salmau Reviews

Hollywood Handicap (1938)

Not a `Powerful Idea'!

[3/10 · 24 December 2002]

Directing shorts like this one was a sad way for Buster Keaton to make a living or even to keep busy. At least he was working, some might say. Still, `Hollywood Handicap' will not be remembered for having been helmed by the comic genius. It's safe to say it will never be remembered at all and so it should be.

The very thin plot is a good enough excuse to display the vocal talents of The Original Sing Band, but it's unfortunate they don't get to perform better songs than this atrocious 'Barbecue Ribs' number. The `powerful idea' running gags wear thin really fast, even for a short.

The so-called galaxy of stars is but a few glimpses of famous faces at the races accompanied by an uninspired narration filled with bad puns that fall more flat today than they probably did then. More of the great instrument-like vocals by The Original Sing Band and less stars would have been better, but Hollywood wouldn't have done it in the first place without throwing in its star attractions now would it.

Shane (1953)

Shane, Shane, Shane, Shane, Shane!!!

[6/10 · 19 November 2002]

Shane is a western. Shane is a mythic western. Shane is one of the most mythical of the mythic westerns around. And westerns, like Shane, are the most mythical of genres. Shane is a very important movie with very important issues. Shane should be seen, if only to make sure I counted the name 'Shane' being uttered 8,675 times!!! Give or take a 'Shane'. Honestly, the hype over George Stevens' Shane was such that I felt unworthy to consider myself a film buff (or whatever epithet you prefer) for not having seen it yet. Shane on me! Shane! Shane!! Shane!!! I mean it is beautiful to look at and the copy I saw was far from pristine. A lot has been said about the 'calculated' breathtaking shots found throughout Shane, like the clouds' shadows on the actors' faces for example. I really wanted to love Shane. I didn't see why I wouldn't since there are at least five actors I have always admired in the cast of Shane. At some point I even tried to imagine if my pleasure would be greater if the mysterious drifter, that would be Shane, was wearing a trench coat instead of buckskin and placed the action in Anytown suburbia circa 1953 and it almost worked. I could see the posse of station wagons making the trek downtown to go catch a movie at the Bijou, maybe a western like Shane, but hopefully something in Cinemascope, possibly with Marilyn Monroe in it, anything to make them forget their troubles for an hour and a half. Obviously I am not a big fan of westerns but I always thought it was because I hadn't seen the good ones, like Shane. Boy was I ever wrong!...or rather, was I ever right! 6/10.

The True Nature of Bernadette (1972)

Funny and intelligent, one of the best Canadian films of the 70s.

[9/10 · 22 September 2002]

I was quite young when I saw this one and thought it tacky then because the characters spoke joual (French-Canadian for 'slang'). Was I ever wrong? It is probably the most intellectually stimulating Canadian film of the 70s. I saw most of Carle's later films with contempt based on my first and immature impression. The man really deserves a second chance and an apology from me. The lead actress, Micheline Lanctôt, who had never acted before (and who went on to become a respected director) is in practically every scene and gives the performance of a lifetime. She plays Bernadette, an unhappy Montréal bourgoise housewife who leaves her lawyer husband and her wealthy but empty life to move to the country and live on a farm with her little boy. The culture shock is not AT ALL what you would expect and yes some 'miracles' are performed. I could not recommend this movie more. Foreign films lovers should really look this one up.

Red Rock West (1993)

Remember this one when you get the urge to say "they sure don't make 'em like they used to."

[9/10 · 20 April 2002]

Like many of you I am a great fan of the real thing - the 1940s noir films - but Red Rock West was a real treat for all of us longing for the past. The term 'neo-noir' has been so often used inappropriately in the last ten years that it has lost its meaning and its impact. John Dahl's film on the other hand, truly deserved to be described as such. The casting is perfect all around and would have felt right at home with Tay Garnett or Jacques Tourneur. The plot is so tight that you are hooked within the first fifteen minutes. James M. Cain would have appreciated it. Many contemporary films leave me wondering why they don't make them like they used to, and I'm not even that old. Movies such as Red Rock West give us hope for the future while paying tribute to the past.