Get_your_azz_to_Mars Reviews

The Paradine Case (1947)

Great performances, great visuals, but still a minor work from Hitch

[6/10 · 18 March 2015]

A minor work from Hitchcock would be a major work for just about any other director of the era. Perhaps it's unfair to Hitch to rate a film like 'The Paradine Case' a 6 or lower, but the bar he set during the 1940's with films like 'Rebecca', 'Shadow of a Doubt', 'Spellbound', and 'Notorious' is so high that one cannot help but be disappointed by this film. Hitchcock reportedly had seriously clashes with producer David O. Selznick during the making of 'Paradine', which may account for its surprisingly banal story and characterizations.

Yet there are moments and scenes to admire in 'Paradine':

• The introduction of Valli's character sums up her tastes, mood, and intelligence all with the visuals and a few, quick lines by her.

• The first meeting between Peck and Louis Jordan. It provides the first real sense of danger and creepiness to the film. Sadly, the film doesn't continue on this path as it delves into courtroom drama shortly afterwards.

• Valli's performance is nothing short of marvelous. She doesn't ham it up nor look stilted, she perfectly convenes the sinister and obsessive qualities of her character. She is, without a doubt, the best part of the film.

• The shot when Jordan first enters the courtroom as the camera slides around Valli's head as it follows Jordan to the witness stand.

• The high-angle shot of Peck after realizing the case is lost. One of the most jarring cuts in a Hitchcock film that firmly conveys Peck's sense of defeat.

So, while 'Paradine' has moments, scenes, and acting to admire and reflect upon, the story itself is rather dull and dragging, negative characteristics that were quite rare in Hitchcock's films of the 1940's.

Escape from Alcatraz (1979)

Taut, economical direction from master Don Siegel

[8/10 · 16 December 2014]

If you're looking for a character driven drama or thriller in Don Siegel's 'Escape from Alactraz', you'll have to look elsewhere. Of course, fans of Siegel already know that the director of 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' (1956) is more interested in lean, economical, and tightly constructed stories with slight brush strokes of character motivations and feelings. This is why Clint Eastwood, with his steely, cold eyes and subtle facial expressions worked so marvelously in Siegel's films - and he is excellent here as well. The story is about the possible escape of three men from the notorious prison Alcatraz near San Francisco. We learn very little about the prisoners who escape, except through their actions, temperament, and reactions to situations as they unfold. Each man wants to escape for their own reasons and while there is a sense of comradery and friendship, Siegel refuses to sentimentalize their relationships as most Hollywood movies of this genre would've. Overall, 'Escape from Alcatraz'is Siegel at his best: taut, mean, and tense.

The Party (1968)

A mix of Jacques Tati and Chaplin, although not as good as either

[7/10 · 29 September 2014]

Blake Edwards' 'The Party' recalls the great comedic timing and pathos of Chaplin with the loose comedic story lines of Jacques Tati's Monsieur Hulot films. However, that looseness oftentimes leads to banality and elements of the picture, such as the end with the hippies and the brightly painted elephant, feel very dated. Moreover, the comedic elements sometimes don't work, but when they do, such as the interactions between Sellers and the inebriated waiter, they are borderline genius.

'The Party' is essentially a film designed for and around Peter Sellers' comedic strengths as we see him bumble in from one set piece to another in a fantastically designed set where the party takes place. Sellers, as one might expect, is marvelous as he nearly always is, and if one can get past his 'brown face' because he's playing an Indian visiting Hollywood, then you'll enjoy this film.

To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)

"You want bread, *beep* a baker."

[9/10 · 21 May 2014]

William Friedkin's 'To Live & Die in LA' is hands down one of the best cop movies ever made. It's as raw and hard-boiled as any gritty cop drama, including Friedkin's earlier 'The French Connection', and isn't bogged down with buddy-cop clichés that later burned out the genre by the early 1990s.

William Petersen plays a secret service agent living on the edge, quite literally at times, as he takes extreme risks nearly every day on the job. When his partner is killed he tells his new partner, played by John Pankow, that he's going to get the murderer no matter what it takes. The killer is a counterfeiter named Masters (played by Willem Dafoe in a fine performance) who is also an artist. It's a curious twist that the killer commits crime in order to fund his art, which he routinely burns because he is perfectionist. He feels the same way about his other 'art': counterfeiting money.

What I found most intriguing about Friedkin's film is its consistent avoidance of clichés. First off, Los Angeles looks ugly, industrial, and very inhospitable in this film. None of the conventional shots of fancy, upscale downtown or beautiful Long Beach. We also aren't given sentimental sob stories for Petersen's semi-suicidal behavior, nor are we given many 'buddy-buddy' moments between him and his new partner. The characters are revealed more by their actions than their words, which I think is more interesting. The two secret service agents are both professionals doing a job and oftentimes bending the rules (or outright breaking them) to get Masters. We aren't even treated to a true romance in the picture. Both Petersen and Masters have women they have sex with on the side, but neither of them seem to particularly love them and both use them for what they want (and likewise the women use them). The climax too, goes against convention in the handling of Petersen's character that many people still find rather shocking for a mainstream film. I, for one, found it both refreshing and daring to end it in such a manner.

Finally, the score might be a tad dated by today's standards yet I enjoyed it and felt it added to the feeling of the film. Friedkin is famous for finding the right composers and music for his films (think Tangerine Dream for 'Sorcerer') and 'To Live & Die in LA' is no exception.

For any out there who enjoys cop movies 'To Live & Die in LA' is a must see. Moreover, it truly belongs up there with Friedkin's other masterpieces like 'The Exorcist' and 'The French Connection'. It's a shame the film was a box office dud or we may have seen further Friedkin explorations of the down and dirty world of police work like we did in 'The French Connection' and 'To Live & Die in LA'.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

When Jack could act

[10/10 · 7 May 2014]

It's been about 15 years since I last saw 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' and it still retains the power it did the first time I saw it. Few films, even during a Renaissance of American films in the 70s, ever created such rich characters full of vitality and insight. A story about repression, repression of the rebel, repression of belief, and repression of the soul and mind; Milos Forman's 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' will make you laugh, will make you ponder, and will leave you with a sense of melancholy. Most of all though, it will make you want to resist - resist anything that represses or stifles the outcasts, the weird geniuses, the 'losers', the Other...even if you ultimately fail in such resistance. The mere act of resisting is a victory - as it was for Randle McMurphy.

So much has been written about this landmark film from the incredible performances, the great music, the superb writing, Forman's top-notch direction, that I can't really write anything to build upon what better reviewers have long ago written about this masterpiece. Suffice to say, 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' is an essential film for everyone, for everyone who believes in the power of the individual and belief in a just and fair society.

Sorcerer (1977)

An underrated masterpiece

[10/10 · 30 April 2014]

William Friedkin's 'Sorcerer' is a grim, dirty, visceral experience and descent into the bowels of hell for four criminals. After the introduction of why each character fled their home countries for some Central American impoverished dictatorship, we are taken right into a remote village in the middle of a hot, humid, and dangerous jungle. These four men, one an assassin, one a robber, one a terrorist, and one a financial thief, live in squalid conditions with the other poor peasants trying to eek out a living by being paid sub-par wages doing dangerous work for a nearby cavalier American oil company. When there's an explosion at the oil well, the company needs to transport volatile nitroglycerin there in order to blow up the raging fire and seal the well. Our four shady protagonists volunteer to drive two trucks over 200 miles on unpaved roads through a rain forest to transport the nitroglycerin there in return for a substantial amount of money.

What follows next in this masterful remake of the French film 'Wages of Fear', is one of the darkest films in American cinema as the characters experience one dangerous obstacle after another, while simultaneously going mad as the journey becomes more and more perilous. The suspense that Friedkin creates throughout this terrifying journey is incredible with the bridge sequence, in particular, being as suspenseful as anything Hitchcock ever did. By the end of the picture the audience is as emotionally drained (if not physically) as the survivor(s) on this slow descent into hell. Is their dangerous trip punishment for the sins they committed? Perhaps, but perhaps not, in traditional Friedkin style he gives his audience no easy answers and instead poses questions about life and death and morality that I was left pondering long after the credits rolled. Give this film a look after seeing the original.

Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two (1945)

Kurosawa's propaganda film

[6/10 · 25 April 2014]

'Sanshiro Sugata Part II', unlike the first film from 1943, is essentially a propaganda film, but don't let that dissuade you from seeing it as there are sequences in the film that display Kurosawa's growing strengths as a filmmaker.

The story line is rather muddled but basically Sugata feels as if the traditional Japanese forms of martial arts are facing extinction with the emerging popularity of American boxing. Sugata aims to preserve that by defeating a notorious American boxer while extinguishing threats from two karate masters obsessed with destroying him. In the end, Sugata easily crushes his American opponent and brings the two karate masters into his fold.

Clearly the film is about uniting the Japanese people and culture against the American menace and its potential to destroy the Japanese people and their way of life. When the film was shot in early 1945 the war was going horribly for Japan and bombs were raining down upon their cities. The Japanese government ordered Kurosawa to make this film to help shore up domestic support for the Japanese cause and to also suggest that the coming Americans may spell doom for their people and way of life.

Now Kurosawa created two very interesting sequences in this picture. One is where Sugata is watching the first fight between the American and Japanese and how disgusted he was with how things unfolded. Kurosawa does a series of close-ups of Sugata and then cuts to his point-of-view as he observes people cheering at the violence, laughing, etc...and with each reverse to Sugata you can feel his disgust. It's a very well done montage without any dialogue except for the noise of the fight and the cheers.

The other is the final battle between Sugata and the karate master atop a mountain with wind and snow blasting all around them. This is one of the earliest examples of Kurosawa using extreme weather elements in the midst of a battle or confrontation, and it is very well done. This notion of extreme weather during a battle or struggle occurs in a number of his pictures including 'The Seven Samurai', 'Dreams', and 'Yojimbo'. As in those later pictures, the extreme weather heightens the tension, creates dynamic images, and visuals expresses the rage and confusion and frustration of the characters, much like earlier German Expressionism.

So while 'Sanshiro Sugata Part II' is not a classic Kurosawa picture with its choppy story line and overt propaganda, it still is an interesting film that shows his growing prowess as a filmmaker. Give a look Kurosawa fans.

Run Silent Run Deep (1958)

A fine submarine picture

[7/10 · 21 April 2014]

Robert Wise's 'Run Silent, Run Deep' was a moderate commercial success upon its release in 1958. In the years since then its reputation has grown and its influence upon other films of the submarine sub-genre are clear, such as in Tony Scott's excellent 'Crimson Tide' from 1995. Both films, for instance, share a similar story line with an Executive Officer and Captain butting heads and the former taking command of the boat.

I wouldn't say that Robert Wise's direction is particularly visually dynamic like, say, Orson Welles or John Ford, but Wise always knew where to put the camera and coached great performances out of his actors. Gable and Lancaster are superb in this, especially Gable, whose Captain Ahab-esque character is the most interesting one in the picture.

While I wouldn't say that 'Run Silent, Run Deep' is the greatest of all submarine pictures (that goes to 'Das Boot'), I would say it's certainly one of the best. Wise himself was such a versatile director that he made great films in nearly every genre like 'The Haunting' in the horror genre, 'West Side Story' and 'The Sound of Music' in the musical genre, 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' in the sci-fi genre, and 'The Sand Pebbles' in the epic war genre. Like those films, 'Run Silent, Run Deep' stands out as an impressive addition to a sub-genre with few great films over the decades.

Hatari! (1962)

Classic Hawks Fun

[8/10 · 14 April 2014]

'Hatari!', which means 'danger' in Swahili, is one of Howard Hawks' most delightful late period films. The story centers around a group of men (and 1 strong woman) who capture wild animals in Africa and then sell them to zoos. Trouble starts for the group when a beautiful photographer, played by Elsa Martinelli, comes to the camp to capture them at work. She's not ready for the toughness of the job the team does and soon realizes she'll have to adjust her decidedly metropolitan ways to be successful.

As in many of Hawks' pictures, the main characters are professionals and are good at what they do. The friction with the photographer stems primarily from her not being a fellow pro at capturing these animals and thus the threat she poses to the group's solidarity and, perhaps, safety. Hawks plays much of the picture for laughs (the milking goat scene with Red Buttons had me howling), but he gives us a great sense of adventure and danger in the spectacular sequences where they chase down rhinos and giraffes and other animals and attempt to capture them. The cinematography in these sequences is nothing short of astonishing and must've been incredibly difficult to capture on film. The characters are richly written by the great Leigh Brackett and the inevitable romance that ensues between Elsa Martinelli and John Wayne is nicely written and, at times, very funny.

All in all, this is a classic Hawks' film. It has a bit of everything a fan of Hawks will like: a group of professionals working together, lack of a 'plot', strong willed women, great comedy, fine cinematography, and witty dialogue. It's rather long at 157 minutes for probably some tastes, but I was never once bored during this lovely gem.

Cruising (1980)

Challenging, if incomplete film.

[6/10 · 8 April 2014]

William Friedkin's controversial 'Cruising' is a challenging and oftentimes frustrating film. The story centers around Al Pacino going undercover to find a serial killer in the gay BDSM culture of late 70's NYC. The story seems simply enough, right? Well, it's deceiving as what Friedkin does is take the audience into a dark abyss of sordid sex, extreme debauchery, and brutal violence. It is, quite honestly, one of the more uncomfortable American films of the period to sit through.

The problem with the picture are the character motivations are vague for virtually all involved (Pacino, the killer, and the police chief). Why is the killer doing this? Why is Pacino starting to lose it? What is the deal with the police chief? Does he care about Pacino or not? Everything is so opaque and mysterious that the film is both fascinating and aggravating at the same time. And perhaps that was done on purpose, but considering reportedly 40 minutes was cut from the film I would imagine that many of those questions I posed were more clear. The ending itself is even more strange and confusing and I would suspect that while the ending wouldn't have been wrapped up in a nice little bow for the audience (nor would I expect that in a Friedkin film), the viewer could at least attempt to make more sense of it.

The War Wagon (1967)

Decent late period Wayne Western

[6/10 · 31 March 2014]

'The War Wagon' will never be considered one of John Wayne's great Westerns like 'Rio Bravo', 'The Searchers', or 'Red River', but it is a an enjoyable Western with fine performances and great rapport between Kirk Douglas and John Wayne. The action sequences are well done, the humor dry as the desert it takes place in, and the caper story line rather refreshing for a John Wayne film.

The problem? When the picture ends it leaves you feeling empty. The characters are not particularly interesting (save for Douglas) and the villain is your standard cattle baron murderous jerk. The war wagon itself is an interesting prop and well used, but never really becomes the menacing character it should've been. I enjoyed the movie as a fan of John Wayne and Westerns in general, yet I doubt most of his fans will find this film particularly impressive when compared to many of his other Westerns directed by Hawks and Ford. That isn't to say you should avoid seeing 'The War Wagon', but you should temper your expectations for what is really just an empty Saturday-afternoon adventure. You'll like it while you're watching it and then forget it as soon as the credits roll.

Underworld U.S.A. (1961)

Superb Fuller film

[8/10 · 21 March 2014]

I've seen a number of Samuel Fuller's films and few of them, if any, have disappointed me, and this 1961 film 'Underworld USA' is no different. It has a tightly constructed, almost Hamlet-esque plot with echoes of Dashiell Hammett's novel 'Red Harvest' along with the straight-forward revenge thriller to give the viewer an absorbing, post-classical noir experience. The acting is fantastic, most especially by lead Cliff Robertson, who manages to create a snarling, snarky borderline unlikeable anti-hero compelling and fun to watch. The visuals, as with most Fuller films of this period, are oftentimes jarring with abrupt cutting, unusual angles, and evocative lighting. If you like the work of Samuel Fuller you're going to love this film.

His Kind of Woman (1951)

Terrific noir comedy - Price steals the show!

[8/10 · 12 March 2014]

What a wonderful surprise this film was for me! It had been sitting in my Film Noir Collection Vol. 3 set for years without viewing for some reason until at last I popped it in. Mitchum plays a gambler in need of cash who reluctantly agrees to go to Mexico for a sizable sum of money. The problem? The shady mafia types who send him down there won't tell him what for and why he's being paid. I'll stop there with the story...if you want a further synopsis you can find that elsewhere on here.

The film begins rather slowly but is never boring because of Mitchum (was there a more perfect noir actor?) and the dynamic visuals courtesy Harry J. Wild and Farrow's solid direction. The supporting cast is superb with Charles McGraw, Jane Russell, Raymond Burr, and especially Vincent Price, who steals the movie with a wonderfully comedic and hammy performance. The last third of the picture feels rather different in tone because it becomes more of a farce at that point, which I suspect will turn off many viewers, but this noir lover found it absolutely delightful. NOTE: The last third of the film was apparently shot after completion of the picture and was directed by Richard Fleischer.

So don't go in expecting the typical classical noir (is there such a thing anways?) or else you may find His Kind of Woman not exactly your type.