Tank (1984, Marvin J. Chomsky)
The Stop Button Posted by on Mar 23, 2009
I wonder if the U.S. Army would like to get a movie like Tank out today. The movie’s politics are… well, they’re not hilarious, but they’re so blatant, it’s stunning. It’s a pro-Army film and an intensely anti-Georgia film. It likes Tennessee though. From Tank, a read more
Killer’s Kiss (1955, Stanley Kubrick)
The Stop Button Posted by on Mar 19, 2009
The chase scene in Killer’s Kiss, which occupies almost the entire third act, is a marvel. From the moment Jamie Smith jumps out the window and hits the pavement, the film leaps beyond the potential Kubrick has instilled it with until that point. Before, there’s a lot of great low budge read more
The Fastest Gun Alive (1956, Russell Rouse)
The Stop Button Posted by on Mar 18, 2009
The Fastest Gun Alive–to put it mildly and politely–is a turkey. I thought, given Glenn Ford in the lead, it was going to be at least a decent Western… but it’s not. Ford’s great (more on him later), but the script is atrocious. It’s rare to see a script so fail read more
Take the Money and Run (1969, Woody Allen)
The Stop Button Posted by on Mar 16, 2009
Take the Money and Run kind of dangles on a line. It’s occasionally a screwball comedy–something the Marx Brothers would have done–and alternately a thought-out spoof of documentaries. The breeze moves the film’s direction and it’s hard to know where it’ll go nex read more
The Delta Force (1986, Menahem Golan)
The Stop Button Posted by on Mar 15, 2009
The Delta Force is… 1) the only Chuck Norris movie my mom let me watch as a kid (I think it’s the only Chuck Norris movie I’ve ever seen). 2) “the most homoerotic movie I’ve ever seen,” according to my wife. 3) somewhat interesting for the first forty-five minute read more
Running Scared (1986, Peter Hyams)
The Stop Button Posted by on Mar 13, 2009
Jimmy Smits is pretty good in Running Scared. He’s a believable bad guy, intimidating even. I don’t know why I’m opening with Smits, maybe because I’m in a good mood and want to be generous with praise for an unlikely recipient. Running Scared is a delightful action comedy; read more
The Saint’s Double Trouble (1940, Jack Hively)
The Stop Button Posted by on Mar 12, 2009
George Sanders can do no wrong in The Saint’s Double Trouble, so much so, he has the ability to smooth the film over. He’s such a joy to watch, the critical part of the brain shuts down. Eventually, as the film nears the conclusion, Sanders looses his control, letting judgments percolat read more
Halloween II (1981, Rick Rosenthal), the television version
The Stop Button Posted by on Mar 9, 2009
Halloween II–if it isn’t the worst film John Carpenter ever worked on in some capacity–certainly features Carpenter’s worst script. There isn’t a single well-written conversation in the entire picture–the closest one is a couple young women talking; presumably co read more
Dr. Kildare’s Strange Case (1940, Harold S. Bucquet)
The Stop Button Posted by on Mar 7, 2009
I wonder, did Lew Ayres ever feel like Jimmy Kildare was a heel? I mean, he’s an unbelievably nice guy–he won’t propose to nurse Mary Lamont (Laraine Day sleepwalks through almost all of Dr. Kildare’s Strange Case, since there’s only one scene where she needs to do any read more
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981, Bob Rafelson)
The Stop Button Posted by on Mar 6, 2009
I’d heard–read, actually, but maybe heard as well–the 1981 Postman Always Rings Twice was terrible. If I knew Rafelson directed it, I’d forgotten. I did remember David Mamet wrote it. For some reason, I always thought it was an in name only remake, not at all based on the Ca read more
Drums Along the Mohawk (1939, John Ford)
The Stop Button Posted by on Mar 5, 2009
Every eight years or so, I watch Drums Along the Mohawk to see if it gets any better. According to my cursory notes from my last viewing, it apparently has gotten a little bit better. As the titles rolled, I was hopeful–it is John Ford after all (his first color film) and screenwriters Lamar read more
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984, Joseph Zito) (1)
The Stop Button Posted by on Feb 25, 2009
Directed by Joseph Zito; screenplay by Barney Cohen, based on a story by Bruce Hidemi Sakow and on characters created by Martin Kitrosser, Ron Kurz, Victor Miller and Carol Watson; director of photography, João Fernandes; edited by Joel Goodman; production designer, Shelton H. Bishop; produced by F read more
Five Easy Pieces (1970, Bob Rafelson)
The Stop Button Posted by on Feb 24, 2009
About half way into Five Easy Pieces, the film really hasn’t given any clue as to what it’s going to be. It’s an incredibly complex character study, both in its approach to the narrative and in terms of Jack Nicholson’s protagonist. The beginning of the film, set in the oil read more
Home for the Holidays (1972, John Llewellyn Moxey)
The Stop Button Posted by on Feb 23, 2009
Director Moxey has–there’s no better word for it–a compulsion for zooming. He absolutely loves it. I imagine it saved the time and money needed for additional set-ups–and I think short zooms from character to character were a 1970s TV movie standard–but it looks just t read more
Love Crazy (1941, Jack Conway)
The Stop Button Posted by on Feb 23, 2009
Love Crazy has to be the worst film William Powell and Myrna Loy ever made together. Powell started his career in silents, so it’s possible it’s not his worst film, but I’m pretty sure it’s Loy’s. Love Crazy starts incredibly lazy. It doesn’t bother defining eith read more
The Secret of Dr. Kildare (1939, Harold S. Bucquet)
The Stop Button Posted by on Feb 22, 2009
Watching The Secret of Dr. Kildare is about two things–seeing Lionel Barrymore’s fantastic performance (even as he’s spouting expositional dialogue, it’s riveting) and finding out the deep dark secret of patient Helen Gilbert. It’s the third film in the series and the read more
Half Moon Street (1986, Bob Swaim)
The Stop Button Posted by on Feb 17, 2009
Half Moon Street is supposed to be funny, right? No one’s supposed to believe it’s serious, they can’t. Certainly not with Sigourney Weaver’s performance–it’s got to be the worst thing she’s ever done, but it’s amazing because she certainly never gave read more
The Man with the Golden Arm (1955, Otto Preminger)
The Stop Button Posted by on Feb 11, 2009
There are a few problems with The Man with the Golden Arm. It’s hard to think of the film actually having any defects, since it’s such a brilliantly made motion picture. It was one of the first Preminger films I saw and was I ever surprised when they all weren’t so beautifully put read more
They Were Expendable (1945, John Ford)
The Stop Button Posted by on Feb 10, 2009
They Were Expendable has a gradual pace. Not knowing the film’s subject matter–just genre–going in, it all unfolded quite deliberately in front of me. The opening is a PT boat exercise. The film’s special effects are spectacular; it’s impossible to tell what’s an read more
The Fog (1980, John Carpenter)
The Stop Button Posted by on Feb 6, 2009
It’s not just Janet Leigh being in the film or all the trouble–visibly–starting when Jamie Lee Curtis arrives in town, it’s everything about The Fog–it’s an aware Hitchcock homage. The list can continue with the setting, the reference to The Birds, but it’s read more