Roger's Watchlist - Movies by the day
A chronological agenda of my movie experiences.
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- DirectorDavid S. GoyerStarsJustin ChatwinMargarita LevievaMarcia Gay HardenAfter an attack leaves him in limbo, invisible to the living but also near death, a teenager discovers the only person who might be able to help him is his assailant.August 23 2024
This was Hollywood Pictures last movie before the production company was dissolved. Originally a vehicle to present more mature content than what would normally be released under the Disney banner, Hollywood Pictures was in the latter years only used for low budget releases until the end was decided in 2007. The Invisible was actually a quite telling example for the demise. A rather insignificant cast (sorry Marcia Gay Harden) acts without enthusiasm in a supernatural thriller about a teenager, badly beaten, on the brink between life and death, whose ghostly appearance has to impress on the real world that he is still alive. It seems that the only person to help him is exactly the girl who orchestrated his almost murder. I’d love to say more about the cast but except Harden and Hawaii 5-0’s Alex O’Loughlin in a smaller part, there is no big name here. The lead is Justin Chatwin (never heard of him) while the criminal girl is played by Margarita Lieveva (never heard of her either) and while the story might carry some interesting features, execution is sloppy and the ending of this movie is just cringy.
Story: 6,27
Cast : 4,87
Entertainment : 5,98
Note : 5,67 - DirectorRoberto MauriStarsTony KendallBrad HarrisMonica PardoMadame Kim Soo is a respected benefactor to social causes in Thailand, but she enjoys viewing Muay-Thai matches with a handsome male escort. Jo Walker and his friend Tom Rowland notice her at ring side, because of her haughty demeanor and beauty. Later, as they search for an American girl who disappeared, possibly another victim of a prostitution-ring, they will visit her at her entertainment club for rich patrons only. The club, situated in a secretive "island of 1,000 lotus flowers", offers foreign sex tourists all kinds of pleasure they may wish for. To the peril of his life, Joe Walker goes alone to meet Kim Soo, after identifying her as the leader of an army of thugs with a tattoo with three snakes. Will Captain Tom Rowland and the Thai paratroopers arrive in time to save Joe Walker from death in the island of lost girls?August 22 2024
The sixties were coming to an end and Germany’s movie industry was at the end of a rich period with full theaters and great box office successes. However, the Karl May films and the Edgar Wallace crime thrillers, the guarantees for healthy income, were finished and so was also the Kommissar X series. All these blockbusters were replaced in the late 1960’s by cheap erotic flicks displaying nudity and in a last effort to attract some viewers, producers proceeded to dumb down the latest Kommissar X significantly by saving money on storytelling replacing it by a lame dud set in Thailand involving sex trafficking and prostitution and of course nudity galore. Thankfully they managed to re-hire the two leads Brad Harris and Tony Kendall, but that did not help the movie at all. This is a terribly bad movie, full of plot holes, inconsistencies and actors who look like they have been hired right on the spot the day of the shooting in Thailand. This is lowest level of quality for sure. How they managed to release a final movie in 1971 is beyond my comprehension.
Story: 3,47
Cast : 5,11
Entertainment : 3,06
Note : 3,88 - DirectorMichael AndersonStarsKris KristoffersonCheryl LaddDaniel J. TravantiAn NTSB investigator seeking the cause of an airline disaster meets a warrior woman from 1000 years in the future.August 20 2024
Sometimes the most obvious B-movies just knock you over. I bet not a lot of people have ever heard of Millennium (nothing to do with Lisbeth Salander and Dragon Tattoos). It is a 1989 movie starring Kris Kristofferson and Cheryl Ladd as leads. It starts with a horrible in flight crash of two airplanes, it seems to develop into an investigative thriller about what caused the accident but morphs after 30 minutes into a time travel science fiction adventure that blew me away. This is no blockbuster material, it is ambitious storytelling about what might happen to our world 1.000 years from now and it utilizes time travel in a very imaginative way. Granted, the finale could have been developed much better because it is not right away apparent what will cause the rather explosive ending. But I was honestly enthralled with this movie. You’d wish for a more enthusiastic lead then phlegmatic Kristofferson, you’d clearly adore Cheryl Ladd as the enigmatic Louise. No more big names here, but for once this story does not need them, it is a great entertainment and you need to overlook some more amateurish special effects, but that should be easy.
Story : 9,24
Cast : 6,88
Entertainment : 9,47
Note : 8,53 - DirectorJay DuplassMark DuplassStarsJason SegelEd HelmsJudy GreerDispatched from his basement room on an errand for his widowed mother, slacker Jeff might discover his destiny (finally) when he spends the day with his unhappily married brother as he tracks his possibly adulterous wife.August 19 2024
I would like to designate Jeff, Who Lives at Home as a “feel good, but not that good movie”. The brothers Duplass, Jay and Mark, both accomplished actors, writers and directors have made a movie here which has a wonderful cast (Jason Segel, Susan Sarandon, Judy Greer, Ed Helms) yet it tells a story which is quite difficult to identify as a comedy throughout its first half. Segel plays Jeff, a 30 year old living in his mother’s basement, waiting for a sign that could give direction to his life. When a wrong phone call ‘tells’ him to lookout for someone named Kevin he ventures out only to run into his brother Pat (Helms) whose married life is about to break down. Watching Helms playing this absolute jerk all through the better part of the movie made me doubt about the intentions of the writers/directors fearing this might not end well. Of course the latter half of the movie is the way to redemption for all characters and you might even feel quite good once end titles start to roll. Until then it is a question of stamina whether you can wait for the movie to take a turn for the better, but it definitely does.
Story : 5,78
Cast : 6,32
Entertainment : 6,11
Note : 6,07 - DirectorAllan UngarStarsJosh DuhamelElisha CuthbertNestor CarbonellAfter escaping a Michigan prison, a charming career criminal assumes a new identity in Canada and goes on to rob a record 59 banks and jewellery stores while being hunted by a police task force. Based on the story of The Flying Bandit.August 18 2024
True Crime wherever you look, watch, listen. If there are not documentaries or podcasts which address famous or notorious crimes then you’ll certainly discover a biopic somewhere that does the same. Bandit is exactly that kind of movie. The object of this movie though is no brutal serial killer, no violent murder sprees but it focuses on the guy who up to this day still holds the record of most successive one man bank robberies in Canada. Gilbert Galvan jr. managed this dubious record during the 1980’s at a time when crime investigation was hindered through geographical constraints. Galvan jr criscrossed Canada on regional flights hitting sometimes banks a few times a day in different cities. Josh Duhamel stars as this criminal who managed at the same time to start a family. Elisha Cuthbert plays the unsuspecting wife while Mel Gibson appears as Duhamel’s fence. It is not really an exciting movie, but it entertains through the criminal’s ingenuity and his art to disguise himself. Even though you know that Galvan jr will be caught in the end you’ll support the cleverness, you will like Duhamel’s performance and you’ll be disappointed reading the end titles announcing how the characters went on with their lives.
Story : 6,46
Cast : 6,49
Entertainment : 6,62
Note: 6,52 - DirectorRainer Werner FassbinderStarsBarbara SukowaArmin Mueller-StahlMario AdorfA seductive cabaret singer-prostitute pits a corrupt building contractor against the new straight-arrow building commissioner, launching an outrageous plan to elevate herself in a world where everything-and everyone-is for sale.August 17 2024
Rainer Werner Fassbinder directed his most prolific movies towards the end of his short life between 1979 and 1982. His famous German trilogy with three movies centering around strong female characters also was produced during these years, beginning with Die Ehe der Maria Braun set in war-torn Germany and in the immediate aftermath. Lola is set in the mid 1950’s in a small town during years of economic growth and focuses on Lola aka Marie Luise, a single mother who wins her daily bread as a bordello singer and prostitute. When an overzealous city controller threatens to put an end to the corruption that rules the town, Lola pounces on tne opportunity to heighten her chances for a better, more fortunate life. Instead of Fassbinder’s muse Hanna Schygulla, Lola is played by Barbara Sukowa. The male lead here is no other than Armin Mueller Stahl who would go on to have an illustrious international career. Then again, we meet a big number of Fassbinder’s usual crew who followed him throughout a decade of filmmaking. Although not as dramatic as ‘Eva Braun’, Lola provides a very interesting insight into the German societal behavior of the 1950’s uncovering immorality and corruption. Shortly before the director’s death the third movie of the trilogy would see the light of day: Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss.
Story : 6,64
Cast : 7,39
Entertainment : 6,21
Note : 6,75 - DirectorRichard EyreStarsLiam NeesonAntonio BanderasLaura LinneyThe story of a husband who suspects his wife of adultery, and sets out to track down the other man in her life.August 16 2024
Watching Liam Neeson play a grieving widower in The Other Man, a movie which came out in 2008 gave me goosebumps as his wife, Natasha Richardson, would die just a few months later in a freak accident. Neeson plays this guy who has just lost his wife to cancer and now has to deal beside his grief with the fact that apparently his wife had been unfaithful. Add to the grief a healthy part of jealousy and rage and Leeson transforms into a vengeance machine when he tries to find out who her mysterious lover is, well intent on killing him. When you’ll find yourself watching this development scenario, you’d think being caught into another ‘Taken’. However this takes another direction, which is quite beneficial for the scenario and makes the story much more palpable. Leeson is joined by Laura Linney as his wife, appearing in flashbacks and Antonio Banderas as the mysterious lover. It might not be a pinnacle of cinematic art but it is a welcome variation on a theme.
Story : 6,44
Cast : 6,39
Entertainment : 5,92
Note: 6,25 - DirectorMichael LehmannStarsBruce WillisDanny AielloAndie MacDowellA cat burglar is forced to steal Da Vinci works of art for a world domination plot.August 15 2024
Whenever someone mentions Hudson Hawk, the eyerolling begins right away. For decades, and before Bruce Willis later decided to accept about every B-move offered to him, Hudson Hawk was considered to be Bruce’s worst movie, especially since the actor was heavily involved in the script and apparently also took over directorial duties. How does Hudson Hawk fare today? I had a worse memory of it. Maybe I have mellowed with age, but if you try to watch the movie without being offended by the awful performances of Richard E.Grant and Sandra Bernhard which do drag the movie down a few more notches, you might just be entertained. It is not a good movie, but it has its charms. First, Andie MacDowell is lightening up the story through her presence alone, Danny Aiello is a great sidekick for Bruce and I still love to reconnect with James Coburn in any movie. The story could have been better developed, yet again there is a certain attractiveness to the idea that DaVinci artefacts must be stolen to reveal a device to make gold from iron. A more astute script could have been the basis for another Indiana Jones chapter but it only was enough for Hudson Hawk. It still might be seen as a colossal flop at the box office, but some indulgence might bring about an improvement of opinion .
Story : 6,47
Cast : 5,46
Entertainment : 6,22
Note : 6,05 - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroHarvey KeitelDavid ProvalIn New York City's Little Italy, a devoutly Catholic mobster must reconcile his desire for power, his feelings for his epileptic lover, and his devotion to his troublesome friend.August 14 2024
It is frankly quite unbelievable that it has been more than 50 years since Mean Streets was released on theater screens, a movie which started a legendary collaboration, a celebrated director’s career, a rise to the top of any actor’s hierarchy and a very remarkable movie career. Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro and Harvey Keitel work together for the first time on a low budget movie, written and directed by Scorsese, built in its entirety on youth and childhood memories from Little Italy, New York that the director managed to transform into what many people still call today the quintessential New York crime movie. Many collaborations between Scorsese and DeNiro would follow, but the first of course is the one who should pave the way for the future. It is quite remarkable to witness the birth of something great here, even the use of handheld cameras because of budget constraints makes the movie more interesting. The brawl in the billiard room is a masterpiece of cinematography. Interestingly the New York crime movie was made for most part in Los Angeles, budget constraints, you know. DeNiro’s performance of Johnny Boy is nothing short of a tour de force. Keitel’s part is a bit more nuanced and subdued. It is quite bizarre when it transpires that DeNiro initially wanted Keitel’s part. Just imagine….
Story : 7,63
Cast : 9,64
Entertainmemt : 8,27
Note : 8,51 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsMia FarrowDianne WiestMike StarrA nostalgic look at radio's golden age focusing on one ordinary family and the various performers in the medium.August 13 2024
Among over 50 movies directed by Woody Allen, Radio Days is without a shadow of a doubt my absolute favorite. No dire chamber play like so many of his movies of that time, but Radio Days is a fond throwback to the late 1930’s and early 1940’s, when the all present radio dictated the American everyday life. Allen narrates the mosaic of funny and sentimental sequences as if they were his own childhood memories, creating an impressive picture of how radio shows influenced the protagonist’s family. The main character here is Joe, a young boy, around 9 or 10, who may or not be young Woody who observes his family members tune their lives around that radio and tells stories around the NY High Society as lived through the voices on the air. 90 minutes go by like a dream, you will feel being sent back to these times and be enchanted by a great cast that includes Mia Farrow and Dianne Wiest while Allen is giving other stars some great opportunities for a remarkable appearance. Watch out for Diane Keaton, Jeff Daniels and Danny Aiello and try to find William H.Macy in a very small non speaking part. Radio Days is sheer delight.
Story : 9,17
Cast : 8,63
Entertainment : 9,72
Note : 9,17 - DirectorBill CondonStarsIan McKellenBrendan FraserLynn RedgraveThe last days of Frankenstein (1931) director James Whale are explored.August 12 2024
The name James Whale wouldn’t ring a bell with too many people these days. Yet, Whale will forever have a place in cinema history as the director who selected Boris Karloff to play a legendary part : The monster in Frankenstein. Whale was the director of Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein alongside another Universal classic : The Invisible Man. The director’s career ended quite abruptly in the early 1940’s, and though many think that his open homosexuality was the reason, it appears that Whale’s projects were box office disappointments which made him retire from the business. This movie recounts Whale’s final days as a wealthy recluse, diminished by a series of strokes, still on the prowl for young men. Fittingly Sir Ian McKellen, another openly gay actor, plays Whale in quite a remarkable performance, while Brendan Fraser’s character Clayton appears to be an amalgam of those young men Whale tried to conquer. Now I did like the performances, though I did not like the overall movie which seemed to culminate in a never ending string of McKellen’s monologues. Except for a scene at a party where they meet British royality and Whale’s Frankenstein actors, the movie has unfortunately nothing interesting to offer. I had thought there would be a more intimate look into Whale’s director’s life but unfortunately that wasn’t happening. Disappointing.
Story : 4,64
Cast : 7,41
Entertainment : 4,11
Note : 5,39 - DirectorKen AnnakinStarsHenry FondaRobert ShawRobert RyanA dramatization of Nazi Germany's final Western Front counterattack of World War II.August 11 2024
I have very rarely been angry after watching a movie, but here I just couldn’t contain my annoyance about this movie. Battle of the Bulge was supposed to focus on the 1944 Ardennes offensive, the last hurrah of the German forces basically, and the expectations were kind of high after the planetary success of The Longest Day made a few years earlier. But the result was nothing but a disaster. First, they took the catastrophic decision to film this movie somewhere in the Spanish sierras, which just was the opposite of the forest covered Ardennes and every scene depicting large plains and snow covered mountain ranges are a historical ignominy. Another point were all the inaccuracies around the actual battle. All historical figures were name changed, the movie makes us believe that the battle lasted only about 50 hours when it took a whole month in reality. If this had been a standalone war movie with no historical background it would have been a fine war film. They managed to assemble a good cast, Robert Shaw was a great German villain, Henry Fonda appeared as a US colonel, Charles Bronson pops up, alongside Telly Savalas, so the big names did their job. It was the producers and writers who failed history and that is a shame. Even Eisenhower out of retirement denounced this picture in a press conference and truthfully, for a citizen of Luxembourg, where a part of the Battle of the Bulge actually took place, I deeply resent this picture and hope that someone will have another look at this extraordinary piece of history and maybe make another attempt at producing a movie that honors the memory of those people.
Story : 6,77
Cast : 7,44
Entertainment : 3,81
Note : 6,01 - DirectorRon HowardStarsSteve MartinMary SteenburgenDianne WiestFour Buckman siblings attempt to raise their children - each in their own different style - and deal with the joys and sorrows that the process brings.August 10 2024
If Parenthood were an entire movie starring Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen as the chaotic parents I’d give it a 10 for sure. But Ron Howard, Brian Glazer and their writers wanted to tell a story about an extended family, they wanted to put their own parenting adventures into the story and Parenthood became the movie we know now. Let’s be clear, it is not bad at all, but some segments, most of all the Tom Hulce subplot just don’t work. About the same goes for Rick Moranis playing this over demanding father who wants to make his daughter a genius while neglecting his wife, a no go for a comedy movie. Director, producers and writers did really want to make a grest movie, the cast assembled is first rate. We also get to enjoy Dianne Wiest, Martha Plimpton, Keanu Reeves, Jason Robards and young Joaquin Phoenix but ultimately the above mentioned segments ruined the comedic flow for me. If there had been more scenes like Steve Martin’s hilarious sequence as the cowboy or Mary Steenburgen’s attempt to loosen up her husband with disastrous consequences, I’d rank Parenthood among my clear favorites. Unfortunately that won’t happen.
Story : 6,54
Cast : 8,09
Entertainment : 6,02
Note : 6,88 - DirectorGavin GrazerStarsAlicia SilverstoneRachael Leigh CookWoody HarrelsonBy chance, 3 employees rob their bank the same weekend.August 9 2024
It starts out as a very silly adventure and yes, it is a rather silly movie. If you don’t abandon after the first 15 minutes then you’ll find yourself on the winning side because after a disastrous start, Scorched gets better and it veers from silly to rather funny. Three bank employees decide to rob their bank, everyone on its own, the same weekend without knowing the other’s similar plans. On the positive side, among the three employees we have Woody Harrelson (just don’t even ask about his motive for the robbery) and Alicia Silverstone (we might understand why she does it). Paulo Costanzo plays the third enployee who gets more or less forced into the theft by his friend David Krumholtz. Around all their stories it seems that writers and makers were not satisfied yet with their star power at hand, so they hired none other than John Cleese to play an absolutely bonkers millionaire. The chaos of the plot does sometimes clearly attack the viewer’s sense of good taste but in the end it is nothing but a rather innocent little movie that went quite unnoticed, maybe rightly so.
Story : 5,54
Cast : 6,09
Entertainment : 5,83
Note : 5,82 - DirectorJean-Jacques VierneStarsJean-Pierre TalbotGeorges WilsonGeorges LoriotTintin and Captain Haddock try to discover what is so desirable about their old and apparently worthless ship.August 8 2024
Not even Steven Spielberg’s animated 2011 effort to bring Tintin to cinemas could generate enough interest by audiences to recreate the magic that Belgian artist Hergé’s comic books had produced over 40 years. Animated series of the comic books had been shown on TV throughout the 1990’s and Spielberg would have been better advised to have a look at 2 French movies produced in the 60’s that actually would have shown him that a live adaptation of Tintin would indeed have worked. Tintin et le mystère de la Toison d’Or wasn’t based on any existing comics, it had an admittedly rather weak story on its own, but had a very big advantage. They had indeed found a young actor called Jean-Pierre Talbot who looked quite strikingly how people would have pictured the intrepid hero. Cunning make-up (at least for 60’s standards) also produced a great live action doppelganger of Captain Haddock played by George Wilson, incidentally actor Lambert Wilson’s father and managed to find remarkable likeness for characters like Thomson and Thompson or Professor Calculus. The story was filmed on location in Turkey and Greece and it provides despite a few shortcomings a rather inventive variation on Tintin’s adventures. Talbot would reprise his role as Tintin a few years later for Tintin et les oranges bleues but unfortunately this would be the last time a live action Tintin would appear.
Story : 6,95
Cast : 5,98
Entertainment : 6,69
Note : 6,54 - DirectorJonathan MostowStarsBruce WillisRadha MitchellVing RhamesSet in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of others' surrogates.August 7 2024
2009 - social media was still something rather abstract, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter were just about to expand and nobody had even thought about TikTok. Watching Surrogates today you just cannot ignore the parallels that can be drawn between this adaptation of a graphic novel and the global dependance younger generations experience with their mobile phones and the world engulfing social media apps. Maybe our future could indeed have been the one depicted in the sci-fi crime thriller starring Bruce Willis and Rosamund Pike where 99% of the world’s population won’t leave their home living their lives through surrogates, humanoid robots. Willis’ FBI agent has to investigate destruction of surrogates which also kills their human operators. Soon he has to venture out himself into a life he has not known for years when his surrogate is also destroyed. I loved the story indeed, I liked especially how the actors appeared first as their own robots and then as their human self, especially Rosamund Pike looks great as the worn down, haggard wife. In that way I found the movie’s finale very fitting, quite improbable though that something similar might happen in today’s real world.
Story : 7,95
Cast : 7,04
Entertainment : 8,00
Note : 7,66 - DirectorRichard BenjaminStarsShirley MacLaineRicki LakeBrendan FraserConnie, unwed and pregnant, is heading to Boston by train when she meets wealthy newlyweds Hugh and Patricia. The train crashes, and when Connie comes to in the hospital, she is mistaken for Patricia, who died in the crash with Hugh.August 6 2024
A few months ago I came across ‘J’ai épousé une ombre’, a French movie starring Isabelle Huppert based on a novel by writer William Irish. This production was a rather dramatic affair, maybe following the literary premise closely but when another remake was going into production in 1995, filmmakers tried to give Irish’s story a more comedic approach almost making it a romcom. Isabelle Huppert’s part became Ricki Lake’s and Brendan Fraser took the male lead. Another bonus here was Shirley MacLaine playing the family’s matriarch. The gist was the same. A young pregnant woman survives a train wreck and is mistaken for the wife of a deceased passenger. She and her baby are taken into the family, and she hides her real identity when she realizes the extraordinary wealth of those people. I am just not convinced that this story can serve a purpose as a comedy. The French movie fared in my view better as a drama and the US remake can’t do much better as a comedy. Just maybe the novel ‘I married a dead man’ isn’t material for comedy.
Story : 6.32
Cast : 6,35
Entertainment : 6,17
Note : 6,28 - DirectorZach LipovskyAdam B. SteinStarsEmile HirschBruce DernGrace ParkA bold girl discovers a bizarre, threatening, and mysterious new world beyond her front door after she escapes her father's protective and paranoid control.August 5 2024
The greatest revelations always happen when you aren’t prepared for them. I knew nothing at all about Freaks, maybe except for the fact that this movie had nothing to do with the 1932 Tod Browning horror movie. What I got to see however must have been one of the best science fiction movies in the past years. First of all there are no big franchises involved here. Written by directors Adam Stein and Zach Lipovsky, Freaks tells the story of a 7 year old girl kept by her father inside a decrepit house in order to avoid any contact to the outside world. When she ventures out for the very first time she learns that government forces are hunting ‘abnormal’ people called ‘Freaks’ and she herself develops powers that make her a freak. Even though the story might make some reference to X-Men and its world of mutants, this movie has the enormous advantage that it is no bombastic special effects extravaganza but a rather intimate story about this little girl, played by Lexy Kolker in a very remarkable performance. The movie is also exquisitely cast with Emile Hirsch, Grace Park and Bruce Dern in a great appearance. This is in my opinion a great recommendation for any science fiction aficionado, it is entertaining and suspenseful throughout and refreshingly devoid of any franchise elements.
Story : 8,49
Cast : 8,32
Entertainment : 8,89
Note : 8,57 - DirectorTerry ZwigoffStarsSteve BuscemiThora BirchScarlett JohanssonTwo eccentric best friends graduate high school and respond to a man's romance-seeking newspaper ad as a gag, only to find their lives becoming increasingly complicated.August 4 2024
Quite a peculiar movie. Ghost World is based on a graphic novel about two teenage girls , who have just finished high school and spend their days wandering aimlessly around their unnamed American town, criticizing popular culture and the people they encounter while wondering what they will do for the rest of their days. So the movie picks up on the comic, focusing on Thora Birch’s character Enid who starts to befriend Seymour a middle aged guy, who could be qualified as a nerd. Her friend Rebecca, played by Scarlett Johansson disappears a bit into the background, as the film makers wanted to zoom in on Enid’s friendship with the older guy. Steve Buscemi plays this character and as usual excels as he does in about every part I have seen him in. The movie is definitely no comedy, it is a satire on 90’s teenage life, exploring friendships and solitude, a story which gets darker and more tragic as the movie progresses. Not for everone’s taste.
Story : 6,21
Cast : 7,11
Entertainment : 5,87
Note : 6,40 - DirectorDon SiegelPeter R. HuntRobert Ellis MillerStarsBurt ReynoldsLesley-Anne DownDavid NivenTwo sophisticated jewel thieves join forces to steal $30 million in uncut jewels. Despite a continuous exchange of quips they eventually become romantically involved.August 3 2024
I am pretty sure that should Rough Cut get a remake these days, it would look very, very different. Rough Cut came out in 1980 and is a very tame, talkative although very sympathetic piece of work. What it definitely lacks, as it is supposed to be a caper/heist/romcom is a bit of action, some drama and definitely more chemistry between the leads. Lesley Anne Down and Burt Reynolds appeared quite mismatched to me, here the British actress, known mostly through TV parts, there the then biggest star in Hollywood, they would not really match even though their romance is peppered with witty one liners. I also wondered what Don Siegel was doing in this project. As director of Dirty Harry or Escape from Alcatraz he should have put his stamp on the script and incorporate more action, but instead he went into war with the producers, got fired then re-hired, instead of insisting on better scripts. Then there is David Niven playing the apparently stocky policeman on Reynolds’ tail. If you hire such a big name for what is apparently a supporting part, just don’t bet on the audience going along with this. You just won’t be able to believe that a few scenes with Lesley Anne Down would be all they hired Niven for. This could have been a great movie , but unfortunately it became a rather shallow piece, still entertaining but definitely lacking the zest of a good crowd pleaser. Some interesting crew sightings : Joss Ackland as a Belgian cop, he would become one of the best movie villains in Lethal Weapon 2 and Wolf Kahler, a German actor who would gain international reconnaissance as a nazi officer in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Story : 6,44
Cast : 6,95
Entertainment : 6,82
Note : 6,74 - DirectorNimród AntalStarsLiam NeesonNoma DumezweniLilly AspellA bank executive receives a bomb threat while driving his children to school that his car will explode if they stop and get out.August 2 2024
Some mean tongues often claim that Liam Neeson has played basically the same part for the past 16 years. Ever since Taken the tall Northern Irish actor has featured in a number of movies likened to Taken and of course there are people who think he did nothing else. A look into his IMDb filmography though demonstrates Neeson’s enormous versatility. With Retribution though he reverts back to his established movie persona who has to somehow protect his family from the evils of the world. Astonishingly Retribution is actually the third remake of the Spanish movie El desconocido from 2015. A family father is about to bring his children to school when an unknown voice on the phone tells him that he is actually sitting on a bomb which is going to explode should he leave his car or should he try to get his kids out. I did not see the original movie, neither did I catch the Korean nor the German remakes, so there was no real comparison here to make, but the story was kind of weak, the cast was basically reduced to catering to Neeson, especially Embeth Davidtz as the wife or Matthew Modine as the business partner. All throughout I kept wondering how such a contrived tale could actually have generated 3 more versions. Most definitely one of Neeson’s weaker appearances.
Story: 5,54
Cast : 6,11
Entertainment : 6,07
Note : 5,91 - DirectorGerald ThomasRalph ThomasStarsSidney JamesKenneth WilliamsKenneth ConnorCaptain Crowther's lot is not a happy one! Five of his crew have to be replaced and at such short notice before the voyage begins there isn't much to choose from. Not only does he get the five most incompetent shipmates ever to sail the seven seas, but the passengers turn out to be a rather strange bunch too. The SS Happy Wanderer will never be the same.August 1 2024
Carry on Cruising is the sixth movie in the hugely popular UK comedy series and has the unique distinction to be the very first of the lot to be made in color. Given the quite tight budgets that the producers imposed on their crews and cast this was quite a surprising development. Another noteworthy fact is the limited number of actors who would be considered as the recurring cast. Only three of them, Sid James, Kenneth Williams and Kenneth Connor were present here. Fan favorites like Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques and most of all Charles Hawthrey were absent for different reasons and it kind of shows. The scene is set on a Mediterranean cruise ship on which the captain has his crew in a tight grip until he has to deal with 5 new arrivals who create havoc every waking moment. Among the passengers we meet different characters including two single ladies on the lookout. Now, what I did like in the previous movies was the quite remarkable dose of erotic double entendres and a few risqué sequences which are mostly absent here, apart from a short sequence revealing the ladies in their underwear and stockings. Most actors would reunite in the next movie Carry on Cabby. Carry on Cruising does not disappoint but it doesn’t really belong among the previous entries as it is a little bit too tame.
Story : 6,11
Cast : 5,94
Entertainment : 5,92
Note : 5,99 - DirectorTodd SolondzStarsJordan GelberSelma BlairChristopher WalkenRomance blooms between two tricenarians in arrested development: an avid toy collector who is the dark horse of his family and a depressed woman on the rebound.July 31 2024
I was basically expecting a quirky comedy about a thirty-something mama’s boy who meets a woman at a wedding and marries her within a week. The cast seemed promising : Selma Blair, Christopher Walken, Mia Farrow, Justin Bartha and Donna Murphy are some big names around Jordan Gelber who plays the lead Abe. Gelber himself was known to me as he was playing the coroner in the TV series Elementary. Now I have to admit that after watching this, I do not know what I just endured. Never have I witnessed a more obnoxious character be at the center point of a romance story. Never have I asked myself what director/writer Todd Solondz had in mind here. Was it the absolute paradise for every cynical, nihilistic soul? Let’s be honest, it was maybe the worst movie I recently experienced with the best cast and it was indeed a feat to entice Mia Farrow to make a rare appearance in a movie or motivate Christopher Walken to play the boring toupee wearing father. Let’s be honest here, I do not want to further indulge this movie, it is quite bad and not worth to lose more words about it.
Story : 1,67
Cadt : 5,97
Entertainment : 1,88
Note : 3,17 - DirectorRoy William NeillStarsBasil RathboneNigel BruceAlan MowbrayWhen the fabled Star of Rhodesia diamond is stolen on a London to Edinburgh train and the son of its owner is murdered, Sherlock Holmes must discover which of his suspicious fellow passengers is responsible.July 30 2024
The end is near for Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. Terror by Night is the 13th Sherlock Holmes movie in the long running Universal series. I however will say now after watching this 13th entry that I will certainly miss the series after the last movie. Rathbone and Bruce are certainly how I picture the literary duo before my eye and even the writer’s unconvincing efforts to make Watson the comic sidekick in previous movies have not deterred me, I have been looking for every adventure with the same eagerness. Terror by Night appeals especially to me as I love mysteries set on trains. It is short and snappy when Holmes tries to anticipate the theft of a big jewel, yet when he can’t prevent a series of murders the hunt for the culprit is on. Set on the night train to Edinburgh the mystery reminds of similar Holmes cases when he has to pick the murderer from a limited number of suspects, it just always provides a fresh suspense when the culprit is finally revealed. Let’s just say that this is not the most brilliant entry but it certainly is one of the most entertaining ones.
Story : 7,11
Cast : 6,78
Entertainment : 7,09
Note : 6,99 - DirectorTim BurtonStarsAlec BaldwinGeena DavisMichael KeatonThe spirits of a deceased couple are harassed by an unbearable family that has moved into their home, and hire a malicious spirit to drive them out.July 29 2024
When it was announced earlier that a Beetlejuice sequel was in production some 35 years after the original, social media went wild. Michael Keaton would be back as the titular character and it seems that everybody is just giddy before the October 2024 release. I thought it to be a welcome idea to revisit the 1988 movie, however I cannot count myself among those who consider themselves as Beetlejuice aficionados. Yes, it is a Tim Burton movie, actually his second only after his feature debut with Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, it catapulted the director to stardom and opened the way for another little production called Batman. In my opinion the best about Beetlejuice is the fact that Burton would cast Michael Keaton as Batman and otherwise I cannot really share the overall enthusiasm for the film. Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin play a young couple who die in a car crash and have to haunt their house for the next 125 years. When a new family moves in, they are intent to scare them away, yet to accomplish this they need the help of one particular character whom even the dead seem to shy away from. Catherine O’Hara, Jeffrey Jones and Winona Ryder complete the cast yet the story never really takes off. Two interesting casting choices : Sylvia Sidney plays a caseworker for the dead couple. The actress had a 70 year career and is best known for the principal part in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1937 movie Sabotage. Catherine O’Hara’s agent is played by Dick Cavett, the talk show host who has interviewed about all celebrities on the planet during the 1960’s and 1970’s. He appears as himself in many movies but here he had a real part.
Story: 6,54
Cast ; 6,97
Entertainment : 5,68
Note : 6,40