ph: Tung Walsh
Saturday, March 16, 2013
The Red House (1947)
An old man and his sister are concealing a terrible secret from their adopted teen daughter, concerning a hidden abandon farmhouse, located deep in the woods.
Fairly suspenseful mystery with some Gothic touches, but with a repetitive plot and therefore a bit overlong.
Halliwell **: "Psycho-like suspense melodrama, too extended for comfort and too restricting for the actors, but effective in spurts."
Scanners (1981)
A scientist sends a man with extraordinary psychic powers to hunt others like him.
What otherwise would be a pulp sci-fi horror story is turned by masterful direction into a disquieting psychological thriller with some nasty details.
Halliwell (no star): "Overlong science fiction which concentrates on the nastier elements."
Maltin **1/2: "Rather plodding treatment of interesting idea, aided somewhat by great (if yucky) special effects."
Friday, March 15, 2013
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First Lines: Ernest Hemingway - For Whom the Bell Tolls
(ph: Wilbur R. Mattoon)
He lay flat on the brown, pine-needled floor of the forest, his chin on his folded arms, and high overhead the wind blew in the tops of the pine trees.
Find Me Guilty (2006)
Based on the true story of Jack DiNorscio, a mobster who defended himself in court for what would be the longest mafia trial in U.S. history.
Refreshingly lighthearted and humorous courtroom drama with a sursprisngly off-kilter performance by Vin Diesel.
Maltin ***: "Diesel gives a wonderful, transformative performance...Better than most crime fiction, this lively courtroom-mob saga is impeccably cast and directed with brio by Lumet, whoalso cowrote the screenplay. Putting Louis Prima on the soundtrack doesn't hurt, either."
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Runaway Jury (2003)
A juror on the inside and a woman on the outside manipulate a court trial involving a major gun manufacturer.
Although the plot is far-fetched and at times almost confusing, intelligent direction and the stars provide for an entertaining courtroom thriller with a satisfying ending.
Halliwell *: "Moderately enjoyable, if implausible, melodrama of jury tampering."
Maltin ***: "Entertaining if longish adaptation of John Grisham's novel...Finale doesn't have the emotional punch it should, but it's such a treat to watch these actors at work it almost doesn't matter."
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
The Call of the Wild (1972)
A house dog is abducted and brought to the north as a sled dog.
Simplistic, but highly effective adventure movie, in which the dog is indeed the true hero.
Halliwell (no star): "Closer to the book than the previous versions, but curiously scrappy and unsatisfactory."
Maltin **1/2: "Lacklustre version of the Jack London adventure classic, produced by a multinational film combine and wasting the talents of a diverse cast. One redeeming quality: the striking Finnish scenery."
Mindhunters (2004)
Trainees in the FBI's psychological profiling program must put their training into practice when they discover a killer in their midst.
Standard thriller fare with a serial killer touch, mildy entertaining, although a bit far-fetched.
On second view: far-fetched it is, but a premise one can follow as entertaining.
Maltin **: "Moderately suspenseful and well-acted thriller sticks close to the TEN LITTLE INDIANS formula."
Monday, March 11, 2013
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