What classics did you see last week ? (23 Feb - 29 Feb 2020)

Kiss Me Deadly / Robert Aldrich (1955). Parklane Productions. Cinematography by Ernest Laszlo. An essential in the film noir canon. Some writers consider it one of the finest movies of the 1950s. It is certainly a contender. Nominally based on Mickey Spillane’s novel of the same name, it is really a different story. Spillane is known for his striking opening chapters and shockeroo endings, sometimes held to the last sentence of the book. The movie follows that pattern as well as both having the killer go up in a conflagration. Ralph Meeker, playing Mike Hammer as a sociopath only in for himself instead of a righteous vengeful vigilante, is driving his sporty foreign convertible along a dark and mostly deserted highway. (One writer has identified Hammer’s car as an MG, but it is a 1951 Jaguar XK 120. Photo below.). He has to brake fast and run off the road when a woman, Christina (Cloris Leachman, very impressive in a small role), naked but for a trench coat, runs into the road in front of him. Hammer agrees to drive her to a bus stop but, in a sudden switch, jaggedly edited, he is run off the road again, drugged, his passenger beaten to death, and Hammer pushed off a cliff in his own car. Well, he is not going to lie still for this. After being warned off the case by several people, he just plows ahead. It seems Christina had a “whatsit” (the equivalent of Sam Spade’s “dingus” and Hitchcock’s McGuffin) that everyone wants and who will kill and torture to get it. The shocking ending, still very powerful, taps into ’50s atomic paranoia. It will rock your world.



Cloris Leachman




Mike Hammer in his Jaguar XK 120 at a roadblock

“The Invisible Man”   Distributed by Universal Pictures, 124 Minutes, Rated R, Released February 28, 2020:

Those movie fans among us who grew up watching television reruns of the Universal library of classic horror movies from the 1930s and 1940s might remember “The Invisible Man” as one of the lesser monsters in the series.  

With little of the sheer nightmare quality of, say, Dracula, Frankenstein, or the Creature from the Black Lagoon and below even the dusty, slow-moving Mummy in basic costume and makeup appeal, the Invisible Man was on an approximate level with, say, any of a half-dozen other crazy scientists...even though his voice characterization was supplied by superstars of the genre like Claude Rains and, later, Vincent Price.

That all might be about the change with Universal’s new reboot of the original James Whale horror picture from 1933.  Released on February 28, “The Invisible Man” turns out to be a first-rate, new age horror masterpiece that transitions the hoary old monster into a genuinely horrific walking nightmare, with an emotional resonance relevant to the era of #MeToo and filled with chills and suspense worthy of a latter-day Hitchcock classic. 

In ”The Invisible Man,” after enduring for too long a dangerously abusive relationship with a brilliant research scientist conducting experiments in optics, a young architect manages one night to flee her controlling spouse.  But when he commits suicide shortly after her escape, a series of small occurances gradually cause her to suspect her former spouse is not dead, but disappeared.

Written and directed by Leigh Whannell, the Australian screenwriter behind 2004’s “Saw” and the first two “Insidious” movies (as well as the writer/director of “Insidious: Chapter 3”), “The Invisible Man” has little more than a nodding relationship with either the original classic 1933 picture from Universal or the 1897 science fiction novel by H.G. Wells on which it’s based.  Instead, the new movie uses the conceit of the title character’s invisibility to recreate in the viewer’s mind a little of the genuine, powerless terror of anyone who’s ever experienced a controlling and abusive spouse, or a stalker.

A very unique type of horror picture, “The Invisible Man” is very aware of its incredible nature, and plays on the audience’s sense of disbelief to craft an airtight second reality, with the result of instilling in the mind of the viewer a very real feeling of dread, helplessness, and paranoia.  The horror elements are there, but during the movie’s first half they’re so unexpected, and delivered so swiftly, that they’re gone before you’re even sure you saw them. The second half of the movie transitions into more traditional horror--the picture is a co-production of the Black Crypt of Blumhouse after all.  But it’s all so expertly devised, and executed so breathlessly, that you likely won’t notice any difference until it’s all over.

“The Invisible Man” is anchored by Elisabeth Moss--the heroine from TV’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”--in a harrowing, heartbreaking, and surprisingly strenuous performance as the hapless young architect.  This is not a glamorous role or a movie star turn--Moss throughout the course of the picture is chased, terrorized, drugged, jailed, beaten up, and pretty much everything else you might expect from the writer of “Saw.”  But in a horror picture which in lesser hands might’ve used a second-string Scream Queen to provide gradually diminishing jump scares, Moss contributes an elusive element indeed--she’s a superbly talented actress, and invests her every scene with both empathy and dignity.  Alfred Hitchcock would’ve been proud.

“The Invisible Man” also contains strong supporting performances from Aldis Hodge and Storm Reid as supportive friends, Harriet Dyer as Moss’ protective sister, Michael Dorman as the smarmy and manipulative brother of the disappeared scientist, and Oliver Jackson-Cohen of the web-based television series “The Haunting of Hill House” in a fairly brief characterization as the terrifying now-you-see-him, now-you-don’t title character.

“The Invisible Man” was originally planned as a project for actor Johnny Depp in Universal Pictures’ “Dark Universe” series of motion picture reboots of its classic horror films from the 1930s and 1940s.  But when the premier film in the franchise (the 2017 reimagining of “The Mummy” starring Tom Cruise) bombed at the box office and lost some $95 million of the studio’s investment, plans for the Dark Universe series were scrapped in favor of individual remakes of selected titles from the Universal library.

Incidentally, the to-die-for clifftop dwelling of the title character in “The Invisible Man” is Headland House, an actual holiday rental in Mt. Pleasant, Gerringong, New South Wales, Australia.  With eight rooms, four bedrooms, 4.5 baths, a kitchen, gymnasium, pool, and spectacular ocean view, the rental rates are around $2246 per night. Just thought you’d like to know. 

Set in San Francisco but actually filmed in New South Wales, Australia, “The Invisible Man” is rated R for strong, bloody violence, and language concerns. 

I didn't see any classic movies this week, just the following:

Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)



Let's just get this out of the way: This is not a Birds of Prey movie, this is a Harley Quinn spinoff movie that just happens to feature a few other female characters who work together, briefly, towards the end of the movie. Margot Robbie is a much bigger star now, and her character was the break-out character from Suicide Squad, so to play it safe, she is basically the whole show here.

Not that it's a bad show. I had fun and enjoyed the movie. Huntress and Black Canary fans might feel slighted by their real lack of screen time. Once you just accept it's The Harley Quinn Show, it's all right.

I liked that they used Black Mask as the main baddie, although I didn't truly buy Ewan McGregor as a sadistic madman. Chris Messina as the evil sidekick was a little more believable. How could they cast real life couple Mary Elizabeth Winstead and McGregor and not give them some cool scenes together?

It was passable entertainment and my gripes were easy to overlook. DC is still grasping at whatever they think works in order to have another big hit franchise movie. I wish they had their own Kevin Feige to steer the ship but they are all over the place creatively.

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



13 Going on 30 (2004)6

Whilst bringing Rink forward in time, director Gary Winick (who tragically died from brain cancer at just 49 years old) & cinematographer Don Burgess get their Rom-Com groove on with a ahead of its time sparkling dip into 80's nostalgia of Michael Jackson nightclub dancing, childhood partying to Talking Heads, and the changing glamour of Madonna. Covering Rink in a fashion mag workplace, Winick spreads the pages for a glossy Rom-Com atmosphere of darting panning shots towards Rink and Flamhaff's Meet Cute. Made just after she was Elektra in Daredevil,Jennifer Garner gives a bubbly turn as Rink,whose childish mind-set allows Garner to bring out misfit slap-stick.

Later to join Garner in Comic Book movies with Black Panther,Ant-Man and as The Incredible Hulk, (plus a early cameo from Captain Marvel's Brie Larson,and Rogue One's Felicity Jones being the cover star of Rink's mag) Judy Greer, Andy Serkis and Mark Ruffalo give sparkling turns as Rink's pals,with Ruffalo bringing out a soft rugged charm as he falls for Rink going on 30.

hitchcockthelegend

With The Lost Weekend, River's Edge, and Blue Velvet, you had some pretty tense times at the movies last week. Hope you could unwind over the weekend. 

Improbable amnesia thriller, once only for me. With both Greta Scacchi and Joanne Whalley I had to see it.

When you wrote Dead Again my mind skipped over Branagh and Thompson and went to Kill Me Again with Whalley and her then-husband Val Kilmer. Both have greater rewatch value than the Peterson film.

Solomon & Sheba: dreadfully dull Bible epic.

The Unseen: thanks for the mention of So Evil My Love; have not seen.

Charade, the Hitchcock movie not directed by him! - I love it - www.imdb.com/review/rw2308073/?ref_=tt_urv  9/10