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Post by MrFurious on Aug 12, 2019 13:25:00 GMT
2 best ones I saw between those dates was A Star is Born(18) and The Girl in the Spider's Web(18) which kicked ass, really impressed with the action and future tech/hacking in this one Thor: Ragnarok(17) wasnt as good as I was expecting but still great fun and had a typically brilliant synty soundtrack that Waititi usually has in his movies. Also a shout out to Aj_June for recommending The Incident(67) last week |
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Aug 12, 2019 15:10:29 GMT
Swing Time - I can only hope that you love it so my dear fellow... Fine duo, fine romance, really really fine film. Gambler and dancer John "Lucky" Garnett (Fred Astaire) is engaged to Margaret Watson, being of a care free mind, and not a little gullible, John is hopelessly late for the wedding. Margaret's father is furious and demands that John go out into the real world and earn $25,000 to prove he has enough wits about him to do credit to the impending marriage. John and his trusty sidekick Pop Cardetti hit New York City, pretty soon John meets Penny Carroll (Ginger Rogers, after a less than favourable earlier meeting) at a dance school. After the initial hostilities from Penny subside, it's apparent that both John & Penny are a dynamite dance act, it's also obvious that both of them are starting to fall for each other, just what will their respective partners think of that then... I sat down to watch Swing Time and within five minutes I had a big smile on my face, that smile was to stay there right to the last second when the picture had finished. Rest assured here, Swing Time is most definitely a film to embrace and cherish. Of the ten musicals that Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers made together, Swing Time arguably leads the way as being the most magical of the bunch. Sure the likes of Top Hat may have more vitality, but Swing Time comes with seamless precision. From the wonderful numbers and routines, to the feeling that this couple were hatched from the very same egg, it really is a marvellous piece of uplifting cinema to witness a pair of performers so completely in tune with each other. The plot set up is straight forward, and we of course lurch from one amiable plot turn to another, but we know that it's all coming together to entertain us via the presentation of its musical numbers. Music and lyrics come courtesy of Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields, and they be corkers - Pick Yourself Up, The Way You Look Tonight, Waltz In Swing Time, Never Gonna Dance and the brilliant A Fine Romance. Yet the crowning glory is, and a sequence that should rank high on any list of great cinematic moments, is Astaire doing Bojangles Of Harlem, with black face makeup on (no offensive caricature here), the sequence builds to a pinnacle that sees Astaire dancing in triplicate with rear projection versions of himself - utterly fabulous. Wonderfully directed by George Stevens, whose real father appears in the film as Margaret's enraged father, and containing two great support performances from Victor Moore as Everett 'Pop' Cardetti & Helen Broderick as Mabel Anderson, Swing Time doesn't so much swing, it actually flows along like a perfectly formed ripple on a sea of joy. I feel sorry for those who have an aversion to musicals because they are sure to miss out, not only because of the wonderful artistry on show here, but also to feast on a film that can in a filmic sequence can lift you up out of your doldrums. 9/10 Against All Flags - Well considering where Errol was in that time of is life, and all things considered with the production, it's a far better pic than it had right to be. Lots to enjoy if forgiving it some production flaws. Rot my guts! The cannons are blowing up! Against All flags is directed by George Sherman and written by Joseph Hoffman and Aeneas MacKenzie. It stars Errol Flynn, Maureen O'Hara, Anthony Quinn, Alice Kelley and Mildred Natwick. A Technicolor production out of Universal with cinematography by Russell Metty and music scored by Hans J. Salter. In 1700 A.D. the Pirate Rebublic of Libertatia on the Island of Madagascar was in constant menace to the rich trade routes to India. Several days sail from this pirate fortress is the British merchant ship, Monsoon... Plot, in simple terms, sees Flynn as a British officer who goes under cover to smash the pirate ring operating on the coast of Madagascar. Swooning, jealousy, heroics, moustache twirling villainy and big hoorays do follow. It's a lesser Flynn swashbuckler that came at a time when he was fighting some personal issues as well as the onset of age. Filmed mostly on the Universal stages in California, with a small amount of location work shot at Palos Verdes, picture is far better than it probably had right to be. Duel with landing pikes! OK! This is hardly a rip snorter akin to Flynn's triumphs of the past, nor is it a particularly potent story, but it's a picture full of lovely optical delights whilst the lead performers have an ebullience that's utterly beguiling. Colour photography and costuming lead the way, both of which off set some of the cheapo corner cutting by producer Howard Christie. Direction is steady, with the actors comfortable with the jovial material to hand, and the finale doesn't lack in the crash, bang, wallop & hooray department. Flynn oozes laid back charisma, his unassuming kisses stealing the ladies hearts, Quinn enjoys being the dandy dastardo, O'Hara wields a good blade and broods a sexuality to knock the boys off of their feet, while Mildred Natwick is as always worthy of observation since her visual acting is most enjoyable. The flaws are evident from the off, making it an easy film to kick and dismiss if in a particularly demanding mood. Therefore, as pirate adventures go, or as Flynn swashers go in fact, it's very much a minor work. But that doesn't mean it isn't colourful or fun, for it happens to be both. Universal's Region 1 Pirates of the Golden Age release of Against All Flags comes in full frame and is a rather good transfer to disc. 7/10
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Aug 12, 2019 15:29:26 GMT
 Since it's based on true events, it's very interesting to follow, it's a good movie, and could have been better, maybe I'm old fashioned but 150 minutes of shaky-cam is just too much. It's still a worthwhile movie though!  Been so hesistant to watch this movie, thinking it was some cutie father daugher stuff. Damn I was wrong, it's a very entertaining little tale of con artists in the deep Kansas area during the depression of the 1930's just after the prohibition. László Kovács' black and white cinematography, is simple, smart and breathtaking, meant in a good way. - 10/10 - Crowe was robbed of the Best Actor Oscar - No review yet to back up my 10/10 rating, but that time is coming soon! Paper Moon - Glad you were pleasantly proved wrong mate. Utterly delightful.Father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O'Neal, under Peter Bogdanovich's superlative direction, produce one of the most affectingly warm and cunningly sly movies of the 1970s. Set in depression era America and beautifully photographed in pristine monochrome by Laszlo Kovacs, it's a period piece that refuses to get old, such is the deft imagery and sharpness of the screenplay. Story essentially comes down to conman Moses Pray (R. O'Neal) hooking up with orphan Addie Loggins (T. O'Neal), who may or may not be his actual daughter. Addie proves to be a precocious live wire, not easily fooled and she smokes, cusses and is more than capable of pulling a con herself. After initial indignation, Moses comes to court Addie's strengths and they form a dynamic partnership as they travel through Kansas, pulling cons left right and centre and piling the money up. But can it last forever? The chemistry between father and daughter is obviously set in stone, with young Tatum an absolute revelation. The screenplay gives them both ample opportunities to enchant and amuse the viewer as they get up to all sorts of tricks and scrapes. Yet there's always that feeling hanging in the dusty air that something has to give, that we are treading firmly in bittersweet territory, the crafty couple having earned our complete investment in their well being keeping us concerned even as we laugh out loud. Delightful. 9/10
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Aug 12, 2019 15:37:51 GMT
 Robbery (1967) teleadm recently posted a great Peter Yates write up, and I already had a copy of Robbery on bluray that I've been meaning to watch and I'm glad I did. Great film, I can see why McQueen wanted Yates to do Bullitt. Stanley Baker is stupendous as usual. The location shots were well done and some of the in car shots are just amazing. Debating on my next film to watch tonight. I'll update this post once I figure it out and watch it... .  The Robber's Tale. Robbery is directed by Peter Yates and adapted to screenplay by Yates, Edward Boyd and George Markstein from The Robber's Tale written by Peta Fordham. It stars Stanley Baker, James Booth, Frank Finlay, Joanna Pettet, Barry Foster, William Marlowe, George Sewell and Clinton Greyn. Music is by Johnny Keating and cinematography by Douglas Slocombe. As tough as steel toe capped docker boots, Robbery is a fictionalised take on the Great Train Robbery of 1963 that saw the London to Glasgow mail train stripped of its £2.6 million hold. It was a robbery seen as daring and near genius in its meticulous planning and execution. Coming out just four years after the real event, Peter Yates' film takes the skeleton facts of the real robbery and builds a dramatic carcass around it. Film is structured in three stages, firstly is a scintillating diamond robbery that introduces us to some of the major players in the train robbery to follow. This is fronted by an adrenalin pumping car chase that stands as one of the finest ever put to celluloid, kinetic and with inventive use of camera work, it's set to almost no dialogue and is car choreography of the highest order. Steve McQueen was so impressed he promptly arranged to have Yates summoned to Hollywood to direct Bullitt. The second part of the picture and the meaty middle section of the tale, concentrates on the movers and shakers in the robbery. The planning of the event, the gathering of various criminal London factions, their meetings, arguments, frets and worries, even a scenario that sees ringleader Paul Clifton (Baker) arrange to have a currency expert broken out of prison. All the time while this is happening, as the various crooks move about various London locations such as bars, clubs, football grounds and abodes etc, we are also following the police side of things. The kicker here is that the police, led by Inspector George Langdon (Booth), know that something big is being planned, and by who, but they don't know what and have to bite their nails waiting for a break or for the event to actually happen! Finally the third part is the robbery itself and the aftermath involving the robbers hiding out, scattering to the wind as the cops close in. The robbery is edge of the seat brilliance, cunning in its execution and filmed with such gritty realism it really grabs the attention wholesale. The climax played out at a disused airfield is also exciting and such is the fact that previously we have been firmly tuned into the main characters on both sides of the law, we are fully immersed into what will become of them all. Yates and his cast are on fine form, with Baker and Booth excellent, in fact the film positively bristles with British beef at times! Slocombe's photography strips it back to basics, suitably so to imbue that documentary feel, and Keating's score thunders away like a criminal accomplice at times. While fans of 60s London as a period backdrop can't fail to feel well fed after film's end. Pettet's wife of Clifton angle feels under nourished, and the whole middle section inevitably fails to sustain the tempo created by that exhilarating first quarter of film, but small irritants only they be. For Robbery is a British Bulldog of a movie, its biceps bulging, its brain clicking into gear, in short, it's a cracker! 8/10
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Aug 12, 2019 16:08:39 GMT
Force Of Evil / Abraham Polonsky (1948). Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Absolutely a noir essential. Joe Morse (John Garfield) is a mob lawyer working for Ben Tucker (Roy Roberts). Tucker has come up with a plan to take over and consolidate all the major “banks” that run the numbers rackets. This plan would also put the smaller banks out of business. One of those small banks if owned by Joe’s brother Leo Morse (Thomas Gomez, coming off his Oscar nom for “Ride The Pink Horse”). Leo, however, doesn’t want anything to do with either Tucker or his younger brother so doesn’t accept any help or advice which leads to legal problems and a potential gang war. Joe, who owes his older brother for his education, begins to take bigger and bigger risks to protect him. “Force Of Evil” was written and directed by Abraham Polonsky. The DVD I watched contained about a five-minute analysis by Martin Scorsese who raves about the screenplay. Scorsese relates that at a screening of “Force Of Evil” he presented in London, at one point a journalist declared out-loud, “My God, they are speaking blank verse!” Polansky also wrote another notable screenplay for John Garfield in “Body and Soul” (1947). A must-see.    Johnny Stool Pigeon / William Castle (1949). Universal International Pictures. Another plot of noble Treasury Department Agents tracking down evil drug smugglers. At first I thought I was going to have to endure an updated version of “Reefer Madness,” but once the story proper got underway, the propaganda mostly went away. Agent George Morton (Howard Duff) wants to go undercover but needs a way into the smuggling gang. To do this, he recruits known career criminal Johnny Evans (Dan Duryea), currently in the slammer, to provide him with contacts and bona fides, in return for Evans’ release. But, can Evans ever be entirely trusted? Morton, in the guise of a thug from Chicago, and Evans travel first to Canada where a mobster’s moll, Terry Stewart (Shelley Winters), latches on to them in order to escape and get back to the American Midwest. But is SHE on the up-and-up? From Canada they travel to Tucson and then to a Mexican resort for the finale. I was surprised at the amount of location footage shot in Tucson and the Arizona border town of Nogales. Maybe this could be called a B+ movie because of its location budget, instead of a common “B” picture. I’ve always thought Howard Duff was a bit of a stiff and his performance here didn’t change my mind. However, Duryea, Winters, and John McIntire as the resort owner, are vivid and flamboyant enough for several movies. Also, as a young gunsel, in only his second credited movie role, is an actor billed, at the time, as Anthony Curtis. He, too, is striking and memorable even though he has no dialog. A star in the making, for sure. Although it plays out in a rather routine fashion, a slightly better than usual screenplay, location shooting, and the actors mentioned make this a worthy choice for ‘40s noir/crime film fans. Le Corbeau (The Raven) / Henri-Georges Clouzot (1943). France. This great film was shot in France during the Nazi occupation of the country. When it was released, it was denounced by all sides. The Nazis recognized that the story of rampant paranoia, suspicion, and betrayals was an allegory of the atmosphere in France at that time. Those opposed to the occupation disliked the film because of its dark picture of the French people, portraying them as easily led into mob violence. The setting is the small town of St. Robin outside of Paris. All at once residents begin receiving poison-pen letters signed by “The Raven.” The letters reveal either the recipient’s personal secrets or warns about the danger that others present. Most of them seem to be directed toward the newest doctor in town, Dr. Germain (Pierre Fresnay). The anonymous letters accuse him of, among other things, of being an abortionist and having an affair with the young wife of a well loved older physician. It isn’t long before everyone in St. Robin is at each others’ throats. Suspicion bounces from person to person. Who is The Raven? The elderly doctor or his young wife? The landlord’s sexually active daughter? Her 14-year-old sister who has a crush on Dr. Germain? And how about the bitter, pinch-faced nurse at the hospital? The Reveal does not come until the final seconds, resulting in a startling conclusion. The tension created by Director Clouzot is almost palpable. The movie is derived from a novel which, in turn, was based on a historical incident from the 1920s. I used to think of the Hollywood penchant toward remaking foreign films in English to be a modern phenomenon until I encountered the 1951 remake of Fritz Lang’s German classic “M” from 1939. Well, that comment segues nicely into the American remake of “Le Corbeau” called…. The 13th Letter / Otto Preminger (1951). Twentieth Century Fox. This English remake of “Le Corbeau” doesn’t mention the French film as a source nor the historical incident from the 1920s it is based on but refers back only to the novel. It does pay some homage to its French origins. An opening title tells us that the new movie was filmed in its entirety at a “small French-Canadian community in the Province of Quebec.” When I reviewed the Hollywood remake of Fritz Lang’s “M” (released the same year as “The 13th Letter” but from different studios), I said that if you could, as much as possible, take the new film on its own merits then it had quite a bit to offer. I can’t quite say the same for the Preminger effort. The director doesn’t seem to be working too hard for a film that falls between “Where The Sidewalk Ends” and “Angel Face” in his filmography. The new film is not quite a shot-for-shot remake but is pretty much a scene-for-scene redo. The only substantial change is right at the end where a fairly long dialog passage goes to explaining the crimes in a lot more detail than Clouzot provided – but I liked the Clouzot approach better. The new young doctor is played by Michael Rennie who can’t come close to showing the inner turmoil that Pierre Fresnay brought to his tormented physician. Linda Darnell is good enough as the landlord’s flirty daughter if she isn’t nearly as seductive and overtly sexual as the French would have it. The only real notable performance is by Charles Boyer who is quite brilliant as the elderly doctor with the young wife who the anonymous letters continually link to Rennie’s character. Howard Koch wrote the screenplay. The cinematographer was Joseph LaShelle (Laura, The Apartment, Marty), so there was talent behind the camera. I can neither recommend or not recommend this picture. See it if curiosity leads you that way. It’s not really a bad movie but not a very good one either. Matching scenes. The two doctors confer.   - Noir essential you say? Indeed  Black sheep like to make everybody else look black. Force of Evil is directed by Abraham Polonsky, who also adapts the screenplay from the Ira Wolfert novel Tucker's People. It stars John Garfield, Thomas Gomez, Beatrice Pearson, Marie Windsor, Howard Chamberlain and Roy Roberts. Music is by David Raksin and cinematography by George Barnes. Plot finds Garfield as lawyer Joe Morse, who works for powerful gangster Ben Tucker (Roberts). Tucker has a plan to control all of the numbers rackets in New York, something that with the fix on the numbers up and coming for the 4th July, will see all of the smaller number rackets go bust. This is a problem for Morse because his big brother Leo (Gomez), is one such operator, an honest good guy who did everything he could to ensure that Joe had a proper start in life. It has come to be regarded as an influential and important movie in the film noir pantheon. Big critics, big film makers and film noir aficionados, all have queued up to salute Polonsky's film. If it's worthy of such elegant praise will always be debatable, but film does have a uniqueness about it, using stylised dialogue passages and in opening up a corrupt and socially bankrupt can of worms for the cinema loving world, Polonsky has crafted a thematically potent 1940's crime picture. The exchanges between Garfield and love interest Pearson, have an almost poetic flow to them, this in a film that for most of its running time shows that badness can not be beaten, or at best that it can't be railed against or broken away from so easily. While the biblical tones, both allusions and allegorically speaking, also give the picture some added power. Though mostly talky in the main, it does burst into shocking violence for its final quarter, with a finale that contains distress segueing into the possibility of spiritual regeneration…or maybe that, too, will prove futile? Added to the biting narrative are great cast performances and evocative music scoring, and with skilled location photography adding authenticity, it's not hard to see why it has come to be so revered. Not as bleak as the title suggests, and veering a bit close to being too arty for its own good sometimes, but still a fine experience and it rewards more on further viewings. 8/10 Johnny Stool Pigeon - Always passed me by, probably because it didn't fit the criteria for the Castle Box Set I purchased and I forgot about his non horror tinted films. You sell it well, especially with Duryea and McIntire charged as vivid and flamboyant - tis enough for me. Le Corbeau. I would have been amazed if mdf hadn't of jumped right into this for comment. He's from our hardy band of fierce French Noir activists  Was it your first viewing mike? Moi > The ink which makes blood flow. Le Corbeau is directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot and co-written by Clouzot and Henri Chavance. It stars Pierre Fresnay, Ginette Leclerc, Pierre Larquey and Micheline Francey. Music is by Tony Aubin and cinematography by Nicolas Hayer. We are in a small French town, the actual name of which is not known and is inconsequential. A series of poison pen letters are being sent out to the town dignitaries, accusing them of all sorts of inappropriate operations. The letters are signed by someone calling themselves Le Corbeau (The Raven), and pretty soon the town starts to implode as suspicion and mistrust runs wild. Famously it was the film that saw Clouzot banned from making films, the then young director receiving flak from all quarters of the Vichy Government - Catholic Church - Left Wingers and others too! The asides to the Nazi occupation of France at the time not being acknowledged until some years later. That very theme obviously holds considerable weight, but it's not the be all and end all of Clouzot's magnificent movie. Clouzot and Chavance tap into the troubling fallibility of the human race, portraying a town quickly submerged in moral decay. There is caustic observations on the higher echelons of society, a clinical deconstruction of a town quick to cast aspersions without thinking of consequences, while the script boasts frank intelligence and no fear of censorship. That a town so ripe in respected denizens could become so diseased, so quickly, makes for powerful viewing. All are guilty as well, nobody escapes, even the youngsters are liars or cheats, thieves or rumour spreaders, this be a Hades town where negativity runs rife and leads to broken bodies, broken souls and broken human spirits. Very much a bastion of proto-noir cinema, it's photographed with an awareness to marry up to the acerbic thematic at work. Shadows feature prominently, even in daylight, canted angles are used to great effect, broken mirrors perfectly imbuing the fractures of the human psyche. A number of scenes are startlingly memorable, a funeral procession and a church service interrupted by one of The Raven's letters are superbly staged, the pursuit of a nurse through the cobbled streets is menacing, and the finale is hauntingly raw. Top performances across the board from the cast brings further rewards, whilst simultaneously adding more plaudits to Clouzot's direction. All in all, a remarkable, fascinating and potent piece of cinema. 9/10 Thanks for the review of The 13th Letter, you confirm why it's still on my to see list as being only a film to see when it shows up on cable TV one late night...
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Aug 12, 2019 22:57:34 GMT
Hi COE! Hope you had a good weekend,and how did you find the epic Action trash of F&F 8 to be? Hi, morrisondylanfan. Hope you had a good weekend too. I'm sorry to say The Fate of the Furious won't be ranked among my favourite of the franchise. While I thought it did have some decent moments, on the whole I think I kind of lost interest in the franchise after #6. Them killing off Gisele (Gal Gadot) in the sixth film probably had a lot to do with that, as she was a favourite character of mine.
As for #8, I'll admit that Charlize Theron probably gave one of the better villain performances in the franchise, but as for the character she played (Cipher)...I wanted her dead after what she did to Elena (or rather, what she had her henchman do to Elena). I really like Elsa Pataky and the character she played, so I was pretty ticked off with how they wrote her out of the franchise. And like with Han and Gisele in prior films, her death seemed to be mostly forgotten about by the end of the movie. Not to mention I think it's wrong that Dom and his team became pretty accepting of Shaw by the end of the movie, after he and his brother were responsible for the deaths of Han and Gisele. This^ is just my opinion, though. I imagine others will likely disagree. Hi COE,I finished Beyond earlier tonight,and found it a very good, but pretty hard-hitting film (I now need to get round to seeing Noomi in Daisy Diamond and The Monitor.) Since the reboot of the series with the 5th, Fast 8 would be the one that I'd put at the bottom of the list. Whilst it offered plenty of bangs for your bucks (esp the ending) I found the tone to be at odds with the goals of the film, due to Cipher (played well by Theron) having a serious cruelness which felt out of place with the OTT cartoon antics of the set-pieces,such as this: 
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Aug 15, 2019 6:39:36 GMT
Frenzy (2018) "I had a raft...but the sharks ate it." No, not a Hitchcock remake, thankfully. Just another killer shark TV movie. Good premise but the lack of horror portrayed by the actors sinks it a little. Why are they so calm about their friends being eaten in front of them? The CGI sharks are a step up from some other CGI shark movies, but only slightly. Still, it was an okay time waster and my fellow shark movie fans will find something to enjoy.  Capsized: Blood in the Water (2019) Based on a true story from 1982 makes this Discovery Channel Shark Week movie a little more harrowing than your usual made-for-TV shark movie. Plenty of tension during the shark scenes and some actual actors, it's similar to so many other movies but well done and worth your time.  Lake Placid: Legacy (2018) Yes, another killer aquatic animal TV-movie, I was really on a roll. Complete trash that copies Aliens, Jaws and Anaconda. Naturally, I loved it. ::yes Great poster too!  Crawl (2019) "We can defeat these pea-brained lizard sh**s!" Oh yeah, baby! That's what I'm talking about! A real suspenseful, gory, creepy, claustrophobic man-eating alligator flick! The man-eating animal genre is my favorite of all the horror genres, and this is a good one! Directed by Alexandre Aja, the man who gave us Piranha 3D, so this instantly became a must see, since that movie delivered so well. A competitive swimmer (Kaya Scodelario, a future star) and her dad (Barry Pepper) are stuck in their basement in a hurricane with hungry alligators. Great premise and this movie milks every ounce out of the scenario.  Summer Camp Nightmare (1987) Sounds like a summer camp-themed horror movie, right? Nope, more of a teen drama about some rebellious teens fighting back against their strict camp counselors. Maybe they thought it was a horror movie they were making, but it's hardly suspenseful or scary at all. Chuck Connors plays the head counselor, with some seriously bad eyeglass frames!   Sleepaway Camp (1983) Trashy, fun 80's summer camp slasher that I'd seen way back then. Now, the authentic 80's clothes, fashion and slang sticks out like, totally! A few laughs come from this rewatch for that reason alone. The kills are not bad, slightly more original that most. Still wondering exactly just where that curling iron wound up....yikes! When I saw it back in the 80's, Christopher Collet as Paul, was the only "famous face" in the cast. He seemed to be an up and coming actor, he had done Firstborn (1984) and The Manhattan Project (1986). He didn't really go on to fame and fortune as an actor, but I do think being linked to this now classic of the slasher genre will keep his fame alive for years to come.  Hold on to your short-shorts for that ending!!!   Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers (1988) A more comedic sequel, with the lead role of Angela suddenly recast with Pamela Springsteen, The Boss' sister! No clever twists here, but lots of interesting murders for the whole family to enjoy!  Sleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland (1989) This sequel was filmed back-to-back with the previous one, all sets were reused and simply altered slightly. Angela is still bonkers and kills everyone she meets. Wholesome entertainment.  Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor (1992) This is why horror gets no respect sometimes. They produce a Frankenstein's monster of a movie like this clip show and they know we'll show up for it anyway. And here I am, trying to complete the series, watching it too...even though I just saw all of this earlier in the week when I watched the series from the beginning. There's a few shots added in from some aborted attempt at making a sequel that got shutdown. They add almost nothing. In fact, they are mostly confusing. You're basically just rewatching the best bits from the first three movies. The worst "film" I've seen all year. Maybe even including last year, and that's saying something since I watch my share of crap movies.  Return To Sleepaway Camp (2008) I didn't have much hope for this after viewing the god-awful Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor, but it's actually a real sequel to the original, more so than any of the others. Very similar in many ways, thanks to Robert Hiltzik, the original writer/director from the first movie. Some original cast members return and the kills are inventive. This is a worthy sequel and fans of the original will be pleased.  As you can see, all of the above films are beloved classics. I feel like I need a bath AND a shower after this week of cinematic carnage.   Till next week, have a great movie week everybody!   Not only a triffic poster for Lake Placid Legacy, but also Sleepaway Camp II 
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Aug 15, 2019 6:44:24 GMT
A superb French Film Noir:  Such a Pretty Little Beach (1949) 10 With Eng Subs: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpPKW767ftc&t=1sA decade before the movement got into full flow, director Yves Allegret & cinematographer Henri Alekan build a sandcastle between the poetic Film Noir's of the 30's and 40's,and the realism of the French New Wave in the late 50's. Closely working with sound team Jacques Carrere and Pierre-Louis Calvet , Allegret creates an incredibly haunting sound design, pelting the hotel roof with rain which lands like gunshots, and lone creaks from doors opened in the hotel room, listened to by the residence as if part of a espionage mission. Sticking a spade into the beach with a breath-taking final shot, Allegret and Alekan display a delicate quality springing from FNW-style long panning shots catching the fellow hotel guests and staff taking a sly glance at Pierre, to brewing a icy Film Noir atmosphere of a ill-looking Pierre sleeping over dissolves,joined by the outside bullets of rain falling into Pierre embrace with Marthe. Entering the hotel looking like he is at deaths door, the screenplay by Jacques Sigurd brilliantly matches Allegret's stylisation,in the characterization of Pierre, who Sigurd has netted between the the ridden with pessimism Noir loner of the 30's/40,with the bruised, outsider rebel streak of the FNW. Unable to take their eyes off Pierre, Sigurd cleverly circles the staff/fellow guests at the hotel to cast the ghostly image of Pierre, glowing from the simmering with menace clipped dialogue of fellow "guest" Fred,and the lone hands of empathy offered by Marthe. The lone person in the washed out town to reach out, the elegant Madeleine Robinson gives a exquisite turn as Marthe, whose own worn-down past is cut open by Robinson to slowly entangle Marthe with Pierre, whilst Jean Servais plays for the creeping slow-burn as Fred. Permanently haunted by his past, Gerard Philipe gives a mesmerising, expressive performance as Pierre,whose every look back is carried by Philipe like a ghost,fading away on such a pretty little beach. Duly Noted Good Sir 
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Post by biker1 on Aug 15, 2019 23:54:51 GMT
across the bridge (1957-uk) ☆☆☆
Rod Steiger in British thriller is first rate as man on the run in Mexico. Twists and turns nicely, holding the attention all the way.
the naked street (1955) ☆☆½
routine crime melodrama with Anthony Quinn. Better than expected, based on reviews.
5 fingers (1952) ☆☆☆½
finally watched this. Excellent.
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Post by mikef6 on Aug 16, 2019 0:53:44 GMT
morrisondylanfan Even a second remake of Le Corbeau? To quote Darth Vader, “N-o-o-o-o-o-o!” In my review I failed to name Micheline Francey who played the imaginary invalid who tries to get Doctor Germain to listen to her chest. As you say, she was so sexy that she “got banned from acting for a year after appearing here!” lol. hitchcockthelegend Thanks for sharing your review of Le Corbeau. “All in all, a remarkable, fascinating and potent piece of cinema. 9/10.” Yes, indeed. I think you will enjoy Johnny Stool Pigeon. Dan Duryea, for me anyhow, is always mesmerizing to watch. The sound of his unique voice can make his motives unreadable at times. Tony Curtis makes an impact with no dialog to speak, much like the effect of Harry Morgan’s thug in The Big Clock.
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Post by bravomailer on Aug 16, 2019 3:40:39 GMT
 Critics didn’t care for Lean’s follow-up to Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago. I did. If there’s any flaw it’s the similarity with Zhivago and the soundtrack, which while enjoyable isn’t Jarre’s best work. The film depicts village life better than any other except maybe The Last Picture Show. Beneath the incredibly beautiful setting and cinematography are themes of faithlessness, infirmity, treachery, powerlessness, and dashed hopes – Ireland under the British. Events take place during World War One. There’s a collision between partners in an unconsummated marriage (Mitchum and Miles), a British officer (Jones), and the villagers’ nationalist aspirations. Lean’s famous transition shot in Lawrence of Arabia has a match going out, then the desert sun rising. He inverts this here. Jones’s character watches the sun go down as he holds a blasting cap near a case of explosives. The sun slips beneath the horizon, the camera shifts to Mitchum and Miles. Mitchum lights a lamp and an explosion sounds in the distance. The storm sequence is spectacular. I see that Lean waited a year for a suitable gale, and it was worth it. I also see that Jones was in a dark mood because his former girlfriend was murdered during filming – Sharon Tate. I thought he did well as the British officer haunted by his experiences in France.
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Post by teleadm on Aug 16, 2019 18:11:11 GMT
Critics didn’t care for Lean’s follow-up to Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago. I did. If there’s any flaw it’s the similarity with Zhivago and the soundtrack, which while enjoyable isn’t Jarre’s best work. The film depicts village life better than any other except maybe The Last Picture Show. Beneath the incredibly beautiful setting and cinematography are themes of faithlessness, infirmity, treachery, powerlessness, and dashed hopes – Ireland under the British. Events take place during World War One. There’s a collision between partners in an unconsummated marriage (Mitchum and Miles), a British officer (Jones), and the villagers’ nationalist aspirations. Lean’s famous transition shot in Lawrence of Arabia has a match going out, then the desert sun rising. He inverts this here. Jones’s character watches the sun go down as he holds a blasting cap near a case of explosives. The sun slips beneath the horizon, the camera shifts to Mitchum and Miles. Mitchum lights a lamp and an explosion sounds in the distance. The storm sequence is spectacular. I see that Lean waited a year for a suitable gale, and it was worth it. I also see that Jones was in a dark mood because his former girlfriend was murdered during filming – Sharon Tate. I thought he did well as the British officer haunted by his experiences in France. Only seen it once, and it was a great experience.
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Post by mikef6 on Aug 16, 2019 19:10:03 GMT
Critics didn’t care for Lean’s follow-up to Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago. I did. If there’s any flaw it’s the similarity with Zhivago and the soundtrack, which while enjoyable isn’t Jarre’s best work. The film depicts village life better than any other except maybe The Last Picture Show. Beneath the incredibly beautiful setting and cinematography are themes of faithlessness, infirmity, treachery, powerlessness, and dashed hopes – Ireland under the British. Events take place during World War One. There’s a collision between partners in an unconsummated marriage (Mitchum and Miles), a British officer (Jones), and the villagers’ nationalist aspirations. Lean’s famous transition shot in Lawrence of Arabia has a match going out, then the desert sun rising. He inverts this here. Jones’s character watches the sun go down as he holds a blasting cap near a case of explosives. The sun slips beneath the horizon, the camera shifts to Mitchum and Miles. Mitchum lights a lamp and an explosion sounds in the distance. The storm sequence is spectacular. I see that Lean waited a year for a suitable gale, and it was worth it. I also see that Jones was in a dark mood because his former girlfriend was murdered during filming – Sharon Tate. I thought he did well as the British officer haunted by his experiences in France. I liked Ryan's Daughter in places but overall not as much as you and others liked it. Back when, I reviewed it thusly: This is Lean in his “epic” years where the wide screen, the color, the vistas, the colorful settings and vistas threaten to (and sometimes does) overwhelm the story Lean is trying to tell. In the review that, according to lore, sent Lean into a 14 year long retirement from film making, Pauline Kael dismissed him as a “technician” – a man interested only in the technology at his disposal who gives scant regard to the emotional core of his tale. To a certain extent this is true and it echoes some of the thoughts I was having as I watched the DVD, my thumb poised over the fast forward scan button, sorely tempted to rush ahead past all of the empty spectacle and even repetition. Twice, maybe three times, we get a situation where the villagers are getting out of control but the priest (Trevor Howard) shows up just in time, pushing his way through the mob, to put a stop to the violence. But after it was over and some days passed, it was the small story, the personal story, that I retained. Many of the scenes and performances remained with me. The David Lean of “Brief Encounter,” “The Sound Barrier,” and “Hobson’s Choice” had shone through. Even some things I had scoffed at while watching, like John Mills’ embarrassing performance (for which he won an Oscar) as a challenged adult (the “village idiot”) – had a final scene that moved and astonished me. I could go on like this – one sentence heaping scorn, the next praising. Sometimes, as with Mill’s performance, doing both at once.
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Post by bravomailer on Aug 17, 2019 2:55:07 GMT
Mills was annoying. The village idiot I took to be the encapsulation of the village - mentally deficient, incapable of refinement. The film is quite harsh on village life. The mobs are quick to condemn and attack but never realize they're attacking the wrong person. It was just someone who'd violated their norms. As for their nationalist aspirations, they are incapable of meaningful opposition, in part because of their prejudices, in part because of the treachery of the pub owner, Ryan. Intelligent people, Mitchum and Miles, get out. Mitchum leaves his Victrola with Mills.
Two of the actors in the village later had roles in Barry Lyndon - one as Barry's mother, the other as the highwayman Captain Feeney.
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Post by wmcclain on Aug 23, 2019 12:52:22 GMT
Against All Flags - Well considering where Errol was in that time of is life, and all things considered with the production, it's a far better pic than it had right to be. Lots to enjoy if forgiving it some production flaws. , directed by George Sherman and Douglas Sirk. A naval officer volunteers to be stripped of rank, flogged and cast adrift in a longboat so he can penetrate the fortress city of the Captains of the Coast pirates of Madagascar. His mission is complicated by a love triangle with fetching Captain Prudence "Spitfire" Stevens and the dangerous Captain Roc Brasiliano. Even better: the pirates have captured the daughter of the Moghul Emperor of India and heroic Lieutenant Hawke will have to save her too! A standard pirating yarn (though mostly land-based and filmed on studio lots) with features that continue to be mined in the more recent pirate film revival, as with the pirate council in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007). (In this film one character says "So say we all!", instantly suggesting Battlestar Galactica (2004)). We are at the end of pirating film era and the genre has slackening sails, becalmed from over-use and formulaic elements. They try to make it fun, presumably suitable for children, although the sexual innuendo creeps in. Apart from the slave-bride auction ("For legal marriage only!") and associated pirate newlywed jokes, we have these exchanges: The film pilfers and mixes costumes and religious decorations from the Muslims, Hindus and Arabian Nights, but that's Hollywood. I might not have reviewed this except for Errol Flynn and the other good talent: Errol Flynn is also getting to the end of his action career. Still plausibly handsome but you can see hard living has taken its toll and he seems short of breath. His charm and sex appeal: relying on former glory, I fear. He sings, briefly. Maureen O'Hara, lovely as always, gives a nicely modulated performance. In this sort of film you can be neither too serious nor too silly. As a pirate captain she strives to be sexually dominant but obviously has some doubts on that score. One of her costumes is a Maid Marian outfit which is confusing. Those tall boots: yeow! She handles a sword well; with this and At Sword's Point (1952) she had a little action-genre career. Anthony Quinn is our villain, a man of passion but not a coward. In his dying moment he throws his sword at Flynn who contemptuously parries it aside. He and O'Hara reunite from Sinbad, the Sailor (1947). Russell Metty is the cinematographer. Flynn broke an ankle toward the end of shooting and they made Yankee Buccaneer (1952) on the same set while he was out. Remade as The King's Pirate (1967) with Doug McClure and Jill St. John. Available on DVD. Could use restoration; the Technicolor deserves it. 
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