Films That Matter
Stealers Wheel
A film noir with some eccentricities, The Big Steal (1949), directed by then third time film maker Don Siegel (who would go on to make such greats as Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Dirty Harry, and Escape from Alcatraz), plays like a long chase within a longer chase, while the meeting between gent and femme is something akin to a will they/won’t they screwball comedy. The usually laconic Lt. Duke Halliday (Robert Mitchum) is in quite the conundrum, as he has been robbed of a U.S. Army payroll totaling a whopping three hundred grand by swindler Jim Fiske (Patric Knowles). On the lam in Mexico (a rather rare noir location, also think Ride the Pink Horse and Touch of Evil), Halliday is on his trail... but the problem is, so is his superior – Captain Vincent Blake (William Bendix), who, of course, thinks it was actually the Lieutenant who ran off with the money.
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Take a Ride on the Wild Side
Something WildJuly 8, 2013It is unusual to find a film that is able to effectively change direction, speaking in the genre sense, without losing steam, confusing viewers, or ruining the flow of the movie. Yet, when properly done, these twists and turns can take you on a wild and entertaining ride to somewhere completely unexpected. This is what the 1986 motion picture Something Wild does effortlessly.
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Blood Ties
StokerJune 28, 2013It is pretty rare that I do this, but I sat watching a newly released DVD called Stoker last night and decided to write a review immediately after finishing it, and for once, one of the films I have critiqued will be readily available to buy or rent.
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The Professional Delivers
Léon: The ProfessionalJune 17, 2013The 1980's and 1990's were two superb decades for amazing action films that contained easy on the eyes stunts, clever storylines, touches of comedy and great villains. Movies like the Die Hard trilogy, Lethal Weapon 1-4 , Mission Impossible, and James Bond entries like License to Kill and Goldeneye entertained in all of these categories. One of the best action movies to come out of the 90's though, is known as Léon or The Professional.
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It’s the End of the World as We Know It
Children of MenMay 30, 2013One of my favourite film styles is the post apocalyptic genre. Depending on the time of production, these movies depict the fears of the day. For instance, in 1973 Soylent Green was made, which highlighted the possibility of overpopulation, lack of employment and most importantly, food shortages; (look for a review of this film at a later date). Quite differently, in the 2006 motion picture Children of Men, we see quite the opposite – a world that is dying as humans are no longer able to procreate.
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Fun Viewing for the Whole Family
Uncle BuckMay 16, 2013As you can probably tell from my other reviews, most of the films that I choose are not family friendly, which is why I have decided to change course and review what I feel is an often overlooked comedy, the 1989 John Hughes’ movie Uncle Buck.
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Criterion Brings Film Back to Modern Times
Modern TimesMay 2, 2013There are many different DVD/Blu-Ray companies that release films to the public, but the one that is definitely the most impressive and in-depth is Criterion. Their collection consists of "important classic and contemporary films" that are brought to you in the highest quality audio and video transfers. Each movie also comes with a plethora of excellent special features that highlight the importance of the film. The Criterion Collection is aimed at film aficionados and it shows.