Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Mr. Soft Touch (1949) **

Tonally uneven Christmas-noir is watchable thanks to a surprisingly good Glenn Ford.

Friday, November 24, 2023

The Cockleshell Heroes (1955) *

One dimensional characters in a by-the-numbers Hollywood-style WWII actioner on a suicide mission that never really makes sense.

Saturday, November 18, 2023

Moss Rose (1947) **

Hollywood's idea of a Brit noir is watchable thanks to the odd casting and the nice b/w photography. Just don't expect any believable accents even from the real Brits!

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

The Razor's Edge (1984) **

Superbly produced with exceptional location shooting but Bill Murray in 1983 was just not up to the task. To be fair, Ty Power wasn't either. Theresa Russell is terrific.

Friday, November 10, 2023

Track 29 (1988) *

You have to work way too hard to stay involved and that's no good even with the lovely Ms. Russell and Nic Roeg's way with a camera.

Every Man for Himself and God Against All by Werner Herzog: Books

I’d rather die than go to an analyst, because it’s my view that something fundamentally wrong happens there. If you harshly light every last corner of a house, the house will be uninhabitable. It’s like that with your soul; if you light it up, shadows and darkness and all, people will become “uninhabitable.” I am convinced that it’s psychoanalysis—along with quite a few other mistakes—that has made the twentieth century so terrible. As far as I’m concerned, the twentieth century, in its entirety, was a mistake.

A Study in Scarlet (1933) **

I liked Reg Owen as Holmes and Ms. Wong is always a welcome treat. Decent mystery.

Lady from Chungking (1942) **

Nifty script and the great Ms. Wong elevate this WWII propaganda flick which might have been something special with a little more care and effort.

Tuesday, November 07, 2023

Daughter of the Dragon (1931) *

Third rate production wastes two legendary Asian actors.

Monday, November 06, 2023

Baby Face (1933) **

Babs Stanwyck takes Nietsche to heart and nearly wins it all, but in the end sees the light and opts for love. Just like in real life.

Friday, November 03, 2023

The Divorcee (1930) **

Hollywood morality play (barely connected to reality in other words) is watchable with an above average performance by Ms. Shearer.

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) **

Despite superbly cast supporting players and the usual top notch production there is a huge glaring problem named Leo. He just cannot pull it off for a minute.

Wednesday, November 01, 2023

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) **

Fred March is quite good here, as well as Ms. Hopkins, but the "experimental" direction is extremely annoying save for the transformation scenes which are well done.

Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) ****

Superb production design, a terrific trio of leads and striking visuals make for an interesting riff on the vampire genre. Perhaps Herzog's best film.