Change Your Image
ginoveloute
Reviews
Ils (2006)
All McGuffin without style
Really monotonously predictable to watch and not very suspenseful either. Following these two from darkly lit room to another was merely a device to provide filler until the next shock arrived. Although the two leads were appealing, it became irritating after awhile that they couldn't combine their intelligence to devise a plan other than "go for help." And how many more horror wannabes do you have to see to know never take a bath a night? Bathe in the morning when the sun's out! It's become such a Pavlovian gimmick to see a potential victim fully exposed and vulnerable in that way it's laughable. Whenever I see a pretty woman running bath water you can't help but think "uh-oh."
Nowhere near as scary as "Session 9," which I think is the pinnacle of balancing the seen and the unseen to create suspense. It's also extremely unsatisfying to finish watching a movie where justice is never attained on screen for the victims. A much more interesting movie would have been to pickup where this story ended and convey the horror of events through the eyes of innocent-appearing, ordinary kids like you might have at home. That would take a lot more skill to do rather than remaking "Halloween" for the umpteenth time!
The Green Years (1946)
The trials and triumphs of a young boy raised in a small Scotish village.
At first when I read the blurb of this film on the viewers guide I expected another "How Green Was My Valley," which had ruined coming-of-age films for me until I saw "Breaking Away" in '79. I started watching it anyway and soon found I was hooked for the next 127 minutes.
"The Green Years" demonstrate what a better film "Kings Row" could have been if someone other than Robert Cummings had played the lead. It's basically the same story set in Scotland: both take place in isolated rural towns, both deal with mental cruelty, and both deal with overcoming your circumstances to better your life. And ironically, both feature the splendid and versatile actor Charles Coburn in pivotal roles.
The people of this village seem real here, with Hume Cronin playing the tight-lipped tightwad of an extended family who "live like they're poor out of choice." Tom Drake is fine as the older Robbie Shannon, earnest and sincere, but with an increasing sense of cynicism appropriate for the role. Richard Hayden as the headmaster that befriends Robbie adds just the right amount of sanity, humor and hope you need in a story that runs over 2 hours.
But young Dean Stockwell and Coburn are magic, especially in the scene when he and 2 drunken friends try to teach young Robbie how to box. I can't recall a relationship between 2 actors on film, one very old and the other very young, that rings as fresh and honest as their's does. I think W.C. Fields and Freddie Bartholomew in "Great Expectations" come closest.
Yes, it's episodic, and perhaps a tad too long, and Norman Lloyd is wasted as one of Cronyn's sons. But if you have an affection for this sort of film made soon after the end of WWII, you won't be disappointed.