Robert Hayes

Robert Hayes Patron

I just really like movies.

Favorite films

  • Metropolis
  • Vertigo
  • Fargo
  • American Psycho

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  • The Monster

    ★★★

  • Sock-a-Bye, Baby

    ★★★★

  • The Dance Contest

    ★★★½

  • Buddy's Circus

    ★★½

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  • Mildred Pierce

    Mildred Pierce

    ★★★★½

    🎵She works hard for the money🎵
    (Certainly too hard to be treated so badly by that cunt of a daughter #TheWrongKidDied)

    Superb direction by Michael Curtiz, nearly matching that of Casablanca; noir-inflected cinematography that brings out the psychological elements of James M. Cain's story; a tragic melodrama about the sacrifices mothers (or parents in general) make for ungrateful children. Simply remarkable.

  • Code of Silence

    Code of Silence

    ★★★½

    A solid Chuck Norris actioner with some relevant social commentary. The last fifteen minutes were glorious. That being said, for pure entertainment value, I prefer the loose remake, Above the Law.

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  • The Monster

    The Monster

    ★★★

    Released 100 years ago today

    An ok early example of the "old dark house" subgenre. A bit tonally confused in the earlier reels and reinforced by an uncredited score that shifts around to match. Was also a bit disappointed that this didn't have as much Lon Chaney as I would have liked, but that was somewhat redeemed in the craziness of the last 20 minutes.

  • Kentucky Kernels

    Kentucky Kernels

    ★★★½

    In case of emergency, get Spanky

    Racial stereotypes aside, this turned out to be quite funny, especially for the first Wheeler/Woolsey film released after the Production Code began being enforced. Even Spanky McFarland was kind of tolerable. There was one musical number, which was ok. And the farcical finale had some nice callbacks to earlier gags.

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  • A Time to Kill

    A Time to Kill

    ★★★★

    "Yes, they deserved to die, and I hope they burn in hell!"

    Case closed.

  • In the Mood for Love

    In the Mood for Love

    ★★★★★

    Elegant, restrained, and stunningly beautiful. It's one of those films where you don't need every little thing spelled out for you because, on a deeper level, you just get it. And then it blossomed into something even greater once its intentions were revealed in the last ten or so minutes. Something to meditate on, indeed. This is how you do cinema *about* something without beating the audience over the head or treating them like idiots.