Movie review - "F1" (2025) ****

 Like Housemaid, throwback to another time - big fat star vehicle, uses the widescreen has a solid story, the filmmakers embrace the genre. Brad Pitt channels Steve McQueen, the female role feels well integrated (always a challenge in race car movies traditionally).

Movie review - "Grand Prix" (1966) *** 1/2 (warning: spoilers)

 MGM's big roadshow made some money but I don't think recouped its cost. Director John Frankenheimer had a great time as he should with Bob O'Brien (very talent friendly) as the studio head, a large budget and European locations.

The movie was meant to star Steve McQueen, who turned it down, as did Paul Newman and Robert Redford, despite the latter not being famous yet. They got James Garner who was trying to be a movie star then. He doesn't quite work - the head is too big or something.

Two other big movie stars are in it - Toshiro Mifune and Yves Montand, who are comfortably cast (not always the case in their English language pictures).  Mifune's role is not that large and he is atrociously dubbed - I wish he'd been a race car driver. Montand is one of the four main stars. The other two are Brian Bedford and some Italian guy, Antonio Sabato.

The racing sequences are superb - justly famous. The land stuff is bland. It didn't have to be - it's not that interesting, that's all. The romance between married Montand and Eva Marie Saint is just... whatever. Saint is a great actress but wasted in the part. Who cares? Why have him married? At least Saint gets a chance to emote with Montand dies. 

Garner's plot is alright - seeking redemption after an accident. Ditto Bedford's.   I just wish more attention had been paid for it.

I'd love to see this on the big screen. 

Movie review - Maisie#5 - "Ringside Maisie" (1941) ***

 Maisie winds up at a boxing camp where the boxer's manager George Murphy assumes she's a tramp which is fun, as is Maisie jitterbugging at the top.

I liked the third act melodrama and Maise having more of a sex drive. Maybe the presence of Robert Sterling, Ann Sothern's husband as the boxer?

Murphy is a prat for forcing Sterling to box and the film doesn't redeem him - it sets up a Southern /Sterling clinch at the end which would've worked. Still, this was strong.

Movie review - "Major League" (1989) **1/2

 Amiable crowd pleaser. The subplot where Tom Berenger stalks Rene Russo is of its time and probab ly encouraged a lot of similar behaviour IRL. Berenger is ideally cast as is Corbin Bernsen, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes (wish he'd do more comedy). 

It was dumb in the original script to have the showgirl villain be revealed to be doing it to motivate them. That was silly. Cheapens the stakes. Better to change.

I love that it's about a Cleveland team that's very charming. 

I'm not sure if the dates for this work out but the movie feels influenced by Bull Durham. 

Movie review - "The Harder They Fall" (1956) ****

 Bogart's last movie was as good as any to go out on - a tough, cynical look at the fight game with bogie as a promoter who works for crooked Rod Steiger in pushing dodgy fighters.

Phil Yordan wrote a tough, fast script full of cynicism and bite, from Budd Schulberg's novel. Mark Robson's direction is full og energy - the fight scenes, locked rooms, behind the scenes machinations.  Steiger is excellent as is Bogart. I wish a better actor had played the dodgy fighter - Yordan wanted Victor Mature.

Jan Sterling is a good actress, she plays Bogart's wife. Doesn't have that much to do but she's effecitve. I love the punch drunk fighter. 

 I liked this movie, It stayed with me.  

Movie review -"They Shoot Horses Don't They?" (1969) ****

 They were right to sack James Poe - this needed a proper director. The Hunger Games ripped this off down to the fake marriage. Jane Fonda is superb as the broken yet defiant competitor. Gig Young also magnificent- haunted, doomed, ruthless, not without sympathy.

Susannah York goes mad, Red Buttons dies of a heart attack, Bonnie Bedelia is pregnant, Bruce Dern is her husband. Michael Sarrazin looks on, worried - he's not in Fonda's league but he has a great look. 

It's a film about self destruction. The movie warns us up front. Amazing direction. Pefect production design. I love the sea side setting and use of waves in background. 

A triumph for ABC Pictures. 

Movie review - "Up the Creek" (1984) ***

 Loved it as a kid, the three stars is generous but it's fun enough, helped by decent production values (Oregon location, rapids, bars, extras, a mini flood) and a classy support cast: James Sikking s in there, John Hillerman. Tim Matheson is full of handsome confident swagger that promised a stardom which never came; the bloke from Porky's seems a little lost, Stephen Furst is fat, the nerd is an alcoholic which is interesting. Jeff East is an ideal villain. Jennifer Runyon is very sweet as the love interest - she and her friends are very sexually aggressive and not punished. Blaine Novak's Coyote-style army villain entertains. Cheap Trick didn't like its theme song but I felt it was fun.

I'm not objective about this film but it's fun. One of Sam Arkoff's post AIP efforts.

Movie review - "Run for the Roses" (1977) *

Dull boy and horse story with some pretty Kentucky scenery. Henry Levin got this job because he did April Love. The pace is sluggish everyone seems bored.

Ida Lupino was going to be in this then dropped out and was replaced by Vera Miles. Stuart Whitman is there. Sam Groom. Lisa Eilbacher! The film avoids conflict.

Occasionally of interest. Documentary style footage of a horse race and horse operation. A fire sequence.

But it's pretty dull. The producers were crooks, that's of interest. 

Movie review - "Liquid Bridge" (2003) **

 Phil Avalon surf melodrama with weirdly not that much surfing. Ryan Kwanten good value as a star. Simone Kessell uses a French accent. A lot going on. Drug smuggling. Woman struck by lightning. Brother overdosing with drugs. Kwanten going to prison. Embracing island style. Some Kessell nudity. Quite watchable.

Movie review - "Happy Gilmore 2" (2025) ***

 Pure uncut Adam Sandler, with all his heart, indulgences and humour, plus his daughters. Some of it is funny.

Movie review - "Just My Luck" (1957) **1/2

 Norman Wisdom discovers a betting scheme and gets involved with bookies. Margaret Rutherford is fun in a too-brief appearance, and bookies are entertaining, including Leslie Phillips. The women are dull - Rank starlet Jill Dixon, Delphi Lawrence.

In black and white not colour - Rank saving some money. 

Movie review - "True as a Turtle" (1957) **

 Attempt to do Genevieve with a yacht. Could have been fun. I wanted to like it. But no tension because it's not a race, no interesting character dimension, no Bill Rose script. John Gregson is affable but his wife is dull I missed Dinah Sheridan. Keith Michell is handsome but no Kenneth More - plays a mystery character and theres a plot about counterfeit chips at a casino like who cares? SHould've been about boats. His girl is no Kay Kendall.

They just should've remade Genevieve, had a race.

Book review - "Fan Mail" by Nick Hornby

 Entertaining collection of non Fever Pitch soccer writings by Hornby. As with that book sometimes I didn't follow what was going on but always worth reading.

Movie review - "Winter a Go Go" (1965) ** (warning: spoilers)

 The stars of Swinging Summer go to work for Columbia - photography looks great, neat ski action, sluggish story (they start a ski lodge). It as a TV vibe - goons try to wreck business - interspersed with musical numbers. Racist comic cook. The leads get married. Had trouble telling people apart.

Movie review - "Thunder Alley" (1967) **1/2 (re-watching)

 Solid car film. Maybe benefits from having Fabian rather than Frankie Avalon - he's more serious, gritty, chip on his shoulder. He's sleeping with Diane McBain but falls for Annette Funicello who has one of her better roles. She's still the girl but she drives, sings, fights of Warren Berlinger, has a lot of swagger, and there's a nice father-daughter relationship. The film could've done with a little more star power - John Ashley at least. But strong score, pretty good film.

Movie review - "Fireball 500" (1966) ** (warning: spoilers) (re-watching)

 A transitionary film from beach party to stock cars - I've seen this a few times and now I'm used to it and it's more enjoyable. The acting is very good, Fabian helps make it more serious, the conflict between he and Avalon feels real, I like the moonshine stuff, Harvey Lembeck is excellent in a serious role.

I think it was a mistake to resolve "who caused the fatal accident" before the big final race. There should have been some sabotage - Fabian found out but the audience didn't and the baddies tried to kill him or something.  

An odd mishmash but endearing.

Movie review - "Junior Bonner" (1972) **`1/2

 Part of that weird early 70s enthusiasm for rodeo movies, this is arguably the best known, starring Steve McQueen and directed by Sam Peckinpah, although it didn't make much money.

McQueen is very cool and good. Peckinpah's direction is understated. The acting is fine. Robert Preston is flashy dad, Ida Lupino is harder mum, Barbara Leigh is the hot girl (that's about it). Joe Don Baker is excellent as McQueen's realestate brother. Ben Johnson is in it as some rodeo guy.

The movie  would've been more exciting with McQueen as a gunslinger. Sorry, it's nice Peckinpah wanted to change pace, but the film is boring.

Aussies will like how McQueen buys Preston a ticket to Australia (Preston's dream destination).

Movie review - "Bite the Bullet" (1975) ** (warning: spoilers)

 Richard Brooks had a big hit with The Professionals and went back to the well with another macho, male driven Western in a slightly odd time period (1906 or something like that) with a rousing score. This has neat photography and an interesting cast but you're bound to wonder "why should we care". The Professionals had clear stakes - kidnapped woman, cash. This is about a cross country race. You can give stakes to a race but Brooks can't crack the problem here. 

There's two old mates Gene Hackman and James Coburn, and a callow kid (Jan Michael Vincent), and a hooker (Candice Bergen), a Brit (Ian Bannen), an old poke (Ben Johnson).

It needed more stakes. More character differential. There's some nice scenes and the actors are fine. The horses are pretty as is the scenery. But I got lost what the race was about or why we should care or what was going on. Some robbers turn up and that perks things up because it's clear and clean what they want and the stakes are life and death.

At the end Hackman and Coburn cross the line together. It might mean more if we got a sense they were friends, or rivals, or brothers, or cared. Coburn's character could be removed. So could Johnson. Actually Johnson and Coburn could be merged.

Oh, I'm picking at it. I don't know. It was loud and pretty and kind of lifeless. Burt Reynolds and James Caan were going to be leads at one stage - they would've given the piece more urgency.

Movie review - "The Honkers" (1972) ** (warning: spoilers)

 James Coburn backed new talent - this was the first studio film from character actor Steve Ihnat - who died of a heart attack aged 37 at Cannes as this film was being released. It's an actor-y piece with Coburn as a rodeo rider - he's good at his job but is irresonsible, has an ex (Lois Nettleton) he still sleeps with because he's a stud, has a hot young hippy (Anne Archer) who wants him because he's a stud, clashes with locals, has an old mate (Slim Pickens), walks aound a town.

I'm surprised this got greenlit - Coburn wasn't that a big star by 1971 or whenever it was made... but I gues The Last Picture Show made studios go "quick we need our own modern day Western about lost people having sex.

The one outstanding bit is the end sequence when Slim Pickens dies in an accident. Everything else feels too light too dissolute, like minor Larry McMurtry. Coburn is fine but the piece would have been stronger had he been given stronger actors to play off against.

Movie review - "Horseplay" (2003) **

 Good on the filmmakers for taking a bold swing - this is  a farce about dodgy types in the racing industry. If it doesn't quite work they gave it a shot.

Marcus Graham isn't perhaps entirely well cast as a horse trainer who marries the daughter (Tushka Bergen) of a successful trainer (Bill Hunter) but cheats on her with his ex (Natalie Mendoza). He's short of money so he decides to arrange for the wife of a jockey to be kidnapped so he can fix a race.

I know there's a debate over how likeable characters need to be - but they definitely need to be watchable, and it's hard to watch Graham do this, especially as he's doing it just ebcause he's bad with money.

Some of it is a little ahem questionable such as Alyssa McLelland having to gyrate in a bikini and talk about the joys of sex with middle aged men.

Some of the acting is very good - Abbie Cornish, Damien Richardson. I think Marcus Graham is not quite right - Jason Donovan (very animated as Graham's sleazy mate) would've been better.

The film makes some simple errors - like it's got too many blonde women (McClelland, Bergen, Krista Vendy, McClelland's friends) so I got them mixed up. I struggled to tell the difference between the wacky hitman too.

Some critics said there were too many characters - I don't think that's the problem, I just think they needed stronger motivations. For instance I'd have Graham need the money because someone wanted to kill him not just because he's lazy. The film could have used its violence more - it's rather coy on that.

Give Tuska Bergen a moivation. Like what does she want? To rip off her dad? To arrange for Graham to be killed? Marc Owen Taylor is her ex who wants her back but... spends most of the time dancing? As does Donovan's ex and Bergen and then Dichardson and Morales.

Some scenes are mean like McClelland's parents finding her dead and Bergen seeing her father be killed.