Without even considering Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing, The Asphalt Jungle parallels Kubrick’s style, particularly in the stark manner with which its plot unfolds. So it’s obvious why Kubrick was drawn to this film, and so much so that he very unsubtly remade it, even with the same lead actor: the atypical tough guy Sterling Hayden. Unlike Orson Welles, though (in his comparison of the two noirs), I don’t find Kubrick’s to be an improvement on the themes or the entertainment…
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The Wedding March 1928
If, in its now lost second half, this film had maintained the momentum of the first half and ended on a more complete resolution, it could easily have been a masterpiece. Here we have remnants of a could-have-been masterwork, as The Wedding March depicts only 67 pages of
von Stroheim’s intended 154 page script (the remaining footage having been lost in a fire).I say masterwork because March does offer some of von Stroheim’s fullest characterization and relationship development (often…
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The Age of Innocence 1993
Scorsese seems to have resorted to the voiceover in order to express the dramatic counterpoint that his (often poorly chosen) cast struggles to convey, or where Wharton’s subtle irony simply could not be translated through directing choices. Even dialogue involving Daniel Day Lewis (who is provenly capable in period pieces) results as a continuation of the impassive and robotic narration. The frequency of the voiceover does ease in the latter parts of the film, however there the score takes its place as the sole pathos inducer. This is all unfortunate, since the film has the symptoms and potentialities of a very passionate project.
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Stalag 17 1953
More substance on the dramatic side; a lot of the comedy falls flat or is unneeded, which is rather surprising (this being almost fully a Billy Wilder production). But in spite of that it is a reasonably good drama — almost on par with Wilder’s Ace in a Hole in terms of suspense, only lacking in the gripping stage presence of Kirk Douglas (though Holden’s performance has its positives).
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Barbie 2023
Directed by the great Greta Gerwig, ‘Barbie’ is a massive film full of awe-inspiring visuals. One of the more thought provoking films to come out this year - maybe even this decade - ‘Barbie’ features flawless performances from a stellar cast complemented by a soundtrack of hits and dance sequences reminiscent of Gene Kelly’s ‘Singin’ in the Rain’. Ryan Gosling brings the vibrant charisma of his character in ‘Drive’ to Ken, while Margot Robbie fills the arched heels of the…
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Double Indemnity 1944
I don’t find this film all that suspenseful; though most people seem to. It’s simply all the other elements that define the genre, combined to archetypal perfection, which make this an essential noir: punchy dialogue, an iconic score, a campy voiceover, the femme fatale, shadows, Venetian blinds, time jumps, and Edward G. Robinson. And a 1930s Los Angeles atmosphere littered with a few Packards.
Fred MacMurray isn’t as ruthless as Humphrey Bogart already was in his performance in The Maltese…
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