Sunday 31 January 2021
The Naked Street (1955)
A mobster springs a condemned murderer because he got his sister pregnant.
Standard crime melodrama is not too exciting, but is well-staged with a good cast.
Halliwell (no star): "Semi-documentary expose melodrama about unpleasant people; reasonably proficient on its level."
Maltin**: "Good cast wasted in bland crime drama..."
Friday 29 January 2021
The Dead Zone (1983)
A man awakens from a coma to discover he has a psychic ability.
David Cronenberg tones down his trademark gore excellent Stephen King adaptation in favor of a more subdued and atmospheric interpretation of the story - enhanced by Walken's sensitive performance.
Halliwell*: "Glum thriller with a fairly predictable outcome but some well-staged episodes."
Maltin***: "Absorbing Stephen King story...Walken's moving, heartfelt performance is the core of evolving, if sometimes meandering movie where (despite reputations of King and Cronenberg) the emphasis is not on blood-and-guts horror."
Thursday 28 January 2021
Patterns (1956)
When Fred Staples is recruited onto the board of a high-powered New York corporation, he finds his ethics and ambition at odds.
Electrifying business drama based on an excellent Rod Serling play convinces with its intensity and high-class performances.
Halliwell***: "Tense little boardroom melodrama with domestics asides, one of the best of the filmed TV plays of the mid-fifties."
Maltin***1/2: "Trenchant, masterfully acted drama of greed and abuse of power in corporate America..."
Wednesday 27 January 2021
Chloe (2009)
Suspecting her husband of infidelity, gynecologist Dr. Catherine Stewart hires an escort named Chloe in order to test his faithfulness. Soon, the relationships between all three intensify.
Disappointing remake of the French movie Nathalie...accentuates the exploitative elements of the tale, and the result is some kind of a threesome love drama - and this despite made by a famed director and a star cast.
Maltin**: "...sexually provocative - with plenty of female nudity - but winds up being downright silly."
The Mist (2007)
A freak storm unleashes a species of bloodthirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.
A monster movie executed as a psychological drama with a simple message ("We've seen the enemy, and he is us"), but with an extraordinary and downbeat ending.
On rewatching: A great monster movie for our times; the social analysis is even more virulent nowadays.
Maltin***: "Suspenseful and graced with very good effects, this is a monster movie in the classic mode. It also has some social commentary...Controversial ending is changed from the story."
Tuesday 26 January 2021
The Chase (1946)
Chuck Scott gets a job as chauffeur to tough guy Eddie Roman; but Chuck's involvement with Eddie's fearful wife becomes a nightmare.
Odd Cornell Woolrich adaptation hold's our attention with good Noir atmosphere, a capable cast and some suspense, but the disappoints with an unnecessary twist ending.
Halliwell*: "Weird Cuban-set film noir with a strange cast and stranger atmosphere. A genuine bomb, but worth a look for its pretensions, its cast, and its trick ending."
Maltin**1/2: "Mildly diverting melodrama..."
Sunday 24 January 2021
Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse (1933)
When a series of crime events terrorize the city, the police suspect the involvement of Dr Mabuse, a notorious criminal. They are astonished as he has been captive in an asylum since a decade.
Top-notch action thriller of its time with some madcap sequences revealing Fritz Lang's obvious brilliance, but - despite some claims to the contrary - it's less political warning and rather just simple entertainment.
Halliwell*: "Fast-moving penny dreadful, alleged by its director to be a denouncing of the doctrines of Hitler, but showing little evidence of being more than a very slick entertainment."
Maltin***1/2: "...less stylized but no less entertaining crime story - which even incorporates supernatural elements. Film was a subject of controversy during Nazi era."
Friday 22 January 2021
Johnny Come Lately (1943)
Maltin**1/2: "Tame but amusing Cagney vehicle..."
Thursday 21 January 2021
End of Summer (2014)
Wednesday 20 January 2021
Good Time (2017)
Simon, King of the Witches (1971)
Simon, a young man with magic powers, invokes the help of the evil forces in order to take revenge on a man who cheated him with a bad cheque.
The White Diamond (2004)
A true "Werner Herzog joint" accompanies a madcap aeronautical engineer pursuing his dream of a flying with a teardrop-formed balloon, but also adds amazing insights along the way.
Tuesday 19 January 2021
Mortal Engines (2018)
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Eighteen of the thirty-six founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1927. Standing, left to right: Cedric Gibbons, J.A. Ball, Carey Wilson, George Cohen, Edwin Loeb, Fred Beetson, Frank Lloyd, Roy Pomeroy, John Stahl, Harry Rapf. Seated: Louis B. Mayer, Conrad Nagel, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Frank Woods, M.C. Levee, Joseph M. Schenck, Fred Niblo.
Mark of the Vampire (1935)
When a nobleman is murdered, a professor of the occult blames vampires; but not all is what it seems.
Monday 18 January 2021
Street Scene (1931)
