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Seth Myers: Dad Man Walking (2024)
so many jokes about having kids
One hour standup special on max channel! Mostly funny, but much complaining about what it's like to have young kids at home. Bringing kids to weddings. Kids having bad dreams. What they say, what they do. Having to show your proof of vaccine to get into a restaurant during covid. Accents, and which accents it's okay to do as a standup. How to punish your child, and how the grandparents punish bad behavior. Some cussing. And what to do when the kids cuss. Where did they learn that?? How to deal with things in a jewish family. Trying to explain the holocaust to young children. Finding out some odd things about your own ancestors. It's pretty funny, once we got away from the "complain about my own kids" bits. And why does everything at thanksgiving have butter or honey in it? Directed by neal brennan. LOVE seth, but he spent so much time complaining about his own kids.
Funeral in Berlin (1966)
a harry palmer adventure
The second chapter of the palmer spy movies, with michael caine as harry palmer. Oscar homolka is the bigshot colonel stok, ready to defect. And it's palmer's job to get him out of berlin. So they come up with a pretty original idea to get him across! And where does the beautiful samantha steel fit in? It's a lot more straight forward than the next chapter.. billion dollar brain. This one has some turns, but it doesn't go all over the map. Co-stars paul hubschmid and eva renzi. And check out that flashy cadillac with the giant fins! Not a very good car for spies to drive around if they want to stay under the radar. It's good! No pot holes or plot holes. Directed by guy hamilton, who also directed a bunch of the james bond films! According to the trivia section, renzi was not at all cooperative on set. Homolka and a very young caine had made "the key" together in 1958!
Desperate Cargo (1941)
not bad. fun little movie.
Released july 1941... europe was already knee deep in the war, but the united states didn't get pulled in until december. The story here is that two chorus girls are stuck in puerta nueve, according to the map they show at the start. (although the hotel staff all say puerto nuevo. And at about thirty four minutes, the update on the board shows "puerte nueve"!). Also in the hotel are a gang of crooks, planning a robbery on the airplane. The girls lack work and money to leave, and want to return to new york. So they chat up tony, who works for the airline. Can they all work together to stop the holdup before they are airborn? Stars ralph byrd, carol hughes, julie duncan. It's a producers releasing corp film, so we know they weren't spending much cash on this one. It's okay. Sound and picture are actually pretty good on the version shown on tubi streaminng. Although with all the shots they fired, the plane probably wouldn't have been able to fly anyway! Directed by bill beaudine, who made so many low budget and bowery boys films. Story by eustace adams, in a magazine article. Byrd died young at 43 from a heart attack.
The Return of Doctor X (1939)
weird role for bogart !
Quite the backstory on this horror film. Bogart disliked it so much, that he demanded a raise from warner brothers for doing it! And apparently even karloff turned this down! Wow. When the bodies start piling up, a reporter (wayne morris) and a doctor (dennis morgan) band together to solve the mystery. They think they have figured out what happened, but will the guilty party co-operate? Bogey appears 23 minutes in, in heavy make-up, with odd mannerisms and carrying a rabbit... it's pretty obvious right off something ain't right! Keep an eye out for huntz hall from the bowery boys. And lya lys, as the mysterious miss merrova. It's just okay, as bogey predicted. He was in seven films released that year, and this was probably the strangest one! Directed by vincent sherman, who would also go on to make much bigger and better films. Wayne morris died young at 45 from a heart attack. Bogart also died young at 57. And this was one of the twenty two films that rose lane made. Lys must have been hard to live with... her first two marriages only lasted one year, and her third lasted a whopping three!
2 Guns (2013)
good entertainment.
Denzel and wahlberg. James marsden. Bobby and stig are working both ends of the candle. When a deal falls apart, bobby, a dea agent, tries to stay in the game. With or without stig... who has plans of his own. Stig wants to rob the bank, so he can set up his own deal. But when things go south (again), stig is left to fend for himself. And why were there so many hundred dollar bills sitting in that bank? Who do they belong to? In other words, who will be coming after them pronto? The suspense I felt came mostly from not knowing whose story to believe. We're shown right near the start most of everyone's background, and who they are... but there are still some minor surprises ahead. It's pretty good! Directed by baltasar kormákur. Born in iceland, he has won a ton of film fest awards, and worked with major hollywood stars.
The Scandalous Four (2011)
picks up about halfway thru
A story of marrying for love versus marrying for money and status. Penelope can't stand the thought of marrying someone she doesn't even like. She marries jon alexander to make her father happy. But hubby doesn't seem to have much interest (any interest!) in his new wife. Although he does curl up in the field with george, the butler! And there are hints that alexander's father was the same... way. But jon seems to resent anyone who does pay attention to penelope. So they compromise, and each (appears to) have their fling. But the house maids freak out over this new setup, and almost ruin everything. Some of the performances are less than optimal. And it all seems to be shot with one lens, which is quite close range. Not so many wide shots. The first half moves quite slowly. Was one of the staff murdered because he saw something naughty going on between the husband and another staff member? That was suspicious, but not clearly spelled out. In spite of a few flaws, it's quite good! Directed by christianne van wijk. Did you notice that some of the actors are also some of the writers?
Wartezimmer zum Jenseits (1964)
wacky but fun.
Mark of the Tortoise (in the u.s.)... in germany, it's "wartezimmer zum jenseits", which loosely means waiting room to the afterlife. A german production, by german director alfred vohrer. Filmed in italy and england. Dubbed in english, for the version, currently showing on tubi. When a famous family member is knocked off, donald ( götz george) vows to avenge his death. Can donald figure this all out before shapiro (klaus kinski) and laura loreli (hildegard knef) knock off more people? And will they be knocked off themselves? It's a pretty good thriller, partially because of the international intrigue. At forty two minutes, they leave the savoy in a car, and drive just past a HUGE ship tied at dock. Too bad they couldn't work that into the plot... would have added some fun intrigue! The plot is kind of all over the place, but it's entertaining. Traitors and treachery. The dub track is very well done! Based on the book mission to siena by james chase. He apparently had TONS of novels made into film!
Don Juan ou Si Don Juan était une femme... (1973)
woman enjoys confessing/bragging to the priest
Ms don juan (in the us ) aka don juan ou si don juan était une femme. Brigitte bardot had been married to roger vadim, the director of this film, back in the 1950s. Jeanne seems to really get off on bragging about her exploits over men, with the priest (mathieu carrière). We see her deeds in flashback, as she recounts her evil ways. Lots of sad, mournful, wailing music. The film itself is long, and just okay. But it's fun to see some of these big names way back when! Some fun scenery from paris in the 1970s. Some blood and guts. Co-stars jane birkin, who had the birkin bags named for her! And robert walker junior. Vadim also co-wrote the screenplay for barbarella and plucking the daisy. These are all shown on turner classics and other channels now and then.
Scandal at Scourie (1953)
much ado about nothing..by today's standards
One of the many films with greer garson and walter pidgeon. Pidgeon was always an authority figure, with his louder than loud, stilted booming voice, like a minister preaching to his flock. Garson was usually the sweet, understanding wife or mother, trying to convince someone of the right thing to do. Here, when the protestant couple adopts a catholic child in canada, it's a big deal. So many misunderstandings. Threats. Maybe ruined careers. A very plain and simple story. Doing the right thing in spite of the odds and challenges. Almost a children's story. But of course, the lessons apply to adults as well. It's pretty good. I've always liked greer and pidgeon, in spite of their predictable performances. Directed by jean negulesco. He was nominatd for johnny belinda. He also directed some pretty well known films... three coins, humoresque. But the best one was probably how to marry a millionaire!
Law of the Underworld (1938)
couple gets caught up in mob shenanigans
Chet morris, anne shirley. A sixty one minute shortie from RKO, based on the play by john hymer and samuel shipman. When engaged couple gene and annabelle cross paths with the mob, they get caught up in the underworld drama. And may have to pay the price. Will the mob boss do the right thing? Watch for a song, sung in the nightclub by lee patrick. She's not really known by name, but she sure popped up in some big films.. mildred pierce, vertigo, maltese falcon, mame! Wow, respect. It's simple, but good. No big twists and turns in the film version. Probably made for a suspense-full play, and might have been more fun before the film code white-washed the heck out of films and plays. Directed by lew landers. Chester morris had been in original the play also!
Spooks Run Wild (1941)
special guest star bela lugosi
This seems to be the only chapter that phil rosen directed! It was usually bill beaudine directing leo gorcey and the gang, in one of their many adventures. This time, they got bela lugosi to co-star as the boogie-man. The picture itself is quite dark. The film could use a restoration, but it was so low budget originally, i'm guessing a restoration will not happen. The gang bumps into "the monster"... altho how the radio announcer knew where the monster was headed is a good question! The usual word play, silly antics, pratfalls, running around. Leo worked his brother into the cast, but it was too early for his father to join the gang. It's good! Certainly interesting, as part of the east side boys collection. Released in october of 1941, we can tell it has war time tension, since there is a "buy war bonds" message tacked to the end. This was a plain, simple story, and could easily have been sent to the troops once the united states had entered the war. Lugosi, king of the "monster" movies, would continue working up into the 1950s! Gorcey and his buddies would morph into the bowery boys for many more adventures.
Night Shift (1982)
some funny stuff in here
Henry winkler plays the quiet, self controlled worker bee, pretty much the opposite of what he did on happy days! Michael keaton also plays against some of his traditional roles, which was usually a family man, who had to overcome some adversity. He made this just before mister mom. In this one, the two clash, since one likes the quiet, regular schedule, but is assigned to work with a hyper, loud, annoying work partner. It's an early ron howard film. With music by burt bacharach! What an odd connection. It's pretty funny. Lots of clever bits. The running gag of the vicious dog which chases chuck to his door every day. Bill constantly gets on chuck's nerves, with his loud music, loud voice, and flashy ways. The neighbor (shelley long) loses her pimp, and asks bill and chuck to help her out. Sure, i guess that could happen! Keep an eye out for nita talbot, from hogans heroes! And vince schiavelli.... from fast times. Some folks would see this one and mister mom as a bit dated now. I've always liked both keaton and winkler, so I dug it!
Blended (2014)
good, but could have been great!
Sandler and barrymore, in a mismatched dating film, again. Jim and lauren go on a date, which doesn't go very well. But they find out that they have more in common than they thought. They both have kids, with real, modern issues. Through a mixup, the two families go on a safari in africa together.... where just everything goes wrong, and the kids don't get along at all. Some pretty silly bits in here. Lowbrow, humor that wasn't very funny. Some big names as guest stars. Ginger's high pitched baby voice was SO annoying! It's okay, but there were some cringe-moments in this one. Let's say six out of ten. Directed by frank coraci. He's made a ton of films with sandler. Probably part of the production company. The script or direction just needed some souping up. Could have been even better.
Arthur Newman (2012)
can you just start over ?
Colin firth is arthur, trying to start over, hoping for a better life. Staying at a local motel, he bumps into michaela (emily blunt), who is also having a rough night. Clearly, neither one is happy with their current life, so they join up and hit the road. Not a lot happens in the first half of the film. They slowly warm up to each other, and start doing risky things in strangers' houses. Where will they end up? How do you know when to start over, or when to go back? When you run away, do you just find a different set of problems, or will things be better? It's a thinker film. Ain't no car chases here! But it's interesting to watch. Co-stars ann heche, lucas hedges. Directed by dante ariola. Story by becky johnston. She wrote the screenplays for some pretty big films!
Isle of Forgotten Sins (1943)
toler is a bad guy in this one
Isle of forgotten sins but called monsoon in roku... the 1943 one. They kind of snuck this one past the censors. It's pretty obvious (but not spoken) what marge's girls do for a living. So taboo at the time. Gale sondergaard was the perfect vamp in so many classics...she was great in wyler's "the letter". In the south seas ( the back lot), the women run a "gambling house" wink, wink..that the officials are trying to shut down. And of course there are two men fighting over marge. In the worst staged fight ever filmed. Then a dead body! And sunken treasure! So much going on. Toler is krogan, who shows an odd smile now and then, for no reason...? John carradine popped up in some pretty huge films, but not usually the lead, never any oscars. Funny.. there's subtitles, but the sound is so rough, it skips and misses a lot. At about twenty five minutes in, the (roku version) captions show "fu** over his gold", but the actor actually says "fork over his gold"! It's okay. One demerit for picture and sound quality. One for frequent use of backdrops and stock footage. Story written and dircted by edgar ulmer. His big hit was black cat, back in 1934. He later resigned rather than make a musical with shirley temple, if the imdb trivia can be believed. He worked for years at producers releasing corp, the lowest of the low budgets. But it's still a wacky, fun adventure.
Love Lies Bleeding (2024)
pretty good, but some blood & guts.
Jackie (katy o'brian) is working her way through to vegas, taking odd jobs along the way. She meets up with lou (kristen stewart), and they hit it off right away. They are both pretty tough. Lou's sister is married to an abusive husband (dave franco). So jackie, lou, and her dad (ed harris) decide to take things into their own hands. Some pretty serious violence in this one. Lou wants to stay near her sister, but they probably need to hit the road before the coppers figure things out. Lots going on in this one... but good, if you're okay with all the violence. A very detailed soundtrack list here on imdb. Also a really good double meaning in the title. Is lies a verb, or a noun ? So many ways to take that. Good stuff, but a little rough. You've been warned! Directed by rose glass, who has been nominated for two baftas.
Keeping Mum (2005)
m smith in a little known comedy
Reverend goodfellow's family is going through more than its share of problems! He and the wife are having issues, the daughter is shagging every guy in sight. The son gets bullied at school, so he doesn't go. And the wife is finding her own solution for loneliness. Send in grace hawkins, the housekeeper, who might be able to work some magic. Stars the awesome maggie smith, patrick swayze, kristin thomas. A running gag is the name of the town... little wallop. Also the dog next door that never shuts up. And the daughter's parade of "boyfriends". Lots of cussing and body part jokes. Some great scenery of england and the isle of man. Funny stuff! But we wouldn't expect any less of maggie smith and rowan atkinson. Directed by niall johnson. Story by richard russo. Swayze died young at 57, from cancer. Maggie smith and kristin thomas will re-unite in the awesome "my old lady" in 2014. And if you haven't seen "hot millions" from 1968, check it out.
My Old Lady (2014)
little known maggie smith film
At least, unknown to me! Great casting. Magpie, kevin kline, kristin thomas. When mathias inherits an apartment en paris, he goes to see it. And finds one surprise after another! The occupants are not ready to move out. And mathias needs the money pronto. It's a , wacky tale that slowly unfolds. Some happy discoveries, some sadness. Great film, all around! Good script, perfect timing, a great scene along the seine, where jim connects with a local singing at the edge of the river. I really enjoyed watching this one. Directed by israel horovitz. He had also written the play! Currently showing on roku streaming, as well as kanopy, amzn, appltv.
Port of New York (1949)
brynner's first film role
A twenty nine year old yul brynner in his very first film role. And no-one else we've ever heard of. From a studio we've never heard of. Pretty low budget stuff. When the paperwork isn't quite right on an incoming crate, the ship florentine gets a thorough inspection. When a ship's officer is missing, the treasury department realizes someone has absconded with the missing drugs. Narration by newsman chet huntley, like an episode of dragnet. It's pretty dry stuff. The sound is okay but the picture quality is pretty rough. Directed by laslo benedek. I didn't recognize the name kt stevens, but i had seen some of the big time films she had been in. Kitty foyle, harriet craig. With a bigger budget, this could have been a big film. Has some great scenes of new york city in 1949...and that's probably the best feature of this one! Has some bits cut and pasted from earlier films. It's very okay.
Fool Me Once (2024)
brit cops follow the clues
Brit series, one season of eight episodes on the netflix. Starts with a shooting... two people are now dead. But when a murder victim shows up on a hidden camera, nothing is certain anymore. And the coppers have their own issues going on. Maya's in-laws are connected to a pharma company, which has its own dark secrets. Can she get anyone to believe her? Stars michelle keegan and adeel akhtar. Lots of un-answered questions. Sami is the investigator on the case, but isn't quite sure how it's all connected. He and maya both have secrets they aren't sharing. Keep an eye out for joanna lumley.. patsy, from ab-fab! She's the mother in-law, who knows more than she is telling! What really happened to her sons? It's really good. Dino fetscher (plays marty) was in the foundation series.
You Can't Run Away from It (1956)
great cast... less than optimal script
June allyson, jack lemmon. This seems to be a musical version of "it happened one night". And every film where the girl's father does not approve of the groom ! In this one, the young couple is already married, so ellen's father kidnaps her and tries to drag her home. Lots of singing. And in this one, the reporter tells the bride he's onto her. But promises he won't spill the beans. Some fun co-stars too. Jim backus and charles bickford. Howard mcnear. Jack albertson. Even a quick bit by henny youngman (the first bus driver). It's okay. Some over the top acting, and the songs are a big waste of time. Were they short on script?? Directed by dick powell....one of the seven that he directed! And he was married to the star here, june allyson. Of course powell died so young at 58. He sure acted in some great films. This one is okay. Would have been better with less singer and a stronger script. They had all these great comedians, but didn't give them much to do!
Giornata nera per l'ariete (1971)
whodunnit from italy
The fifth cord... called giornata nera per l'ariete in italy... which loosely translates to "a black day for aries". Also much confusion over the release date. Imdb has it as 1971, which is when it was released in italy. Roku has 1978 for a release date, while imdb shows it was released in the united states in 1975. Moving on. There's a serial killer on the loose. And when it comes out that he has connections to the reporter covering the story, the reporter becomes a suspect. Stars franco nero and silvia monti. I had seen nero in other films, and they weren't bad! This one has a loud, annoying scream, just a few minutes in, and very loud, pointless, dramatic organ music at 22 minutes! Then, not much going on for most of the middle. It picks up again near the end. More loud screams. Of course, the big scenes near the end are done in the dark, with the lights out, so we can't see much....until the reveal. It's okay all around. Directed by luigi bazzoni. He and his brother camillo both began directing in the 1960s. Watch for pamela tiffin as lu... i've also enjoyed her other films!
Will & Harper (2024)
road trip with a twist
A documentary with will ferrell and harper steele, as they take a road trip to talk things over. Harper had begun life as andrew steele, but during the pandemic, realized that she wanted to live as a woman, and to openly be a woman. They had known each other for years, worked together on saturday night live, and even raised families. Of course, they start with a visit to their old friends and co-workers at SNL. Then, on to some places that could be (and were) less forgiving. Some sad, hurtful moments. Some good happy moments. A funny moment when they borrow a unicycle from a local dude on the street so harper can ride it. Was that staged? A short discussion of new "parts" and surgeries. Ferrell seems to realize that this film is about harper, and is more restrained than we usually see him. Another funny moment when will forte can't open the champagne. Some great music; hopefully, someone will fill in the soundtrack info on imdb! Directed by josh greenbaum. He's won a bunch of film fest awards. It's good. Some touching moments for those willing to watch. Kristen wiig writes and performs a fun song in honor of the trip. And was nominated for bridesmaids. Who knew?
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (2016)
patsy and eddie .. more wacky adventures.
Ab-Fab, the Movie ....the further adventures for patsy & eddie, which kind of picks up after the series. Although didn't claudia bing buy eddie's company at the end of the television series? Anyhoo... a book deal. A fashion show. Will any of it actually happen ?? Lola is grown up. Marshall is transitioning MTF. Kate moss falls into the thames. (or was she pushed by eddie??) barry humphries, who died in 2023, appears as charlie, and as the awesome dame edna. And bubble, played by jane horrocks, has the best costumes as usual,! Kylie minogue singing the theme song. Fun!! Directed by mandie fletcher. Script by jennifer saunders herself! Barry humphries had been nominated for three baftas. Fletcher won a bafta for blackadder. Pretty funny stuff.
Une belle course (2022)
journey to the new home
When madeleine (line renaud) finally agrees to go into a nursing home, she hires charles (dany boon) to drive her to the new home. But madeleine has some stops she wants to make along the way. Some are old neighborhoods where she had lived. Some are sentimental stops where important events happened in her life. Old boyfriends. Locations of wartime violence and executions. It gets pretty dark and violent at one point, so be prepared! Not as light and fluffy as i was expecting! But some really interesting conversations between madeleine and charles. Really good stuff! Well done. I totally dug this one. Directed by christian carion. Bafta nominated for joyeux noel. I look forward to seeing more of his films.