New acquisition: Sight & Sound

 

The Brink's Job (1978)

Crime story based on the real armed robbery of the Brink's Building in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17th, 1950.

From memory: Professionally made, star-cast heist movie is offered with humor, but not much excitement.

Halliwell (no star): "Farcical variation of a much-told true tale. Despite much mugging by the stars and a frantic narrative style, it does not come off."

Maltin***: "Entertaining, comically oriented account...Excellent period and location flavor."

Cruising (1980)

A police detective goes undercover in the underground S&M gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer who is preying on gay men.

From memory: more exploitative than effective thriller seems to revel in the sleazy underworld it presents; still, Al Pacino does another great job in the lead role.

Halliwell (no star): "Alleged thriller with phoney pretensions and repellent detail."

Maltin*1/2: "...distasteful, badly scripted film. Gay world is presented as sick, degrading, and ritualistic."

The Exorcist (1973)

The Exorcist (1973)

The Exorcist (1973)

When a teenage girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter.

It's effective as a horror movie (although it takes an hour to build up the thrills) and counts as a classic of the genre, but the idea is still as silly as it was in the 70s; unfortunately, it inspired a whole series of likewise irrational movies loosely based on Christian themes.

Halliwell*: "Spectacularly ludicrous mishmash with unconfortable attention to physical detail and no talent for narrative or verisimilitude. Its sensational aspects, together with a sudden worldwide need for the supernatural, assured its enormous commercial success."

Maltin***1/2: "Intense, well-mounted adaptation of William Peter Blatty's best-seller, calculated to keep your stomach in knots from start to finish."