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GaryKoca
Reviews
Saboteur (1942)
Terrific, Underrated Hitchcock Movie
Following the typical Hitchcock theme of an innocent man falsely accused of a crime, who spends the rest of the movie trying to find the real bad guys, this is a terrific, underrated Hitchcock classic. Made during WWII, you cannot miss the not-at-all veiled Nazi references throughout the movie. The movie's hero, Robert Cummings, is falsely accused of blowing up a defense plant in California, and spends the rest of the movie trekking across the U.S. to escape the authorities and find the real saboteurs. Along the way, he meets a variety of characters, including group of circus freak show people, and an old blind man whose scene reminds one of a similar scene in the Bride of Frankenstein. The climax of this movie takes place at the top of the Statue of Liberty. I thought this film was truly exciting and would rate it as one of Hitchcock's best. Not to be missed. The only real weakness is that the film's stars, Robert Cummings and Priscilla Lane, were all right but not exactly in the mold of Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. On the other hand, the villains, including Otto Krueger and Norman Lloyd, were very good.
The Love Letter (1999)
Mindless Movie - Not Bad, just dopey
This is a movie about people receiving a love letter. Nobody knows who sent in and nobody knows who it is for. A good cast, headed up by Kate Capshaw, Tom Selleck and Ellen DeGeneres. This, however, is a completely dopey plot. As an example, the Capshaw character, one of the leading citizens of a small town in New England, takes up with an immature college student who works in her bookstore during the summer. She chooses him instead of Tom Selleck, the town firefighter who is crazy about her. If that isn't the epitome of stupidity, I don't know what is. Just an example of how dopey this movie is. Watching Kate Capshaw jog is a pleasure, but you immediately realize that she has never jogged a day in her life. Another obviously dopey part of a dopey movie.
Flash Gordon (1936)
The Standard for All Serials
The Standard bearer of all movie serials, the definite good guy - Flash Gordon - versus Bad Guy - Ming the Merciless. Though the special effects seem awful by today's standards, for 1936 they were top notch. But the essence of the story is the battle between Earthman Flash Gordon (Buster Crabbe) versus Emporer Ming of Mongo (Charles Middleton). Crabbe and Middleton are terrific in their parts. And the supporting characters playing Dale Arden, Dr. Zarkov, Princess Aura, Prince Barin, Vulcan, and the rest are all very good. This serial is far superior to the 1980 movie, basically because Crabbe is much much superior to Sam J. Jones as Flash Gordon.
This serial is the standard bearer for all movie serials. No question about it.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
One of the Best Horror Movies of all time!
One of the best horror movies of all time, Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a very suspenseful horror movie that succeeds without any obviously scary monsters. Instead, it relies on suspense, action, impending doom, and a completely eery atmosphere to succeed. The slow buildup, in which the entire town is take over by monsters who emanate from giant pods and take over the bodies of the real people, works extremely well in this film. The cast, featuring a terrific but restrained performance by Kevin McCarthy, is excellent. The surprise ending, featuring an ironic twist caused in part by California freeway traffic, is excellent. This is simply one of the best horror movies of all time and works without any obvious monsters, makeup, or special effects. Far superior to any of the sequels.