MEMORIAL POST OF ROBERT DUVALL IN 'ROUTE 66: THE NEWBORN'

<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/AVvXsEj883IzC-EiXGj4ZzV7YyjpxTJcteW9oIncE51x1ddnxlzKmiFkYcztvb8f1Ob6NwsIwnOwzejzoH8CahLGPIL0ULBAW7Vn3RwQb_0YgrFK7LXrJnnp3fgra5SagkrhXDdSBK8F_eQD7lKpKgFcQ6o1aQp22BNZEGPr4DbzEUn6D5oXFsFS0gFNL7CniBK4/s2472/Screen%20Shot%202026-02-21%20at%206.54.12%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1534" data-original-width="2472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj883IzC-EiXGj4ZzV7YyjpxTJcteW9oIncE51x1ddnxlzKmiFkYcztvb8f1Ob6NwsIwnOwzejzoH8CahLGPIL0ULBAW7Vn3RwQb_0YgrFK7LXrJnnp3fgra5SagkrhXDdSBK8F_eQD7lKpKgFcQ6o1aQp22BNZEGPr4DbzEUn6D5oXFsFS0gFNL7CniBK4/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202026-02-21%20at%206.54.12%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Robert Duvall in ROUTE 66: THE NEWBORN Year: 1961 Rating: **1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In two episodes of ROUTE 66 featuring Robert Duvall that starred both lead actors Martin Milner and George Maharis, someone winds up very physically ill and the boys have to stick around to help...<br><br>The episode where Duvall's most known is BIRDCAGE ON MY FOOT, as a heroin addict suffering violent withdrawals, using his intense method-acting realism that'd become his signature legacy... supported in a dingy apartment mainly by Maharis, who, a bad boy from the slums of New York, knows not only about addiction but the consequences... <br></p><p><span></span></p>

albert dekker, george maharis, martin milner, memorial, robert duvall, sixties, tv series, western

MEMORIAL POST OF ROBERT DUVALL IN 'ROUTE 66: THE NEWBORN'

Robert Duvall in ROUTE 66: THE NEWBORN Year: 1961 Rating: **1/2 In two episodes of ROUTE 66 featuring Robert Duvall that starred both lead a...

GENE HACKMAN IN FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA'S 'THE CONVERSATION'

<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/AVvXsEh6iVlS7sQbigBayBqiGYRnVaDU7BnfUzK9B4mqcoMmXdBTIXIQ4h9hgvK1MM1AH5Hn8zeBdxxVJi0MDnn4zA3o3riJLJPZDu52EwppJkJbcOSSEIzlqa6d0hkJyweg63C8ObVY7F3b6v-tKnUz5CNfKuzUsvKNVrDXTOBs_vecSNcvoZe7kqD64M5Z74To/s1496/0-1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="784" data-original-width="1496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6iVlS7sQbigBayBqiGYRnVaDU7BnfUzK9B4mqcoMmXdBTIXIQ4h9hgvK1MM1AH5Hn8zeBdxxVJi0MDnn4zA3o3riJLJPZDu52EwppJkJbcOSSEIzlqa6d0hkJyweg63C8ObVY7F3b6v-tKnUz5CNfKuzUsvKNVrDXTOBs_vecSNcvoZe7kqD64M5Z74To/s16000/0-1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Gene Hackman in THE CONVERSATION Year: 1974 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>By the time Gene Hackman's <span class="sc-42125d72-1 igbBrx" data-testid="plot-l" role="presentation">surveillance expert Harry Caul attends a convention of lesser experts who consider him an icon, we've already learned about how surreptitious his methods are: turning this comparably fast-moving second-act of Francis Ford Coppola's otherwise slow-burn THE CONVERSATION into more of a climatic peak than what eventually becomes a paranoid Hitchcockian thriller involving the murder of the powerful man who had initially hired him...</span></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span class="sc-42125d72-1 igbBrx" data-testid="plot-l" role="presentation">In one of Gene Hackman's greatest performances mainly for what he holds back, having already proven what he can explosively unleash in <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2025/03/hackmanconnection.html">THE FRENCH CONNECTION</a> while THE GODFATHER auteur Coppola provides the same kind of subtlety: intentionally hiding more than revealing... <br></span></p><p><span class="sc-42125d72-1 igbBrx" data-testid="plot-l" role="presentation"><span></span></span></p>

allen garfield, cindy williams, francis ford coppola, frederic forrest, gene hackman, harrison ford, john cazale, mark wheeler, michael higgins, neo noir, ramon bieri, robert duvall, seventies, thriller

GENE HACKMAN IN FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA'S 'THE CONVERSATION'

Gene Hackman in THE CONVERSATION Year: 1974 Rating: ****1/2 By the time Gene Hackman's surveillance expert Harry Caul attends a conventi...

CLINT EASTWOOD WITH ROBERT DUVALL & PAUL KOSLO IN 'JOE KIDD'

<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/AVvXsEg5vzyZ6PzkehhX02MzMgax2gKtscr9SIB5ZqFlNjme_0N6flhTSX37yOpS3dmYSAzATpUaiHCPD7zVSPnqf2pnRiNTDPzwf6Z-WFe-IZie46jSOvNF-Vaa6now0O3aAzUWbnkY72vZdUhZ2AKO1vOG7sRVFctKNAdqdgduXYLVMD3vQpNkxi-Oy8BMyzpL/s2028/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-17%20at%2010.27.57%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1304" data-original-width="2028" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5vzyZ6PzkehhX02MzMgax2gKtscr9SIB5ZqFlNjme_0N6flhTSX37yOpS3dmYSAzATpUaiHCPD7zVSPnqf2pnRiNTDPzwf6Z-WFe-IZie46jSOvNF-Vaa6now0O3aAzUWbnkY72vZdUhZ2AKO1vOG7sRVFctKNAdqdgduXYLVMD3vQpNkxi-Oy8BMyzpL/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-17%20at%2010.27.57%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: BEAST WITH A GUN Year: 1977 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The best sequence in the John Sturges American-made Spaghetti-Western-knockoff starring Clint Eastwood has the titular former bounty hunter creatively debilitating a group of Anglo villains, one-by-one, all within the central, purgatory-rural, middle-of-nowhere location where a church is filled with Mexican locals since land baron Robert Duvall... searching for idealistic Mexican leader John Saxon... decides that Eastwood's hired-gun JOE KIDD has his agenda on the wrong side: a logical choice for a cowboy picture with 1970's political sensibilities...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Which is penned by Elmore Leonard, so Eastwood begins... like Charles Bronson would in MR. MAJESTYK... as a clever and smart-allecky, Leonard-style anti-hero: but soon enough he's quieter, more lowkey and slow-burn than Eastwood is usually, initially pitted politely against Duvall's henchman from Don Stroud to James Wainwright to another MAJESTYK actor Paul Koslo... in what's an 82-minute programmer-length fable that needed either more action, more character-development, or more villains for Eastwood to play those short-lived tricks on: being the only moments that genuinely feel part of an actual Elmore Leonard story.</p><span></span>

action, clint eastwood, james wainwright, john saxon, john sturges, paul koslo, robert duvall, seventies, stella garcia, western

CLINT EASTWOOD WITH ROBERT DUVALL & PAUL KOSLO IN 'JOE KIDD'

Title: BEAST WITH A GUN Year: 1977 Rating: **** The best sequence in the John Sturges American-made Spaghetti-Western-knockoff starring Clin...

JAMES CAAN & SHIRLEY KNIGHT IN COPPOLA'S 'THE RAIN PEOPLE'

<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/AVvXsEhqteCI_vAFl7jCD-pL2OkJn_d4WWRSC3dK02TD4XHZnQVtqx9efoe5NfEC4pWDK5nWvWyLDJDuhNV_DBDEIUShp0rBgE80H3JkUYesJkF57tPxCNWtR8R_4xo8e0HAh7kprJLwe4Oij1gAJt2Ir4w-RJbAWWgwGqHIskikGEV5t7_SVFlqmwuGTf_tkaQx/s1600/25.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="890" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqteCI_vAFl7jCD-pL2OkJn_d4WWRSC3dK02TD4XHZnQVtqx9efoe5NfEC4pWDK5nWvWyLDJDuhNV_DBDEIUShp0rBgE80H3JkUYesJkF57tPxCNWtR8R_4xo8e0HAh7kprJLwe4Oij1gAJt2Ir4w-RJbAWWgwGqHIskikGEV5t7_SVFlqmwuGTf_tkaQx/s16000/25.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE RAIN PEOPLE Year: 1969 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>While his PATTON Oscar-winning screenplay gave Francis Ford Coppola the power and clout to direct two of the greatest (or perhaps <i>the greatest</i>) motion pictures ever made... both GODFATHER films... it was THE RAIN PEOPLE that proved he could invest worthy meantime depicting flawed human beings in an independent state-hopping road movie starring Shirley Knight as a married, newly-pregnant woman haunted with frantic memories...<br> <br> And hitchhiking James Caan as a man-child who, once a star college football player having suffered a severe head injury, passively relies on Knight as a kind of mother figure — protecting him from various small town residents (from a college girlfriend's family to a shady roadside wild animal exploiter) when she can hardly take care of herself.<br> </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>

drama, francis ford coppola, independent, james caan, road movie, robert duvall, shirley knight, sixties

JAMES CAAN & SHIRLEY KNIGHT IN COPPOLA'S 'THE RAIN PEOPLE'

Title: THE RAIN PEOPLE Year: 1969 Rating: **** While his PATTON Oscar-winning screenplay gave Francis Ford Coppola the power and clout to d...

CHARLES BRONSON & ROBERT DUVALL BAND APART FOR 'BREAKOUT'

<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/AVvXsEgEhvd0Sb_UlVtNIuL63ZQOfL81SqBuBygSDz1JTK1ukn63MWGpGT5WAnnmPIqSvDQ1tgOhFDw3GSbju3ss6EQTBxhF5xEfrc14PuDtwQm06WKkDO9wAUzNfAkYptgNHbGnYIB4hEoVULKiQxGMOZKtCfOFhyreqzWr7cOlSa3CFML6vUoewq8OST7WCw/s2182/2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1114" data-original-width="2182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhvd0Sb_UlVtNIuL63ZQOfL81SqBuBygSDz1JTK1ukn63MWGpGT5WAnnmPIqSvDQ1tgOhFDw3GSbju3ss6EQTBxhF5xEfrc14PuDtwQm06WKkDO9wAUzNfAkYptgNHbGnYIB4hEoVULKiQxGMOZKtCfOFhyreqzWr7cOlSa3CFML6vUoewq8OST7WCw/s16000/2.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Charles Bronson in BREAKOUT Year: 1975 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The violent prologue of the 1975 Tom Gries jailbreak flick is so Sam Peckinpah you could call it BRING ME THE HEAD OF ROBERT DUVALL, and the Bloody Sam similarities include echoed gunshots under the hot Mexico sun; a white shirt soaked with gory, bright red blood; a slow-motion body falling to the ground as the opening credits appear across  paused-images as Jerry Goldsmith's score opens with soft, skeletal vibes into a Spanish groove... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And even beyond all that, BREAKOUT is a modern Spaghetti Western (released the same year as Gries/Bronson's actual Western BREAKHEART PASS) wherein action hero Charles Bronson is similar to his colorful MR. MAJESTYK character, only even more playfully cocky and wisecracking... </p><p><span></span></p>

action, adventure, alan vint, charles bronson, escape, jailbreak, jill ireland, john huston, mexico, prison, randy quaid, robert duvall, roy jenson, rural, seventies, sheree north, tom gries

CHARLES BRONSON & ROBERT DUVALL BAND APART FOR 'BREAKOUT'

Charles Bronson in BREAKOUT Year: 1975 Rates: ***1/2 The violent prologue of the 1975 Tom Gries jailbreak flick is so Sam Peckinpah you cou...

ROBERT DUVALL & JOE DON BAKER STEAL FROM 'THE OUTFIT'

<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/AVvXsEiwPsWGMbbKLWXFss8p1oEvqB_-y4I6Su2QBQeAkB-2jK5rV9rrynDQ5CqZH9lymVyT83Ny3CT9gtjyZESD46WUQFmtWgN5ZxDPrrU56ncPddKzV9mKEsfbi7IyLCvzGkbmYGIjAeE4ZxNQ/s1600/MV5BNWIyMmNjZDYtOGQwNi00Zjk4LWE2ODAtMGU0ZTlkN2I1MGNkL2ltYWdlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjU4NzU2OTA%2540._V1_.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="596" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPsWGMbbKLWXFss8p1oEvqB_-y4I6Su2QBQeAkB-2jK5rV9rrynDQ5CqZH9lymVyT83Ny3CT9gtjyZESD46WUQFmtWgN5ZxDPrrU56ncPddKzV9mKEsfbi7IyLCvzGkbmYGIjAeE4ZxNQ/s400/MV5BNWIyMmNjZDYtOGQwNi00Zjk4LWE2ODAtMGU0ZTlkN2I1MGNkL2ltYWdlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjU4NzU2OTA%2540._V1_.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sheree North & Robert Duvall poster art YEAR: 1973 Rates: ***</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> After serving two years in prison, a paroled bank robber learns his brother was killed (shown in the prologue) by the same mob that set him up. So he gets all kinds of revenge with the help of his former partner/sidekick while cranky gun moll Karen Black basically goes against the grain of the boys crashing various hot spots where the money's at (Sheree North would have fit this role better)...<br> <br> The two main characters played by Robert Duvall and Joe Don Baker seem so protected by the gods, there's little urgency or suspense since nothing and no one can stop them... <br> <br> Meanwhile, the targeted mobsters include Film Noir icons Timothy Carey and Robert Ryan, and THE OUTFIT has a Neo Noir template combined with a modern day Western's guns, guts and bravado. And about the only challenge is assassin Felice Orlandi, moving through night shadows after the small town boys do all their stealing and shooting in the daylight. Making this a kind of CLYDE AND CLYDE meets THE GETAWAY. <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/AVvXsEjtOsCL651Q5nP_TohgMp2MVwzNscJrpZRMokkZKsYQ_s63PG10WPQPUwdBgJRtDaAs9uqBa7D9uayJ5gTd1pFl17Hlj_fsAgbW-v7HPPIHB0fje8ZqPSsDJrjyGUOj9kbxPxQKoPzCCae9/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-25+at+10.56.52+AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1094" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtOsCL651Q5nP_TohgMp2MVwzNscJrpZRMokkZKsYQ_s63PG10WPQPUwdBgJRtDaAs9uqBa7D9uayJ5gTd1pFl17Hlj_fsAgbW-v7HPPIHB0fje8ZqPSsDJrjyGUOj9kbxPxQKoPzCCae9/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-25+at+10.56.52+AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Nice and simple VHS for THE OUTFIT with Robert Duvall and Karen Black</u></td></tr> </tbody></table>

gangster, joe don baker, karen black, neo noir, road movie, robert duvall, robert ryan, seventies, sheree north, small town, timothy carey

ROBERT DUVALL & JOE DON BAKER STEAL FROM 'THE OUTFIT'

Sheree North & Robert Duvall poster art YEAR: 1973 Rates: *** After serving two years in prison, a paroled bank robber learns his br...

CAAN & DUVALL UNDER PECKINPAH FOR 'THE KILLER ELITE'

<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/AVvXsEiUMI0BKdTXjN5EUn2uE1KaLsQNwI_n_eUIoyoxfWIbS0IVFgQK1zPUBA35Ousw6DzXwvh2lxiGRdnmUE0PzUTTQAOD0iw90rQ-AfoeSZO3q2gX1-Qq9iyRakB_IuBW_7O9eQTQPRlueKY/s1600/0.jpg" imageanchor="1" 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/AVvXsEiUMI0BKdTXjN5EUn2uE1KaLsQNwI_n_eUIoyoxfWIbS0IVFgQK1zPUBA35Ousw6DzXwvh2lxiGRdnmUE0PzUTTQAOD0iw90rQ-AfoeSZO3q2gX1-Qq9iyRakB_IuBW_7O9eQTQPRlueKY/s400/0.jpg" width="283"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year of Release: 1975</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> It takes two GODFATHER actors: the already iconic and borderline legendary James Caan and Robert Duvall, to perfectly kickstart a movie about a secret operation even "worse" than the CIA (are portrayed on screen) acting like a couple slap-happy Playboys, or, perhaps, the way they really were with each other behind the scenes, laughing with delicious inside quips, throwing dirty jokes back and forth, cracking wise and unwise about women and yet only one of them guffaws about the other's possible venereal disease... For themselves, a hilarious moment indeed...<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/AVvXsEjpxd1JNwruMjyefcaOJXKbB0eRSxe9xVPcwsrs_TNzHOdhBsI9Ji-iaasiqi0OvpGSioPptaxE6SHUYILJziiiy0URZZSbI5rWwT3ce8lGqBQojwrKkBaIW_dUvZr4YzsmNVKIq4YYqEyh/s1600/31946416_472530256509489_2692264450945187840_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="739" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxd1JNwruMjyefcaOJXKbB0eRSxe9xVPcwsrs_TNzHOdhBsI9Ji-iaasiqi0OvpGSioPptaxE6SHUYILJziiiy0URZZSbI5rWwT3ce8lGqBQojwrKkBaIW_dUvZr4YzsmNVKIq4YYqEyh/s200/31946416_472530256509489_2692264450945187840_n.jpg" width="200"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Duvall and Caan</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> All in a car driving over the Golden Gate bridge shot by director Sam Peckinpah in a modern setting... Starts out with a building exploding and Caan and Duvall, as Mike and George, harboring a "snitch" who... Let's just say things don't go well for this man, and his future turns out much worse than a horrible, game-changing injury for Caan's Mike after a double-cross that's extremely suspenseful, in fact even more-so than most films being that, after experiencing two pals acting like they've known each other since grade school, Duvall's sudden transition, taking place fully-clothed, sitting on a toilet seat, gun in hand with an icy stare... especially contrasted to the funny guy he was minutes before... And in another minute's time, Caan's Mike winds up with a busted knee cap and one nearly dead arm, and some of the best, most personal scenes occur in the hospital thereafter.<br>

bo hopkins, burt young, james caan, jerry fielding, robert duvall, sam peckinpah, seventies

CAAN & DUVALL UNDER PECKINPAH FOR 'THE KILLER ELITE'

Year of Release: 1975 It takes two GODFATHER actors: the already iconic and borderline legendary James Caan and Robert Duvall, to perfec...

SEVENTIES REMAKE OF 'INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS'

<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <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/AVvXsEj0aiYRCPYzkCJLArVUITn8naXz8aU3CJS2fI4RNxvx6OyYXRuH1WxG7PbssrF1bj3gqe0orSgY03TDwum8K48XXqnGTUAjydALAo0mmvuifIWsz-feX_TnfH75jUO9O2bJY8NU9iCLSnzO/s1600/14915352_222004201562097_4288546624170192009_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0aiYRCPYzkCJLArVUITn8naXz8aU3CJS2fI4RNxvx6OyYXRuH1WxG7PbssrF1bj3gqe0orSgY03TDwum8K48XXqnGTUAjydALAo0mmvuifIWsz-feX_TnfH75jUO9O2bJY8NU9iCLSnzO/s400/14915352_222004201562097_4288546624170192009_n.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Leonard Nimoy takes an invading stroll YEAR: 1978</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Philip Kaufman’s 1978 remake of the 1956 cult film INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS is full of dark locations, eerie zoom angles, an ominous soundtrack, and leaves plenty to be desired and admired: which is entirely (and obviously) on purpose...<br> <br> The main characters aka our central heroes who... in a film about mankind stealthily taken over by aliens through the result of cloning pods, which, unlike the original, we actually witness and experience in grotesque goopy glory... are narcissistic and aloof in the human world, and hardly the kind of characters to really feel for or even, initially, sympathize with before the slow, calculated takeover (already in progress)...<br> </div>

art hindle, brooke adams, donald sutherland, horror, jeff goldblum, leonard nimoy, philip kaufman, remake, robert duvall, science-fiction, seventies, veronica cartwright

SEVENTIES REMAKE OF 'INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS'

Leonard Nimoy takes an invading stroll YEAR: 1978 Philip Kaufman’s 1978 remake of the 1956 cult film INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS is ...

ROBERT DOWNEY JR & ROBERT DUVALL IN THE JUDGE

<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/AVvXsEjIlOikkmUWu8J3y7KK80CqD0NUHotX6B2SBdFKMnsgX3Fije5HCpoHUPDmfSLe322C4pBBT1o-lfTFsVSeafrwBMhL9fs-Xnu_VAkt8DP6hFbOQBCIO8RCwgbwKRPFmeVd4tioWYnsWyQ/s1600/The-Judge-Movie-Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIlOikkmUWu8J3y7KK80CqD0NUHotX6B2SBdFKMnsgX3Fije5HCpoHUPDmfSLe322C4pBBT1o-lfTFsVSeafrwBMhL9fs-Xnu_VAkt8DP6hFbOQBCIO8RCwgbwKRPFmeVd4tioWYnsWyQ/s320/The-Judge-Movie-Poster.jpg" width="207" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2014 rating: **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> The title character in THE JUDGE is accused of murder – he’s also dying of cancer, just lost his wife, has memory lapses, killed a man, and may go to prison… And this is considered a “comedy/drama” for one reason…<br /> <br /> Robert Downey Jr., who can make any situation funny, plays small town Judge Palmer’s estranged big city lawyer son, Hank, who has a way of rolling his eyes even when they’re closed tight, causing audiences to, from the very start, delve into his wily and sarcastic persona, which can be good and bad: The good is that Downey's likable enough to root for, as usual. The bad is, with such contagiously built-in charm, there lacks the necessary development to make him someone we know from the inside/out: crucial in a character-driven film exceeding two hours.<br /> <br /> The accusation is simple enough: the Judge, driving in a rainstorm, killed a man on a bike. It turns out the victim, years earlier, had practically ruined his reputation... Making it a first-degree murder charge. Eventually, Downey’s Hank defends his father in an involving case within a dark courtroom – the problem is we hardly spend time there at all. After a while, even Downey’s blunt humor can’t save THE JUDGE from wallowing in contrived sentimentality. Bland family members and a weak love interest seem tacked-on and cliché, more befitting a cable melodrama than a motion picture with two potential heavyweights.<br /> <br /> Thankfully, any scenes between father and son are worth the price of a ticket… Downey stretching beyond IRON MAN, and the legendary Duvall stepping back up to the plate, is a double-whammy for cinema buffs – and they’re pretty good together, for the most part… If only the Bobs didn't have so many mundane distractions.

2014, courtroom drama, robert downey jr., robert duvall

ROBERT DOWNEY JR & ROBERT DUVALL IN THE JUDGE

2014 rating: **1/2 The title character in THE JUDGE is accused of murder – he’s also dying of cancer, just lost his wife, has memory lap...

TOM CRUISE AS JACK REACHER

<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/AVvXsEhngojoMbP3RwRHMWTkFd90XpH-J6kRM6DVexumIVX29N6qxzrivcbvGzT5x08m4nrSB8m-F5RshYifs585tDCda4GSym9xb18zwgM-QTUDzPg-cZNE_jV_7k3EF3bo_fqC0tudsVz3Gv8/s1600/Jack_reacher20-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhngojoMbP3RwRHMWTkFd90XpH-J6kRM6DVexumIVX29N6qxzrivcbvGzT5x08m4nrSB8m-F5RshYifs585tDCda4GSym9xb18zwgM-QTUDzPg-cZNE_jV_7k3EF3bo_fqC0tudsVz3Gv8/s640/Jack_reacher20-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2012 cast: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Robert Duvall rating: ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> There were (and still are) a lot of people against the casting of Tom Cruise as the title character, JACK REACHER, a former Army MP who fought in Iraq and keeps busy remaining mysterious in the USA... Mostly fans of the Lee Child novel ONE SHOT, and there’s a logical reason: the literary character stands six feet five and weights around 250 pounds. For the famously short movie star, this is quite a <i>reach</i>. But Tom does a good job and occasionally stretches beyond his own signature style: We begin with a cold-blooded sniper taking out five random people. One troubled young man is the obvious culprit, so guilty there’s no reason to investigate any further. Turns out to be a trained Army sniper/war vet, guilty of murders shoved under the carpet, unknown to almost everyone… Enter Jack Reacher, the one person the culprit had requested. He emerges from the shadows into the bright daylight offices of Helen, played by Rosamund Pike, a sexy, assertive defense lawyer – daughter of the District Attorney – whose only job is to keep the shooter from being sentenced to death. She hires a reluctant Jack to investigate and the real story begins.  <br /> <br /> As things are figured out in a page-turning fashion, the action scenes keep the film’s steady pace. From Jack fighting a group of hopped-up roughnecks outside a bar to several high-octane car chases, there’s enough here to keep even the most impatient action fan’s interest. You won’t have guess much since Jack’s constantly sharing his theories with Helen. Their chemistry is fitfully heated, and despite the fact both are too attractive for their occupations, they make a worthy team-up: an obvious attraction kept in check from the ominous situation at hand. So not to spoil the constantly evolving plotline, not much else should be mentioned except that the initial sniper attack becomes more and more clear. Other antagonists include a one-eyed Russian ex-Siberian prisoner who’s mere presence brings the movie to a corny level.<br /> <br /> Despite some of the more outlandish elements, it's the combination of gathering clues and escaping death that keeps Reacher busy, providing Cruise the kind of physically challenging role he’s relished for thirty years. And on the peripheral, the mystery of identifying a possible double-agent makes up for the pulpy stuff: which is still, thanks to Tom Cruise and his penchant for human superhero types, very entertaining. While the climax shootout/showdown is filmed with the same meticulous precision that remains constant throughout this cerebral thriller with a character worth rooting for: trained to take on problems as they’re thrown at him. And other cast members include veteran icon Robert Duvall as a gun store owner helping Jack in the 11th hour; David Oyelowo as a shadowy cop; Richard Jenkins as Helen's D.A. father; Jai Courtney as an icy assassin; and Alexia Fast (pictured above) as Sandy, a gorgeous young pawn caught in-between.

2012, action, alexia fast, richard jenkins, robert duvall, rosamund pike, thriller, tom cruise

TOM CRUISE AS JACK REACHER

year: 2012 cast: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Robert Duvall rating: ***1/2 There were (and still are) a lot of people against the casting ...

MOHAMMAD ALI IN THE GREATEST

<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/AVvXsEgyyJE_U-O8MvTeuP5m66t41qyiRybdkGVYEv1r9AmdGyr710TwyFzrCk9DtuzFRtUMaNEYoikHJ_bdEUU4AZOyvYcJBf0no4ksx91JCzAp02n5-mmTbVjQ1QZhgdyghdOwn30asukGhRY/s1600/the+greatest.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/AVvXsEgyyJE_U-O8MvTeuP5m66t41qyiRybdkGVYEv1r9AmdGyr710TwyFzrCk9DtuzFRtUMaNEYoikHJ_bdEUU4AZOyvYcJBf0no4ksx91JCzAp02n5-mmTbVjQ1QZhgdyghdOwn30asukGhRY/s1600/the+greatest.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>year:</b> 1977<b> rating:</b> **</td></tr> </tbody></table> In 1977 Mohammad Ali wasn't only a boxing champion, he was a personality. His confidence and poetic rants made people smile, sometimes in disbelief. So they decided, instead of creating a documentary, to allow him to star in a film covering his lean and hungry youth when he went by the name Cassius Clay, soon to rise as the greatest boxer in the world.<br /> <div> <br /> Another somewhat dependable actor plays a teenage Ali, but then we switch to the real thing much too soon. When this was shot, Ali was a man who seemed mellow and tired i.e. nearing the end of his game. An iconic athelete playing a hungry climber is not only misplaced, but at times downright embarrassing. While he does have a graceful, laidback charm, and it's fun seeing him interact with real actors like Ernest Borgnine and Robert Duvall, the film, in cutting from excerpts of actual fights back to the movie-at-hand, feels spotty and contrived. This is Ali's personal propaganda for his life and name-changing Muslim faith and the hardships against the white man, all played out like something you'd see on television. And the last fifteen minutes, as Ali jogs to a Bill Conti-like score before the final bout, it's obvious that without Sly Stallone's blockbuster ROCKY the year before, THE GREATEST would never have been made: at least not in this fashion.</div>

biopic, boxing, ernest borgnine, robert duvall, seventies, sport

MOHAMMAD ALI IN THE GREATEST

year: 1977 rating: ** In 1977 Mohammad Ali wasn't only a boxing champion, he was a personality. His confidence and poetic rants...

TENDER MERCIES

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbDXNr1R_o7SvNYMBUOp_DuB8OU8cqI_1_vBb6FJdSoRVtW8aEYY56ctVU6CgmhMOMp2Bdf0vz1xDd-7SO67C9UCB0YUedULObU8c9f2NroaIdF5gU6YP7NQtAerz6m7a-lExEmmQpV4g/s1600/TENDERMERCIES.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5595513094821056850" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbDXNr1R_o7SvNYMBUOp_DuB8OU8cqI_1_vBb6FJdSoRVtW8aEYY56ctVU6CgmhMOMp2Bdf0vz1xDd-7SO67C9UCB0YUedULObU8c9f2NroaIdF5gU6YP7NQtAerz6m7a-lExEmmQpV4g/s200/TENDERMERCIES.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 187px; height: 200px;" /></a><strong>title:</strong> TENDER MERCIES<br /><div><div><strong>year:</strong> 1983</div><strong>cast:</strong> Robert Duvall, Tess Harper, Ellen Barkin, Alan Hubbard<br /><div><strong>rating:</strong> ****1/2</div><br /><div></div>The heartfelt ballad of a once great Country singer who, at the end of his rope, finds a new life when his old one catches up: We learn more about Robert Duvall’s “Mack Sledge” from his reposeful expressions that, by the time a snoopy journalist provides exposition of his past, it doesn't matter. What’s important is his present life with a lovely, soft-spoken wife (Tess Harper) and her son. And as Mack’s ex-wife and estranged daughter turn up, the movie doesn't collapse into melodrama: remaining a firm character-study of a musician who’s found his place... but still has more to give. Duvall won a deserved Oscar; he not only transcends into the role, but plays guitar and sings with weathered passion. </div>

country music, drama, eighties, ellen barkin, robert duvall, small town, wilford brimley

TENDER MERCIES

title: TENDER MERCIES year: 1983 cast: Robert Duvall, Tess Harper, Ellen Barkin, Alan Hubbard rating: ****1/2 The heartfelt ballad of a ...