The Great Silence

The Great Silence (Il Grande Silenzio) (1968)

Runtime: 105 minutes

Directed by: Sergio Corbucci

Starring: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Klaus Kinski, Frank Wolff, Luigi Pistilli, Vonetta McGee

From: A few different French and Italian companies

I’ve been neglecting this snowy Western for far too long. As sometimes occurs, a highly-regarded movie was discovered years ago yet despite the high praise, the trigger isn’t pulled. Its showing on Turner Classic Movies last night + having free time meant there was no excuse in this instance.

There is a smattering of Westerns set in a snowy climate instead of a desert but this Sergio Corbucci effort is one of the most famous. Jean-Louis Trintignant is Silence, a mute gunslinger who helps a band of outlaws against bounty hunters and a corrupt banker. The film has high aspirations; after all, Corbucci was inspired by the deaths of Che Guevara and Malcolm X; a revisionist Western, this was. This protagonist had an antagonist in equal measure: Loco, as portrayed by real-life villain Klaus Kinski. 

Just as an important character as Silence and Loco is the wintry, bitterly cold weather in the Utah territory-filmed in the Dolomite Mountains of Italy. The stunning locations and the snowy landscape affect all the characters; the blizzard has caused many to steal and allowed for the evil banker Pollicut to concoct a scheme to steal land. There are quality performances all around: the Italian setting, Jean-Louis-he didn’t need speech to express emotion or be a commanding presence-Kinski, Luigi Pistilli, Frank Wolff, Vonetta McGee in her debut, etc.

Another key component: the Morricone score. It was dynamic, encompassing everything from the electric guitar to the sitar. The Great Silence is as austere and stark as its setting. This is a great movie no matter which genre or genres you prefer the most. I only have viewed The Hateful Eight once but it has to pair with this like peanut butter & jelly. If you love atypical Westerns in particular, this picture (many say it’s Corbucci’s magnum opus) is a must. I missed out on not pulling the trigger years earlier.

 

All Gummed Up

(Short # 103 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

Not top-tier Stooges yet still amusing. They operate a drugstore (which offers even more than at a modern Walgreens; for example, fishing poles are available) and much to my amazement, they were portrayed as more competent than usual. After a few throwaway gags, the main plot thread begins. Emil Sitka and Christine McIntyre are a couple in elderly makeup who move around like senior citizens; not only is he the drugstore landlord and wishes to kick them out for a better deal, he is also a cantankerous old man who is mad at his decrepit wife solely for her age.

The wacky premise is that they successfully concoct a Fountain of Youth potion w/ the ingredients & drugs they have in store (mixed in a boot, as they’ve done before) so McIntyre becomes a beautiful woman again. There are some solid laughs, although it’s not the strongest or most memorable Shemp short.

Those curious about the title: it references the main gag in the final few minutes, which does seem oddly-placed. The conclusion is of the non-sequitor type: at least in this universe-who knows about the 1940’s-giant marshmallows and huge pieces of bubblegum look exactly the same. Christine bakes a cake but wants marshmallows on top; apparently this used to be a thing. A mix-up happens, which does produce some funny visuals. Still, a rather peculiar conclusion.

The Karate Kid Part II

The Karate Kid Part II (1986)

Runtime: 113 minutes

Directed by: John G. Avildsen

Starring: Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Nobu McCarthy, Tamlyn Tomita, Danny Kamekona, Yuji Okumoto

From: Columbia

Yes, Karate Kid: Legends is a reason why I viewed this sequel. No, I won’t be viewing the upcoming Legends and who knows how much more in the franchise will be viewed. After all, not a single episode of Cobra Kai has been witnessed and I didn’t see the Jackie Chan picture that should have been called The Kung-Fu Kid. At least the iconic original movie has been reviewed here, albeit 6 years ago. It happened to be a revival screening & the movie is still a lot of fun. Incidentally, the last Mission: Impossible picture is the big picture for me in May; if I revisit the franchise beforehand, it likely won’t be mentioned on Letterboxd.

As for Part II in the adventures of Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Miyagi, the opening credits helpfully show some highlights of the original. As we see the aftermath of the Under 18 All-Valley Karate Championship-where ultimate heel John Kreese receives a nice comeuppance-the highlights made sense. They also hinted at the direction the story would take. Miyagi returns to Okinawa as his father is on his deathbed; Daniel tags along at the last minute. Yeah, that was silly by today’s standard how he had his passport ready and used his college savings to make this sudden sojourn halfway round the world. That may have been silly even in the mid 80’s.

There are a few “hey, wait a minute” moments; that said, it was nice that Miyagi was the focus of the story and there was a compelling backstory to why he ran away from Okinawa, along with why his rival Sato is generally a despicable person. So is Sato’s nephew Chozen, who is a natural rival to Daniel. At times the movie does feel like it’s spinning its wheels and should get on with it. Even so, Oahu as Okinawa was at least scenic and it was nice to learn some new aspects of Japanese culture. The action beats were fine and the Bill Conti score was good, if possibly a “stereotypical Oriental” score in some people’s eyes.

The Karate Kid Part II is of course not as good as the original. That doesn’t mean there were regrets in spending the time to view then review the movie. Chozen’s loud period clothing and the spectacular 80’s ballad Glory of Love from Peter Cetera alone were amusing at least to me.

A Pair of Great Public Domain Shemp Shorts

Brideless Groom

(Short # 101 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

Hold hands, you lovebirds! As one of the four public domain Three Stooges shorts, it is one that is one of the most popular among the general public and movie fans. This is why the moment featuring Emil Sitka’s most famous line was shown in Pulp Fiction as Eric Stoltz watches it in bed. Recently, 1989’s Intruder was tackled. Sitka has a cameo where he says the line.

I love Groom, regardless of how familiar I’ve been w/ it since childhood as it and Disorder in the Court was on a VHS my parents bought for me, leading to many viewings. The plot was rather reminiscent of the 1925 Buster Keaton movie Seven Chances-Shemp has to be married in time to collect his late uncle’s half a million dollar inheritance.

Brideless is riotous from the opening scene, which is singing instructor Shemp, piano-playing Larry, and Dee Green as the hysterically-named Fanny Dinkelmeyer, who caterwauls as a singer even worse than the people who go to American Idol auditions-she is loud and putrid to a comical degree. As she loves Shemp, you can guess what happens…
Moe doesn’t appear into a few minutes in.

All the main players were tremendous. Shemp attempts to phone previous dates from a phone booth, with no success. When he and Moe are stuck in the booth: legendary. So was Shemp’s one scene w/ Christine McIntyre. Due to a misunderstanding, her character lays a walloping on him. IRL, after a few takes went awry, he told her to “lay it in.” She did, to the point that she broke his nose! Rather than anger due to the mishap, he was glad that the take went well-and it looked great.

Sitka appeared as the justice of the peace, and when he attempts to marry Shemp, his old flames discover he’ll be filthy rich so they rush the room. While an old stereotype, the fracas involving the women, the Stooges, and Sitka was a classic comedic scene. As Brideless Groom was amazing from beginning to end & there is acres of notable dialogue, this is one of the best shorts the Stooges ever made, and by sometime in the summer I’ll discover if Shemp was ever in one better.

Sing a Song of Six Pants

(Short # 102 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

Another Stooge public domain short-and another memorable early Shemp effort. Having only recently taken his place in the trio, his distinct mannerisms, noises, puns, and wacky faces already created an exciting dynamic that have made me love the Shemp run so far. Of course those good times don’t last until he passes away in 1955 but it’s more than a month until that starts to become a concern.

The blue-collar jobs they have this time: tailors. They run & operate Pip Boys; yes, Pep Boys was a thing even in the 40’s. They are in debt to Skin & Flint; Shemp has the idea-after listening to the radio-that they capture safe robber Terry Hargen for the reward. Naturally, Moe thinks it impossible that he’d literally walk into their shop—but he does. They and Terry were “victims of soicemstances,” Terry loses his clothes (long story), and the trio discovered a combination to a safe.

Six Pants (yes, the name is a spoof of the English nursery rhyme Sing a Song of Sixpence) is great. The pace is fast, acres of funny dialogue are uttered, there are funny pratfalls, some sight gags are delightful, the accoutrements you’d expect in a tailor’s shop are used to riotous effect-Shemp’s struggles w/ an ironing board and a rolled-up pair of pants is classic-they fight the villain & his henchmen in the climax, and even the final stinger gag was… tailor-made to punctuate what may have been one of Shemp’s best.

As Larry made something as silly as “mistaking a sunspot for a spot in someone’s pants” classic, this is another example of why I am glad this is an easy short to track down for those that want to see the Shemp era & like in Brideless Groom, is a grand showcase for Moe & Larry along w/ Shemp.

Pickup on South Street

Pickup on South Street (1953)

Runtime: 80 minutes

Directed by: Samuel Fuller

Starring: Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter, Murvyn Vye, Richard Kiley

From: 20^th Century Fox

There hardly has been any film noir viewed by me in recent months; selecting a famous effort from Samuel Fuller starring Richard Widmark seemed like a swell idea… and it was. 

Widmark was our lead; you may not want to refer to him as a “hero”-after all, in the opening scene we discover he is a pickpocket. What misfortune for him then that the purse he pilfers contains microfilm containing government secrets that (gasp) a Communist spy ring is also after. A number of people are now after Skip McCoy: the alluring Jean Peters-the one who was robbed-the cops, a government agent, and the ex of Peters, who was the one that convinced her to courier that envelope.

It was a very good noir that mixes in spy espionage elements, featuring a nice cast, solid direction, memorable characters, the seedier areas of New York City presented well, along w/ a quality score from Leigh Harline. My favorite character was the stoolie portrayed by Thelma Ritter; she was as hysterical yet serious at the same time, comparable to her character in Rear Window. She was part of the film’s best scene.

As this had the standard noir hallmarks (light + shadow, the locations, the close-ups, the hardboiled dialogue), Pickup on South Street is one of the many efforts that should be viewed by genre fans.

Demon Pond

Demon Pond (Yasha-Ga-Ike) (1979)

Runtime: 124 minutes

Directed by: Masahiro Shinoda (RIP)

Starring: Tamasaburo Bano, Go Kato, Tsutomi Yamazaki, Hisashi Igawa, Fujio Tokita

From: Shochiku

A belated RIP to director Masahiro Shinoda. A few years ago, I saw his 1964 Pale Flower, a very good Yakuza film which played on Turner Classic Movies. I did not do a subsequent deeper dive into his filmography. Late March of this year, Shinoda passed away at the age of 94. The presumption is that he is a director who deserves more attention on the world stage. This film in particular has a backstory that will be elaborated upon at the end.

Demon Pond was a rather intriguing tale. In 1913, a teacher is on vacation and wants to visit the titular pond, a place w/ supernatural lore of a dragon residing at the bottom. It is located at a remote village currently suffering from a drought. There’s an old friend & a lady (Yuri) who acts peculiar. That seems normal enough… then the pond spirits appear. Yes, guys who are dressed like crabs, a carp, a catfish, etc. Tamasaburo Bano appears as both Yuri and “The Dragon Princess” at the bottom of the lake, the latter in kabuki makeup. Note that IRL, Bano is a male actor.

Yes, Demon Pond was also weird at times, although in comparison to something like Hausu or really WTF material like Funky Forest that only clips have been viewed of—normal in comparison. Pond is still a methodically-paced dream-like experience; don’t rush the trip and you might become enveloped in this kooky world also, filled w/ stunning sets. A big asset there was what I called during the film “trippy 70’s music.” More on once I thought, “hmmm, this sounds like Isao Tomita,” the Japanese electronic music pioneer. Afterwards, I saw on Wiki that the composer was… Isao Tomita. No wonder it was a rippin' score.

The presumption is that the movie won’t be for all tastes. Me, the finale made the journey well worthwhile. After the movie released to cinemas, it was only played once on television. The efforts of Shinoda and Bano several years ago were required to restore the movie for television & physical media. Just half a year ago, Criterion released Demon Pond on disc. In the future, I’d like to do a deeper dive into the filmography of the late Masahiro Shinoda.

Hell Up in Harlem

Hell Up in Harlem (1973)

Runtime: 94 minutes

Directed by: Larry Cohen

Starring: Fred Williamson, Julius Harris, Gloria Hendry, Margaret Avery, D’Urville Martin

From: AIP

A review done via request. Regrettably, I don’t have a definitive list of what’s been asked to me to review here on Letterboxd and elsewhere. However, from now on that’ll change and soon I’ll get to the few pictures I've been called to check out. It was elsewhere that someone wanted me to view Black Caesar’s sequel Hell Up in Harlem after I gave a positive review to Caesar less than 3 months ago. Instead of waiting ages to fulfill that request-like I typically do-might as well fulfill it now, while I still recalled the original picture rather well.

Larry Cohen’s Black Caesar was a pretty good blaxploitation version of a 30’s gangster movie where Fred Williamson rises in power to become an underworld success-although he wasn’t someone you should root for, nevermind the sexual assault against his lady Gloria Hendry. The film was a bigger success than expected-so much so that this sequel was rushed into production for the purpose of having the actors return without wanting more money, so Cohen more or less made up the story as they went along-no kidding.

This does retcon the first’s conclusion and at times does seem like they were making it up as they went along. Be that as it may, Harlem was still a good time. Besides The Hammer & Hendry, it was nice to see returning faces Julius Harris & D’Urville Martin reprising their roles. There was still some inspired filmmaking from Cohen along w/ a groovy score from Fonce Mizell & Freddie Perren, featuring awesome songs from Edwin Starr.

The person who recommended Harlem to me noted that there was a sequence “straight out of James Bond.” I discovered this was a raid on a compound “on an island in the Florida Keys” where Hammer and his confederates killed many SOB’s. Blaxploitation pictures sometimes had these big sequences-I was reminded of a similar raid in the final act of Black Belt Jones-but the one in Hell concluded the opening act.

As there are some crackin’ action scenes and many people who are gunned down throughout, this is an asset in making a rushed cash-in watchable instead of a disaster.

I Revisited God Bless America

This is a 2011 movie I've discussed long ago. While not as over the moon for it as I was...
 

Another review I am doing over; this time a revisit made me give this a more realistic rating. An explanation is listed: way back when I first heard the plot announced, it sounded like a movie made exactly for me: something which ranted and raved about the many problems with society, chiefly rude A-holes. I’m with you, Bobcat Goldthwait. Yeah, it was funny to me at the time that the dude who played those bizarre characters in Hot to Trot and the Police Academy films made such a movie-this was before viewing World’s Greatest Dad… which was before I signed up for Letterboxd so one day I need to review that here.

Once viewing this at Orlando’s arthouse joint, it was something I was over the moon for-this was seemingly a movie written by me! Lead Joel Murray is mad at the world due to such factors as work, the rudeness of others, and the total rot that is found in pop culture because of television (“reality” or right-wing) the Internet, shock jocks, morning radio DJ’s, etc. He receives a terminal diagnosis from his doctor and eventually meets the psychotic teenager played by Tara Lynne Barr. They both decide to… kill people! Many rude people are gunned down, including Troglodytes who act horribly at the cinema.

Truth be told, I was reminded of the movie when a few days ago at a Taco Bell there was an ogre w/ her kids who had her phone on at full volume in a crowded restaurant. I really wanted to say something but that confrontation could have turned awry so discretion was probably the right move—but I tell that to illustrate how God Bless America seems almost quaint by 2025 standards. Many are upset over some awful things happening in the United States-griping about TMZ-style programs seems unnecessary in comparison.

American society has backslid by quite a bit in the past decade or so; people are just rude and inconsiderate now. Politics is a big reason why (even at the time, I wish that Bobcat would have mentioned how crooked ALL of cable news is and how it’s all entertainment, not just Fox News) and so is all the events of 2020. I don’t gripe about life in general elsewhere like I used to but what’s wrong with the United States now is far worse than it was back when I loathed (and still do) “reality” TV, the Kardashians, Miley Cyrus, TMZ, etc.

On that cheery note… I get why many don’t care for the film. There is “text” instead of “subtext,” characters frequently yell or are otherwise angry, the dialogue is full of soliloquies, the idea of murdering people (no matter how awful) is too uncomfortable for them, a gag involving a screaming baby in the opening is too dark for their tastes, etc. There are legit criticisms to be made; that noted, I still enjoy the film. Not to sound misanthropic but I still agree with most of the points Bobcat made at the time. While some may perceive the ultimate mission statement of “being kind to one another” as naïve, it’s a message that especially resonates today.

A picture this caustic will never be too all tastes; I was happy to finally give God Bless America a better, more accurate review/rating. Joel Murray delivering a quality performance probably wasn’t too surprising; only because of experience or a lack thereof, Tara Lynne Barr was a revelation as teen girl Roxy. I couldn’t tell you why Goldthwait hasn’t done much in the fictional movie landscape after the found-footage Willow Creek (he directs standup specials instead) but I wish he would have made more bold movies like this or World’s Greatest Dad.

Hold That Lion!

(Short # 100 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

Curly has a cameo; this is why Lion holds a special place in the heart of many Stooge fans. The trio are looking for the villain on a train; thinking he may be in disguise, they find a sleeping passenger, face obscured by a hat. Removing the hat, it’s Curly, w/ HAIR, a clothespin on his nose. Removing the clothespin, he made Curly noises then barked like a dog. Frightened, the trio moved on.

That cameo was only done because Curly happened to be on set that day. As nice as it was to see all four together-even if for only 20 seconds-the rest of the short is also well worth seeing. The boys are to inherit the estate of “millionaire junk dealer” Ambrose Rose, who is their uncle. However, investment broker Icabod Slipp has control of the funds and is eluding attempts to give him a subpoena. 

Moe, Larry and Shemp could do a successful routine off of attempting to close a filing cabinet, and something so simple was so riotous. Kenneth MacDonald did a swell job as the villainous Slipp; one scene had him beat up all three Stooges individually. On the train, a lion becomes involved; obviously, a pane of glass separates the lion from the boys during one scene. This was done due to Shemp having apprehension over being in a small space next to a wild animal. Even if it was sickly (as she allegedly was) I imagine most still would balk over sitting right next to a LION, no matter how trained it was.

In addition, there are small roles for Emil Sitka and Black actor Dudley Dickerson, as the train’s porter who has a tremendous scene w/ the lioness. It will be awhile but eventually I’ll post a review for a short that Curly filmed a scene for-that scene was cut. Thus, this won’t be the last that I’ll mention him.

Condorman

Condorman (1981)

Runtime: The version I saw was 87 minutes

Directed by: Charles Jarrott

Starring: Michael Crawford, Oliver Reed, Barbara Carrera, James Hampton, Jean-Pierre Kalfoun

From: Disney

One of those films I had an odd relationship with. In several previous reviews, I’ve mentioned films that were watched on a particular local station in the evening, only they were partially viewed before going to bed. This was everything from D.C. Cab (!) (I don’t know either how they created a TV edit of such a vulgar movie!) and The Cat from Outer Space to Halloween III: Season of the Witch (!) (Mom wasn’t happy I was viewing a horror movie) and Condorman. All the others had been viewed as an adult yet it was just last night that this was finally tackled.

The movie’s print never advancing to the world of HD was a reason why. However, recently I discovered someone who uploaded an upscale of the old DVD-but you didn’t hear that from me. As for the movie—flawed and silly yet inoffensive. Michael Crawford is a comic book illustrator (and also a dork, to be honest) whose CIA buddy got him involved in a courier mission but things go awry and he bumbled his way into success so he was asked to help Soviet agent Barbara Carrera-lucky man-to defect. Several European locations are shown, including Monte Carlo, Paris & Switzerland.

This is both a comedic take on the spy and the superhero genres. The humor is hit or miss-the same goes for the effects-and at least one major logical fallacy. Yet, there are some assets that help. Oliver Reed is the villain; that would have been my first time seeing him. The action scenes are all fun; this includes auto stunts from the legendary Remy Julienne. There are some sweet vehicles on display, from black Porsche 911’s and 911 Turbos to the gnarly Nova Sterling kit car. As typical, Henry Mancini provided a catchy score.

After more than 35 years, it was nice to finally watch this movie in full when my childhood memories were rather faint. As others have noted, Disney during the 70’s and till the middle of the 80’s made some odd live-action movies… this, Return to Oz, The Watcher in the Woods, plenty of obscurities featuring famous faces, TRON, etc. To state the obvious, it’d be nice if Disney was this adventurous now when it comes to cinema.

Out West

(Short # 99 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

Moe Howard passed away on May 4, 1975, a few months after Larry. The 50th anniversary of their deaths are worth mentioning here; they along with Shemp were rather amusing in this Wild West short.

The trio go out West as a cure for a bad vein Shemp has in his leg. Due to misunderstandings, a villain named Doc Barker believes the boys are referring to them possessing knowledge of a gold-bearing vein; the Stooges are none the wiser to his confusion. Meanwhile, Christine McIntyre asks them to free her love The Arizona Kid from confinement; of course, Barker has him in captivity.

The Arizona Kid was portrayed by Jacques O'Mahoney, known on screen as Jock Mahoney. He looks, talks, and acts like a 40's cowboy, making him swell for the role. He acted for years and even played Tarzan in the 60's. He was even Sally Field's stepfather when she was a kid. About that... in her memoir, she accuse him of behavior I won't specify, except that it will be triggering to some. Yeah, I won't be praising Mahoney from her on out in the other Stooge efforts he appeared in.

Returning to levity and merriment, this was a pretty good time between the puns, slapstick, witty banter, and routines, whether new or modified from the past. Wild West chestnuts like “a card game” and “attempting to break out of jail” are present. The fourth wall is even broken on one occasion. The next few Shemp shorts are even better.

Congo

Congo (1995)

Runtime: 109 entertaining minutes

Directed by: Frank Marshall

Starring: Laura Linney, Ernie Hudson, Dylan Walsh, Tim Curry, Grant Heslov

From: Paramount

Amy the Gorilla could totally beat 100 people in a fight. The heel gorillas, undoubtedly so.

While a few days from peak relevancy, I have known the Twitter post turned meme where some random jackalope asked if 100 N-words could beat one gorilla in a fight. Out of nowhere, people went ape for the post-causing it to go viral, with many responses on the platform-then breaking containment and being discussed on other sites-and even legacy media. Despite being a child of the 80’s and 90’s, last night was a first-time-viewing of Congo.

It is through cultural osmosis that I’ve known Congo as a bizarre motion picture-that was not overstated. Of course, the Michael Crichton novel hasn’t been read by me either; now, I just presumed that the success of Jurassic Park allowed for such a nutty plot to be made into a big-budget film-50 million quid was a lot three decades ago. However, Wiki tells me that Crichton wanted to make this for years with no luck-Frank Marshall eventually did the film with hardly any involvement from Crichton.

I have no idea how Michael concocted a plot involving using blue diamonds for “communications lasers,” a martini-drinking gorilla named Amy that communicates via sign language that “computers” translate to speech, volcanoes, an expedition in the Congo, a “lost city,” and the unfortunate real-life issue of political turmoil in that region of the world… nor why Tim Curry spoke with an exaggerated Romanian accent, although perhaps it was because he knew it was impossible to take the movie seriously so why not add camp value? No word on if the sesame cake was in the novel…

As flawed and cracked as the plot & execution is, a big-budget summer release flavored like a B-movie adventure featuring Laura Linney, Ernie Hudson, Joe Don Baker, Grant Heslov, Curry, Bruce Campbell, Peter Jason, a famous singer in a cameo role as a pilot, and two famous faces in uncredited roles so they won’t be named (but one of them has a prominent role in a current popular picture)… well, that’s appreciated by me. So is at least part of the production going to Africa to film & the correct portrayal of hippos as vicious MF’ers instead of cute cuddly creatures.

Furthermore, the typical quality Jerry Goldsmith score and all the practical effects on display were charming to me in 2025; shoutout to the Stan Winston Studios for bring the primates to life. As a teen in the 90’s, my opinion might not be as positive; as a middle-aged man who is apathetic towards modern blockbusters, I can be both bemused and amused by a gorilla that smokes a cigarillo in one scene.

I Revisited Pray for Death

It's a wacky 1980 movie starring Sho Kosuki: 

An 80’s Ninja movie I was happy to revisit. The only previous viewing was in early 2013, shortly before joining Letterboxd and thus I never reviewed it here. It’s a cheesy 80’s genre effort that was still B-movie fun. Note that then and now it was the R-rated version. An unrated cut is out there and while the one I skimmed through on YouTube is in rough SD quality, I did notice that there’s a sexual assault which I’m not too sad wasn’t in the R-rated cut.

Sho Kosuki-a martial artist who flashed his skills a handful of times in 1980’s cinema-his wife-who had an American dad-and two young sons move from Tokyo to Houston, Texas for the opportunity at a better life. They run afoul of a villain named LIMEHOUSE WILLIE (that is his name, I swear. Didn’t a Limehouse Willie perform at the juke joint in Sinners?) but at least Kosuki’s Akira Saito is a Ninja master so Ol’ Limehouse is in plenty of trouble. It’s this decade so drugs are a key plot point, along with a fancy necklace and crooked cops.

It's a negative view of The American Dream. They buy a building to turn into a restaurant but it is in a bad part of Houston “full of seedy characters,” to steal a line from the movie. There’s also some sleaze that’s emblematic of the decade—an adult bloodies one of the sons, something worse happens to two family members, racial slurs are heard… trashy entertainment, this was. Yet, while of course the martial arts and the action don’t compare to what was seen at the time in the Pacific Rim Asian region, those beats still were thrilling and should be at least liked by a slew of action fans.

Other details amused me-the 80’s-riffic score, a few cheesy period ballads, the sons being portrayed by Sho’s sons Kane & Shane, the former becoming an actor himself, the bloody moments, the Shaw Brothers-esque opening credits sequence. While not an essential, Pray for Death still satisfied me.

Curly's Last Two Shorts

(Short # 96 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

(Three Little Pirates)

You can’t go wrong with Moe.

Some Stooge fans really like Pirates. I can’t go that far, although at least there were laughs and it was nice to see both Vernon Dent and Christine McIntyre. For this being the next-to-last Curly short released, at least Pirates was fine.

The boys work on a New York City garbage scowl; somehow, Palpatine retur… er, I mean somehow, their boat ends up in a fictitious country where people dress like 200 years in the past. Whether they went through a time warp or the country is way behind the times is never addressed nor is it really the point. There are some amusing juxtapositions and the main setpiece is Curly impersonating a Maharajah. I read somewhere that they did a similar routine in a 1941 Columbia wartime musical variety picture called Time Out for Rhythm. I haven’t viewed that but both the full movie and isolated clips of the Stooges are on YouTube.

IMO, that segment does feel quite lengthy and they do stretch out a stereotype that some may object to. Be that as it may, there are still some moments reminiscent of the “good old days” and various laughs along the way; it was nice to see this particular combination one last time both the “stuck in a confined space so they end up accidentally hitting each other” bit and “they fight a large throng of goons & dispatch them.”

This would be the best of a weak 1946.

(Short # 97 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

(Half-Wits Holiday)

Curly’s last short—aside from a cameo in an early Shemp effort. His health had deteriorated for awhile and while filming Holiday, he suffered a stroke during a break. Only Moe, Larry and director Jules White knew why he didn’t appear during the climatic pie fight climax. Many people like Shemp (me included) but at least as a kid, the Curly shorts were seen more often on TV, VHS, etc. He is also the favorite of millions due to his childlike demeanor, facial expressions, sounds, malapropisms, and puns.

Holiday was a remake of 1935’s Hoi Polloi, a great early effort involving the trio. This was not that. Some moments felt lethargic; a Curly of the past could have added some facial expressions or done other things to liven up those moments. Like Polloi, this is a riff on Pygmalion where a pair of professors argue over if hereditary or environmental factors determine someone’s disposition.

There still are laughs present so this was far from the worst during the Curly run. Despite being days then hours away from a stroke, he didn’t seem that bad on screen, although he apparently was obviously not well during filming. The pie fight was used as stock footage in the future. Another distinction is that this was the debut of Emil Sitka in this universe. He was a familiar face in the Shemp era. Film nerds in general will know him for “Hold hands, you lovebirds!” because that moment was shown in Pulp Fiction; I’ll elaborate on that when I review Brideless Groom soon.

Shemp replacing Curly was originally planned as a temporary move; his health never improved and in fact declined until the man born Jerome Horwitz passed away in early 1952. It is upsetting that he passed away at the age of 48 and he was never given sufficient time off from Columbia after his health struggles began & he had his first stroke. I could also get mad over the studio never paying the Stooges what they were worth.

Instead, I’ll be happy that in 2025, this revisit of Curly Howard happened—the growth and maturation of him as an all-timer comedic performer has been a delight, especially with all the chaos and upsetting moments that have happened in the United States. In the future I likely will review one of the Moe-Larry-Curly appearances as guest stars in a Columbia movie so my take on Half-Wits Holiday won’t be the last time I talk about him. However, I’ll wish him a goodbye now.

Contagion

Contagion (2011)

Runtime: 106 minutes

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh

Starring: A great cast

From: Warner Bros.

I recently proclaimed that more Steven Soderbergh should be viewed by me; I was out for part of Wednesday w/ family but this was viewed Tuesday night, a little more than 24 hours before it left Prime’s free tier—people likely would call me a fool for missing out.

Understandably, this film about a pandemic that started from a virus originated from China, the fears of it being a biological weapon, the disease spreading worldwide and creating a vaccine to combat it—the movie has become more popular in the past five years. I didn’t view it in 2020 as that’s when Mom became ill then passed away—no, not due to any virus but I was happy to view the movie now rather than during a bad time in my life.

The film has an all-star cast and several different plot threads as this MEV-1 virus (it’s different from COVID-19, although its origins…) is tracked from it landing in America to its spread and attempted cure. Scientists (from the CDC and the World Health Organization) aren’t the only ones followed. Jude Law is the paranoid conspiracy theorist who at least to some is an audience surrogate-Lord, it was a sad realization that this character predicted the rise of the antivax/science-denying A-hole that is far too common IRL-and then there’s the whole ordeal that Matt Damon’s character went through.

Some of the predictions about what would happen in a pandemic didn’t exactly come true, but an uncomfortable amount of the predictions were. This includes the rampant baseless speculation, the idea of alternative treatments, and yeah, the disease bringing out the worst in humanity. I could write paragraphs about how it changed America and Americans for the worse but I’d probably be opening a cam of worms I don’t want opened so best move on…

What a cast this has: Law, Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jennifer Ehle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Elliott Gould, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Bryan Cranston, Chin Han, etc. Not all have large parts and you shouldn’t expect all to survive by the end; the movie has some deliberate unglamorous moments & Contagion is better for it. The propulsive score from Cliff Martinez was excellent and while not always conventional, matched the visuals. So did the editing.

As stated earlier in the year, I’ve been missing out on Steven Soderbergh--Contagion was an enthralling medical thriller.

 

A Quartet of Stooge Shorts

Monkey Businessmen: 

(Short # 92 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

Curly was in such a bad way here, his brother Moe had to coach him line-by-line. It’s heartbreaking that he wasn’t allowed proper time to recuperate from his various health maladies; in these last shorts he sounded aged and looked old. He tried his best but it wasn’t quite like the good old days. Alas… he was up and down; this was apparently him at his worst.

The blue-collar jobs they had this time was “electricians” and while old routines were modified, they were still funny here. After getting fired, they decide to attend “Mallard’s Rest Home” for relaxation. Turns out, Mallard’s a quack doctor (yes, they made that joke) so once they discover he rips off his patients, they attempt to escape. 

While they could have mined more from the rest home’s activities, this was still reasonably amusing. There are two male nurses (including one portrayed by longtime foil Cy Schindell) and a female nurse w/ the name SHAPELY. Yes, that’s more a name I’d expect in a Carry On movie. The last half they are on the run, attempt disguises, etc. For me, the highlight was the debut of Kenneth MacDonald in this world. Except for one occasion, he always portrayed villains in Stooge shorts, and always did a swell job. From hearsay, I know he often appeared as a judge on the old Perry Mason TV show from the 50’s and 60’s. 

As you typically couldn’t tell how bad Curly was in IRL, Monkey was fine.

Three Loan Wolves: 

(Short # 93 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

What a peculiar late-era Curly short-there’s only a few more after this-Three Loan Wolves was. The blue-collar job the Stooges had this time: pawn shop proprietors. They and the shop are in debt to a loan shark syndicate, which is peculiar enough. They then literally have a baby dropped on the doorstep of the shop by the baby’s aunt. Yes, the boy was kidnapped! And, this is framed as a flashback in a story they are now telling the baby turned young bad actor... er, I mean young boy. Now he knows why he has three dads.

As others have noted, poor mom had no idea what happened to her tyke for all those years. Well, that makes me feel uncomfortable… although not as much as a YIKES visual gag. The boys had trouble stopping the baby from crying. Curly’s solution: giving a GUN to the baby to use as a pacifier. Despite Curly’s protests, the gun was shown seconds later to be loaded. Not everyone has seen the “humor” in this joke much darker than usual from the Stooges. I was more disturbed than amused myself.

Curly sounded especially not well in Wolves. No wonder he did less than usual and at least during the Curly era, Larry had the rare opportunity to be in the spotlight. He did swell yet despite some chuckles the overarching plot is weak and Loan is mostly forgettable. The most interesting detail to me: Harold Brauer made his debut in the Stooge universe. He and Emil Sitka were the only ones that worked with Curly, Shemp, Joe Besser, and Curly Joe, at least on film. Now you know…

G.I. Wanna Home: 

(Short # 94 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

Many people believe the title is “G.I. Wanna Go Home”; think of it as an example of The Mandela Effect in the Stooge universe. The trio are discharged from the military at the end of World War II but discover that their fiancés were thrown out of their house. They are unable to find suitable lodging so the Stooges decide to create their own lodging outdoors in an open fenced-in area.

Gags old and new are present. The modified jokes based on moments from the past (such as a random parrot walking into a cooked turkey) were typically OK, although not like their original iterations. Curly preparing food and removing skin from potatoes by shaving it—I’m sure he tried his best given his condition but it was still a far cry from when he literally shaved ice in 1941’s An Ache in Every Stake.

That said, this was still amusing enough (especially by 1946 standards) for me to think of it as fine. Moe and Larry had some funny moments with each other.

Rhythm and Weep: 

(Short # 95 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

Not the most popular of the Curly era, although it wasn’t my least-favorite. Yeah, this was the next to last short he did (Columbia did not always release them chronologically) and by this point, Curly didn’t even have that many lines; his physical condition was arguably worse than his state of performance. Think of this short as a worse version of 1944’s Gents Without Cents: the trio are struggling theater performers who find fortune after meeting a trio of ladies, then perform on stage where we see the women dance and the men do a comedy routine.

Note that the sextet met each other on the roof of a building… as both trios wanted to commit suicide! While not as morbid as the description sounds, I have seen criticism over that plot point-understandable. From there they meet a pianist and the gang decide to collaborate on a new show. There’s no “NIAGARA FALLS!” moments and aside from a few chuckles along with impressive dancing from the ladies-credit will go to Gloria Patrice, Nita Bieber and Ruth Godfrey for their moves, especially when done in high heels-Rhythm is tremendously average.

Trivia such as “the rooftop scene was apparently filmed at low-budget Monogram Studios” and “the girls filmed a deleted scene where they dressed as the Stooges” are more interesting than the short itself. I’m glad that the Shemp era is only a few shorts away; seeing Curly in such ill health is heartbreaking.

Winnetou III: The Last Shot

Winnetou III: The Last Shot (1965)

Runtime: 93 minutes

Directed by: Harald Reinl

Starring: Lex Barker, Pierre Brice, Rik Battaglia, Ralf Wolter, Carl Lange

From: A few different European companies in various European countries

I am happy to return to the world of the West German Western, OLD SHATTERHAND the white hero, and the noble Native American Winnetou. In the past few years, I’ve viewed several previous installments in the series: 

Treasure of Silver Lake
Apache Gold
Last of the Renegades

To copy and paste what I’ve wrote in the past about the series: 

“Another topic is how because I've reviewed a staggering variety of different movies, all sorts of people follow me that see all sorts of motion pictures no matter how niche their favorite genres be. Consequently, I always feel obliged to keep up the rather eclectic mix of pictures.

One mutual in particular has an interest in old West German genre flicks, including the Westerns they made. Yes, West Germans made more than a few cowboys & Indian films and they were shot in locations like what is now known as Croatia. As they did w/ their krimi movies that were based on old stories from the likes of Edgar Wallace, the Westerns were typically based on the works of 19th century German author Karl May... someone who had never been in America at all-let alone the Wild West-but managed to fake it well enough to fool people. He wrote a number of novels featuring a white cowboy nicknamed Old Shatterhand-which to me sounds like the name of a Jaeger in Pacific Rim!-who teamed up with an Apache chief named Winnetou.”

I’ve had a swell time viewing those previous pictures; whatever you want to call this installment (it has several different names), it was the best, IMO. The plot wasn’t too revolutionary: once again, white people are attempting to stir up Native Americans and cause problems for the sake of profit. However, this time the stakes just felt more fatalistic than before. Specific reasons won’t be given, except that the heroes are chased often & a rival tribe’s been manipulated by bad white people via the usage of both whiskey and guns.

Like in the other movies, Croatia managed to be a reasonable facsimile of the Wild West, except with more lakes, waterfalls, and greenery. That scenery always looks resplendent. They are all fine adventures along with enjoyable Westerns. Personally, I was happy that the supporting character Sam Hawkens returned. He was in two of the other movies as a wacky guy who wore a bad wig as he was scalped. I was also happy that he had more to do here. Furthermore, the scores from Martin Bottcher are always epic; this may have been his best.

Thankfully these can all be streamed on Amazon, more often than not on Prime. If you're so inclined, those movies are all a swell time.

13 Ghosts (The Original)

13 Ghosts (1960)

Runtime: I saw the version 82 minutes long

Directed by: William Castle

Starring: Charles Herbert, Jo Morrow, Martin Milner, Rosemary DeCamp, Margaret Hamilton

From: Columbia

This William Castle movie will leave Shudder at the end of the month; I’ve enjoyed the few movies I’ve seen from him so might as well go with one of his most famous.

An average family down on their luck inherit a creepy old mansion from a PLATO ZORBA, who I say was eccentric. He collected 12 ghosts that resided in the house; the gimmick: wondering who the 13th ghost is… will it be someone in the audience? I’ll explain the movie’s gimmick in a moment; note that the housekeeper was portrayed by—Margaret Hamilton. There’s a Rick Dalton point at the screen moment as she carries around a broom.

It's not Castle’s best yet was still a fun haunted house picture. Business picks up once an Ouija board appears. In modern times, we all know that as “uh oh” in the film world but that was probably shocking at the time. In theatrical showings, Castle’s wacky gimmick was that the audience was given two lenses to look out of; at specific times, they look in one to see the spectral images or the other to not see them. The movie is black and white but theatrically, the ghost moments are in blue, with red ghosts. On disc or streaming, the viewer simply sees their appearances & everything is black and white. In addition, the William Castle intro is not present.

The lack of viewing in ideal format aside, 13 Ghosts is still good, although more designed as a product featuring minor scares; the young son BUCK (he has a teen sister named MEDEA. For different reasons those are funny names in 2025) becomes involved in the B subplot, which is “a lot of cash is hidden somewhere in the mansion.” As others have noted, it feels more family-friendly than something like House on Haunted Hills, which is full of macabre delights. With the right frame of mind, there’s a good chance you’ll have a good time w/ 13 Ghosts.

As for the remake—I always dismissed it but some positive reviews is a sign that one day far in the future, perhaps “play” should be pressed…

So, I Revisited Revenge of the Sith

Yes, I went to the theatrical revival and while it's still not a movie I love, at least it's not Disney Star Wars: 

I’m continuing my streak of “being a hater.” At least, that’s the presumption many will have. I was still happy to see this again on the big screen like I did 20 years ago as it was better than Episodes 1 & 2… one day in the future new reviews need to be done on The Last Jedi & The Rise of Skywalker. I was WAY too kind to those terrible, terrible movies. No, I’m not one of those right-wingers that whine about Disney Star Wars and use “the R word” constantly because they’re dicks yet soil their diapers when… viewing pronouns in social media bios?! I was a kid in the 80’s and 90’s so the original trilogy was seen a decent amount on VHS cassette, which my parents bought around ’90. I loved those movies, & still do.

The prequel trilogy let me down like it did many people due to the execution and the direction of Lucas. Sure, I can’t laugh at “the taxation of trade routes” plot of The Phantom Menace any longer after what occurred earlier in the year… but for all the story flaws and illogical moments and why I was supposed to care about General Grevious when I was like most in never having seen The Clone Wars at all, let alone at the time… Revenge at least has merits.

I was still enthralled by Emperor Palpatine manipulating poor sap Anakin in his rise to power; I can’t fault the cast for their performances, although Ian McDiarmid was the highlight of the entire prequel trilogy.

The second half was a proper tragedy, minor nitpicks aside. This screening made me realize how great of a job John Williams did with his bold, operatic score. The digital world at least looked pretty, even if I wish Lucas wouldn’t have been preoccupied w/ that and instead focused on the dialogue or the logic of the plot through the trilogy.

My first review for Sith was written in late 2015 right before The Force Awakens; I was a bit harsh at the time. I called Anakin a “whiny emo teenager with a moppy haircut,” which wasn’t fair. Neither was my griping about the visuals being “a CGI orgasm” when movies since have been far worse in that regard. “Nnnnnoooooooo!” is still stupid, I’ll always chortle at that.

I won’t fault anyone for loving Revenge of the Sith. Whether it’s due to nostalgia-those younger than me probably saw it in their childhood-or other reasons, the movie again was one I didn’t mind viewing one more time on the big screen. A decade ago, I never could have predicted how badly botched Disney Star Wars has been. Alas… at least there’s the original films and as flawed as the prequels are, at least they felt like Star Wars and did not try to “subvert expectations” or have the entire movie ruined due to constant “Marvel humor.” 

It's a blessing that Revenge of the Sith has done boffo business by re-release standards—I’m always down for an increase in re-releases. The unexpected smash success of Sinners has me (at least at the moment) feel easier about the future of movie theaters.

The Three Troubledoers

(Short # 91 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

A Western short that starts off fine then falls apart. The boys enter Dead Man’s Gulch and meet both the lovely Nell (Christine McIntyre) and the villain Badlands Blackie (Dick Curtis, who was a heel in several previous shorts). Nell’s father (Elmo Lincoln; yes, the first Tarzan during the silent days) is captured by Blackie; he wants to marry her. Some townspeople anoint Curly a sheriff after an incident.

That wasn’t bad and Curtis was the highlight, what with his double-takes & all. Regrettably, several moments fall flat or are lesser versions of previous gags; Curly had some highlights but at times he sounded like he wasn’t well. This is best-left forgotten, at least by me. Moe probably would like to forget this also; soot went into his eyes after a gag literally backfired. There are better Western Curly efforts… such as Horses Collars or Goofs & Saddles.

Havoc

Havoc (2025)

Runtime: 107 minutes

Directed by: Gareth Evans

Starring: Tom Hardy, Jessie Mei Li, Timothy Olyphant, Forest Whitaker, Luis Guzman

From: Netflix

Another unpopular review from me, at least in some people’s opinion. The reason I even subscribed to Netflix again: to see the new movie from Gareth Evans. No, not the guy that directed the 2014 Godzilla and The Creator. This is the guy that directed The Raid movies plus created the Gangs of London TV show. The first Raid was incredible, an amazing theatrical experience. I hated the story in the second Raid and the action was just too preposterous & too overblown. As his Safe Haven segment in V/H/S/2 had the main faults that Havoc did… the crushing realization that most of Gareth Evans does is a turn-off is a heartbreaking realization.

Tom Hardy is a dirty cop who is involved in a kerfuffle of a situation… actually, who cares about the plot? I didn’t really like it myself. I know what many will think was my problem with the movie—no, it wasn’t the excessive usage of F-bomb, although that did sour my mood right away. My main problem was HATING Hardy’s character and despising how unpleasant this universe was; if it wasn’t for the hope of some epic action, who knows if I would have even watched the movie in full! Another issue: the entire movie is full of green screen backdrops—with rare exceptions they looked uniformly terrible.

The opening action setpiece was exciting despite the computer graphics as the aesthetic wasn’t bad. While preposterous, at least that was fun. Unfortunately, besides the despicable lead character, the movie is just ugly-not just visually, but also in tone. It was a convoluted story full of dour, a literally dark world. When it took ages for the action to return, that only further soured my mood. The action we got was way over the top, which can be fun—it wasn’t here when I couldn’t wait to escape this world full of unlimited bullets and guns that never need reloading.

Many people will be satisfied with this movie; a shame that Havoc was such a massive letdown for me, aside from hearing the new Tom Hardy accent. Oh, and in Netflix’s infantile wisdom, the movie is set during Christmas yet was released in April. Not a surprise for a streaming service I may not subscribe to again for ages. Their CEO is bellowing about movie theaters being “an outdated concept” yet for years have created plenty of braindead “entertainment” even worse than the majority of wide release movies during the same time period, giving the middle finger to great filmmakers by refusing to finance them, etc. How about I give a middle finger to Netflix…