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Isle of Forgotten Sins (1943)
toler is a bad guy in this one
Isle of forgotten sins but called monsoon in roku... the 1943 one. They kind of snuck this one past the censors. It's pretty obvious (but not spoken) what marge's girls do for a living. So taboo at the time. Gale sondergaard was the perfect vamp in so many classics...she was great in wyler's "the letter". In the south seas ( the back lot), the women run a "gambling house" wink, wink..that the officials are trying to shut down. And of course there are two men fighting over marge. In the worst staged fight ever filmed. Then a dead body! And sunken treasure! So much going on. Toler is krogan, who shows an odd smile now and then, for no reason...? John carradine popped up in some pretty huge films, but not usually the lead, never any oscars. Funny.. there's subtitles, but the sound is so rough, it skips and misses a lot. At about twenty five minutes in, the (roku version) captions show "fu** over his gold", but the actor actually says "fork over his gold"! It's okay. One demerit for picture and sound quality. One for frequent use of backdrops and stock footage. Story written and dircted by edgar ulmer. His big hit was black cat, back in 1934. He later resigned rather than make a musical with shirley temple, if the imdb trivia can be believed. He worked for years at producers releasing corp, the lowest of the low budgets. But it's still a wacky, fun adventure.
Love Lies Bleeding (2024)
pretty good, but some blood & guts.
Jackie (katy o'brian) is working her way through to vegas, taking odd jobs along the way. She meets up with lou (kristen stewart), and they hit it off right away. They are both pretty tough. Lou's sister is married to an abusive husband (dave franco). So jackie, lou, and her dad (ed harris) decide to take things into their own hands. Some pretty serious violence in this one. Lou wants to stay near her sister, but they probably need to hit the road before the coppers figure things out. Lots going on in this one... but good, if you're okay with all the violence. A very detailed soundtrack list here on imdb. Also a really good double meaning in the title. Is lies a verb, or a noun ? So many ways to take that. Good stuff, but a little rough. You've been warned! Directed by rose glass, who has been nominated for two baftas.
Keeping Mum (2005)
m smith in a little known comedy
Reverend goodfellow's family is going through more than its share of problems! He and the wife are having issues, the daughter is shagging every guy in sight. The son gets bullied at school, so he doesn't go. And the wife is finding her own solution for loneliness. Send in grace hawkins, the housekeeper, who might be able to work some magic. Stars the awesome maggie smith, patrick swayze, kristin thomas. A running gag is the name of the town... little wallop. Also the dog next door that never shuts up. And the daughter's parade of "boyfriends". Lots of cussing and body part jokes. Some great scenery of england and the isle of man. Funny stuff! But we wouldn't expect any less of maggie smith and rowan atkinson. Directed by niall johnson. Story by richard russo. Swayze died young at 57, from cancer. Maggie smith and kristin thomas will re-unite in the awesome "my old lady" in 2014. And if you haven't seen "hot millions" from 1968, check it out.
My Old Lady (2014)
little known maggie smith film
At least, unknown to me! Great casting. Magpie, kevin kline, kristin thomas. When mathias inherits an apartment en paris, he goes to see it. And finds one surprise after another! The occupants are not ready to move out. And mathias needs the money pronto. It's a , wacky tale that slowly unfolds. Some happy discoveries, some sadness. Great film, all around! Good script, perfect timing, a great scene along the seine, where jim connects with a local singing at the edge of the river. I really enjoyed watching this one. Directed by israel horovitz. He had also written the play! Currently showing on roku streaming, as well as kanopy, amzn, appltv.
Port of New York (1949)
brynner's first film role
A twenty nine year old yul brynner in his very first film role. And no-one else we've ever heard of. From a studio we've never heard of. Pretty low budget stuff. When the paperwork isn't quite right on an incoming crate, the ship florentine gets a thorough inspection. When a ship's officer is missing, the treasury department realizes someone has absconded with the missing drugs. Narration by newsman chet huntley, like an episode of dragnet. It's pretty dry stuff. The sound is okay but the picture quality is pretty rough. Directed by laslo benedek. I didn't recognize the name kt stevens, but i had seen some of the big time films she had been in. Kitty foyle, harriet craig. With a bigger budget, this could have been a big film. Has some great scenes of new york city in 1949...and that's probably the best feature of this one! Has some bits cut and pasted from earlier films. It's very okay.
Fool Me Once (2024)
brit cops follow the clues
Brit series, one season of eight episodes on the netflix. Starts with a shooting... two people are now dead. But when a murder victim shows up on a hidden camera, nothing is certain anymore. And the coppers have their own issues going on. Maya's in-laws are connected to a pharma company, which has its own dark secrets. Can she get anyone to believe her? Stars michelle keegan and adeel akhtar. Lots of un-answered questions. Sami is the investigator on the case, but isn't quite sure how it's all connected. He and maya both have secrets they aren't sharing. Keep an eye out for joanna lumley.. patsy, from ab-fab! She's the mother in-law, who knows more than she is telling! What really happened to her sons? It's really good. Dino fetscher (plays marty) was in the foundation series.
You Can't Run Away from It (1956)
great cast... less than optimal script
June allyson, jack lemmon. This seems to be a musical version of "it happened one night". And every film where the girl's father does not approve of the groom ! In this one, the young couple is already married, so ellen's father kidnaps her and tries to drag her home. Lots of singing. And in this one, the reporter tells the bride he's onto her. But promises he won't spill the beans. Some fun co-stars too. Jim backus and charles bickford. Howard mcnear. Jack albertson. Even a quick bit by henny youngman (the first bus driver). It's okay. Some over the top acting, and the songs are a big waste of time. Were they short on script?? Directed by dick powell....one of the seven that he directed! And he was married to the star here, june allyson. Of course powell died so young at 58. He sure acted in some great films. This one is okay. Would have been better with less singer and a stronger script. They had all these great comedians, but didn't give them much to do!
Giornata nera per l'ariete (1971)
whodunnit from italy
The fifth cord... called giornata nera per l'ariete in italy... which loosely translates to "a black day for aries". Also much confusion over the release date. Imdb has it as 1971, which is when it was released in italy. Roku has 1978 for a release date, while imdb shows it was released in the united states in 1975. Moving on. There's a serial killer on the loose. And when it comes out that he has connections to the reporter covering the story, the reporter becomes a suspect. Stars franco nero and silvia monti. I had seen nero in other films, and they weren't bad! This one has a loud, annoying scream, just a few minutes in, and very loud, pointless, dramatic organ music at 22 minutes! Then, not much going on for most of the middle. It picks up again near the end. More loud screams. Of course, the big scenes near the end are done in the dark, with the lights out, so we can't see much....until the reveal. It's okay all around. Directed by luigi bazzoni. He and his brother camillo both began directing in the 1960s. Watch for pamela tiffin as lu... i've also enjoyed her other films!
Will & Harper (2024)
road trip with a twist
A documentary with will ferrell and harper steele, as they take a road trip to talk things over. Harper had begun life as andrew steele, but during the pandemic, realized that she wanted to live as a woman, and to openly be a woman. They had known each other for years, worked together on saturday night live, and even raised families. Of course, they start with a visit to their old friends and co-workers at SNL. Then, on to some places that could be (and were) less forgiving. Some sad, hurtful moments. Some good happy moments. A funny moment when they borrow a unicycle from a local dude on the street so harper can ride it. Was that staged? A short discussion of new "parts" and surgeries. Ferrell seems to realize that this film is about harper, and is more restrained than we usually see him. Another funny moment when will forte can't open the champagne. Some great music; hopefully, someone will fill in the soundtrack info on imdb! Directed by josh greenbaum. He's won a bunch of film fest awards. It's good. Some touching moments for those willing to watch. Kristen wiig writes and performs a fun song in honor of the trip. And was nominated for bridesmaids. Who knew?
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (2016)
patsy and eddie .. more wacky adventures.
Ab-Fab, the Movie ....the further adventures for patsy & eddie, which kind of picks up after the series. Although didn't claudia bing buy eddie's company at the end of the television series? Anyhoo... a book deal. A fashion show. Will any of it actually happen ?? Lola is grown up. Marshall is transitioning MTF. Kate moss falls into the thames. (or was she pushed by eddie??) barry humphries, who died in 2023, appears as charlie, and as the awesome dame edna. And bubble, played by jane horrocks, has the best costumes as usual,! Kylie minogue singing the theme song. Fun!! Directed by mandie fletcher. Script by jennifer saunders herself! Barry humphries had been nominated for three baftas. Fletcher won a bafta for blackadder. Pretty funny stuff.
Une belle course (2022)
journey to the new home
When madeleine (line renaud) finally agrees to go into a nursing home, she hires charles (dany boon) to drive her to the new home. But madeleine has some stops she wants to make along the way. Some are old neighborhoods where she had lived. Some are sentimental stops where important events happened in her life. Old boyfriends. Locations of wartime violence and executions. It gets pretty dark and violent at one point, so be prepared! Not as light and fluffy as i was expecting! But some really interesting conversations between madeleine and charles. Really good stuff! Well done. I totally dug this one. Directed by christian carion. Bafta nominated for joyeux noel. I look forward to seeing more of his films.
The Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie: Strange Brew (1983)
bob and doug, ey?
Brothers bob and doug... in the great white north, ey? Doing their canadian accents and fun sayings and stuff! Take off! When someone tries to take control of a brewery, the boys try to help the founder's daughter pam get it back. Silly antics. Hockey. Robots. Fart jokes. And a whole lot of beer-drinking! Stars rick moranis, dave thomas. With max von sydow as the evil scientist brew-meister. Some fun info in the IMDB trivia section. It's pretty dated at this point, but still awesome and fun! Directed by rick moranis and dave thomas. They were HUGE in the 1980s. Moranis went on to do shop of horrors, spaceballs, and ghost busters! Even the under-rated head office. Currently showing on free tubi.
Dynamite (1949)
there must be a safer occupation...
Story of miners, blasting dynamite in the mountains. The picture and sound quality are pretty bad. Clearly, people have been making copies of copies, and it just gets worse each time. Of course, miners and dynamiting are dangerous occupations. Right away, we see someone get blasted to bits. Can the company survive on what little business they are getting? And a truck full of explosives loses its brakes and crashes. A side story of the men fighting over mary (virginia welles, the one who isn't married to orson welles). Some humor when they call the stew "filet mignon"... and "filet mulligan". Love the reference to lighting the brandy on the plum pudding... my mother used to do that to the plum pudding she made at christmas also! Quite the old-time reference. This film is ok. Not much suspense... seems to be a lesson in a "what not to do" manual while drilling for minerals. Or just find a safer profession. Directed by william pine, who died young at 59. He and partner william thomas were called "the dollar bills", since they produced many films under budget and on time for paramount pictures. Izzokay.
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2023)
harold goes walkabout.
Harold (jim broadbent) gets a letter from an old friend, informing him that she has cancer. So he writes her a letter. But when he goes to post it, he decides a reply isn't enough! He wants to go visit her. By walking. And giving her something to live for. His wife is clearly less than thrilled with the idea, and doesn't understand. The press follows him for a while, and some hippies follow him for a while. But harold just wants to get there to see queenie. A side story where harold feels he failed his drug addicted son. It's quite good. Predictable but touching. Currently showing on kanopy. Directed by hettie macdonald. She has won a bunch of film fest awards for various shows. Novel by rachel joyce.
Five Golden Dragons (1967)
it's not so bad!
The usual sporty, bongo, spy music. Bob cummings is bob mitchell, doing something in hong kong. No-one really knows what. He meets two girls at the pool, who are up to something. No-one really knows what. They claim to be airline stewardesses. The bodies are starting to pile up, thanks to the five golden dragons, which seems to be a gang, and mitchell gets dragged into a police investigation. Christopher lee, the king of horror films, is one of the five dragons! Co-stars maria rohm, margaret lee. And the other dragons are some pretty big hollywood names too; brian donlevy, dan duryea, george raft. Huge names, but it all moves pretty slowly. Not much of an action thriller, but the basic story is pretty good. Great scenes of hong kong in the 1960s! It's rated pretty low on imdb and rottentomatoes, but it's really not so awful. Just not much chemistry between the actors. Directed by jeremy summers.
Unsolved Suburbia (2010)
needed a major tune up!
It's less than optimal, as we know from the low rating on imdb. Some bad performances, poor sound quality, and lots of fast talking. For the first half of the film, the plot is just confusing. The best thing going for this is the number of good looking guys and girls. The film opens with one of the characters telling how the film ends...and suddenly, we're in flashback, starting at the beginning. Things we know: one of the guys is bisexual, and seems to have a girlfriend and a boyfriend. Someone is hiding out, somewhere... for some reason. There's frontal nudity, male and female. Someone may or may not be dead. And... that's about all we really know. Lots of talk about coming out. Or not. Keeping secrets from your family. Mistakes in the opening and closing credits ? Even the author slash director seems to have changed his name since the film was released. And why does "anybodys" wear the hat in bed? I'm guessing it's because her hair had changed and would have been a continuity problem. It's not good, but probably not as bad as it is rated on imdb. Written and directed by cheetah gonzalez, who now seems to go by steven vasquez. More confusion. Looks like many of his films are rated pretty low.
Storm Center (1956)
b davis, between hits.
It was gutsy for anyone to participate in this project, as the red scare and huac hearings had been such a hot button issue, and had hurt the careers of so many people in front and back of the camera. In the 1950s, davis was looking for starring roles. When the town council asks the librarian to take a book out of circulation, she stands up to them and refuses. In the name of free speech, freedom to read and learn. They even try bribing her. It's good, although it was apparently a flop at the time. Maybe enough time hadn't yet passed, and the subject was still a sore spot in the minds of viewers. Also maybe some iffy performances by various actors. Co-stars brian keith, dad on family affair. And "the chief" from get smart! Note the reference to the dewey decimal system, which classified books according to subject matter. We had to learn this as children, and my grandmother even majored in library sciences. I fear the dewey decimal system has gone the way of morse code. The one and only film directed by daniel taradash. He won his oscar for from here to eternity. Davis won hers for dangerous and jezebel! This was kind of the midpoint of davis' career; she had made huge films in the 1930s and 1940s, but would make more giant films for years after this! Sadly, kevin coughlin (freddie) would die young in a car accident at age 30. It's an entertaining film. It's pretty good, an example of how witchhunts can get out of hand. But that ending...silly. Talk about over the top!
The Island at the Top of the World (1974)
so fun! why isnt this shown more often?
Period piece... 1907, starring david hartman as ivarrson, professor at a university. He is hired by sir anthony to find anthony's son donald, who disappeared after leaving a whaling ship. It's believed that the son went in search of a whale graveyard, somewhere in the north seas. And to go there, they will travel in a dirigible airship. Keep an eye out for mako as oomiak the eskimo. Mako made an appearance in so many films. He was even in a columbo! Very dramatic valleys and scenes during the opening credits, which seem to be drawings. Imdb tells us some parts were filmed in oregon, while some scenes (or footage at least) are from norway. It's fun! Clearly made for the whole family. Mostly kid friendly. Although it does get pretty scarey now and then! Lots of walking and working at high heights! Directed by robert stevenson, for buena vista disney pictures. He was probably best known for directing mary poppins, old yeller, and bedknobs and broomsticks. Film based on the novel by donald payne. He had four novels made into film, and wrote under several names. Some other fun trivia is that agneta ekemyr (plays freyja) posed nude for playboy the year after this was released.
Murder in Harlem (1935)
based on an actual murder case from 1913
A mostly black cast, and made by an early black author, writer, director, producer. With frequent use of typed cards to move the story both forward and backward. Writer student henry glory falls for a girl while selling his book door to door. Later, when a dead body is found, the coppers are brought in to solve the mystery. And the girl's brother, a watchman, has been accused of the murder. Stars clarence brooks, andrew bishop, alec lovejoy. Written and directed by the team of micheaux and williams. Based on micheaux's own book, this describes an actual murder from 1913. Some really interesting information in the imdb trivia section. Gotta give this one high marks for script and production. Micheaux knew some of the acting wasn't top notch, and the picture quality is pretty bad, but we're lucky to have this around at all, for such an oldie film by a black writer director producer. Hopefully it can get a restoration, even if just for historical value. He was the first black producer of sound films, acc to several sources. Currently showing on roku streaming channel. Hopefully there is a better copy out there somewhere for a future restoration! For more information on micheaux, check out his entry in wikipedia dot org, or watch "oscar micheaux: the superhero of black filmmaking". Interesting guy! He really accomplished a lot, in spite of the conditions at the time.
Loudermilk (2017)
comedy... over a serious subject
Three seasons, currently on netflix. Such an angry guy! Ron livingston, who will always be known as the office space guy, who tells it like it is.(That was such an awesome film). Here, he's a bitter, angry man in recovery, who is tasked with leading a twelve step group, and miscellaneous other jobs as assigned by the church. Each ep is a chapter, or a different aspect of recovery. Sometimes it's being a sponsor to a liar, or being sponsored by a wack-job. Or being forced to go to meetings for your boss. Loudermouth's roommate is ben, played by will sasso...he always has bad advice or some judgement on loudermilk's life. Funny stuff! Fun theme song... stand on the horizon by franz ferdinand. Good combination of serious and comedy. Farrelly brothers.
F for Fake (1973)
one of welles' strange experiments
Directed and narrated by orson welles. It's a study in truth, forgery, lies, in the form of a mockumentary by welles himself! He tells us the story of an artist forger elmyr, whose paintings may or may not have been fakes. And friends who may or may not have actually purchased those forgeries. So many interviews with...people. And so much talking!!! Yakkety yak. Wells just goes on and on. Paid himself and his current girlfriend oja as director, narrator, writer. Even talks about his own fake mars invasion from 1938, which was another famous forgery! Or just an experiment. Lots of talk about howard hughes and his accomplishments. Gets his friends and actor buddies in on it.. like laurence harvey, clifford irving, joseph cotten. Welles used cotten extensively in so many of his films! It's okay. So much talking. You have to have the patience to go along with the gag and pretend to believe it's all really happening. Similar to some of our more modern mockumentaries ( spinal tap, mighty wind, best in show.. which are all by genius chris guest.) F for fake showing on max streaming.
The Rogues Tavern (1936)
pre war who dunnit ??
When a young couple wants to get married, they decide to stay overnight in a hotel. But before they go to bed, people start getting knocked off! And it seems to be a dog doing it. Or is it? Good combination of humor and suspense, in spite of the dead bodies. The script wouldn't win any awards, and lots of sloppy continuity issues, but the chemistry between the actors is quite good! Some twists and turns in here. Near the end, someone can't stop the silly, evil laugh. That didn't need to go on so long. Stars wallace ford; he was rarely the lead, but certainly appeared in some great films! Check out his list of work. Directed by bob hill. He worked in silent film for years before the talkies. Story by al martin. He and hill made eight films together!
The Woman Who Loves Giraffes (2018)
interesting story of an interesting lady
A two hour documentary on anne dagg, who grew up in canada, but wanted to see giraffes in the wild. Which meant going to africa. By herself. In her twenties. During the 1950s. Taking meticulous notes, photographs, and films, she wrote numerous papers and books on her giraffes. Being a woman was a major roadblock to getting tenure anywhere at the time. We see interviews with Anne, her daughter, her students, even from the committee that had denied her tenure. She was out in the field years before diane fossy and richard leakey. Lots of discussion on animal conservation. Really interesting stuff! Written and directed by alison reid. Currently showing on kanopy streaming.
Slay (2024)
vampires meet... the drag show!
From (free) tubi streaming. When four drag queens are mistakenly booked to perform their show at a redneck biker bar, they fear for the worst. But they stick around for a couple fans who have been waiting for them to arrive. It seems to be similar to "to wong foo".. where they ended up in a small, rough town, but make some friends along the way. Not a lot of info on this, and not many votes, so clearly it hasn't been viewed by many people yet. Some fun costumes. The script needed some fixing up... pretty slow in places. Even the drag banter was less than optimal. It quickly turns into vampires against humans. Except the barflies don't realize the vampires are on the move until about thirty minutes in! Then it turns into a vincent price horror story. It's okay. Kind of fun, but lower budget. Written and directed by jem garrard. Garrard has worked on various tv series and films. A canadian film, filmed in south africa.
Blockade (1938)
early, seldom shown h fonda
Henry fonda, madeleine carroll. During the spanish civil war, farmer marco helps norma when she cracks up her car. Soon, marco will have to fight to defend his land, which will put him up against spies norma and her father. Will the ship with supplies be allowed to land? Some over the top acting by fonda as he tries to stop his fellow countrymen from just walking away from the fight. Leo carillo is along for laughs, but there's really nothing funny about civil war, and it's so out of place here. The basic story is sound, but it's all just pretty good. This came out the same year as jezebel, a much bigger and better role for fonda. And he will be huge in grapes of wrath in 1940. Blockade is mostly good. Kind of a big yawning patriotic speech by marco at the very end. Co-stars reginald denny (rebecca, mister blandings). Directed by william dieterle. He was nominated for emile zola. Some interesting film locations... catalina and the los angeles river!