CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER & ELLIOTT GOULD IN 'THE SILENT PARTNER'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28PwN98ok1oJqBhFPSZ0lsjCz5DAGCDT7krdjQ_b0M_AExu5IH1Y-WUB9pUM8hPOaET99gQZ3EJEw9K1L5tQVjWkTVLBPRX9K4YKWheMzrlxIX6ojvS229LDqZ5R9s3bZaWNZKX33DgzeDfuNe2cx6TgBTE0wc1ryE7OXTzmy_DUJBluGuzWVy_kROg/s1373/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-01%20at%206.56.55%20PM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="998" data-original-width="1373" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28PwN98ok1oJqBhFPSZ0lsjCz5DAGCDT7krdjQ_b0M_AExu5IH1Y-WUB9pUM8hPOaET99gQZ3EJEw9K1L5tQVjWkTVLBPRX9K4YKWheMzrlxIX6ojvS229LDqZ5R9s3bZaWNZKX33DgzeDfuNe2cx6TgBTE0wc1ryE7OXTzmy_DUJBluGuzWVy_kROg/w400-h291/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-01%20at%206.56.55%20PM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE SILENT PARTNER Year: 1978 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>An almost perfect vehicle for Christopher Plummer, who, playing either nice guys or menacing villains, was always intensely scowling and extremely intimidating... Especially in the Canadian bank-heist thriller (made in Canada showing Canadian cash) THE SILENT PARTNER; yet he's a little <i>too</i> silent and needed to be in the picture a lot more, all but vanishing halfway through until a somewhat rushed third act...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>But there are topnotch suspenseful moments along the way. Which has a creative premise where Elliott Gould's lonesome, tropical-fish collecting bank teller, after finding a discarded robbery note, figures from a particular written-letter "G" that the bank in Ontario's fancy Eaton Center Mall will be robbed by Plummer, the mall's bell-ringing Santa... </p><p>And when the heist goes down, Gould's smart, sharp and sneaky, morally-ambiguous Cullen winds up robbing the robber: keeping a large sum reported to the media for himself while giving a small amount to Plummer... then locking it into his own secret safe deposit box, which has a nifty little side-plot all its own... </p><p><span></span></p>

canadian, céline lomez, christopher plummer, elliott gould, heist, john candy, seventies, stephen young, susannah york, thriller

CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER & ELLIOTT GOULD IN 'THE SILENT PARTNER'

Title: THE SILENT PARTNER Year: 1978 Rating: ***1/2 An almost perfect vehicle for Christopher Plummer, who, playing either nice guys or mena...

CAMERON CROWE FOLLOWS FAST TIMES WITH 'THE WILD LIFE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFixvoTRCxMWF0KjLcP_ESdlxEYn5hrQzgaz1SW210rBdwgfzPgNdwkhZvGr6Bz-HBEeUludy4g26lfRET7aZNZ6z8Cw7X0s9DmVOSbbHLHR2WGx35K31bkaFP5a4DM2EyrMbYJQ0seCNZShAhrtPVA6kmdaPWw_YLE0EvAB6vZNlM55wcwB6n3sSZA/s1519/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-01%20at%204.00.03%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="1519" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFixvoTRCxMWF0KjLcP_ESdlxEYn5hrQzgaz1SW210rBdwgfzPgNdwkhZvGr6Bz-HBEeUludy4g26lfRET7aZNZ6z8Cw7X0s9DmVOSbbHLHR2WGx35K31bkaFP5a4DM2EyrMbYJQ0seCNZShAhrtPVA6kmdaPWw_YLE0EvAB6vZNlM55wcwB6n3sSZA/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-01%20at%204.00.03%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE WILD LIFE Year: 1984 Writer: Cameron Crowe Stars: Chris Penn, Eric Stoltz Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>THE WILD LIFE, an underrated, extremely unappreciated and relatively obscure and unknown teenage summertime sex comedy directed by Art Linson and written by <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/11/fast-times.html">FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH</a> creator Cameron Crowe has a somewhat deliberately facetious, misleading title...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Although two of the main characters — Chris Penn as Tom Drake, channeling brother Sean’s Jeff Spicoli in jock form, and Ilan-Mitchell Smith as stoner kid Jim Conrad — are rebellious enough, the buried lead goes to Jim’s big brother Bill, who, played by Eric Stoltz, moves into an apartment complex for his twenty-something independence...</p><span></span>

chris penn, comedy, edward van halen, eighties, eric stoltz, hart bochner, ilan-mitchell smith, jenny wright, lea thompson, rick moranis, teen

CAMERON CROWE FOLLOWS FAST TIMES WITH 'THE WILD LIFE'

Title: THE WILD LIFE Year: 1984 Writer: Cameron Crowe Stars: Chris Penn, Eric Stoltz Rating: **** THE WILD LIFE, an underrated, extremely u...

DEBORAH WINTERS & ELI WALLACH IN 'THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-MBgNs3ZYuupawDz-K8CmqTm3WO2YQUOQTPCLMX5OOc9oFooglNf8eqe04jZ7z_pWZdL3cYEDnQAHBI9jAamGUaEUKbo3wKVH0d3dKhjv-ODSy5cZz5Kfna5zJDcwMVeF6Fb99t0roFQ8idGQoN03NEZ1PG92Id261ZUsfIqC0hteenO8XhY1DwaiQ/s1398/1%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="816" data-original-width="1398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-MBgNs3ZYuupawDz-K8CmqTm3WO2YQUOQTPCLMX5OOc9oFooglNf8eqe04jZ7z_pWZdL3cYEDnQAHBI9jAamGUaEUKbo3wKVH0d3dKhjv-ODSy5cZz5Kfna5zJDcwMVeF6Fb99t0roFQ8idGQoN03NEZ1PG92Id261ZUsfIqC0hteenO8XhY1DwaiQ/s16000/1%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR Year: 1970 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>David Greene's obscure THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR is out to prove that a parent, in particular a father working eight-hours and then having a nightcap and sleeping pill to fall asleep, is just the same as a wayward teenager dropping acid...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The latter happens quickly as underrated starlet <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/deborah%20winters">Deborah Winters</a>, after watching brother Stephen McHattie's hippie band rehearsing, winds up in her own closet, seeing God on a mountain and thus, freaking out... </p><p><span></span></p>

counter-culture, david greene, deborah winters, drama, drugs, eli wallach, exploitation, family, julie harris, melodrama, seventies, stephen mchattie

DEBORAH WINTERS & ELI WALLACH IN 'THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR'

Title: THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR Year: 1970 Rating: ***1/2 David Greene's obscure THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR is out to prove that a parent, in part...

MICHAEL WINNER DIRECTS MICHAEL CAINE IN 'BULLSEYE!'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLU0yuKr0p9C8UJ_aYQ2u7pf0tnjYFqL6_FaxQV01qnjVDF9ax8Jlmx3yqZ4vwtESKVMqDuf-TXuCOX3JP0kNrY5K8YDW_QUBMkk877dHO6g_O0TVl7hiezGmMP3uGPXqXyNpgO5N9Vu22QT59xdsaRGcMOAyT6Yu66sSc94de6_M8s1mIKyf1yB79RQ/s1879/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-27%20at%2012.31.14%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1001" data-original-width="1879" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLU0yuKr0p9C8UJ_aYQ2u7pf0tnjYFqL6_FaxQV01qnjVDF9ax8Jlmx3yqZ4vwtESKVMqDuf-TXuCOX3JP0kNrY5K8YDW_QUBMkk877dHO6g_O0TVl7hiezGmMP3uGPXqXyNpgO5N9Vu22QT59xdsaRGcMOAyT6Yu66sSc94de6_M8s1mIKyf1yB79RQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-27%20at%2012.31.14%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: BULLSEYE Cast: Michael Caine, Roger Moore Year: 1990 Rating: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>By 1990 how the 1970's mighty-British had fallen, three-fold, as Michael Winner directs Michael Caine and Roger Moore in the buddy con-comedy BULLSEYE!, more confusing than unfunny, and extremely farfetched as Caine (collecting a paycheck) and Moore (constantly widening his eyes) just happen to be dead-ringers for two scientists that are also a team-up, and even more crooked...<br><br>Providing Caine a chance to reprise his popular DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS con-artist cadence but in more of the Steve Martin goofball role, and failing, getting no help from Sally Kirkland as the straight-man-lady partner gluing both together, along with Moore's real life daughter as a CIA Agent in what's more a collection of silly scenes than one collective spy spoof, which is hardly even attempted here in the first, second, or third place.</p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

buddy, comedy, con man, derren nesbitt, michael caine, michael winner, roger moore, sally kirkland

MICHAEL WINNER DIRECTS MICHAEL CAINE IN 'BULLSEYE!'

Title: BULLSEYE Cast: Michael Caine, Roger Moore Year: 1990 Rating: ** By 1990 how the 1970's mighty-British had fallen, three-fold, as ...

ROBERT ROMANUS REVISITS 'FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH'

<p> <i></i></p><p><i></i></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuko2gIBpEB9HWkvwTkpjadE-7OYdDS0ipLvFvMWBjD0CGuXsw5H8YyjK6SYwsOEms0JEKysHWWM2FNCF96nfv_CYbfqYGCfoxypjed39LsIUu8-HwjKEG0r_3AchpvgulyeLQcHf7nvLOuqPbEtYQXTBX8Go-jzVvgR59fQK8veqUElMPcQIkH6RiMQ/s789/Picture+13.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="372" data-original-width="789" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuko2gIBpEB9HWkvwTkpjadE-7OYdDS0ipLvFvMWBjD0CGuXsw5H8YyjK6SYwsOEms0JEKysHWWM2FNCF96nfv_CYbfqYGCfoxypjed39LsIUu8-HwjKEG0r_3AchpvgulyeLQcHf7nvLOuqPbEtYQXTBX8Go-jzVvgR59fQK8veqUElMPcQIkH6RiMQ/s16000/Picture+13.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Robert Romanus Interview for FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH by James M. Tate</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p><i>"How lucky is that?" says Robert Romanus, who played Mike Damone, the cocky ticket-scalper in FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, in a Cult Film Freak interview. "My first big movie and my name comes up at the same time I’m on the screen. And it doesn’t always happen, you know."</i><br> <br> <span style="background-color: white;"><u>So how did you first get into acting?</u><b> </b></span>When I started I came out to Los Angeles, straight out to Los Angeles, and I wanted to be a musician. I was a drummer and I played around town quite a bit with a lot of people. And I traveled a little bit and I was working as a singing waiter in a restaurant, and this really pretty girl came up at the end of one of my songs and said, “You know, you should be an actor.” So I took it to mean that my voice wasn’t very good. <br> <br> And so I actually went and took an acting class. That was 1978 and I fell in love with acting. I got on stage… Back then I was a very shy person and it was a place for me to be all the things I couldn’t be in real life. So I immediately took to it.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p> <span></span><p><u><span style="background-color: white;"></span></u></p><p><u><span style="background-color: white;"></span></u></p><p><u><span style="background-color: white;"></span></u></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp8w0_alIj2-xl-KBVRm-8nw1_MtTX5WtLmGtK1WQ8x1zrAkZUkF59EhUjg9G1qwMaAu0Erql2d0HKEnbzPQB5Ix4AoaMS48578VC0Dxkl_xo8wN-EKYWhRNbIahEjGt_5GhDgnuCFGTjh1CRa5LD9NClwoBh9YOK28TO5k3mgHipDIuryY67vY0QbPA/s2443/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-27%20at%2010.54.02%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1049" data-original-width="2443" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp8w0_alIj2-xl-KBVRm-8nw1_MtTX5WtLmGtK1WQ8x1zrAkZUkF59EhUjg9G1qwMaAu0Erql2d0HKEnbzPQB5Ix4AoaMS48578VC0Dxkl_xo8wN-EKYWhRNbIahEjGt_5GhDgnuCFGTjh1CRa5LD9NClwoBh9YOK28TO5k3mgHipDIuryY67vY0QbPA/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-27%20at%2010.54.02%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="background-color: white;">Robert Romanus before FAST TIMES in FOXES</span></u></td></tr></tbody></table><p><u><span style="background-color: white;">And your very first movie was FOXES…</span></u> Right, FOXES with Jodie Foster – that was in 1979 so it wasn’t long after I started acting classes that I got that job. And then it was a long time before I got another job, which was FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH. Could have been like three years. </p><p></p><p></p><p>After I did FOXES I don’t even think I had an agent. And my mother came to visit me… She’s from Connecticut… She came out to visit me and, I don’t know how old you are, or what your history is, but there used to be a restaurant out here called Schwab's Pharmacy, which was very famous. So I took her there. <br></p><p></p><p>HBO was just getting started – cable TV was just getting started – and FOXES was one of the movies playing. So we were sitting there having breakfast, and this guy walks by and says, “I just saw you on TV last night – on FOXES.” And he said, “Do you have an agent?” And I said, “No.” And he said, “Do you want one?” And I said, “Sure.” So he became my agent, and I think maybe the fourth audition that he sent me out on was for FAST TIMES. <br> </p><span></span>

amy heckerling, brian backer, cult, eighties, interview, jennifer jason leigh, phoebe cates, robert romanus, sex comedy, teen

ROBERT ROMANUS REVISITS 'FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH'

Robert Romanus Interview for FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH by James M. Tate "How lucky is that?" says Robert Romanus, who played M...

TOM CRUISE RETURNS FOR THE POPULAR 'TOP GUN: MAVERICK"

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiciyXZqCJUAWS6a3tOpSJa1pCMv-Qar0jf5WuZhvbyM6UxMf8To1l4Fr6UP7maWIK6GKcNBV-xZIayYkO30rdmr9DKXkvbDK6ZNusHdrbaIWVM-DgLA7bSjWJYIrrfyj2CdNBjm4vMnnIZquz56jWHtg3USqSNGLDdlCEdiBZo8-Y8erPF0t6e73YCgQ/s960/top-gun-maverick-poster-crop.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiciyXZqCJUAWS6a3tOpSJa1pCMv-Qar0jf5WuZhvbyM6UxMf8To1l4Fr6UP7maWIK6GKcNBV-xZIayYkO30rdmr9DKXkvbDK6ZNusHdrbaIWVM-DgLA7bSjWJYIrrfyj2CdNBjm4vMnnIZquz56jWHtg3USqSNGLDdlCEdiBZo8-Y8erPF0t6e73YCgQ/s16000/top-gun-maverick-poster-crop.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: TOP GUN: MAVERICK Year: 2022 Rating: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Before deliberately channeling the STAR WARS Death Star trench run, TOP GUN: MAVERICK mirrors THE RIGHT STUFF with a breaking-the-barrier sequence that even features Ed Harris, playing the first of two uptight authority-figures, frowning and scowling at anything our returning/rebellious hero does... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The thing is, Tom Cruise's MAVERICK really doesn't break many rules, sent back to the familiar TOP GUN headquarters to train a group of youngsters for the Lucas-inspired mission: a single plane (flanked by guardians) needs to strategically drop a bomb into a perfectly tight space to blow-up an entire villainous compound...<br></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

2022, action, adventure, ed harris, jennifer connelly, jon hamm, miles teller, military, mission, new, sequel, tom cruise, val kilmer

TOM CRUISE RETURNS FOR THE POPULAR 'TOP GUN: MAVERICK"

Title: TOP GUN: MAVERICK Year: 2022 Rating: ** Before deliberately channeling the STAR WARS Death Star trench run, TOP GUN: MAVERICK mirror...

DON SIEGEL DIRECTS JOHN WAYNE'S FINAL FILM 'THE SHOOTIST'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfFGBdF_DJLedZkYmbVD_oKf_ClKFNMSyMocNKMsrkEXHYY-qjhAwFUAERbirXqKgzFSqdplhO1K-qDlzzkEx7UVAWE7KY8nXcd5ZzjAbkeWXvhr0woQWSIT7zIgcqCfA-WfBDe0MmbwtFcp0YSvoRWW_Bqm0on339FNLn3Ym5E4EPZHv43_R8S7coKw/s956/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-20%20at%205.32.12%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="584" data-original-width="956" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfFGBdF_DJLedZkYmbVD_oKf_ClKFNMSyMocNKMsrkEXHYY-qjhAwFUAERbirXqKgzFSqdplhO1K-qDlzzkEx7UVAWE7KY8nXcd5ZzjAbkeWXvhr0woQWSIT7zIgcqCfA-WfBDe0MmbwtFcp0YSvoRWW_Bqm0on339FNLn3Ym5E4EPZHv43_R8S7coKw/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-20%20at%205.32.12%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE SHOOTIST Stars: John Wayne, Hugh O'Brien Year: 1976 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Don Siegel's THE SHOOTIST seems perfectly suited as John Wayne's final movie since it's about the final week of an infamous gunslinger dying of cancer (given the news by a doctor played by James Stewart); yet there was a string of slightly younger actors considered before a surprisingly healthy-<i>looking</i> Wayne took the now legendary role...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Where his acting is solid, true, even mellow despite the fact he's about to die while almost getting killed at the same time, contrasting with a horribly-miscast Ron Howard as the whiny son of Lauren Bacall, running a bed-and-breakfast where Wayne's holed-up, getting sporadic THIS IS YOUR LIFE drop-ins from various character-actors...</p><p><span></span></p>

don siegel, exploitation, harry morgan, hugh o'brian, james stewart, john wayne, lauren bacall, richard boone, ron howard, seventies, western

DON SIEGEL DIRECTS JOHN WAYNE'S FINAL FILM 'THE SHOOTIST'

Title: THE SHOOTIST Stars: John Wayne, Hugh O'Brien Year: 1976 Rating: ***1/2 Don Siegel's THE SHOOTIST seems perfectly suited as Jo...

JOHN WAYNE CRASHES LONDON FOR THE COP FLICK 'BRANNIGAN'

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdaT9KQRYwovDWWoCF4kN2Sy7soRpfe6yX0EYg5074Sj_I_aWyheKhlg8bvBGH0bIDXR2rn_gwwoaZqAwzHAmgwkGJsgBtiSLW7rUtbsOV00_CPZ2AXljniilKeutD6mnw4meT9S3I-abIWZO7rUiCezEFqY1Y21WUsoYFIhGsboYN_nLytDSEHCIOWQ/s1300/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-19%20at%205.24.31%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="1300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdaT9KQRYwovDWWoCF4kN2Sy7soRpfe6yX0EYg5074Sj_I_aWyheKhlg8bvBGH0bIDXR2rn_gwwoaZqAwzHAmgwkGJsgBtiSLW7rUtbsOV00_CPZ2AXljniilKeutD6mnw4meT9S3I-abIWZO7rUiCezEFqY1Y21WUsoYFIhGsboYN_nLytDSEHCIOWQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-19%20at%205.24.31%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>John Wayne in BRANNIGAN Year: 1975 Rating: ****</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p>After supposedly passing up DIRTY HARRY, John Wayne made two tough cop films (tough films about tough cops) and this is the last as the first is <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2013/03/mcq-john-wayne.html">McQ</a>, a Seattle detective who stays put while <i>this</i> Chicago lawman is sent to England to pick up a hometown gangster, his constant rival... <br> <br> <span class="_mh6 _wsc" id="cch_f18e85997ba47bc"><span class="_3oh- _58nk">Though more along the lines of BULLITT than either of the two HARRY flicks, BRANNIGAN isn't as much a police procedural, instead mostly centering on the <i>stranger in a strange land</i> premise, but without following the usual fish-outta-water tropes since he gets adjusted to this new country's rules... like no handguns... by simply not following them... and he's never really effected by the colorful foreign surroundings visible from riding shotgun in an unmarked vehicle driven by pretty female sidekick Judy Geeson...</span></span><br> </p>

action, cop, del henney, douglas hickox, england, james booth, john vernon, john wayne, judy geeson, kathryn leigh scott, mel ferrer, richard attenborough, seventies, thriller, twilight time

JOHN WAYNE CRASHES LONDON FOR THE COP FLICK 'BRANNIGAN'

John Wayne in BRANNIGAN Year: 1975 Rating: **** After supposedly passing up DIRTY HARRY, John Wayne made two tough cop films (tough films a...

BRIAN KEITH AND BEVERLY TYLER IN 'CHICAGO CONFIDENTIAL'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQEpn791pxrYkuz-s41CaIJTvulsO8Sr2hgCJQNOFt9jFtibDSu1iQZcjOVhzE4TSDDsTgpAyDcJjWfQxw5tIwZ2_KXAQGY9C-6SERSfo26_gcR3XBNjFERTVy249RkKjLnx5CV1mqtbjMM2xSUjdBREtJWP_jHXBc-1ISOvmVjPOiMAj1e6WVOGVSQA/s1061/0.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="1061" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQEpn791pxrYkuz-s41CaIJTvulsO8Sr2hgCJQNOFt9jFtibDSu1iQZcjOVhzE4TSDDsTgpAyDcJjWfQxw5tIwZ2_KXAQGY9C-6SERSfo26_gcR3XBNjFERTVy249RkKjLnx5CV1mqtbjMM2xSUjdBREtJWP_jHXBc-1ISOvmVjPOiMAj1e6WVOGVSQA/s16000/0.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: CHICAGO CONFIDENTIAL Shown: Jack Lambert, Beverly Tyler Year: 1957 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>One of several late-noirs about Union corruption, for a basic seventy-five-minute programmer, CHICAGO CONFIDENTIAL has just about everything, from murderous thugs to their sophisticated bosses to courtroom drama involving a wrong man to <i>all</i> heavies eventually being hunted down, Brian Keith stars as a lawyer fighting to get wrongly-accused union leader Dick Foran off the hook from an ON THE WATERFRONT style stool-pigeon murder (care-of usual Noir torpedo Jack Lambert) that happens right off the bat...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Giving CONFIDENTIAL a tight, edgy and at the same time breezily entertaining pulse where the best sequences take place beyond expository offices and into the shadowy streets or else inside a smoky nightclub that harbors sultry and experienced b-girls led by an equally vulnerable Beverly Tyler (along with alcoholic Linda Brent), stealing scenes not only from Keith's picture-pretty housewife and lead ingenue (Foran's secretary) Beverly Garland, but the men as well.</p><p><span></span></p>

beverly garland, beverly tyler, brian keith, courtroom drama, dick foran, elisha cook jr., fifties, film noir or melodrama, jack lambert, linda brent, union, wrong man

BRIAN KEITH AND BEVERLY TYLER IN 'CHICAGO CONFIDENTIAL'

Title: CHICAGO CONFIDENTIAL Shown: Jack Lambert, Beverly Tyler Year: 1957 Rates: ***1/2 One of several late-noirs about Union corruption, fo...

STANLEY BAKER TRUCKS WITH PEGGY CUMMINS IN 'HELL DRIVERS'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhESlHwCQzzg1rYBqdM7aq89t2BmNK9dSYMvuUa5QIQo03XxZ0N-0E-R73Yt-OAgAiJPcqYHQyrdsJVXEtYyuI1FzVEDRswcPBvlDw85CdUi964Xw3ATwHef5lHEc2Cwp4IA6bTyvYp1bn9ad8F5zczwrON3DkMkqN8360h1GOL5Uce6hvbF28XYY0_ug/s666/71WWb5gThEL._SL1340_.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="666" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhESlHwCQzzg1rYBqdM7aq89t2BmNK9dSYMvuUa5QIQo03XxZ0N-0E-R73Yt-OAgAiJPcqYHQyrdsJVXEtYyuI1FzVEDRswcPBvlDw85CdUi964Xw3ATwHef5lHEc2Cwp4IA6bTyvYp1bn9ad8F5zczwrON3DkMkqN8360h1GOL5Uce6hvbF28XYY0_ug/w400-h280/71WWb5gThEL._SL1340_.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>THE HELL DRIVERS Year: 1957 </u></td></tr></tbody></table>With the cheating aid of that kind of sped-up effect used long ago on Keystone Cop shorts, the hauling-trucks for HELL DRIVERS picks up granite and races it back to the factory as quickly as possible... at breakneck speed taking neck-breaking curves... and newly hired ex-con Stanley Baker catches on that he's not very wanted... That is, the boss wants him fast, but not <i>too</i> fast... <br> <br> And to NEVER beat the high score of antagonist Patrick McGoohan, looking like a severe, battered, modern-day pirate with a cocky grin behind the dangerous, risk-taking wheel, and this whole gang is a truly wild bunch that includes a young Sean Connery... and the only friend of Baker's square-jawed strong-silent-type is Italian romantic Herbert Lom, smitten with secretary Peggy Cummins, who's into the new guy instead.<br>

action, british film noir/melodrama, british new wave, cy endfield, david mccallum, fifties, herbert lom, jill ireland, patrick mcgoohan, peggy cummins, sean connery, stanley baker

STANLEY BAKER TRUCKS WITH PEGGY CUMMINS IN 'HELL DRIVERS'

THE HELL DRIVERS Year: 1957 With the cheating aid of that kind of sped-up effect used long ago on Keystone Cop shorts, the hauling-trucks fo...

JACQUES TOURNEUR DIRECTS 'THE LEOPARD MAN' FOR VAL LEWTON

<p></p><p></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhquP4qxfKI7f6k7A6F3F-2a_zBJarL3GuDZpf_jsjg2ItYg105Lnp-02ZIlNX06pBfnoy_vmCUjthMfmme_43pIH6PX5hGG0Wu0XGxzNxRi5LzPjqHDBBt4isFkzeAxwZGThvmwRHdYP_loooABNkZa9hW_sdZiV7zy9SepSQjs931tXt8bzRjuFoMag/s400/the_leopard_man__49669.1407171500.500.750.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="400" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhquP4qxfKI7f6k7A6F3F-2a_zBJarL3GuDZpf_jsjg2ItYg105Lnp-02ZIlNX06pBfnoy_vmCUjthMfmme_43pIH6PX5hGG0Wu0XGxzNxRi5LzPjqHDBBt4isFkzeAxwZGThvmwRHdYP_loooABNkZa9hW_sdZiV7zy9SepSQjs931tXt8bzRjuFoMag/w400-h304/the_leopard_man__49669.1407171500.500.750.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>YEAR OF RELEASE: 1943 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>An alternative title for THE LEOPARD MAN produced by b-movie guru Val Lewton and directed by his stock suspense master Jacques Tourneur could be called DOORS THAT DON'T OPEN ON TIME, but that would be a spoiler in itself within this turnaround of their most well-known collaboration and ultimately superior CAT PEOPLE, only this underrated gem purrs a bit smoother, is less character-driven and is a tad spookier, more ominous and far more often...<br> <br> The first two victims of a black leopard that escaped because of a practical joke on a samba dancer (who uses castanets in a spine-chilling, echoing manner), working in a low-rent nightclub, are not just unlucky, but, in random circumstances, one locked outside, the other inside, they each die because of some lazy jerk who either takes their time or refuses <i>opening up</i>, no matter how much the shadowed soon-to-be-victims scream following well-paced setups that often override the quick turnout (implied deaths).. This is far more Body Count Horror than Fantasy Noir yet there's a combination of each: the dark-lit, shadowy, investigative element combined with a  Gothic and lurking, creature-feature template that's deeper than the norm, based on superstitious and forbidding black magic and taking itself extremely serious in the process: without, that is, being melodramatic or pretentious.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

dennis o'keefe, film noir or melodrama, forties, horror, jacques tourneur, margo, thriller, val lewton

JACQUES TOURNEUR DIRECTS 'THE LEOPARD MAN' FOR VAL LEWTON

YEAR OF RELEASE: 1943 Rating: **** An alternative title for THE LEOPARD MAN produced by b-movie guru Val Lewton and directed by his stock s...

WILLIAM SHATNER & ANDY GRIFFITH IN 'PRAY FOR THE WILDCATS'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ7jP6aKBiXBl-IkfSSoIrfvQr-d3HPoCsO1-mRW6i2YrsA4DOI-RmBSzT9vcCbd6l1j_oUN-r4gBF5X_7q2-tjAkUmXuTFZnQbdS6TRqWkBdDi0sjjHUTBHysAVChjif1vEDdDnZgcT6qmQQw8wUepDzRTL4JfD1N0THCDRFEdAtbwEWu8oSDy12n6Q/s1386/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-12%20at%2010.02.18%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="1386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ7jP6aKBiXBl-IkfSSoIrfvQr-d3HPoCsO1-mRW6i2YrsA4DOI-RmBSzT9vcCbd6l1j_oUN-r4gBF5X_7q2-tjAkUmXuTFZnQbdS6TRqWkBdDi0sjjHUTBHysAVChjif1vEDdDnZgcT6qmQQw8wUepDzRTL4JfD1N0THCDRFEdAtbwEWu8oSDy12n6Q/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-12%20at%2010.02.18%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: PRAY FOR THE WILDCATS Year: 1974 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>One of many Hollywood morality-tales against corporate competition, which ironically keeps showbiz going, and, combining the counter-culture biker flick era with city-guys-out-of-their-element DELIVERANCE, what's really behind PRAY FOR THE WILDCATS is a kind of DEATH OF A SALESMAN character in William Shatner, semi-fired from an advertising agency, and whose only chance is relying on bigwig client Andy Griffith...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Famous for playing a good guy on television... which also includes THE BRADY BUNCH Robert Reed and of course Shatner from STAR TREK (clad in familiar Starfleet-yellow) with Marjoe Gortner as the token youngster... there's a bit of Griffith's intimidating FACE IN THE CROWD formidable, bullying persona... <br></p><p><span></span></p>

action, adventure, andy griffith, angie dickinson, biker, janet margolin, lorraine gary, marjoe gortner, midlife crisis, robert burton, robert reed, tv movie, william shatner

WILLIAM SHATNER & ANDY GRIFFITH IN 'PRAY FOR THE WILDCATS'

Title: PRAY FOR THE WILDCATS Year: 1974 Rating: ***1/2 One of many Hollywood morality-tales against corporate competition, which ironically ...

TIMOTHY DALTON SEEKS REVENGE WITHOUT HIS 'LICENSE TO KILL'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fCLmLklAyqoN9AvLjeUqxJ8P2DAN6iDhv8W6kWM1VUl1zEhsoBtBptwIpJ0ERKdTXweh_nSAkKQI95u7vyG4ZO7alHdaSEXQ2cvCUq-mwe6DGQJjFdRbVpPfdR4LjvVCtovma2m-2WNjOCp1mTGW9novGTLDv8rcrxkWToqg9WQCkcW_B6R8VZy2NQ/s1456/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-12%20at%202.33.04%20AM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="838" data-original-width="1456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fCLmLklAyqoN9AvLjeUqxJ8P2DAN6iDhv8W6kWM1VUl1zEhsoBtBptwIpJ0ERKdTXweh_nSAkKQI95u7vyG4ZO7alHdaSEXQ2cvCUq-mwe6DGQJjFdRbVpPfdR4LjvVCtovma2m-2WNjOCp1mTGW9novGTLDv8rcrxkWToqg9WQCkcW_B6R8VZy2NQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-12%20at%202.33.04%20AM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Timothy Dalton in LICENSE TO KILL Year: 1989 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A gritty and severe revenge plot makes Timothy Dalton's second of two James Bond vehicles, LICENSE TO KILL, a kind of standalone with built-in irony from the title since, after Roger Moore-era Felix Leiter is mangled and his new wife killed, the vengeful Bond's deadly License is taken away...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Because the charming spy from The Queen's Secret Service is making more like an American Action Movie Hero under a balmy, drug-dealing, hidden-coke-packaging MIAMI VICE influence... </p><p><span></span></p>

action, anthony zerbe, christopher neame, drugs, eighties, everette mcgill, franchise, james bond, revenge, robert davi, robert stroud, spy, timothy dalton

TIMOTHY DALTON SEEKS REVENGE WITHOUT HIS 'LICENSE TO KILL'

Timothy Dalton in LICENSE TO KILL Year: 1989 Rating: ***1/2 A gritty and severe revenge plot makes Timothy Dalton's second of two James ...

TIMOTHY DALTON PLAYS JAMES BOND IN 'THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheshQiKmyrG5Ci2DUt6dPEh4fg-k7WQQF_E7YHasvKoOhSxr57Sv8PMnH9oG1zyJd9RDF0Qr44mpE0kT3JmdHaHp9vT4575Nsmj3DOjjY22F5M01xNO_dW43KbRqoMssnTn6cqx1ktct_EueoxS_1EwIrmQKjUrysorONOnr2PKfkKtORwcXEJ7dWJSw/s2279/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-11%20at%2011.26.07%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="934" data-original-width="2279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheshQiKmyrG5Ci2DUt6dPEh4fg-k7WQQF_E7YHasvKoOhSxr57Sv8PMnH9oG1zyJd9RDF0Qr44mpE0kT3JmdHaHp9vT4575Nsmj3DOjjY22F5M01xNO_dW43KbRqoMssnTn6cqx1ktct_EueoxS_1EwIrmQKjUrysorONOnr2PKfkKtORwcXEJ7dWJSw/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-11%20at%2011.26.07%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Timothy Dalton in THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS Year: 1987 Rating: **** </u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>While Timothy Dalton seemed more like another cool spy that James Bond would work with, and might even turn into a villain with such an unpredictable temperament and sneaky demeanor, he was the one James Bond where personality didn't matter, making it all about the mission...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Beginning with his first of two features that, despite the trendy outcry over the past decade's excessive use of gadgetry, still kept plenty of leftover attributes from the Roger Moore era including the same actors for M and of course Q, here providing car with a built-in laser, torpedo rockets, and wheels that become skis...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, eighties, espionage, franchise, james bond, spy, timothy dalton

TIMOTHY DALTON PLAYS JAMES BOND IN 'THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS'

Timothy Dalton in THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS Year: 1987 Rating: **** While Timothy Dalton seemed more like another cool spy that James Bond would ...

DANIEL CRAIG AND LÉA SEYDOUX BOND IN 'NO TIME TO DIE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAvAL0icl_xytgZsRH8_2_4piKo5lelpSQ1gpmVaD1cUibC2h24PeWrRVvzU45ubNhNDZTZe8kH3T2sLnPUS9-EIG7l8qCrfWogRmIQQULswCWf9yMo58ZdB68T_QCaVcCb1pt8lMhup-85tLz6m7WXRSDgBSrUmUhzibiN08Ele_u2QL0kiHVIxppOQ/s2311/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-10%20at%2011.28.14%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="723" data-original-width="2311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAvAL0icl_xytgZsRH8_2_4piKo5lelpSQ1gpmVaD1cUibC2h24PeWrRVvzU45ubNhNDZTZe8kH3T2sLnPUS9-EIG7l8qCrfWogRmIQQULswCWf9yMo58ZdB68T_QCaVcCb1pt8lMhup-85tLz6m7WXRSDgBSrUmUhzibiN08Ele_u2QL0kiHVIxppOQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-10%20at%2011.28.14%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Daniel Craig drives Léa Seydoux in NO TIME TO DIE Year: 2021 Rating: *1/2<br></u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Turns out, in a manner of speaking, after a failed attempt gave MGM the idea to remake CASINO ROYALE, Quentin Tarantino got his wish to make a James Bond flick since the pre-credit NO TIME TO DIE open has ingénue Léa Seydoux as a flashed-back little girl, witnessing a parent being murdered like the KILL BILL VOL.1 anime segment... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>By an assassin who dramatically chases her into the great wide-shot open INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS style (and later a young daughter's hidden away in a villa ala VOL. 2)... ironic since Christoph Waltz eventually returns as Blofeld, quickly... </p><p><span></span></p>

007, 2021, action, christoph waltz, daniel craig, drama, espionage, franchise, james bond, léa seydoux, spy, thriller

DANIEL CRAIG AND LÉA SEYDOUX BOND IN 'NO TIME TO DIE'

Daniel Craig drives Léa Seydoux in NO TIME TO DIE Year: 2021 Rating: *1/2 Turns out, in a manner of speaking, after a failed attempt gave MG...

STANLEY BAKER BONDING ESPIONAGE FOR 'INNOCENT BYSTANDERS'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEispIFFdZvrjk_XZKtTRbZhy0LJcSD4tTq-bmfKDQAbrDG2F4HN_Ckt8gFVl78bzAlhvnywT4pcfGpyTypyQMN0OHvDb8rGJZgpCDJxWK00awTQdDzvElc6w8N5VZ-XCxn6q2-Nxbkud-QafPvVK1H1dK9ik73jT5CXfqMst66BsNSnL8mWIh_lcd8ISA/s947/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-10%20at%203.46.28%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="947" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEispIFFdZvrjk_XZKtTRbZhy0LJcSD4tTq-bmfKDQAbrDG2F4HN_Ckt8gFVl78bzAlhvnywT4pcfGpyTypyQMN0OHvDb8rGJZgpCDJxWK00awTQdDzvElc6w8N5VZ-XCxn6q2-Nxbkud-QafPvVK1H1dK9ik73jT5CXfqMst66BsNSnL8mWIh_lcd8ISA/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-10%20at%203.46.28%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: INNOCENT BYSTANDERS Cast: Stanley Baker, Dana Andrews 1972 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Tough, sturdy, square-jawed British actor Stanley Baker was considered for James Bond... ironically he looks like Sean Connery (or vice versa) and <i>starred</i> in <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2020/09/HellDrivers.html">HELL DRIVERS</a> where a young Connery began... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Then, skip ifteen-years later after super-star Connery left the iconic spy role, Baker starred in a movie so Bondish that... just hearing the flaunting, jazzy, repetitive score, you'd think INNOCENT BYSTANDERS was yet another 007 entry, including power-hungry villains, led by the most famous of Bond foes, Donald Pleasence, danging a carrot to lesser corporate heavy Dana Andrews...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, adventure, dana andrews, derren nesbitt, donald pleasence, espionage, geraldine chaplin, pauline chamberlain, peter collinson, seventies, spy, stanley baker, sue lloyd, warren mitchell

STANLEY BAKER BONDING ESPIONAGE FOR 'INNOCENT BYSTANDERS'

Title: INNOCENT BYSTANDERS Cast: Stanley Baker, Dana Andrews 1972 Rating: ***1/2 Tough, sturdy, square-jawed British actor Stanley Baker was...

EDGAR WRIGHT DIRECTS THE BRITISH CULT TV-SERIES 'SPACED'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGSl_E2o23e93FHsOB9suBm7Cl-LAh8mhnMPA5SFPwAvmKh0kbIyQ5ybHk45xggaSimcVv8V_5m1Z8-gRwWOw23mgA_gwEi0HsWU-WaUCRKRXfZE4KxSyLwXaEPLg41qhADtHUD2-bMO0lA_y2ZWwh430wmgM1gBma0f5U6icMwU4y22tZEKyXbN6uw/s2268/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-09%20at%207.18.58%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1226" data-original-width="2268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGSl_E2o23e93FHsOB9suBm7Cl-LAh8mhnMPA5SFPwAvmKh0kbIyQ5ybHk45xggaSimcVv8V_5m1Z8-gRwWOw23mgA_gwEi0HsWU-WaUCRKRXfZE4KxSyLwXaEPLg41qhADtHUD2-bMO0lA_y2ZWwh430wmgM1gBma0f5U6icMwU4y22tZEKyXbN6uw/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-09%20at%207.18.58%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Nick Frost & Simon Pegg in SPACED Years: 1999-2001 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>From 1999 to 2001, England's best kept secret was a two-season sitcom titled SPACED that many Americans would discover <i>only after </i>learning director Edgar Wright and actor Simon Pegg didn't create SHAUN OF THE DEAD out of thin air, having had tons of practice with a vehicle also about nostalgia-loving slackers... and Jessica Stevenson, who plays "the other group" leader Yvonne in SHAUN, is not only Pegg's SPACED co-star but his co-writer/creator...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The plot's deliberately familiar, liken to THREE'S COMPANY which was, ironically, one of many great American 1970's situation-comedies that, including ALL IN THE FAMILY, originated in England...</p><p><span></span></p>

british, comedy, cult, edgar wright, jessica stevenson, julia deakin, mark heap, nick frost, peter serafinowicz, simon pegg, tv series

EDGAR WRIGHT DIRECTS THE BRITISH CULT TV-SERIES 'SPACED'

Nick Frost & Simon Pegg in SPACED Years: 1999-2001 Rating: ****1/2 From 1999 to 2001, England's best kept secret was a two-season si...

EDGAR WRIGHT AND SIMON PEGG COMPLETE 'THE WORLD'S END'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh57OxzPj0p6tA_UNv5GaxhFJJJhEXVHnYYyHbe0PLEklwerujuCSFI90mej7MivAlRFKKcjJJZgtVzRgOWk9Q-No6BB-o9LJMCbFoAWGlo-CUoBgkmkQ_gu5yP8qTAslkiGeFVHME2sRjmFCy1DRHc9UFdLEcLtbB9phOdwgl7h8XX9n1hIrCST983lw/s1327/0.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="827" data-original-width="1327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh57OxzPj0p6tA_UNv5GaxhFJJJhEXVHnYYyHbe0PLEklwerujuCSFI90mej7MivAlRFKKcjJJZgtVzRgOWk9Q-No6BB-o9LJMCbFoAWGlo-CUoBgkmkQ_gu5yP8qTAslkiGeFVHME2sRjmFCy1DRHc9UFdLEcLtbB9phOdwgl7h8XX9n1hIrCST983lw/s16000/0.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Nicola Cunningham and Simon Pegg reunite for The World's End Year: 2013 Rating: **1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>British cult-classic director Edgar Wright and his leading man and co-writer Simon Pegg return to the theme of a group of losers forced to battle a horde of... well they're basically zombies liken to SHAUN OF THE DEAD but since THE WORLD'S END is of the INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS science-fiction mold, these monsters are able to move really fast and fight pretty well...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Making no sense that five mundane/thirty-something former college buddies could fight like Bruce Lee in far too many mindless action sequences, opposite of what SHAUN and HOT FUZZ perfected throughout its entire first half: fleshing out interesting human characters before thrusting them into inhuman peril... </p><p><span></span></p>

action, british, buddy, cornetto trilogy, edgar wright, ensemble, julia deakin, nick frost, nicola cunningham, peter serafinowicz, road movie, science-fiction

EDGAR WRIGHT AND SIMON PEGG COMPLETE 'THE WORLD'S END'

Nicola Cunningham and Simon Pegg reunite for The World's End Year: 2013 Rating: **1/2 British cult-classic director Edgar Wright and his...

EDGAR WRIGHT & SIMON PEGG'S CREATION 'SHAUN OF THE DEAD'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgljmaqT1JsZzu0ccHdQsnJegSVTgYtLujvvneJUl322Yb70EjFfohcvQ5yNLX-kHa7n44T5tOTA0J_XyHcpDsoXxEHqDvbax7E-ciqbJtZYfMgFe-Fiue-zQkQMyKtnumm30uDX8RjfZI2Ame7rWMjGWWXvL7kLZtJQjtCim7XqEnzR77nZ-OGB1FtkA/s1937/1-1%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="928" data-original-width="1937" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgljmaqT1JsZzu0ccHdQsnJegSVTgYtLujvvneJUl322Yb70EjFfohcvQ5yNLX-kHa7n44T5tOTA0J_XyHcpDsoXxEHqDvbax7E-ciqbJtZYfMgFe-Fiue-zQkQMyKtnumm30uDX8RjfZI2Ame7rWMjGWWXvL7kLZtJQjtCim7XqEnzR77nZ-OGB1FtkA/s16000/1-1%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Nicola Cunningham as Bloody Maryignites SHAUN OF THE DEAD Year: 2004 Rates: *****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In the first five minutes of SHAUN OF THE DEAD, director Edgar Wright establishes himself as a great filmmaker, and for economical reasons, showcasing a group of five British twenty-somethings... consisting of a couple-in-trouble, the guy's friend that caused the trouble and her own two influential chums... as if they <i>weren't</i> crowded within the same small section of the local hangout pub...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>This snappy prologue also works not only for the sake of introductory laughs but establishes the characters in what's a character-driven zombie flick that basically reignited a whole new British New Wave...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, bill nighy, british, cornetto trilogy, dark comedy, dylan moran, edgar wright, kate ashfield, lucy davis, nick frost, nicola cunningham, penelope wilton, peter serafinowicz, simon pegg, zeroes, zombie

EDGAR WRIGHT & SIMON PEGG'S CREATION 'SHAUN OF THE DEAD'

Nicola Cunningham as Bloody Maryignites SHAUN OF THE DEAD Year: 2004 Rates: ***** In the first five minutes of SHAUN OF THE DEAD, director E...

EDGAR WRIGHT & SIMON PEGG'S BUDDY COP HOMAGE 'HOT FUZZ'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInrVZYBgF3BsIazIaIM8lMo5_PEAE_qyA7tlQxYczAKPJnSKUi4_9FyB6FehAQVbWdjJgjYi75T4gfRhljNu4Wy6BnQsb9LdI5cTGe0S_MEt9LB7MYviGEZYldGqOA8ammYtkMSm3WJofUIqhbPyRJv27CiTG_Zq4Yp8atTKIMlAlE_qp0hSUfcksyA/s1713/0.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="737" data-original-width="1713" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInrVZYBgF3BsIazIaIM8lMo5_PEAE_qyA7tlQxYczAKPJnSKUi4_9FyB6FehAQVbWdjJgjYi75T4gfRhljNu4Wy6BnQsb9LdI5cTGe0S_MEt9LB7MYviGEZYldGqOA8ammYtkMSm3WJofUIqhbPyRJv27CiTG_Zq4Yp8atTKIMlAlE_qp0hSUfcksyA/s16000/0.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in Edgar Wright's HOT FUZZ Year: 2007 Rating: *****</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p>After British director Edgar Wright and his leading man and writing partner Simon Pegg scored with the zombie comedy SHAUN OF THE DEAD, it was time for straight-out action that, while also loaded with hijinks, takes the cop genre more seriously, especially Pegg's against-type performance as a tough guy instead of the usual shrugging slacker from DEAD and before that he and Wright's pop-culture-referencing sit-com, SPACED...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And there are even more nostalgic homages here as HOT FUZZ is a mega-satire on mainstream American cop buddy-cop flicks ranging from LETHAL WEAPON to POINT BREAK... and for the British it's loaded with iconic cult actors of that country's more cerebral crime genre past...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, bill nighy, billie whitelaw, buddy, cop, cornetto trilogy, edgar wright, edward woodward, nick frost, rural, satire, simon pegg, stuart wilson, timothy dalton, zeroes

EDGAR WRIGHT & SIMON PEGG'S BUDDY COP HOMAGE 'HOT FUZZ'

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in Edgar Wright's HOT FUZZ Year: 2007 Rating: ***** After British director Edgar Wright and his leading man an...

EDGAR WRIGHT'S TARANTINOESQUE THRILLRIDE 'BABY DRIVER'

<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbyKpgOCGDwuuJMdO25yGquDERK_vfhYZxXbLywQvuIl8AcFpsuHL6FgAvJoqFlH0_GONN-zLDgZSTm2OzqHAJcL39IwUalxYJnnCPXDf1PyxELaH59C6gHkrAMACSVXM13ujETeTff19jprGB5YFZfT9ROhLZYxNaiyBlZE8p2PQrKvzTU7Riceb7Hg/s1044/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-05%20at%203.07.29%20AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="1044" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbyKpgOCGDwuuJMdO25yGquDERK_vfhYZxXbLywQvuIl8AcFpsuHL6FgAvJoqFlH0_GONN-zLDgZSTm2OzqHAJcL39IwUalxYJnnCPXDf1PyxELaH59C6gHkrAMACSVXM13ujETeTff19jprGB5YFZfT9ROhLZYxNaiyBlZE8p2PQrKvzTU7Riceb7Hg/w400-h224/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-05%20at%203.07.29%20AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><u>Retro Sparse for Baby Driver sans the title YEAR: 2017</u></span></td></tr></tbody></table>BABY DRIVER is part RESERVOIR DOGS in storyline and characters, and nearly <i>all</i> Quentin Tarantino in style, substance and the super-hip hybrid of classic rock R&B, fast-paced humor and tons of bloodshed...</span><br> <span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br></span> <span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Of course Edgar Wright isn't without his own zingy style seen in cult favorites SHAWN OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ, THE WORLD'S END: And here he's one-upped Tarantino's recent string of dull historical revenge sagas with an edgy urban precision combining music and the tribal beat of frantic self defense: with either pool sticks or in this case, gunfire. Making BABY DRIVER a metronomic, multi-heist action flick that also borrows from Walter Hill's THE DRIVER since the main character is quiet, brooding and much different than the brash thugs he provides an apt getaway for; each heist is viewed by only his perspective...</span><br>

2017, action, ansel elgort, edgar wright, ensemble, genre tarantino, getaway driver, heist, jon hamm, kevin spacey

EDGAR WRIGHT'S TARANTINOESQUE THRILLRIDE 'BABY DRIVER'

Retro Sparse for Baby Driver sans the title YEAR: 2017 BABY DRIVER is part RESERVOIR DOGS in storyline and characters, and nearly all Quen...

EDGAR WRIGHT'S SWINGING FLASHBACK 'LAST NIGHT IN SOHO'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRIJAV_P77rp7qBmWbf_9KbHpEAAIPx3pP9jYhJXHUHpxmGk9oKmY43yyZKqcDszRQyMu391bjA3I2PRLPYY_SWiHkVLifGENN-h0iuAB2IHGFD-ygI6MCUEgQivoOHo3Sx8KyehIi1JXI_l0GgqXaD55lNfUqXqpaZxXsQy0mB6wfcKxlSmDC0ezg-Q/s2119/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-01%20at%2011.33.50%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="953" data-original-width="2119" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRIJAV_P77rp7qBmWbf_9KbHpEAAIPx3pP9jYhJXHUHpxmGk9oKmY43yyZKqcDszRQyMu391bjA3I2PRLPYY_SWiHkVLifGENN-h0iuAB2IHGFD-ygI6MCUEgQivoOHo3Sx8KyehIi1JXI_l0GgqXaD55lNfUqXqpaZxXsQy0mB6wfcKxlSmDC0ezg-Q/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-01%20at%2011.33.50%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Thomasin McKenzie from LAST NIGHT IN SOHO Year: 2021 Rating: *12</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In an otherwise ambitious, uniquely original horror/thriller mashup concerning a young female art student thrust back into the legendary Swinging Sixties of the titular Soho, London, Edgar Wright, the most creative director of the last twenty years, whose style is quick, to the point and ferociously clever, relies on lazy dissolves and cop-out fades, and even his usual Tarantinoesque jukebox of groovy deep-cuts all seem forced, vacant, uninspired...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And the two-tier story about our cute modern girl going back to the wild nightlife <i>back in the day</i> has absolutely no connection to each other, and neither seem either relevant or nostalgic... Added to that, the colors aren't vivid and robust like the counter-culture era, and with so much icky-green neon, from yesterday's nightclubs to today's raves, it all resembles Las Vegas in the 1990's... after you've lost...</p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

2021, anya taylor-joy, british, counter-culture, diana rigg, drama, edgar wright, horror, new, rita tushingham, terence stamp, thomasin mckenzie, thriller, time travel

EDGAR WRIGHT'S SWINGING FLASHBACK 'LAST NIGHT IN SOHO'

Thomasin McKenzie from LAST NIGHT IN SOHO Year: 2021 Rating: *12 In an otherwise ambitious, uniquely original horror/thriller mashup concern...

EDGAR WRIGHT'S SLACKER ACTION 'SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD'

<div></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXPkoCjM9JICkSaKqx8I_V4IaR-P0B9eikoxU-ZLHnkqMif8Dje6VJAZEXVGDZI_uEkBGVHxoVNz7FmLttfimbcijGgaWM0oq2tOl8NztnNK_KszPcxyLs1HKEart3DHiPM98SdqdLAa8HzXBlV4QPkjdSL0s5SGd0r04RfTVL69AXaYylY4L7qsEp_Q/s773/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-07%20at%203.22.26%20AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="357" data-original-width="773" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXPkoCjM9JICkSaKqx8I_V4IaR-P0B9eikoxU-ZLHnkqMif8Dje6VJAZEXVGDZI_uEkBGVHxoVNz7FmLttfimbcijGgaWM0oq2tOl8NztnNK_KszPcxyLs1HKEart3DHiPM98SdqdLAa8HzXBlV4QPkjdSL0s5SGd0r04RfTVL69AXaYylY4L7qsEp_Q/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-07%20at%203.22.26%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 2010 Rating: ***1/2 Director: Edgar Wright</u></td></tr></tbody></table>Famously retro/nostalgia driven SHAUN OF THE DEAD director Edgar Wright goes mainstream without selling-out in this cross between FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF, KILL BILL and THE MATRIX where a passive twenty-something slacker gets the chance of a lifetime to date a beautiful vixen <i>way </i>out of his league... but it's not gonna be easy as he must battle all her ex-boyfriends (and one girlfriend), who appear sporadically as video game villains...</div><div> </div><div>Some of the best moments are getting to know Scott Pilgrim (played with laidback frustration by Michael Cera) <span style="font-style: italic;">before</span> he's given the ultimate task... hanging with bandmates (his fuzz bass sounds awesome) and striking out with other babes before finding Miss Right: thus leading to each battle that, since they're supposed to resemble high-octane video games, are never overboard or "unrealistic" i.e. <i>anything </i>goes... right up Wright's alley.  <br></div><div><span></span></div>

comic book, edgar wright, mary elizabeth winstead, michael cera, romantic comedy, science-fiction, slacker, tens

EDGAR WRIGHT'S SLACKER ACTION 'SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD'

Year: 2010 Rating: ***1/2 Director: Edgar Wright Famously retro/nostalgia driven SHAUN OF THE DEAD director Edgar Wright goes mainstream wit...

HARVEY KEITEL AND ROMY SCHNEIDER IN 'DEATH WATCH'

<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmqjJRNvmXnWgdxdqJO6WsfKU7E0O5mgJYGP2QSbUbHMMONmuh0SSSGvcWJMjvi5p4Oo96k73qrF1YoRmzdDJuysp2B4Bzng0b9Avo8NaHocs4SQConsHIGSbU1XMN16ocLj2dwP9vb69dBjR9xJODzl40txOWS-TkPoKwQr4LIbzIJiZKYKSlBs3JtQ/s1915/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="988" data-original-width="1915" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmqjJRNvmXnWgdxdqJO6WsfKU7E0O5mgJYGP2QSbUbHMMONmuh0SSSGvcWJMjvi5p4Oo96k73qrF1YoRmzdDJuysp2B4Bzng0b9Avo8NaHocs4SQConsHIGSbU1XMN16ocLj2dwP9vb69dBjR9xJODzl40txOWS-TkPoKwQr4LIbzIJiZKYKSlBs3JtQ/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: DEATH WATCH aka </u><u>LA MORT EN DIRECT aka DER GEKAUFTE TOD Year: 1980 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>An intense firebrand of a crime-genre actor playing against type during the 1970's Renaissance opposite a beautiful dying European woman is reminiscent of BOBBY DEERFIELD, where Al Pacino put the breaks on his otherwise aggressive persona as a subdued race car driver driving around with Martha Keller, and Harvey Keitel opposite Romy Schneider will seem like deja vu, only it's science-fiction along with romantic melodrama...</p><p></p><p>Both elements coexisting in a not so futuristic-looking future where people rarely die of diseases, and a television series called DEATH WATCH does what THE TRUMAN SHOW would later: filming the life of a person without them knowing, and where Keitel, working for shallow producer Harry Dean Stanton, has cameras implanted into his eyes to follow a dying author, Schneider's Katherine Mortenhoe, around the eclectic Glasgow/Scotland location, from beautiful tall grass fields to various dark-art ghettos, where she thinks he's simply her love interest, not a recording lens...</p><span></span>

arthouse, disease, french, future, harry dean stanton, harvey keitel, max von sydow, melodrama, road movie, romance, romy schneider, science-fiction

HARVEY KEITEL AND ROMY SCHNEIDER IN 'DEATH WATCH'

Title: DEATH WATCH aka LA MORT EN DIRECT aka DER GEKAUFTE TOD Year: 1980 Rating: *** An intense firebrand of a crime-genre actor playing aga...

BRAD DAVIS AND SHARON STONE IN 'COLD STEEL' WITH ADAM ANT

<p> </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR0a_nHwB4so9cH7V94MbNGv6g-6dU2ENgS_ap6fQQmh6riNgmWuKNvqRF2L-N0aKjtiv4K9rFpyYI4RkJM1ZwjtTpxaevC4ajp6AmYFN7kPqpX4OM1AFRaYPdwEXXXJK6BpT1UbZ1EObvyToPdXoWaq2g3hvyU7lVDvFuLMEBw3rgHe4oHo7vUDoLbA/s1309/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-01%20at%2010.32.04%20PM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1309" data-original-width="1075" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR0a_nHwB4so9cH7V94MbNGv6g-6dU2ENgS_ap6fQQmh6riNgmWuKNvqRF2L-N0aKjtiv4K9rFpyYI4RkJM1ZwjtTpxaevC4ajp6AmYFN7kPqpX4OM1AFRaYPdwEXXXJK6BpT1UbZ1EObvyToPdXoWaq2g3hvyU7lVDvFuLMEBw3rgHe4oHo7vUDoLbA/w329-h400/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-01%20at%2010.32.04%20PM.jpeg" width="329"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1987 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Sometimes those unknown flicks that seem straight-to-video or befitting a light night cable channel can actually work, like COLD STEEL, now billed as a Sharon Stone vehicle since her BASIC INSTINCT breakthrough, a cop action drama actually literally driven by MIDNIGHT EXPRESS actor Brad Davis as a cop whose father is murdered, and he wants revenge... <br> <br> On the peripheral, looming in the antagonist spot is Iceman, a villain both living up to his name and the film's title... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Like any thug played by Jonathan Banks, fresh from BEVERLY HILLS COP only in charge this time and equally formidable, frightening and with a robotic voice-box in his throat, each pre-kill threat has a creepy and sinister vibe...</p><p></p><p>As Davis and his comic-relief partner venture from one near-death situation to the next, the suspense builds nicely, as does the action, in particular one car chase starting on the streets and winding up in the middle of a stock car race, about as good as any big venue mainstream action flick...</p><p>And he's chasing none other than 80's new wave icon Adam Ant as Iceman’s hyperactive, cool and ultra-quirky British partner, and a pretty good actor for a musician, providing a terrific balance of overboard zany and lethal menace, as if this were his very own cult b-movie, especially with the line "I feel bigger with a trigger!" and, last but not least is Sharon Stone, whose gorgeous blond ingenue enters our hero’s life so breezily you’ll know there's something  under her sleeve, and, okay fine, so it’s not THE FRENCH CONNECTION: but for an unknown underdog cop thriller, this has bite.</p><p><span></span></p>

action, adam ant, brad davis, cop, eighties, import, jonathan banks, revenge, sharon stone

BRAD DAVIS AND SHARON STONE IN 'COLD STEEL' WITH ADAM ANT

Year: 1987 Rating: ***1/2 Sometimes those unknown flicks that seem straight-to-video or befitting a light night cable channel can actually ...

JOCELYN LANE IN MAURY DEXTER'S BIKER FLICK 'HELL'S BELLES'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD36raTNHqqlfr0DAWRsTluM8bYERc55_v8XurrCTdLkmFJWapX1uKovYG6chPo5pE1_i1fYfYXoXUpMiIeAOyJQ6ZOCESmWg2C8_MzgGAJqNwpqyieQmB3hRXiJyNCJMEpm6J0Fevmsh3PNk0eUaIJbsFe-rZ4voHz5aRAe5Gu4U3RzDX5CW801DSlQ/s1975/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-02%20at%204.38.57%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="824" data-original-width="1975" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD36raTNHqqlfr0DAWRsTluM8bYERc55_v8XurrCTdLkmFJWapX1uKovYG6chPo5pE1_i1fYfYXoXUpMiIeAOyJQ6ZOCESmWg2C8_MzgGAJqNwpqyieQmB3hRXiJyNCJMEpm6J0Fevmsh3PNk0eUaIJbsFe-rZ4voHz5aRAe5Gu4U3RzDX5CW801DSlQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-02%20at%204.38.57%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: HELL'S BELLES Year: 1969 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The late-60's biker sub-genre take on the James Stewart Western, WINCHESTER '73, which is about a cherished gun, won in a contest then stolen from the winner before winding up in several different hands... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Only here it's a motorcycle that modern cowboy type Jeremy Slate loses the night of the race by his jealous rival, who then loses it to the token gang led by sixties' biker staple Adam Roarke, fresh from HELL'S ANGELS ON WHEELS and THE SAVAGE SEVEN...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, biker, jeremy slate, jocelyn lane, maury dexter, modern western, sixties, william lucking

JOCELYN LANE IN MAURY DEXTER'S BIKER FLICK 'HELL'S BELLES'

Title: HELL'S BELLES Year: 1969 Rating: *** The late-60's biker sub-genre take on the James Stewart Western, WINCHESTER '73, whi...