POV: I'm Scared Of Ingmar Bergman

I, much like most film geeks have holes in my movie watching history. I don't know much about the Iranian New Wave or Tony Richardson films. I've never been a huge fan of Marylin Monroe, so I'm always taken a little off guard when I see one of her movies and like it. These are just examples of course, there are many more.

The biggest of these crimes is my total and unequivocal fear of Ingmar Bergman. I have only seen Persona (1966) back when I was in college. I remember really enjoying it, but it never made me say, "It's safe, I'm comfortable with this. I can watch these."

The problem is fear, very simple. I've always known that Bergman was a thinking mans filmmaker. I don't see myself as much of a thinking man and fear the mysterious knowledge that these films impart will fly over my shallow skull. My feeble mind is just too frightened of not getting it.


Will I lose my own sense of cineaste credibility if I discover I can't understand his movies? Am I simply over thinking (very ironic) this whole thing and should just relax and view them like an other film? All I know is that the thought of tackling his movies leave me with an odd petrified fear that I have with no other filmmaker.

I'm a fan of Antonioni, Fellini, Godard, Tarkovsky, Tarr and many others. As a matter of fact, I'm a bit of a foreign film nut. I have no fear of subtitles or themes or nonlinear storytelling. As a matter of fact there isn't anything in film that does intimidate me when it comes to choosing something to watch. I even prefer the challenge. There is just something about Bergman that overcomes me with a certain type of cinematic panic. I don't get it and there is a part of me that really wants to understand it.


The only logical conclusion that I have been able to come up with is pretty simplistic. I'm worried about not liking him. That's pretty straight forward. He is an admired and honored director. He has made movies that are considered classics in form and narrative. The visuals, created mostly by frequent collaborator Sven Nykvist, are world renown. Anyone who even dabbles in movie circles knows the shot of Max Von Sydow playing chess with death against those back lit clouds. It's an incredible image and I only know it through still photos.

It's all a sad, sad thing. A place where I shouldn't be and a corner I have painted myself into. Someday, hopefully soon, I can pull myself out of this pit of despair and just relax. I'll throw a couple of Bergman's films onto the top of my Netflix queue and make a day of it. These feelings I have, these emotions that hold me hostage are sure to melt away once those first few frames flicker across the screen, right? Right?

Posters: The Hurt Locker

This is a great movie and the poster, as well as the trailer, take advantage of one of the best shots in the film. There are actually a ton of great shots in this movie, but this one is a real moment. It's when you actually feel that all of these incendiary devices actually live and breathe. Mabye not in still form, but wait until you see the entire sequence in motion, it's frays nerves.


The poster itself is nice. It does the one thing that it really needs to do, show how people are going ape shit over this film. It's my sincere wish that this turn into the sleeper of the year and make money hand over fist. Kathryn Bigelow deserves a hit, she a really impressive talent and she's constructed a film of real tension and beauty.

The Eclectic Choice: Performance

Performance (1970)
dir. Donad Cammell & Nicholas Roeg


Another pick from Cammell and his cohort in crime Nicholas Roeg who would go on to a very impressive career of his own. This was the first directing gig for both of them and the results would be a mind bending look at identity, inspiration and culture clash.

Mick Jagger plays a rock and roller who is dried up and looking for that magic touch. James Fox plays a hitman who is on the lamb from a job gone wrong and ends up renting the guest room in Jagger's pad. Then all the rules are thrown out the window.

This is a really bizarre flick that is all over the map as it delves into philosophy and the surrounding counter culture. More than anything though it is an incredibly well acted and stylized, showing off the developing talents of both of its creators. Plus it contains one of the best lesser known Mick Jagger songs, "Memo From Turner" as well as a psychedelic soundtrack from the likes of Jack Nitzsche, Randy Newman and Merry Clayton.

Well worth the purchase if you want to see something very off the wall.

24 Frames: Black and Whitezation

Recently two movies have been released with a new bent on realization.


The first was Frank Darabont's The Mist (2007) which was released over the Thanksgiving weekend and quickly disappeared. Then came the DVD release which offered a two disk special edition with an alternate version in black and white. This is a curious and new approach. Apparently Darabont originally wanted to make the movie in b&w, but the studios refused. See, he wanted it to be like those great matinee horror and sci-fi films of the 50's. It's an interesting idea and Darabont got his wish with the DVD release. This of course makes it even more interesting for the cinephile who would like to see this alternate version and see if it improves the film.

Now I didn't like The Mist the first time I saw it. It was a late show and was packed with a bunch of drunk teens who made tons of noise and talked on cell phones the entire time. Really, you spend ten bucks on a movie and talk on the phone the entire time? Officially, you're an idiot. Anyway, the audience had a major impact on my movie going experience so I was not thrilled with the film.

When the DVD was released with this b&w Director's Cut, I was intrigued and decided to check it out. I'm glad I did, but not for the reasons you might think. I watched the new version and I must say, I was disappointed. Even with the aid of computer technology, you can time something to look black and white, the film itself wasn't shot for the look. Costumes, production design and visual effects were designed for a color film and it doesn't mesh very well when transferring over. Scenes were too dark and details would be lost. At times it just looked muddled.

The Mist (2007)

Plus all of the handheld camera work didn't feel right when used with the format. The older films that Darabont wanted to imitate never used this type of style so the entire experiment feels unfocused. But it did make me re-watch the color version and I discovered that it is quite an enjoyable little horror film with some standout performances. The visual style also works incredibly well in color and I found myself really engrossed. The idea of presenting it in black and white may have been unsuccessful, but it does help a person appreciate the original.

Then this past week Peter Bogdanovich released a movie that he also originally intended to release as a black and white movie. Nickelodeon (1976) was Bogdanovich's homage to the silent film era, a slapstick comedy about those pioneers of the silver screen. It stars Burt Reynolds, Ryan O'Neal, John Ritter, Stella Stevens and Tatum O'Neal.

Apparently this ran into the same problem as The Mist and the studio felt shooting in color would be beneficial to the film. Odd since Bogdanovich had already had two very successful b&w films prior to this one, The Last Picture Show (1971) and Paper Moon (1973). It could be Bogdanovich rewriting history by saying the studio wouldn't let him, but it really doesn't matter because the move to black and white actually helps this film quite a bit.

Nickelodeon (1976)

Some of the initial reviews were that it was a little old fashioned and slapsticky. Which is dead on because it's designed to be that way. It's supposed to reflect all those old comedies that Bogdanovich adores so much. The entire project is mannered and some of the humor seems goofy when you witness it in color.

This time though because the film itself is a period piece, all of the costumes and sets were designed with a bent towards b&w and shots are designed to reflect an older visual style. According to Bogdanovich's commentary track, cinematographer Lazlo Kovacs even styled some of the lighting after old b&w movies. All of these factors add up to make it feel like you're watching a different film. Scenes of slapstick have a different energy and feel more natural and less gimmicky. This is most apparent in a bakery scene where Reynolds keeps hitting a guy with an oven board.

Even though only one of these movies seems successful though its de-colorization, it is a great way to show that black and white is an esthetic choice that is underused and under appreciated these days.

Clip Art: The Road Warrior

The Road Warrior or Mad Max 2 (1981)
dir. George Miller


As far as post apocalyptic movies go, this is the king of kings. A great story about survival, humanity, amazing car stunts, cinematography and a new star being born. Yep, there was a time when Mel Gibson was a cool guy and not the sexist, antisemitic, drunk driving, religious wacko that he's better known for being today.

But I admit, I still love the guy despite his flaws because he was Max Rockatansky and Martin Riggs, two great action heroes of the 80's. Plus he was one hell of an actor. Before he started falling back on his celebrity and rely more on mannerism, he actually worked at creating his characters psychology.

Back on topic: I like this scene because with very simple strokes it introduces a lot of the characters and gives us an idea of what type of characters they are. Then there is the great bonding moment that Max has with the Feral Kid. This is one of the few moments where Max shows a little bit of softening as the kid lights up when hearing the music gear. Plus it ends with one of the greatest Bad Ass lines of dialog and is complimented by camera movement and Mel's delivery. A real cinematic moment.

Great stuff and part of a trilogy that really holds up. People can complain about aspects of Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985), but come on, look at the history of movie trilogies and you'll realize it's a pretty solid entry in an excellent series.

On The Boulevard: Elmo Lincoln

I had no idea who this guy was when I took the picture, I just loved the name, but apparently he's got a bit of history.

Elmo Lincoln is the silver screens first Tarzan The Ape Man. Yep, he was the first guy to wear a loin cloth and do that "Ahheeeyyaaaaaa" yell. Actually, he was in the silent movies so he may have never done the yell.

He appeared in three Tarzan movies which were, Tarzan Of The Apes (1918), The Romance Of Tarzan (1918) and finished his run with The Adventures Of Tarzan (1921). He Also appeared in a few other notables like Birth Of A Nation(1915) and Intolerance (1916).

According to his Wikipedia page he gave p acting to pursue a career as a miner. Let's face it, who wouldn't give up the backbreaking work of stardom to take it easy as a miner. But apparently his mining dreams were crushed for reasons unknown and he returned to Hollywood to pick up the laborious work of acting again.

This is the factoid that I find interesting, he ended up with minor roles in later Tarzan movies as a Net Repairing Fisherman and a Circus Roustabout. Admit it, you'd love to have Circus Roustabout on your resume.

He passed away in 1952 and in 2001 his daughter decided to answer all of those questions we'd been wondering about in the book My Father, Elmo Lincoln: The Original Tarzan. All joking aside though, if you were the first Tarzan in cinematic history, you deserve a star.

It's been nice meeting you Mr. Lincoln.

Review: Crank: High Voltage

Crank: High Voltage (2009)
starring: Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Bai Ling, Clifton Collins Jr., Corey Haim, Dwight Yoakam, Efren Ramirez
dir. Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor


The Crank series are nothing but obscene Looney Tunes movies. If they ever change that formula, I'll start hating them. Sure, they are silly, racist, sexist, dumb, borderline mentally challenged, but that's what makes them so fun. Everyone involved knows exactly what type of hyper-kinetic-goof-ball movie they are making and they do it very well. They are also some of the more expiremental films being made for commercial distribution.

Just look at all of the different styles they use for conveying action, or the way text is used in both subtitles and it's own form of montage. It's almost like a Godard film but steeped in dumb dick and fart jokes instead of intellectual dick and fart jokes. They even have a fight scene that jumps into a Godzilla style man-in-suit battle. No explanation why, they just do it because they can. They've set up a structure that allows for anything. I laugh at the crude sophomoric humor because it works and everyone can enjoy crude and sophomoric if they know that's what they are getting themselves into. You'd never see another action hero do the things that Chev Chelios does. As a matter of fact, you'd never see any character do what Chev Chelios does.

The acting is always over the top, the situations are always over the top and the filmmaking is always over the top. Plus these movies are around 85 minutes, perfect timing for junk food.

If you want something with meaning or a soul, or something that has weight, this ain't it. There are no pretensions here, Crank: High Voltage is a popcorn movie for people who need a junk food fix.

Oh and Amy Smart is sexy fun.

8.0 out of 10

The Eclectic Choice: Demon Seed

Demon Seed (1977)
dir. Donald Cammell

In the science fiction sub-genre of computers coming to life, Demon Seed takes the cake for being one of the more bizarre and that's what makes it great. Sure you have films like Colossus: The Forbidden Project (1970), War Games (1983), 2001 (1968), and Electric Dreams (1984), but none of these come close to the twisted killer computer Proteus IV.

Fritz Weaver plays a scientist who has built the super computer which quickly outgrows it's human masters. It takes over the house of Weaver's estranged wife played by the eternaly sexy Julie Christie. Well, since Proteus has already learned everything about humanity, now it want to be human, or at least breed and that's where Christie comes in handy. Yes, where else can you get scene after scene of a computer working to convice a terrified woman that they need to have intercourse?

However campy it sounds, it's actually very unnerving and has some wild visuals provided by artist turned director Cammell. The impressive geometric shape that Proteus takes on has a certain sublime grace as it moves through scenes, shifting and slithering to manuvere around. The entire film may look dated, but think of it as part science fiction, part body horror, part expiremental video project. If that doesn't do it for you, Christie's performance should, she's amazing in this one.

Personally I think it's a real gem and a masterpiece in a surreal way. You may not want to own it, but see it with an open mind and you might discover a very original and bold piece of filmmaking.

Review: State Of Play

State Of Play (2009)
starring: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Jeff Daniels, Hellen Mirren, Robin Wright Penn, Jason Bateman
dir. Kevin Macdonald


Thrillers set around newspaper reporters are pretty much a sub genre unto themselves. These are movies where instead of a private detective with a gun you have a reporter with a pen. In most cases we already know the outcome, these movies are about how the audience gets there. It's about the enjoyment of the protagonist uncovering clues and sticking to his ideals when the Paper's Editor chews them out for doing something that might be slightly unethical, but turns out to be minor since it leads to unveiling the truth. That's the most important part about these films, finding the truth.

State Of Play has all of the the tropes of a classic thriller, including a parking garage scene, but carries one very important singularity that labels this as the last newspaper movie. Bloggers. Behind all of the politics, behind all of the intrigue and "who done it" thrills is a very real story about the death of an old system and the rise of a new one. It also asks the big question: Will the new generation have the same lust for the truth as the old? With the ability to churn out several stories a day because the public demands up to the minute information, will the Blogger's doggedness for facts remain?

Russell Crowe and Rachel McAdams are the personification of this debate and each of them give us rich characters that display the flaws of both systems. In a newspaper movie, you'd think it would destroy the concept of the quick to act, go for the fast story Blogger, but it doesn't. As a matter of fact it shows that the old guard may have lost some of their humanity as well. It is an interesting glimpse into the now and the concluding scene leaves us with hope that there may still be hungry reporters out there who believe in the real story, not just a story that gets page views.

Yes, this is a compression of a British miniseries. Yes it has to struggle to maintain a cohesive story and is missing a lot of what made the original so great. But this needs to be judged as its own organism. It is a well made, well acted, excellent glimpse of the end and future of the newspaper reporter.

8.5 out of 10

Clip Art: Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan

Star Trek II:
The Wrath Of Khan (1982)
dir. Nicholas Meyer


I'm jumping the gun a little, but since I just bought my ticket for opening day I thought I'd play a bit from the best Star Trek movie. Now this film is loaded with tons of great stuff and Shatner is at his cheesy best in this one. The way he screams "KHHAAAN!" is legendary. I prefer this clip though where he's supposed to get emotional. The pause he has before he says, "Human" is awesome. I don't mean that in a goofy way either, I'm quite sincere. He looks like he's trying to work up a tear, but can't quite do it, his skills just wont let him. But I applaud him for trying.

Scotty on the bagpipes ladies and gentelmen, let's give him a hand.

Posters: Chinatown

Yes, Chinatown (1974) is a all kinds of classic when it comes to film. It also has some of the most amazing advertising images as well.

In all of the posters I've seen there is always the use of J.J. Gittes cigarette smoke helping frame Evelyn Mulwray's face. In most it creates a beautiful hairline and something that gives the feeling of water with the waves in the lower corner creating a frame of the key symbol in the film. It also makes the image of Evelyn ghostly, someone you can't quite put a finger on which really describes her character in the first two-thirds of the film.


When I was checking out Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule, one of the great movie blogs out there, I saw this poster for the first time. It appears to be the German release.


Again, the smoke frames Evelyn's face, but doesn't form hair or the feeling of water like the American version. I think it's the water element that I appreciate so much in the American release, but look at Gittes expression. It's a great look of hardened cynicism. Nothing phases him. That changes by the end of the film of course. It's stunning piece of poster art, even if I find it lesser thematically.

Review: Fritz Lang Double Bill

Another night of noir from the Film Noir Foundation. This time I got to check out two Fritz Lang movies unavailable on DVD. They happen to be the last two movies that Lang would direct in America before going back to Germany.

Are these the best things Lang ever made? No, but they are very interesting and cynical and tend to have totally irredeemable characters, which is always fun to watch. So let's take a look, shall we?


While The City Sleeps (1956)
starring: Dana Andrews, Ida Lupino, Vincent Price, George Sanders, Thomas Mitchell, John Drew Barrymore, James Craig
dir. Fritz Lang


A serial killer is on the loose and a newspaper is determined to catch him. Not because they believe in justice, but because the new owner Vincent Price is going to promote the first department head that breaks the story. So the race is on as three men double cross each other to get the job. Everyone is a cad, a borderline alcoholic and generally just a shitty person. It's a newspaper expose and serial killer film all in one. I really liked Andrews as the liquored up television news anchor who is willing to use his new fiance to lure the killer out into the open. John Drew Barrymore is the killer with mommy issues that drive his twisted killings.

This is a much more parred down style for Lang, saving any visual flair for the scenes with Barrymore as he creates his dark and twisted world. There is plenty of wit as Sanders, Mitchell and Craig work on out manipulating each other to get the new job. Craig is the strongest of the three since he gets the sleaziest character to play. His idea is to get the bosses wife to help since he's knocking boots with her on the side. Ida Lupino gets to shine as a woman who knows how to seduce to get the story. It's a lot of fun delving into a world that is morally and ethically bankrupt, but still wind up being the protagonists.

This one shows up every so often on TCM and is twisted fun with healthy dollops of sexual innuendo to appease anyone.

8 out of 10

Beyond A Reasonable Doubt (1956)
starring: Dana Andrews, Joan Fontaine, Sidney Blackmer, Arthur Franz, Philip Bourneuf, Barabra Nichols
dir. Fritz Lang


Even more stripped down than While The City Sleeps, Lang made this on a shoestring budget and it shows, but he still sets up some very nice shots building single takes that move and re-frame to keep the energy up. At first glance it sounds like it may be the dumbest movie ever, but once it ends and you actually think about the construction, it's pretty damned clever.

Dana Andrews is a writer who gets engaged to Joan Fontaine. Her father, played by Blackmer is against the death penalty and feels to many men are dying due to circumstantial evidence. When a murdered girl ends up in the news, Blackmer and Andrews decide to make it look like Andrews did it, have him convicted and then spring the proof that he didn't to make the D.A. look like a fool. It's a crazy way to prove a point, but Andrews decides to go along with it so he can write a book.

It all seems pretty dangerous and hokey and when you expect something will go wrong, it does. But everything is not what it seems and the structure and slow build lead to a solid ending that makes everything that proceeds it shift a few degrees and takes on new meaning.

It has even more depth when you start comparing it to Lang's first American film Fury (1936), which seems to cover some of the same themes, but from a very different point of view from a filmmaker who may have been cynical, but had hope. Interesting how time, frustration and compromise can change a man.

It's movie that seems a lot cornier on first viewing, but makes dramatic sense once the lights come up. This is actually being remade by Peter Hyams with Michal Douglas in the Andrews role for a 2009 release.

8 out of 10

R.I.P. Marilyn Chambers

Marilyn Chambers (1952-2009)

Probably one of the most famous names, along with John Holmes, in the history of the adult film biz. Marilyn Chambers may be best known for titles like Behind The Green Door (1972) and Insatiable (1980) as well as being the Ivory Snow girl, but she holds a very respectable credit in the horror genre as well.

In 1977 Ms. Chambers starred in David Cronenberg's Rabid, where she gains a taste for human blood after a bizarre encounter with plastic surgery. Her victims, who are bled in a very...original manner, become crazed zombies and begin infecting others around them and an epidemic breaks out across the city. A really interesting entry into Cronenberg's body horror era, the film has a strong cult status though not much of a success on it's initial release. The idea of casting Chambers in the film came from the films producer Ivan Reitman, who had heard Chambers was looking to branch out into mainstream movies.

Chambers was 56 when she passed and as of this posting time, they have not released the cause.

The Eclectic Choice: Dillinger

Dillinger (1973)
dir. John Milius

With Public Enemies (2009) coming out this summer, I thought it would be good to point out a real gem that covers the same territory. This time around Warren Oates plays our quintessential criminal and heads a great cast that includes Ben Johnson, Harry Dean Stanton, Richard Dreyfus and Cloris Leachman as the woman in red.

With a fun jail break, some great energy by Oates and real thrills, Milius made his big screen debut with this highly underrated movie. Johnson gives a stand out performance as well playing Melvin Purvis, a man who seeks two things, good press and John Dillinger. Falling somewhere between Bonnie And Clyde (1968) and Badlands (1973) with its technique and picturesque landscapes, this film also contains some riveting violence, in the vein of Peckinpah, that can still take you off guard, even by today's standards.

A must own, even though it's a bare bones DVD. It really should have a special edition Blu-ray with Milius giving a gravelly commentary on the life of one of our history's most colorful criminals.

Review: Observe And Report

Observe And Report (2009)
starring: Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Michael Peña, Ray Liotta, Celia Weston
dir. Jody Hill

Just to let you know, I did laugh quite a few times at this film. The shocking climax is a riot and worthy of a certain level of respect. The movie outside of the laughs is just a mess. The pacing is jarring and never really settles in allowing for the non-sequiturs to work within the narrative. A shot of the mall cops riding down an elevator where they break the fourth wall may be funny, but doesn't fit. It ends up being more of a distraction than building support.

It also seems to follow standard narrative conventions a lot more than you would think. If you have a Betty and a Veronica, which one is Archie going to get together with in the end? Sure you can try and lead us in one direction, but once you introduce us to the nice girl, there is no way we aren't going to see love bloom by the end.

Rogen is great as this very disturbed delusional character, but within the world that is created, there is no way he'd have held onto the job as long as he has or the moment of redemption working the way it does. The redemption as a matter of fact, doesn't work at all. Writer/Director Jody Hill has to force an action that leads to the climax that left me scratching my head as to why he handled it that way. It's like he knew he was running out of time and had to get there somehow. The punchline was written before the joke and the film as a whole suffers for it.

This is not a film for everyone and there are going to be a lot of people who like it because it's not the typical Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009) crap. Which is a good thing, the film gets major kudos for moving away from conformist comedy. I'd love to see more films like this as far as pushing comedy boundaries go. I'd just like to see a film that feels more cohesive and stays within the parameters it creates.

7.5 out of 10

Review: Sin Nombre

Sin Nombre (2009)
starring: Edgar Flores, Paulina Gaitan, Kristian Ferrer, Diana Garcia,
dir. Cary Fukunaga

I don't know when the last power house debut was, but this has to be up there with the best of them. Writer/Director Cary Fukunaga has delivered a jaw dropping movie that is emotionally engrossing and technically stunning. This is the best film of the year, so far, and hopefully will not be forgotten when award season starts rolling around in eight months. But my praise isn't just the fact that it is an astonishing first film, it would be a great acomplishment coming from a seasoned filmmaker.

Two parallel stories converge on a road trip to escape. For one family it is to get back to America. The father was deported back to Honduras and is going to smuggle himself and his Honduran daughter over the border. For a Mexican gang member it is to escape fellow members who have "greenlit" him to be killed after slaying their leader. Both of these stories collide atop a train moving towards Texas and "freedom".

It's a road trip movie that doesn't fall under the standard conventions. There is no wandering, no existential crisis, the endpoint is clear and definite. The opportunity to start over even though the odds of getting there are near impossible must be taken in order to gain your freedom. But what happens if you do get there?

It is impossible to predict events that take place because Fukanaga is not as concerned about plot as much as he is in all of the uncontrollable forces that push people towards a final outcome. Simply put, fate. Initial actions set in place the roles that will be doled out to these characters, even if they don't deserve it, or earned it. That's how fate works, sinners and saints are all treated equally in the eyes of an uncaring universe.

This is a film that makes a person impatient to see what Cary Fukanaga does next. I'll remain optimistic that his work will contnue to grow and evolve and hope that fate doesn't have something else in store for him.

10 out of 10

Review: Anthony Mann Double Bill

Every year, the Film Noir Foundation comes down to Los Angeles to present Noir City, a collection of movies most of which aren't on DVD. It's always a great series and you can discover some real gems as well as catch up on titles that you've always read about, but never seen.

This year included a double feature of rare Anthony Mann movies from his early career. So without further ado:

O'Clock Courage (1945)
starring: Tom Conway, Anne Rutherford, Jane Greer, Richard Lane, Emory Parnell
dir. Anthony Mann

This is one of those films that shows signs of what Mann will become, but isn't fully formed. The opening shot as our hero Tom Conway walks down a street and leans against a signpost looking dazed is a classic hard edge Mann shot that would come into common use in a few years when working with John Alton. The rest of the film is rather visually plain as it deals with our hero battling amnesia, aided by cutie taxi driver Anne Rutherford to help prove that he may or may not be a murderer. The film moves fast and furious as it introduces characters and we try to piece events together along with our heroes.

Its a fun film, but not a great one. It has a lot of humor, which is nice, but you could punch holes through the plot at any moment if you take the time to do any thinking. It's a blast though to watch each conversation add one more small piece to the puzzle. Rutherford is adorable and fires off one liners with an ease and playfulness that never falls into cynicism. She brings a lot of energy to the piece and that's a good thing since most of the movie hinges on her performance. Conway is workable and plays well with Rutherford, but when on his own seems to lapse into mannerism rather than performance. With a running time of 67 minutes, it's an entertaining little B-movie that is well worth the time.

8 out of 10

Desperate (1947)
starring: Steve Brodie, Audrey Long, Raymond Burr, Douglas Fowley, William Challee, Jason Robards Sr.
dir. Michael Mann

Just prior to starting his string of classic B's, Railroaded (1947), T-Men (1947) and Raw Deal (1948), Mann made some leaps and bounds with this first great film. Some may argue that his first great film was Strange Impersonation (1946), but it falls a little too much into melodrama and has some pacing problems to be considered a great noir.

Steve Brodie plays a trucker who accidentally gets involved with Burr's fabulous baddie and ends up running from the mob as well as the law with his pregnant wife in tow. They find a place to start over, all the while everyone is closing in on catching him. Brodie and Long are great as the couple on the run and the rest of the cast is just fantastic, especially Fowley as a scumbag PI out to find the couple.

The real star through is Mann's direction. It is filled with imagery and compositions that really show off Mann's talent for making a lot out of very little. Cinematographer George Diskant deserves some major kudos for his work here and would go on to do other great noir like On Dangerous Ground (1952), The Narrow Margin (1952) and Kansas City Confidential (1952) before moving into a lengthy career in television.

When it comes to stunning visuals, two scenes in particular come to mind. The first, when Brodie is being beaten up by Burr and his cronies in a basement. A single overhead light swinging back and forth creates monstrous images, casting moving shadows and hard light on faces that become ghoulish when struck. The second is a tour de force in editing and sound as minutes tick down before Burr is going to execute Brodie in the final act. The sound of the ticking clock overpowers as they cut slowly between faces that get tighter and sweatier until all we see are eyes piercing through the screen. It's Sergio Leone 20 years before Sergio Leone! The knock at the door that finally breaks the tension sounds like an explosion of relief as the viewer can finally exhale.

It's a great piece of underrated work and is shocking to think that it's not available on DVD. It's a seminal piece in Mann's canon and should be celebrated more. If you get an opportunity to see it, drop everything and go.

9 out of 10

Clip Art: Jackie Brown

Jackie Brown (1997)
dir. Quentin Tarantino


This film didn't perform as well as Pulp Fiction (1994) and I always thought it was why Tarantino let his filmmaking regress. I don't mean in a technical sense. The Kill Bill films are visually stunning and Death Proof (2007) showed he has the chops to shoot some stunning stunt work, but the maturing of his storytelling started to take a back seat.

Here's one of several scenes that take place between Pam Grier and Robert Forester. In trying to find "The Scene" that summed up the relationship, there wasn't one. It is built slowly through conversation after conversation. Each scene adding something to the relationship, something to the characters as individuals and something to plot. So here is one of those scenes that ends nicely on the driving question of the plot.

Tarantino has never let characters breathe like this since. It's mature and impressive to watch a couple of adults actually converse about who they are and the kicker at the end that brings the whole idea of the scam back into play.

Here's hoping that someday Tarantino will go back and start exploring the human side of genre again. Until then, at least he's giving us some fun films to eat popcorn to.

Posters: Star Trek (2009)

I'm nervous about the new movie. Yes, there has been positive word of mouth coming from people who saw it in Austin Texas recently, but there were mitigating circumstances to that.

This poster doesn't do much for me as far as calming my nerves. It's too simple, to plain, just kind of boring and doesn't give me any sense of the ride that I'll be taken on.


Is it supposed to represent the blank slate we're to have walking into this film? Is it the point of view from a glaucoma victim watching the Enterprise jump into warp speed? I don't know, it just feels...off.

I prefer this one:


I'm guessing it's the Spanish or Italian poster from the tag line. It does have a bit of a disaster movie feel to it, but there are no floating heads to remind me that it looks like the cast of Melrose Space.

Not On DVD: NightFall

Nightfall (1957)
dir. Jacques Tourneur

Based off of the book by David Goodis, this very late entry in the film noir canon and is a great little movie. Jacques Tourneur who gave us the noir cornerstone Out Of The Past (1947) delivers a tight running time of 75 minutes that has Aldo Ray running from everyone.

Ray plays a commercial artist who's goes on a sporting trip with a friend but ends up wanted by the cops for a murder he didn't commit and by the killers who think he has a suitcase full of their stolen cash. Brian Keith is great as one of the criminals and Anne Bancroft plays the woman he meets who isn't what she seems.

Told in a series of flashbacks, the film moves from the dark neon streets of the city to the bright white snow drenched fields of Wyoming. It's a tense thriller with a great climax and paranoia to spare.

It's well worth while and a surprise that it's not out yet, considering how many companies are releasing their noir catalogs with such frequency. The problem may be that it was released by Columbia Pictures, who doesn't seem to do much with lesser titles. I'm not sure if they own the DVD rights, but if they do a nice version with commentary by Alain Silver or Eddie Muller would be fantastic.

The Eclectic Choice: The Hunger

The Hunger (1983)
dir. Tony Scott


Picture a time when vampires movies weren't about sexy looking people hanging out in stylish clothing and rocking the night away before seductively bringing home the next victim. Yes, there was such a time.

Then 1983 came, Tony Scott made The Hunger and it was all over. I would harbor a guess that it was this film and The Lost Boys (1987) that ushered in the uber-cool vampire. The Hunger has a few things going for it. One, a sexy 80's looking Catherine Deneuve having a love scene with a sexy 80's looking Susan Sarandon. Two, David Bowie in some good aging makeup. And Three, Bauhaus in the opening credits performing Bela Lugosi Is Dead. A scene that basically says, we're crushing all the rules and starting something new. These vampires can survive in sunlight, come from Egypt and have lovers that quickly age and get stored in the attic to suffer for eternity.

This is not the worlds best vampire movie, but it did introduce us to a new type of vampire that would influence the genre and brought Tony Scott into the mainstream. You can judge for yourself if either of those are beneficial. It's an inexpensive and worthy purchase, so don't forget to give a listen to the commentary track by Scott and Sarandon.

Review: Adventureland

Adentureland (2009)
starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Martin Starr, Ryan Reynolds, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig
dir: Greg Motolla

When the lights had come up I felt very indifferent about what I'd just witnessed. There was little, if anything I hadn't seen before and the jokes either felt too quirky or fell flat. This isn't an awful movie, it's just a very plain movie. Then it hit me. It reminded me of an indie film from the early 90's. Had it been made back then, it would have starred Eric Stoltz who seemed to make a living of of this type of material.

The weakest link in as far the acting goes is Kristen Stewart, who seems to have two emotions which are confusion and emptiness. I know emptiness doesn't count as an emotion, but I'm trying to give her some credit. I do think she is an attractive young woman, but she really needs to find some range. I'd even settle for that, "Do I smell fart?" acting that the main woman on Fringe does. But alas, there is nothing new here and they could have easily used cutting room floor footage from Twilight (2008) and no one would notice.

Eisenberg was great stuff in Roger Dodger (2002) as well as The Squid And The Whale (2005) and he's relatively competent here. It is starting to get to the point where he and Michael Cera are interchangeable. Make a decision about curly hair or straight hair and you know which actor to cast. Martin Starr gives us the best performance of the bunch, Ryan Reynolds is fine as well as Bill Hader and counterpart Kristen Wiig, who are given little to do but work hard at doing it well.

The biggest problem that keeps creeping back in my mind is that these don't feel like college graduates. They play a lot better as high school kids. All of the situations seem to make more sense it the characters contained less life experience. Plus, not having enough money to go to grad school seems kind of ridiculous. If you've been accepted to grad school, they find ways to get you to go. There are a ton of financial aid programs, housing aid, and grants (even in 1987), so having to take a crap job to save cash just doesn't seem to hold water. At times I felt like they made it post college so director Greg Motolla could have scenes of them hanging out in bars listening to bad 80's cover bands.

Much better reserved for video than the price of a theater ticket, this is worth a watch, but don't expect any major laughs.

7.3 out of 10

Clip Art: His Kind Of Woman

His Kind Of Woman (1951)
dir. John Farrow


I'd written about this a in an Eclectic Choice a few months ago. I recently re-watched this and I think it's just a really well made film. It moves smoothly between some very dark material, to crazy comedy, to the seductive moves of Mitchum and Russell with a fluidity you rarely see in any film. It' so well balanced that I'm starting to feel that director John Farrow is one of the more under appreciated directors. This guy made some fabulous films and only Noirheads seem to know about him.

I chose this small scene because it really captures the humor and chemistry of the film. Vincent Price's ego fueled actor is marvelous all the way though and watch how Russell reacts to Mitchum's smooth compliment.



If you enjoyed this, check out the entire film. You wont be disappointed.

Review: Last Chance Harvey

Last Chance Harvey (2008)
starring: Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Liane Balaban, Kathy Baker, James Brolin, Richard Schiff, Eileen Atkins
dir. Joel Hopkins

I can't say how disappointed I am in this film. The sheer fact that they bring together two very good actors to find love and stick it inside a hackneyed plot is nothing but inexcusable. Wait, let me take a brief step back. There are about 40 minutes of really nice work in this movie. The rest is a bunch of contrivances that are used simply to bring our main characters together, get them apart and bring them back together again.

To watch Hoffman and Thompson on screen is pretty magical. Filled with emotional resonance, two single older adults try to dodge and weave through the trappings of past relationships and life's disappointments to connect, seeing if something more is there. The honesty and humor that happens between them never skips a beat. The personal confessions that take place are artful. The possibility of the damn bursting is always there, but the pauses, the respect they allow for each others pain keeps it together and something emerges that is so mature that it is rarely seen in romance films ever.

It is the contrast of crappy plot devices that almost destroy everything these two giant talents bring. Writer/Director Hopkins, who did pen some very striking dialog, structures the film with almost every cliche in the book when it comes to the third act. Half-assed, half-witted, lazy turns that rip off so many romantic comedies I stopped watching and came back after I had cooled down. I kept thinking of Raul Julia's line in Tequlia Sunrise (1988), "How could you fuck it up? How could you make us look so bad?"

Despite these grievest of flaws, I still have to say that it's worth a watch. The high points far outweigh the low, but when the low points hit, it's like a black hole we can't escape.

7 out of 10

Review: The Baader Meinhof Complex

The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)
starring: Martina Gedeck, Mortiz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek, Bruno Ganz
dir. Uli Edel

There is a key scene about twenty minutes in: Martina Gedeck as Baader decides to use her journalism credentials to help break Mortz Bleibtreu's Meinhoff out of jail. It's set up to look like she is just another victim, so as not to be thought a conspirator. When it all goes down, she is left in a room with injured guards and an open window where the escapee and his urban terrorists just exited. She looks around at the carnage then looks at the window, taking a long moment to decide, then leaps out the window leaving us alone in the room. This is a key moment for the viewer. Will you go along for the journey, or will you walk away? Accept what they are going to go through, or write them off.

Brave, tough and divisive in all the right ways, this is a political movie in the vein of a Costa Gavras film. Delving into the factual actions and reactions of the RAF* who would later be referred to by the press as the Baader-Meinhof Group.

I can't say enough about this film. It's a great piece of work on all levels. Fantastic acting from everyone involved. The cast are given characters that breathe and live, demanding that you see why and how these people decided to form this militant organization. By any definition, they are officially terrorists, but zig-zaging throughout this world you come to understand the reasoning behind the violence. I'm not saying it's right, but I can't say they were completely wrong all the time either. When everyone, governments included, is guilty of the same crime, terrorism becomes just another word.

The trial scenes and the general break down of the group when they are imprisoned is the real meat of this picture. To witness distrust build, then go for the jugular as communications breakdown, make it more gripping than anything taking place on the outside. It's these scenes that Martina Gedeck really excels at. It's as solid as her work in The Lives Of Others (2006), if not better since she's given the opportunity to explore some very complex emotions that the former role couldn't allow for.

Director Uli Edel decided to not use handheld in this film which is a major plus. Recently we have seen quite a bit of it in order to get a documentary feel. Here, his solid camera placement and choice of fluid movements help build a drama and tension that hand-held just can't do. I have nothing against hand-held, it can be quite good, but it's the confidence of Edel's lens that help make this a superior effort.

Is there some fat on this film? Yes, but it's worth it. Sure it could be trimmed down a little, certain events that aren't as major as the central conflict could have been omitted. But why when you can get a better understanding of this world, people and what it is they are doing. In a movie that is about world perception, every moment counts.

9.3 out of 10

*Red Army Faction

Posters: The Girlfriend Experience

I like this. Simple, yet has a bit of thought put into it. It feels very much like a design Criterion would use on their box art. Plus Sasha Grey's open mouth! Oh, yeah.

The tag line is worthwhile to, since it gives the impression that there is going to thematically explore the difference/similarities between the emotional and the physical.

On The Boulevard: The Dead End Kids

To call these guys the Dead End Kids is kind of a misnomer. They started that way, but would be renamed The East End Kids, The Little Tough Guys and The Bowery Boys through time for different production companies. Though the best films they were involved with came under the Dead End Kid years.

They were a young group of New York actors who had been cast in the play Dead End, hence their name, and moved to Hollywood to star in the film version in 1937. Over the next 20 years, they'd appear in films opposite Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, John Garfield and a ton of heavy hitters.

A couple of the better films they were involved with was Dead End (1937), Angels With Dirty Faces (1938) and They Made Me A Criminal (1939). Some of the funnier titles include Spooks Run Wild (1941), Junior G-Men Of The Air (1952) and Hold That Hypnotist (1957). The boys would come and go replacing members like the band Menudo, finally disbanding in 1958. Makes sense, how the hell do you fly higher than the genius that is Hold That Hypnotist?

If you've never seen Dead End, it's worth a look especially for some of the character names: Dippy, Spit and Milty. The leaders name is Tommy because no one ever wants to follow a guy named Spit.