ericolsen1953 Reviews

Executions (1995 Video)

A convincing argument against the feminization of western society

[10/10 · 21 November 2007]

Such excellent objective documentaries on the death penalty never affect my stand on employing it in American jurisprudence. It is still a wise and effective practice when the crime of murder is cruelly executed or premeditated. We won't have Ted Bundy to worry about anymore. Having spent long hours researching the crimes which have led up to the executions carried out in the U.S. since 1962, I'd gladly throw the switch, release the pellets or spring the gallows-trap on people who have tortured, raped and murdered little girls, or shot small children to death in full view of their parents, or murdered people on basis of their racial background in either the U.S. or in Nazi Europe. Too many citizens in the U.S. and other countries these days go into hysterics when we put loathsome characters to death, even in a painless civilized manner, which if usually far more consideration than those murderers gave their innocent victims. This is because our boys are now raised as girls in Western society and all they know is to "reach out with their feelings". Thereby, "men" in the U.S. and western Europe (among other countries) no longer think, they just emote. What is particularly laughable among the anti-death-penalty people these days is their psychic equation of the death penalty as practiced in the U.S. with the stoning-to-death public executions of supposedly-adulterous women in the 14th-century backward, loser countries of North Africa and Southern Asia. Our society, thankfully, does not equal their society.

The Godfather (1972)

Vito Corleone ain't gonna win Father of the Year

[7/10 · 18 November 2007]

Very few movie dads come off worse than Vito Corleone. As he postures and pretends to be a man of honor and a man who loves his family, he's all the time setting in motion the elements that will wound or destroy his kids. No man is in the Mafia unless he's just a greedy SOB. So, Don Corleone mortgages his children's future at a very high interest rate in order to become a multimillionaire off of bootlegging, labor-union corruption, gambling and loan-sharking. One son is horribly murdered by a thousand bullets, his only daughter, Connie, is eventually left an embittered and tragic widow before she turns 25, his grandson by Connie is left orphaned thanks to in-house vengeance, his eldest son is corrupted and eventually under the mob thumb in Vegas and his idealistic youngest boy is overwhelmed by the old Mafia game and eventually seizes headship of The Commission by committing one of the worst mass-murders in New York history. Don Vito said in the third scene of this movie, "A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man." He should have focused on demonstrating values to his family, not just spending all that time with them.

The Wrong Man (1956)

One of Hitch's best One of Fonda's worst

[6/10 · 18 November 2007]

Hitchcock did a fine job breaking out of his usual mold in making The Wrong Man. No wisecracking glamour-boy hero...no sexy wench disrupting the hero's life. This was a very realistic portrayal of a real miscarriage of justice. The cinematography was almost like a newsreel and came off very realistic and convincing. Vera Miles did a fine job showing the onset of mental illness on an otherwise well-adjusted woman. The police characters were also so well done you in fact sympathized with them - - through their best efforts they were sending an innocent man to prison. The best element of the movie was the frightening illustration of actual arrest, arraignment and incarceration procedures: it affects and disturbs you if you put yourself in Manny's shoes more than anything that happens to him; at the outset of the case Manny knows he's a tragic and almost heroic character - taking the wrap for something he didn't do - but senses down deep that this injustice will be recognized and rectified quickly by right-minded cops, citizens, lawyers, judges or journalists; however, when confronted with the mass of men arrested and awaiting trial in that great city, Manny can only conclude that his little case can easily be overlooked and forgotten. Such is the power of the screenplay and the direction. Unfortunately, Henry Fonda's wooden performance tosses a wet washcloth on the gathering fire inside this story and it loses much of its muscularity. Perhaps Fonda was just too old at the time to convince me he has two sons in grammar school. Manny's supposed to be a happily-married man at the beginning of the film, but Henry does a poor job in portraying it. And some of his reactions to being a suspect are so underplayed that you feel he might not even care about it. Still, Fonda's trade-craft does come through and other times and does give us hints of the terror he's experiencing as the false case against him gathers steam - the picture of him grasping the cell's bars as he's first locked in jail is quite powerful. I guess I just expected more of a performance out of such a fine actor.

Nixon (1995)

Almost all politicians are like Nixon

[9/10 · 2 February 2007]

I really enjoyed this film. It portrays Richard Nixon as a pretty decent human being where his family is concerned. Richard doesn't play around on his wife, he's a good dad to his kids, loves his mother. Politically, he's an effective schemer and an aggressive campaigner. Some things are left unanswered or unsaid: we don't get the "monster" impression held dearly by liberals, no murders, no maimings, etc. We do see a politician who has few friends but has a nation conclude that he's the only guy around willing and able to pull us out of the decay and violence brought on by the inept liberal establishment that made us feel guilty for being white, protestant and prosperous. Unfortunately, Nixon is shown in high-relief, disappointed that America refuses to turn him into a counterfeit-Christ, like they did JFK, and disappointed that the Press doesn't adore him, like they did JFK. Moreover, the film reveals what we all know about politicians today: they crave the love that their flawed personalities can't get from normal human relations; they crave the power to manipulate the ordinary man, because they know what's best for the hoi polloi; they crave the approval of landslide electoral wins; they sacrifice their health, intellect and time on the altar of the government in order to get adulation and approval from the people; and the germ of dictator is never far from the surface. Hillary, George W, Kucinich, McKane, Carter, they're all like that.

I Love Lucy (1951–1957)

Who needs Vitameatavegamin?

[10/10 · 30 January 2007]

I can get so much relaxation and rejuvenation from watching an I Love Lucy episode, who needs Vitameatavegamin? By far my favorite episode when Lucy gets drunk from repeatedly rehearsing a TV commercial for a Geritol-like vitamin supplement that happens to be 40% alcohol, is a timelessly-funny bit that showed what great range Lucille Ball had as a comic...women are rarely funny as drunks in theatre, but Lucy is one of the few exceptions. And who can forget both Lucy's and Ethel's foray into the working world with the Candy-Factory Assembly-Line jobs where they hid and forced themselves to eat more chocolates than they wrapped for shipment? Then there were Ricky's endless attempts to get his wife to live within a budget, which always ended up costing him much more than he saved, i.e., Lucy giving herself a permanent but leaving it on her head three times longer than needed - ending up with nothing but frizz. Or Fred & Ethel constantly cutting each other down, and never spoiling it by "making up" in a sappy fashion.

The Bedford Incident (1965)

Would have enjoyed serving under Finlander

[10/10 · 29 January 2007]

Except for that last scene, I would have enjoyed serving under Finlander. Abrasive to goldbrickers, egotists, newcomers, outsiders and slouches, Finlander indeed had great affection and concern for his men; his actions and reactions always done for effect, deliberate 180-degree switches in attitude depending on whom he was addressing and what he felt he had to accomplish. Imperfect but decent, the Captain is a fascinating study in command and leadership. Reporter Ben Munceford recognizes this, and goes and gets his story, taking extreme chances and getting under the personality at last, gaining Finlander's respect. Eventually, we all watch helplessly as Finlander leads too much by example, becomes what he hates most, an egotist, and completely without knowing it. In the end, this turn of personality kills them all.

Going Upriver (2004)

Can anyone swallow this?

[1/10 · 14 December 2006]

Another puff-piece for the liberals, full of half-truths and quarter-truths. I can just hear Kerry dictating the script, in his ultra- serious intonations "I'm a MAN of INTEGRITY" "Stop the War" "I stopped the WAR" "I AM JFK" and on and on. Given Kerry's convenient lapses in historical timing, his over-the-top moralizing and his fondness for wealthier and wealthier wives, it's simply amazing he made it to the top of the Democratic ticket. But, I'm certain there's enough panderees out there that will believe the premise of this film because they come prepared to believe. But I probably don't know my place, and should be ashamed to be dissing one of the upper-crust of society, whose intellect and excellence far outshine mine, and who deserves to rule over me.

Going My Way (1944)

Who wouldn't like this movie needs a good antidepressant drug

[10/10 · 14 December 2006]

Going My Way is a tremendously-funny movie, not just a bunch of sappy, feel-good scenes thrown together, regardless of what the detractors complain about. Most of the hilarious scenes are between Bing and Barry, with the younger priest seeing the youthful, optimistic side of Christian life and the older priest observing the results of pain and suffering he's witnessed; sounds odd, but that's the way it is. Youth rejuvenates cynicism and hopelessness as Father O'Malley (Bing) helps bring Father Fitzgibbon (Barry Fitzgerald) out of his depression. It's a theme that still runs through good movies to this day. One of the best scenes is when fussy old businessman Ted Haines Sr (Gene Lockhardt) finds out his son Ted Jr. (James Brown) has quit his lucrative job and married a girl the family hasn't even met yet. Old Ted concludes his son is turning into an irresponsible playboy who plans to maybe live off his wife's income. Then Ted Jr. appears in his Army Air Corp uniform, stunning the old man into silence and respect: This event in the movie is one of my favorites because Ted Jr. is headed off to Europe during some of the darkest days of WWII when Air Corp crews were averaging a 50% death rate, even though no explanation of the likelihood of Jr.'s death is offered in the script. However, in 1944, the danger Jr. faced was known to every American who had either a radio or a son in the service. Still, Going My Way is light-hearted even in the face of war, poverty in the neighborhood and a lack of funds to keep Bing & Barry's parish-church going.

The Hospital (1971)

Glorifies rape and filthy language

[1/10 · 8 December 2006]

This movie is worse than "heaven's gate" or "plan 9 from outer space". Don't know why it got even one Oscar, it should have gotten a million raspberries, just like the audiences that either walked out or didn't show up in the first place. The Hospital was a first-rate financial failure, but I'm certain the elite classes of left-wing, gutter-mouthed intellectuals railed that the American public was far- too plebeian to appreciate biting social-commentary when they saw it, and on and on. George C Scott, in one of most-artless and embarrassing roles, along with aging sex-symbol Diana Rigg spend most of the movie trying to cuss in an increasingly-blasé manner as they push along a silly plot. Poor old George is impotent and is just crushed by the event, but after lots of dirty language between him and Rigg, he rapes her multiple times on lovely night in a filthy, crumbling NYC hospital that looks so disgusting that I wouldn't want a dying pet rat treated in it. There's also some sacrilegious junk-dialog tossed about hither and yon, laced with plenty of cussing as well. It ends by portraying the faulty notion that unusual stress without physical exertion always brings on cardiac arrest. Never want to see another minute of this awful movie again.

Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years: The Hanging (1995) Season 1, Episode 2

Soiled Dove in Grimy Western

[6/10 · 1 December 2006]

Just better than average, thanks to a few bright spots. The Outlaw Years wasn't as interesting as the original, mainly due to lackluster writing in most episodes. Most of the character-development was also limited. The co-star in this episode runs true to form, Devon Sawa delivers just an okay performance as Hank, a teenager whose slept with a soiled dove and is then accused of murder, tried and sentenced to death. Like most teenager-gonna-hang westerns, the kid looks like a victim of circumstances or wrongly-accused, but tragically destined to die for it anyway. The hanging IS cool...staged matter-of-factly with some spectacular acting from the hangee. Good police work by Call develops plot twists toward the end and the appearance of a crazy old woman alone on a remote ranch reveal that the teenager wasn't innocent after all.

The Big Sleep (1946)

Who Killed the Chauffeur?

[10/10 · 26 October 2006]

The Big Sleep offers a plot line that's impossible to follow in some instances. That doesn't matter because the ragged plot still keeps you interested because it moves along so swiftly.

The story is: Wealthy old Guy Sternwood is too debilitated to monitor his two wild daughters' vices, so hires a Private Investigator Phillip Marlowe, played by Bogart, to get rid of a blackmailer named Geiger. Geiger presents promissory notes signed by younger daughter Carmen for "gambling debts." Marlowe learns that Geiger is an ACDC sexual athlete who earns his living renting out porn books, as well as making his own dirty photos at home. Geiger photographs bored & degenerate rich kids as porn models (e.g., Carmen Sternwood) and then charges them big bucks for the honor of appearing in his books. Geiger's blackmail tool is the notes Carmen signed for being made into a porn queen, not for gambling losses. Before Marlowe can confront Geiger, Geiger's murdered by Sternwood family chauffeur Owen Taylor, lover of Carmen. Taylor runs for it. Marlowe is almost an eye-witness to Geiger murder, but Carmen is in murder-room also, drunk & drugged so Marlowe spirits her home for her protection. Investigating Geiger's lending-library next day, Marlowe finds two employees cleaning out the books under direction of petty mug Joe Brody. Taylor's found murdered inside Sternwood limousine. Brody has photo stolen from Taylor who stole it from Geiger's house showing Carmen in murder-room & tries to blackmail Carmen's sister Vivien with it. Marlowe confronts Brody & Vivien, confiscating photo from Brody. While at Brody house, Marlowe & Vivien see Brody shot to death by Lundgren, Geiger's former employee /gay lover. Marlowe captures Lundgren, turning him in to cops after beating clues out of him. We learn Vivien has gambling problems and owes money & favors to Eddie Mars, big-time hood & entrepreneur. Mars gets rough with Marlowe but later plays nice, all for unknown reasons. Vivien tries to "sugar Marlowe off" with big payment. Marlowe keeps his hand in the mess and gets beaten by two Mars goons. Enter little Harry Jones, small-time outlaw. Jones promises Marlowe can get critical data on Geiger, Mars, Sternwood, etc from his girl- friend for $200. Girlfriend actually former Geiger librarian, former Brody gun-moll Agnes Lozier. Before Jones can deliver goods on the caper, he's murdered by super-thug Lash Canino. Again, Marlowe is almost eyewitness to murder. Agnes sells her info to Marlowe but doesn't grieve over Jones' death...Marlowe learns Mars' wife Mona hiding in farmhouse out of L.A. for unclear reasons. Marlowe cases farmhouse and sticks head in noose provided by Mars thug Canino. Vivien at farmhouse with Mona, but reasons unclear. Vivien helps Marlowe escape and kill Canino. Marlowe drives Vivien to Geiger's house to confront vengeful Mars but tricks Mars into arriving late. Mars' own men murder him by accident, Marlowe summons police. End.

What a convoluted story to pack into 117 minutes! The film is helped to 5-star status by screen-idol good-hearted tough-guy Humphrey Bogart playing Marlowe and cool subtle sexy Lauren Bacall doing Vivien's part. There's not an actor miscast in any supporting role. If atmosphere can also be considered a supporting role, this movie has it. Even So Cal daytime scenes are filmed in a noir manner. People smoked furiously in movies then, and lingering tobacco smoke helps give The Big Sleep even more atmosphere, as does well-placed rainstorms and overgrown foliage. Sternwood butler Norris is an ominous presence in that he knows all about the family closeted skeletons. Norris will never spill the beans but his demeanor throughout suggests deeper darker secrets exist within the mansion than even this plot will expose.

Even with so many dark and pointless lives revealed to us, this movie is funny and even lighthearted. Comic relief here covers over a bit Marlowe's innate dislike of the filthy rich, sexual vice, addictions, official corruption, bad business ethics, popular culture, psychiatry, quack religions, poor parenting, and the criminal classes. Raymond Chandler was an old-fashioned moralist who wrote message-stories using a popular genre of the day: tough-guy detective novels. His books written a good 60 years ago are all amazing indictments of what's corrupt and nasty in 2006 - gangsters with control-lines into City Hall, teenagers who carry contraceptives in their purses, film-culture that makes society more and more preoccupied with sexual sin, and honest cops getting beaten down by bigger and smarter waves of sleazy government, adults who'll do anything for a dollar when the quick dollar is best made by corrupting the youth of western society.

What's Up, Doc? (1972)

As good as The Ten Commandments

[10/10 · 1 October 2006]

What The Ten Commandments was to Biblical epic, What's Up Doc? is to comedy. As six identical travel bags get mixed up at the SF Airport, mistaken identity, unintended consequences, overly-dignified characters, humorless foils and one manipulative, beautiful woman team up to make you laugh so hard, your sides hurt. The first minute of the scene makes gives us a great laugh at the ridiculous pose that Dr. Howard Bannister (Ryan O'Neill) strikes, as the jelly-spined, casper- milquetoast scientist who is, appropriately, endlessly bossed, primped, shooed-away and ordered to do practically everything in his life by an overbearing nasally-voiced fiancée, Eunice Burns (Madeline Kahn). If the story-line just began and ended with Howard's reason for traveling to San Fran in the first place, there would be a very good comedy here. But, the story turns further on hilarious encounters with other characters, especially a pretty young lady (Steisand) who traipses around SF leaving all sorts of comic events in her wake. Her travel bag gets mixed up with Howard's, they meet, fall in love and spend the rest of the movie running from Eunice, violent criminals, the hotel house detective, KGB and CIA agents. On the way we encounter a snooty Kenneth Mars, as Prof Hugh Simon, a "serious" musical researcher plus a bungling would-be criminal named Harry, portrayed by Sorel "Boss Hogg" Booke. What's Up Doc is as much a not-to-be-missed as is Julius Caesar (1953), Double Indemnity, Patton or All About Eve.

The Sound of Music (1965)

Background story more compelling than the musical comedy

[10/10 · 14 September 2006]

Sound of Music is an almost universal favorite, even with he-men or liberal sophisticates who "don't like musicals." I'm not wild about musicals either, especially since popular culture began a whispering campaign that said all guys who like musicals are gay. The splashy, funny story about a postulate Catholic nun who leaves her convent for a trial-run at being a regular adult, and then finds love with a suitable leading man who happens to have 8 very talented children is a good adaptation of boy meets girl, and there's lots of hilarious lines and situations to carry a lesser story to box-office success. What really makes this movie compelling is the background drama showing a definite conflict between good and evil. The anti-nazi stand that Capt. Von Trapp takes against the forces arrayed against Christian decency in 1930's Europe is both admirable and dangerous. The Capt. has lots to lose: he's very rich, socially prominent and he's courting a sexy Countess who's wealthy too. His friends council to be politically-correct, go with the flow and just bend a little to the new National Socialist overlords who've just seized control of his country; "compromise and be wise." Von Trapp is outraged that his inner-circle is both so greedy and so cowardly. The background plot is serious like West Side Story is serious, but has enough of a frivo- lous front story in it that you may not notice the moral that Sound of Music teaches.

Vertigo (1958)

Why did this one flop?

[10/10 · 14 September 2006]

Almost perfect suspense-flick, done by the master himself. And, a super music score by Bernard Herrmann. Both a leading man & lady who are just the right fit for their roles. Yet, Vertigo flopped at the box-office when first released in 1958. Maybe it was the cartoon scenes that Hitch tried out for the first time, and then dropped for good. Maybe some scenes dragged on too long, like the coroner's inquest. Other than those little criticisms, this film still does it for me. It's great fun watching Scottie (Jimmy Stewart) watching rich society-dame Madeleine (Novak) as she wanders about San Fran feeding her neurotic obsession with a long-dead ancestor. (San Francisco is always such an ideal venue for mysteries and dramas). After Scottie saves Madeleine's life once, he's unable to save it on a second suicide attempt and he goes into a deep funk, complete with Chuck Jones-style illustrations! What astounds most is Stewart recognizing Novak walking home to her rooming house after she'd died in a jump from a church bell-tower. Then, it's eerily fun as we watch Stewart acting really strange...we think he's going bananas, but in reality, his well-honed policeman's instinct is working behind the scenes all the time and he's several steps ahead of the audience until the last scene with a surprise ending.

Citizen Kane (1941)

What's all the fuss about?

[4/10 · 10 September 2006]

CITIZEN KANE pioneered some innovative technical practices we take for granted today, and it proved a worth vehicle for introducing some very fine actors & actresses to Hollywood. Ray Collins, Agnes Moorhead, Joseph Cotton and Orson Wells all made big impressions later on in their careers, but this film is just too boring and you don't care about the characters. First issue: boredom...CK is not boring because of the age in which it was produced - Gone with The Wind, Double Indemnity, Mrs Miniver, Casablanca, The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Big Sleep all belong to this era and still hold almost every movie fan's attention from start to finish, even after repeated screenings. Perhaps CK is warning us against the evils of materialism, which is laudable. Kane has millions and spends compulsively until it doesn't interest him anymore. He acquires one fantastic woman, battles with her, then finds another. Wife #2 is a hotcha-girl and seems none too bright, but she's just ignorant and her character-development is the one truly interesting thing about the entire film as her gathering sophistication reveals an intelligent and finally independent woman. But, little else interests me very long. We're told about his wonderful, massive house and don't get to see much of it. Kane never seems to have much fun and I don't care why he doesn't. The odd, stark shots of theatres, libraries, offices, etc. bored me stiff the first time I saw the movie and are still just a bunch of stuff to plod through the next time I watch it. Second issue: Why don't I care?? We're treated to that "Rosebud" remark early on, but I can never find myself caring about it. So what if it's the sled he had as a little boy. The movie doesn't make me care about Kane either as adult OR child. Mr. Bernstein is a likable kiss-ass, he admits, and he's mildly interesting. Jed Leland goes to one of Susan Kane's operatic performances, gets bored with mediocrity and is too cowardly to finish a bad review, gets drunk, gets fired. Hoh-hum. Mean old Mr. Thatcher is a little interesting, and his final scene with Kane is a humorous island in a sea of mediocrity: Thatcher and Kane should be good, old friends - - they even finish each others' sentences, but they're old enemies and always will be. Then everybody gets old and/or dies. So what? God willing, that's what'll happen to most of us. This movie shows us that, as time goes by, the once young and lively become old and slow...then the Kane's life is over and there's a half-hearted search for Rosebud and nobody ever discovers the origin of Kane's dying remark. Big deal.

Torn Curtain (1966)

Heinrich und Hermann?

[9/10 · 8 August 2006]

In this film, the screenwriters and Hitchcock draw a not-to-subtle analogy between the Nazi's of the then-recent-past and the overlords running East Germany in the 1960's. The two most-menacing characters working for the E German dictatorship are Heinrich (Himmler?) Gerhardt and Hermann (Goering?) Gromek, two opposite personalities both working toward a common goal: retaining absolute control of the populace and all those who may visit. Gromek is portrayed chillingly as a policeman- bully who is always on the knife-edge of committing some sort of violence, very similar to the personality of a Gestapo agent with unlimited powers to torture and spy, assigned to make friends with a suspect. The scene where Newman is forced to kill Gromek still gives viewers nausea, even though we're glad that the jerk is dead. And, how does Gromek die? By lethal gas, no less! No one misses the point here - victims of the Nazi's would have loved to dispatch their tormentors this way - give 'em a shot of their own medicine so to speak! Gerhardt is smooth, educated & sophisticated but no less trouble for the phony-defector Professor Armstrong as he tries to escape "this lovely place" East Germany.

Hitch made this film because he and others of his generation recognized the oh-so-obvious parallels between fascism and communism as practiced by all those jolly men east of the iron curtain. Having lived through WWII and witnessed the energetic rise of comrade stalin who aped so many of herr Hitler's obsessions and methods, Hitchcock paints a vivid portrait of the grimness of life under erich honnecker and his band of commo-nazi's. Only East Germans for a few days, Professor Armstrong and his fiancé feel keenly the dread of government and the absence of freedom that always formed a backdrop to the lives of humans forced to live there.

A classic characterization not to be missed is Professor Lindt, Chairman of Nuclear Physics at Karl Marx University. He is portrayed as part folksy grandfather anxious to take the younger Armstrong under his wing, part veteran womanizer, part gracious host and part brilliant scientist with an insatiable curiosity on par with an Einstein. So great is Lindt's anxiety to see how western research is progressing toward making nuclear war "a thing of the past" that he lets his guard down and circumvents the typical restrictions of E German official life, only to find his own research stolen by the engaging and nimble Dr. Armstrong.

I thoroughly enjoyed Paul Newman's Dr. Armstrong, who is petulant, cold-blooded and a reasonably good deceiver for an amateur. All on his own, Armstrong defects to E Germany, gushing the all-too-typical commie propaganda of the day - the west is full of warmongering hard- right-wing savages, NATO forces scientists to do only research for aggressive warfare, the U.S. only exists to accommodate a capitalist world-empire, etc. etc. We are a trifle stunned at hearing this, as is Armstrong's fiancé, who has followed him incognito for most of his airplane ride. Later we learn that Armstrong is a self-made spy whose Univ of Chicago research team hit a dead end building a pre-SDI nuclear-bomb shield and he's determined to see if scientists behind the Iron Curtain have more-advanced research on the subject. Once Armstrong wins his prize, he's already been discovered as an enemy of the Reich, sorry, an enemy of the Peoples Democratic Republic of Germany, and is already being chased by "zhee authorities".

The chase lasts for the last 1/3 of the film and is a little tedious in places. Still, danger of capture lurks close-by during much of the chase sequences and puts the audience appropriately on edge.

Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957)

Sorry, but McCathy had nothing ta do with it

[2/10 · 13 May 2006]

So awful it was a real pleasure watching parts of this flick. Other parts are just too draggy, such as Bela and his Vampire-ess awakening in the cemetery. Regardless of what some politically-correct reviews report, this movie was not made "during the hysteria of McCarthyism" largely because Senator McCarthy had been dead for a good seven years. However, some of the "invasion" themes were probably well- founded during the popularity of outer-space genre flicks in the late 1950's, since the humorless and closed society of the Soviet Union had launched the first artificial satellite, just one year after invading Hungary to crush the liberal regime elected there in 1956.

Reds (1981)

Narcissistic fling for all the myopic socialistas

[2/10 · 10 October 2005]

Release of "Reds" in 1981 produced an exceptionally-large vomitorium of synchophantic, sympathetic reviews and raves from the socialist elite, from the Upper East side to Berzerkley. Red-diaper babies just couldn't gush enough about this somewhat-honest but meandering story on a slice of journalist John Reed's life. Also, the lefty Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences bequeathed an Oscar upon Beatty for his direction, which was more for the subject matter than for his magnificent job of direction, naturally. In short, "Reds" can't decide if it's an historical epic or a love story, leaving audiences with a empty feeling, not certain when the saga will end, or why it ended, or just if it ended. The only conclusion we find about the historical impact of communism comes from Emma Goldman, who emphatically tells her colleagues in the movement that the system "cannot work." No more than 8 years after this movie was released, good ol' Emma's words were found to be emphatically prophetic!

The Party (1968)

Priceless first scene

[9/10 · 10 October 2005]

This movie kicks off with such a classic Sellers scene that you think the film can go nowhere but down after such a quick, obvious but tremendously funny beginning. Seller's character, Hrundi Bakshi, from India, begins the movie portraying an movie extra who forgets his job and wears a wristwatch for a movie scene set in 1880, a good 20 years before such timepieces were ever produced. Ruining that scene, Bakshi is banned from the set until he can retro his gear back 80 years. In doing so, he sets his right foot down on a handy piece of steel in order to tie his shoe...the handy footrest turns out to be a dynamite- plunger set up to explode a super-expensive miniature fortification in the background during the battle sequence scheduled for 1 day hence! Worthy of Laurel & Hardy or Wiley Coyote. Having cost the studio behind the picture thousands, the CEO orders Bakshi BANNED from all further work there...of course, the CEO's staff mixes up the Banned-for-Life memo with the Guest List to a fancy dinner party at his Hollywood Hills mansion a few days later, and Hrundi V. Bakshi is invited and shows up, driving a hilarious-to-Americans, 3-wheeled Morgan sportscar. Inside the posh residence, the innocent Bakshi makes comedy like only Sellers can. A delightful film, even if the action does plod along from time to time...we're just more impatient these days.

Blood Alley (1955)

Shows the clear divide between good & evil

[9/10 · 12 August 2005]

As the Chinese let the commies take over their country, a few freedom- loving citizens decide to escape before they lose their basic rights. We love the first pairing of Bacall and The Duke, and must wait until John Wayne is almost dead until they're paired again in the Shootist. Too bad - - they were wonderful together! While for years the usual cadre of lefty pseudo-intellectual apologistas have panned this film because of their oh-so-predictable fawning devotion for dickators which affects the judgment of our so-called intelligentsia in Europe and America, this is a morality play where the good guys win, even as the great nation of China slips into totalitarianism and brutality, done up so well by a government of grown-up schoolyard bullies. The dedication to freedom by these brave few is well-symbolized by the rejuvenation of the steamboat...they revive some long-lost principles in themselves and make the effort to assure their own freedom of thought, freedom of faith, freedom of will. And, as always, the classic John Wayne film has in it The Strong Woman, Cathy Grainger, who almost doesn't make good her escape from the Bamboo Curtain as she performs a final, selfless act.

The Blues Brothers (1980)

Them Blues Boys Just Won't Crack a Smile

[10/10 · 12 August 2005]

Every time I see TBB's, it's apparent that white folks just shouldn't try to do R&B. We just "pale" by comparison to what black folks can do (pun intended). Against the fine musical performances here from Ray Charles, Cab Calloway, ARETHA Franklin and James Brown, the white people just "can't jump." But, it's a fun, fun movie anyway! Fun for the whole family. Our kids still love this pic, especially the dancin' in the streets while Brother Ray plays & sings...they try to mimic every dancer in that scene, so have worn out 2 VHS tapes. Praise be for DVD! We also love the scenes with cigarette-smoking Princess Leia trying to blast The Blues Boys off the face of the earth...our girls try to warn Jake & Elwood to look out for the maniac murder-woman, but they never hear and she gets her shots in, just like always. Probably the most fun for me is the constant deadpan dialog delivery and mannerisms from Belushi and Ackroyd - I don't think they ever crack even a small grin. Of course, neither does anyone else, except for the late, great John Candy. And so many fun small parts played by surprise actors: Twiggy, Henry Gibson, Cha-Cha-Cha-Chaka Khan, Kathleen Freeman (with her Avenging Ruler) and John Lee Hooker! Fantastic music, a couple of really good chase scenes, plus a happy ending. Who could ask for anything more?

Sudden Impact (1983)

Love that Avenging Chick!!

[10/10 · 15 March 2005]

Main theme in this Dirty Harry is that revenge is a dish best served cold. Sandra Locke is as cold in this film as she is beautiful. Locke is an "8" normally, but, with a deadly pistol in her purse, "cocked" for the bad guys, she climbs all the way up the scale to a "10". Having been gang-raped, along with her younger sister, some years ago, Locke, as Jennifer Spencer, has tried to block out the attack from her life, as best she can. Her sister, tho, is almost comatose as a result of the trauma, so the memory is never far from her mind. One day, Jennifer sees one of her attackers on the street in S.F.; she buys a pistol, follows him to a bar, lets him pick her up, then when they're alone in his Cadillac, beginning to make love, she shoots him....once in the genitals, once in the brain - - this in the opening scene!! Ya gotta love this spunky lady. She's got her priorities straight. Plus, Jennifer is a professional artist, putting all her anger on canvas UNTIL NOW. After executing her first perp, Jennifer curiously watches Det. Insp. Harry Callahan process the fresh crime scene after the body is found in the Caddy. Then, she insults some creepy teenage bucks who are hassling women on the street, visits her sister in a nursing home, then goes a'hunting in San Paolo, CA "up the coast" where the rape event took place years ago. With more bullets in her suitcase and more resolve in her mind, our heroine relives the rape inside her head with vivid recall, as she comes closer to executing each subsequent rapist. Not uncommon to us right- wingers, when it comes to sentencing or executing a violent criminal, don't be sorrowful for his own wretched humanity, we REMEMBER the CRIME and the SUFFERING he inflicted. Such recalled events steels Jennifer to pull the trigger on each of her attackers - once in the genitals, once in the brain. Throughout the movie, scenes of Jennifer's revenge are interspersed with good, IL' Dirty Harry blowing away some gangstas in a coffee shop, remember "Go ahead. MAKE my day."? Later on, he threatens to step on a punk kid (who'd just insulted Callahan) in a courthouse elevator like he'd step on dog- s**t....leaving a young female govt employee staring after Clint as if to say "I want to have your baby." My favorite scene is only about 30 minutes into the action, when Harry threatens and frightens a murderous Mafia boss named Threlkis into a fatal coronary during his granddaughter's wedding reception at the Mark Hopkins hotel. Michael Grazzo (Pantangeli in Godfather II) does a wonderful job as the sinful Mafia Don, even if he's only in one scene, dying in a most-convincing manner. However, Harry's troubles aren't over with yet! The elevator punk's gang AND Threlkis' henchmen each attempt to assassinate Harry in two close-ordered scenes, and most of them bad guys end up dying horribly. Yup, some of the gun-play comes off as uninspired screen violence....looking like Clint the Director may have been tired that day of shooting this movie. But, there's only so many ways you can dispatch a man with bullets. The punk kids die much more creatively, though, as they both burn to death and drown in S.F. Bay. Warms my heart. With so much violent intent directed at Insp. Callahan, his bosses send him to San Paolo to try to get some background on the "22 caliber vasectomy killing" as Jennifer Spencer's crime is now known, but not before Harry delivers one of his famous sermons-to-the- chowder-headed-liberals. Love that Harry. While our hero' up annoying the local cops and citizens in San Paolo, two more murders happen, same M.O., on a sleazy, lazy fisherman and on an equally-creepy hardware entrepreneur. Then Harry meets Jennifer! They find they both agree on subjects such as Law and Order, Making the Guilty Pay, etc. Could a hot, love scene be in the offing soon? We're led to believe just that. Characters abound in this Real-Man meets Real-Woman crime drama, and we get to meet a brassy bull-dyke named Raye Parkins who's both irritating and entertaining. Raye set up Jennifer's rape for her "boyfriend" years before, and she'll get hers eventually. The San Paolo Police Chief, played by reliable Eastwood co-star Pat Hingle (the Hanging Judge in 'Hang Em High'), is strangely at odds with Callahan's detective work related to the 22-cal vasectomies, until we find out that his own adolescent son was one of the gang of rapists. Much like Jennifer's sister, Chief Janning's son is now a comatose adult, but driven mad by guilt. It can't end here, though. The dyke's rapist boyfriend, Mick, now a kinky-sex jerk of a criminal, drives in from Vegas becuz Raye's dropped a dime on Jennifer, summoning him up to San Paolo to prevent more executions. Mick sleeps at Raye's house, but his timing is all wrong, and he's arrested before he can spend more time with Raye, mostly due to the fact that she's since been sent to the Island of the Eternal Lesboes by a shot from Jennifer's revolver. Psycho Mick makes bail at long last, with Jennifer gunning for him. A desperate chase ensues, as Harry tries to keep these two from killing each other. It all turns out well in the end, with the good gal and the good guy walking off into the sunset together to a beautiful Roberta Flack blues song.

Blazing Saddles (1974)

That's HEDLEY!

[10/10 · 17 January 2005]

"Work, work, work! Work, work, work!" was definitely not the problem while they were filming Blazing Saddles. The movie looks as if the actors and technical staff had a mighty good time in bringing this western-genre-spoof to the big screen. You probably can't make a real comedy without having the time of your life.

It makes hilarious fun of racism ("We'll give some land to the Ch**ks and the Ni**ers, but we DON'T want the Irish"), costumes, movie conventions (we all know that chorus-boys in movie musicals are probably all festive-types), government (yes, probably a lot of western governors were drunken womanizers in the bad old days 1871, before there were cameras from Sixty Minutes), preachers too cowardly to defend Christian principals ("You're on your own, son."), inbreeding in isolated western towns (everyone is named 'Johnson'), authentic frontier gibberish (Gabby) and traditional movie sets.

Some of the humor is very dated, but we still love the plot-line and think that Mel Brooks is a comic genius.

The French Connection (1971)

Come on! I won't hurt you to see something involving The French!

[10/10 · 17 January 2005]

The realism of this movie made it an instant classic. Several directors had tried, but Wm Friedkin succeeded in fine style. To see The French Connection is like spying right into people's lives. There's some draggy parts and some uninteresting characters, but that's life and that's some people, so it works. Most of the characters and action are believable, even if not one in 10,000 police officers ever have as nifty a chase scene as Hackman has running down his would-be assassin through the grimy, neglected streets of 1971 New York City.

There's some spot-on social-comment in this film, too. Know-it-all Federal cops have all the funding, while street-brawling policemen like Doyle and Russo, who actually crack cases, have tiny budgets. Big-time crooks sit in fancy cafes, eating $100 lunches while cops tailing them choke down bad pizza-by-the-slice. Productive, tax-paying citizens in the most-important financial center in the world (NYC) have to put up with nasty street criminals, a liberal-nanny-local- government and a crumbling infrastructure. I felt concern for the El-Train Motorman's family when he keeled over dead from a crime- induced heart-attack. Conservatives like me were satisfied that at least one film-maker understood us.

Marnie (1964)

Good premise, but films drags on and on

[6/10 · 17 January 2005]

Maybe it's just that the action in today's films & TV programs move faster, but I found this movie just DRUG ON too long, especially when Hitch has Sean Connery getting to the bottom of things. Still, it's an interesting story, and if you step out for a coffee or a smoke and leave the DVD or tape running, you won't miss much. The premise is a little silly, in that a single woman (Tippi Hedren) becomes a mastermind at rapidly changing jobs and her appearance while embezzling money from brutish, wealthy businessmen in the New England- to-Chesapeake Bay area, all the time getting off scot-free until she actually marries an intended victim, who turns out to be a really nice wealthy businessman (Connery), who spends a good deal of the movie being a valiant knight-errant on a not-so-very-swift charger, plodding to milady's rescue. It's not Connery whose performance-skills drag the action out too long, but Hitchcock's. Sir Alfred must have been snoozing a little in the Director's chair or the editing room when he made this film, and it frequently puts watchers to sleep. As the action proceeds, we come to find out, Marnie (Hedren) was a victim of sex-abuse as a child, she's now naturally seductive BUT remarkably frigid, her mother was once something of a whore and now blames her adult daughter for cutting short the gravy-train-of-horny-sailors who used to put regular money in the old gal's pocket, and Marnie embezzles money from (mostly) disagreeable males in order to get back at the opposite sex in general. Bruce Dern does a great job (as usual) in a very short scene, playing a young-buck, randy, creepy sailor on shore leave, hoping to get a little action. We find out, in veiled 1960's language, that Bruce has probably molested Marnie, who kills him while she's still a child. This may be the secret dream of every little girl who's been molested, and it's quite satisfying to see the dude die at the hands of the avenging child. Still, we the audience, largely suspect that such an event during childhood is probably the basis for Marnie's adult life of crime, so the exposition of it near the end of the movie isn't all that shocking.