Bug

Bug (1975)

Runtime: 100 minutes

Directed by: Jeannot Szwarc (RIP)

Starring: Bradford Dillman, Joanna Miles, Richard Gilliland, Alan Fudge, Jesse Vint

From: Paramount

A belated RIP to Jeannot Szwarc. The director passed away two months ago; as the death was announced right before the passing of David Lynch, the news perhaps did not reach as many people as it would have otherwise. I heard about it-the tipping of my cap was put off by myself for all those weeks.

Here’s a director who wasn’t a legend in the field yet spent decades directing episodes of TV shows and TV movies, up to just several years ago. Everything from Bones and Supernatural to Columbo, Kojak and The Practice. Getting to direct the only Jaws sequel that wasn’t bad deserves acknowledgement and while Supergirl was hysterically bad, the presumption will be made that the fiasco was more the fault of the producers the Salkind brothers rather than the director.

I am not a fan of cockroaches-which I unfortunately do see in Florida-yet this was the last production of William Castle before he died so I didn’t think these bugs would be too much for someone who went NOPE as a kid during a certain scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom… it was fine for me although if you have an extreme phobia, then you probably shouldn’t bother. Those that love cats may want to skip this also… as for the titular bugs, these are wacky bugs, anyhow. They light items on fire!

An earthquake-topical, as one of those just occurred in Malibu-releases those arthropods deep within the Earth. It caused some havoc in a small town then a young adult introduces them to his old professor Bradford Dillman. As he’s someone who tries to communicate with squirrels… he was fascinated. Then, there is much more havoc in this story based on the novel The Hephaestus Plague. Appropriate if you know Greek history; I get why a title hard to spell and say would be changed, but at least one Letterboxd mutual never gave this a chance for years since “Bug” is so generic.

I was reminded by such 70’s fare as The Andromeda Strain and Phase IV. It was nice to see a scientist type as the lead actor and also satisfying to see him examine those unknown bugs and determine the various differences from the known insects, along with determining that they had no eyes. Dillman became increasingly crazed, not to mention sweaty. Oh, and a few minutes are set in a familiar location: the set that The Brady Bunch filmed on! This wasn’t the only time it happened, but they filmed there because the show was just cancelled, a victim of low ratings. It wasn’t until syndication reruns that the show became popular. Heck, even I watched those as a little kid in the 80’s.

Discovering via the opening credits that there was an electronic score-I was excited. Not everyone liked the score from Charles Fox but it was my groove. He’s surprisingly awesome: everything from the theme to The Love Boat and the incredible Green Slime title song to Jim Croce’s I Got a Name and composed the music to Killing Me Softly with His Song… RIP Roberta Flack.

Also, not everyone will enjoy the disciplined pace-I usually don’t feel that 70’s measured pacing is an issue, as long as the plot interests me. I was riveted, from the turn the movie takes in the second half to the most implausible moments in the final act. Those that dig films like The Andromeda Strain, Phase IV & the faux bug documentary The Hellstrom Chronicle may enjoy this oddity. It took longer than expected but I was finally happy to see something new to me from Jeannot Szwarc. This is not Santa Claus: The Movie nor the cult favorite Somewhere Over Time but Bug perhaps deserves a cult following of its own.

Yep, Two More Stooges Shorts

Sock-a-Bye Baby: 

(Short # 66 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

Like with quicksand, babies being left on random doorsteps doesn’t happen as often as I was left to believe in the media I saw as a child! However, a woman does just that at the start of this Stooge short. Naturally they are oblivious as to care for a little boy (portrayed by a girl! As far as anyone knows, Joyce Gardner is still alive at the age of 83).

This includes changing the diaper and not knowing what a baby eats. They buy it limburger cheese and beer, among other items! No, little Jimmy is not given the beer to drink. Plenty of time is spent giving the tyke various items—from spaghetti to “a feathered apple,” i.e. an artichoke. Then, Larry reads “the scandal sheet” (a newspaper) and sees that Jimmy was reported kidnapped.

This wasn’t my favorite short from the trio; the general consensus would agree with me. That said, I still laughed at the typical Stooge antics so Baby was a good time. The final few minutes is a chase outdoors by the SoCal hills so at least the background scenery was scenic.

They Stooge to Conga: 

(Short # 67 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

When Lloyd Bridges appearing for 2 seconds isn’t the most noteworthy aspect… this was early in his career, years before he became famous. Rather, Conga (the name spoofs She Stoops to Conquer, a play purportedly still popular; theatre kids can confirm or deny) is (in)famous for being the most violent Stooge short, as I’ll soon explain.

Their blue-collar job this time is “handymen” tasked w/ fixing a doorbell. As the United States is solidly in World War II, the house holds “enemy spies” both German and Japanese engaging in “sabatoogie,” to quote Curly. The latter is one guy who clearly isn’t Japanese and has buck teeth… that is the one unfortunate aspect of Conga, although around two weeks from now I’ll have to discuss a short w/ a more offensive portrayal of those from Japan…

Otherwise, there’s the expected gags, puns, & the devastation done to the house due to the trio's bungling. Those spies picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue! Then, the violence hits; a radio gets thrown in Moe’s face, then Moe crashes it on Curly’s skull, then they throw a telephone at each other’s head, then Moe is pulled through a wall, then Curly’s nose is put on a grinder. This is more frequent and more intense then typical.

Then, Curly climbs a telephone pole-this is done with a climbing spike on his shoe. The spike ends up in his head, his ear… and his eye! No, even fans can’t explain why the mayhem was this visceral; an outlier, it was. Once the trio deal with those spies, it’s another opportunity for the Jewish Moe to spoof Hitler. In addition, Black actor Dudley Dickerson had a small but funny role as a chef.

The next few years will understandably have some shorts related to World War II; Conga probably is the best one. Rumors that TV stations in the past balked at playing TStC due to its content—I understand that was PROBABLY apocryphal.

The Amateur (The Original; Yes, Original)

The Amateur (1981)

Runtime: 112 minutes

Directed by: Charles Jarrott

Starring: John Savage, Christopher Plummer, Marthe Keller, Arthur Hill, Nicholas Campbell

From: 20^th Century Fox

The upcoming Rami Malek film is a remake. Until yesterday (when a Letterboxd mutual reviewed this) I had no idea that was the case; many of us probably didn’t know either. The trailer has been one that I haven’t been able to escape my last few trips to the cinema. Note that this is EXACTLY the sort of film that should receive a new, modern take rather than something that everyone knows and thinks it’s pointless to do again (but this time in an atrocious modern way) like RoboCop, Poltergeist, Straw Dogs, or hundreds of other examples.

For those not familiar w/ the trailer for the remake, The Amateur-based on a novel by Robert Littell-concerns a computer nerd at the CIA who has his significant other murdered by terrorists. He wishes to receive training and help to assassinate the killers. Judging that this had a swimming pool death of its own-although clearly different from the one in the trailer that is a glass pool between two buildings—the presumption is that the remake will update the original without changing that much.

Our lead Charles blackmails the CIA and this is how he receives training then is sent to Europe. Instead of Laurence Fishburne attempting to train him, John Savage (I’ll always know him for The Deer Hunter) is trained by… Ed Lauter! The cast at least has names I know, from Christopher Plummer, Marte Keller and John Marley to several That Guy actors (meaning, actors you recognize by appearance even if you don’t immediately know their names) like Graham Jarvis, Nicholas Campbell and Arthur Hill. This was a Canadian production so that explained the presence of various Canadian actors.

The Amateur has a slow, methodical pace which was even methodical by my standards (“morose” is perhaps a term that could have been used once or twice) and like others have noted, you’ll have to excuse such plot holes as “the CIA apparently doesn’t have surveillance in their own headquarters;” be that as it may, the movie was fine. As implausible as it may be, I was invested in the plot and there were some nice moments. Amateur was competently made, featuring a nice score along with some footage from Vienna, Austria.

Yes, flaws are present so that would be one reason to give the general idea a second chance, in the hopes of making a better film. I still liked this first version of the story; the upcoming new version probably won’t have the type of cipher discussion that was included here—including the conspiracy theory that Francis Bacon wrote the works attributed to Shakespeare. By modern standards especially, that is a harmless theory.

Two last notes: another surprise was starting up the movie on Disney+ (I subscribe to both this and Hulu at the same time; otherwise, if you just have Hulu the film can be viewed on their platform; the print is in nice HD quality) and discovering this was presented by… Mario Kassar and Andrew Vajna. Early on, a wild jukebox-looking device was shown which spits out your horoscope; it was called the Astrodata. Google told me that it also sometimes spit out other data. I didn’t need Google to tell me who made it-a close-up revealed the answer. SEGA created the Astrodata! That made me laugh as a child of the 80’s and 90’s.

Black Bag

Black Bag (2025)

97% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 160 reviews)

Runtime: 93 minutes

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Marisa Abela, Tom Burke, Naomie Harris, Rege-Jean Page

From: Focus Features

Thankfully, this movie... didn't fumble the bag. I'm middle-aged but occasionally I hear “the new phrases” said by “the kids.” Sometimes, I even think they are OK instead of “aggravating” or “dumb!” Just recently I was complaining about the dearth of serious adult dramas that can be viewed in cinemas... at least ones that are not lousy or worse. Well, this is exactly the sort of film I'd prefer taking a chance on rather than all the slop out there which just isn't for me. I wish there'd have not been as many F-bombs (I swear, I'm not a prude, honest) but otherwise Black Bag avoids all the modern movie tropes I've come to loathe.

On one occasion I saw a trailer for the film; it at least made me interested and didn't turn me off in general, which is what too many trailers do in recent years. Thankfully, this was my first theatrical Steven Soderbergh experience. The film is an espionage thriller although note that the movie is dialogue-driven and does not contain much action at all. That was irrelevant in this case when the entire cast of just several main players captivated and it had a simple premise where an older married couple were both spies and husband Michael Fassbender suddenly has shades of doubt towards the spouse he loves because some circumstantial evidence is making Cate Blanchett appear to be a player in a scheme involving a weapon that could cause catastrophic damage.

All these years, I probably shouldn't have brushed Soderbergh off just because the Oceans films look (and probably still look) like lame nonsense. I can't explain why he announced his retirement years ago only to then immediately go back on it, but that said, what little has been tackled as all been rated high by me. With Black Bag, I enjoyed both the actors I was familiar with (like the leads, Naomie Harris, and Pierce Brosnan) along with the ones I wasn't, like Marisa Abela, Tom Burke and Rege-Jean Page. The movie was directed, shot, and edited well (I know, by the same person) and what a unique, bold, and awesome jazzy score from David Holmes. While not outright stated, Fassbender's character is rather blatantly who has a certain kind of disorder; you'll probably see the hints of that throughout.

Black Bag is well worth checking out if the general premise & what I've said about this stylish espionage thriller entices you. One funny note about the theatrical experience last night: a different cineplex was visited; they had A24 chocolate! Yes, for at least the past few months now, A24 has had several different chocolate bars featuring their branding. I had never seen it anywhere until last night. The Salty Peanut Crunch: pretty good.

Crimson Tide

Crimson Tide (1995)

Runtime: 116 minutes

Directed by: Tony Scott

Starring: Denzel Washington, Gene Hackman, Matt Craven, George Dzundza, Viggo Mortensen, James Gandolfini

From: Hollywood Pictures

Denzel and Gene in a tense drama? Shame on me for not seeing this before. At the end I’ll mention the sad fate of Gene Hackman but I’d rather not think of his final days. Rather, I’m happy to discuss a serious 90’s drama, the type of big R-rated drama we just don’t get any longer.

The opening act sets up the scenario well; there’s a serious threat in Russia which could start nuclear war. Hackman is the leader on a submarine, and Washington the second-in-command. The plot also presents each of the main players on the sub rather well, establishing their personalities and how they react to the main conflict: should the brash but experienced Gene launch missiles at a Russian base despite not receiving the full message to do so, or is the tactical but inexperienced Denzel right to exhibit caution and wait? Both opinions are valid, & presented as such.

It was not just the two leads that were captivating. There’s a cast of familiar faces, some of which became famous later. It was nice to see That Guy actor Matt Craven, George Dzundza, Viggo Mortensen, James Gandolfini, Steve Zahn, Ryan Philippe, and in terms of acting (not necessarily his political/personal opinions) Rick Schroeder. It was filmed well by Tony Scott, built the tension and conflict rather well-it’s awhile before the main issue arises-and at least to my amusement, the uncredited contributions of Tarantino to the script. When 1950’s submarine movie talk and references to Silver Surfer comics suddenly pop up, it is as obvious as the nose on your face!

Whether or not those pop culture moments were needed is up for debate. Crimson Tide was a movie I was happy to finally discuss here, even if it took a tragic death to do so. It was nice to see a mature, sweaty motion picture like this. Hackman was a key component in making the film a successful missile strike. What a tragedy his final days were: stricken w/ Alzheimer’s, his spouse for decades dying of a rare virus and he spent the final week of his life alone. That is a shame, along w/ the online scuttlebutt somehow blaming their children for what happened. 

I’d rather think of Gene Hackman, the man before the tragic last moments of his life and him as a tremendous actor who I’ve enjoyed since I was a kid.

Two More Stooge Shorts

Three Smart Saps: 

(Short # 64 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

Featuring “a marble machine”… i.e. a pinball machine. The trio are suitors looking to marry sisters Bella, Mella, and Stella. Note that their surname is Stevens—I did laugh at “Stella Stevens;” the actress would have only been a toddler when this was made. The patriarch of the family is a prison warden who was jailed when the inmates took over the asylum… er, I mean jail. The trio scheme the idea to enter jail and Moe take photographic evidence of the prison.

The Stooges walk through the front door of the prison after failed attempts to get arrested. The joint is now dressed up as a nightclub, complete with men and women in fancy attire, along with that marble machine. Absurd, yes; that doesn’t mean there aren’t laughs present. The highlight is Moe and Curly dancing the rhumba with a pair of ladies. Curly’s suit is ripped off in stages a la a bit in Harold Lloyd’s The Freshman. Curly’s dance partner is Barbara Slater, a lady more than half a foot taller than him in heels.

She and he dancing was a treat, especially Curly attempting to cut the rug. Three Smart Saps did entertain me even with such an off-kilter premise. Besides what was previously mentioned, there’s the expected slapstick gags, verbal puns, and even some singing from the trio.

Even as IOU:

(Short # 65 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

This short was surprisingly bad. The start was rather interesting-they sell counterfeit racing programs. That was brief before they stumble upon a poor mom and her daughter a la the Cash and Carry short… only it was a sorry imitation of that. After some mild antics, they attempt to raise money to help them out by taking their piggybank stash, again like Cash and Carry.

Only, we never see the mom and daughter again! The daughter was portrayed by Sharyn Moffett, who had a short career in the acting world but some will remember her for her role in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. As an adult, she and her husband later became… Episcopalian ministers. That is far more interesting than the rest of this short. So is this being the last time that Bert Young appeared with the trio. He was a supporting player who was a familiar face due to appearing in about three dozen shorts, almost from the beginning.

This becomes bizarre as two swindlers make Curly think that there’s a talking horse (please don’t ask; this is also a worse version of Playing the Ponies) and after that is a truly incomprehensible final minute that isn’t even worth discussing.

I’ve relished viewing these Three Stooges shorts chronologically; most watched so far have at least been fine, and many were at least pretty good. No need to get angry when there are some bad ones coming later—such as Curly being forced to work while ill or the four shorts that Sam Raimi got the term “Fake Shemp” from… Shemp literally DIED and they tried to hide this fact. Then, there’s the end of the line with the brief Joe Besser era featuring the likes of actual talking horses and aliens.

Still, I’ll be happy to talk about all of those and note when there are funny moments. Some chuckles were at least present here so it wasn’t completely dire—this was just so disjointed, like they stitched together some half-baked ideas done better previously and cohesive, IOU was not.

The Corruptor

The Corruptor (1999)

Runtime: 110 minutes

Directed by: James Foley

Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Mark Wahlberg, Ric Young, Paul Ben-Victor, Jon Kit Lee

From: New Line Cinema

Yes, messageboard discussion steered me this way. Someone gave positive praise so I was going to view it on Prime before it expired at the end of February… only for one night recently, suddenly it wasn’t on Prime any longer, only there was a message stating that it was coming to Prime in March, then it is leaving a few hours after this review is posted. No, I don’t get it either. Easier for me to comprehend is how Hollywood couldn’t get Chow Yun-Fat right and he wasn’t able to become a big star in the West as he was in the East.

I see it won’t be a popular opinion when I finally revisit the third Pirates of the Caribbean and eviscerate that awful movie; his small supporting role wasn’t the reason for me hating the film in 2007. Back in ’99 I was still a teenager & did not go to the cinema often; that said, something like this would have been a better theatrical experience than a stupid blockbuster. Corruptor starts off fine; there’s a big shootout in NYC’s Chinatown and much to my delight, Fat fires two handguns at the same time. Yes, he also smokes cigarettes. Chow and neophyte fellow cop Marky Mark team up; the latter doesn’t realize that the former is the one who’s corrupt.

No comment on Mark Wahlberg’s current beliefs, or how the dirty secret is that in the late 80’s, Wahlberg used to have some horrid opinions of both Blacks and Vietnamese, and he acted out on those prejudices. That has no bearing on my saying that he did a fine job here, and the movie was a pretty good time. Of course, the shootouts weren’t directed w/ the flair of John Woo or another talented action director from Hong Kong. That doesn’t mean the action was bad by any means; director James Foley decided to shoot this w/ a deliberate exaggerated style which perhaps was inspired by Hong Kong; how effective that was is up to you.

The film is not an upbeat tale; the topic is not only feuding gangs in Chinatown, the murder of prostitutes and the importation of drugs, but Marky Mark’s character is offered bribes. For those that like dark crime dramas featuring a cast of familiar faces both white and Pacific Rim Asian, a soundtrack featuring both jazz and late 90’s tunes (there’s more than one Third Eye Blind song!) and a big car chase w/ plenty of collateral damage, this Western take on a Hong Kong heroic bloodshed drama might be better for you than its general reputation would suggest.

Fat was allowed to shine here and show off his charisma; as he also spoke English fine, Chow Yun-Fat really had his talents squandered in Hollywood, for the most part.