allen, Gina Gershon, Dominique Swain & Nick Cassavetes all file into the background playing important characters who are rightly secondary to the protagonists, while a ream of extras come and go as each are dispatched in a hail of Woo inspired carnage. The pace never sags and the eyes and ears are treated to a vibrancy that is often sadly missing from many other big budgeted action blockbusters. This is a masterpiece of action cinema, so even as a Orson Welles crane shot is a magnificent thing, so it be with the sight of two stunt men flailing thru the air in a spray of exploding water. Oh yes sir, this is a classic alright. 10/10
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Jul 1, 2019 13:28:54 GMT
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Jul 1, 2019 13:50:01 GMT
The Glass Key / Stuart Heisler (1942). Paramount Pictures. Only seven years earlier Paramount had a big box office hit with a film based on Dashiell Hammett’s novel “The Glass Key” but decided to go with another version for their new star couple Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. Political boss Paul Madvig (Brian Donlevy) decides to back a reform candidate for governor because he has fallen in love with the candidate’s daughter Janet (Lake). Medvig’s right-hand-man and chief advisor Ed Beaumont (Ladd) doesn’t think this is a good idea because of the agreements they have with the local mob. Also, Janet’s wastrel brother is seeing Medvig’s younger sister (Bonita Granville) and Madvig doesn’t like it. When the bad boy brother turns up dead, the political scene is in turmoil. Beaumont does what he can to protect Medvig but ends up in the hands of mobster Nick Varna (one of my favorite ‘40s character actors, Joseph Calleia) and his powerful and sadistic henchman Jeff (William Bendix in a very scary performance). Beaumont’s torture and spectacular escape from an upper story room in one of Varna’s joints is one of the great thrills of ‘40s thrillers. Late in the tale, Jeff again gets Beaumont into the upper room where they play a scene that could be shown as a summary of everything that noir means. Other than these two magnificent “upper room” sequences, the direction is fairly routine and static. The final Reveal of the killer is staged in an especially unimaginative way. Still, as an example of early film noir with influence down the line, “The Glass Key” remains an essential. NOTES: a) an uncredited Dane Clark can be seen in an early role; b) The Glass Key Award (in Swedish, Glasnyckeln), named after the novel, has been presented annually since 1992 for the best crime novel by a Scandinavian writer; c) The Coen’s “Miller’s Crossing” (1980) is loosely based on the plot of “The Glass Key.” Shadow On The Wall / Pat Jackson (1950). Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Doting dad David (Zachary Scott) comes home from a business trip to loving 8-year-old daughter Susan (Gigi Perreau) and not-so-loving step-mother Celia (Kristine Miller). David discovers that Celia is having an affair with Crane (Tom Helmore) who is the fiancé of Celia’s sister Dell (Ann Southern). David is holding a gun as he and Celia argue until Celia cold cocks him with a hand mirror. At that point, Dell enters and uses the gun to kill her sister. Because of the circumstances, everyone believes David killed Celia, including David. He is sentenced to die in the electric chair. However, the entire thing has been seen by young Susan who represses the memory and becomes almost completely non-responsive. Enter child psychiatrist Dr. Caroline Canford (Nancy Davis). Using dolls and play therapy she begins to bring out memories in Susan which upsets her “Aunt” Dell. Dell decides that Susan must die, leading to a couple of fall off the edge of your seat set pieces. Although this is a more than adequate suspenser, what makes it stand out is its casting against type of earthy, straight-talking gal Ann Southern as a cold blooded murderer and usual slick creepy guy Zachary Scott as a nice guy and a good father. Beyond that is Nancy Davis as a capable, knowledgeable heath care provider who works independently and makes her own decisions and takes responsibility. The movie doesn’t even provide her with a male colleague to tell her that she is too pretty to be a doctor and should be married instead. I didn’t miss him. And 8-year-old Gigi Perreau gives a seasoned performance of a long time professional. She really is quite amazing. With Southern, Perreau, and Davis, the women win this one. This might be Nancy’s best role. Kansas City Confidential / Phil Karlson (1952). Edward Small Productions/United Artists. Nifty above average programmer helmed by the reliable Phil Karlson (whose career is still undergoing re-evaluation) with good performances from leads John Payne and Preston Foster. We first see Foster casing a bank from a second story apartment across the street. He then blackmails three wanted criminals to join his robbery play. And what a three they are! Get this: Neville Brand, Lee Van Cleef, and Jack Elam. I know, right? Foster always wears a mask as do the others when they meet together so no one can ever rat on another. They simply don’t know who they are working with. The key to their getaway is that they are using a delivery van painted like a real one that brings flowers to a florist next door to the bank. As the real van pulls away, the robbery van takes its place so the legit driver is being questioned and beaten at the cop station while the thieves are getting out of town. Their patsy has been Joe Rolfe (Payne) who makes up his mind to track down the people who framed him, himself. He manages to befriend Pete Harris (Elam) who he believes to be one of the men. When Harris is confronted and shot by police, Joe takes Harris’ false identity (given him by Foster) to Mexico where the meet up and split of the money is to take place. Instead of light and shadows, Karlson and his cinematographer George Diskand (On Dangerous Ground, The Narrow Margin) chose to shoot through palm fronds and give us lots of extreme facial close-ups, hiking the visual nervousness – especially in regards to Van Cleef and Brand. Not much Kansas City in “Kansas City Confidential” but you won’t miss it. A taut, tight thriller. TRIVIA: Earlier this same year – 1952 – Lee Van Cleef had made his screen debut as one of Frank Miller’s gang waiting at the train station in “High Noon.” Kingsman: The Secret Service / Matthew Vaughn (2014). Twentieth Century Fox. Tiresome modern spy spoof that does not know when to stop with the violent action. Some is good. Just going on and on and on with an action sequence, not knowing how to time them or vary them, is bad. “Kingsman” is mostly bad. This finally gave me the chance to see the bland rising star Taron Egerton. He will be sad to hear that I was not impressed. Some old-timers show up and appear to be having fun. Samuel L. Jackson is the laughing megalomaniac who is going to ruin the world with Colin Firth and Mark Strong as mentors to the penitential Kingsman recruits. Best of all is, of course, Michael Caine as the ultimate head of the secret service. Like his performance in “King Of Thieves” (2018), Caine shows that he can still put some steel into his characters. Love to see him go hard. These pleasures, though, are few and fleeting. . Like yourself I have some problems with it > Hey, Rusty, Little Rubber Ball is back. I told you he liked the way we bounced him around. The Glass Key is directed by Stuart Heisler and adapted by Jonathan Latimer from a story written by Dashiell Hammett. It stars Brian Donlevy, Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Joseph Calleia, William Bendix & Bonita Granville. It's re-election time and tough guy politician Paul Madvig (Donlevy) falls for reform candidate Ralph Henry's (Moroni Olsen) daughter, Janet (Lake). Subsequently he throws his weighty support behind Ralph Henry's campaign and irks the underworld gangsters, notably Nick Varna (Calleia). When Ralph's son, Taylor Henry (Richard Denning), is murdered, it opens up a world of corruption, violence, romantic passions and shifty shenanigans. A world that puts Madvig's right hand man, Ed Beaumont (Ladd) firmly in the middle. Hammett's tale had already been filmed in 1935 with Frank Tuttle in the director's chair and featuring George Raft, Edward Arnold & Claire Dodd as the principal players. Few can argue that, now, knowing how film noir became a force in the 40s, a remake was more than appropriate. Heisler's movie boasts a bigger budget, a better cast and crucially a better screenplay. However, the film in truth has problems, even though it rightly crops up as an example of early film noir on account of the thematics at work, where corruption and wealth blends seedily with sexual ambiguity and amoral deadpanning. One of the key reasons for why The Glass Key has proved so popular over the years, is because of some dynamite scenes and that Ladd's character is so wonderfully hard to read. Meaning that not only is there a mystery to be solved in the plot, but it's driven by a mysterious protagonist, with Ladd excellently playing it up. That Ladd and Lake would make four films together is testament to their chemistry, but although the knowing looks and ease with how they share the same frame is telling here, the film as a whole is actually the weakest of the three film noirs that they made. Casting aside the flat visuals (oh for an Alton, Ballard or Musuraca)- and that much of the political corruptness is put in the background of the whodunit structure - the film also falls flat due to the cop-out ending. Now it's true that many film noirs, and other devilish off shoots of such, have favoured a more "hopeful" ending, and have got away with it to a degree. Yet here it's practically unforgivable, given the tone and all round uneasiness of the narrative, a tone that's driven by Beaumont's amoral ambiguity lest we forget. Why the hard edge ending from the novel is not used I'm not too sure, but ultimately it's the wrong decision. Still, there's enough to enjoy while it runs. The cast do great work, notably William Bendix as a pathetic hard man dealing out sado-masochistic beatings to poor Edward, and Donlevy who blends his Great McGinty character with old time mobster traits. While of course solving the whodunit is fun and thankfully no easy task. It's said that The Glass Key influenced the likes of Yojimbo and The Big Sleep, which if true? is high praise all told. But as entertaining as the film is, and it is, it really should have been much better, and its reputation to my mind is somewhat flattering. 7/10 Shadow on the Wall - nice to see this one pop up > Stupid Cupid?Shadow on the Wall is directed by Pat Jackson and adapted to screenplay by William Ludwig from the story "Death in the Doll's House" written by Lawrence P. Bachmann and Hannah Lees. It stars Ann Sothern, Zachary Scott, Nancy Davis, Giggi Perreau and John McIntire. Music is by André Previn and cinematography by Ray June. A nifty psychological hot pot this one. Story centres , some minor problems but Ion a young child called Susan Starrling (Perreau), who after witnessing the murder of her step-mother, succumbs to amnesia. Which is inconvenient for her father since he has been convicted of the murder and sent down to await execution. Can determined psychiatrist Caroline Cranford (Davis) eek the truth out of Susan's troubled memory? Can the real killer ensure that that isn't the case? It's a personal thing of course, but I have always found there to be something off kilter about doll's houses, and here we are greeted to an opening shot of one, superbly accompanied by Previn's ominous music, it's a perfect mood setter as to what is to come. Story lacks any mystery dynamic since we are privy to exactly what has gone on regarding the who, why and what fors, and in truth the outcome of it all is never really in doubt. So for although it's a thriller pic dressed up in film noir clobber, it doesn't have the verve or devilment to really be classed full bodied as such. But that's by the by, visually and the presence of a child in peril, with main character disintegration the key feature, puts it into noir lovers considerations. Since the title features the word shadow it's no shock to find shadows and low lights feature prominently. The lighting effects are very striking, the changes in contrasts perfectly befitting the mood of certain scenes. Such as when dialogue is implying emotional discord, or the silent mindset of our antagonists, while a couple of neat shadow smother shots are killer narrative boosts. The main building of the piece is not the doll's house, but that of the hospital where Susan is receiving treatment, and at night photographer Ray June perfectly sets it up for peril and dastardly deeds. While we also get a bit of wobble screen to signify troubled mental confusion. Cast range from adequate to very good. Honours go to Perreau, who is never once annoying, turning in an involving performance that has us firmly involved in her world, whilst Davis (the future First Lady Reagan) is very understated, where she gets a well written female character whose not relying on male dominance to expand the part. And with Jackson directing in an unfussy manner it rounds out as a pic worth seeking out. 7/10 Kansas City Confidential. Tough and full of grit, some minor problems but I'm with you in supporting it, though I'm not as keen on Foster's performance as yourself. Unlucky Joe And The Torn In Half Kings. Kansas City Confidential (AKA: The Secret Four) is directed by Phil Karlson and written by George Bruce and Harry Essex. It stars John Payne, Preston Foster, Coleen Gray, Neville Brand, Jack Elam and Lee Van Cleef. Music is by Paul Sawtell and cinematography by George E. Diskant. Plot sees four robbers hold up an armoured truck and get away with over a million dollars. Sadly for everyday and ordinary Joe Rolfe (Payne), he's set up and accused of being involved in the robbery. But he wont go down without a fight, and promptly calls upon his dark half to seek out the actual culprits himself. "In the police annals of Kansas City are written lurid chapters concerning the exploits of criminals apprehended and brought to punishment. But it is the purpose of this picture to expose the amazing operations of a man who conceived and executed a "perfect" crime, the true solution of which is "not" entered in "any" case history, and could well be entitled "Kansas City Confidential". Produced by Edward Small, Kansas City Confidential is believed to be the only film released out of Small's own Associated Players and Producers studio. Still, if you are going to only have one film on your studio résumé, you have to be thankful that it's a little cracker. More "B" movie grit than film noir flecked nastiness, Karlson's movie is lean, mean and structured with knowing skill by the director. From the tremendous tension fuelled opening of the heist planning and execution, through to the deadly payoff at the finale, film is awash with knuckle slappings, shifting identities and the turning of the protagonist's psychological make up. Were it not for one of "those" endings, and the telegraphing of optimism slightly shunting the pessimistic atmosphere out of the headlights, this would undoubtedly be far more revered and better known in film noir/crime movie circles. First thing to note of worth is the cast assembled for the picture. Payne was already leaving behind his formative acting years in family fare like Miracle On 34th Street and Footlight Serenade, reinventing himself as a dramatic actor in films such as The Crooked Way. He's a perfect fit for Joe Rolfe, an ex-con war veteran down on his luck, he has his every man qualities pummelled out of him by the police, so much so he has to turn bad to prove that he's good. The change is believable in Payne's hands, his face that of normality in the beginning, but latterly icy cold and untrustworthy. A trio of "B" movie stalwarts make up the thugs gallery, Jack Elam is sweaty and worm like, Lee Van Cleef is snake faced and pulsing bad attitude, while Neville Brand exudes borderline psychotic menace. Unfortunately Preston Foster as the "boss" man is not altogether convincing, but in a film where characters are not always what they seem, this doesn't hurt the film. Coleen Gray shows a nice pair of legs for the boys, but with Karlson not bothered about fleshing out the romantic and flirting aspects of her relationship with Payne, she exists only as a secondary cog between Payne and Foster's characters. This is no femme fatale character, sadly, no sir. Music is standard fare and Diskant's photography only fleetingly shows some noir flourishes. However, with two fists full of grit from which to punch, and some boldness in the narrative involving police brutality, Kansas City Confidential comes out as one of the better "B" ranked crime movies of the 50's. 8/10 I loved Kingsman: The Secret Service - the sequel not so much. 
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 1, 2019 15:27:36 GMT
So many good things in The Favourite. Really interesting plot and I totally loved the 3 female leads (but Glenn Close was VERY unlucky at the oscars). The one negative was the director who made some odd choices in the look of the film - mainly that fisheye lensing or whatever it's called. When I saw he previously did that Sacred Deer movie I wasn't surprised. As for the ending I liked the suggestion that Anne realized her error in choosing Abigail over Sarah . Terrific to read that you found so many good things in The Favourite. One of the main things which stood out to me was how it felt like a send-up (but not a spoof) of the self-importance of the Costume Drama,from the cracking,un-lady like dialogue of the leads,to the Barry Lyndon-style use of natural lighting being used in comedy sequences:  Spoilers for ending: With the rabbits representing the children Anne had,my take is that Abigail has now lost the love Anne had for her,and is now one of the rabbits,with the change of Abigail pressing her heel down on one of Anne's "children", (when Abigail believed she still had power) to Anne showing her she has lost it all,by treating Abigail like she did the rabbit in bearing down on her head. A while ago I read a interesting,different take on the ending here: filmcolossus.com/the-favourite-explained/And this is what I wrote when I saw it a few months ago: 9. Signalling the corridor the film will be walking down with the very good Mark Gatiss of The League of Gentlemen and James Smith from The Thick of It and In The Loop being given prominent supporting roles, auteur director Yorgos Lanthimos and cinematographers Robbie Ryan & Stephen Murphy playfully retain the elegance of the Costume Drama, whilst undressing it of the self-importance usually featured in the genre. Incredibly lighting the night time scenes with just candlelights, Lanthimos and Ryan (with Murphy stepping in when Ryan took a break after his dad died) shine a grotesque atmosphere in the darkness, from the pulled faces of Abigail and Lady Sarah eyeing up in the shadows secrets to one-up each-other. Determined to not use Steadicam to follow the trio down the corridors of the lavish Hatfield House location, Lanthimos bask in brisk natural lighting eye the power-play unfolding in ultra-stylised gimbal rigs wide-lensed winding shots spanning the huge rooms and subtly bringing Sarah and Abigail's feud down to size against a regal backdrop. Playing fast and loose with the real events, ( Queen Anne had a husband, who does not feature in the movie) the screenplay by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara, (main writer of wonderful Aussie TV series Puberty Blues)flies in with wickedly jet-black comedy dialogue and macabre physical comedy leaving Sarah blood-splattered. Modernising the language used, the writers take great care for it to be a natural fit, as the modern swearing digs into the poisonous state the relationship between Anne, Sarah and Abigail becomes. Surrounding Queen Anne with her rabbits/ "children", the writers gradually place the surrealist fur of Lanthimos's other works (this being the first of his directed films he has not written) by opening the cages to excellent, brittle battle between Sarah and Abigail in who can become top dog/the royal pet. Looking unrecognisable, Olivia Colman gives an outstanding performance as Queen Anne,who Colman has bellow with pain and anger from the minimal power she still holds. Reuniting with Colman and Lanthimos from The Lobster (2015), Rachel Weisz gives an intense, expressive performance as Lady Sarah, whose "friendship" with Anne is captured by Weisz with a plastic smile, and a viper spit towards Abigail's power-play. Hiding her US accent under regal clothes, Emma Stone gives an excellent turn as Abigail, thanks to Stone nailing Abigail's attempt to present a refined image, while ruthlessly fighting to become the new favourite.
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