GUY PEARCE STARRING IN THE ROVER

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G394sgzypLA/U7JbZTFs2LI/AAAAAAAAgec/IyXHAMe0cYE/s1600/The-Rover-International-Poster-slice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G394sgzypLA/U7JbZTFs2LI/AAAAAAAAgec/IyXHAMe0cYE/s320/The-Rover-International-Poster-slice.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2014 rating: *1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> It’s been ten years since “The Collapse,” turning the Outback into something resembling the MAD MAX post apocalyptic future, only there's no nuclear fallout and the vehicles are mundane cars you'd see in any public parking lot… And in this desperate purgatory, there's only one long and tedious road where we first see Guy Pearce's slowburn, Spaghetti Western style loner, Eric, till he stops at a dilapidated joint where we get a glimpse of a future where gas, food, animals and women are scarce.<br /> <br /> The setup is melancholy and hypnotic, and the gears begin grinding as we cut to a group of eclectic convicts who, long story short, steals Eric’s ride: from here on, THE ROVER has Eric on a metronomic odyssey to, quite simply, get his car back.<br /> <br /> He meets up with the abandoned little brother of the main thief. Enter Robert Pattison’s Rey, a somewhat mysterious character until Eric points out his mental instability... then it becomes clear Rey's not playing with a full deck. The young TWILIGHT actor tries too hard and doesn’t try hard enough. During bouts of overlong diatribes, his muddled accent, reaching for white trash, sounds like a hybrid of SLINGBLADE and FORREST GUMP. Worse yet, he’s simply not an interesting human being, and hardly evokes the needed vulnerability to make the older Eric a legitimate world-weary mentor: On his own, Pearce creates a pretty decent anti-hero, always on the verge of either breaking down or busting heads, and the mysterious element of his stolen car’s importance is the peripheral hook to follow through a brooding mainline. But the ominous futureworld he’s stuck in gets extremely bland, despite sporadic extra-loud gunfights and a twist ending that, while summing up Eric’s morose motivation throughout, leaves a story that relied on mellow suspense to end with a banal whimper.

2014, guy pearce, post-apocalyptic, robert pattison, thriller

GUY PEARCE STARRING IN THE ROVER

2014 rating: *1/2 It’s been ten years since “The Collapse,” turning the Outback into something resembling the MAD MAX post apocalyptic f...

ANOTHER ECLECTIC BAGFUL OF ARCHIVE REVIEWS

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QCmRhnoZ7jU/U679kicBr9I/AAAAAAAAgdE/kjNDaBPnApQ/s1600/Picture+15.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QCmRhnoZ7jU/U679kicBr9I/AAAAAAAAgdE/kjNDaBPnApQ/s1600/Picture+15.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1980 rating: **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>PRIVATE BENJAMIN:</b></span> Unlike the far superior STRIPES starring Bill Murray and Harold Ramis, which came out a year later, this isn't a military spoof but a character-study involving the army: We're automatically supposed to enjoy seeing Benjamin punished for her pampered ways, but the setup doesn't introduce us to someone deserving of any big turnaround.<br /> <br /> The boot camp segment, mostly rushed along in montage scenes, aren't that funny. And for a little while, Eileen Breenan owns the screen as the tough drill Sergeant: some of the best humor belongs entirely to her. But when Goldie eventually becomes a Green Beret type, travels to Italy and meets the man of her dreams, any plot or purpose goes completely AWOL.<br /> <br /> <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="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dLRycGl4Z0Q/U670ZK3xx7I/AAAAAAAAgbs/Y6gfsTZP2eU/s1600/Picture+4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dLRycGl4Z0Q/U670ZK3xx7I/AAAAAAAAgbs/Y6gfsTZP2eU/s1600/Picture+4.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1978 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>OUR WINNING SEASON:</b> </span>There are so many distractions in this seventies high school drama centering on teens from the sixties involving Vietnam, necking in cars, drag racing, getting drunk, getting stoned and going steady that the main story, of a runner preparing for a big race, is completely forgotten. In fact, by the end, when Scott Jacoby faces his challenge, it doesn't matter. Nor do any of those distractions which, if executed by more involving, fleshed-out characters, might have worked better.<br /> <br /> A great young side-cast including Joe Penny, Dennis Quaid and PJ Soles cannot save this cliche-filled template of counter-culture youth. And one scene where a car flies through the back of a drive-in movie theater screen is a great, memorable stunt, but seems more fitting to a jovial chase film. <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NXzzm3saXVo/U671OyB-Q4I/AAAAAAAAgb8/Q-L00xCA6uc/s1600/Picture+7.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NXzzm3saXVo/U671OyB-Q4I/AAAAAAAAgb8/Q-L00xCA6uc/s1600/Picture+7.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1980  **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>SOGGY BOTTOM USA:</b> </span>What makes this different than any episode of THE DUKES OF HAZZARD, or countless films dealing with bayou moonshiners, is there's a dependably bland Disney film feel throughout, and it kinda works.   <br /> <br /> Led by town Sheriff Ben Johnson, we have a dog race, country music, and good old fashion bar fights, and throw in a few side plots: one involving young Don Johnson having invented a new kind of fan boat, and the other with his girlfriend, cute PJ Soles and a song she sells to a flashy Country singer Ann Wedgeworth who is, along with manager Lane Smith, not very honest, making the down-home heroes that much worthy to root for.<br /> <br /> <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="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--kzzemvL5ac/U6706qrWFTI/AAAAAAAAgb0/lGU3S5NcHpU/s1600/Picture+5.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--kzzemvL5ac/U6706qrWFTI/AAAAAAAAgb0/lGU3S5NcHpU/s1600/Picture+5.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1984 rating: ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>THE LONELY GUY:</b></span> If based on how many particular jokes land, and compared to Steve Martin's superior ROXANNE or THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS, this wouldn't be considered a great comedy, but the character played by Martin, who, after a break-up, residing in New York as a single man, is so likable and relatable, THE LONELY GUY is really a legitimately effective, entertaining journey of a man who not only hits rock bottom, but learns how to exist there along with his buddy, played Charles Grodin, equally as <i>pathetic</i>.<br /> <br /> Martin keeps meeting the woman of his dreams: always losing her phone number right after. What works best here are the specific examples of being alone in a big city and how to deal with each. Although during the last forty minutes, after our hero becomes famous for writing a book about being lonely, things dwindle considerably; but hat first hour, especially the scenes shared with Grodin, is a real slice of loser life. He should have stayed down for much longer. <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ROv15TRyq8M/U67zi1sQpUI/AAAAAAAAgbc/JLDK4RiMs7Q/s1600/Picture+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ROv15TRyq8M/U67zi1sQpUI/AAAAAAAAgbc/JLDK4RiMs7Q/s1600/Picture+2.png" title="" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1956 *1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>CRIME IN THE STREETS:</b> </span>If REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE met WEST SIDE STORY at a carnival where all the rides were broken...<br /> <br /> No, not even a young <i>introducing John Cassavetes</i>, as a street savvy teenage gang member at odds with a rival group of boy-thugs and pestered by cop James Whitmore... or the fact it's directed by Don Siegel and co-stars future director Mark Rydell... could save, or even preserve, this corny "urban" dud. Meanwhile, Sal Mineo, naive and vulnerable as ever, plays the youngest member of the gang, which alone dooms him from the start.<br /> <br /> <div> <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="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BOMj-gypvvw/U673Zj-QbWI/AAAAAAAAgcY/Zqf6pM6sfrg/s1600/Picture+9.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BOMj-gypvvw/U673Zj-QbWI/AAAAAAAAgcY/Zqf6pM6sfrg/s1600/Picture+9.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1997 ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>TITANIC:</b> </span>The big ship is going down. Everyone is frantic, desperate, but there's nowhere to go. Not enough life rafts for the passengers and crew. And during this tragic bedlam, the overly villainous Billy Zane has gone crazy that his pouty girlfriend, played by Kate Winslet – the only character with layers – loves another man... or rather, boy. <br /> <br /> Like the campy dialogue, trying to be important with an annoying class envy mainline, all seeming lifted from a glorified soap opera, TITANIC, the second most successful movie of all time, is pure melodrama through and through. But what makes this so good is James Cameron. He takes it seriously enough so you're practically forced to be involved. And throughout the fluffy romance, he's got a disaster film just itching to burst at the seams... <br /> <br /> For when the ship eventually capsizes, and people fall to their deaths, banging against steel and tumbling violently into the icy sea, you'll know why the iconic director, best known for the ultra-violence of TERMINATOR and ALIENS, made this movie in the first place i.e. a means to an end: and what an end! Although the best stuff, dramatically, works in-between the whispers and screams: as the crew and passengers are just starting to figure things out.<br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> </div> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HiH4h68dSSs/U673zbgI0UI/AAAAAAAAgcg/zWLVeDQO8Kc/s1600/Picture+10.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HiH4h68dSSs/U673zbgI0UI/AAAAAAAAgcg/zWLVeDQO8Kc/s1600/Picture+10.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1958 *1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>THE SNORKEL:</b></span> This could have been a terrific comedy. A man wearing a big snorkel sits in an airtight basement while his wife suffocates on deadly gases above: Doesn't sound very funny, but it is... unintentionally. The woman's pre-teen daughter is on to this guy, who's just too perfect... and he's a perfectly conceited jerk covering up a "perfect murder" in a black and white British melodrama (somehow considered Noir) as suspenseful as deep-sea-diving in a swimming pool... in the shallow end.<br /> <br /> <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="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IDhzOh_H7fU/U67y6FrkiWI/AAAAAAAAgbY/Xy7FAthbRwA/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IDhzOh_H7fU/U67y6FrkiWI/AAAAAAAAgbY/Xy7FAthbRwA/s1600/Picture+1.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1977 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>GREASED LIGHTING:</b></span> Not enough racing and too much time centered on racism...<br /> <br /> The adventurous aspects of the first black man to break into stock car driving in the South could have been a great story, especially that he ran moonshine in his early days. But how he's treated by redneck whites, while important historically, overwhelms the film which is too "heavy" for its own good.<br /> <br /> Richard Pryor, who would prove his serious acting talent in BLUE COLLAR a year later, seems stunted by a muddled script that never settles into anything worthwhile.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5ibUIDKH3NA/U678ldUE62I/AAAAAAAAgc8/jHcGNu_7WTU/s1600/Picture+13.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5ibUIDKH3NA/U678ldUE62I/AAAAAAAAgc8/jHcGNu_7WTU/s1600/Picture+13.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1953 ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>THE BIG HEAT:</b></span> In many crime melodramas of the 1950s, the story of the bloodthirsty, fun-to-watch villains can be hindered by the police and their philosophy of the situation, as they separately discuss the "nature of the crime" to counter the violence...<br /> <br /> But in Fritz Lang's THE BIG HEAT we have rogue a cop who, investigating a co-called suicide, is bent on revenge for the murder of his wife: and we have the best of both worlds combined... The law is as violent as the gangsters while both elements, rolled into one, make for an excellent, headbutting thriller.<br /> <br /> The always-watchable Glenn Ford is calculatingly brilliant, and the scenes pitted against baddie Lee Marvin are fantastic. <br /> <br /> <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="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_0cQc0qMOlo/U672wCY-BVI/AAAAAAAAgcQ/tuw2I-0bJl8/s1600/Picture+8.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_0cQc0qMOlo/U672wCY-BVI/AAAAAAAAgcQ/tuw2I-0bJl8/s1600/Picture+8.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1967 ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>THE DEADLY BEES:</b></span> Don't mistake this as one of those by-the-number creature-feature bug flicks where bees fly around killing people because of the ozone or military or whatever else causes "beasts" to cause havoc in other films of this type.<br /> <br /> Here we have an intelligent, subtle suspense yarn centering on a beautiful singer who finds solace at the house of a professor who isn't nice to his wife, or her dog, and might just be mad enough to made bees... deadly. But things are never what they seem, and this is more Hitchcock than exploitation: building suspense and mystery from start to finish. And when the bees do attack (although the effects are rather dated) it's quite a buzz.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--kRhOuET1AE/U6749voEWNI/AAAAAAAAgcw/CIClVd5xtYY/s1600/Picture+12.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--kRhOuET1AE/U6749voEWNI/AAAAAAAAgcw/CIClVd5xtYY/s1600/Picture+12.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">1979 *</span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>THE DAY TIME ENDED:</b></span> This ultra low-budget science-fiction dud, helmed by John Bud Cardos, couldn't be more different than the indie director's camp masterpiece KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS, where actual things are shown, in that particular case, tarantulas, stalking the characters...<br /> <br /> Here we center on a family living in the desert being harassed by UFOs, space monsters, and a frolicking pint-sized alien, all superimposed on the screen as the actors, including Jim Davis, Dorothy Malone, Christopher Mitchum (Robert's son) and child starlet Natasha Ryan, are merely reacting as if something's really there... But we know, all the while, there simply isn't anything at all. Especially not a plot or purpose.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aE4d3tXkWx0/U7BPjC6YGEI/AAAAAAAAgd4/_orznDouLSs/s1600/Picture+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="430" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aE4d3tXkWx0/U7BPjC6YGEI/AAAAAAAAgd4/_orznDouLSs/s1600/Picture+3.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back to the top, Eileen Brennan and Sally Kirkland in PRIVATE BENJAMIN</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>

bagful, fifties, pj soles, seventies

ANOTHER ECLECTIC BAGFUL OF ARCHIVE REVIEWS

1980 rating: **1/2 PRIVATE BENJAMIN: Unlike the far superior STRIPES starring Bill Murray and Harold Ramis, which came out a year later...

MARK WAHLBERG IN TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hZMPw9bPRpQ/U61XWFDF60I/AAAAAAAAgYk/8BDm6lIRAs8/s1600/transformers__age_of_extinction__2014____poster_by_camw1n-d7i1moa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hZMPw9bPRpQ/U61XWFDF60I/AAAAAAAAgYk/8BDm6lIRAs8/s320/transformers__age_of_extinction__2014____poster_by_camw1n-d7i1moa.jpg" width="210" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: white;">year: 2014 rating: **</b></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;">In BOOGIE NIGHTS, Mark Wahlberg sings a wonderfully cheesy song titled You Got The Touch, which originated from the 1986 animated TRANSFORMERS MOVIE…</span><br /> <br /> This is the type of useless pop culture trivia going through the mind of a film freak while watching a reboot of a reboot that piles on everything to make a big budget movie shine, but misses the <i>mark</i> entirely…<br /> <br /> Not Mark Wahlberg, who has far more screen time than any of the Transformers put together. Although the entire plot centers on the friendly robots that, in the last movie, defended mankind from immense metal plated goons attacking Chicago...<br /> <br /> And now it's all about the humans either protecting or destroying the invaders... Especially Wahlberg’s quirky and bankrupt wannabe Texas inventor Cade Yeager, living in a dilapidated farm with a mature looking teenage daughter who could easily pass as a girlfriend. The overly protected Tessa is so beloved and cherished she’s bound to get kidnapped… And while Cade's gadget-tinkering hobby is intriguing at first, his resilient tech skills don't amount to much when the ball gets rolling...<br /> <br /> <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="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aYmkR4Gq8X4/U63RnHgGByI/AAAAAAAAgZA/g7hi5vNJ7-o/s1600/optimus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aYmkR4Gq8X4/U63RnHgGByI/AAAAAAAAgZA/g7hi5vNJ7-o/s320/optimus.jpg" width="204" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">Not enough Optimus time</span></td></tr> </tbody></table> But that’s skipping ahead. First we must weather a tacked-on, forced comic relief from T.J. Miller’s surfer dude Lucas, and then Stanley Tucci as an equally jokey and sarcastic scientist named Joshua Joyce, who's a lot more important being that he invented an entirely new consumer-friendly Transformer that can alter itself by (what looks like) flying molecules rather than the usual noisy shape-shifting. Also on board is Kelsey Grammer as a nefarious CIA agent who wants all Transformers obliterated by using Joyce's invention, or something.<br /> <br /> The titular heroes do have a decent amount of screen time, holed up in the desert and goading back and forth like seasoned war buddies during a Saturday night poker match... Yet they seem like special guest stars in someone else’s movie…<br /> <br /> Shifting from America to Japan – where a host of metallic dinosaurs join the fight against a giant spaceship – all the Transformers do is follow Cade as he attempts to rescue his daughter and before that, having been joined by her young racy boyfriend, the trio’s chemistry is so reminiscent of ARMAGEDDON you’ll expect Wahlberg to become Bruce Willis while an Aerosmith ballad plays: But no matter who the heroic human is, and while it’s nice not having Shia LaBeouf around, those Transformers needed more creative reasons to awesomely morph into earthy vessels (what the source toy franchise was all about)... And during the last of several overlong climaxes, when Prime and his immense foe are about to square off, Wahlberg rushes into the scene for assistance, not realizing that an uninterrupted metal vs metal smackdown is long overdue.

action, franchise, mark wahlberg, sequel

MARK WAHLBERG IN TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION

year: 2014 rating: ** In BOOGIE NIGHTS, Mark Wahlberg sings a wonderfully cheesy song titled You Got The Touch, which originated from th...

A SPECIAL FAREWELL TO THE LEGENDARY ELI WALLACH W/ DEBORAH WINTERS

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8ReKImgNNTI/U6xtpg6DabI/AAAAAAAAgYU/MOkOvc8Hdmo/s1600/people2.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8ReKImgNNTI/U6xtpg6DabI/AAAAAAAAgYU/MOkOvc8Hdmo/s1600/people2.jpg" width="243" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eli Wallach Tribute</td></tr> </tbody></table> Eli Wallach, who died yesterday, was one of the great character-actors. Although in THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, his particular character, bandito/con-artist Tuco Ramirez, was hardly supporting...<br /> <br /> Tuco was really the pivotal centerpiece of the entire movie... Through him we learn so much, and scenes with his priest brother are actually quite moving...<br /> <br /> In this Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western classic, mostly remembered and revered as a Clint Eastwood vehicle, Eli Wallach brought ugly to the forefront, and it was beautiful! <br /> <br /> <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="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3vuVc-lMEHc/U6xcotARMpI/AAAAAAAAgXk/jvpiwAqOVcw/s1600/tuco1.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3vuVc-lMEHc/U6xcotARMpI/AAAAAAAAgXk/jvpiwAqOVcw/s1600/tuco1.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">as Tuco Ramirez</td></tr> </tbody></table> Among a string of eclectic projects spanning many decades, including THE MISFITS with Marilyn Monroe and THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, Wallach was brilliantly cast as a hit man named Dancer in Don Siegel's 1958 Film Noir THE LINEUP, in which he played a sinister yet subtle marauder, described as a "<span class="userContent">wonderful, pure, pathological study,"</span> learning etiquette while he kills...<br /> <br /> Whether playing a villain, hero, or someone lurking in-between, he always brought a unique quality to his roles: that being Wallach himself... Through his expressions alone, something was always going on... Leading to an obscure counter-culture flick from 1970, and actress DEBORAH WINTERS, who played Eli's troubled daughter in THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR, bids an exclusive farewell to the legendary actor:<br /> <br /> <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="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F93wXEckyVo/U6xtYN_O1YI/AAAAAAAAgYE/MNl3ZmuZBcw/s1600/Picture+1.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="155" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F93wXEckyVo/U6xtYN_O1YI/AAAAAAAAgYE/MNl3ZmuZBcw/s1600/Picture+1.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harris, Winters and Wallach</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <i>"Eli was a dear man... I remember the night he invited Julie Harris and I to his apartment for dinner. It was just the three of us. I think his wife was working and his son had moved away already. He was young, but grown already. He spoke so fondly of his son. He was very proud if him...</i><br /> <i><br /></i> <i>"He cooked us dinner and we had such a nice evening. He drove a Fiat and loved it. He spoke of how great the car was... that you could raise it up in high water situations. He was always jovial and helpful on the set, too... </i><br /> <i><br /></i> <i>"With his passing, another great talent is lost. Not many character actors like Eli Wallach around today. He had a good marriage and didn't have a drug or alcohol problem. I respected him and was very fortunate to have worked with him." </i><br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tTxCp422j54/U6xtfpVTfQI/AAAAAAAAgYM/oSfrPACGf3E/s1600/eli1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="124" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tTxCp422j54/U6xtfpVTfQI/AAAAAAAAgYM/oSfrPACGf3E/s1600/eli1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In THE LINEUP... With Monroe in THE MISFITS... With Steve McQueen in THE HUNTER</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <i> </i> <br />

deborah winters, eli wallach, tribute

A SPECIAL FAREWELL TO THE LEGENDARY ELI WALLACH W/ DEBORAH WINTERS

Eli Wallach Tribute Eli Wallach, who died yesterday, was one of the great character-actors. Although in THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, ...

CLINT EASTWOOD DIRECTS JERSEY BOYS

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I8LQhkTHuwQ/U6nUOED1VlI/AAAAAAAAgWo/bWU1HvHCA54/s1600/jersey-boys-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I8LQhkTHuwQ/U6nUOED1VlI/AAAAAAAAgWo/bWU1HvHCA54/s320/jersey-boys-poster.jpg" width="207" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2014 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> Based on an immensely popular Broadway musical, JERSEY BOYS, about the rise and fall of the pop band The Four Seasons, although directed by Clint Eastwood, strives for good old fashion Martin Scorsese street savvy charm…Hell, there's even an actor playing a young Joe Pesci...<br /> <br /> We begin in the streets of New Jersey through a mugging face-the-camera narration by founding member Tommy DeVito (Joe's name in GOODFELLAS), a two-bit hustler with a scam for just about any occasion. He puts his crooked mind at work and something usually comes of it, even if jail time is part of the deal...<br /> <br /> It's through Tommy we learn (and are constantly reminded) that being bad is simply part of the game. And while actor Vincent Piazza does a pretty decent job stealing scenes and just about everything else, he seems very alone in the process...<br /> <br /> Soon enough, Tommy has some very important company, leading to the young man of the hour, Frankie Valli, with a voice like a falsetto angel and, with a sneaky devil on his shoulder, Frankie and Tommy have the sort of friendship that leads to predictable trouble... <br /> <br /> The two main performances are alright, especially since the actors do their own crooning, but Piazza and John Lloyd Young seem to be going through the motions, as if rehearsing for a much grittier film. And soon enough, they're no longer nobodies: eventually the boys form their own band, first called The Four Lovers and then, after a bowling alley neon inspiration, the Four Seasons are born…<br /> <br /> <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="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JIaGClQR7a4/U6pBHOuvR2I/AAAAAAAAgXA/3cyFp2Whoy4/s1600/the-four-seasons-entertain-you-175240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JIaGClQR7a4/U6pBHOuvR2I/AAAAAAAAgXA/3cyFp2Whoy4/s200/the-four-seasons-entertain-you-175240.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the Real FOUR SEASONS</td></tr> </tbody></table> The transition from working musicians to big stars seems a bit rushed, while their initial climb to the top is a lot more interesting. Beginning as background singers with an itch for their own fame, soon enough their dreams are fully realized. And yet, having a string of back-to-back hit songs, thanks to the much more classy and thoughtful songwriter/keyboardist Bob Guadio, the movie never seems entirely focused on a famous band: The boys are far more comfortable in stolen clothes than when the money rolls in, which is probably intentional. They're Jersey punks no matter how much money is earned... <br /> <br /> Although a lot feels held back in this rags to riches tale – the second act plays out more like a daydream than a biopic. And while the poster has the boys singing under a street lamp, we hardly get a glimpse of their unified pre-limelight struggle.  <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JYJGXEgOQ_o/U6nUk_7QZ8I/AAAAAAAAgWw/MCvaif-GS3c/s1600/the_deer_hunter_1978_friends_playing_pool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JYJGXEgOQ_o/U6nUk_7QZ8I/AAAAAAAAgWw/MCvaif-GS3c/s320/the_deer_hunter_1978_friends_playing_pool.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Famous DEER HUNTER Frankie Valli sing-along</td></tr> </tbody></table> The main problem is the melodramatic side effects occurring as the boys play big bills and make sporadic television appearances. This includes Tommy’s gambling debts, Frankie’s troubled marriage and the ultimate tragedy of losing a kid, all treated in a somewhat breezy, TV soap fashion. Even a pivotal meeting between Christopher Walken's mob boss, a vengeful bookie and the troubled band has no palpable edge...<br /> <br /> So right as we’re getting to know The Four Seasons as a solid act, not only are they falling apart at the seams, but there wasn’t enough time centered of their fame to make the inevitable decline really matter. Meanwhile, Tommy’s fourth-wall-breaking narration is replaced with that of good guy bassist Nick and songwriter Bob... yet their casual approach lacks the punch that made Tommy's roguish gab so intriguing.  <br /> <br /> Director Clint Eastwood, who provides a unique cameo as RAWHIDE plays on a TV set, awkwardly balances grungy street life with shiny musical numbers. Meanwhile, the legitimately classic Four Seasons songs come and go like the breeze, while the buildup for Valli’s solo/comeback <i>Can’t Take My Eyes Off You</i> is much too grandiose, glorified and anti-climactic for its own right... especially after tweaking the horn section to sound like a Vegas lounge act from hell... What's with the intruding saxophones!?! <br /> <br /> Everything gets conveniently summed up with a tacked-on reunion at the 1990 Music Hall of Fame... the actors, wearing aged makeup, seem part of an SNL skit... And we finish with an overlong song & dance routine obviously geared for fans of the Broadway musical, where this particular story is probably much better suited. 

2014, biopic, christopher walken, clint eastwood

CLINT EASTWOOD DIRECTS JERSEY BOYS

year: 2014 rating: ** Based on an immensely popular Broadway musical, JERSEY BOYS, about the rise and fall of the pop band The Four Seas...

A GRITTY BAGFUL OF ARCHIVE MOVIE REVIEWS

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yl1SD5DkPbI/U6YGH8w0btI/AAAAAAAAgVg/zTEHoJV1DtA/s1600/body+fever.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yl1SD5DkPbI/U6YGH8w0btI/AAAAAAAAgVg/zTEHoJV1DtA/s320/body+fever.jpg" width="182" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1969 ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>SUPERCOOL: </b></span>Film Noir/Gumshoe/Private Eye films have a main character wandering from one location to the next in search of something, or someone... What they get along the way are a lot of names, mostly red herrings. Sexy women. Fights. Psychedelic drugs and...<br /> <br /> Okay that last aspect didn't fit the Bogart-era films, in which this was inspired, but in SUPERCOOL aka BODY FEVER aka DEADLOCKED aka THE LAST ORIGINAL B MOVIE, we have an urban/suburban odyssey of a scrawny P.I., played by Ray Dennis Steckler, who also starred and directed in, among many low budget cult titles, THE THRILL KILLERS, as he tries to find a missing dame who stole a ton of drugs. The best elements pit Stecker's Charlie Smith against Frankie Roberts, played by Steck's stock heavy Gary Kent, who not only keeps women addicted to smack but smacks them regularly. And like those mazy Noirs of the forties and fifties, the plot is purposely convoluted (so the audience is as confused as the snoop)... But the flat conclusion seems a bit forced: ending a breezy jaunt that could've gone on forever. <br /> <br /> <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;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484218195006448546" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TBvbZEgX46I/AAAAAAAAAak/C-Gq6A2XY3A/s200/shepart.bmp" style="height: 146px; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 200px;" /></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">year: 1961 rating: ***1/2</span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>THE LITTLE SHEPARD OF KINGDOM COME:</b></span> Jimmie Rodgers, pop singer from the fifties, shifts into acting about as comfortably as Elvis Presley, and that's not such a bad thing.<br /> <br /> Rodgers plays Chad, a wandering young man from the mountains, without a family or last name, who happens upon two families: one of humble-means up North... including reliable Robert Dix... the other of great importance down South, headed by Chill Wills... prior to the Civil War.<br /> <br /> Rodgers seems very genuine and soft-hearted, and even sings. The plot is more-or-less a journey into two regions that'd soon be at war, shown during the final act where the battle scenes are involving but never too intense. But it's the first half, where Chad settles into each domestic setting, that stands out: seemingly tailor-made for Rodger's easygoing performance. And George Kennedy makes for a terrific heavy, providing a sporadic black cloud to this sun-soaked, and quite relaxing, portrait of 19th Century America.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TBuoi15wEyI/AAAAAAAAAaE/2kPkZdxBjGs/s1600/major+dundeee.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484162287792034594" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TBuoi15wEyI/AAAAAAAAAaE/2kPkZdxBjGs/s200/major+dundeee.jpg" style="float: right; height: 134px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1965 rating: **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>MAJOR DUNDEE:</b></span> Early Peckinpah Western has the title-bearing Major, played by Charlton Heston, gathering up troops for a mission to destroy a band of killer Apaches.<br /> <br /> Richard Harris and Warren Oates are Confederates that reluctantly join the posse. After a somewhat rushed set-up, we ride from location to location, providing a decently filmed action scene along the way, but within each camp are lulls of stagey conversation... Ride, stop, and talk... again and again till the bloody climactic battle that doesn't last as long as the long bouts of campfire chat, or painfully corny scenes involving romance, and lots and lots of dancing, in Mexico.<br /> <br /> Jim Hutton, Timothy's father, is embarrassingly cliched as a by-the-book military man. Peck stock actors Warren Oates and Ben Johnson are all but wasted. But Richard Harris is effective as the proud Confederate and, ever-challenging the main character, provides Heston with his best scenes: mostly reaction. Meanwhile, James Coburn, as a one-armed half-Indian, advises Heston to not stay too long in the Spanish town because he doesn't look like a Mexican. Thank God someone didn't tell Orson Welles that eight years earlier, because TOUCH OF EVIL provides the icon one of his best (that is, most understated) performances.<br /> <br /> <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="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TA0qBfOC4FI/AAAAAAAAAYU/xXqlyifim8Q/s1600/fortyguns.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480082526628405330" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TA0qBfOC4FI/AAAAAAAAAYU/xXqlyifim8Q/s200/fortyguns.jpg" style="float: right; height: 86px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1957 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>FORTY GUNS:</b> </span>One of the great opening shots has three brothers, Barry Sullivan, Gene Barry and Robert Dix travelling by stage as forty mounted horses with armed men, led by Barbara Stanwyk, thunder past.<br /> <br /> It's after the credits, and the trio reach a small town, where things go downhill slowly as a man walks around singing out loud, and a few fights occur which, while filmed creatively, seem out of an adolescent melodrama, during which a plot slowly unfolds: HIGH NOON without the suspense. <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480090509195957394" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TA0xSImdVJI/AAAAAAAAAYc/HMQ634W58d8/s200/rebel+rousers.jpg" style="height: 189px; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 177px;" /></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">1967 rating: **</span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>THE REBEL ROUSERS:</b></span> Nice guy husband Cameron Mitchell and pregnant wife Diane Ladd are in some serious trouble... <br /> <br /> Three actors, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern and Harry Dean Stanton, who in only a few years would become highly successful, sought-upon, iconic movie stars, play troublesome bikers that kidnap the couple, and then race up and down the beach to see who can "marry" the bride while Mitchell, after getting beaten to a pulp, escapes and, while seeking help, the ruffians continue having a much better time than the audience. Made in 1967 and released in 1970 after Jack hit it big (the others would soon follow), this futile biker outing is a curio-piece strictly for the cast... Bruce Dern in particular: as the hellion with a conscious, he's exceptionally fun to watch.<br /> <br /> <table align="center" 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="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TAbDJlA0XZI/AAAAAAAAAX0/U8P_uSWxRco/s1600/switchblade+sisters.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478280566064569746" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TAbDJlA0XZI/AAAAAAAAAX0/U8P_uSWxRco/s200/switchblade+sisters.jpg" style="float: right; height: 180px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 167px;" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">year: 1975 rating: ***</span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>SWITCHBLADE SISTERS:</b></span> Part of an autograph series DVD presented by exploitation and Jack Hill fanatic Quentin Tarantino, the movie starts off cool enough as a gang of dagger-wielding chicks led by Lace, played by Robbie Lee, and their boyfriend/counterpart gang, Asher Brauner's Dominic, rule both the town and their high school.<br /> <div> <br /> Throw in a new girl named Maggie... tougher than Lace and therefore respected... and after a brief stint in lockup, a nifty friendship ensues as both gals deal with the splendidly villainous Dominic, whose lethal bravado all but steals the show. Too bad a side-plot about the politically-motivated revolutionary leader of a rival gang, who resembles a geeky accountant, takes things to a level that, although ending with a nifty shootout in the streets of an abandoned city, turns a simple exploitation into something that tries for everything.<br /> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TAX7C-W15rI/AAAAAAAAAXM/MGd5PCLQP_A/s1600/zab460.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478060550283191986" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TAX7C-W15rI/AAAAAAAAAXM/MGd5PCLQP_A/s200/zab460.jpg" style="float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 164px;" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">1970 rating: **</span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>ZABRISKIE POINT:</b></span> This searing counterculture film by arthouse guru Michelangelo Antonioni is like watching paint dry, although some of the colors are nice, mostly provided by filler-music from Jerry Garcia, The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd... and then a horribly dull title song by Roy Orbison after a literally explosive climax. </div> <br /> The acting between the two young leads, Mark Frechette and Daria Halprin, is liken to that of a artistic porno while the plot, as it were, has our two great looking revolutionaries... one in a stolen airplane and the other in a cool old car... meeting in the desert whilst silently plotting something against the only real actors in the film, Rod Taylor and G.D. Spradlin, who are, for some unexplained reason... perhaps because they like making tons of money... very bad people. Looks and sounds nice but dulls the other senses. And Harrison Ford plays an imprisoned hippie in a jailhouse scene, but this reviewer just can't spot him.</div>

bagful, biker, exploitation, fifties, gary kent, robert dix, seventies, sixties, war

A GRITTY BAGFUL OF ARCHIVE MOVIE REVIEWS

1969 ***1/2 SUPERCOOL: Film Noir/Gumshoe/Private Eye films have a main character wandering from one location to the next in search of so...

A RANDOM BLOODY BAGFUL OF ARCHIVE REVIEWS

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eddDulPfUro/U6YkJrdjWhI/AAAAAAAAgWA/58GbTkMteUc/s1600/gorga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eddDulPfUro/U6YkJrdjWhI/AAAAAAAAgWA/58GbTkMteUc/s200/gorga.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1969 rating: *1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>THE MIGHTY GORGA:</b></span> A man trying to save his fledgling zoo joins a woman whose father has been lost in the jungle on search of a giant ape named Gorga... <br /> <div> <br /> A waste of time for those who love the so-bad-it's-good genre. This one isn't good at all, save for the appearance of the plastic T-REX who'd later turn up as the main villain in the much better  schlocky companion film, ONE MILLION AC/DC, penned by Ed Wood and part of a double feature DVD with THE MIGHTY GORGA, who is basically a man in an ape suit, filmed so close-up it's difficult to "enjoy" the cheesiness of the not-so-special effects, while the acting is quite dull even though the otherwise talented and established actors, including exploitation favorite Gary Kent and noir staple/Lawrence Tierney brother, Scott Brady, aren't bad... just bored silly, like the audience.<br /> <br /> <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="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ibu0fnlVboE/U7FBbqFs5BI/AAAAAAAAgeI/UtrLza0_NG0/s1600/Picture+4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ibu0fnlVboE/U7FBbqFs5BI/AAAAAAAAgeI/UtrLza0_NG0/s1600/Picture+4.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1957 ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>A FACE IN THE CROWD:</b></span> First half has charm and a nice story arc of a guitar-slinging slick-talking bum turned radio personality then TV host i.e. the man of the people aka "Lonesome Rhodes", played with sublime gusto by Andy Griffith...<br /> <br /> Patricia Neal, as a radio show producer, pulls the strings, falls in love, and eventually Rhodes glides into womanizing and worse yet, backing a politician. This occurs during the second half as the characters, and the story, declines into an overly-obvious over-the-top message: not that too much fame will ruin a normal man, but that politics, when mixed with television, doesn't work and can be America's downfall.<br /> <br /> Rhode's climb to the top, from rags to riches, is a treat; but once he arrives, the movie, like the main character, loses focus and never quite regains.</div> <div> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TGimDzryFQI/AAAAAAAAAkw/XVwU_901Sjo/s1600/tar5.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505833128804095234" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TGimDzryFQI/AAAAAAAAAkw/XVwU_901Sjo/s200/tar5.jpg" style="float: right; height: 150px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1955 rating: ****</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>TARANTULA:</b></span> The most brilliant thing director Jack Arnold did to make this movie timeless, and just as creepy and terrific today as it was all those years ago, is to mostly show the titular creature... a giant tarantula created by a "mad" scientist... at dusk or night. Then as the story builds, and we're used to the creature in shadowy form, it seems more real in the daylight...<br /> <br /> The main-frame storyline, of a young doctor and a beautiful lab assistant trying to figure out who's eating cattle and why folks are vanishing, works in perfect unison with the monster that, like in all great creature-features, is used only sparingly. And keep an eye out for a young Clint Eastwood as a jet fighter pilot in the very end; although his face is mostly covered with a mask, that's the man (and be sure to <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/09/TARANTULAlland.html">CLICK HERE</a> for a more in-depth review of TARANTULA, which was written as a double-feature retrospective on producer William Alland and star John Agar, also including THE MOLE PEOPLE).<br /> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <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="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2DoyM5I-NsQ/U6PT1NwAYFI/AAAAAAAAgUc/3w3fkuH9zLg/s1600/2.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2DoyM5I-NsQ/U6PT1NwAYFI/AAAAAAAAgUc/3w3fkuH9zLg/s200/2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1947 rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>NIGHTMARE ALLEY:</b></span> Film Noir flicks usually teach us tempted sinners how crime doesn't pay, and now we learn, either does reading minds...<br /> <br /> The best scenes occur at a carnival as barker Tyrone Power learns a "code" from Joan Blondell that she performs with hubby Ian Keith, a once great mentalist turned rummy, who owns one scene where, coming out of a boozy haze, he wields a con on Power involving a "stock" childhood memory. But after Tyrone and gorgeous carnival performer turned wife, Collen Gray, move their high-paying act to a nightclub, and a ridiculous plot involving a millionaire's dead daughter unfolds, things go downhill slowly... They should have stayed put at the carnival.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472694985728130594" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/S_LrGAxi_iI/AAAAAAAAAVE/WirtLtkPuRE/s200/gary+kent.jpg" style="height: 150px; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 200px;" /></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">year: 1965 rating: ***1/2</span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>ONE SHOCKING MOMENT:</b></span> In one aspect this movie is way ahead of its time. When it came out, showing full frontal nudity, implied lesbianism, and dominatrix was groundbreaking.<br /> <br /> But for a sixties-era "Nudie Cutie", or better yet, "Porn Without Penetration", ONE SHOCKING MOMENT is quite tame, and unlike many of those films – in which a lean plot involves getting a man and woman together in a room – there is a story which, once underway, is quite intoxicating when a married couple who aren't that innocent to begin with, including apish hubby Gary Kent (under the pseudonym Philip Brady) flirts with every woman alive (going a step further with the office bimbo) and deadpan/dingbat wifey Lee Anna, dressed up like a floozy... both find themselves entwined in sexual taboo after frequenting a nightclub owned by an assertive lesbian, played by scene-stealer Verne Martine, who has her sights on the wife and eventually teaches the cheating Kent something about submission.<br /> <br /> Beautiful black and white cinematography by Lazlo Kovacks, a tempestuous hipster-inspired soundtrack, and more than <i>one</i> shock makes this a real treat: and then some.<br /> <div> <br /> <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="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TCOz6cND9DI/AAAAAAAAAbM/G5yokjYj_Mc/s1600/tetro.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486426587652158514" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TCOz6cND9DI/AAAAAAAAAbM/G5yokjYj_Mc/s200/tetro.jpg" style="float: right; height: 195px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2009 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>TETRO:</b></span> Francis Ford Coppola returns to film school, and is a "triple threat" as writer, producer and director for this independent black and white study of two brothers: one a brooding so-called genius, Vincent Gallo as Tetro...<br /> <br /> The other, Alden Edrenreich as Bennie, a youthful dud who, staying with brother and his girlfriend, yearns to complete Tetro's play-in-progress, scrawled in notebooks and only meant as cathartic exercise for the author.<br /> <div> <br /> The location, Buenos Aries, is beautiful, as is the cinematography. But the characters are all one-sided, especially Tetro's famous composer father, shown in colorized flashbacks: so abundantly evil he should have a thin little mustache and a few sticks of dynamite.<br /> <br /> Indie icon Vincent Gallo convincingly looks, and acts, the part of a reluctant-to-gain-fame dark-horse artist, but Edrenriech lacks the blunt determination that, for instance, Matt Dillon (originally cast as Tetro) wielded as the little-bro-under-big-bro's-shadow in Coppola's RUMBLE FISH, which this is a ponderous replica of.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/S-xbYkRcwMI/AAAAAAAAAUU/Kog3yXEYZpU/s1600/runangelrun2.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470848124960161986" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/S-xbYkRcwMI/AAAAAAAAAUU/Kog3yXEYZpU/s200/runangelrun2.jpg" style="float: right; height: 172px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 193px;" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1969 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>RUN ANGEL RUN:</b></span> The opening credit sequence (making up for backstory) shows the cover of a fictional LIFE-esque "LIKE MAGAZINE" adorned with the face of William Smith's character, Angel: he's been interviewed and told-all about his biker gang.<br /> <div> <br /> So the film starts with his former-fellow marauders chasing he and his girl down the highway and onto a moving train (the best filmed sequence, using split-screen nicely). After finding solace at a rural farm, Mr. and Mrs. Smith learn to be "normal", which doesn't go without tons of arguments and forgiveness. This is the down-time of biker films, and has a "message" about the biker lifestyle selling out, perhaps because of the year-before blockbuster EASY RIDER: which this film borrows from in its flash-cut editing.<br /> <br /> Smith's acting is good, as usual, but he seems to be doing a Marlon Brando/Stanley Kowalski imitation: his performance exceeding the material. And Jack Starrett, whose classic leathery voice is used for an aged gas station attendant, has directed much better. </div> </div> <br /> <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="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TCGfBOk-jFI/AAAAAAAAAa8/3RhS3q47XZc/s1600/goonies.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485840664555850834" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TCGfBOk-jFI/AAAAAAAAAa8/3RhS3q47XZc/s200/goonies.jpg" style="float: right; height: 130px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1985 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>GOONIES:</b></span> For a big budget Steven Speilberg production the initial setup frugally takes place within one house, getting to know each kid's quirks and then, in the same house but upstairs, the ragged clan way-too-easily find a treasure map and the adventure begins: with a bicycle ride occurring in the course of a Cyndi Lauper song as THE GOONIES find another house where they spend the rest of the film: only underground where there are several mazy levels.<br /> <br /> Tons of bickering chatter, gratuitous product placement, hijinks-action and toilet humor make this flick, which could be retitled THE GARBAGE PAIL KIDS AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, more suited for teens than children, as three villainous yet goofy thugs provide filler as they thwart the quest: which, despite the grandiose musical score, is really just a lot of banal running around. And yet the main problem isn't the plot... treasure hunts are always intriguing... but the Goonies themselves: it's never really clear why they're outcasts – or from what exactly.</div> </div>

bagful, crime, eighties, exploitation, fifties, film noir or melodrama, gary kent, sixties

A RANDOM BLOODY BAGFUL OF ARCHIVE REVIEWS

year: 1969 rating: *1/2 THE MIGHTY GORGA: A man trying to save his fledgling zoo joins a woman whose father has been lost in the jungl...

SHAILENE WOODLEY IN THE FAULT OF OUR STARS

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bMpwgnfa4eA/U6ToZ1fXTlI/AAAAAAAAgVE/p2ktztcCFRY/s1600/MV5BMjA4NzkxNzc5Ml5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNzQ3OTMxMTE%2540._V1_SX640_SY720_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bMpwgnfa4eA/U6ToZ1fXTlI/AAAAAAAAgVE/p2ktztcCFRY/s320/MV5BMjA4NzkxNzc5Ml5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNzQ3OTMxMTE%2540._V1_SX640_SY720_.jpg" width="198" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">year: 2014 rating: **</span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;">Teenagers who talk like intellectual college grads is nothing new... Either is having a starstruck book fanatic meet the author of her dreams who turns out being a complete nightmare.... MY GIRL 2 is a perfect example...</span><br /> <br /> THE FAULT OF OUR STARS does have a certain edge being that it centers not only on a serious subject... teenagers dying of cancer… But the main character Hazel, played by Shailene Woodley, diagnosed and having met a good looking, free-spirited boy named Gus, actually mentions that life isn't a Peter Gabriel love song as seen and heard in the movies...<br /> <br /> Unfortunately STARS, based on a best selling novel,  plays out just like a movie – and a cliché one at that.<br /> <br /> The romance between Hazel and Gus is held together because of the hardship both face on their own, which becomes a peripheral subplot mentioned in life-affirming narratives by Hazel herself, sounding more like clever tweets than heartfelt journal entries... So after meeting the horribly rude author in Amsterdam (who supposedly set up the entire trip in the first place, but not really), the cancer story returns in full form back in America.  <br /> <br /> Although centered on two existential teens seeking the last refuge of hope, there’s very little connection to their plight, something that could have made the characters much more interesting than the usual romantic, tear-stained melodrama. This would also allow the young actors to stretch beyond their abilities. In Woodley's case, using THE DESCENDANTS as a springboard, the potential is limitless. As for Ansel Elgort, his sweet-natured performance is not that different than when he took CARRIE to the prom last year. So we’re left with just another opposites-attract teen romance that seemed more befitting a LIFETIME movie of the week than a big screen feature. Although this new generation needs their very own LOVE STORY... Not only did both relatively low budget films deal with the same topic, they surprised everyone with a gigantic box office gross. Take that, Marvel!

2014, melodrama, romance, shailene woodley

SHAILENE WOODLEY IN THE FAULT OF OUR STARS

year: 2014 rating: ** Teenagers who talk like intellectual college grads is nothing new... Either is having a starstruck book fanatic me...

AN ECLECTIC BAGFUL OF ARCHIVE SUMMARY REVIEWS

<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="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZnpbvatvftA/U6O5qPA2fUI/AAAAAAAAgTs/wif5auG0O_Q/s1600/forbiddne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZnpbvatvftA/U6O5qPA2fUI/AAAAAAAAgTs/wif5auG0O_Q/s1600/forbiddne.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1956 rating: ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>FORBIDDEN PLANET:</b></span> The 1950's were full of some pretty bad science fiction movies, so here's a good one... Not only did FORBIDDEN PLANET shape many other of its kind, it was an inspiration for a television show that would premiere a decade later... called STAR TREK!<br /> <br /> Plot centers on American astronauts landing on a planet inhabited by one American scientist, sole survival of a past mission, his gorgeous indigenous-birthed daughter, and some kind of phantom wraith. The mystery builds nicely with the gradual investigation of this new world and its past civilization, and the actors, especially the three leads, keep you lightly interested enough through some cerebral-heavy dialogue. The dated but still worthy special effects coincide with great battle scenes. And thankfully the twist ending doesn't have an overly-obvious anti-nuke message, a nice surprise since most old school sci-fi flicks lean (and sometimes topple) in that direction.<br /> <div> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P9cKl0HBbC4/U6O8DGxWbbI/AAAAAAAAgUA/x35-RFdcrYY/s1600/flimflam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P9cKl0HBbC4/U6O8DGxWbbI/AAAAAAAAgUA/x35-RFdcrYY/s1600/flimflam.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1967 rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>THE FLIM-FLAM MAN:</b> </span>Quirky and frolicking depression-era adventure about a famous (or infamous) charlatan who travels around conning people along the way.<br /> <div> <br /> He meets young naive drifter Michael Sarrazin, who learns the ins-and-outs of rambling-trickery and being one step ahead of the law: which includes Harry Morgan and Albert Salmi as frustrated backwoods cops.<br /> <br /> The dialogue can be contrived and corny, the jovial music a bit intrusive (giving away the outcome), but because of Irwin Kershner's action-paced direction, the characters, and storyline, are delivered smoothly from one location to the next.<br /> <br /> Gorgeous "Lolita" Sue Lyon has a small but significant role as one of the victims who turns into a love interest for Sarrazin, as he realizes the fleeting life might not be for him. And George C. Scott, constantly jutting his chin, seems to be doing an old man imitation, but its an endearingly memorable character no less.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/S8dv3rFwjiI/AAAAAAAAAOg/VMUKBRxU3GQ/s1600/vigilante.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460456075460382242" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/S8dv3rFwjiI/AAAAAAAAAOg/VMUKBRxU3GQ/s200/vigilante.jpg" style="float: right; height: 186px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1983 rating: ****</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>VIGILANTE:</b></span> Beginning with one of the coolest guitar-driven opening tracks, we center on a trio of vigilantes, sort of a neighborhood watch that kicks ass, are Fred Williamson, Richard Bright, and Joseph Carberry. The gang of vicious cold-blooded blood-thirsty thugs include shit-talkin' leader Willie Colin and henchman Don Blakley.<br /> <div> <br /> Beginning as a character in the background, everyman machinist father/husband Robert Forster, friends with the (secret) vigilante group, is in denial about how bad society is until his child and wife are attacked by the gang...<br /> <br /> Eventually, everything collides wonderfully in this exploitation-DEATH WISH that delivers on every level, including street fights, prison survival, and an awesome guitar-driven soundtrack.<br /> <br /> Too classy for grindhouse and too gritty for mainstream, this is the perfect synergy of blood, guts, guns, and best of all, sweet revenge. Especially once we deal with Forster's plight ranging from a court room tirade, a suspenseful prison stint and finally, a chance to set things bloody straight. Sure, there could have been more Fred "Hammer" Williamson during the final act, but he'd provided Forster enough street wisdom to carry matters through.  <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/S8SsGkByc1I/AAAAAAAAANI/Vw-BL2-So9o/s1600/badge+373.jpg"><b></b></a><br /> <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;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459677877030253394" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/S8SsGkByc1I/AAAAAAAAANI/Vw-BL2-So9o/s200/badge+373.jpg" style="height: 200px; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 140px;" /></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">1973 rating: *</span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>BADGE 373:</b></span> The continuing adventures of Popeye Doyle, the tough narcotics cop played by Gene Hackman in THE FRENCH CONNECTION, now with Robert Duvall as Eddie Ryan: both Doyle and Ryan based on real life detective Eddie Egan who, like in CONNECTION, has a small part here.<br /> <br /> But unlike that Oscar winning film, gloriously directed by William Freidkin with a spontaneous free-rolling gritty documentary style, this feels like the pilot for a TV series that never was. And it's not even that good. <br /> <br /> The sluggish pace, vapid dialogue and contrived plot... Ryan investigating his partner's death... strips away any realism.<br /> <br /> The great Robert Duvall, one of the all-time resilient and brilliant actors, is reduced to working hard for very little payoff. Even the action scenes are muddled and boring.  But what can you do... The 1970's was the greatest decade, but nothing is perfect. <br /> <div> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/S7zQUST-7rI/AAAAAAAAAE4/EmXA8Gmu85I/s1600/tropic+of+cancer.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457465895397813938" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/S7zQUST-7rI/AAAAAAAAAE4/EmXA8Gmu85I/s200/tropic+of+cancer.jpg" style="float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 189px;" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1970 rating: **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>TROPIC OF CANCER:</b></span> Henry Miller's rousing poetic pornography is brought to the screen with the always-watchable Rip Torn as the controversial author wandering Paris from one situation to the next, either narrating Miller's words over various shots of the famous city, or dealing with, and suffering through, random confrontations with crazy women and even crazier men.<br /> <br /> Reminiscent of how Charles Bukowski's life would be attempted years later in BARFLY and FACTOTUM... stream-of-conscious odysseys never settling into one particular melodrama for too long... this film's progressively-racy dialogue seems awkward and forced.<br /> <br /> Some of the side-actors don't fit the (for 1970) groundbreaking template, at times feeling like an X-rated episode of MARY TYLER MOORE. Torn, although not entirely believable as Miller, is intriguing to watch, and along with a few quick sexy scenes with Ellen Burstyn, solely owns this obscure curio that seems borrowed otherwise.<br /> <div> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <br /> <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="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xONF33RZPWQ/U6O0rW7xEYI/AAAAAAAAgTU/lCVMNQfrWis/s1600/Picture+1.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xONF33RZPWQ/U6O0rW7xEYI/AAAAAAAAgTU/lCVMNQfrWis/s1600/Picture+1.png" width="136" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1967 rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>DEVIL'S ANGELS:</b></span> Sixties biker flicks are usually the same...<br /> <br /> Noisy hog-riders roll into a small quiet town making a mess of things. One of the bikers takes things too far and a "freak verses pig"<i> </i>battle ensues. That's it in a nutshell here...<br /> <br /> The adventure doesn't venture far from the single peaceful town where, after crashing an afternoon carnival, The Skulls are (falsely) accused of raping a local girl stupid enough to party with them.<br /> <br /> Leo Gordon, as the understanding Sheriff, adds essential realism and John Cassavetes, as the thinking-man's gang leader, while embodying his usual askew charm, seems more like an acting teacher than a ruffian; more attributes of "Franco", his scruffy, scene-stealing character in THE DIRTY DOZEN, were needed.<br /> <br /> But no matter, this Roger Corman-produced biker-outing delivers the goods just-good enough, and is exactly as entertaining as it should be. It's a biker flick, after all.  </div> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <br /> <div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_xOeCYu7A08/U6O5x7VQkwI/AAAAAAAAgT0/mA9A832dz9s/s1600/millers+crossing+04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_xOeCYu7A08/U6O5x7VQkwI/AAAAAAAAgT0/mA9A832dz9s/s1600/millers+crossing+04.jpg" width="195" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1990 rating: *****</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>MILLER'S CROSSING:</b></span> You can't trust anyone, not really, in this classy yet just as gritty 1990 gangster opus written and directed by the Coen Brothers during one of their several artistic peaks.<br /> <br /> The film plays out like something the duo probably always wanted to see: a cutthroat gangster film with more dialog than action, more brains than brawn, more bickering than bullet holes, more gossip than guns... but when the guns happen, do they ever.<br /> <br /> Albert Finney breaks the aging chief mobster template: not only does he lead with an iron fist behind a desk, but he takes out a gang of hoods like he were a lean, hungry youth. John Tuttero plays the rat-fink-jerk with annoying perfection...<br /> <br /> Meanwhile Jon Polito, the Coens very own Akim Tamiroff, as the villainous counter-don, all but steals the show, going off on sometimes angry, sometimes sarcastic tangents most would consider overboard unless it was during the Golden Age, when bad guys were aloud to really let loose; and not forgetting J.E. Freeman as his giant thug henchman and Marcia Gay Harden as the tough-as-nails gun moll.<br /> <br /> But the film belongs to star Gabriel Byrne as a working-man's debt-burdened con-artist smoothly wheeling and dealing all the characters to get what he wants, which eventually turns out to be his own life and keeping it... Not only one of the greatest directed films ever made, but the script is without comparison.</div> </div> </div> </div>

bagful, nineties, seventies, sixties

AN ECLECTIC BAGFUL OF ARCHIVE SUMMARY REVIEWS

1956 rating: ***1/2 FORBIDDEN PLANET: The 1950's were full of some pretty bad science fiction movies, so here's a good one... N...

STACEY NELKIN IN THE TV MOVIE 'CHILDREN OF DIVORCE'

<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="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u1JZquus65o/U6IowMWaidI/AAAAAAAAgPY/Bo5HF8P-EU4/s1600/c0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u1JZquus65o/U6IowMWaidI/AAAAAAAAgPY/Bo5HF8P-EU4/s200/c0.jpg" width="160" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; text-align: center;"><u>1980 rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Stacey Nelkin is a cult actress known as the ingénue from HALLOWEEN 3, the pretty starlet in YELLOWBEARD, and last and certainly least, Tony Danza’s girlfriend in GOING APE… But for some earlier Nelkin cinema you’ll have to downsize to the small screen…  <br /> <br /> In the TV movie, CHILDREN OF DIVORCE, Stacey plays Andrea Hoffman, one of several young folks with bickering parents on the verge of, or already taking an active part in, breaking up their marriage...<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tho8mAd7DkY/U6IrR7c521I/AAAAAAAAgP0/8WbbQasWnss/s1600/title00_170829414.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tho8mAd7DkY/U6IrR7c521I/AAAAAAAAgP0/8WbbQasWnss/s320/title00_170829414.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Stacey Nelkin gets the Opening Credit shot</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> This includes, among a laundry list of recognizable faces, GET SMART star Barbara Feldon who, playing Andrea’s upper class mother now having to find a menial job, has the most interesting storyline. It's the wife, not the children, with the biggest character arc throughout. Although Andrea’s transition has a few layers: from a bullied snob at a new public high school to a popular wannabe making marijuana references in class, she eventually hooks up with classical guitar protégé Tony, played by Lance Kerwin (David Soul’s young sidekick in SALEM’S LOT a year earlier). Tony's mom, Stella Stevens, has the smallest and least important role as a beauty shop owner struggling to make split-ends meet…<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <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="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wxRxeIF5xTc/U6Io0YxdiDI/AAAAAAAAgPg/mza_ZXffeVc/s1600/c1.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wxRxeIF5xTc/U6Io0YxdiDI/AAAAAAAAgPg/mza_ZXffeVc/s200/c1.jpg" width="158" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; text-align: center;"><u>Suzanne Crough</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> As a young couple, the boy-next-door Kerwin and the gorgeous brunette Nelkin are a mismatched pair in a subplot that could have been better had more attention been given. Instead they're peripheral compared to other kids including pre-FACTS OF LIFE Kim Fields as an Olympic hopeful stealing dad Billy Dee Williams' booze, and her friendship with Andrea’s overweight little brother... <br /> <br /> Sounds like a ton of familiar names meshed within a soap operatic template, and it is, sure, but CHILDREN OF DIVORCE... also featuring grownup PARTRIDGE FAMILY actress Suzanne Crough, a cheerleader giving a heartfelt monologue, and edgy newcomer Traci Rae as Andrea's group therapy friends... is a surprisingly decent movie – imagine if THE LOVE BOAT got serious and mated with an AFTERSCHOOL SPECIAL…  This would be its firstborn.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>

billy dee williams, drama, fritz weaver, kim fields, lance kerwin, stacey nelkin, stella stevens, suzanne crough, tv movie

STACEY NELKIN IN THE TV MOVIE 'CHILDREN OF DIVORCE'

1980 rating: ***1/2 Stacey Nelkin is a cult actress known as the ingénue from HALLOWEEN 3, the pretty starlet in YELLOWBEARD, and last a...

JOHN TRAVOLTA IN 'SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER' AND 'STAYING ALIVE'

<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://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ttJC2_-iJZI/XBInPYHzNtI/AAAAAAAA9Vs/1023tIYxAj4sQLVuCdESewFWmplQBsTkgCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-12-13%2Bat%2B1.27.39%2BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1186" data-original-width="1600" height="296" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ttJC2_-iJZI/XBInPYHzNtI/AAAAAAAA9Vs/1023tIYxAj4sQLVuCdESewFWmplQBsTkgCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-12-13%2Bat%2B1.27.39%2BAM.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>John Travolta (facing unseen talent agent Estelle Getty) YEAR: 1983</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <u>STAYING ALIVE:</u><b> </b>Believe it or not, STAYING ALIVE, the sequel to SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, is not a John Travolta film...<br /> <br /> It belongs entirely to writer/director Sylvester Stallone, rehashing the ROCKY storyline of a diamond in the rough fighting to survive, and given a miraculous chance at quick fame (much like Stallone himself)...<br /> <br /> Only here he's a dancer, not a boxer... and unlike the Oscar-winning southpaw tale, it's a pretty bad movie/great guilty pleasure, and fun as hell! Travolta struggles to make it from the streets to lead dancer in the cheesiest Broadway musical ever created, SATAN'S ALLEY (a title derived from Stallone's own b-movie, PARADISE ALLEY), a cross between CATS and a surreal flu dream...<br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-psFNbfg2Z0g/U5oU55cGa4I/AAAAAAAAgBY/MuX3CTIuAFI/s1600/Staying-Alive-John-Travolta.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-psFNbfg2Z0g/U5oU55cGa4I/AAAAAAAAgBY/MuX3CTIuAFI/s1600/Staying-Alive-John-Travolta.jpg" width="203" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>"Dancing So Close... To... The Fire!"</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Playing the character he made famous in SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, Travolta's former Disco King Tony Manero charms his way into the bed of beautiful and classy Broadway star Finola Hughes, who turns the tables and uses him. And much like the FEVER dance contest finale, the big budget musical is what everything leads to... resulting in the same kind of whiny idealism for the main character, taking his dancing much too seriously... But now we're skipping ahead... <br /> <br /> <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="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oQASEtj-IW8/VF5cNraWnBI/AAAAAAAAkgI/cV9Ty4vvy2I/s1600/stayling%2Balive%2B2.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oQASEtj-IW8/VF5cNraWnBI/AAAAAAAAkgI/cV9Ty4vvy2I/s1600/stayling%2Balive%2B2.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Cynthia's "Rocky" Rhodes</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> There's a contrived overabundance of Tony getting his just-deserts i.e. the player getting played by this devilish vixen, and his complaining gets tiresome... <br /> <br /> All the while he uses his loyal girlfriend played by Cynthia Rhodes, a cross between FEVER originals Karen Lynn Gorney (talented) and Donna Pescow (sym<u>pathetic</u>): Rhode's Jackie just can't help but to love the bad boy. And, like Rocky Balboa, our dancing hero, sculpted with mapped-out body muscles yet looking strangely gaunt, facially, strives for heights never thought possible: Tony, having "grown up," is now going for gold.<br /> <br /> The new, geared-for-the-1980's Bee Gee's Soundtrack, unlike the classically catchy disco romps of the late-70's (which had seemed a thousand years earlier but was only six), is full of breezy, filler, forgettable pop tunes. Meanwhile, Frank Stallone's muscular fanfare, <i>Far From Over</i>, captures the "drive" a whole lot better, serving as a victorious anthem much like Bill Conti's <i>Gonna Fly Now</i> in ROCKY...<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DY4bRlDytQY/VF5cVoRxUXI/AAAAAAAAkgQ/sHbC1Hh2-xw/s1600/2.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DY4bRlDytQY/VF5cVoRxUXI/AAAAAAAAkgQ/sHbC1Hh2-xw/s320/2.jpg" width="193" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>"Demented Paratroop;er"</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> In some ways, STAYING ALIVE is even more entertaining than the original, centering completely on Tony sans intrusion from his priest brother, bickering parents (though mom provides a mellow cameo), or his pointlessly plotted cronies... And the intentionally hollow side-characters here, including Steve Inwood as an edgy Broadway director, are working hard to keep him ready and steady for opening night. <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> And now we'll end with a nostalgic memory: Yours truly was in the theater when this movie's trailer played... The audience roared with laughter when then-dated-as-now title showed up on the screen... So let's give Stallone a hand for such a risky venture, and during his peak, no less...<br /> <br /> <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="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jtqhdbMDjAE/U5oVTuWGb5I/AAAAAAAAgBk/nrrjZ-F3C-A/s1600/staying+alive+stallone.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jtqhdbMDjAE/U5oVTuWGb5I/AAAAAAAAgBk/nrrjZ-F3C-A/s400/staying+alive+stallone.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Staying Alive Normal Movie Score: *** Bad Movie Cult Status: ****</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> So keep an eye out for the director's cameo, pictured below, while Tony walks down the streets of Manhattan... In one scene Sly's brother Frank, playing a guitarist for Jackie's band, is described by Tony as looking like a "demented paratrooper," which is writer Sly's own words describing his bro....<br /> <br /> And last but not least <i>but definitely</i> the most obscure pop culture Easter Egg for Cinefiles (years before we used banal movie-geek catchphrases like <i>Easter Eggs</i>... or <i>Cinefiles)</i>: If you listen closely towards the end of the movie during the halfway point of the musical where, backstage, you'll hear someone say: "Yo, Adrian... Showtime!"<br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> <br /></div> <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="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hugOdPYzu7A/U5thu4QSMgI/AAAAAAAAgDg/y5U85xNJK_U/s1600/trav1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hugOdPYzu7A/U5thu4QSMgI/AAAAAAAAgDg/y5U85xNJK_U/s1600/trav1.PNG" width="158" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>disco year of: 1977 </u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <u>SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER:</u> It doesn’t matter to John Travolta’s Tony Manero whether he’s dancing at the local nightclub or walking down the street during daylight work hours… He’s got the type of oblivious, jangly rhythm not even a shabby neighborhood can touch…<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n6DUXHT9qhc/XBIqJrJgQfI/AAAAAAAA9WA/vWARxuzv4ncPO-6X_koYuNz5LLUISQXFQCLcBGAs/s1600/Saturday-Night-Fever-4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="637" data-original-width="389" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n6DUXHT9qhc/XBIqJrJgQfI/AAAAAAAA9WA/vWARxuzv4ncPO-6X_koYuNz5LLUISQXFQCLcBGAs/s400/Saturday-Night-Fever-4.jpeg" width="243" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Serpico Night Fever</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Which is extremely important since his friends don't have much to do with the plotline, mostly centering on Tony either brooding alone, looking into a mirror or his movie posters, dancing in the center of a cheering/clapping crowd, or suffering a friendly romance with uptown girl Stephanie, a pretentious sophisticate who drops more names than a phone book made of sleet...<br /> <br /> No news here, but it's the music on the million dollar soundtrack that's the real deal, headlined by the Bee Gees <i>Stayin’ Alive</i>, a funky shuffling anthem impossible not to move around to...<br /> <br /> Other songs include <i>How Deep is your Love</i>, obviously providing the love theme throughout despite an unrequited romance: The established playboy has finally met a chick he can't melt with his usual sly charm... <i>More Than A Woman</i> is the soulful dance groove while <i>Night Fever</i>, a backbeat rendition of <i>Stayin’ Alive</i>, is a far better tune. Of course tracks by other artists also keep the ball rolling including <i>Disco Inferno</i>, <i>Boogie Shoes</i> and <i>A Fifth of Beethoven</i>, all taking place within the 2001 ODYSSEY nightclub, a location director John Badham captures in all its glittery glory.<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gna8bP-KU0A/U5zSzVnPeEI/AAAAAAAAgEg/92fD-1V-k5A/s1600/TheBeeGeesSaturdayNightFeveralbumcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gna8bP-KU0A/U5zSzVnPeEI/AAAAAAAAgEg/92fD-1V-k5A/s1600/TheBeeGeesSaturdayNightFeveralbumcover.jpg" width="199" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The Rea Goldmine was the Album</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Cinematic fiction aside, not everyone was (or is) a disco fan... DISCO SUCKS was once a catchphrase and ever-used graffiti quote. The trendy genre was a threat to rock n' rollers and the punk movement reveled in the inevitable demise. Ever since, disco has since become a polyester punchline. But it's been a while since the late 1970’s, turning every form of music into a cherished antique serving the pop culture template as a whole, and... <br /> <br /> Back to basics... the friendship between Tony and his gang could have meant more, overall, like in GREASE where each "T-Bird" had a purpose other than propping up their leader's overall significance. But with an expectation of the doomed Bobby (played by Barry Miller, who turns in a much better performance as a whizkid in PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED), none of the fellas really stand out. One scene where they, goading their leader, bark like dogs at a White Castle is downright embarrassing: to Tony and the audience. And a sidestory about a local rival gang seems completely tacked on. <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> <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="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gD7yWkebqhk/U5n-ctMJw7I/AAAAAAAAgA8/JYR8tYxSZp8/s1600/3.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gD7yWkebqhk/U5n-ctMJw7I/AAAAAAAAgA8/JYR8tYxSZp8/s1600/3.jpg" width="165" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>SNF Score: ***</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> </div> Meanwhile, Tony's fangirls, including Donna Pescow’s starry eyed Annette, who hangs around street corners just to watch Tony walk, or Fran Drescher as the non-rhythmic Connie, are useful idiots showing how uncaring our lead character is...<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Jgx5N60C7M4/XBIrsOjxz4I/AAAAAAAA9WY/DdOh8kI0ynwRfDU5D9k88Py2qxl7TQ_IACLcBGAs/s1600/Saturday-Night-Fever-3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="385" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Jgx5N60C7M4/XBIrsOjxz4I/AAAAAAAA9WY/DdOh8kI0ynwRfDU5D9k88Py2qxl7TQ_IACLcBGAs/s400/Saturday-Night-Fever-3.jpeg" width="217" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>"One day you'll direct me!"</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> In this current wimpy environment, Tony's selfish and politically incorrect personality is something to admire...You won't see that in a main character any longer... Tony Manero would now be a villain.<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> John Travolta’s dire expressions alone, sifting in and out of the nightclub or dealing with his friends and family, including bickering parents and a brother who fled the priesthood, are fun to watch in a mainstream movie trying really hard for a plot, or for that matter, several weaving plots to make the dance numbers seem peripheral...<br /> <br /> But no matter how hard it tries being a gritty urban melodrama, FEVER winds up a soundtrack film with an intentionally pointless anti-hero looking to strike an egocentric claim on existence... Yet his only real motivation, overriding even the desire to win the climactic dance contest, is when Tony tries for sexual action with his dance partner – the catch being only <i>he’s</i> interested in romance, which ironically winds up making him a more interesting character throughout.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> </div>

barry miller, cynthia rhodes, frank stallone, john travolta, sequel, seventies, sylvester stallone

JOHN TRAVOLTA IN 'SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER' AND 'STAYING ALIVE'

John Travolta (facing unseen talent agent Estelle Getty) YEAR: 1983 STAYING ALIVE: Believe it or not, STAYING ALIVE, the sequel to SAT...