Good stuff, Love it.

Bringing Out the Dead

Probably my least favourite Scorsese movie out of the ones that I've seen. On paper, everything about it sounded good to me, but I just couldn't get into it. Halfway into it and I was just waiting for it to end.

HOMBRE (1967)

John Russell (Paul Newman), white guy raised by and lives with Apaches in 1880s Arizona, inherits a boarding house from his white father, which he sells immediately. He gets on a stagecoach out of town with an interesting bunch, including Cicero Grimes (Richard Boone, peerless bad guy), who's in with a group of holdup men who are after big bucks that one of the passengers, Dr. Favor (Frederick March) embezzled from Indians in his charge. The robbery leaves the passengers on foot and short of water, but the robbers without the money. The passengers, who dissed Russell, now need him to show them how to survive. The script (from an Elmore Leonard novel) is intelligent and sharp on the hypocrisy of the whites. Acting is superb, especially by Diane Cilento, as the tart-tongued boarding house manager Russell made jobless when he sold the place; Barbara Rush as Favor's world-weary wife; ever-versatile Martin Balsam (always good) as the stagecoach driver, and Frank Silvera (also always good) as one of the bad guys. One of my favorite Westerns.

FRENCH CONNECTION II (1975)

Gene Hackman reprises his role as Popeye Doyle, now in Marseille to track down French drug kingpin Charnier (Fernando Rey), who somehow escaped being being busted at the end of the first movie. He gets grudging help from French police. Then he's mugged by Charnier's gang and shot up with heroin for three weeks; then given an overdose and dumped at police HQ; then forced into a cold-turkey withdrawal. He finally recovers and nails Charnier. The beginning and ending of this movie are pretty good, but as you no doubt infer, the addiction/withdrawal sequence is unbearably long and boring, and drags the whole film down. Add this to the pile of sequels-that-failed. A rare miscue for the great John Frankenheimer.

BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK (1955)
One-armed, middle aged John Macreedy (Spencer Tracy) gets off a train in a tiny, decrepit desert town and is immediately blitzed with hostility, suspicion and fear from the handful of locals. He's there to look up the family of a Japanese-American farmer who served with him in Italy and gave his life protecting him. Macreedy is soon fighting for his life. It's one of Tracy's best roles. The cast is first-rate, including Robert Ryan (one of my favorite actors of that period) as the head honcho; Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin, as his two thugs (both in career-making roles); Walter Brennan as the town doc and undertaker; Dean Jagger as the hopelessly drunk sheriff; and Anne Francis as a perky, conflicted gas station operator. They're all complicit in murder, most wracked by guilt. The movie is enlivened by Macreedy in a one-armed karate beating of Borgnine, who is sensationally brutal and evil, as well as taut, crisp direction from John Sturges and vivid Technicolor filming. A classic Western brought up to contemporary relevance.

I watched El Dorado a couple of times, so then watched the similar Hawks/Wayne pictures Rio Bravo and Rio Lobo. Rio Lobo is what I'd call a throwaway - amiable enough but remarkable only for a really bad performance by Jennifer O'Neill, in her first big role. It also has the rare pairing of Victor French and Jack Elam.

I wanted to watch Rio Bravo again because I've always preferred El Dorado, and that seems to be a minority opinion. Rewatching both movies now just reinforces my opinion. My main problem with Rio Bravo is that it loses my interest as they do this and that. They devote a lot of time to the Wayne-Dickinson relationship, but it's implausible even by Hollywood old star/hot starlet standards, and so that's just wasted time to me. I think that in just about every matched set of characters - the villains, the green kids, the victims, Wayne's crew - that the character in El Dorado is more vibrant and does more to advance the story. El Dorado's just a lot easier for me to sit through.

Pete, I really like those two movies, but they are far from cinematic masterpieces.

However, one movie I just watched shouldn't even be classified as a movie. I ran across it on YouTube. It's entitled The Bamboo Saucer and it stars Dan Duryea and Lois Nettleton. I like both of them, but not in this one.

The film is from 1968 and I had never heard or read of it. It's plot which involves Russians and Chinese is right out of the us versus them Cold War playbook. It's so called special effects are primitive, quite a step back from even the 50s version of special effects. I recall the criticism of Independence Day because it had crop duster pilots being able to operate F-18s even in combat. This film is even worse because it has earthlings being able to pilot a flying saucer not only in the atmosphere, but even in outerspace. The plot is elementary, the dialogue is terrible, and the acting ... well, what can you do with bad material, etc? Duryea and Nettleton are not the quality of actors who can rescue a bad film.

I could go on and on, but to no end. It's just about the worst film I've ever watched. In fact, it is the worst film I've ever watched.

Recently watched An Unfinished Life with Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman and Jennifer Lopez. She plays a widowed mom fleeing an abusive relationship. Redford is her grieving father-in-law who blames her for the death of his son. Morgan Freeman is his best friend and right hand at his ranch, who was grievously injured by a bear. Just watching those two actors together is worth the price of admission, but, honestly, the young actress who plays the daughter/granddaughter steals the whole movie.

Wife has been looking for good movies she may have never seen.

I just gave her this and she is going to watch, its on stars tomorrow morning.

The Shepherd of the Hills (1941): another Wayne film, and an unusual one. It's an Ozarks family drama, and the family's somewhat twisted.

THE HIGHWAYMEN (2019)

This is a Bonnie-and-Clyde movie without Bonnie and Clyde (except at the very end). It is a great story about two old pals/rivals, Texas Rangers Maney Gault (Woody Harrelson) and Frank Hamer (Kevin Kostner), taken out of retirement by Texas Gov. Ma Ferguson (Kathy Bates) to hunt down and kill the desperados. Harrelson and Kostner are absolutely terrific together--the geezer Redford and Newman--and are given lots of great scenes and scriptlines to delight us. The film does a great job of evoking the dustbowl at its lowest ebb (the two geezers looking as dusty as the roads they travel). Only regret: too little of Bates, who manages to steal every movie she's in.

"A Gunfight" (1971): Johnny Cash and Kirk Douglas are veteran gunfighters who run across each other in a small border town. To replenish their fortunes, they naturally decide to sell tickets to their own shootout at the bullring across the border. A pretty good film.

Red Sun (1971): Charles Bronson and Toshiro Mifune in what turns into a buddy film between an Old West grain robber and a samurai. Supported by Ursula Andress, Alain Delon, and Capucine. Entertaining film.

Stagecoach (1939), which I haven't seen in years. Greatly entertaining, although my memory was that the Indian attack took up the great bulk of the movie.

MR. BROOKS (2007)

Earl Brooks (Kevin Costner), a respected businessman, is named Portland OR's Man of the Year. He's also a serial killer, and is egged on by his alter-ego Marshall (William Hurt) to keep doing it. His latest double murder is witnessed by "Smith," a pervert who threatens blackmail unless Brooks kills again and takes him along. The first hour or so is gripping, and Kostner and Hurt make a great duo. But, the movie bogs down in a couple of semi-related scenarios that stretch credibility to near-breaking. Not bad, thoough.

I always dug MR. BROOKS and felt it was an underrated movie. Apparently they had plans for a trilogy but unfortunately, 13 years later, they've never, and will never, materialize. SPOILERS

Black Mass

Merely okay. Kind of reminded me of a lesser version of The Irishman and The Departed. Good performance by Johnny Depp but I felt the story and some of the characters could've been fleshed out a lot more. The narrative device featuring guys like Weeks and Martorano felt kind of tacked on as well.

The relationship between Bulger and Connolly felt rote compared to the conflict in the straight man/gangster relationships in the other movies I mentioned. A lot of the dialogue, particularly with the FBI characters, was expository, I feel.

Still, worth a watch.

Ox-Bow Incident (1943): Henry Fonda joins a posse that turns into a lynching. Young Anthony Quinn is great as one of the accused.

CRIME OF PASSION (1957)

I tuned into this latter-day film noir because it stars two of my favorite actors of that period: Barbara Stanwyk and Sterling Hayden. She's Kathy, a proto-Women's Lib newspaper columnist who falls in love instantly with Bill (Hayden), a visiting police detective. She quits her job, marries, moves to LA and is instantly bored being a housewife and having to put up with airhead police wives (one of whom is Fay Wray, of King Kong fame). She devotes her scheming self to advancing her laconic husband's career (even to sleeping with his boss, played by Raymond Burr), and mayhem results. The beginning is clumsy and poorly scripted, and Hayden, the arch-tough cop, plays completely against type. But, once it gets going, the redoubtable Stanwyk brings it off. Worth watching.

WHITE HEAT (1949)

James Cagney is at his most forceful and unforgettable as Cody Jarret, psychopathic, sadistic killer and leader of a gang of big-time armed robbers--and who has a mother complex. He is brilliantly supported by Virginia Mayo as his sometimes dumb, sometimes scheming, moll; Margaret Wycherly as his tough-as-nails Ma; black-shirt-wearing Steve Cochran (winner of the Elvis Presley Precursor Award) as his double crossing rival, and Edmond O'Brien as a cop set up to get close to him for the kill. But it's Cag's movie all the way. Director Raul Walsh keeps the action at a blistering pace, and you'll never forget its two most famous scenes: "Ma's Dead" in the prison mess hall, and "top of the world, Ma" just before Cody's blown up at a refinery. No doubt about it: this is the greatest purely gangster movie ever made.

The Brothers Rico (1957) with Richard Conte.

He plays a reformed mobster who is trying to reform his mob-brothers, but his former bosses are dragging him back into the mob life. His character is low-key (kind of like Barzini), almost sheepish. It's black and white which is fitting for a film noir. James Darren played one of the brothers. He's not the greatest actor, but did okay. Larry Gates was cast as the mob boss and was too white bread for that role since there's a strong Mafia overlay to the whole thing. There's a Catholicism overlay too.

UNHINGED

The theaters are open again and we're welcomed back with Russell Crowe, who's having a bad day! Crowe stars as Tom Cooper (although he's credited as "The Man"), who has nothing left to live for, has mental problems, abuses prescription medication, and who wants to inflict pain and punishment before going out in a blaze of glory. The film starts out without any dialogue, which is very powerful. We see Crowe commit his first act of violence, displaying his apathy and brutality, that sets the tone for the rest of the film (this is definitely not a man to be trifled with). It hooks you in before introducing the rest of the trio: Rachel (played by Caren Pistorius) and her son Kyle (Gabriel Bateman). What starts out as a simple misunderstanding, that could have been diffused, quickly turns in to a deadly game of cat-and-mouse. Yes, there is a bit of suspension of disbelief, but it's still a fun ride. The film and story start out good for the first 30-45 minutes, but about three quarters in, it starts to lose air and the ending feels rushed. Crowe really shines in this, from his accent, to the weight he had to put on for the film (hopefully he put weight on for the film and this isn't just "all natural Russell Crowe), to the way this harkins to 1993's FALLING DOWN with Michael Douglas. I will also give credit to Caren Pistorius as she played a passable Rachel. A woman who's likewise down on her luck as a single mother, trying to provide for her child, and is now being stalked by a mad man. Two characters in somewhat similar situations who choose to deal with their frustrations and angry in decisively different ways. 5.5/10

Thanks i12.... we have been waiting for a review from you on something new once it was out.

Wife has this on the list and we will try to see if it streams this weekend.
Our theaters remain closed as of today I think.

Ours just opened either yesterday or today. Seeing THE NEW MUTANTS next Thursday and then TENET on the 31st. It's GREAT to be back!

"The Bad & the Beautiful"..1953??..Kirk Douglas is a ruthless Hollywood mogul who scratches his way 2 the top chewing & spittin' out those who come into his orbit including temptress Lana Turner & Walter Pigeon...very catching.

That’s great, Enjoy i12

Good one Hood, Love the classics.

Thank you! Been looking forward to THE NEW MUTANTS for the better part of a year. Been pushed back about 4 different times now.

5 times Irishman, and the Gambit project is in limbo again for the fourth time. I am looking forward to the new Highlander movie.

Last night I watched the Original 1978 Dawn of the Dead.

It was the best one and I feel much of The Walking Dead came from this one.