tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55141997108604492182024-03-17T20:00:20.401-07:00LOOK ME IN THE EYE-watching my collection of 2000 plus filmsShort reviews of films from my collectionDuganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.comBlogger1818125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-69250530069146501982024-03-17T07:12:00.000-07:002024-03-17T07:12:11.101-07:001974 - THE STREET FIGHTER, a Japanese martial arts film<p> The bone crunching, blood flowing and general body harming Japanese martial arts film featuring the actor Sonny Chiba. Chiba plays a brutal martial arts fighter called Terry Sugury also known as <b><i>The Street Fighter.</i></b></p><p><i>I</i>f you are looking for the Bruce Lee Kung Fu style which is probably more elegant, don't expect that in this film. Chiba is an intense brutal guy especially in the fight scenes and he's not about dancing around his opponent unlike Bruce Lee, he's here to beat the crap out of anyone who gets in his way.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-EFSyd_GrZ6nMsXoTLbXLJlzu2FCq9abE2W-RqZeUlmRbz-Y7YJUAEtDj5es_RXAfG3hhoRLt3QVqDHicnZQBwGR1IVFQoNZS-zMlWq7-cBhBhObpjZSH8lKY4WdSGAMa9nlTOqfTIkkQMgRkJvuFVCfDcS6zi9ENgn4Hk3Z_ZX8_GpR94myYvqraWOs/s507/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-16%20at%204.02.20%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="331" data-original-width="507" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-EFSyd_GrZ6nMsXoTLbXLJlzu2FCq9abE2W-RqZeUlmRbz-Y7YJUAEtDj5es_RXAfG3hhoRLt3QVqDHicnZQBwGR1IVFQoNZS-zMlWq7-cBhBhObpjZSH8lKY4WdSGAMa9nlTOqfTIkkQMgRkJvuFVCfDcS6zi9ENgn4Hk3Z_ZX8_GpR94myYvqraWOs/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-16%20at%204.02.20%20AM.png" width="320" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The film's plot for what it's worth has Terry Sugury guarding the heiress to an oil company. Apparently the Japanese Yakuza wants to move in and take over the company, big mistake. Terry Sugury plows through these gangsters with his fighting skills like he was kneading bread dough.</div><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf-buBWiTtZekgMDjtchjcrJF_TzYpvdIzCvN59S24i3cw4KbQ5Voyd-jpp8ujE6cp-H_b_ZAnumcz26g2AGZAuxTxJkCTYqNDm1Q7PjcYLgthDE8jMQ19oSqs4-K7EPvgek1dc2pzLrXcHDqLGp6rE6Hy0fXK-jfuGGRCnHZbJssEKqMZykCCh25l4iQ/s497/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-16%20at%204.02.42%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="497" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf-buBWiTtZekgMDjtchjcrJF_TzYpvdIzCvN59S24i3cw4KbQ5Voyd-jpp8ujE6cp-H_b_ZAnumcz26g2AGZAuxTxJkCTYqNDm1Q7PjcYLgthDE8jMQ19oSqs4-K7EPvgek1dc2pzLrXcHDqLGp6rE6Hy0fXK-jfuGGRCnHZbJssEKqMZykCCh25l4iQ/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-16%20at%204.02.42%20AM.png" width="320" /></a> <br /></p><p>There's plenty of blood spilling and ripping of organs out of bodies and if you are looking for action you should be satisfied. The film was so popular that it spawned sequels and spinoffs with the words <i><b>Street Fighter</b></i> in the their titles. </p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNyUblbIx3yuaaQVmT9lj1bILk0jwQK84LC6vkWCno-B5W1dlughHmN-beTtPpkrwilQa0-CbGo7YIwACc4ZKNXmyxb7_reQmQ4xCA8SP8NstdWoGQLDqWykqSYv5YNLJYt1bnN0S5liiTydNkfh_k6Psfex7mVwSAXV6xHX8cXxcOOiz_TvA1G26Ses4/s487/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-16%20at%204.03.25%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="303" data-original-width="487" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNyUblbIx3yuaaQVmT9lj1bILk0jwQK84LC6vkWCno-B5W1dlughHmN-beTtPpkrwilQa0-CbGo7YIwACc4ZKNXmyxb7_reQmQ4xCA8SP8NstdWoGQLDqWykqSYv5YNLJYt1bnN0S5liiTydNkfh_k6Psfex7mVwSAXV6xHX8cXxcOOiz_TvA1G26Ses4/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-16%20at%204.03.25%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>This film, is a big favorite of Quentin Tarantino. Although I haven't heard him talk about it lately on the podcasts he appears on. Sonny Chiba passed away in 2021 from complications derived from the Covid virus. <b><i>The Street Fighter</i></b> is entertaining for what it is.<br /></p><p>The film was written by Kōji Takada and Motohiro Torii, the running time is 91 minutes.<br /></p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-80248960893959801072024-03-17T06:55:00.000-07:002024-03-17T06:55:59.909-07:001976 - THE TOUGH ONES - Italian Poliziotteschi film<p>A fairly decent Italian police thriller set in Rome. Inspector Tanzi, a character clearly modeled after Clint Eastwood's <b><i>Dirty Harry</i></b> character is on the trail of a tough gang of French guys. Tanzi also has to deal with a creepy killer hunchback played by the Italian actor Tomas Milan who I think was in about every Italian movie ever made.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75936gXRCg1b1HbynMb-oqQoPQwD1i3MXlwN1R7blgZiI3sVJj7Sd_MWLS1rWLiiTBnHXapIFaEWSuxuobBXuyFf3yyS7A26zt3lob-dgL_tNoHmLE_HLxA146hQS2NcuhsLl3XHOZbClGD75dkMqflpOeoVyzF8lYjN22LYCvo7Mn3QeFDMqUwO_aVo/s503/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-16%20at%204.00.47%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="311" data-original-width="503" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75936gXRCg1b1HbynMb-oqQoPQwD1i3MXlwN1R7blgZiI3sVJj7Sd_MWLS1rWLiiTBnHXapIFaEWSuxuobBXuyFf3yyS7A26zt3lob-dgL_tNoHmLE_HLxA146hQS2NcuhsLl3XHOZbClGD75dkMqflpOeoVyzF8lYjN22LYCvo7Mn3QeFDMqUwO_aVo/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-16%20at%204.00.47%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>The action is good. There are some exciting car chases and shootouts. The actor Maurizio Merli who plays Inspector Tanzi, handles the usual rouge cop stuff well. As with a lot of these cop movies he shouts and screams about the "system" and letting these "slime" get away. But fear not street justice will prevail.<p></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WnYwusd5lRinNGowNfmzL7rGuj8y3EqZm5e917jJg9JysGVmBX7mzC3y14QJ2mAuIsOSgTB8Kbm_CPp5Dk1pZtyCAWXDuSLZLtKRXRHSrZwTI_Xeba7V8Lyyo-lcji4MqJPqJLB3mBHDV-39BwhH1IFNki4D2Qg1OZ0RZXPxLa0rEC-YCt8WRgOuvtE/s497/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-16%20at%204.01.36%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="221" data-original-width="497" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WnYwusd5lRinNGowNfmzL7rGuj8y3EqZm5e917jJg9JysGVmBX7mzC3y14QJ2mAuIsOSgTB8Kbm_CPp5Dk1pZtyCAWXDuSLZLtKRXRHSrZwTI_Xeba7V8Lyyo-lcji4MqJPqJLB3mBHDV-39BwhH1IFNki4D2Qg1OZ0RZXPxLa0rEC-YCt8WRgOuvtE/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-16%20at%204.01.36%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>The version of this film that I saw was dubbed into English which made Tanti's rants about the lack of law and order sound even more intense. As was usually the way with these films an American actor in this case played by Arthur Kennedy is in the film for reasons I don't exactly understand. Apparently Italian filmmakers liked to stick American's in what are essentially rip offs or remakes of American cop films.</p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwwyzkhH28TrdE3UJXgEPcqSlIyoInzcikeuTDeJMn4rg8U3_yKVnSTsrCYbhTxIX7ibrLqLXwr5nGjURJyZm6eOcSZ9L95HtL9jFrxIPoFudz22fyrMi964FVLIHTS0Hxj1H-CdUZdaIEkKtWDkX8q_aAwt2YRPQhIhe435hZQTKbZO2a__y_8TYGdqU/s465/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-16%20at%203.59.44%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="230" data-original-width="465" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwwyzkhH28TrdE3UJXgEPcqSlIyoInzcikeuTDeJMn4rg8U3_yKVnSTsrCYbhTxIX7ibrLqLXwr5nGjURJyZm6eOcSZ9L95HtL9jFrxIPoFudz22fyrMi964FVLIHTS0Hxj1H-CdUZdaIEkKtWDkX8q_aAwt2YRPQhIhe435hZQTKbZO2a__y_8TYGdqU/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-16%20at%203.59.44%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>Anyway the film is entertaining and you get some good views of Rome circa the 1970's when people aren't being shot or run over by bad guys.<br /></p><p>The film was written by Dardano Sacchetti who has a long list of films he worked on such as<b> </b>T<b><i>he Cat o' Nine Tails, Bay of Blood</i></b> and<b><i> 1990: The Bronx Warriors </i></b>to name just a few. The running time is a brisk 95 minutes.<br /></p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-28918920027011380472024-03-14T15:18:00.000-07:002024-03-15T03:31:23.298-07:001955 - THE AFRICAN LION, one of the Disney True Life Adventure films<p>File this under the "I'll watch anything" department. <b><i>The African Lion</i></b> is part of the Walt Disney True Life Adventure series which ran from the late 1940's until the early 1960's before finally wearing our it's welcome. The Disney company would purchase films from nature photographers and turn around and give them the Disney touch. A folksy narrator , a music score which at times could get fairly silly and a story line. I guess the films for the most part would be called documentaries but they are unmistakably Disney influenced documentaries.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzU73oTTFbrI5e9EP9BV3cvX2QNtUM2RbY1ML4TAY6lm_Hct22X-MOpeJSZ-UMFE4ktoFOZ_BLERA_5PP3XjdDshheWYRPlEZGjCd_LnpmzEOnmVgSfLvIasdQtiyipa0YZnWQzdTpzNtFG9l0mRuH7KEa76mPR7Z4lbrFhYlWxlojOfmZRY0qW3iYEg/s431/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-14%20at%204.47.19%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="301" data-original-width="431" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzU73oTTFbrI5e9EP9BV3cvX2QNtUM2RbY1ML4TAY6lm_Hct22X-MOpeJSZ-UMFE4ktoFOZ_BLERA_5PP3XjdDshheWYRPlEZGjCd_LnpmzEOnmVgSfLvIasdQtiyipa0YZnWQzdTpzNtFG9l0mRuH7KEa76mPR7Z4lbrFhYlWxlojOfmZRY0qW3iYEg/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-14%20at%204.47.19%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><b><i>The African Lion</i></b> is considered one of the best in the series. It was filmed on the Serengeti plains with Mt Kilimanjaro rising in the background. The film proposes to be about the life of the lion but it incorporates lots of footage of the other species living on the plains. Filmed in technicolor, there are many impressive scenes of the animals. Probably the worst thing you can say about the film is at times the narration by Winston Hibler gets to be a little to much.<p></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixAcWBTQS5FR19q3-H5o9Ob0CGwkJpWCIYhd0fbSF3XS_npU7KoSMKFTb-j2_vkgkv1R68i1cmczieF3GB61cVPAmOkLfH0e4zSSQkKpzBwDkxBC64G5a7EOkG-Mf4BOJw5x-KO_oo7v9Y71dCIfXlHF5MgETPyJzeVC_QkfcNr7UEbR4HB9leOiMHDUU/s551/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-14%20at%204.47.51%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="551" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixAcWBTQS5FR19q3-H5o9Ob0CGwkJpWCIYhd0fbSF3XS_npU7KoSMKFTb-j2_vkgkv1R68i1cmczieF3GB61cVPAmOkLfH0e4zSSQkKpzBwDkxBC64G5a7EOkG-Mf4BOJw5x-KO_oo7v9Y71dCIfXlHF5MgETPyJzeVC_QkfcNr7UEbR4HB9leOiMHDUU/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-14%20at%204.47.51%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>The film was written and directed by James Algar, but the real stars of the film were the husband and wife team of Albert and Elma Milotte who literally followed the animals around for three years in a specially designed truck to photograph them. </p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPN1paUTnernm04s1uNfd83Ns12iUPwCK8RQcbxUj8GnPBhE3q7Xev7c0LaMI-WLW3eaPKVKkSVejqRbGQb7BY7fc96jx5vQzbmyxu5HeErpaupcRVPBWLs7n893J0AeIcq8orbZ1Q1sB8ZG5XRP4uqlUyYk1bb33kO2urxwqyDvgZM4lYTfcRNk1LDsA/s492/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-14%20at%204.48.26%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="492" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPN1paUTnernm04s1uNfd83Ns12iUPwCK8RQcbxUj8GnPBhE3q7Xev7c0LaMI-WLW3eaPKVKkSVejqRbGQb7BY7fc96jx5vQzbmyxu5HeErpaupcRVPBWLs7n893J0AeIcq8orbZ1Q1sB8ZG5XRP4uqlUyYk1bb33kO2urxwqyDvgZM4lYTfcRNk1LDsA/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-14%20at%204.48.26%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>Obviously time has kind of taken the freshness off of this wildlife documentary. Advances in photography have made the art of wildlife photography easier. Still this is an impressive achievement and it is from a time when Africa was still a somewhat mysterious place. </p><p>You can make some valid criticisms about Walt Disney and the product he put out while he was in change, but you can't argue that he occasionally was willing to try some new approach to story telling. Today the Disney company seems to only be in the business of live action remakes of its classic cartoons or unending super hero movies.</p><p>The film was written and directed by James Algar who clearly organized the Milotte's animal footage into a narrative. The running time is a brisk 75 minutes.<br /></p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-33762428197794889552024-03-14T14:44:00.000-07:002024-03-15T18:09:22.713-07:001936 - AFTER THE THIN MAN, the 2nd in the series<p>This is the second in the <b><i>The Thin Man</i></b> series or make that the first sequel. <b><i>The Thin Man</i></b> had much to the surprise of MGM studios been a big hit. The series combined comedy with a mystery and had the advantage of two MGM stars who were extremely proficient at the sophisticated comedy business, William Powell and Myrna Loy playing Nick and Nora Charles. That film made a lot of money for MGM so the original writers, director and stars were back with <i><b>Another Thin Man</b></i> two years later.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjroCkp8lTcSrgEr-ZhUoP6GnSEyiDxyvOHzYzSwf_QcBw1fVO7eg1d3cwI6DOtn6KnQ4IZ-wOeFk5NxOmSlX3O6JR0fT1s55xxvzPPucQFOHhTOBlux6jeIn5FxNwdiWjb-5Zata6NOeK6EgxAuk5btpVRxdkY4yc6Uu9o-uR_aivwbfXUaAQ4JsI2Sj4/s666/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-07%20at%207.52.06%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="666" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjroCkp8lTcSrgEr-ZhUoP6GnSEyiDxyvOHzYzSwf_QcBw1fVO7eg1d3cwI6DOtn6KnQ4IZ-wOeFk5NxOmSlX3O6JR0fT1s55xxvzPPucQFOHhTOBlux6jeIn5FxNwdiWjb-5Zata6NOeK6EgxAuk5btpVRxdkY4yc6Uu9o-uR_aivwbfXUaAQ4JsI2Sj4/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-07%20at%207.52.06%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>The original film's formula was carefully followed for the most part but this time there was even more emphasis on the comedy elements of the plot. Nick and Nora Charles had a dog called Asta and you have to sit through a lot of his shenanigans which sometimes stops the film cold. The supporting cast is a list of 1930's actors, James Stewart (finally starting to get good roles). Elissa Landi, Sam Levene, Joseph Calleia and George Zucco (as usual planning a mad doctor). All these actors are at the service of Powell and Loy.<p></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij0NWdfGUMgkN8ckaYbWEYwxuhCthLE_o3fazjpiSvrd-dv-K0N10-au1FxB46eOeooCg5NhmE3it4i6p0A858Qv-SK61gb-bQr8dyjcQFd3b61qjsYeKUOxLqUPh1jzapkPKK4KqWweJXaNXWh5pV7sibEKsLerW5LQQmzzfH_rUnINCEQPKK8fnXWHg/s706/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-07%20at%207.52.33%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="706" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij0NWdfGUMgkN8ckaYbWEYwxuhCthLE_o3fazjpiSvrd-dv-K0N10-au1FxB46eOeooCg5NhmE3it4i6p0A858Qv-SK61gb-bQr8dyjcQFd3b61qjsYeKUOxLqUPh1jzapkPKK4KqWweJXaNXWh5pV7sibEKsLerW5LQQmzzfH_rUnINCEQPKK8fnXWHg/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-07%20at%207.52.33%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>The mystery plot for the most part is kind of a "who cares who killed who" story. The entertainment value in the film really belongs to William Powell and Myrna Loy, friends in real life. They play off of each other to perfection. They are quite amusing together as a married couple who like to have fun while solving this murder mystery.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGgegoNzQcr5QsdJVdrNUW8GdVQFayLwgbMromqCw3WmfPtqlqWTLBSABwl43Gnu6nzgQRQAcenRPKkcsFYgs7mgRY1hBBjtR9DbSHsAcXz2gh-oUBL8Gm-n3OUmtqWA1ZimMBzlqVFn2ldWv7_CA_vVZoixY9ifMJ_DFUQ1AM9GqoQSk6QM0P_EW9I4M/s622/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-07%20at%207.52.17%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="622" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGgegoNzQcr5QsdJVdrNUW8GdVQFayLwgbMromqCw3WmfPtqlqWTLBSABwl43Gnu6nzgQRQAcenRPKkcsFYgs7mgRY1hBBjtR9DbSHsAcXz2gh-oUBL8Gm-n3OUmtqWA1ZimMBzlqVFn2ldWv7_CA_vVZoixY9ifMJ_DFUQ1AM9GqoQSk6QM0P_EW9I4M/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-07%20at%207.52.17%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>The film has the usual MGM big studio polish, none of that socially conscious stuff for this studio. It was always about glamorous stars and glamorous settings.</p><p>The film was written by two of MGM's top writers, Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich. The director was the infamous W. S. Van Dyke.</p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-69571153270913785672024-03-14T14:11:00.000-07:002024-03-15T03:37:54.272-07:001994 - REVENGE OF THE MUSKETEERS, aka La fille de d'Artagnan)<p>This is an adventure story based on characters from Alexandre Dumas the writer of T<b><i>he Three Musketeers.</i></b> This original story has the Musketeers now older and in retirement. The daugher of D'Artagnan, Eloise D'Artagnan is essentially the main focus of this story as she uncovers a plot to kill the King of France and his advisor Cardinal Mazarin by a group of French aristocrats who want to take over France.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCnvOXF1qjkwJnvaVzL2M5GuKFaA6k2R3JSLsBJQ-UmZs5caTYtdkbP98C7BGt0yjzTvcI7EXXwuADe-n9JmTrwR8AD7LruQjb59n05VjCkZCKQj6FBqh6hD5crOjqbOBqfyvt9vsgJTBpt3JI7zR5QbTD7owM42b70smmfdfhfBCsnE0z1Lew8O8kYZw/s394/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-12%20at%207.07.37%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="265" data-original-width="394" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCnvOXF1qjkwJnvaVzL2M5GuKFaA6k2R3JSLsBJQ-UmZs5caTYtdkbP98C7BGt0yjzTvcI7EXXwuADe-n9JmTrwR8AD7LruQjb59n05VjCkZCKQj6FBqh6hD5crOjqbOBqfyvt9vsgJTBpt3JI7zR5QbTD7owM42b70smmfdfhfBCsnE0z1Lew8O8kYZw/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-12%20at%207.07.37%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>Eloise enlists the help of her father and a poet who has fallen in love with her and helps reunite the retired Musketeers. There's lots of sword fight action, a rather amusing comedy of errors type plot and the whole film is on the light hearted side for the most part.<p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXUfV7eMfb2Q5uY3BhjJYUJsRgxyHB1V-nmG3ezExVSeXxdYdNCl3t0VHJBMrnbZEyDYvOq2Hbqdw4Ly3qnzn6euq0kAaercpEkZ9UzJ6QKeTg7JFtgaOg220m-_PcKvhOOQ0hAF0AK53XFyinRjoB3pUtS_wkrwJTpNbguCQgIZPfvrpbEAKM9mM66wo/s551/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-12%20at%207.08.32%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="551" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXUfV7eMfb2Q5uY3BhjJYUJsRgxyHB1V-nmG3ezExVSeXxdYdNCl3t0VHJBMrnbZEyDYvOq2Hbqdw4Ly3qnzn6euq0kAaercpEkZ9UzJ6QKeTg7JFtgaOg220m-_PcKvhOOQ0hAF0AK53XFyinRjoB3pUtS_wkrwJTpNbguCQgIZPfvrpbEAKM9mM66wo/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-12%20at%207.08.32%20PM.png" width="320" /></a> <br /></p><p>The film has a good cast with a delightful Sophie Marcel as Eloise D'Artagnan and that old warhorse of French theater and film Philippe Noiret as D'Artagnan. The two of them play off of each other very well. Bertrand Tavernier a distinguished director took over the direction from Riccardo Freda who apparently couldn't get along with the cast particularly Sophie Marcel. This is fairly lightweight stuff for Tavernier but it is well photographed and well staged.</p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNMJop3Pien_DLEsb4TY7Nxsz7NfbDZY0SWZWx2NfN-5eMDKJAbJY9dDbN5T4CPCdpRLlz-D4_FfFz7NAL5s9lGsJncxB_pDrfCxJMVsAMCO8hKlUFh7dNQ-wXzkOv8l5CZsEnsHqmY-STbGRqNk4rWr-MkvyDQ1MZUwwgV_tBr3yfyHTvwAePfLdEtQU/s509/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-12%20at%207.07.54%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="263" data-original-width="509" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNMJop3Pien_DLEsb4TY7Nxsz7NfbDZY0SWZWx2NfN-5eMDKJAbJY9dDbN5T4CPCdpRLlz-D4_FfFz7NAL5s9lGsJncxB_pDrfCxJMVsAMCO8hKlUFh7dNQ-wXzkOv8l5CZsEnsHqmY-STbGRqNk4rWr-MkvyDQ1MZUwwgV_tBr3yfyHTvwAePfLdEtQU/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-12%20at%207.07.54%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>For the most part <b><i>Revenge of the Musketeers, </i></b>is a fun film with enough action and humor that should satisfy the viewer, Sophie Marcel really makes the film take off.<b><i><br /></i></b></p><p>The running time is 125 minutes, the film was written by Michel Léviant, Bertrand Tavernier and Jean Cosmos.</p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-45075779370155490692024-03-07T05:51:00.000-08:002024-03-15T03:42:08.701-07:002023 - AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM, it's not good, it's not bad it's just what it is.<p>Coming in at the tail end of the superhero comic book cycle, this film was a big financial flop. This was attributed to what is now called "superhero film fatigue," the audience was finally burning out on this genre. The reality of this failure may be a little more complicated. </p><p>The film slavishly followed the usual superhero formula. A superhero takes on a really powerful bad guy as usual. First he kind of whips the bad guys butt, then the bad guy comes back and really whips the superhero's butt and finally the superhero gets even more super and really really whips the bad guys butt. Lots of butt whipping.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZsufrISAC7Zu4mNrVtYZhcBbUh3Kv5A_U5Pz3ltAlA4TrqTXLGbgonTu0JuBSIS1pu0tU5rw3mwv3ksCfT6TNMXxdYKygZYOkzwpK4UbAdkMfUrkMlmtHN3TmqJGP23_97JQC9zYBDO7Xf6O4x3t6IoNfVaXx_KTwhpCqSgHD0z09F1Hsm0ujkiRFoY/s552/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-07%20at%207.00.40%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="552" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZsufrISAC7Zu4mNrVtYZhcBbUh3Kv5A_U5Pz3ltAlA4TrqTXLGbgonTu0JuBSIS1pu0tU5rw3mwv3ksCfT6TNMXxdYKygZYOkzwpK4UbAdkMfUrkMlmtHN3TmqJGP23_97JQC9zYBDO7Xf6O4x3t6IoNfVaXx_KTwhpCqSgHD0z09F1Hsm0ujkiRFoY/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-07%20at%207.00.40%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>As usual the superhero is a wise cracking guy with a joke or a smart ass line for every dangerous occasion. At times it seems like he would be at home doing stand up at a Los Angeles comedy club. There's the usual female eye candy girlfriend and the action scenes are completely improbable since they have been created in a computer by probably dozens if not hundreds of computer nerds. <b><i>Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom </i></b>slavishly follows this formula.<p></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ibcRVPnFQ0Zpa8fIC89BLekj78DTunpDCFFTkDWLl5arcRF-TXBibno3l5zvN9zPATaCl5j_3tbzjVcLRCLQZHwh6TCAp7DqYQ2D0MLQ66MdfbGsi23htLKjNaX5apAvlWSODaIIiI62L2kZVxZbWsVi2KPNU4DLN6KhRDhSqDeQ3JucmY593V7ACkI/s658/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-07%20at%206.59.11%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="404" data-original-width="658" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ibcRVPnFQ0Zpa8fIC89BLekj78DTunpDCFFTkDWLl5arcRF-TXBibno3l5zvN9zPATaCl5j_3tbzjVcLRCLQZHwh6TCAp7DqYQ2D0MLQ66MdfbGsi23htLKjNaX5apAvlWSODaIIiI62L2kZVxZbWsVi2KPNU4DLN6KhRDhSqDeQ3JucmY593V7ACkI/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-07%20at%206.59.11%20AM.png" width="320" /></a> </p><p style="text-align: left;">Jason Momoa is Aquaman and he handles the jokes fairly well, he certainly is pumped up either the result of an exercise regime or computer enhancement who can say? The film is colorful enough since it's set under the sea and has lots of pretty colors of fish and coral reefs and stuff.</p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx0_D15p_5IImxQ58tj-PyvTNNs744NAoKrpLdlq51pTAcpGq0jWhBueHImeuhoxCqDEiYXvFKs00e3AtWfnxvPkcSZ3GujAzgFfu8GIM7BqQDYbJKBIrf1nR1qU77o9YHq7Naw4A_NZGBqj8SEuKd_j7XRhv160Zag8BDcu6WHcQf9sCiIDxA1Mz9r4Q/s602/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-07%20at%206.59.47%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="602" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx0_D15p_5IImxQ58tj-PyvTNNs744NAoKrpLdlq51pTAcpGq0jWhBueHImeuhoxCqDEiYXvFKs00e3AtWfnxvPkcSZ3GujAzgFfu8GIM7BqQDYbJKBIrf1nR1qU77o9YHq7Naw4A_NZGBqj8SEuKd_j7XRhv160Zag8BDcu6WHcQf9sCiIDxA1Mz9r4Q/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-07%20at%206.59.47%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>This film really isn't the disaster that the majority of the critics said it was, it's just unnecessary. Looking back over all of these superhero movies from the last ten years or so it's pretty clear their lack of plot or interesting stories were covered up by lots of action and fast ADHD editing. I watched this film as I was counting coins in my spare change jar and I can report at no time did I have trouble following the narrative since there is basically no narrative to speak of. The film is for the most part competently made.<br /></p><p>The film was written by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick but five people take story credit which includes Jason Momoa and the director James Wan, always a bad sign. The running time is an overlong 124 minutes.<br /></p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-22419239155832171512024-03-03T09:17:00.000-08:002024-03-03T13:06:19.283-08:001979 - YANKS, disappointing World War II love story<p>The love story is one of the hardest genres to make a good film out of. <b><i>YANKS</i></b> would appear to have everything going for it. The film had the then hot actor Richard Gere, Vanessa Redgrave was as usual no slouch in the acting department and John Schlesinger an Englishman of taste would seem the perfect person to direct a story about 1940's England during the war years. </p><p>The film chronicles the romances between three American soldiers during World War II. Richard Gere is the army cook who falls in love with a local girl who already has a fiance fighting the Germans. Toothy William Devane get involved with upper class Englishwoman Vanessa Redgrave and Chick Vennera ends up marrying a local British woman. So much for a complicated story line.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSEnZqJ_E9p2VFq8O_OpUhcbQZUJJq-q0LQ5goW-nNCN2oQWuiZBBMuv3BMgN9gutUxViRk6eWb228uM-bkboVMbvjQ_eYzv8CZGiNEa6tzInfZHcHk89_XgsoSPt_18plAEihZ-QX6WNSI3MXyEFDpoQ7p16E6NxJU9ztGLW5HIEzbRoEARlYgla06bw/s592/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-03%20at%208.29.18%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="592" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSEnZqJ_E9p2VFq8O_OpUhcbQZUJJq-q0LQ5goW-nNCN2oQWuiZBBMuv3BMgN9gutUxViRk6eWb228uM-bkboVMbvjQ_eYzv8CZGiNEa6tzInfZHcHk89_XgsoSPt_18plAEihZ-QX6WNSI3MXyEFDpoQ7p16E6NxJU9ztGLW5HIEzbRoEARlYgla06bw/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-03%20at%208.29.18%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>An expensive production filmed on location in England. It has good photography, a large scale cast and impressive production design. If all those things could make a great love story <b><i>YANKS</i></b> probably would have been a hit. As it is the film moves along at a rather slow pace and good if understated acting and direction can't seem to generate any heat to make it a romantic classic, everything is completely underplayed.<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsdtdwAM6OYb2rytyshAMZkLxsLfJatONE2grK6-ORtkxLn4H9tzSfSwyIlkWyXPD89MW_79TSN5KrC8ewxAGlTqiTRZj9vb5OtcZ5l725MM0tU29V9b4tyBAyzgoLLdq6Cm3CZafQfMI-Xkn7WANMJaCPcPod8ghM9vMY5y5JeRQexBOPRUVYOtw2_9Y/s450/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-03%20at%208.28.51%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="411" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsdtdwAM6OYb2rytyshAMZkLxsLfJatONE2grK6-ORtkxLn4H9tzSfSwyIlkWyXPD89MW_79TSN5KrC8ewxAGlTqiTRZj9vb5OtcZ5l725MM0tU29V9b4tyBAyzgoLLdq6Cm3CZafQfMI-Xkn7WANMJaCPcPod8ghM9vMY5y5JeRQexBOPRUVYOtw2_9Y/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-03%20at%208.28.51%20AM.png" width="292" /></a></p><p>The major set piece in the film is a race riot at a dance hall between white and black American soldiers. While this scene is interesting it throws the entire picture out of wack. It's becomes two different films at this point. In order to teach the white American soldiers a lesson the British women end up dancing with the black soldiers. However this really doesn't ring true, say what you want but the British are hardly what I would call that open minded when it comes to race relations.</p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWLO2ppPlpi1nTaKSKVxFI5xPgVXjI7O64Hiwl47-n4fXcM0fiiho-RUZcggTH1bJfiwxH0vzN7irTOP3s2gg6I3yNID5fX6lCwNyVYt95QAGsORiesozWNqIRgmhjcKmhhZra7E9GlskS-_IX4768v3beSF7Tx1WTV4ms2BtQ_TxbLbapIjGWRRAOdQk/s756/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-03%20at%208.29.43%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="756" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWLO2ppPlpi1nTaKSKVxFI5xPgVXjI7O64Hiwl47-n4fXcM0fiiho-RUZcggTH1bJfiwxH0vzN7irTOP3s2gg6I3yNID5fX6lCwNyVYt95QAGsORiesozWNqIRgmhjcKmhhZra7E9GlskS-_IX4768v3beSF7Tx1WTV4ms2BtQ_TxbLbapIjGWRRAOdQk/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-03%20at%208.29.43%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p><b><i>YANKS </i></b> flopped badly, John Schlesinger got one more shot at the big time with a dumb comedy called <i><b>Honky Tonk Freeway</b></i> which featured a water skiing elephant, another disaster. That was it for him the A list projects dried up.</p><p>The film was written by Colin Welland and Walter Bernstein, the running time is an overlong 141 minutes.<br /></p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-19890667339929831672024-03-01T06:52:00.000-08:002024-03-15T03:45:51.836-07:001047 - BORN TO KIll, film noir with one fascinating performance<p>A lot of critics and film buffs are fascinated with this rather violent noir film. It is an unusual film for gentleman director Robert Wise and looking over his filmography it does stick out as something different in his career. </p><p>However for this viewer I found the film's plot ridiculous and the dialog rather stilted. Wise's direction isn't much to behold except for a couple of murder scenes when he rises to the occasion otherwise it's point and shoot for the most part. Only in these kiling scenes does Wise show much enthusiasm for what he's doing and it could be argued that they are are very influenced by his former producer, Val Lewton. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipWe78ZAqdIZLiycn-j6ozSEIby3B92RyJadfaGZ48UAMEd0nQkqqUOdba1RMsqSGv040vJsQT4wUgkyyou-R4d9whaFiA4s94_I9oC1T8dfodvfjGfeEHQUg5xxTwUVx3NZlbdZSUyYt-PLLZLUbzYU0xu1mCTXcPGwwcekskmrxzLARADnnjRIZMZfQ/s544/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-10%20at%201.23.07%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="544" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipWe78ZAqdIZLiycn-j6ozSEIby3B92RyJadfaGZ48UAMEd0nQkqqUOdba1RMsqSGv040vJsQT4wUgkyyou-R4d9whaFiA4s94_I9oC1T8dfodvfjGfeEHQUg5xxTwUVx3NZlbdZSUyYt-PLLZLUbzYU0xu1mCTXcPGwwcekskmrxzLARADnnjRIZMZfQ/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-10%20at%201.23.07%20PM.png" width="320" /></a> <br /></p><p>Let's get to the cast, Claire Trevor is once again the femme fatale scheming to steal her step sister's inheritance. Her step sister has married Lawrence Tierney who is a very bad guy to put it mildly, he kills a couple of people at the beginning of the film almost as a whim. The great character actor Elisha Cook Jr shows up and you know he's gonna be toast. There is a private detective played by Walter Slezak running around blackmailing everyone. Slezak gives the best performance in the film.</p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh61U6h15ugYj1uZRFtMPcuLU9eUNZAC3CM230DLKaYGnk1CR5hL_at8xt6NNMmyan_DrorSgLhCYJ8RNuJaOUghJRICd3ffLQQK2dbVs9oM9ZoayXMV5QG0W-2W70V2mz-1oWAnFo-HGeV7xaN0IcPar3N8Mq1P6RgpTf_Y4_BizCKoVakknkh9Dwj0RQ/s533/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-10%20at%201.22.23%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="533" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh61U6h15ugYj1uZRFtMPcuLU9eUNZAC3CM230DLKaYGnk1CR5hL_at8xt6NNMmyan_DrorSgLhCYJ8RNuJaOUghJRICd3ffLQQK2dbVs9oM9ZoayXMV5QG0W-2W70V2mz-1oWAnFo-HGeV7xaN0IcPar3N8Mq1P6RgpTf_Y4_BizCKoVakknkh9Dwj0RQ/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-10%20at%201.22.23%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>I honestly don't think this is a very good film but it what it has going for him it is the performance of Lawrence Tierney who is as scary on the screen as he was in real life. The guy is simply compelling to watch and considering his violent off screen shenanigans you almost expect him to attack and kill the cast and for that matter the production crew. His performance alone in <b><i>Born to Kill</i></b> makes it worth having a look at.</p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj032VZ780SWD6Weeb8z5Q9S9Gdf_AdBSo-Qn83yRgkG1n1LmKxvYJ2pzcNg97WyhYW8ualYv0BsQ4hd9erLOpJapaate83_Bw95UMwInBiy2DQ1smW-4qWk3jHKxb14Xo9a0sK_urT1UFVDYoEk7zKU5VqoqSkiFfKfeifaH1aTalp1AhmDrykQUYG9aM/s544/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-10%20at%201.22.08%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="544" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj032VZ780SWD6Weeb8z5Q9S9Gdf_AdBSo-Qn83yRgkG1n1LmKxvYJ2pzcNg97WyhYW8ualYv0BsQ4hd9erLOpJapaate83_Bw95UMwInBiy2DQ1smW-4qWk3jHKxb14Xo9a0sK_urT1UFVDYoEk7zKU5VqoqSkiFfKfeifaH1aTalp1AhmDrykQUYG9aM/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-10%20at%201.22.08%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>The film was written by Eve Greene and Richard Macaulay, the running time is 92 minutes. </p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-33911157164901700642024-03-01T06:21:00.000-08:002024-03-01T06:21:52.746-08:002007 - VAL LEWTON: THE MAN IN THE SHADOWS, modest documentary about famous Hollywood horror film producer<p>Martin Scorcese takes a producer credit and also narrates this documentary a brief overview of the film career of Val Lewton the B-movie horror producer who worked at RKO in the 1940's. Val Lewton had been employed at MGM and hooked up with independent producer David O. Selznick for a while. After the disaster that was <b><i>The Magnificent Ambersons</i></b> and Orson Welles getting kicked off the lot of RKO. Val Lewton was put in charge of their horror film division in order to make a quick profit on some of Welles existing sets.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMK7EGUWcf0V6xRPZoIiF_fuyypP4jVwbfqnK3PsEwRXoG1F7tByrwiHTqSWdMtQUoh1HTcs3I1YEc7_Q47w0VXntJoBW_opDgh_9IKUq_if-dxE35dn8PaPyhGGh4cliv3tAKcdS0-5VLm4LsdPUDazrkxKtcb9l0ha81O6TE3m2oUCeR6tpBZXM3Nis/s549/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-01%20at%207.53.26%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="378" data-original-width="549" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMK7EGUWcf0V6xRPZoIiF_fuyypP4jVwbfqnK3PsEwRXoG1F7tByrwiHTqSWdMtQUoh1HTcs3I1YEc7_Q47w0VXntJoBW_opDgh_9IKUq_if-dxE35dn8PaPyhGGh4cliv3tAKcdS0-5VLm4LsdPUDazrkxKtcb9l0ha81O6TE3m2oUCeR6tpBZXM3Nis/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-01%20at%207.53.26%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />Much to the surprise of the studio executives Lewton made some very good which in this case equals profitable, low budget horror movies using the existing talent at RKO . Jacques Tourneur, did good work with Lewton. Robert Wise and Mark Robson started their directing careers with Lewton and horror stars Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi appeared in his films.<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhER4x3lhDp-RV8iZ0XL6yesOx5liEv9iiGRvtS2CFGNMySZt7YYhiNiesJe1YWLhncVfF7XdhtkbwhPA7qPWVRWLl_mvxj4Ph5etxZlOYJZwEp85r6sXc3vM21K98ck2TOwbcq01qUdcPoSVu59gBbu6iTFUB4MANf7gbNhosJAB6AtSBaHV2ZfsGKcuY/s454/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-01%20at%207.54.32%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="454" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhER4x3lhDp-RV8iZ0XL6yesOx5liEv9iiGRvtS2CFGNMySZt7YYhiNiesJe1YWLhncVfF7XdhtkbwhPA7qPWVRWLl_mvxj4Ph5etxZlOYJZwEp85r6sXc3vM21K98ck2TOwbcq01qUdcPoSVu59gBbu6iTFUB4MANf7gbNhosJAB6AtSBaHV2ZfsGKcuY/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-01%20at%207.54.32%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>What sets Lewton apart from other horror film producers is that he actually made very good films. Stuck with titles like <b><i>Cat People, Curse of The Cat People, The Leopard Man , I Walked With a Zombie </i></b>and <b><i>The Body Snatcher</i></b> amongst others. Lewton's production team turned out what at times very poetic films in the horror genre. Many critics think that Lewton was a big influence on Alfred Hitchcock. </p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECzI8gP3dhl3XHxu79k_gq7X-VpLvqiwk7EUGO76mOaKasyrsY0wkE7UEmZI1d6dBOtPjkldoqTXe08NS0mQ0GtQAYlHwM3bh3nNsA6rucPzDdzSO5u67KsJI_8Ww2CsdyoiM4Vibgwo4siFsycMMytk5NxD0PguX8fZYvEGUNDzrcKZU-IFVLc0qcuw/s482/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-01%20at%207.54.12%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="416" data-original-width="482" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECzI8gP3dhl3XHxu79k_gq7X-VpLvqiwk7EUGO76mOaKasyrsY0wkE7UEmZI1d6dBOtPjkldoqTXe08NS0mQ0GtQAYlHwM3bh3nNsA6rucPzDdzSO5u67KsJI_8Ww2CsdyoiM4Vibgwo4siFsycMMytk5NxD0PguX8fZYvEGUNDzrcKZU-IFVLc0qcuw/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-01%20at%207.54.12%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>How's this documentary? Well it's all right I guess nothing special. It made me want to revisit some of Lewton's films. Scorcese narrates in a very soft almost inaudible voice. To bad Scorcese didn't take away some of the lessons from Lewton's film making style. Lewton rarely made a film over 90 minutes. Considering the bloated running times of his last couple of films , Scorcese could have learned a lesson or two.<br /></p><p>The film was written by the director Kent Jones, the running time is 77 minutes. <br /></p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-42329303673619398012024-03-01T05:51:00.000-08:002024-03-15T18:13:24.674-07:002013 - G.I. JOE RETALIATION, the follow up to G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra<p>Any movie based on a line of toys and a crappy limited animation cartoon series that ran in syndication is probably not going to be a very good one. I believe this is the situation here. <b><i>G. I Joe Retaliation </i></b>is very stupid but is also very entertaining. If it's a choice between Olivier's <b><i>Hamlet</i></b> or this, I believe I will come down on the side of the Joe's.</p><p>Picking up where the last film left off, the President of the United States has been replaced by an imposter from the evil organization COBRA. COBRA plans to take over the world with a series of satellites that can shoot radiation beams or something at major countries around the world. This is essentially the same plot as in a couple of James Bond movies, <i><b>Die Another Day</b></i> and <b><i>Goldeneye</i></b>, so much for story originality. The G.I. Joe team is betrayed and only three members survive, "Roadblock", played by Dwayne Johnson, "Lady Jaye" played by Adrianne Palicki and "Flint," played by some guy. Meanwhile two Ninja guys battle it out in the Himalayas for some reason racing up and down mountain tops. It's all clearly created with CGI but the scene is highly entertaining.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKftB0ZLTRUo8uHbuIkTQzP0rC6XDz_vmSO-g3MRmy60crR2fX2w9CJ_njB4Zx4AVGwxEh0fumXuk09Cpzuum4YdR7SdDmLg3YvUPF9T9TVaFu2EwjscZgxkCg5hWby3P_GvY__VJDsbxPvp1KYg9gVy441qB35LDV8jKntbOHDvh9rtON1ilpotJaQDM/s558/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-01%20at%207.21.07%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="558" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKftB0ZLTRUo8uHbuIkTQzP0rC6XDz_vmSO-g3MRmy60crR2fX2w9CJ_njB4Zx4AVGwxEh0fumXuk09Cpzuum4YdR7SdDmLg3YvUPF9T9TVaFu2EwjscZgxkCg5hWby3P_GvY__VJDsbxPvp1KYg9gVy441qB35LDV8jKntbOHDvh9rtON1ilpotJaQDM/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-01%20at%207.21.07%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />Well everyone shows up back in Washington D.C. where they team up with paycheck actor Bruce Willis phoning it in as usual. There's lots of fights and goofy gadgets (more James Bond movie stuff ripoff). The Joe's save the world with the exception of London and we are set up for yet another chapter in this series that apparently will never be made.<p></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjILk_pO9AN5rIPj7nBNP8ESic5_6hFhlHLv6T7SDTyz5Ola9AYaMlZ0SPaJzmZT8ZuTLnQKzWnR-JH32-x2U3vC9A52vxR7oI9LTN3w_3xo9xxxHMV_FZaMQKKgpaIKudpzbovGwWyLrn3jq6tyK8P_knp38EvAg76VVvANd166GOCFEko48w6DeruGkQ/s516/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-01%20at%207.20.30%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="516" data-original-width="348" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjILk_pO9AN5rIPj7nBNP8ESic5_6hFhlHLv6T7SDTyz5Ola9AYaMlZ0SPaJzmZT8ZuTLnQKzWnR-JH32-x2U3vC9A52vxR7oI9LTN3w_3xo9xxxHMV_FZaMQKKgpaIKudpzbovGwWyLrn3jq6tyK8P_knp38EvAg76VVvANd166GOCFEko48w6DeruGkQ/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-01%20at%207.20.30%20AM.png" width="216" /></a></p><p>Okay what does this movie have going for it. Well the action scenes for the most part are very entertaining. Dwayne Johnson makes a good leader and the film does clip along at a decent pace. The director Jon M.Chu is usually associated with musicals and there is kind of an approach to staging each shoot-em up like it was an old MGM musical number. The film is a very entertaining time killer and there's nothing wrong with that.</p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguo2bvezIsObZPxDj4701tm_G5prd84-nFbuoOT97J9u6fwQILg_LFjQBkjEGponJAG_Ahm_htPoGzzxUyGXriYFLZtNWJ6jkpHvAtnig8M4Xp6yVAKqyV3KavQuGpk-Hg4NyNd5lYD-zaBRBR95qWhNrlYo2qyGEmW9OaaWGSZeA_fkvnLwcaaOwzJBo/s553/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-01%20at%207.20.05%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="295" data-original-width="553" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguo2bvezIsObZPxDj4701tm_G5prd84-nFbuoOT97J9u6fwQILg_LFjQBkjEGponJAG_Ahm_htPoGzzxUyGXriYFLZtNWJ6jkpHvAtnig8M4Xp6yVAKqyV3KavQuGpk-Hg4NyNd5lYD-zaBRBR95qWhNrlYo2qyGEmW9OaaWGSZeA_fkvnLwcaaOwzJBo/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-01%20at%207.20.05%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>Amusingly Channing Tatum was in the first G. I. Joe movie but wanted out probably after reading the screenplay so they killed him off towards the beginning of the film. All the better, Dwayne Johnson is more than manly enough to take over his job.</p><p>The film was written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick who specialize in these kind of films, the running time is 110 minutes.</p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-32397619151923094892024-02-28T07:26:00.000-08:002024-03-01T05:11:03.506-08:001967 - THE ONE ARMED SWORDSMAN, a very good Shaw Brothers film<p>Growing up, a person could usually find something called Kung Fu Theater on your afternoon television lineup. Kung Fu Theater was usually some poorly dubbed marital arts film from the Shaw Brothers or some other company which had a lot of weird mannered Kung Fu fighting that was usually filmed on some phony studio sets. Rarely did these films actually film on outside locations.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSx5DljLwzPklH1WRfch7ezZF-pAEmr2lnGstVatppgiF_Kv6FAKiSDUS4UfoSmmH6aMzGN3q9sG5iCLMfSxpr-RxzMlFFHZzNO44tUKLN8S3RHSCz6t35P6y3GBYR3nJfxu_TzGfyz7iLQiY0F90e97hyphenhyphenL24FtrVBH1YuExDPIHnuwOO1in3r7VLzKp8/s592/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-26%20at%209.05.36%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="248" data-original-width="592" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSx5DljLwzPklH1WRfch7ezZF-pAEmr2lnGstVatppgiF_Kv6FAKiSDUS4UfoSmmH6aMzGN3q9sG5iCLMfSxpr-RxzMlFFHZzNO44tUKLN8S3RHSCz6t35P6y3GBYR3nJfxu_TzGfyz7iLQiY0F90e97hyphenhyphenL24FtrVBH1YuExDPIHnuwOO1in3r7VLzKp8/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-26%20at%209.05.36%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>For all the poor quality of many of these films some of them did actually stand out as good films, <b><i>The One Armed Swordsman</i></b> is one of the best. The plot in a nutshell, Fang Kang a promising student of the The Golden Sword school ends up losing his arm after he rejects the daughter of the school. In a jealous rage, she manages to wack one of his arms off. Fang Kang ends up being nursed back to health by a farmer and his daughter. While recovering he learns to cope with his disability and becomes a talented and formidable martial arts swordsman. <p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmHlrcelvTKrGRll6_5HFQVysQQqS2BuTpfVHO0mdOc2v8lbYV6qOtqGb20lOzeFKu5vQIQkA7_CRrwa5u4XPR1zpYDriZ78ihMl6yR7As2Uw0Z3OLtZ8BF9gpL9ch1y-3Kvtf9Of1axZjQDkoJCctYGv9bN5fKkxgqik7aARmqrUlX-CnDIEg1sRov9U/s525/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-26%20at%209.04.59%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="525" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmHlrcelvTKrGRll6_5HFQVysQQqS2BuTpfVHO0mdOc2v8lbYV6qOtqGb20lOzeFKu5vQIQkA7_CRrwa5u4XPR1zpYDriZ78ihMl6yR7As2Uw0Z3OLtZ8BF9gpL9ch1y-3Kvtf9Of1axZjQDkoJCctYGv9bN5fKkxgqik7aARmqrUlX-CnDIEg1sRov9U/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-26%20at%209.04.59%20AM.png" width="320" /></a> <br /></p><p>This film is well directed by one of the masters of the genre, Chang Cheh. The film has plenty of the usual martial arts action but in this film there is a decent amount of attention payed to the motives of the characters for a change. The viewer comes away with a pretty entertaining film which for once deepens and creates a context for the motivations of the various people in the story. Usually in these films it's just a lot of silly flying through the air and jumping around for no particular reason.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn3IRxhzSXCQyL4ghxh3NaH5ZIMIhgLRlqZqMBlb3AHUjApKPgGy9BdonQMue18bt-ieKnrYGiCzN-13q0inQW3MguhJd5T0nDgV6EficjLri1Ai0DhmqFUWT6MtGuTJDePtj9pGGAIAK0JYmab0N8l80wG_hvkKl8FwVQuDzf7-X6laiFUCc2TbOUbLY/s487/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-26%20at%209.05.10%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="245" data-original-width="487" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn3IRxhzSXCQyL4ghxh3NaH5ZIMIhgLRlqZqMBlb3AHUjApKPgGy9BdonQMue18bt-ieKnrYGiCzN-13q0inQW3MguhJd5T0nDgV6EficjLri1Ai0DhmqFUWT6MtGuTJDePtj9pGGAIAK0JYmab0N8l80wG_hvkKl8FwVQuDzf7-X6laiFUCc2TbOUbLY/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-26%20at%209.05.10%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p><b><i>The One Armed Swordsman</i></b> is one the best films in the wuxia genre<b><i>.</i></b></p><p><b><i>The film was written by </i></b>Chang Cheh and Ni Kuang. The running time is 117 minutes<br /></p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-15773728128676248982024-02-27T12:46:00.000-08:002024-02-27T12:46:29.116-08:001987 - A TAXING WOMAN, a film about an heroic tax auditor<p>This is Juzo Itami's follow up to his ramen noodle epic <b><i>Tampopo </i></b>and is equally as entertaining. The film again stars Tsutomu Yamazaki and Nobuko Miyamoto although this time playing very different characters than they did in <b><i>Tampopo. </i></b></p><p><b><i></i></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd76dcal9GV6__GiSBf9FanJrA4tYfyyJFopuP9IV_eg9YfWGdcVJlfsvduTu8jUMKKC_l9CZSd3glLvmQpBk9EqpLpKK3OlF3VrioxNg-Eyt4co0THfZmBQn9T_ao_e9LAQ_wUBqsTGMpvjrVPX5lJ4O-ucXCa-6R_-4gRM79t-pWaA2WvHZ_mSipqfo/s516/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-16%20at%202.33.30%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="516" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd76dcal9GV6__GiSBf9FanJrA4tYfyyJFopuP9IV_eg9YfWGdcVJlfsvduTu8jUMKKC_l9CZSd3glLvmQpBk9EqpLpKK3OlF3VrioxNg-Eyt4co0THfZmBQn9T_ao_e9LAQ_wUBqsTGMpvjrVPX5lJ4O-ucXCa-6R_-4gRM79t-pWaA2WvHZ_mSipqfo/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-16%20at%202.33.30%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></i></b></div>It seems in the 1980's the Japanese government had some of the highest tax rates in the world. This fostered a climate where many Japanese citizens attempted to hid their wealth from the government instead of being taxed to death. The plot of <i><b>A Taxing Woman</b></i> is basically Nobuko Miyamoto playing a very sharp tax inspector who matches wits with Tsutomu Tamazaki a business man who owns a series of for want of a better word "sex hotels." <p></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <b><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjvVk9VQx0WuMwZK3BBa2qdIhvbz6DKw2GLM9p-2z7hwkyWrAeq6B1JX4X1wIHn5_QtYZZJNhhx6KjwIgOLS72rf45LrFWc9KIh8vlUAf6oUw_2F7qP-LjEoiHv6s0Itr_BHLCgYArGyP6yLqLlxFjHCjjSVUtbS1lXb9P0IW6uzFxYc2cen-vK1rc21A/s481/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-16%20at%202.34.33%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="335" data-original-width="481" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjvVk9VQx0WuMwZK3BBa2qdIhvbz6DKw2GLM9p-2z7hwkyWrAeq6B1JX4X1wIHn5_QtYZZJNhhx6KjwIgOLS72rf45LrFWc9KIh8vlUAf6oUw_2F7qP-LjEoiHv6s0Itr_BHLCgYArGyP6yLqLlxFjHCjjSVUtbS1lXb9P0IW6uzFxYc2cen-vK1rc21A/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-16%20at%202.34.33%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></i></b></p><p>You would have to give Juzo Itami credit, it would seem almost impossible that a film could be made out of not paying your taxes and have the heroic tax inspector detective played by a woman. The film has a lot of interesting and amusing encounters with the Japanese public as they attempt to outsmart the Japanese National Tax Agency. A high recommendation for this film.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <b><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoxOhwwJR5TVI1tBc01HCxafHw_dRMO7PzinVU8n4_m52UsVSbngtr0StwtCCDicZ0hgykBRO0XxUVqHAWxB_6yQZuPM-WzMiWp7pLnsSfJShQ596KorrcvOGPX9rLIo8HJhsrYyW470WWX4rg-QfG_wEmVJwPZ0TPs1l9SfEDLFf3d7EwptifWRcYs2Q/s473/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-16%20at%202.33.53%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="473" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoxOhwwJR5TVI1tBc01HCxafHw_dRMO7PzinVU8n4_m52UsVSbngtr0StwtCCDicZ0hgykBRO0XxUVqHAWxB_6yQZuPM-WzMiWp7pLnsSfJShQ596KorrcvOGPX9rLIo8HJhsrYyW470WWX4rg-QfG_wEmVJwPZ0TPs1l9SfEDLFf3d7EwptifWRcYs2Q/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-16%20at%202.33.53%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></i></b></p><p><b><i>A Taxing Woman</i></b> was a big hit in Japan and unsurprisingly led to a sequel called what else, <i><b>A Taxing Woman Returns.</b></i></p><p>Written by Juzo Itami, the running time is 127 minutes.<br /></p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-65018507837505435742024-02-25T11:47:00.000-08:002024-02-25T11:51:44.288-08:001974 - KILLDOZER!, the possessed bulldozer classic<p> Deliriously goofy made for TV movie from the mid 1970's. The ABC network had something on their schedule called "The Movie of the Week." Essentially they were low budget films that fit a 90 minute time slot on Tuesday nights. The stories skewed heavily towards low rent science fiction and/or horror genre plots. <b><i>Killdozer!</i></b> managed to cover both of these genres. </p><p>In brief, an alien entity comes down to earth and happens to crash on an island where a construction crew is building a landing strip. The entity possesses a bulldozer which proceeds to kill the construction crew one at a time. This film was clearly trolling in the same waters as <b><i>Duel</i></b> the made for TV classic that put Steven Spielberg on the map as a director to watch. I would even venture to say that Stephen King in his B-movie classic <b><i><a href="http://lookmeintheeye-dugan.blogspot.com/search/label/STEPHEN%20KING" target="_blank">Maximum Overdrive</a></i></b> took a good long look at this film before he created that classic. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1F7GP7GPCDrxGjlWWz916mw56MQwQRueruZuPAJTvjeL0bBb5CcOdJQ4J29hsKjbWfCWdpxRzzfUOohr7lJ7vyLKcXleYpmaVO-GdU55ELSaR9theoAGWT_yDECPiOtPfzijwg0tYkZMWJlL4Dd5G85r0gpz7-i5Yyh7mTKakqZKsjAITWL4y0vvmpc/s548/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-23%20at%206.15.09%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="548" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1F7GP7GPCDrxGjlWWz916mw56MQwQRueruZuPAJTvjeL0bBb5CcOdJQ4J29hsKjbWfCWdpxRzzfUOohr7lJ7vyLKcXleYpmaVO-GdU55ELSaR9theoAGWT_yDECPiOtPfzijwg0tYkZMWJlL4Dd5G85r0gpz7-i5Yyh7mTKakqZKsjAITWL4y0vvmpc/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-23%20at%206.15.09%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>The movie has a to die for cast of television actors, Clint Walker uttering the immortal line "come and get me dozer," Carl Betz, Neville Brand and James Wainwright as the leads. The film also includes two supporting players, a young Robert Urich, future star of the film <b><i>Ice Pirates </i></b>and James A Watson Jr, the only black guy in the cast so you know he's gonna get it right away.<p></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttnRr7_YJXk6FNa-G8fPpDdykwpEH9Px4XQZD52nctEI30BCVC8xexGzigm7bkw5u5OLt_w1ZMgjlW334s8QqbqqVWJpXflayZIihutsxiDLmW8k0Fa78Y247TGUsIWovF6SZr0SKVsRPGr5WXT91l8It7f7UVnSNDBXGWNOaLWSElsg4zWPCf5qRdyQ/s427/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-23%20at%206.14.11%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="427" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttnRr7_YJXk6FNa-G8fPpDdykwpEH9Px4XQZD52nctEI30BCVC8xexGzigm7bkw5u5OLt_w1ZMgjlW334s8QqbqqVWJpXflayZIihutsxiDLmW8k0Fa78Y247TGUsIWovF6SZr0SKVsRPGr5WXT91l8It7f7UVnSNDBXGWNOaLWSElsg4zWPCf5qRdyQ/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-23%20at%206.14.11%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>The film lists Theodore Sturgeon a noted science fiction author as one of the screenwriters. Sturgeon had seen better assignments writing for the original <b><i>Star Trek</i></b> television series. The director Jerry London was basically a TV guy who graduated to high class assignments like the miniseries <i><b>Shogun</b></i><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>, The Scarlet and the Black </b></i>and <b><i>Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman</i></b> to name just a few. You have to give Jerry London credit, he manages to stage the death scenes for most of the cast in creative ways. The killer bulldozer moves at such an incredibly slow pace, it makes you wonder how nobody could stay out of it's way. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV7fzgtRmrI-sxYjBVvtkQH-1yucwMWl2f1t8NX6047_oHEasvyVrJqPKOopRVdzfde8pbUXGfJyByT656fVfI_nySJ39EwuYSVIKiaqdru8mKE7BC1GdrpS_8jQQ4aDV31Lx8K7lfzzI4y95imHqIzAyKuOmr7uXKyhzo7sjS1_2iyyeyWWb0Y2Bhyphenhyphenvw/s413/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-23%20at%206.14.35%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="413" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV7fzgtRmrI-sxYjBVvtkQH-1yucwMWl2f1t8NX6047_oHEasvyVrJqPKOopRVdzfde8pbUXGfJyByT656fVfI_nySJ39EwuYSVIKiaqdru8mKE7BC1GdrpS_8jQQ4aDV31Lx8K7lfzzI4y95imHqIzAyKuOmr7uXKyhzo7sjS1_2iyyeyWWb0Y2Bhyphenhyphenvw/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-23%20at%206.14.35%20AM.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Killdozer!</i></b> was written by Ed </span>MacKillop and Theodore Sturgeon, the running time is 76 minutes, 45 minutes of it are spent setting up this ridiculous but entertaining situation. <span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Killdozer!</i></b> is on YouTube in a fairly decent copy.</span></p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-51677697268945332072024-02-25T11:04:00.000-08:002024-02-25T11:51:08.968-08:001928 - THE SEASHELL AND THE CLERGYMAN, aka La Coquille et le Clergyman<p> This surrealistic (avant guarde?) film runs only forty minutes and to paraphrase Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) " a great piece of art but nobody ever wished it a minute longer." This early film is one of those mystifying things that show up with artists with pretensions get their hands on a canvas or in this case a movie camera.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid7UhndXYo2GeyZkLNZOZXQeyArZ5L3zHeK875EHSomXK4YPUZNl0XGwW3FW0BjIN-fUlgPfTha0ANO5C-3Q0RfmG3WKIJuhWKE-0tPRKXk1x6X5pOU_Kh07LAd8qr-KS84aQZ_6z6Wfhvxhip3t4HAUiy1GcjdSSsMFMwUQgluJdST7Cd_JxYKyz6xZA/s546/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-25%20at%2012.32.24%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="323" data-original-width="546" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid7UhndXYo2GeyZkLNZOZXQeyArZ5L3zHeK875EHSomXK4YPUZNl0XGwW3FW0BjIN-fUlgPfTha0ANO5C-3Q0RfmG3WKIJuhWKE-0tPRKXk1x6X5pOU_Kh07LAd8qr-KS84aQZ_6z6Wfhvxhip3t4HAUiy1GcjdSSsMFMwUQgluJdST7Cd_JxYKyz6xZA/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-25%20at%2012.32.24%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>The appears to have something to do with a clergyman who is attempting to stop maybe a love affair between maybe his wife and maybe an army general. There is much running around and the symbolism is apparently rampant. Glass is broken, the clergyman drags himself down the street, the maybe wife ends up having to expose herself and the army general runs around for no particular reason. <p></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4QZbixZdZkP_gZiBTmxq7_V7aXZ2BL-Ul6tZeL07LBvv8SCNCV0P78lBtUqq4zC9qPF6baT_wTDEBBGaYPbwlzm0HJSeQN8WFnCDfKAOKylbCgiZdjj-583rClcFx1vJof2V3IRcrHB-AMfX14cAcP3ppuSZvmkJddJd43l_SbfesqHbGY6aj59B8RHE/s472/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-25%20at%2012.33.03%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="367" data-original-width="472" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4QZbixZdZkP_gZiBTmxq7_V7aXZ2BL-Ul6tZeL07LBvv8SCNCV0P78lBtUqq4zC9qPF6baT_wTDEBBGaYPbwlzm0HJSeQN8WFnCDfKAOKylbCgiZdjj-583rClcFx1vJof2V3IRcrHB-AMfX14cAcP3ppuSZvmkJddJd43l_SbfesqHbGY6aj59B8RHE/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-25%20at%2012.33.03%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>The author o<span style="font-size: small;">f <i><b>The Seashell</b></i></span><i><b> and the Clergyman</b></i> Antonin Artaud claimed it was an attempt to photograph a dream and one has to give the director Germaine Dulac credit. For an old movie she was certainly inventive when it came to weird camera angles and lighting effects.</p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkFzovhO-klvuF2B9zV7-vbWrKlsGxgrRPTsLsapvjCunLIxq4Q0hLobFSts7ny5iXcCqVfWYD7i4cBw-4BWaNqR6p2BgSqhZrzoIyIVNzdwVwNDLDH_mFCwtgDWamgn8aWDuS46i93fy5ut8kmEvmd6PWvH13m5qVS3GSli96oQv7i8o9ueFfkwEjhIk/s863/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-25%20at%2012.31.53%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="863" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkFzovhO-klvuF2B9zV7-vbWrKlsGxgrRPTsLsapvjCunLIxq4Q0hLobFSts7ny5iXcCqVfWYD7i4cBw-4BWaNqR6p2BgSqhZrzoIyIVNzdwVwNDLDH_mFCwtgDWamgn8aWDuS46i93fy5ut8kmEvmd6PWvH13m5qVS3GSli96oQv7i8o9ueFfkwEjhIk/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-25%20at%2012.31.53%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>This is the film where some British critic coined the phrase, that the film was "so cryptic as to be almost meaningless. If there is a meaning, it is doubtless objectionable".<sup> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span></sup><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>The Seashell</b></i></span><i><b> and the Clergyman</b></i><span style="font-size: small;"> is practically a companion piece to Bunuel's <b><i>Un Chien Andalou</i></b> another short film that is an obscure piece of confusing surrealism. As another critic said "it's gotta be art because it sure as hell isn't entertainment." If you so desire the film is on YouTube in a good copy<br /></span></p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-19624968868360912882024-02-21T14:01:00.000-08:002024-02-21T14:04:46.301-08:001964 - THE YELLOW ROLLS ROYCE, one of those all star film stories<p>Considering the talent involved and there is a lot of big name talent involved in this multi character drama, it should have been a lot better. As it is it's just a passable old fashioned British time killer of a film. The film consists of three short stories all tied together with the gimmick being that in each story at one time or another a character owns <b><i>The Yellow Rolls Royce</i></b> which is featured in the film.</p><p>The first story stars Rex Harrison and Jeanne Moreau as an English Lord who slowly comes to realize that his wife has been cheating on him. Harrison is good as always and manages to make this very conventional story interesting.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj6KcGtdK_5I-LEqavuNuHcK-Y0ltqqLtt5j4fKx-MEOUQiY-c0F7nEM1D1I8EbnX-X1ah_JJzhI1bsn5Rjr3oYTUJoxATStWpyqlKKgfIKIL7CRFlS055BE6QCrlKYFbTo9k2RR26zOlLk0Sb-W4aG6CCDJqFDvG7Ig8GtsXGH0jLjxx3ezLrfGHjOqk/s551/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-21%20at%201.10.53%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="233" data-original-width="551" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj6KcGtdK_5I-LEqavuNuHcK-Y0ltqqLtt5j4fKx-MEOUQiY-c0F7nEM1D1I8EbnX-X1ah_JJzhI1bsn5Rjr3oYTUJoxATStWpyqlKKgfIKIL7CRFlS055BE6QCrlKYFbTo9k2RR26zOlLk0Sb-W4aG6CCDJqFDvG7Ig8GtsXGH0jLjxx3ezLrfGHjOqk/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-21%20at%201.10.53%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>Then it's off to Italy where the Rolls Royce ends up being owned by an American gangster played by George C. Scott in a hammy performance. Scott is engaged to a chorus girl played by a very shrill Shirley MacLaine. While touring, Italy MacLaine falls in love with French guy Alain Delon who when he goes swimming wears a very ridiculous swimming cap. Probably the only performance of note in this segment is Art Carney as Scott's right hand man.<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0V9PE2voAJ54I3ZRmRxAcDEIoUwsJ0Lhoo8cbWgGngbr7AeouzyVc8AQlBvTez1NgXi15N-witwlfMC8QTl5X6RZG5HpdcXqDXmLzEXTy5xJOz6NU1mrRM1NSrhYc2-sjZLrFDwC3zH9wxClUw81iTtA49KOc4mYwS0hDGplgI2hzcPYZaXTNbESVaQ/s551/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-21%20at%201.12.25%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="551" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0V9PE2voAJ54I3ZRmRxAcDEIoUwsJ0Lhoo8cbWgGngbr7AeouzyVc8AQlBvTez1NgXi15N-witwlfMC8QTl5X6RZG5HpdcXqDXmLzEXTy5xJOz6NU1mrRM1NSrhYc2-sjZLrFDwC3zH9wxClUw81iTtA49KOc4mYwS0hDGplgI2hzcPYZaXTNbESVaQ/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-21%20at%201.12.25%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>Finally the last segment with the car stars Ingrid Bergman as a rich American tourist who happens to arrive in Yugoslavia just as World War II breaks out. Bergman ends up getting involved with the Yugoslavian partisans in particular Omar Sharif. Bergman and Sharif certainly make a good looking couple. Their love story is probably the best segment in the film.</p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZpbhwHXVPGVodI46KULBIVjkBZL7fwXFTViy5s2uebQZa29L5iNWwO3fHbFwb6fWJ0XFTy0cgCwrFJnsl1sXs-_6Yy5E8L0YvNJxo7NPrM47YZrkIGYIY4KU0ue1IOi1gXm_-02s1CFM4_ii8nyIewzv23GlN59itiyhnrBJQ4T_tk8CYhIiZwzSl4SM/s372/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-21%20at%201.11.40%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="372" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZpbhwHXVPGVodI46KULBIVjkBZL7fwXFTViy5s2uebQZa29L5iNWwO3fHbFwb6fWJ0XFTy0cgCwrFJnsl1sXs-_6Yy5E8L0YvNJxo7NPrM47YZrkIGYIY4KU0ue1IOi1gXm_-02s1CFM4_ii8nyIewzv23GlN59itiyhnrBJQ4T_tk8CYhIiZwzSl4SM/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-21%20at%201.11.40%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>The film was made by the same team who had done another multi character film called <b><i>The V.I.P.s.</i></b> That film surprisingly made money so this film was a matter of getting lighting to strike twice.</p><p> The producer was Anatole de Grunwald who had an impressive career in the British cinema. The director Anthony Asquith was a reliable craftsman and the writer Terence Rattigan was an important playwright and screenwriter. However it's safe to say no one involved was trying very hard on this production. The film has that lazy shot in the studio look to it and it's kind of a clueless show considering 1964 was the year of films like <b><i>A Hard Day's Night, Dr. Strangelove</i></b> and <b><i>From Russia with Love</i></b>.</p><p>The running time is 122 minutes. <br /></p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-23955428633179168472024-02-20T10:41:00.000-08:002024-02-20T10:41:39.227-08:002005 - LADY VENGEANCE, excellent crime thriller from Korea<p>This is an excellent crime thriller from the director Park Chan-Wook who also took a credit on the screenplay. Park Chan-Wood is one of Korea's most interesting directors with films like <b><i>Oldboy, </i></b><i><b>Stoker, Snowpiercer</b></i>, and <b><i>Joint Security Area </i></b>to name a few. Park Chan-Wook makes very original films which are on the intense side.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqEbpgVWaXpoBgIFiZd4AhPuhOsbTfRjy3heyyhtDb6O8Q0MMYnaibfD8AEDPT9cHMugWQGT-qlNssjwZm6ePbMEy70U0ixBo6bEsldfOgcp4Jjm17_XHilQWFFQ2P06dqDHbqhiD0u5Dc9gKw-vtDePEgnmfmbbzM9X-fjv_78cOwOhBq35xhH1gQBBQ/s483/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-17%20at%201.45.02%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="347" data-original-width="483" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqEbpgVWaXpoBgIFiZd4AhPuhOsbTfRjy3heyyhtDb6O8Q0MMYnaibfD8AEDPT9cHMugWQGT-qlNssjwZm6ePbMEy70U0ixBo6bEsldfOgcp4Jjm17_XHilQWFFQ2P06dqDHbqhiD0u5Dc9gKw-vtDePEgnmfmbbzM9X-fjv_78cOwOhBq35xhH1gQBBQ/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-17%20at%201.45.02%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><b><i>Lady Vengeance i</i></b>s frankly a very extreme film. The story involves a woman who has gone to prison for the murder of a five year old boy. While serving her time in prison she develops an elaborate scheme to reek vengeance in what turns out to be a more complicated situation than was originally thought.<p></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgNKmG0sFJHAmqYOLp5esw2PAgzQCY2ynTzMQIqe93yZ5BpiCcVp6dlpXrEmriUW0e0DQLeEmtZdoSQQodzyAkyQPWF_70CO2wgvOd7PujPtOzL2thNOCmWrHTVNk5TsU1yyEndzkY24nfU7xsFxTPAs-k0lT6VXd1h86VaK6zGroQ-Asq1O4IodP80ro/s504/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-17%20at%201.46.49%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="236" data-original-width="504" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgNKmG0sFJHAmqYOLp5esw2PAgzQCY2ynTzMQIqe93yZ5BpiCcVp6dlpXrEmriUW0e0DQLeEmtZdoSQQodzyAkyQPWF_70CO2wgvOd7PujPtOzL2thNOCmWrHTVNk5TsU1yyEndzkY24nfU7xsFxTPAs-k0lT6VXd1h86VaK6zGroQ-Asq1O4IodP80ro/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-17%20at%201.46.49%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>The film is flamboyantly directed and the acting is of a very high caliber with a standout performance from Lee Young-ae as the titular character. I would have to say that the plot twists are at times surprising and quite shocking. As I indicated before this is a very intense film. I've been avoiding discussing the plot of this film because I am very reluctant to spoil any of the story.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpj0ftCaT_SIavievS9LIJCxcFg_1AUY83QIrAKZ8Jp-X-bwhiux3Y14CInD8bCuO09b4sHe6BVx3OczJMEK1rgAsJKXu9XnUNKfIkgZBwkt4ngrc_rZtmmXJryDrF1tQyINarR2UviVxtt-xNsWNbytGp7PH_6Gb_i6Sos3oos0pvDQejbFioyqsGk38/s542/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-17%20at%201.47.09%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="542" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpj0ftCaT_SIavievS9LIJCxcFg_1AUY83QIrAKZ8Jp-X-bwhiux3Y14CInD8bCuO09b4sHe6BVx3OczJMEK1rgAsJKXu9XnUNKfIkgZBwkt4ngrc_rZtmmXJryDrF1tQyINarR2UviVxtt-xNsWNbytGp7PH_6Gb_i6Sos3oos0pvDQejbFioyqsGk38/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-17%20at%201.47.09%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>The film was written by Jeong Seo-kyeong and Park Chan-wook. The running time is 115 minutes.<br /></p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-70842684012798724372024-02-20T10:15:00.000-08:002024-02-20T14:59:25.743-08:001941 -THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE, charming comedy<p>Looking for a change of pace from all the action films that he had been making. Raoul Walsh was able to get Jack Warner the head of Warner Brother's studios to let him make this lightweight but very charming comedy with James Cagney and Olivia de Havilland. The plot has Cagney playing a man taking a dental correspondent course by mail all the while pining for Rita Hayworth who is the titular character, a neighborhood beauty. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigqIIQnR2fz8YvQ3u0Gva1fbvNGnMhFK4f9jKz5ZEXYzHN8nqHWtE1fLckLdyx8zy_1i6a76WsxbifVe3Zgt9HfE-ZdrFnlxP-17BgHzy_qJZu6eV8vihIzCsg1SwRL6aFXRaCEZvxczQKTKN_17l4JD_hzBNEcMgzyJPnYRpEG4LyGd1JSqkcDh8P-1M/s546/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-18%20at%206.19.51%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="546" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigqIIQnR2fz8YvQ3u0Gva1fbvNGnMhFK4f9jKz5ZEXYzHN8nqHWtE1fLckLdyx8zy_1i6a76WsxbifVe3Zgt9HfE-ZdrFnlxP-17BgHzy_qJZu6eV8vihIzCsg1SwRL6aFXRaCEZvxczQKTKN_17l4JD_hzBNEcMgzyJPnYRpEG4LyGd1JSqkcDh8P-1M/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-18%20at%206.19.51%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>Cagney gets involved with perennial character actor Jack Carlson who also has a thing for Hayworth, but ends up being the fall guy for Carlson's construction business which has been using inferior materials to build homes. One thing leads to another and Carlson manages to marry Hayworth much to Cagney's disappointment. However Cagney finally sees the light and ends up marrying the charming de Havilland. Finally realizing he got the better deal when it came to a spouse. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxzxrdaALV4RUFpr7D9uC88QCoSFcvcGnWLYWO8tb8n8a_vWXB_qPz3I9ZVdd29cwc7uYRvrCsV0-lm7Mi5_gTG3ts8eh_XcgTdQZuuIA1iz89KjMPgfaIAuBSLArU7u4fI1Q4TGyesPRlGxW1yibCpUc6cgMOyWROLWmPA-v9YCp8h0nx0I-xD_JdH0/s546/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-18%20at%206.19.08%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="385" data-original-width="546" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxzxrdaALV4RUFpr7D9uC88QCoSFcvcGnWLYWO8tb8n8a_vWXB_qPz3I9ZVdd29cwc7uYRvrCsV0-lm7Mi5_gTG3ts8eh_XcgTdQZuuIA1iz89KjMPgfaIAuBSLArU7u4fI1Q4TGyesPRlGxW1yibCpUc6cgMOyWROLWmPA-v9YCp8h0nx0I-xD_JdH0/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-18%20at%206.19.08%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>The film is really a nostalgia wallow. The entire film score seems to be made up of old songs from the 1900's. The photography by the legendary James Wong Howe helps set the mood of the story and Raoul Walsh probably the last guy in the world you would think of when it came to directing a romantic comedy does his usual excellent job staging the scenes.</p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI1LlXmr5jilt4drFr6_b9mSEAIrv74L78dF2DAFojPrv5c8pD2zOG2cbmUKPCXvJVf2N9imxnVcgsCoiSYy4HUc0-97bgnU6jK-yS2Ri2jvkeFfXR1MOh9EMEM6aN45aL_l98cpTLM6xk2Vmd5AVeVA2V2DEw27woBmp05Q_EOW1L9J9mwa7J4mUSMm0/s550/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-18%20at%206.18.52%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="550" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI1LlXmr5jilt4drFr6_b9mSEAIrv74L78dF2DAFojPrv5c8pD2zOG2cbmUKPCXvJVf2N9imxnVcgsCoiSYy4HUc0-97bgnU6jK-yS2Ri2jvkeFfXR1MOh9EMEM6aN45aL_l98cpTLM6xk2Vmd5AVeVA2V2DEw27woBmp05Q_EOW1L9J9mwa7J4mUSMm0/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-18%20at%206.18.52%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>The film clearly appealed to an audience that was looking to romanticize a simpler time. All of the performances are good and Warner Brothers didn't cheapen out on the production. This is the kind of film that the "Hollywood Dream" factory could turn out when it was firing on all cylinders.</p><p>The screenplay was by Julius J. Epstein and Philip Epstein a couple of real pros. They wrote <b><i>Casablanca,</i></b> the movie versions of <b><i>Arsenic and Old Lace</i></b> and <i><b>The Man Who Came to Dinner.</b></i> The running time is 97 minutes.<br /></p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-14849270295266136122024-02-10T11:19:00.000-08:002024-02-10T11:19:20.819-08:001983 - THE SURVIVORS, redneck/right wing satire doesn't really work.<p>The director Michael Ritchie had a reasonably successful career in Hollywood, he could move between mainstream comedies but probably the genre he really excelled at was satire. The problem with satire is that it's not a particularly popular theme in movies. Ritchie's film <b><i>The Survivors</i></b> is kind of a case in point.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeU8OSoHhDMTBjkGrBGgZXhc-Xl60DItO2uln0nVYomDlNGTjjRpLKejHkaY5yx4Uxv33bZ2jcdAxTYPPkb0Tb9OuNsFpopwEa2ZDGSAb6qoacfjDJW-dMe8C_KsAP_U9W3uHGMDHQlIQi_jVCgmwg-CUGGrvc8hJLgbFMiyr3ysJHAT1BWGcXNmTGd-Y/s509/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-05%20at%203.41.58%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="509" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeU8OSoHhDMTBjkGrBGgZXhc-Xl60DItO2uln0nVYomDlNGTjjRpLKejHkaY5yx4Uxv33bZ2jcdAxTYPPkb0Tb9OuNsFpopwEa2ZDGSAb6qoacfjDJW-dMe8C_KsAP_U9W3uHGMDHQlIQi_jVCgmwg-CUGGrvc8hJLgbFMiyr3ysJHAT1BWGcXNmTGd-Y/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-05%20at%203.41.58%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><b><i>The Survivors</i></b> is about a couple of New Yorkers who are essentially beaten down by the city and the system. Walter Matthau owns a gas station and ends up losing it. Robin Williams is an office worker who gets laid off by a parrot of all things. Down on their luck, they happen to get mixed up with a robbery at a diner. The robber is played by Jerry Reed star of many Burt Reynolds redneck comedies. After identifying Jerry Reed to the police who eventually release him for reasons I can't remember. They go on the run from Reed who now wants to kill them. Fed up with being a victim Williams joins a survivalist group in Vermont where he embraces their philosophy of self reliance and shooting people.<p></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvoenGYUVESbhOBeE8jgZcVYD-CBT56GBEaOTCoKXfq8TLHUAr6R0gW4Mb-JT67_mSQs1mBcSE_-GXf8DZpNJbdxYryxcsZCfeiYeVn3kBxVlVTpGoWFX1yhy5qcXJvW1i0SZyirkv6nSPx-5gNYKAbbQR5CTZuUUZ71gmC0u3nDlR7wgS8dqSockvwDU/s547/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-05%20at%203.42.48%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="547" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvoenGYUVESbhOBeE8jgZcVYD-CBT56GBEaOTCoKXfq8TLHUAr6R0gW4Mb-JT67_mSQs1mBcSE_-GXf8DZpNJbdxYryxcsZCfeiYeVn3kBxVlVTpGoWFX1yhy5qcXJvW1i0SZyirkv6nSPx-5gNYKAbbQR5CTZuUUZ71gmC0u3nDlR7wgS8dqSockvwDU/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-05%20at%203.42.48%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>The story is a lot for a film that wants to be a comedy and particularly a satire on this country's mania for guns and the right wing self reliance philosophy. Some of the comedy works some of the time but for the most part it fumbles along while attempting to score some fairly obvious points about the silliness of the survivalist movement. There may be a place for taking pot shots at right wingers in a comedy, but this film ain't it. </p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqdPnTTABzrn8nkR-YZ0NO2Ho3Pw7HmGAATzosBgqUJZCfskZtAURsSLsnz5RsJz2gQ5SQfnM7W3hzsTvJjRsDVGsIobqh8RR3gIQdHVf_lSwt4C4nf9hixZKgj8tkteDRIDtW25r5Hj2TXX6GQVVoohMwfSnr7laS7fpSLQxkGtiG9TOgEOMdzSPeNys/s461/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-05%20at%203.42.16%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="461" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqdPnTTABzrn8nkR-YZ0NO2Ho3Pw7HmGAATzosBgqUJZCfskZtAURsSLsnz5RsJz2gQ5SQfnM7W3hzsTvJjRsDVGsIobqh8RR3gIQdHVf_lSwt4C4nf9hixZKgj8tkteDRIDtW25r5Hj2TXX6GQVVoohMwfSnr7laS7fpSLQxkGtiG9TOgEOMdzSPeNys/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-05%20at%203.42.16%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>Part of the problem with the movie beside the uneven comedy in the script, is the performance of Robin Williams in this film. It's been a while since I've watched Williams in anything and I have to say he's a lot more "Johnny One Note," than I remember. He seems to be in only one gear the manic childlike character he created in <b><i>Mork and Mindy</i></b>. After a while he gets very tiresome. Walter Matthau the old comedy pro barely has to move a muscle to steal the scenes they appear in together. Even Jerry Reed is funnier than Williams. In the end the whole thing just kind of sinks into one of those Vermont snowbanks where the film is set.</p><p>The film was written by Michael J. Leeson, the running time is 102 minutes.<br /></p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-42292470429927850662024-02-09T17:21:00.000-08:002024-02-10T06:53:28.952-08:001940 - FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT - one of Hitchcock's best films<p><b><i>Rebecca </i></b>was Alfred Hitchcock's first American film. Hitchcock had been contacted by independent producer David Selznick the mastermind behind<b><i> Gone With The Wind.</i></b> Selznick had recently purchased the novel <b>Rebecca </b>which had been a best seller. Hitchcock signed on with Selznick to direct the film version and the rest as they say was history. Although <i><b>Rebecca</b></i> was a success, Hitchcock was under the very close supervision of Selznick who always believed the producer was the author of a film. The resulting finished film seemed more like a high class Hollywood movie than a Hitchcock film.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyt7-Fto9sncZ6QHdyX5djvFhkcHPOeCcNTX8fZoexCFjE2QudBneTB2PHVZQuV-EMd8fkaa_nRZq4Bgk0r96ToZKyPK4rbJq7kP_nIV21D3Kz1Rgt5BT0wn7SZZk1cM4GbjmXnuQsko3CbtGrRFHNXxJdiQ2qvQlHP6pTz6oLOpJ0SeuDZfC0Gv4YBA0/s745/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-08%20at%204.10.08%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="745" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyt7-Fto9sncZ6QHdyX5djvFhkcHPOeCcNTX8fZoexCFjE2QudBneTB2PHVZQuV-EMd8fkaa_nRZq4Bgk0r96ToZKyPK4rbJq7kP_nIV21D3Kz1Rgt5BT0wn7SZZk1cM4GbjmXnuQsko3CbtGrRFHNXxJdiQ2qvQlHP6pTz6oLOpJ0SeuDZfC0Gv4YBA0/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-08%20at%204.10.08%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>Selznick loaned Hitchcock out to another independent producer Walter Wanger who turned out to be a more hands off executive than Selznick. Wanger essentially left Hitchcock alone to make his movie. Given more control over the script and production, Hitchcock turned out his first real American Hitchcock film<i><b>, Foreign Correspondent</b></i>. This was the real start of the American phase of Hitchcock's career.<p></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNMwPuyifL2DNjZxnGTQoPL2FHdgt5Vh5SQ6VNnxxeoxqedcO0Vdq1YiyouVxjZnQvrnh8ujhPMaqHhuRvstnRf2pF7bx-bMrUDIbQtBe_aATTaaWX3-89vhmcIDmuN_-3CJpYoplUyxDMxqCU6QXm9TAq_KDRr8YtWn-aCZOdhKvpP_KMWm0Dh1YbyT4/s625/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-08%20at%204.09.07%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="343" data-original-width="625" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNMwPuyifL2DNjZxnGTQoPL2FHdgt5Vh5SQ6VNnxxeoxqedcO0Vdq1YiyouVxjZnQvrnh8ujhPMaqHhuRvstnRf2pF7bx-bMrUDIbQtBe_aATTaaWX3-89vhmcIDmuN_-3CJpYoplUyxDMxqCU6QXm9TAq_KDRr8YtWn-aCZOdhKvpP_KMWm0Dh1YbyT4/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-08%20at%204.09.07%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p><b><i>Foreign Correspondent</i></b> bares some relation to Hitchcock's <i><b>39 Step</b>s</i> and the later <b><i>North By Northwest </i></b>with it's whirlwind plot and dazzling set pieces. Unlike his English films he was working with a large budget and some of Hollywood's best technicians courtesy of Wanger. In later interviews Hitchcock complained about the casting of Joel McCrea and Laraine Day but in many ways they are the prototypes for future Hitchcock protagonists and they both give charming performances.</p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp6-XgGAriJ_-DHEYhVameCZcq7vqnyZ_2qil3_kf8qC408ICWTx4T93ximXN43WuNiQfk6cVLrqPOvDi9MJQc2H_U1bS_pSxnFjN9UbRbE2GSzMguKnDpDVihjK3dRKnVrywem9_yyMrKpQg3Rqmr-wzVMMi6JgCHAVBVUui2nKc9JlagqeythZzwR6E/s537/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-08%20at%204.09.29%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="537" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp6-XgGAriJ_-DHEYhVameCZcq7vqnyZ_2qil3_kf8qC408ICWTx4T93ximXN43WuNiQfk6cVLrqPOvDi9MJQc2H_U1bS_pSxnFjN9UbRbE2GSzMguKnDpDVihjK3dRKnVrywem9_yyMrKpQg3Rqmr-wzVMMi6JgCHAVBVUui2nKc9JlagqeythZzwR6E/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-08%20at%204.09.29%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>This is the master director in his prime about to create some of the best pictures of his career using the superior technical resources of the Hollywood studio system while at the same time bringing his personal style to his films. </p><p>The film was written by Charles Bennett and Joan Harrison with contributions from James Hilton and Robert Benchley. The running time is 120 minutes.<br /></p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-3788301644780037932024-02-08T10:22:00.000-08:002024-02-08T14:47:41.760-08:002004 - D.E.B.S., silly spy satire with a gimmick<p><b><i>D.E.B.S.</i></b> stands for "Discipline, Energy, Beauty, Strength," it's a secret organization that recruits high school students through the SAT exam which has buried questions that ascertain if the student is possible secret agent material. The students recruited by the <b><i> D.E.B.S.</i></b>, seem to be mostly beautiful high school girls who wear tight tops and very short skirts. The story involves the <i><b>D.E.B.S.</b></i> attempting to stop an evil villain called Lucy Diamond also played by a gorgeous young girl. The plot twist or gimmick in this film is that one of the <b><i>D.E.B.S.</i></b>, Amy falls in love with Lucy Diamond and vice versa. Will Amy stop Lucy Diamond or run away with her instead?</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDPkxkTzdWZvFVspLt-qmWShJf0aT8vg6oNAzn-5-q6hOhyphenhyphenMAaoKiosGxnpnpjchXKvfKZlNbT7arOidzaX-IWKEd3rUih7Tus28X8OJNtKqFLWUzm43Ks2657KGbfS2rRdIhHDpj0EepVeRxEm_fIYGQhgZavGv2wgA12v7OA1T6eRW_FSOocnPFdirE/s854/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-08%20at%2011.10.22%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="854" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDPkxkTzdWZvFVspLt-qmWShJf0aT8vg6oNAzn-5-q6hOhyphenhyphenMAaoKiosGxnpnpjchXKvfKZlNbT7arOidzaX-IWKEd3rUih7Tus28X8OJNtKqFLWUzm43Ks2657KGbfS2rRdIhHDpj0EepVeRxEm_fIYGQhgZavGv2wgA12v7OA1T6eRW_FSOocnPFdirE/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-08%20at%2011.10.22%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>The humor is very dumb in this movie. For the most part a few of the gags come off but it's just a lot of silly shenanigans going on throughout the film. The actors playing the girl spies in training seem to struggle with finding their comic timing throughout the film. None of the girls really stands out with the exception of Jordana Brewster as the evil Lucy Diamond. Brewster's claim to fame is as the 10th or 11th banana in all those <b><i>Fast and Furious</i></b> movies. Only Holland Taylor as the head of the school knows how to make a line funny in a script that really isn't all that funny.<p></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGofGRT_9rZmAK6tGLeM29rFpmbMZ41WEpUlqLqpBsBEqsCnM1EzvW0keSdXt9rmmAweNmZqQsQHJhBIR9rjAkwCMtEMdijDl_sS8f5O-9Q58CJed15D653ciFTK2vs3ZuePmghzqUwAo8OYKLBE279tMelv7PgID4gdSuhntLfvYEdnI5QHC4otXYWE/s414/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-08%20at%2011.09.41%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="414" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGofGRT_9rZmAK6tGLeM29rFpmbMZ41WEpUlqLqpBsBEqsCnM1EzvW0keSdXt9rmmAweNmZqQsQHJhBIR9rjAkwCMtEMdijDl_sS8f5O-9Q58CJed15D653ciFTK2vs3ZuePmghzqUwAo8OYKLBE279tMelv7PgID4gdSuhntLfvYEdnI5QHC4otXYWE/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-08%20at%2011.09.41%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p><b><i>D.E.B.S.</i></b> actually exists in two versions. A short film that the writer/director Angela Robinson filmed which made the rounds at film festivals. It was seen by some studio executive who green lighted turning it into a feature film. I haven't seen the short version of <i><b>D.E.B.S.</b></i> but I have a feeling it probably played better than the feature film which took it's one joke premise and kind of beat it into the ground. I know that girls running around in short skirts with guns is supposed to be funny but it did seem a little exploitive after a while. </p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgibXeaLO4s0gL0t4kKhITc_tfyAdgYw3n-_wbdIYIKF2tI1_Dkul5TNn33iHxL1K0-2g_0TeaD3nYRXEpiYrXl4G9xw4c-4PlofF7l9sO0jvch_4C0OpI-I5atbOdNSw_8ggrq_a62rj9G3_Qv2HNw9LeYt2XuXarMzjDf_HL8GLg2pzrPRvsVVzxj-zo/s471/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-08%20at%2011.09.03%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="471" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgibXeaLO4s0gL0t4kKhITc_tfyAdgYw3n-_wbdIYIKF2tI1_Dkul5TNn33iHxL1K0-2g_0TeaD3nYRXEpiYrXl4G9xw4c-4PlofF7l9sO0jvch_4C0OpI-I5atbOdNSw_8ggrq_a62rj9G3_Qv2HNw9LeYt2XuXarMzjDf_HL8GLg2pzrPRvsVVzxj-zo/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-08%20at%2011.09.03%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>The running time is 92 minutes.<br /></p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-37983235165145159122024-02-08T09:02:00.000-08:002024-02-08T09:08:14.498-08:001981 - ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, Carpenter's cult classic<p>Recently saw this as a revival in one of those upscale theaters that serves booze and delivers pizza to your seat as you watch the film. The digital copy looked fairly decent and it was sort of a relief not to have the film bathed in pink on an old 35 mm print when I saw this film a couple of years ago.</p><p>It always appeared to me that John Carpenter was trying to make a "B" movie action type of picture when this first came out. As I recall a lot of the critics weren't very impressed with the film. What were they expecting <b><i>Wild Strawberries</i></b>?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSTkFMkiS0iLVog8aPZEXgOjC22fl_zrNsu35KOvtIKrEQug1EgAOK-aZJsE-soT8FwmQVo6QyAxyc_43lp-gnrYe8XiKOCmNUUQ36TkrfxYhDm8KmPv4hfGqaLYZAF5Rau5i0iHxwMW2EOeZqQYS-rHM5QqlBx_6aepVmSflN1dmsK9OEI_9YxD1dKuo/s442/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-05%20at%203.35.37%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="442" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSTkFMkiS0iLVog8aPZEXgOjC22fl_zrNsu35KOvtIKrEQug1EgAOK-aZJsE-soT8FwmQVo6QyAxyc_43lp-gnrYe8XiKOCmNUUQ36TkrfxYhDm8KmPv4hfGqaLYZAF5Rau5i0iHxwMW2EOeZqQYS-rHM5QqlBx_6aepVmSflN1dmsK9OEI_9YxD1dKuo/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-05%20at%203.35.37%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>The film played fairly well, some of it was a little dated particularly the screenplay which chose 1997 as the date that the United States sealed off <b><i>New York City</i></b> and turned it into a maximum security prison. Carpenter had worked with Kurt Russell before and choose him to play Snake Plissken an ex special forces guy. Russell kind of channels him as a variation of Clint Eastwood for better or worse.<p></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlNVyku1haPlFLqcS3M1zYjRenyNHB2a4B1T8A3f3bKnJGDW_0jcWyBchj5I-h8OXoA0xfcLKHt_0EZ6rZjR1OQXVg9KwPzRr2ExgvERmij3-KQ7FNzoR7liSHozG7yFf33Sz1VmhZas-Rn1wC7zUQ_KvEPhXdyuI64RnYfBRDpBoKeLxFv86BRjVYC6g/s502/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-05%20at%203.37.00%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="335" data-original-width="502" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlNVyku1haPlFLqcS3M1zYjRenyNHB2a4B1T8A3f3bKnJGDW_0jcWyBchj5I-h8OXoA0xfcLKHt_0EZ6rZjR1OQXVg9KwPzRr2ExgvERmij3-KQ7FNzoR7liSHozG7yFf33Sz1VmhZas-Rn1wC7zUQ_KvEPhXdyuI64RnYfBRDpBoKeLxFv86BRjVYC6g/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-05%20at%203.37.00%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>Carpenter also put together an entertaining cast starting with Donald Pleasance, Ernest Borgnine, Harry Dean Stanton, Isaac Hayes, Lee Van Cleef and Adrienne Barbeau as the big breasted girl. In keeping with the tone of the film it's a cast straight out of a "B" movie. Carpenter's direction is good, he was in his prime as a film director. He and his associate Alan Howarth created the effective pulse pounding score.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvlzYv9OCzwnOVBgmpGDv7ViSHbSxewhASJvx7c-N3D74IM_ZDypAvQAnm-9Y0O5EbVcqQ5lbicuI1aI0lsJp4uf9dKYguo7sOFaB_zD7aCclda8mymMFjATq25pq6Ga4LrZMyKS8C73cF5laQyuJUQHsOSbbdhFDEnwuclMRx3BSr20kTCi4vyscIfIc/s477/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-05%20at%203.35.54%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="477" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvlzYv9OCzwnOVBgmpGDv7ViSHbSxewhASJvx7c-N3D74IM_ZDypAvQAnm-9Y0O5EbVcqQ5lbicuI1aI0lsJp4uf9dKYguo7sOFaB_zD7aCclda8mymMFjATq25pq6Ga4LrZMyKS8C73cF5laQyuJUQHsOSbbdhFDEnwuclMRx3BSr20kTCi4vyscIfIc/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-05%20at%203.35.54%20PM.png" width="320" /></a> <br /></p><p>The cinematographer Dean Cundy had been working with Carpenter since <b><i>Halloween</i></b> and he went on to an impressive career working on films like<i> <b>Jurassic Park, Who Framed Roger Rabbit</b></i> and Carpenter's <b><i>The Thing. Escape From New York </i>s</b>till entertains because it never pretended to be more that what it was an entertaining summer action film.</p><p>The film was written by John Carpenter and Nick Castle, the running time is 99 minutes.<br /></p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-75792462777561807882024-02-03T13:16:00.000-08:002024-02-08T16:03:16.142-08:001952 - THE WHITE SHEIK, early Fellini film<p><i><b>The White Sheik</b></i> was made early in the career of Fellini, it's the second film that he directed. The story is a simple one. A married couple traveling to Rome are selected for an audience with the Pope. However the wife secretly wants to meet the hero of a comic book called <b><i>The White Sheik</i></b>. In Italy at that time some comic books were actually posed picture books with actors being hired to stage scenes instead of artists drawing graphic panels. The wife essentially runs away from her husband and as is typical, she finds that the fantasy of the comic book hero and the reality are a big contrast. Meanwhile the husband desperately searchers Rome for her before the audience with the Pope. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCVp4UudWV-2MzRSCfJ9nz6IH59Eee2Yunad671Kf8WwHWEtr0nQo3AtLTblj2lBajnYF2S7RlKBs1rP1yPgaE4cuqse87JV6C9cIrdEOzsblCxYmdvgWrlgMSloya9RL-5lsZyNJhM0RELoU9JMD-r9jFFvEZxbSsU1fyYdS4pop0TUI3OF7Be1ex-5A/s753/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-31%20at%2012.57.28%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="753" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCVp4UudWV-2MzRSCfJ9nz6IH59Eee2Yunad671Kf8WwHWEtr0nQo3AtLTblj2lBajnYF2S7RlKBs1rP1yPgaE4cuqse87JV6C9cIrdEOzsblCxYmdvgWrlgMSloya9RL-5lsZyNJhM0RELoU9JMD-r9jFFvEZxbSsU1fyYdS4pop0TUI3OF7Be1ex-5A/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-31%20at%2012.57.28%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>Interestingly one of the characters the husband runs into is a prostitute named Cabiria, who about five years later will get her own film. The prostitute is played by Fellini's long suffering wife Giulietta Masina, in what is essentially a cameo performance.<p></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI8r_IbeBLeAw_ka9b-XhhVmUQ7ad0MaQQnZ4mTANozCjedi8B0_T9S0brQ4ayL0ZqotDAA8dc1TGmR1Sv9PFD7wS8TKL8z06C2fVDfhxQ3Mej77P19I4iu8AvSikmnhJKWFmMtXUJwonYUyGNFwn_xTvCVrezxof8xdIiP2RaRGVLIauTibWFypf3vIA/s702/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-31%20at%2012.58.06%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="702" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI8r_IbeBLeAw_ka9b-XhhVmUQ7ad0MaQQnZ4mTANozCjedi8B0_T9S0brQ4ayL0ZqotDAA8dc1TGmR1Sv9PFD7wS8TKL8z06C2fVDfhxQ3Mej77P19I4iu8AvSikmnhJKWFmMtXUJwonYUyGNFwn_xTvCVrezxof8xdIiP2RaRGVLIauTibWFypf3vIA/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-31%20at%2012.58.06%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>I suppose<b><i> The White Sheik</i></b> would be considered a minor Fellini film but compared to some of his almost unwatchable films like<b><i> City of Women, And the Ship Sails On</i></b> and <b><i>Fellini Satyricon</i></b> this film actually plays pretty well. This simple story is in a lot of ways preferable to some of the overstuffed films he directed in the 1970's.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8hGnNBHExqnoXcb8OESFxvOoLxJbtbn8Sr36pmhn8kg-AmK-vz7Ks1fv3XWWmh8756F-5Kphl2VvNeEqMQqN4Xbvd3oNLlcZtYc67hao3-fEJidAFHQ0SvSB1fcch0KfedBT7_GQMfA3LdZP2-MyPLGjKAmpRn6ABQIg8AkQugwS-ypd8ngQR3RxufhA/s753/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-31%20at%2012.58.23%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="418" data-original-width="753" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8hGnNBHExqnoXcb8OESFxvOoLxJbtbn8Sr36pmhn8kg-AmK-vz7Ks1fv3XWWmh8756F-5Kphl2VvNeEqMQqN4Xbvd3oNLlcZtYc67hao3-fEJidAFHQ0SvSB1fcch0KfedBT7_GQMfA3LdZP2-MyPLGjKAmpRn6ABQIg8AkQugwS-ypd8ngQR3RxufhA/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-31%20at%2012.58.23%20AM.png" width="320" /></a> <br /></p><p>The film was written by Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli and Ennio Flaiano. The running time is 83 minutes.<br /></p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-86945272892979244332024-01-28T10:21:00.000-08:002024-01-28T12:46:15.108-08:002019 - THE GENTLEMEN, Guy Ritchie goes to the well again.<p>If you like Guy Ritchie's films you will probably enjoy yet another variation on his patented crooks betraying crooks formula which can be traced all the way back to <i><b>Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. The Gentlemen</b></i> is just another reprise of that film. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0BTsWhneg5ARISMFSlOGoPitCYrVM-n3fl9CCq2N4iFDWnKsio0YWybck4D-5yo854szWO7JGKsYFnG46SszNukozO0IjxfyYn0s_oLnzqlHbuxynhhKUxbY6PFeTKNhNInOvsC51yVyqTn2p1Tg8StykNqtEx51QsX7Z3lMi8ZLaiaC9P5113NeWrpY/s834/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-27%20at%2012.28.39%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="834" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0BTsWhneg5ARISMFSlOGoPitCYrVM-n3fl9CCq2N4iFDWnKsio0YWybck4D-5yo854szWO7JGKsYFnG46SszNukozO0IjxfyYn0s_oLnzqlHbuxynhhKUxbY6PFeTKNhNInOvsC51yVyqTn2p1Tg8StykNqtEx51QsX7Z3lMi8ZLaiaC9P5113NeWrpY/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-27%20at%2012.28.39%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>Matthew McConaughey is an American who runs a big marijuana growing empire in England. He decides he wants out of the business and makes a deal with a rich American billionaire to sell his pot business and retire with his hot wife played by Michelle Dockery (wearing very high high heels). Dockery for as good looking as she is plays a very tough cookie. Let the double crosses commence particualy with the involvement of a shady private investigator played by the amusing Hugh Grant.<p></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxB9fy-VBwGKQ1WoBF0O0IEjfWgEqWf4mTmYjTyz6cJxxKrFGPrOQnS7igAyWGrAkKwaPTj8JBEpcDLK_UuKZXWYfwYh7RLxSyeX-akxgkfT31xoUq0iwxyq96BbzpLdlu1W-c8Zrm0430mHhy9kjpx_SJPHy1kYFD4R-wte6qSplT09NqJy24McC1nNs/s765/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-27%20at%2012.31.16%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="358" data-original-width="765" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxB9fy-VBwGKQ1WoBF0O0IEjfWgEqWf4mTmYjTyz6cJxxKrFGPrOQnS7igAyWGrAkKwaPTj8JBEpcDLK_UuKZXWYfwYh7RLxSyeX-akxgkfT31xoUq0iwxyq96BbzpLdlu1W-c8Zrm0430mHhy9kjpx_SJPHy1kYFD4R-wte6qSplT09NqJy24McC1nNs/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-27%20at%2012.31.16%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>After lots of tough guy talk and the usual outrageous violence that Guy Ritchie specalizes in it all comes to a conclusion. As is typical you almost have to keep a score card of who is doing what to whom in a Guy Ritchie film.</p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1nn5dohkxULnetYN4jf6idUqM1ElW2q5hqSxBkcpEcrVKnl7nCiUgd-hZ3FbCfMowvKPMvBjVIFTsW-gV_iaFR2YKDPHlLKfKo9J2PFzeyKgWBV7IF4j473qqH7RS_eKSemdnZh9TIE5q7-GACN5bWkNAT53ujvtauQR0VMfkBbPbU9cToHVUgPUHXEw/s731/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-27%20at%2012.30.48%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="361" data-original-width="731" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1nn5dohkxULnetYN4jf6idUqM1ElW2q5hqSxBkcpEcrVKnl7nCiUgd-hZ3FbCfMowvKPMvBjVIFTsW-gV_iaFR2YKDPHlLKfKo9J2PFzeyKgWBV7IF4j473qqH7RS_eKSemdnZh9TIE5q7-GACN5bWkNAT53ujvtauQR0VMfkBbPbU9cToHVUgPUHXEw/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-27%20at%2012.30.48%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>For a Guy Ritchie film there's really nothing new here but I suppose it's a decent enough times killer with emphasis on the killer part since lots of people get knocked off throughout this film.</p><p>Written by Guy Ritchie, the running time is 113 minutes.<br /></p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-43781507786831728242024-01-28T10:00:00.000-08:002024-01-28T10:00:28.983-08:002023 - ARE YOU THERE GOD IT'S ME MARGARET, does not star Jason Statham<p>This is a well made and well acted but really kind of boring film. <b><i>Are You There God It's Me Margaret </i></b>is based on a popular young adult novel by the author Judy Blume. The story is about the trials and tribulations of a 12 year old girl who just happens to live in a really nice suburban house, has two adoring parents a grandmother who is very attached to her and attends a lily white school in the suburbs which has the usual token minority kids sprinkled throughout the classrooms.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdyjWsHBOtqttY-8Mv2KmqJitZwJLLuhbh5WA7W95nmX5rgrKqJGMm4xr0yVc9e1M2-_AAbV15HbY7kWXIRPExX1lTMRARdrlklMN2F9LjW6c3ba7klyMYKZ8toFWqAhrZ_KiNQ1Tt3aXd8m4pKVExFRsiW4K9Oc1LkYebkudJd7PFwEiQXlQnH-tE49U/s461/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-27%20at%2012.25.31%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="411" data-original-width="461" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdyjWsHBOtqttY-8Mv2KmqJitZwJLLuhbh5WA7W95nmX5rgrKqJGMm4xr0yVc9e1M2-_AAbV15HbY7kWXIRPExX1lTMRARdrlklMN2F9LjW6c3ba7klyMYKZ8toFWqAhrZ_KiNQ1Tt3aXd8m4pKVExFRsiW4K9Oc1LkYebkudJd7PFwEiQXlQnH-tE49U/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-27%20at%2012.25.31%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>Our heroine Margaret is apparently conflicted about her religious identity since her mother is Christian and her father Jewish. She has one way conversations with "god" and seems to develop an obsession with developing breasts and having her period. Now this may be all good and fine as a device to hang on a story. Maybe lots of teenage girls do encounter these types of body and emotional issues while growing up. However it makes for very low key drama to put it mildly. It's hard to work up much sympathy for the privileged Margaret.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0q9sg5q_dAeoUvNdO3mpXuxitjLiyPcVXCIkBmkGvXbIuh6OLDLB8Qvn9bhi0fgDr1FJ6JFkfnckiOq6mfX_lowQJWPp47oCO-mNxWiy58hA0hNGp5_wMkOzSxgX_GyEBOFdU3QXLWaPgdixI7Je8cVytdp6OUSzupfsg-1A9BbAPVFT9cLt2KnliHU/s825/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-27%20at%2012.27.28%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="825" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0q9sg5q_dAeoUvNdO3mpXuxitjLiyPcVXCIkBmkGvXbIuh6OLDLB8Qvn9bhi0fgDr1FJ6JFkfnckiOq6mfX_lowQJWPp47oCO-mNxWiy58hA0hNGp5_wMkOzSxgX_GyEBOFdU3QXLWaPgdixI7Je8cVytdp6OUSzupfsg-1A9BbAPVFT9cLt2KnliHU/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-27%20at%2012.27.28%20AM.png" width="320" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> This film is frustrating towards the end. After about 90 minutes of Margaret's alienation she suddenly sees the light, befriends the outcast girl in school and finally gets her period. This all comes out of nowhere. The viewer is left wondering if that's all there is to this film.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Probably the most interesting character is Margaret's mother played by Rachel McAdams. She's a woman trying to find herself in a brain dead suburban neighborhood. The mother must also deal with her hard core fundamentalist Christian parents and their anger with her in her marriage to a Jew. In fact when we cut away from the mother's story to the anxiety riddled Margaret it seems like kind of a cheat of an interesting story line.</div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw1fXx4njgIhHc56eLPtflmRtc_Fr7E5NR_tv-BNKi9XbrT8T8D3NrgAIVCl_8kEYTv6yMX9pCu_tjlZxHUdWmBMySd4OGfC6IhyphenhyphenemUyDne32eC5b8SPHHGZcb2Cb9t27Je08qXSyIxAIhkVMgfDW4Pjqj3oEDoVGvPcoOEAAO2RDlDA3BARrhAStdyHM/s682/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-27%20at%2012.25.56%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="682" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw1fXx4njgIhHc56eLPtflmRtc_Fr7E5NR_tv-BNKi9XbrT8T8D3NrgAIVCl_8kEYTv6yMX9pCu_tjlZxHUdWmBMySd4OGfC6IhyphenhyphenemUyDne32eC5b8SPHHGZcb2Cb9t27Je08qXSyIxAIhkVMgfDW4Pjqj3oEDoVGvPcoOEAAO2RDlDA3BARrhAStdyHM/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-27%20at%2012.25.56%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>This film got very good reviews but had very poor box office. As well made as it is it essentially comes off as a good TV movie. The film just seems to have a very limited appeal to general audiences<br /></p><p>Written by Kelly Fremon Craig, the running time is 106 minutes.<br /></p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514199710860449218.post-62655948104450553902024-01-25T06:11:00.000-08:002024-01-25T06:11:33.017-08:002002 - THE FOUR FEATHERS, another remake<p>This is a remake and an update of the <a href="http://lookmeintheeye-dugan.blogspot.com/2020/08/1939-four-feathers-there-will-always-be.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;"><b>1939 film</b></span></a><span style="color: red;"><b> </b></span>about honor, courage and duty in the British Army circa the late 1800's. </p><p>Briefly, a British officer Harry Faversham along with his troop is ordered to the Sudan to put down a revolution by the Mahdi a religious zealot who is leading his "fanatical" followers against the occupying British forces. Faversham decides he wants no part in this war and resigns his commission. This prompts three of his army buddies and his fiance to send him four white feathers which in essence say he is a coward. The rest of the story is about Faversham's attempts to redeem himself.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqlF4Q7CtdC7ABVYw9YEG7pQrclbmA7DX_3pCCrWg5nDYVksbHkEslY7XuwcZvQeyxf6HrDcpSXeaHHT0_47TCItPAW4pzlFDv34ck2R-r3MAUKWwjznYGLu_GdAvt9yc9ogG0w-0LJMMn8K1wZYwIKDS_BO8tBLfLJpc4lr6_PXJ58MwzQCSlpcb0zc/s877/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-25%20at%207.39.18%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="877" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqlF4Q7CtdC7ABVYw9YEG7pQrclbmA7DX_3pCCrWg5nDYVksbHkEslY7XuwcZvQeyxf6HrDcpSXeaHHT0_47TCItPAW4pzlFDv34ck2R-r3MAUKWwjznYGLu_GdAvt9yc9ogG0w-0LJMMn8K1wZYwIKDS_BO8tBLfLJpc4lr6_PXJ58MwzQCSlpcb0zc/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-25%20at%207.39.18%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />This is a well made film. The photography and the settings are impressive. The big battle scene is well staged. The acting when this film was released is that old stiff upper lip stuff the British like to convey in their war movies. I think the problem with the film is that it is just a completely unnecessary remake.<p></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPY6mFFZh6WVskyrb5nOw3whpbiUVHKHN4_LTtEPKcH1QqoIWAWzy5XuEUjm4wu8TXUEwDqty00QTu1hvWkp01cyL6kh_mzXlqUoz5Z9lE52iA1FBgBO2gct17BzCzL23o47ZPMNG63dREYQABfC6uj78sR878a09JUEeBoY3qMxuvse4Do7ZPxtGgblo/s548/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-25%20at%207.40.30%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="352" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPY6mFFZh6WVskyrb5nOw3whpbiUVHKHN4_LTtEPKcH1QqoIWAWzy5XuEUjm4wu8TXUEwDqty00QTu1hvWkp01cyL6kh_mzXlqUoz5Z9lE52iA1FBgBO2gct17BzCzL23o47ZPMNG63dREYQABfC6uj78sR878a09JUEeBoY3qMxuvse4Do7ZPxtGgblo/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-25%20at%207.40.30%20AM.png" width="206" /></a></p><p>The film definitely lacks a strong point of view. Does it celebrate the tradition of British Empire building or is it a criticism? Hard to tell since this point of view is all over the place. When the original film was released in 1939 there was no question that it advocated the empire building fantasy the British embraced for a long time. It least that film knew what it wanted to say. This version just flip flops all over the Sudan as the viewer has to figure out it the British are the good guys or the bad guys. In the end The<b><i> Four Feathers</i></b> is just a nothing film with nice desert photography.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj62tK_4Eac3AFQN6kQRDFT1xPSC6xIaeHbmGq8-XSi5MjcQoTN9kz1OTxUJCVwpyuY62-ihU04meC0D5u1FtMEuHEs-dccnSroxSL8CSqVgZAQzGVmzHr1eGcJqshTd-J4QWqvekkqUc-tptoaAdE_PgRre44f1CdSKPw2tFCkZ7KpPXUu8yARGBQvfAg/s540/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-25%20at%207.40.57%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="302" data-original-width="540" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj62tK_4Eac3AFQN6kQRDFT1xPSC6xIaeHbmGq8-XSi5MjcQoTN9kz1OTxUJCVwpyuY62-ihU04meC0D5u1FtMEuHEs-dccnSroxSL8CSqVgZAQzGVmzHr1eGcJqshTd-J4QWqvekkqUc-tptoaAdE_PgRre44f1CdSKPw2tFCkZ7KpPXUu8yARGBQvfAg/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-25%20at%207.40.57%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>The film was written by Michael Schiffer and Hossein Amini, the running time is 130 minutes.<br /></p>Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101859497336844397noreply@blogger.com0