This blaxploitation throwback has a fine premise - a bunch of old blaxploitation stars (Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Pam Grier) reunite to take on a gang that they helped set up which is causing grief in the town of Gary, Indiana.
The structure is solid - a kid is killed for hustling a gang at basketball (I loved the low stakes-ness of this) and an old man is wounded for helping the police, prompting the old man's son (Williamson) to return and team up with the parents of the dead kid (Grier, Brown) to get revenge.
There's some satisfactory scenes of middle aged men kicking young arse - this film is kind of aimed at the black Clint Eastwood crowd. The quality of the cast is high - it includes Ron O'Neal, Richard Roundtree, Robert Forster, Charles Napier and Wings Hauser.
The script deals with some important issues, there's complexity to the characters. I don't feel it's as good as the premise - you could get a sequel or two out of it - but I liked this a lot more than I thought it would.
Tuesday, January 03, 2017
Movie review - "Overland Telegraph" (1951) **1/2
One of the last of the many (many) Westerns Tim Holt made for RKO and it's an entirely decent B Western, with strong production values and brisk handling. There's a solid story with some complex (ish) characters and memorable moments. I get the feeling people tried on this one. It also benefits from a good cast.
Hugh Beaumont adds some low-wattage star power the baddy - a saloon owner. Universal's favourite Rock Hudson back up, George Nader, does likewise as a sort of anti-hero - a man who is trying to sabotage Gail Davis' telegraph, but isn't as bad as Beaumont, his best friend. Davis has a memorable introduction, dangling from a telegraph pole, and a strong character - she's feisty, gun-toting, in charge of camp, and willing to whip up a lynch mob. She's not there for romance (Holt apparently didn't often engage in it despite his good looks - it would upset his kid fans).
I don't want to overpraise this - it is a B Western - but there is constant action and story. Tim Holt is a solid star - not bright or bubbly, yes okay you could call him bland, but he's a steady center for the action. Richard Martin is his Mexican-Irish sidekick. Mari Blanchard adds some extra glamour as Nader's fiance.
Hugh Beaumont adds some low-wattage star power the baddy - a saloon owner. Universal's favourite Rock Hudson back up, George Nader, does likewise as a sort of anti-hero - a man who is trying to sabotage Gail Davis' telegraph, but isn't as bad as Beaumont, his best friend. Davis has a memorable introduction, dangling from a telegraph pole, and a strong character - she's feisty, gun-toting, in charge of camp, and willing to whip up a lynch mob. She's not there for romance (Holt apparently didn't often engage in it despite his good looks - it would upset his kid fans).
I don't want to overpraise this - it is a B Western - but there is constant action and story. Tim Holt is a solid star - not bright or bubbly, yes okay you could call him bland, but he's a steady center for the action. Richard Martin is his Mexican-Irish sidekick. Mari Blanchard adds some extra glamour as Nader's fiance.
Movie review - "Commando" (1985) **1/2
A silly outlandish comic book movie which has some historical significance (no kidding) - it was the first hit Arnie had without the backing of a big character, like Conan or The Terminator. Arnie basically plays Arnie.
The set up and ticking clock are all fine - Arnie is an ex special ops guy living in the mountains with his daughter, who is kidnapped in order for Arnie to kill the president of a fictitious country. When Arnie knocks off his watcher on a plane, he knows he's only got X hours before the plane lands to rescue his daughter.
That gives the film good pace, although it's a shame Arnie never goes to the country and/or gets the president involved. There are other gaping holes in the story - why doesn't Arnie call his officer James Olson right away? (They could have covered it by having Arnie think the government might be in on the conspiracy but they don't.) Why did they bother killing off members of his team at the beginning other than to have an exciting opening sequence? Isn't it an awfully risky strategy for him to turn up on the island and starting to kill everyone before he found his daughter?
But the film has so many things going for it. James Horner's score is genuinely great - catchy and a bit different. The cast is fantastic: Alyssa Milano as the daughter; Rae Dawn Chong in the Madeleine Carroll 39 Steps part; David Patrick Kelly and Bill Duke as baddies; Dan Hedaya in brown face as a villain; Bill Paxton in a small role; and most of all Vernon Wells as Arnie's psycho former colleague (should've done more in Hollywood, Wells, he's great). It has a cheerful nature. It's very violent - things being plunged into chests and so on - but none of it feels real. It's silly and crappy and gets worse as it goes along but the foundations are strong and Arnie is perfect in the lead.
The set up and ticking clock are all fine - Arnie is an ex special ops guy living in the mountains with his daughter, who is kidnapped in order for Arnie to kill the president of a fictitious country. When Arnie knocks off his watcher on a plane, he knows he's only got X hours before the plane lands to rescue his daughter.
That gives the film good pace, although it's a shame Arnie never goes to the country and/or gets the president involved. There are other gaping holes in the story - why doesn't Arnie call his officer James Olson right away? (They could have covered it by having Arnie think the government might be in on the conspiracy but they don't.) Why did they bother killing off members of his team at the beginning other than to have an exciting opening sequence? Isn't it an awfully risky strategy for him to turn up on the island and starting to kill everyone before he found his daughter?
But the film has so many things going for it. James Horner's score is genuinely great - catchy and a bit different. The cast is fantastic: Alyssa Milano as the daughter; Rae Dawn Chong in the Madeleine Carroll 39 Steps part; David Patrick Kelly and Bill Duke as baddies; Dan Hedaya in brown face as a villain; Bill Paxton in a small role; and most of all Vernon Wells as Arnie's psycho former colleague (should've done more in Hollywood, Wells, he's great). It has a cheerful nature. It's very violent - things being plunged into chests and so on - but none of it feels real. It's silly and crappy and gets worse as it goes along but the foundations are strong and Arnie is perfect in the lead.
Monday, January 02, 2017
Movie review - "8 1/2" (1963) ***
This film has a lot to answer for... it prompted a bunch of other filmmakers to make movies about filmmakers who can't think of ideas for their next film (eg Alex in Wonderland).
It's Fellini's journey up his own arse, with Marcello Mastroianni as a handsome, battered, weary Fellini-like director, set upon by various crises: a nagging critic, visions of an ideal woman (Claudia Cardinale), an annoying mistress (Sandra Milo), his producer, his wife (Anouk Aimee).
It is lively. Some of the visuals are impressive, I liked the cast (Barbara Steele pops up as a friend's girlfriend). But a lot of it I could take or leave.
It's Fellini's journey up his own arse, with Marcello Mastroianni as a handsome, battered, weary Fellini-like director, set upon by various crises: a nagging critic, visions of an ideal woman (Claudia Cardinale), an annoying mistress (Sandra Milo), his producer, his wife (Anouk Aimee).
It is lively. Some of the visuals are impressive, I liked the cast (Barbara Steele pops up as a friend's girlfriend). But a lot of it I could take or leave.
Book review - " “Ruth Chatterton: Actress, Aviator, Author” by Scott O'Brien (2013)
Chatteron isn't regarded as one of the great Hollywood stars - when I first read David Shipman's book on legends from this era she was one of the few I hadn't heard of. But she had her moment in the sun, particularly in the early 1930s. Today she is best remembered if at all for her role as the wife in Dodsworth and maybe the lead in Madame X.
She was born into what should have been an affluent background (dad was an architect) but things got harder when her parents separated. Dad was a bit useless so Chatterton went on to the stage at a relatively young age in order to support her mother. Chatterton travelled around the country doing a lot of acting. She worked for a company run by a husband and wife where the husband, Henry Miller, fell in love with her and cast her in several hits including The Rainbow and Daddy Long Legs.
Chatterton's stage career was winding down when she decided to go out to Hollywood. She had a good reputation from Broadway and went straight into leading roles at Paramount. She was fortunate to arrive with the coming of sound too so her theatre training stood her in good stead.
For a few years Chatterton was a genuine draw, featuring in a series of melodramas and comedies that are rarely seen today for whatever reason. Her career went into decline in the mid 30s - she made a few films in Europe then went back to the stage, touring steadily and making the occasional trip back to Broadway,
Acting wasn't the be all and end all to Chatterton. She loved the money Hollywood bought her - she spent it like it was going out of fashion - but she didn't live for it. She had a very lively love life (partners included Miller, Fritz Lang, Rex Smith, Ralph Forbes, and George Brent - the last two she married); she enjoyed travel; she was a pioneering aviatrix, palling around with Amelia Earhardt and running her own competition; she was highly intelligent - which caused her to interfere a lot with her productions (arguing with directors, rewriting scenes)... I'm sure she was a good critic and astute and all that but her improvements didn't seem to improve anything; later in life she became a best selling novelist; she was politically and culturally progressive (lots of gay friends, very much a liberated woman).
There was lots of stuff in here I didn't know - I'm unfamiliar with much of Chatterton's career. O'Brien does a very good job, it's excellently researched. I have to admit though that for much of the time I didn't really care - this wasn't O'Brien's fault as much as mine... I didn't find Chatterton that interesting, or her films.
She was born into what should have been an affluent background (dad was an architect) but things got harder when her parents separated. Dad was a bit useless so Chatterton went on to the stage at a relatively young age in order to support her mother. Chatterton travelled around the country doing a lot of acting. She worked for a company run by a husband and wife where the husband, Henry Miller, fell in love with her and cast her in several hits including The Rainbow and Daddy Long Legs.
Chatterton's stage career was winding down when she decided to go out to Hollywood. She had a good reputation from Broadway and went straight into leading roles at Paramount. She was fortunate to arrive with the coming of sound too so her theatre training stood her in good stead.
For a few years Chatterton was a genuine draw, featuring in a series of melodramas and comedies that are rarely seen today for whatever reason. Her career went into decline in the mid 30s - she made a few films in Europe then went back to the stage, touring steadily and making the occasional trip back to Broadway,
Acting wasn't the be all and end all to Chatterton. She loved the money Hollywood bought her - she spent it like it was going out of fashion - but she didn't live for it. She had a very lively love life (partners included Miller, Fritz Lang, Rex Smith, Ralph Forbes, and George Brent - the last two she married); she enjoyed travel; she was a pioneering aviatrix, palling around with Amelia Earhardt and running her own competition; she was highly intelligent - which caused her to interfere a lot with her productions (arguing with directors, rewriting scenes)... I'm sure she was a good critic and astute and all that but her improvements didn't seem to improve anything; later in life she became a best selling novelist; she was politically and culturally progressive (lots of gay friends, very much a liberated woman).
There was lots of stuff in here I didn't know - I'm unfamiliar with much of Chatterton's career. O'Brien does a very good job, it's excellently researched. I have to admit though that for much of the time I didn't really care - this wasn't O'Brien's fault as much as mine... I didn't find Chatterton that interesting, or her films.
Sunday, January 01, 2017
Movie review - "It Conquered Hollywood! The Story of American International Pictures" (2001) ****
Fun documentary about one of my favourite - if not the favourite - movie studio: American International Pictures. If you're a fan of the studio you probably have already read a lot about it - the memoirs of Sam Arkoff and Roger Corman, the books of Mark Thomas McGee, etc. I certainly had so there wasn't that much in it I didn't already know - but it was great to see talking heads such as Arkoff, Corman, and McGee. We also hear from Joe Dante (who I don't think ever worked for AIP but did for its spiritual off spring, New World Pictures), AIP talent like Susan Hart and Aaron Kincaid.
There's a brilliant clip where Nicholson and Arkoff argue in front of a camera over the message of Wild in the Streets. I would've liked more of that and a longer running time.
Bogdanovich does the narration, even though he didn't really make anything for AIP. Someone more tabloid-y and rapid-fire, less sonorous might've been better (like say Dante). Bogdanovich doesn't "feel" AIP, that's all.
There's a brilliant clip where Nicholson and Arkoff argue in front of a camera over the message of Wild in the Streets. I would've liked more of that and a longer running time.
Bogdanovich does the narration, even though he didn't really make anything for AIP. Someone more tabloid-y and rapid-fire, less sonorous might've been better (like say Dante). Bogdanovich doesn't "feel" AIP, that's all.
Movie review - "Daisy Miller" (1974) **1/2 (warning: spoilers)
The first of the "three flops" that famously brought Peter Bogdanovich back down to earth. This is decent take on Henry James' novel (which I admit I've never read) about a stuffy American who falls for a flirty American in Europe.
In hindsight you can see the appeal of the novel to Bogdanovich - it's based on novel which isn't really like a typical Hollywood genre, so it was something different; it offered a great role for Cybill Shepherd; the relationship between the male lead and Shepherd/Miller was clearly something Bogdanovich understood - hot girl worshipped by nerdy guy.
It's a very Bogdanovich style of film too - Shepherd of course, his stock company (Eileen Brennan, Cloris Leachman), use of long takes with rapid fire dialogue.
It's an interesting sort of movie rather than enjoyable. I tuned in and out. The ending was moving when Shepherd dies - but even that happens off screen. Certainly no dog but you can see why the public didn't go for it.
Larry McMurtry's kid is in it.
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