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2-20-2017 make that 2-19 D'OH !
December 2016Quest: 👴💰 / 👻👻👻 / �🎄
Posted with permission: Carrie Fisher Tribute https://youtu.be/p1FGH4-MTfI
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The Time of Their Lives (2017)
Disappointed
Looked forward to seeing Pauline Collins BUT should have stuck with the Shirley Valentine version of Shirley Valentine's story of older woman going out and finding her freedom and her life ! This was a convoluted and messy film with way too many closeups of overly made up Joan Collins and a plot that seemed forced and uninteresting. The humor simply was not funny and the family relationships seemed fake from start to finish.
Franco Nero as Tom Conti substitute was pleasant enough but the instant romance, such as it was, made little sense.
Recommendation is to skip this one and watch Shirley Valentine ... where the obnoxious "friend" is just a small part of the film and not the co0star.
L'uomo del labirinto (2019)
waste of time
Two hours and ten minutes and when it is finished I was left frustrated and wondering what in heck it was about and why was it in English and Italian. Acting fine but the plot was a total mess with nothing settled ot clarified. Would have been better off watching just about ANYTHING else rather than this mess of a film ... even Ishtar was a better showcase for Dustin Hoffman than this and why reviews need to be novel length is beyond me !
Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
If you have not seen it, don't read most of the reviews ... this is a safe one !
It's a good movie with some twists and turns that work better if you don't know that they are coming.
A cast which was totally new and unfamiliar to me (other than the flawless Sam Neill) made for an enjoyable viewing experience. You will laugh, you will cry (or at least mist up), you will see the parallels with UP and you probably won't care. It's an old fashioned "nice " movie with terrific scenery, terrific characters and it is worth finding. Just don't read the reviews ahead of time ! (except this one)
Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring (1941)
I must have seen a different film
Several of the other user reviewers LIKED this film. I could hardly wait for it to finish up and it was just a little over an hour long. . The silly bad guys tried to be like the stooges but couldn't even muster their level of low humor (riding around on a gurney, switched bodies, nurses uniform with a hoop skirt that kept exposing his shorts clad bottom (yawn) ) Bellamy and Zucco and other B players were wasted on this one. Even the title is meaningless.
Give it a skip !
Calling Bulldog Drummond (1951)
Pretty good
This Bulldog Drummond is actually pretty darn good. It could be any detective vs bad guys but that's irrelevant. The story makes sense, is mostly well lighted, the girl is pretty and doesn't faint or scream, Walter Pigeon makes for a good Bulldog brought out of retirement (which he spends raising prize pigs) and annoying Algy is not quite as annoying this time.
Recommended by someone who has only three more to go in their Bulldog Drummond Binge... plus a couple not available !
The Mystery of the 13th Guest (1943)
What a disappointment !
I had high hopes for this one after reading only the little blurb that comes up with the olde timey movies on Tubi but ... whoa .. is it ever a stinker.
II's like an expanded three stooges short directed by Ed Wood but without the charm of his ineptitude. The characters are not introduced or developed ... any of them. The running jokes are not even vaguely amusing.
It's a mess. Give it a miss !
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
The best thing about it is that the cast is still watchable
The best thing about it is that several members of the stage production can still be enjoyed because of the wonders of film. Most of the cast has now died BUT here, they will always be with us bringing a comedy tonight.
The Broadway play was pretty much stripped of its music BUT Zero Mostel and Jack Gilford singing "You are Lovely" as several flies cavort in the bed is worth the viewing
Trying to see and hear the future Phantom in that skinny kid playing Hero and tumbling down the stairs is a mind blowing task.
And then there is Buster... dear dear Buster.
It's too long and too frantic but there is always fast forward if it gets to be too much.
Bob Fosse: It's Showtime! (2019)
I agree with the other reviewers --
I agree with the other reviewers === all three of them !
I was hoping for clips and more clips and instead had to watch a bunch of people I did not know or care about talking talking talking about Bob Fosse and some choreographer going on about how she teaches her dancers.
Disappointing documentary that had greater potential. Rather interesting when they actually showed what they were talking talking talking about but there should have been more of that.
13 Lead Soldiers (1948)
Had potential to be better
Interesting idea for a story - including the Algy/ Drummond switch - but somehow it doesn't work all that well and has confused several of the user reviewers. Algy is NOT the original collector of the figures and Seymour is not Drummond's "young male secretary" despite what has been stated elsewhere.
It was interesting to learn that the abysmal and near unwatchable quality of the film was the result of it being a copy of a 16mm print of this formerly lost film (If that reviewer has their facts straight.)
This one is better than some and not as good as others in the series;
The Challenge (1948)
Another Day , Another Bulldog
Another Bulldog Drummond entry that could have been any generic amateur detective and sidekicks.
Tom Conway wasn't bad, just nothing special.
The story was less convoluted than usual and had some clever bits. The film was largely shot in near darkness which resulted in the tussles and bonks on the head being seen as shadows and outlines only (this may have been the result of watching a poor copy)
Interesting side note : Seymour, boy reporter, sidekick was Terry Kilburn aka Tiny Tim in the Reginald Own Christmas Carol and the lad who uttered the immortal "Goodbye, Mr. Chips".
Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back (1947)
Another new Hugh
There is nothing particularly Bulldoggish about this film. It could have been any amateur detective dealing with the plot elements which are actually pretty clever. Dennis the Menace's Mom (Gloria Henry) is one of the pretty femmes being sorted out.
Ron Randall is acceptable as Hugh but nothing special one way or another,
The time has shifted to Post WWII and perennial fiancee / wife Phyllis from the John Howard era seems to have been lost from collective memory as has butler Tenny.
Algy has not gotten any smarter or less annoying and a sidekick budding news reporter has been added so that the back seat of the roadster is always occupied.
Captain Swagger (1928)
Find it to complete the set
Silent and totally unlike the talkie BDs. After WWI, Hugh is a playboy who spends over his means, meets a flapper who is also poor for now, tries to be a top hatted highwayman and then performs as a Russian cabaret dancer.
He has no mystery to solve and, thankfully, no annoying sidekick Algy.
The copy I saw was incredibly blurry but worth finding and watching.
Bulldog Drummond at Bay (1937)
Nothing special about this one.
"Bulldog Drummond goes up against foreign agents trying to steal plans for a top-secret aircraft." -- this about sums it up.
The most "meh" of the series so far . A biography of dimpled but rather lackluster John Lodge may have made a better film than tis one.
Torture by matches, poison gas and threats to mom abound along with the usual rolling around "fights" and private citizens with pistols. .
Younger Victor Jory and an uncredited Wilfred Hyde White are highpoints in the casting.
The Naked Street (1955)
Watch it for the cast
Watch it for the cast because the story isn't all that great. It's ok but not outstanding. A very young and very pretty Ann Bancroft incongruously cast as the younger sister of Anthony Quinn, Lee Van Cleef (uncredited) as a hapless victim of the mobster's nefarious plan and Peter Graves trying his best with a meh and undeveloped role. Quinn, as always, is Quinn.
The finale is telegraphed early on and how shoddily it is done is obvious even to those not attuned to flaws and goofs. AND there is that Bank of Tokyo across the street from very aged Mama's house in Brooklyn.
Worth a watch for filmographical reasons and it's not bad...really!
Sons and Lovers (1960)
Well meaning mothers from Hell
Two mothers in this story control the destiny of their children and not in good ways. Believable performances across the board. Dean Stockwell seems to have acquired his "English accent" from Roddy McDowell but it only slips a few times.
Highlights of casting: the penultimate appearance of DR. Pretorius (Ernest Thesinger) and an early, all too brief, Donald Pleasance with an amazing combover.
Not a "fun" movie but enjoyable.
Compulsion (1959)
From back when movies were movies
Well worth watching but don't expect it to be a "fun" experience with zip or flashy special effects. The joy comes from seeing the performances of all of the actors .... Diane Varsi was the only exception... her amateurish performance was distracting .
Bradford Dillman chewed the scenery a tad but Stockwell and Orson Welles made up for his excessive histrionics.
Welles 's summation in the courtroom can be best summed up as WOW !!!
Black Dragons (1942)
Read the IMDb page before viewing
IF only I had read :"A cabal of American industrialists, all fifth-columnists intent on sabotaging the war effort, are methodically murdered by the malevolent Monsieur Colomb. It is only until detective Dick Martin is assigned to the case that everyone's true motives and identities are revealed.", I might have had a clue as to what was going on. Maybe.
Truly awful even for a Z grade Lugosi movie. True, Clayton Moore is in it BUT he is not recognizable - he wears no mask and his voice isn't Lone Rangerish enough to catch more than occasionally when actively listened for.
Eegah (1962)
Relax and enjoy it
Make some popcorn, park your inner critic at the door and don't worry about the 2 hrs and 32 minutes (plus commercials) you'll never get back. Makes the acting in Plan Nine look Oscar worthy plus there are three musical interludes to try to distract you from the rest of the movie.
Same guy (using three different names) wrote, directed, produced and played Dad in this little gem of not so awful awfulness and also sired the male star ... no such nepotism is the excuse for casting the totally amateurish girl lead !
The dialogue sounds as if it was recorded in a sound studio after the film was completed and has that somewhat hollow sound of dubbed films. Edit: according to IMDb .. it WAS !
Seeing a young Richard Kiel is worth the price of admission and EEGAH is loads more fun than the standard Z Grade no budget film.
Wind River (2017)
It's like a Hillerman with snow
Wind River reminded me of the Hillerman stories with a change of location from sunbaked desert to snow capped hillsides.
Enjoyable, suspenseful story. A bit too graphically violent for my taste
The lack of a romance between the main characters was refreshing.
IMO, this one is worth seeking and watching,
The Man Who Lost His Head (2007)
Interesting trip to New Zealand
I enjoyed this film which was picked at random and chosen because Martin Clunes was the star player.
Nothing really new about the boy-meets-girl / fish-out-of-water story but it was well worth seeing. The scenery alone is worth the time spent.
The kite flying / fish for dinner scene was particularly well done.
The Amazing Mr. X (1948)
Would have watched The Spiritualist sooner
I admit it, the title of The Amazing Mr. X always put me off but I finally got around to watching this surprisingly good little film.
Spooky and it held my attention throughout. My introduction to Terhune Bey and I will be looking for more of his films.
The crow was uncredited and not mentioned on IMDb so the mystery is ,, was he Jimmy or was he not Jimmy ?
A Scream in the Night (1935)
A future star gets new crediting
This item from the IMDb trivia says a LOT about this film : "Although this film was made in 1935, there is no evidence it was actually shown publicly until 1943, when Astor Pictures acquired the rights and put it out to take advantage of Lon Chaney Jr.'s subsequent stardom in horror roles for Universal."
That and , according to the posters, that the Title is SCREAM IN THE NIGHT and not A Scream in the Night.
Muddled as it is, it was interesting to see a young and enthusiastic Chaney not only finally credited but credited as Lon. Jr.
The two fights at the end of the film are a hoot ... all rolling around, missed punches and assorted hair pulling.
Trade Winds (1938)
What an embarrassing waste of talent
It was not really funny. It was not really a mystery because we saw the shooting and heard the cop's description of the murder and that was not what we had witnessed and so we knew what would eventually happen somewhere down the pike.
When the "mystery" was cleared up we had never met the perpetrator before OR that person had been too insignificant to notice. And the finale seemed rushed and pointless.
As for the talent being wasted ... Ann Sothern TRIED but her dialogue was forced. Ralph Bellamy is too smart to play stupid convincingly, Joan Bennett and Frederic March seemed unconvincing as a romancing pair.
The rear projection was pitiful ...even for being the first feature to use it extensively. Lame and distracting.
Skip this one !
Dancing with Crime (1947)
Fun little British crime film
Terrific to see the future Lord Attenborough in his cinematic infancy.
Add to its historical value the fact that it is an interesting story, well done by one and all that holds your attention from start to finish.
Convoluted plotting that is not so twisted that one gets lost in the minutia.
Reading the IMDb trivia explains the chemistry between the "boy and girl"... they were married in real life the and stayed married for decades.
Film is worth finding and checking out. I.
Fear in the Night (1946)
Very pleasant surprise !
Very good little suspense film with memorable screen debut of Dr McCoy (try as one might, he is always Dr McCoy and not DeForrest Kelley).
Should not have come as a surprise that the story was by Cornell Woolrich but according to he IMDb "crazy credits" he was credited as "William Irish", one of his regular magazine pseudonyms. His stories are usually spell binders and this was no exception.
Seek it out. You won't be sorry that you did.