To many movie fans, Die Hard is one of the more unconventional holiday movies they gravitate to around that special time of year, spreading its most popular lines out as if they’re carols or random secret Santa gifts. Although it is a more “modern” classic, I prefer the New Year’s wake up splash that is 1972’s The Poseidon Adventure, still one of the best genre movies ever made in my opinion.
While it certainly wasn’t the first star-studded “disaster” movie made by Hollywood, it’s probably the one film fans are most likely to name off the top of their heads if asked. Forget the two lousy remakes from 2005 and 2009 and that completely wretched 1979 sequel, folks. The one works best as a one-off with an all-star cast (most of which buy the farm before the film is over) and an ending that basically says “we don’t need no stinkin’ sequels!” simply because you can’t top all the craziness you’ve just sat through… Continue reading →
A few weeks back on an otherwise fine Tuesday while I was at the library typing away on a review or something at the usual table I sit at near the DVD section, a man came in with a friend of his looking for a particular film. However, from listening to their conversation behind me (the gentlemen weren’t whispering), neither could recall the title. As there wasn’t a clerk in earshot at the time, my encyclopedic brain clued into things quickly when one guy said “it’s about this black guy with a twin brother who’s white or something like that…” and without turning around (hey, I was busy and decided to help them out so I didn’t have to hear them gab away), I chimed in with “Suture” and heard both their heads turn around with a cartoon snapping sound. Not looking up, I smiled. I tend to surprise people sometimes with my head full of useless know-it-almost range on certain subjects
One guy leaned in like I was his new best friend and said “YEAH, that’s it! HOW did you know that, man?” His clothes smelled like he just ate at the newly re-opened McDonalds across the street and had a cigarette afterwards. My nose hairs curled up something awful, and I offered up the following nugget of truth: I’d seen it back when it was released and a few times on cable a few years later. To which Mr. Tobacco Burger (who’d turned around so his head was now on correctly) offered up his own nugget of truth. “I’ve been looking for this movie FOREVER, man!” (Edit: Okay, partial truth) – I heard it’s SO strange… I like strange movies like that!” I didn’t want to spoil his mood, but I did inform him that he should either ask at the front desk or see if it was in the database. of course, two or more amusing things happened after that, but I’ll keep you in suspense for a bit… Continue reading →
So, I was sitting around with a few friends a few weeks back talking about movies and such when the subject of Christmas and holiday-themed movies came up and yes, everyone agreed that It’s A Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, A Christmas Story and a few other classics were all going to be watched at some point during the Season of Greetings. Interestingly enough, a few very unconventional titles got mentioned during this conversation to the point that I decided to toss a few of these films at you in a post and see what you think.
For some strange (well, not so strange) reasons, there are a lot of very non-holiday films on some people’s Holiday viewing schedules with most set during the winter or with cold weather as a big part of their plots (but not always). Anyway, as I see you’re wearing those dodgy jammies and overly fuzzy slippers you got yesterday as gifts and have that cup of “eggnog “at the ready, let’s get started with three or four for now and pick up some others in a future post…
While reminiscing with a guy I hadn’t seen for close to 20 years this week, this flick came up in our conversation and I had to rush out to write about it while the memory was still fresh. After the great 1972 ABC telefilm Short Walk to Daylight and 1980’s compellingly crazy action/drama Night of the Juggler, I still say James Brolin should have stuck around and made a third New York-centric film to complete some sort of unconnected trilogy about an otherwise decent cop who’s having some really bad days in the Big Apple.
The former film was about survivors of an earthquake (in New York City of all places!) trying to make it out of some deadly subway tunnels with Brolin’s cop leading the way and the latter has his divorced ex-cop now truck driver character chasing after the maniac that’s mistakenly kidnapped his daughter. Neither is legally available on DVD (and it’s a darn shame, I say), but if you’re clever and know how to use the internet, there are ways to snag both gems for your viewing pleasure… Continue reading →
Released in the same year The Three Faces of Eve, 1957’s Lizzie covers the same thematic ground, albeit in a bit more unintentionally campy manner. Eleanor Parker plays Elizabeth and well as Beth and Lizzie, her two other personalities in this attempt at the “message” film sub-genre that Hollywood seemed to thrive on back then as writers and directors made more and more films with socially conscious and provocative subjects.
Although based on the novel The Bird’s Nest by Shirley Jackson and ably directed by Hugo Hass (who also has a small part in the film), compared to Eve and Joanne Woodward’s more realistic (and Oscar-winning) performance it’s far from a perfect film, especially when viewed today. For me, it’s the same thing with Otto Preminger’s classic The Man With the Golden Arm where the bulk of its otherwise deadly serious subject matter can be mined for comic gold because of some pointed overkill that may have been “shocking” in the 1950’s, but awesomely funny today. Parker’s role in that film was also well acted, but as her Zosh made me chuckle and cringe there, Lizzie here gets me grinning every time she takes over poor Elizabeth and starts gnawing on the scenery (and some poor man) to great effect… Continue reading →
Hey, kids! Happy Christmas (or whatever you celebrate) and all that rot! I had to open one of my presents early in order to tell you what my brain and eyeballs say about it, so here you go. This post is my little contribution to The Cinematic Katzenjammer’s Not-So-Secret Santa Review Swap. It’s definitely not a holiday flick (nor a joyous one), but you never know what you’ll get from Saint Nick when he drops something down your chimney. You just need to review it and hope you do a good job at it… OR ELSE. Anyway, grab some eggnog, pull up a comfy chair, put the pet of choice on your lap and read on!
I have a particular problem with most ghost stories in film thanks to zero continuity or lineage in the mythos from one tale to another across the globe. Yes, I’ve seen dozens of great films from mildly spooky to downright scare me under the furniture freaky in over 46 years of watching movies, but their level of effectiveness is more due to great writing and acting than these tales making any sort of logical sense from one to another. That said, after watching it twice, I can very safely say that The Lovely Bones is a beautiful looking, wonderfully shot and mostly terrifically acted movie that for me, was manipulative, frustrating and not at all satisfying to watch.
Even Brian Eno swiping his own music from tracks on Here Come The Warm Jets (one of my favorite albums) and adding them to his often ethereal score can’t save this film from its weaknesses. Then again, maybe it’s me being cranky here? After all, Peter Jackson and I have some unspoken grief beef ever since 1996’s The Frighteners made me want to strangle myself in my sleep after I saw it and the overkill of way too many CG effects and too much trying to be too funny and too serious simultaneously beat a whole theater of paying saps into a blue-green hued coma. That said, this 2009 film makes that old one look a lot more palatable and enjoyable in comparison… Continue reading →
It’s been a really sad year for film fans in terms of losing bits of history and memory as the months fly by too soon. Upon hearing that Peter O’Toole passed away, the first thing I thought of was that TCM is really going to need to update its TCM Remembers video to include the legendary actor (and perhaps Paul Walker, as he wasn’t included {not being a “classic” film actor and all} although Eleanor Parker, who died later, was).
The second thing I thought of was not the film he’s probably going to be most remembered for by many, David Lean’s masterful epic Lawrence of Arabia, but Richard Rush’s bawdy, bold 1980 film, The Stunt Man with the actor playing a madman of a director trying to make a bizarre World War I film with an on the lam drifter replacing the stunt man killed in a freak accident… Continue reading →
Amusingly enough, I wasn’t planning on doing a RFotW at all (well, for a few days at least) until I was walking home and realized that it was indeed that day where superstitious people go out of their ways to avoid danger and paradoxically set themselves and others up for accidents. If you’ve ever spilled a hot or cold beverage on yourself or someone else or the ground because some idiot was jumping out of the way of a black cat, diving past a ladder, threw a handful salt over their shoulder into your eyes or anything else deemed to ward off bad luck, you probably know what I mean, correct?
Anyway, taking its cues from !950’s “B” horror and Italian giallo films and adding a few (for the time) modern twists Sean S. Cunningham’s 1980 horror flick is to many, a classic. Granted, back when it was released it was labeled as “misogynistic” (despite a girl being the last survivor and a plot twist I won’t spoil here for those who still haven’t seen this one) along with a bunch of other genre films that put BOTH male and female characters in peril and if you want to see it as such, I’m not going to change your mind. However, when you take into account the guys get it as badly as the gals here, I’d say the film is shocking because it actually doesn’t discriminate when it comes to who gets the axe, arrow, machete or other modes of mean-spirited dispatching… Continue reading →
So, for about a month or so on and off I’ve tried to sit through Sam Raimi’s Oz The Great and Powerful, but it’s just not happening. Although the movie is loud, packed full of visual effects and bright and colorful in spots when it’s not dark and moody, the effect on my eyes and brain has been like riding in a huge mall elevator packed with noisy kids and pissed off parents. It’s just not good. I like pieces of it and some of the characters, but I can’t put a finger on what the heck is bugging me so much. On a whim to see if I’m just Oz’ed out or something (and thanks to an alert in my YouTube subscriptions), I checked the All Public Domain site and watched the incomplete 1914 silent film Magic Cloak of Oz and had a much better time with that. Have a look:
Granted, THAT film clocks in at just over 40 minutes and seems to be missing a lot of stuff, but it’s pretty cool for what it is because it’s so old yet so full of creativity. Now, I happen to like most of Sam Raimi’s films quite a lot, but I just could not stay awake through or have my attention held by this one. In other words, my sense of wonder was not activated one bit. OK, the little porcelain doll was cute, but I didn’t sit down to see a cute doll get in and out of trouble by the painted skin of her porcelain teeth. Hmmmm. A friend who saw this and liked it said I just need to see it with someone poking me in the ribs every ten minutes, but he has a wife to do that and I just have a bunch of plants that don’t do well if I move them from their favorite spot. Eh, perhaps I’ll throw on some coffee and try again in a week or so. I have other stuff to do and this flick is more a low-priority item than something I need to tackle right away…
Sergeant Dave Bannion has absolutely ZERO luck with attractive women in Fritz Lang’s absolute classic 1953 noir The Big Heat. Granted, our initially 100% by-the-book cop (ably portrayed by Glenn Ford) IS a married man with a young daughter, so he doesn’t need to be around the ladies he ends up getting into trouble at all. Unfortunately, in one way or another they’re part of the case he’s working on, so he’s like a black cat in a suit here. Nearly every lady he comes across in this film goes through some sort of hell when and after he’s around that makes him some sort of magnet for bad luck and worse outcomes.
It’s a wonder he makes it through the film in one piece at all despite the efforts of some bad men to keep him off their cases and yes, far away from those doomed dames. For its time, the amount of violence and even some language was probably considered shocking by some viewers, and in at least one respect the film still packs a wallop. That wallop being Gloria Grahame’s portrayal of Debby Marsh, girlfriend of Lee Marvin’s overly brutal gangster-type, Vince Stone. But Stone is the least of Bannion’s problems when he investigates the suicide of a fellow police officer and gets wrapped up in some other things a wee bit over his head… Continue reading →
To many movie fans, Die Hard is one of the more unconventional holiday movies they gravitate to around that special time of year, spreading its most popular lines out as if they’re carols or random secret Santa gifts. Although it is a more “modern” classic, I prefer the New Year’s wake up splash that is 1972’s The Poseidon Adventure, still one of the best genre movies ever made in my opinion.
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