HELENA CARTER, YVONNE DE CARLO & DAN DURYEA IN 'RIVER LADY'

<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEoExOXLtTvQva-k3ovGIBhAT0uJXmot1UGtLANQv9veSuFOj9mi2giJcv4Y9ZT2O-IYzJsX1vXRJ23m-wmLNR1f5AOXDhGeO_EI5LvjQKLIJAW6eCiazQDQ8Amqo9OOucJRaY_omTttCvOpblsgynA-pUU3JZ5_jdrDnrQWHyXl0fOb900iQ3B-4CzetF/s1738/0.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1186" data-original-width="1738" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEoExOXLtTvQva-k3ovGIBhAT0uJXmot1UGtLANQv9veSuFOj9mi2giJcv4Y9ZT2O-IYzJsX1vXRJ23m-wmLNR1f5AOXDhGeO_EI5LvjQKLIJAW6eCiazQDQ8Amqo9OOucJRaY_omTttCvOpblsgynA-pUU3JZ5_jdrDnrQWHyXl0fOb900iQ3B-4CzetF/s16000/0.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Yvonne De Carlo and Dan Duryea in RIVER LADY 1948 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In the James Cagney film noir KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE, full-lipped, flirtatious beauty Helena Carter was who Cagney was interested in even though he had a woman at home... while the opposite occurs here as her rich girl character's smitten with (and is quickly married to) gentle giant workingman Rod Cameron, despite his attraction to first-billed beauty Yvonne De Carlo...<br><br>Who owns the titular RIVER LADY river boat, personally managed by her scoundrel gambler cohort Dan Duryea... after giving Rod Cameron full control of a fledgling lumber mill: the main story that should have been secondary given Duryea's usual penchant for villains, needing far more screen-time throughout an otherwise semi-effective Technicolor Western/Romance/Melodrama. <br></p>

dan duryea, dewey robinson, fifties, gambling, helena carter, jack lambert, john mcintire, lloyd gough, rod cameron, western, yvonne de carlo

HELENA CARTER, YVONNE DE CARLO & DAN DURYEA IN 'RIVER LADY'

Yvonne De Carlo and Dan Duryea in RIVER LADY 1948 Rating: ***1/2 In the James Cagney film noir KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE, full-lipped, flirtati...

KATHRYN GRANT & RICHARD KILEY GAMBLE 'THE PHENIX CITY STORY'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlCwPOMBqtWnJhwUNPet-hYLMWYaqauez3P0WJUN9SK9ewYB0KI4w3tZtj6X3N8kCNblTAh0G75x4DWBKWa2F472Qr_ugZDIDLNw7KFtE48hafUhxQrckJfi38jzkzrW4uDVSFKf2pGfhtILC7uE2PqhgLqG9IlUbDU0AN5LLKOhoNbhU8LZVNogtHemup/s902/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="902" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlCwPOMBqtWnJhwUNPet-hYLMWYaqauez3P0WJUN9SK9ewYB0KI4w3tZtj6X3N8kCNblTAh0G75x4DWBKWa2F472Qr_ugZDIDLNw7KFtE48hafUhxQrckJfi38jzkzrW4uDVSFKf2pGfhtILC7uE2PqhgLqG9IlUbDU0AN5LLKOhoNbhU8LZVNogtHemup/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE PHENIX CITY STORY Year: 1955 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Since the entire first act of the film noir docudrama THE PHENIX CITY STORY consists of interviews with actual citizens recalling when one seedy downtown street of vice and gambling ruled the otherwise peaceful and rural titular Alabama town, when the second act rolls in, we get right to dirty business...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>With actors now, beginning with good girl Kathyrn Grant dealing the central casino's marked cards to losing-streak boyfriend Biff McGuire... at which point everything's literally on the table since the joint's not only wholly dishonest, but bare-knuckle dangerous...</p><p><span></span></p>

biff mcguire, docudrama, edward andrews, expose, fifties, film noir or melodrama, gambling, jean carson, john larch, john mcintire, kathryn grant, meg myles, mobster, phil karlson, richard kiley

KATHRYN GRANT & RICHARD KILEY GAMBLE 'THE PHENIX CITY STORY'

Title: THE PHENIX CITY STORY Year: 1955 Rating: ***1/2 Since the entire first act of the film noir docudrama THE PHENIX CITY STORY consists ...

MICHAEL MADSEN AND SCOTT HAMM DUENAS IN 'FINAL WAGER'

<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigdkzOqtMKw5hMN5keaNjS7UFMcosEetHRO8MVq6DaCsxMb7GD7dsbA5nBiJMTeO1XtlqLQr-dVMYVilgdDUpIBkXCpz6_93wTyfjK339p2r2KZEy9Z2bZ4ZcBkb60yl93TFfxOeMI67YTuCoAoIXOqSAHfun_mbXEx_Q0nBNemTop1kmLZZhrv1tlNbt7/s1606/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-10%20at%2011.14.23%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="822" data-original-width="1606" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigdkzOqtMKw5hMN5keaNjS7UFMcosEetHRO8MVq6DaCsxMb7GD7dsbA5nBiJMTeO1XtlqLQr-dVMYVilgdDUpIBkXCpz6_93wTyfjK339p2r2KZEy9Z2bZ4ZcBkb60yl93TFfxOeMI67YTuCoAoIXOqSAHfun_mbXEx_Q0nBNemTop1kmLZZhrv1tlNbt7/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-10%20at%2011.14.23%20PM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Michael Madsen in FINAL WAGER Year: 2024</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Michael Madsen's famous tough guy voice has become even harsher with age, providing an underline crime flick edge to FINAL WAGER, an otherwise tavern-set romantic-comedy with a TWILIGHT ZONE-style twist of an unlucky gambler who realizes he cannot lose a bet on Christmas: so it's also an upbeat Holiday flick... but without getting lost in sentimentalism despite a financial assistance subplot driving our resilient, likeable lead...<br></p><p></p><p>Instead, it's his fiance, played by down-to-earth, light-up-a-room beauty Fernanda Romero... owner of the central bar... who keeps the low-budget yet impressively slick and professional-looking indie not only intriguing, but surprisingly unpredictable despite the firmly established fact this lucky-streak-gambler will <i>always</i> win — because he can possibly lose his girl, and from beginning, middle and end, their relationship is what FINAL WAGER truly relies on. <br></p><p><span></span></p>

2024, christmas, comedy, fernanda romano, gambling, michael madsen, romantic comedy, scott hamm duenas

MICHAEL MADSEN AND SCOTT HAMM DUENAS IN 'FINAL WAGER'

Michael Madsen in FINAL WAGER Year: 2024 Michael Madsen's famous tough guy voice has become even harsher with age, providing an underlin...

BRIAN KEITH AND KERWIN MATTHEWS IN '5 AGAINST THE HOUSE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9c7h3NYNx6OF-0JMC-MWDPBa3zRlYI3ofeWCZ35mR4C7F_RXsDgT2h3_0BLSq8eKaMmQ7X09wYiDyCBwGtOVnYvmtygg_L4TpPGa5tB4RvGWExxgXryWeQaJDPXY1SX096c6HnZaTDXJm9zJUU4GIVaPqD9jCYVYyYgAF4GBMZKsmMLpW4ifSIyYpS8d/s1096/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-29%20at%201.06.47%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="1096" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9c7h3NYNx6OF-0JMC-MWDPBa3zRlYI3ofeWCZ35mR4C7F_RXsDgT2h3_0BLSq8eKaMmQ7X09wYiDyCBwGtOVnYvmtygg_L4TpPGa5tB4RvGWExxgXryWeQaJDPXY1SX096c6HnZaTDXJm9zJUU4GIVaPqD9jCYVYyYgAF4GBMZKsmMLpW4ifSIyYpS8d/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-29%20at%201.06.47%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: 5 AGAINST THE HOUSE Year: 1955 Rating: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>There are more snags in making 5 AGAINST THE HOUSE a decent heist-noir-thriller than the student crooks have robbing a Reno Nevada casino, and, yes, they're all too old for college but this group of Korean War vets are using the GI Bill to get degrees they couldn't while in battle...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And it's a pretty decent cast including Brian Keith mirroring William Bendix's shell-shocked character from another noir, THE BLUE DAHLIA (albeit a womanizing version, picking up on the pretty likes of older Jean Willes and younger Kathryn Grant)... but HOUSE is no classic...</p><p><span></span></p>

alvy moore, brian keith, ensemble, fifties, film noir or melodrama, gambling, guy madison, heist, jean willes, kathryn grant, kerwin matthews, kim novak

BRIAN KEITH AND KERWIN MATTHEWS IN '5 AGAINST THE HOUSE'

Title: 5 AGAINST THE HOUSE Year: 1955 Rating: ** There are more snags in making 5 AGAINST THE HOUSE a decent heist-noir-thriller than the st...

JACK NICHOLSON 'THE KING OF MARVIN GARDENS' BRUCE DERN

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgADuYZIywSyw6eT4Z89zbHZ5WMsyIaTMTiMtIbfuodxfo1kw84Ym6sl6e9MeLHn9GwFeNiL2JNb7c2z2sYyXVKq2qyU_w-jp-KtgRscENa-HpEC4W6ikFNR19pCo8J9Wr-Mb_iMZF6hDsSC3hSNHSBNBEx0VhfYUt_DoBOMq-TMGiRxZsGKeuJcjg7CbVb/s1985/Screen+Shot+2021-09-26+at+4.57.44+PM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1075" data-original-width="1985" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgADuYZIywSyw6eT4Z89zbHZ5WMsyIaTMTiMtIbfuodxfo1kw84Ym6sl6e9MeLHn9GwFeNiL2JNb7c2z2sYyXVKq2qyU_w-jp-KtgRscENa-HpEC4W6ikFNR19pCo8J9Wr-Mb_iMZF6hDsSC3hSNHSBNBEx0VhfYUt_DoBOMq-TMGiRxZsGKeuJcjg7CbVb/s16000/Screen+Shot+2021-09-26+at+4.57.44+PM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Bruce Dern and Jack Nicholson in THE KING OF MARVIN GARDENS Year: 1972 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Maybe directors never really outgrow their film school mindset: And in that, following what would forever remain their collaborative pinnacle, FIVE EASY PIECES director Bob Rafelson gave his close friend Jack Nicholson a break from the stereotype of being the feisty rebel type, here a meek Philly-dwelling radio host of melancholy monologues...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Then again maybe he should have played Bruce Dern's conniving con-man older brother Jason Staebler, on the stumbling verge of an Atlantic City land deal with a few obstacles including a potentially dangerous kingpin (Nicholson's three picture co-star, Scatman Crothers) and especially his women...<br></p><span></span>

bob rafelson, bruce dern, crime, cult, ellen burstyn, gambling, indie, jack nicholson, julia anne robinson, neo noir, scatman crothers, seventies, thriller

JACK NICHOLSON 'THE KING OF MARVIN GARDENS' BRUCE DERN

Bruce Dern and Jack Nicholson in THE KING OF MARVIN GARDENS Year: 1972 Rating: *** Maybe directors never really outgrow their film school mi...

BURT REYNOLDS IN THE LAS VEGAS NEON NEO-NOIR OF 'HEAT'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF04Do96V6dCUGTK40Byj2YuzzuQwQxkLIh57pTv0hmrfuMuIY9hkQGWs371uFoijOuwB5ErZBLgP0d75moJOHFkdE0s-1dFO8hnZ9HJpvYP2rYB4Bo8ATpGrWSf5ysvVtC3UZrtUqOoi2aRf8aUyNebwSB16gjAXYNcbPM4-AXkxE9l0i2Z6Q0bKFvQ/s1884/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-30%20at%206.13.50%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="935" data-original-width="1884" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF04Do96V6dCUGTK40Byj2YuzzuQwQxkLIh57pTv0hmrfuMuIY9hkQGWs371uFoijOuwB5ErZBLgP0d75moJOHFkdE0s-1dFO8hnZ9HJpvYP2rYB4Bo8ATpGrWSf5ysvVtC3UZrtUqOoi2aRf8aUyNebwSB16gjAXYNcbPM4-AXkxE9l0i2Z6Q0bKFvQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-30%20at%206.13.50%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: HEAT Year: 1986 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>After <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/burt%20reynolds">Burt Reynolds</a> career derailed following too many bland romantic comedies and vapid car chase movies, especially STROKER ACE, he made a string of relatively unknown neo noir action flicks liken to his 1981 gritty cop exploitation SHARKY'S MACHINE... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And while <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2011/06/stick.html">STICK</a> took source novelist Elmore Leonard's pulpy approach in balmy Florida and <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2018/10/Malone.html">MALONE</a> headed to the woodsy wilderness, HEAT sizzles in Sin City where Reynold's character Nick is a kind of hired makeshift bodyguard with an edgy past while suffering the worst addiction to have in Las Vegas... gambling... </p><p><span></span></p>

action, burt reynolds, deborah rush, eighties, gambling, howard hesseman, karen young, neo noir, peter macnichol

BURT REYNOLDS IN THE LAS VEGAS NEON NEO-NOIR OF 'HEAT'

Title: HEAT Year: 1986 Rating: ***1/2 After Burt Reynolds career derailed following too many bland romantic comedies and vapid car chase mo...

JAMES CAAN STARRING IN 'THE GAMBLER' WITH PAUL SORVINO

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9XtHd_YJiVE7ZDGLPJ34u6UY-S-v7tmOqPnplCr-WkHDniE6Psfo_DXLrJVwHIPtSvxDWpj0IUQLSZEQteBHHIEiD5UlgjXdsLvtreAR9qW9GivCfjzeiel9QDXzl1R6z2AKayn2YpR4J5AqxzYMwLDj2xqxE0KwOYI597-rcXebuzBPQaIezYrW88g/s1456/Screen+Shot+2020-05-10+at+4.58.11+AM%203.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="1456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9XtHd_YJiVE7ZDGLPJ34u6UY-S-v7tmOqPnplCr-WkHDniE6Psfo_DXLrJVwHIPtSvxDWpj0IUQLSZEQteBHHIEiD5UlgjXdsLvtreAR9qW9GivCfjzeiel9QDXzl1R6z2AKayn2YpR4J5AqxzYMwLDj2xqxE0KwOYI597-rcXebuzBPQaIezYrW88g/s16000/Screen+Shot+2020-05-10+at+4.58.11+AM%203.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>James Caan starring as  Axel Freed in James Tolback's THE GAMBLER Year: 1974 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table>In pop culture, before you had to "know when to walk away, know when to run," THE GAMBLER was synonymous with a Fyodor Dostoevsky novel and transcended into this 1970’s film written by James Toback, directed by Karel Reisz and starring James Caan as university professor Axel Freed, who hardly ever has enough money left to count... <br> <br> But Axel's real story isn’t his job, but his vice, practically a religion — that of balls-out and brainless gambling: An addiction making him the user/loser of other people’s money, including his own mother (more like a flirtatious step-sister). But, while it’s great seeing Caan facing the dark side of human nature, there’s a lot to be desired when, for instance, he gets in over his head… and then some... <br>

antonio fargas, burt young, carmine caridi, college, drama, gambling, james caan, paul sorvino, seventies, thriller, vic tayback

JAMES CAAN STARRING IN 'THE GAMBLER' WITH PAUL SORVINO

James Caan starring as  Axel Freed in James Tolback's THE GAMBLER Year: 1974 Rating: *** In pop culture, before you had to "know w...

GERALDINE JAMES & GEORGE HARRIS STEAL 'THE SWEENEY: PAY OFF'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQqMk8WIsGFRU2TI231gjCqdC3OPRnWOCfMYEK7As7xwbiqkP7BVIfvapdq294-OvaQM6T4mSsshR5CXdx1nfVl-qKL3mfmHURm_6jlMlD7_BHHarvq5sYk4yDFWPpRvmHCZhvLe4AjEAmPWPuPKUCEiWXSYjtsRUOL-LjMCEPSIEvD7gvg6nST4P2w/s1868/1%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1145" data-original-width="1868" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQqMk8WIsGFRU2TI231gjCqdC3OPRnWOCfMYEK7As7xwbiqkP7BVIfvapdq294-OvaQM6T4mSsshR5CXdx1nfVl-qKL3mfmHURm_6jlMlD7_BHHarvq5sYk4yDFWPpRvmHCZhvLe4AjEAmPWPuPKUCEiWXSYjtsRUOL-LjMCEPSIEvD7gvg6nST4P2w/s16000/1%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Geraldine James and George Harris in THE SWEENEY: Pay Off Year: 1976 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>THE SWEENEY episode PAY OFF combines two of the British cop show's two most wielded devices: the <i>woman in need</i> and the <i>band of backstabbing thieves</i>, in which this dame is part of, working at the low-rent casino for, and she meets Dennis Waterman's Carter in what seems just another of many one-night-stands when it's anything but...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Instead, classic-beauty Geraldine James is trying to get some inside information about her possibly dead or perhaps just hiding-out-with-the-stolen-cash ex-partner, member of a violent gang of forest-fleeing thieves wearing creepy animal masks during the boisterous cold open/prologue...<br></p><p><span></span></p>

british, british neo noir, david ellison, dennis waterman, gambling, garfield morgan, george harris, geraldine james, heist, john thaw, rural, sweeney

GERALDINE JAMES & GEORGE HARRIS STEAL 'THE SWEENEY: PAY OFF'

Geraldine James and George Harris in THE SWEENEY: Pay Off Year: 1976 Rating: ****1/2 THE SWEENEY episode PAY OFF combines two of the British...

ANTHONY QUINN IN 'A DREAM OF KINGS' WITH INGER STEVENS

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhw58c88w9PcfOG5TFNUMQfXzqai_vWjmndxuIIQBlTTNP0m7BAYh9QudYoGDcDYrLg2JCA3rmUG07giBiyQ0lW1EKmMh9lFhBrLx4zfEzcrIGwdEcN3jLLuji8MuD9rNEBtDBg7ZFTElkbfHa-2iz1l5HoymsipkQYDek_6CStOFWnPXNMLmqm-NGQtw=s1175" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="740" data-original-width="1175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhw58c88w9PcfOG5TFNUMQfXzqai_vWjmndxuIIQBlTTNP0m7BAYh9QudYoGDcDYrLg2JCA3rmUG07giBiyQ0lW1EKmMh9lFhBrLx4zfEzcrIGwdEcN3jLLuji8MuD9rNEBtDBg7ZFTElkbfHa-2iz1l5HoymsipkQYDek_6CStOFWnPXNMLmqm-NGQtw=s16000"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: A DREAM OF KINGS Stars: Anthony Quinn Year: 1969 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In A DREAM OF KINGS, Anthony Quinn plays Leonidas Matsoukas, a ZORBA THE GREEK in late-1960's New York with smoggy industrial backdrops and absolutely no trace of the colorful counter-culture... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Despite being a hopeless gambler, roaming philanderer and with a dying son, he has the immense/intense zest for life Quinn was known for, making this a kind of Quinnspoitation and overall fairly entertaining...</p><p><span></span></p>

anthony quinn, drama, gambling, inger stevens, irene pappas, melodrama, sam levene, sixties, warner archives

ANTHONY QUINN IN 'A DREAM OF KINGS' WITH INGER STEVENS

Title: A DREAM OF KINGS Stars: Anthony Quinn Year: 1969 Rating: ***1/2 In A DREAM OF KINGS, Anthony Quinn plays Leonidas Matsoukas, a ZORBA ...

WARREN BEATTY & SUSANNAH YORK SHUFFLE 'KALEIDOSCOPE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUUz5Z59W0QxWAhnwC5Z9bqJdSy5k7rcBpai37vXsnrl0G4HOx8Xgp9UYWxeClOXKEQ-UqOgbt7ttfXbdaOcbREh1-XwIVr4YdZxMeacbqtjps4o6BXvMy9sM4esg35cdVRDDraxkcncwpmq4mBWpKp0xvOeeNYDZ2py_RIlW1u9mfU1RiPvsYOBzp9g=s717" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="717" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUUz5Z59W0QxWAhnwC5Z9bqJdSy5k7rcBpai37vXsnrl0G4HOx8Xgp9UYWxeClOXKEQ-UqOgbt7ttfXbdaOcbREh1-XwIVr4YdZxMeacbqtjps4o6BXvMy9sM4esg35cdVRDDraxkcncwpmq4mBWpKp0xvOeeNYDZ2py_RIlW1u9mfU1RiPvsYOBzp9g=s16000"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1967 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The famous scene in THUNDERBALL, the first James Bond feature featuring supervillain Bloefeld, has his associates seated around a table, wondering which one of them will be found out as a traitor... for then to die in front of everyone... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And the same thing happens here with jovially sinister, talky antagonist Eric Porter as Dominion, more like Le Chiffre from CASINO ROYALE since American import cat burglar Warren Beatty is sent by British police to break the bank with a single night's poker match on the baddie's home turf, a castle with groovy interior befitting the rest of the cheerfully dated late-60's aesthetic... </p><p><span></span></p>

british, clive revill, eric porter, gambling, romantic comedy, sixties, spy, susannah york, thriller, warner archives, warren beatty

WARREN BEATTY & SUSANNAH YORK SHUFFLE 'KALEIDOSCOPE'

Year: 1967 Rating: ***1/2 The famous scene in THUNDERBALL, the first James Bond feature featuring supervillain Bloefeld, has his associates ...

MATT DILLON SHOOTS CRAP IN 'THE BIG TOWN' WITH DIANE LANE

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBReMcayiqFtpm_2rIxEy1Ume2F6pTFYHG5Bx-8rIXmtJR654T2lfCBQqazsVIyXvcAnmcCbTGihtrXpbtenxM0goO-0wpFpFyNL0E7yLutdpcbhkAC8_er1ZCSioLGmIyY66__-gsra7FGbbGUW9fqCe91IBlb2TBfc0GPziSXgQL8y6nOAeW5SZ4kSqc/s2048/619331616_1589633489349646_2416514309147265633_n.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1032" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBReMcayiqFtpm_2rIxEy1Ume2F6pTFYHG5Bx-8rIXmtJR654T2lfCBQqazsVIyXvcAnmcCbTGihtrXpbtenxM0goO-0wpFpFyNL0E7yLutdpcbhkAC8_er1ZCSioLGmIyY66__-gsra7FGbbGUW9fqCe91IBlb2TBfc0GPziSXgQL8y6nOAeW5SZ4kSqc/s16000/619331616_1589633489349646_2416514309147265633_n.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Diane Lane in THE BIG TOWN Year: 1987 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>With a deliberately sparse-pulpy title, THE BIG TOWN is set during the 1950's... 1957 to be exact... and Dillon really looks the part, a kind of throwback B&W-suited actor even in this neo noir's neon green and pink tinged color scheme, playing a young lucky dice player who miraculously hits the right numbers each and every time, giving the movie a sort of unintentional TWILIGHT ZONE science-fiction vibe, or something delving into fantasy... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And for a vehicle so otherwise grounded and somewhat cliche, predictable and even mainstream, that's alright since Matt's urgency (and the film's suspense) doesn't rely on winning but surviving the pool of gambling hoodlum sharks who, from Tommy Lee Jones as an underground backroom dealer to a mysterious backstory Tom Skerritt, are out to (or seem out to) stop the endless and bizarre winning streak...</p><span></span>

ben bolt, bruce dern, diane lane, drama, eighties, fifties-era, gambling, lee grant, matt dillon, neo noir, thriller, tommy lee jones

MATT DILLON SHOOTS CRAP IN 'THE BIG TOWN' WITH DIANE LANE

Diane Lane in THE BIG TOWN Year: 1987 Rating: ***1/2 With a deliberately sparse-pulpy title, THE BIG TOWN is set during the 1950's... 19...

VAN HALEN'S EDDIE & VALERIE BETTING 'THE SEDUCTION OF GINA'

<p></p><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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghINeX97nxeawKfmQgE7qkFE9a-YineYHZ7725eI0jZSicZHdrotmfPYAqd0zN2YDJzXvNJOeltQc0CfWR4RbMgWaB1fgrIHTOE4KDrDyA6-AwC0lHzKiq32UY_aKGXaECOFuOV0BjQTGE/s1993/00.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1497" data-original-width="1993" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghINeX97nxeawKfmQgE7qkFE9a-YineYHZ7725eI0jZSicZHdrotmfPYAqd0zN2YDJzXvNJOeltQc0CfWR4RbMgWaB1fgrIHTOE4KDrDyA6-AwC0lHzKiq32UY_aKGXaECOFuOV0BjQTGE/w400-h300/00.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Valerie Bertinelli as GINA Year: 1984 Rating: ***1/2</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p>It was love and marriage that prompted Eddie Van Halen to score this 1984 TV-movie THE SEDUCTION OF GINA for wife Valerie Bertinelli; only don't expect cool beachy grooves like the same years' <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2018/11/THEwildLIFE.html">THE WILD LIFE</a> that he <i>thoroughly</i> composed: herein among three prerecorded instrumental tracks, a <i>Jump</i>-like synth-driven opener introduces Valerie's titular GINA as a flaky college student married to a serious med student, and after a beginner's luck bout of barroom horse race gambling, she winds up a desperate addict: Which is not only constrained by television standards, but someone as adorable as Valerie hitting rock bottom isn't very rocky, or bottomy...</p><p>The casino mogul she owes and ultimately "has to" sleep with is both better looking and more aptly suited than her downer husband; and then a streetwise bookie hardly puts pressure since she gets trust fund money so easily. But that doesn't mean this SEDUCTION doesn't have value. There's a good amount of suspense while she's actually gambling (mostly Black Jack) within the plush Tahoe casino, and one morning-after as she rushes to her apartment seconds before her husband arrives is a genuine nail-biter. Meanwhile, best pal Dinah Manoff has potential as a boy-crazy sidekick... <i>if</i> this were a series-pilot instead... But GINA is a basic tale about what happens when a gorgeous young lady has too much free-time that winds up costing. If only she stuck with the polite millionaire and dropped the whiny loser... But then she'd have no more problems and this is — while doing for gambling what PRETTY WOMAN does for prostitution<i> </i><i>— </i>an addiction melodrama that's a decent bet for passing the time. </p><p><span></span></p>

dinah manoff, edward van halen, eighties, exploitation, fredric lehne, gambling, melodrama, michael brandon, randy brooks, TV, tv movie, valerie bertinelli

VAN HALEN'S EDDIE & VALERIE BETTING 'THE SEDUCTION OF GINA'

Valerie Bertinelli as GINA Year: 1984 Rating: ***1/2 It was love and marriage that prompted Eddie Van Halen to score this 1984 TV-movie THE ...

ADAM SANDLER TAKES A SERIOUS GAMBLE WITH 'UNCUT GEMS'

<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Fgtw2JxXKpQwmDBlfwfotFc58iOYAi5ZeXGDDulgy5XruMKJR2OMNCxIPGPQsZjFhRaIqqWF-RwjKhcJlyYhusNCaITX2a4Ma59CIKNasbgCYc9Tf1FmSe3iyyEYeIREZlZLraBMAsUM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-05-26+at+9.48.29+PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Fgtw2JxXKpQwmDBlfwfotFc58iOYAi5ZeXGDDulgy5XruMKJR2OMNCxIPGPQsZjFhRaIqqWF-RwjKhcJlyYhusNCaITX2a4Ma59CIKNasbgCYc9Tf1FmSe3iyyEYeIREZlZLraBMAsUM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-05-26+at+9.48.29+PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>A very loud Adam Sandler is louder than ever in UNCUT GEMS Year: 2019</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> A movie that literally begins deep inside Adam Sandler's ass (during a colonoscopy), UNCUT GEMS has provided Sandler — as a jeweler in debt from reckless gambling — accolades for a different kind of performance...<br> <br> And while not another goofy Happy Madison production, his "Screaming Guy" routine is nothing new — sans the soft-spoken baby talk before the inevitable Nirvana-like shift from clean to distorted loudness occurs...<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiziF-P-bvV2uj0c3_OSsBQWCqFCDWZwMdf36CJqdf5iEiVwubIok32SLW420exspB64Xn92CgaOymOs7pg-YYbbWJfEPpwVCpS2C2SYnBRqhbSq60Mn1zDMpZdNOJoKyfO7whXgW2QbFZG/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-05-26+at+9.33.56+PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiziF-P-bvV2uj0c3_OSsBQWCqFCDWZwMdf36CJqdf5iEiVwubIok32SLW420exspB64Xn92CgaOymOs7pg-YYbbWJfEPpwVCpS2C2SYnBRqhbSq60Mn1zDMpZdNOJoKyfO7whXgW2QbFZG/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-05-26+at+9.33.56+PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Adam Sandler pointing the way in UNCUT GEMS Rating: **</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> For the most part, GEMS is a gritty New York City arthouse flick that never intentionally settles into one place comfortably; and the frantic, neurotic, fast-talking Sandler has his moments...<br> <br> The problem is that the directors — throwing in too many characters and an annoying, intrusive score — keep trying to out-frantic their leading man, making it tough if impossible to know what's going on, or why. Unlike the far superior, equally artistic PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE, the man simply gets lost in the shuffle.<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0qP-5WjclHsdTiHXBluTuaVJ9wNERKxtCs9wJOMNEUqC98KQRRtEKNsmpN3cJMinFdqdaGxL6w_Z1wk6r5kPuSEwWug_IoY9dy65LKSLxUl0-Kry6SmrthznXKOY_3Vsz14K_z7uZCP9c/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-05-26+at+10.00.37+PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="740" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0qP-5WjclHsdTiHXBluTuaVJ9wNERKxtCs9wJOMNEUqC98KQRRtEKNsmpN3cJMinFdqdaGxL6w_Z1wk6r5kPuSEwWug_IoY9dy65LKSLxUl0-Kry6SmrthznXKOY_3Vsz14K_z7uZCP9c/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-05-26+at+10.00.37+PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Adam Sandler running in circles for UNCUT GEMS</u></td></tr> </tbody></table>

2019, adam sandler, drama, gambling, new, suspense

ADAM SANDLER TAKES A SERIOUS GAMBLE WITH 'UNCUT GEMS'

A very loud Adam Sandler is louder than ever in UNCUT GEMS Year: 2019 A movie that literally begins deep inside Adam Sandler's ass (...

DORIS DAY & STEPHEN BOYD IN 'JUMBO' FEATURING MARTHA RAYE

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwL0PjN5XCRYYHmcrYG1mVPaJOGyLcxh3WZHjRhXo8Z_D-J48mluyJB4sD0sZU7rGOC-P5wcIJyoPdn81C0zrkAhT58MpImW1ViWADKswkSL-cgS2jSTqFHME4MT6xCFvVphosc6B-n69l/s1600/85865_front.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwL0PjN5XCRYYHmcrYG1mVPaJOGyLcxh3WZHjRhXo8Z_D-J48mluyJB4sD0sZU7rGOC-P5wcIJyoPdn81C0zrkAhT58MpImW1ViWADKswkSL-cgS2jSTqFHME4MT6xCFvVphosc6B-n69l/s400/85865_front.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Blu Ray for JUMBO Year: 1962</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> In the circus musical JUMBO the actors and actresses playing circus performers are performing so close to the camera, there's no realistic way the parade crowd or the big tent show audience would be able to see exactly or entirely what they're doing. And while not as talented in this particular venue, a surprisingly subdued Jimmy Durante, as the circus director and head clown, is the Clyde Beatty of this picture i.e. the only leading character who does his own stunts, which aren't much. But this movie has hardly anything to do with the show since it's a romance...<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj3LOB-q5Dhy1XFIKGKrww8zk9HK43iZOLlsE1_Tg4s-AR6JReZMd9BVNT0SGdDI1Se8Pj7l9WDU-yoHZYhHCNakJzQt-eG3-11xu4oI0-ybJIE_IAOPirHstvzHi9Oz8ex01qJek0eJ9n/s1600/51NZ1AZPF2L.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj3LOB-q5Dhy1XFIKGKrww8zk9HK43iZOLlsE1_Tg4s-AR6JReZMd9BVNT0SGdDI1Se8Pj7l9WDU-yoHZYhHCNakJzQt-eG3-11xu4oI0-ybJIE_IAOPirHstvzHi9Oz8ex01qJek0eJ9n/s400/51NZ1AZPF2L.jpg" width="215" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>No Elephant? RATING: ***</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> The mere presence of 1950's sweetheart Doris Day — who already proved herself opposite James Cagney in LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME and as the better (smarter) half of James Stewart in Alfred Hitchcock's THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH — let's us know we're having a good time, even though cleft-chinned BEN HUR baddie Stephen Boyd cons his way into being the show's announcer, and winds up falling in love... They both do...<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgezjO-_qIG7SSfc4S8VkkxWKFLbGrId_J904lu61FaLvhREqi7cMZWy62MZHP37bLEMyrWPNJkooplc57B9glyz5Y_4E5JxwmdNlghdiEiAOjHt8ThYWL1oqGrfiJBDSVesOldyU2xRGLE/s1600/lf.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="430" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgezjO-_qIG7SSfc4S8VkkxWKFLbGrId_J904lu61FaLvhREqi7cMZWy62MZHP37bLEMyrWPNJkooplc57B9glyz5Y_4E5JxwmdNlghdiEiAOjHt8ThYWL1oqGrfiJBDSVesOldyU2xRGLE/s320/lf.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Doris Day, Martha Raye and Jimmy Durante</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Predictability aside, the chemistry between the guy and girl is worthwhile since they're initially repelled by each other for long enough so their eventual relationship means something: Even more than the giant elephant that Boyd's mogul dad, Dean Jagger, wants to hijack to make his show the best around...<br /> <br /> Yet the <i>best</i> stuff occurs on the sidelines as Martha Raye bonds with Doris — the former Bob Hope co-starlet doing her signature blunt and honest thing, here as a fortune teller without a clue to the future — and her lines aren't side-splitting but she's got genuine charisma, and provides someone other than the handsome stranger for the leading lady to play off. So, at the very least, you'll grin at the playful delight of JUMBO despite the hackneyed turnout wherein our conflicted male lead has to choose between bad and good. <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>

adaptation, circus, comedy, dean jagger, doris day, gambling, jimmy durante, martha raye, musical, sixties, stephen boyd

DORIS DAY & STEPHEN BOYD IN 'JUMBO' FEATURING MARTHA RAYE

Blu Ray for JUMBO Year: 1962 In the circus musical JUMBO the actors and actresses playing circus performers are performing so close to t...

ELIZABETH TAYLOR 'THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN' WARREN BEATTY

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioxLeEktExtUUn8AW-D1bLYKLDcV3SrfA1lQa7bcIIo0erGYnkcivj9Jvmf6zzUuIyo1XzCr0eXho8ovsT6-yZMBCnJlaAL5_5EJ8w-M25WRmAEbUjIwEG_rRh0im50VVMPXi3finfrSU/s1600/14292479_184244575338060_6694133989640089132_n.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioxLeEktExtUUn8AW-D1bLYKLDcV3SrfA1lQa7bcIIo0erGYnkcivj9Jvmf6zzUuIyo1XzCr0eXho8ovsT6-yZMBCnJlaAL5_5EJ8w-M25WRmAEbUjIwEG_rRh0im50VVMPXi3finfrSU/s400/14292479_184244575338060_6694133989640089132_n.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Warren Beatty & Elizabeth Taylor on wide poster</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Director George Stevens was great at telling a relatively simple story in an epic, grandiose fashion, burying the hidden lead till the conclusion without it being a letdown, or the audience feeling like they've been taken for a long, misleading ride...<br> <br> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSi6_2b1azayIPYM3ap2f3OJvJQOB6aDkd3tDB6gtT14UHWwRNqctojD-dCx4-CBWx2L5bPzcHLKX5101GG2lTTaHlwVO8wxchZjq8w_UoPeAlpyWegq8yxaJgx8rBaLcakPu4SES53oE6/s1600/51c92bbcfa4fe7493997f3b222878513.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="347" data-original-width="153" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSi6_2b1azayIPYM3ap2f3OJvJQOB6aDkd3tDB6gtT14UHWwRNqctojD-dCx4-CBWx2L5bPzcHLKX5101GG2lTTaHlwVO8wxchZjq8w_UoPeAlpyWegq8yxaJgx8rBaLcakPu4SES53oE6/s320/51c92bbcfa4fe7493997f3b222878513.jpeg" width="141"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Portion of Movie Poster</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> His famous films with Taylor are A PLACE IN THE SUN with Monty Clift and a giant GIANT with Rock Hudon, which fits its title in scope, but the Texas saga with all the wide sets and dusty milieu, ends with a quick fist fight in a small cafe, and is actually an underline morality tale on Whites towards Mexican racism... <br> <br> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> And it's arguably Stevens's greatest achievement, starred one of the loveliest ingenues at that time who, in 1956, was a much better suited to be a showgirl, like in the director's final film fourteen years later, THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN... And while what happens in Las Vegas stays there, what happens when someone takes a picture only showing their best features as Taylor's top-half is shown, twice during a fifteen second segment of a musical number on an immense Casino stage, inserted in a contrived, phony and downright hilarious fashion...<br>

charles braswell, elizabeth taylor, exploitation, gambling, george stevens, jazz-score, las vegas, romance, seventies, warren beatty

ELIZABETH TAYLOR 'THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN' WARREN BEATTY

Warren Beatty & Elizabeth Taylor on wide poster Director George Stevens was great at telling a relatively simple story in an epic, g...

REMAKE OF 'THE GAMBLER' (2014)

<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjta0YTkpnWv8vIhkcn_aE2hZgNqo-rGxe9amoC1yFkAY5BZCXNcRykajwTFbZnS3YCAQw3F2KzbVS9A9rwUdGzkUVreMNansBpyj2cmfDFFv4pE6d1179GPeOE9d5aPbgaj5GhWCMckjA/s1600/1.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjta0YTkpnWv8vIhkcn_aE2hZgNqo-rGxe9amoC1yFkAY5BZCXNcRykajwTFbZnS3YCAQw3F2KzbVS9A9rwUdGzkUVreMNansBpyj2cmfDFFv4pE6d1179GPeOE9d5aPbgaj5GhWCMckjA/s200/1.jpg" width="127" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">year: 2014 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> <u>THE GAMBLER 2014</u>: Certain iconic movies you just can’t remake. Others shouldn’t but it still happens. Yet there are some that could use a transformation... <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> Like James Toback's slowburn character-study starring James Caan. While not a bad film, it definitely lacked the spontaneous intrigue of Robert Altman’s poker flick CALIFORNIA SPLIT or John Cassavete's Shylock indie THE KILLING OF A CHINESE BOOKIE and could have used more edge, like Martin Scorsese's MEAN STREETS: Ironically, this remake was initially optioned by Scorsese to star Leonardo DiCaprio, which fell through and subsequently went to director Rupert Wyatt and leading man Mark Wahlberg, and, in this NEW GAMBLER, Wahlberg’s Jim Bennett is a sort of grungy James Bond with a license to... gamble, and not always wisely. When he isn't laying down the Blackjack cards or betting black on roulette, he's got a day job as a professor of literature: Scenes in the classroom lead to a love interest side-story with a pretty and talented writing student. As a teacher and reluctant author, Wahlberg does a believable job but his intense diatribes don’t connect with the story. Ironically, we spend more time in the lecture hall than where we should be.<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuSVMvmsPqozOR2bWvhtAF9M4IwE4Cl0s2XuM8K_dG5tprPxlDcJbh2kmup3Ogz33pFEcxb1Ug2RUsczxYgcoHA2-tQSWceWM5gdiWxdjqzXYWcvlgGVNYX1PRA1gN5pl35h8rIL10M3M/s1600/2.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuSVMvmsPqozOR2bWvhtAF9M4IwE4Cl0s2XuM8K_dG5tprPxlDcJbh2kmup3Ogz33pFEcxb1Ug2RUsczxYgcoHA2-tQSWceWM5gdiWxdjqzXYWcvlgGVNYX1PRA1gN5pl35h8rIL10M3M/s200/2.jpg" width="123" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark Wahlberg</td></tr> </tbody></table> With a title like THE GAMBLER there needed more scenes of… gambling...<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjta0YTkpnWv8vIhkcn_aE2hZgNqo-rGxe9amoC1yFkAY5BZCXNcRykajwTFbZnS3YCAQw3F2KzbVS9A9rwUdGzkUVreMNansBpyj2cmfDFFv4pE6d1179GPeOE9d5aPbgaj5GhWCMckjA/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjta0YTkpnWv8vIhkcn_aE2hZgNqo-rGxe9amoC1yFkAY5BZCXNcRykajwTFbZnS3YCAQw3F2KzbVS9A9rwUdGzkUVreMNansBpyj2cmfDFFv4pE6d1179GPeOE9d5aPbgaj5GhWCMckjA/s200/1.jpg" width="127" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">year: 2014 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> Although the few pivotal times he does play Blackjack, the direction is taut and suspenseful, allowing the audience to suffer the aahs and oohs of each card flipped – meanwhile, the title character calls the shots like he knows the score, even when he loses everything. <br /> <br /> Surrounded by three opposing bookies, none seem as dangerous to Bennett as he is to himself. Talking a big game about reckless abandon, we never catch even a glimpse of what’s ticking under the surface. In an ambiguous Neo Noir template, perhaps it's intentional that he keep more inside than we're allowed to perceive from his exterior: a cinematic poker face, as it were. But with so much potential insight into a gambler dead set on winning and losing everything in one shot, a few answers would have added flesh to a character that, for the most part, sleepwalks through disaster.<u> <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2020/05/caan-man.html">AND CLICK HERE FOR THE REVIEW OF THE ORIGINAL GAMBLER STARRING JAMES CAAN.</a></u><br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOCLOQ0bHarBJnpApZqmz7PNJNFdUDyzV2F8dqUFn9IJt6bTwL_K6hm28FL2I1kqmhktWKBQUmcgvOM8aKtmuZH2TzHQaiyyw55Bu_fNl0dVZP1w4wROEIoMOIE3oVSSbY8bd-5-lVLiD0/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOCLOQ0bHarBJnpApZqmz7PNJNFdUDyzV2F8dqUFn9IJt6bTwL_K6hm28FL2I1kqmhktWKBQUmcgvOM8aKtmuZH2TzHQaiyyw55Bu_fNl0dVZP1w4wROEIoMOIE3oVSSbY8bd-5-lVLiD0/s1600/1.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>James Woods as a weenie banker with James Caan in THE GAMBLER</u></td></tr> </tbody></table>

2014, drama, gambling, mark wahlberg, melodrama, remake

REMAKE OF 'THE GAMBLER' (2014)

year: 2014 rating: ** THE GAMBLER 2014 : Certain iconic movies you just can’t remake. Others shouldn’t but it still happens. Yet there...

RUNNER RUNNER

<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3tkRCxEodQ6ydML-5HKCkxvrnQeg4cz7hHhjWhRv86u_ZFABsPEPT5aIl8g_uD6alUKgpo6LSQMgepwYaGkkfMDIB9mgd1hpOpePERapSHF2HOEiunjyoL0gk8DiP1yf4lvNySpgK6h0S/s1600/runner-runner1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3tkRCxEodQ6ydML-5HKCkxvrnQeg4cz7hHhjWhRv86u_ZFABsPEPT5aIl8g_uD6alUKgpo6LSQMgepwYaGkkfMDIB9mgd1hpOpePERapSHF2HOEiunjyoL0gk8DiP1yf4lvNySpgK6h0S/s640/runner-runner1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 cast: Justin Timberlake, Ben Affleck, John Heard, Gemma Arterton, Anthony Mackie rating: ** </td></tr> </tbody></table> Someone needed to wake up Ben Affleck during the production of RUNNER RUNNER. He’s playing a sinister guy who manipulates, steals, and enjoys his pursuit of what Michael Douglas in WALL STREET considered positive… <i>greed</i>… and yet you’d think he just took a sleeping pill. At least Justin Timberlake has some energy… Too bad the screenwriter was snoozing with Affleck…<br /> <br /> RUNNER RUNNER is no WALL STREET but tries very hard to be. Affleck plays slick offshore tycoon Ivan Block, who runs an online gambling website while a particular young man, with homegrown poker skills and a risky determination to lay it all down, gets ripped off, or better put, cheated out of college tuition…<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><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFgUIJHDCpvfw7jigEXsadNpbd_So8sjlZGFSIScjlKXESduxWEhHGhVsMvmC3q9HjQPTkAY9yQ9kBqNk5y4AibLcwAlUH_mo2eHjRIimO7dynxX5CL6jVABtL6KWNcDFu2BMueBen1Kyw/s1600/runner-runner2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFgUIJHDCpvfw7jigEXsadNpbd_So8sjlZGFSIScjlKXESduxWEhHGhVsMvmC3q9HjQPTkAY9yQ9kBqNk5y4AibLcwAlUH_mo2eHjRIimO7dynxX5CL6jVABtL6KWNcDFu2BMueBen1Kyw/s640/runner-runner2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">"You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!"</td></tr> </tbody></table> Justin Timberlake’s Richie Furst attends a high-class university, but with a loser dad and a troubled past, Ivy League he ain’t. So, having nowhere to turn, our put-upon hero ventures to Costa Rica where Ivan Block resides. It’s not ten minutes before both characters meet, way too easily and, like the rest of this rushed thriller, everything falls swiftly into place...<br /> <br /> Richie's tempted quickly to the dark side. He learns the ins-and-outs of running the gambling action, shown in flashy montage sequences so influenced by CASINO you’ll anticipate Robert DeNiro and Don Rickles with a cattle prod. Meanwhile, Block comes and goes whenever Richie lands in hot water… by either the local gambling commission, the FBI, or both at the same time. And if the progressively intense diatribes aren’t threatening enough, Block has his own hungry crocodiles for the real nasty business.<br /> <br /> The eventual turning-of-the-table occurs much too easily, lacking any sort of creative twist, or a worthy "gotcha" moment… And with our hero so smugly confident in the predictable outcome, you may just yearn to root for the bad guy… But this lethargic devil deserves no sympathy.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B003F29D44&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000YMH4N0&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B006PERRMY&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>

2013, ben affleck, gambling, justin timberlake, thriller

RUNNER RUNNER

year: 2013 cast: Justin Timberlake, Ben Affleck, John Heard, Gemma Arterton, Anthony Mackie rating: **  Someone needed to wake up Ben Af...