WISE BLOOD (1979)
d: John Huston
CAST: Brad Dourif; Harry Dean Stanton; Amy Wright; William Hickey; Ned Beatty
> what a funny little movie; how did this ever slip past me?; collection of short stories cleverly woven into an ongoing narrative; never had much time for Brad Dourif until this; side-characters all leave a lasting impression; starts off as something serious, becomes slyly amusing, returns to serious tone; will watch again soon; Movie Jukebox bound I am sure.
Award-Worthy Performances
Brad Dourif; Amy Wright
SHACK OUT ON 101 (1955)
d: Edward Dein
CAST: Lee Marvin; Keenan Wynn; Frank Lovejoy; Terry Moore
> 50's Cold War paranoia meets existentialism in a beach shack cafe. Sweet Smell of Success style snappy banter two years early; comedy implants add to the bizarro set-up; Lee Marvin is funny!; seaside-passion scene between Frank Lovejoy & Terry Moore looks like two cubes mating on the beach; very unusual film, now looking like it's a great one. Where's its cult?
THE MAYOR OF HELL (1933)
d: Archie Mayo & Michael Curtiz
CAST: James Cagney; Madge Evans; Allen Jenkins
> feral version of Boys Town with shady Jimmy Cagney as the Father Flanagan figure; these reform-school children start a riot(!), arm themselves with guns(!!) and become a lynch mob(!!!); strong beginning, middling middle, startling climax; VERY unfortunate typical-of-the-time racism stops it from rating higher; plenty tough.
NOTHING BUT A MAN (1964)
d: Michael Roemer
CAST: Ivan Dixon; Abbey Lincoln; Yaphet Kotto
> very affecting film; low key, almost gentle so when there is aggression shown, it is shocking; Ivan Dixon (the guy who played Kinch in "Hogan's Heroes"!) is a revelation; racism upfront as the eternal everyday evil it still is - when Ivan and his girlfriend are pulled over by a group of redneck dickheads, the simplicity of the scene hammers home the horror of what really could happen.
Award-Worthy Performance
Ivan Dixon
SLING BLADE (1994)
d: Billy Bob Thornton
CAST: Billy Bob Thornton; Lucas Black; John Ritter
> first time viewing of Director's Cut which is 13 minutes longer; didn't realise how much of the film's success spins around relationship between Billy Bob & the boy; DCut is too long as usual, but the extra scenes don't jar; tempo of the film is based on the Billy Bob character, so slow is accepted; ending is obvious within 30 mins of play, but somehow still doesn't lessen emotional impact; Robert Duvall's cameo is needless.
Award-Worthy Performances
Billy Bob Thornton & Lucas Black
THIRTY SECONDS OVER TOKYO (1944)
d: Mervyn LeRoy
CAST: Van Johnson; Spencer Tracy; Robert Mitchum
> one of the very few WWII propaganda movies I appreciate; exciting true(ish) events; Van Johnson and Spencer Tracy at their professional best; second-half acknowledges China's role in defeating Japan (and the cost that the Chinese people paid long before the rest of the world was involved in the war) Can anybody name another US movie which does this?; strong, low-schmaltz & low-flag-waving script by Dalton Trumbo
Award-Worthy Performance
Spencer Tracy
BLACK WIDOW (1954)
d: Nunnally Johnson
CAST: Ginger Rogers; Van Heflin; Gene Tierney; Peggy Ann Garner; George Raft
> very silly and very entertaining whodunnit; melodramatics carried out by big name cast; Ginger Rogers is a hoot; so good to see Peggy Ann Garner - she's terrific in an enigmatic role; both Gene Tierney and George Raft pitch an even bigger mystery than the movie: where did their screen presence go?
Award-Worthy Performance
Peggy Ann Garner
HOMICIDE (1991)
d: David Mamet
CAST: Joe Mantegna; William H. Macy; Ving Rhames
> wanders around a bit; the themes of identity and duty are nicely examined; typical Mamet downbeat ending which still satisfies but doesn't exactly endear you to the film; Joe Mantegna reliably good as always; William H. Macy awkward fit in role as tough cop
THE GREAT MOMENT (1944)
d: Preston Sturges
CAST: Joel McCrea; Betty Field; Harry Carey; William Demarest
> better than I thought it would be; jumbled narrative works fine; use of Preston Sturges stock-company (William Demarest; Frank Panghorn; Preston Hall etc) strangely awkward as are the comedy injections; Joel McCrae good as usual; very unusual choice of material (the dentist who invented anesthesia) by Sturges; some see this as the beginning of Sturges' fall - don't agree
AND SOON THE DARKNESS (1970)
d: Robert Fuest
CAST: Pamela Franklin; Michele Dotrice; Sandor Eles
> cheaply (it's British, so, y'know) but cleverly made; strategically like a chess game, the various pieces / characters are moved around in a confined geographical space in a very condensed amount of time; a thriller (and it works) rather than a murder / slasher (thank G); not Hitchcockian despite ad-claims (no humour; minimal voyeurism); Pamela Franklin has truly beautiful eyes
Worst Movie-Viewing Experiences 31/07/15 - 22/08/15
THE 5,000 FINGERS OF DR T (1953)
d: Roy Rowland
CAST: Tommy Rettig; Hans Conreid
> tediously weird; crap songs and choreography; the kid can't sing; the father-figure is so creepy I nearly made a phone call; stupid hat; set designs predate the psychedelic/druggie Sixties; a dope movie for children
ABOVE AND BEYOND (1952)
d: Melvin Frank & Norman Panama
CAST: Robert Taylor; Eleanor Parker; James Whitmore
> one of the most repugnant movies ever made; far more offensive than any slasher flick you could name; attempts to pardon the war crime of Hiroshima; "gosh darn, they made us do it to them"; another truly horrific thing about the bombing of Hiroshima is that it can be sanely explained...but never excused; Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker (double blecch) want us to feel sorry for them by showing us how dropping the Atomic Bomb nearly wrecked their marriage; absolute celluloid muck
