Diabolical Danger

There is nothing like a memorable entrance/introduction to an onscreen character. The film that I am reviewing today has three. As the camera pans up at the very beginning of the movie, we are nearly hit by voice over narrator Johnny Farrell’s (Glenn Ford) trick dice. As he leaves the sketchy gambling room (after easily winning some cash with his fake cubes), he is held at gunpoint by a robber. In comes his saviour and soon to be boss, Ballin Mundson (George Macready), who uses his ‘best friend’, a walking stick that hides a dangerously long and sharp bayonet to save the nervous man. But it is the third and final entrance that blows the other two away. After Farrell begins to work for Mundson for some time, he learns, upon his bosses return from a trip, that he has gotten married. As the two enter the dame’s bedroom, her husband asks, "Gilda, are you decent?". Rita Hayworth’s title character, after a slight pause, pops up on the screen, and with a sensual flip of her perfect locks, flirtatiously responds "Me?". Dare I say, drama ensues.

Controversial, edgy, tasteless and taboo are just a few words that have been used to describe the movie that I will be reviewing today. If there was ever a love it or loathe it film – this may be it. It has been chosen by the acclaimed company Criterion as being one of their ‘important classic and contemporary films’ and many film afficionados have lauded it, yet others have absolutely trashed it – with legend Roger Ebert proclaiming that it is "as nasty as it is lubricious, a despicable attempt to titillate us by exploiting memories of persecution and suffering". I will leave it to you to decide.

The first thing that came to mind after watching Guy Ritchie’s 2001 crime film Snatch was that it must have been a bugger to write. Ritchie, who both scribed and directed the movie, concocts a motion picture that feels like an amalgam of film noir, a British crime caper, a boxing flick as well as a comedy – all thrown onto the screen by some sort of high powered rocket launcher.

Sometimes going into a movie with low expectations can be a good thing. As I was perusing a discount store one day, I came across a film titled Suck – a rather ominous moniker I must say. Yet the premise, which pays homage to rock and roll while also spoofing vampiric horror in a comedic way, sounded like it could be fun. Plus, the back cover explained that it boasted a rocking soundtrack while featuring cameos from legends like Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop, so I picked up the Blu-Ray for a whopping three dollars.

Sometimes, a film is able to transcend the era it was made in, truly making it feel as relevant and modern as when it was first released. Yet, others simply have not aged as well. This can sometimes create a rather difficult viewing experience – and that is somewhat the case with the 1928 western In Old Arizona. This western is one of the most important and influential films of the time –