Pitfall

Pitfall (1948)

Runtime: 86 minutes

Directed by: Andre De Toth

Starring: Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott, Jane Wyatt, Raymond Burr, John Litel

From: Regal Films

This is the second noir I watched last night, and it turned out to be pretty good, not to mention having some similar themes to the film I reviewed a few hours ago. Read all about it below via my Letterboxd review:

Last night on TCM they had a theme where they showed several movies related to insurance investigators. It turns out that Double Indemnity wasn't the only noir dealing with that topic. This is definitely not related to the old Atari 2600 game, which I did play when I was really young; considering that there are plans for a trilogy of “dark thrillers” based on TETRIS, I feel like I should clarify such things and also mention that I am pretty certain there have been Hollywood types who have thought about a movie based on Pitfall!

As for this movie, Dick Powell is the insurance investigator and he gets involved in an embezzlement case and the gal of the embezzler is the sultry voiced Lizabeth Scott (as Mona Stevens) and as he leads what he feels is a boring middle class suburban life (despite having a wife and young kid) he ends up at first being happy with the excitement of “hanging out” with Mona... before things turn sour. Raymond Burr is an imposing private detective who has a thing for Mona too, and as he's the “stalker” type, it means that she has issues with several different men, and it's a thorny situation which of course turns out pretty badly.

The movie starts off and we see Powell living what looks to be an idyllic life in the suburbs, nice home and nice family. Things are bright and sunny, literally and figuratively. But what turned out to be a dream life for him ended up a nightmare as he got mixed up in that mess and the movie does show the dangers of suburban life, in that it can be really boring so people could be led astray. The thing is, Mona isn't really a femme fatale; rather, it's the men who can't keep it in their pants and are turned on by her good looks and husky voice. As things get darker, it's also a literal change and you get to see the typical noir cinematography as those dark themes are explored, and even Powell's kid having nightmares can be seen as a sign of trouble, even if it was “those darn comic books” that were a big root of it.

The film has an interesting story and it's nicely directed by De Toth; as the cast does a nice job overall, it all adds up to a pretty good noir.

Double Indemnity

Double Indemnity (1944)

Runtime: 107 minutes

Directed by: Billy Wilder

Starring: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Porter Hall, Jean Heather

From: Paramount

This is the first of the two film noir movies I watched last night via Turner Classic Movies. This is indeed a classic film, and not just a classic noir. I say a few words about it below via Letterboxd:

Last night TCM showed this movie so I figured it was about time to see not only a classic film noir, but a classic in general. It's definitely a noir, between the way it's shot/lit, great use of light/shadows, most of the story taking place via flashbacks, a deadly dame, hardboiled narration, and all the rest; it ticks many different boxes as it tells its tale of a man who sells insurance being seduced by an alluring wife and they conspire to kill her husband and make it look like an accident-and one not so common-so that she would get double the amount of money on his policy.

The movie indeed is pretty great. It's always compelling as you see poor sap Walter Neff get manipulated by Phyllis Dietrichson and both Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck are great in their roles. Neff seems like a nice-enough dude, even if he does some rotten things for Ms. Phyllis, a classic femme fatale. So is Edward G. Robinson as Barton Keyes, a claims adjuster who is quite wise and can easily spot scams. That is a problem for Walter and Phyllis and can they pull off the scam? Like I said it's always compelling-with various surprising twists and turns along the way-and is well-directed by a great director in Billy Wilder; the background is always well-done but understated. The setting is Los Angeles and they picked appropriate locations to film at.

Come to think of it I think it's Robinson who delivers the best performance; others have noted it but his soliloquy about methods of suicide and why he has his doubts about the death of Mr. Dietrichson, it was awesome. Then again there's acres of quality dialogue throughout. And yes I did laugh at the president of that insurance company being named Edward Norton. Anyway, I say that if someone doesn't know what a film noir was and you wanted to show them one that would explain what the genre was all about and how great it would be, I say it would be a great choice to pick this film.

The Return Of Swamp Thing

The Return of Swamp Thing (1989)

Runtime: 89 minutes

Directed by: Jim Wynorski

Starring: Louis Jourdan, Heather Locklear, Sarah Douglas, Ace Mask, Dick Durock

From: Lightyear Entertainment

I will be back Sunday night with a pair of film noir reviews. For now, I will talk about this movie, which I did see as a kid but this was my first time watching it as an adult. It's SO goofy but it's charming so it's something I can't hate and at least I think it's average. I explain it in my Letterboxd review below:

This is yet another film that I last saw at least 20 years ago; I remembered it being really goofy but the most dominant memory was the cool opening credits where as you hear CCR's Born on the Bayou we see various panels from the actual comic throughout the years. Seeing that again, those credits are still pretty cool. The movie as a whole... I can only rate it as average. Then again that's the same rating I gave the original Swamp Thing when I rewatched it a few months ago.

Here, Dr. Arcane has returned. Yes, after the events of the first movie. They half-ass try to explain it away. So it's just like something you'd see in a comic book!

Anyway, he has returned and he's looking for the right results to an experiment that will reverse the effects of aging. His stepdaughter Heather Locklear happens to step in the picture and she is just what he needs. Thankfully Swampie is there too to save the day.

The film is definitely tongue in cheek and light in tone, which was far from the first one. Some of the humor works, and sometimes it doesn't. This is something so goofy you can't get mad about it. After all, it's a film where Dr. Arcane has a security team wearing orange jumpsuits and the leader of the squad is a hairy dude who always has his suit almost completely unzipped, and where the number two was played by a former Penthouse Pet, one of the actors is named Ace Mask, and odious comic relief is from a pair of 12 year old boys. But at least the costumes look fine and it is an easy watch.

So yeah, this is definitely a PG-13 Jim Wynorski picture and it's exactly what you'd expect from such a thing.

Wings

Wings (1927)

Runtime: The restored version I saw was 144 minutes long

Directed by: William A. Wellman

Starring: Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Richard Arlen, Clara Bow, El Brendel, Jobyna Ralston

From: Paramount

A mutual on Letterboxd inspired me to finally watch this late last night. It's not great but I thought it was pretty good. I explain it all below: 

I had the time last night so I figured that I would act on my inspiration of seeing a mutual here review this not that long ago and while I don't plan on ever seeing any of the movies that won Best Picture at the Oscars, at least I should see the one that won it first, you know.

The plot isn't too complicated: two young men in a small town (Jack Powell and David Armstrong) become World War I pilots. They both love a girl named Sylvia but Mary loves Jack and she's the literal girl next door. We follow their escapades both on the ground and in the air, with plane battles that are still great even 9 decades later. There also happens to be some comedy (not all of which works) and some melodrama too. Not everything in this movie works but thankfully a lot of it still does, especially the aerial stuff.

What helps is that the performances are by and all fine. This helps when the story isn't so strong. The highlight was the effervescent Clara Bow as the lead girl; she lights up the screen whenever she appears. Those awful rumors about her-especially the one w/ the USC football team-are not only gross but they sadly ruined her career. That segment in Paris where Powell and Armstrong are both hammered and she has to get them to return to base is pretty silly and yet she did a swell job with what she had to do. Oh, and the homoerotic nature of Jack and David at times made me think that Top Gun wasn't the first American military flying movie with such things!

The movie isn't great but it's still pretty good as despite it being over 2 hours it was an easy watch to me as it was a compelling story, even with the cliches. It reminds me that I should watch some more movies about World War I, even if a few of them are quite pessimistic and have a strong anti-war message.

Sicario

Sicario (2015)

93% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 226 reviews)

Runtime: 121 minutes

Directed by: Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro, Victor Garber, Daniel Kaluuya

From: Lionsgate

I apologize for not posting yesterday but since my last post here, when I was able to watch anything it was the first three Friday the 13th movies; the first five I have reviewed here already so when I get to the sixth one I'll post them here and on Letterboxd.

Anyhow, I finally saw this movie last night. It'll be on my Top 10 list of 2015 but I don't love this like many do. I try to explain why in my Letterboxd review below:

Am I a bad member of this site for not having seen a Denis Villenueve movie until I watched this last night? Probably so, but I have to be honest here. I mean, I only finally watched this because Amazon Instant Streaming has been offering for a dollar a few days ago and I couldn't turn down such an offer. As for seeing the rest of his work... if it has the same tone and is unpleasant as this was... I won't be in a big rush to explore his filmography.

The basic plot is straightforward enough: FBI Agent Emily Blunt ends up being part of a task force w/ people affiliated with the Department of Defense (like Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro) and they go after those responsible for a bomb that killed some officers and had previously killed a few dozen people & left their corpses in their safehouse; that means a leader of the drug smugglers Sonora Cartel and meaning spending time in the drug-fueled area of Northern Mexico. A major part of the story is that Blunt and her partner Daniel Kaluuya are straight as an arrow and by the book while these new people are all YOLO and to get the job done they do anything necessary, even if it requires bending or outright breaking the law.

The movie is definitely well-made, from the direction to the acting & the expected expert cinematography from Roger Deakins, and a quality appropriate music score from Johann Johannsson. It's an always interesting movie and there are some incredibly tense scenes. It does show that the scene in Mexico is pretty rough (which is something I have always heard) and it can be argued that the government trying to fight a drug war and win it is incredibly difficult, especially if you have to resort to doing some horrible things to try and take them down.

Unfortunately, I don't know if I'll ever see this movie in full again; it's not an easy watch, or an entirely pleasant one either. I thought a lot of it had a real ugly tone, unrelentingly grim. Blunt's character is that of the outsider and it's appropriate as of course we're outsiders to this lawless world and how she reacts is likely how we would to some of the things she witnesses. That is all well and good, but at times I thought the character wasn't portrayed in the best light, to the point that I tended to side with the rulebreaking “good guys” rather than her and her traditional way of doing things. I don't know if that was the intent or not. Especially in the final act, I don't know if I want to see this movie again, and yet I still gave it 4 stars and it'll be somewhere on my Top 10 of 2015 list, which I'll likely post late next month.

I wish I did not feel that way about this and that I could love it like many do. I guess it's personal taste for these sorts of motion pictures that make it impossible to rate it any higher and for me to be all-in on it.

Dark Night Of The Scarecrow

Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981)

Runtime: 96 minutes

Directed by: Frank De Felitta

Starring: Charles Durning, Robert F. Lyons, Lane Smith, Tonya Crowe, Larry Drake

From: Wizan Productions

I probably won't be back for a few days; I won't go into details why, but just know that is the case. At least last night I got to see a cult classic. I explain it below: 

For the last review that I may do for a few days (I will be busy with other things) I figured I should see one of the many hundreds of movies in my virtual (and sometimes literal) queue and I selected this cult classic horror film that I imagine would be better known if it did not happen to be a made for TV movie that aired on CBS back in 1981. There's something I remember from my childhood in the 80's and 90's... made for TV movies that aired on the broadcast networks.

This is a Southern Gothic tale (because I am a nerd, I noticed that it was obviously filmed in Southern California, but we can pretend that it's some small rural town in the South) where a little girl has an adult male for a friend but to put it matter of factly, he was “mentally handicapped”. Some good old boys don't understand so they think the relationship is gross and when an accident happens to the little girl, they go wild and poor Bubba is dead. Suddenly, mysterious things start happening, and there is also a mysterious scarecrow...

To me, I was not bothered by the fact that because this was a made for TV film from the past there was little gore and no “naughty words”. I don't need such things to be entertained. Besides, the story was always interested and there was plenty of both mood and atmosphere. Time is spend building up the characters and we quickly discover that Charles Durning (as the lead guy of the good old boys, and to think that he was a mailman) is a real A-hole, especially when the chips are down and those things happen to him and his crew. Despite the limitations the deaths are still effective and some of them are pretty nasty.

The cast does a solid job and the same goes with the direction. The little girl is a fine child actor, the late Larry Drake thankfully isn't awkwardly over the top as Bubba, and it was nice to see familiar faces to me like Durning and Lane Smith. I tell you, what the movie immediately cut to after Smith's last scene, hilarious.

Like I said this probably would be better known if it was a theatrically made film; don't let that be a hangup for you to check this out. It can be found online either for free or a cheap rental. It is an effective spooky tale.

The Maltese Falcon

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Runtime: 100 minutes

Directed by: John Huston

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Gladys George

From: Warner Bros.

I had seen this classic film before, and when I saw it was on TCM last night I figured it was the right time for me to see this, and plus I never reviewed it here before. I say some words about it in my Letterboxd review copied and pasted below:

It was not on my agenda to see two classic Peter Lorre movies but that's what ended up happening. Last night I saw that Turner Classic Movies would be playing this and as my last viewing was a long while ago, it made sense for me to check it out and finally do a review of this classic here.

I am certain that everyone knows about this twisty-turny tale of private eye Sam Spade dealing with a bunch of mysterious characters (none of whom you can really trust) while they are looking for the title statue, so I will mention another obvious fact, which is that this is the first famous film noir and the one that set the template for many dozens of imitators in the twenty or so years of noir's heyday, especially the gruff and unsentimental Spade being the template for the archetypal “hardboiled detective” we saw in too many noir movies to count. But there are other tropes created here that got used often in the years to come.

The pursuit of the object proves to be a lot more important than the object itself. I couldn't write down and explain everything that happened in the plot but that wasn't the point; it is great seeing all these characters interact with each other, along with the aforementioned twists and turns the plot takes. Everyone does a nice job (such as Mary Astor, Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet) but it is Bogie who delivers the most memorable performance, playing the world-weary Spade and being awesome. To steal a thought from others, the way that Old Sam escalated his emasculation of Wilmer Cook (as played by Elisha Cook, Jr.) is hilarious. The original pulp story is something I should probably read, as I understand that was closely followed for this adaptation, unlike the previous two times (I'll watch the '31 and '36 versions in the future) and this is for sure a pulpy tale.

I could write an entire screed about this movie and why it's a must-see if you enjoy the genre but other people here and other sites such writings can be found, and they did it better than I could. Thankfully even 75 years later its classic reputation is still warranted.