Movie review - "The Hating Game" (2022) **

 Some bright lines, a decent situation and Lucy Hale is winning as the short girl (her height is continually referred to in dialogue) with a work rival, played by some guy who isn't as good as her. Effective.

Movie review - "It's a Grand Life" (1953) **

 Comedy starring Frank Randle, an English northener who made a few comedies, mostly with a military setting. You can see his talent but the film is heavy. He's some old codger in the army and encounters a series of sketches. I only watched it because a support part is played by Diana Dors, who looks terrific and is as lively as ever as a woman in the woman's auxiliary. She has a romance with some sleazy older guy. There's these musical acts at the end.

Movie review - "Invisible Ghost" (1940) ** (re-watching)

 Saw this because it was Bela's 140th anniversary. It's still pretty solid, well directed. Decent twists with Bela thinking his wife is dead and she's not dead and Bela a rather tragic killer. Plenty of Bela. It's pretty full on how a guy is actually wrongly executed for the murders.

Movie review - "Tom Horn" (1980) **1/2

 The background to this movie is more interesting than the actual film - McQueen short of breath and discovering he was dying, firing several directors, wanting to make Old Times but being forced to do this, the fact there were dual Horn productions.

It feels patchy - start stop, voice over, uneven. Nice production design and cinematography. Moving in a lot of places. Some action sequences and Horn's hanging give an indication of what the film could've been.

I'm not sure the story is that interesting still. McQueen is really good.

Movie review - "The Brothers McMullen" (1995) ***1/2

 Probably still Ed Burns' best film. It has authenticity but more story being based around three brothers - the married one who has an affair (initiated by the woman very aggressively which feels fresh), one who is unsure of his new romance, another who has a Catholic crisis. Their dilemmas are the same as what Burns would explore later on but three brothers means more incident. There's also more conflict - people are tougher with each other.

Burns has long Gen X hair and some charming by-play with Maxine Bahns. Connie Britton is lovely as the perfect wife loved by her brother in laws more than her husband.

The Irish American background was fresh then - chats about JFK and JFK Jnr, and the role of the church.

Movie review - "Sidewalks of New York" (2001) ***

 Breezy, easy going Woody Allen riff which even has Heather Graham channelling Mia Farrow and David Krumholtz channels Woodu. His stalking of Rosario Dawson and Brittany Murphy maybe isn't as charming as we're meant to find it but he is a pleasing presence. Actually they all do it's a very well acted film, with plenty of star power - a young Brittany Murphy and Dawson, Burns, Stanley Tucci, Dennis Farina.

Graham and Burns were dating at the time (or once did) - she was his one before Christy Turlington. The film is let down a little by Burns' script - I think the characters are interesting but the chats a bit one note. Some of it is tired - gay jokes, Stanley Tucci worried about the size of his penis.

But there's lovely moments like Graham's friend asking Burns out a date for Graham and cuteness with Murphy. And I liked that Dawson just wasn't in to Burns and decided to keep his baby without telling him - that's dramatically interesting.

Movie review - "Ash Wednesday" (2002) **

 This movie starts off with some funky hand held visuals and I was like "oh Ed Burns has gotten Scorsese". And Burns later wrote that he wished he'd shot the whole film in that style - and he was right.

It is a change of pace for him, being about gangsters, specifically the Irish Mob - this is State of Grace territory. Elijah Wood shoots some gangsters after his brother Burns, then disappears. Three years later it turns out Wood might be coming home, with to get his girl (Rosario Dawson).

That's strong conflict. This would make a decent stage play, if rewritten.

As a film it suffers from Burns not being up to the strength of his idea. There's a lot of repetition - did you see him, yeah I saw him - as well as endless use of characters saying "f*ck". Burns has dishevelled hair in this one - he disliked his performance, but didn't not super different from his other performances.

Elijah Wood's peppy faced youngster has an interesting contrast  with Burns - but the piece might've been more effective with someone tougher, more attractive to Dawson. I didn't buy them being married and having a kid let alone Wood pining for her for so long. It's not the fault of the actors they just seemed too young - it would've been better had they seemed older.

Also they should've have Dawson and Burns be in love all the way through the film. They throw it in at the end.

Malachy McCourt is excellent as an old gangster. Oliver Platt is unusually cast as a hard man but he's always good and he registers. The music theme got wearying.

This movie had a lot of potential. I think Burns needed a co writer or something.