ph: Greg Kadel
Saturday, January 7, 2017
Six Days Seven Nights (1998)
A New York magazine editor, and a gruff pilot must put aside their mutual dislike if they are to survive after crash landing on a deserted South Seas island.
OK adventure movie with a built-in romantic comedy; the entertainment is likable, but modest, the two stars make it work.
Halliwell (no star): "A romantic comedy so obvious in its outcome that an audience can sleep through most of it without missing anything of interest."
Maltin***: "Entertaining romantic comedy...An obvious setup is played out with great verve by the stars. Ford is especially loose and funny."
First Lines: Apsley Cherry-Garrard - The Worst Journey in the World
Scott used to say that the worst part of an expedition was over when the preparation is finished.
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Brighton Rock (1947)
In 1964 the enforcer of a Brighton gang, murders a man, who has himself killed the gang leader, then a young waitress who witnessed the gang's activity, to keep an eye on her.
Powerful adaptation of Graham Greene's novel is dark, cynical and well played and photographed; the ending, however, seems artificial and is superfluous.
Halliwell***: "A properly 'seedy' version of Graham Greene's 'entertainment', very flashily done for the most part but with a trick ending which allows the heroine to keep her illusions."
Maltin***: "Tour-de-force role for young Attenborough...Notable for incredibly cynical trick ending."
Murder by Death (1976)
Five famous literary detective characters and their sidekicks are
invited to a bizarre mansion to solve an even stranger mystery.
Likable crime mystery spoof with some occasional good jokes; somehow the motley star cast make it happen.
Halliwell*:
"Sometimes thin but generally likable spoof of a longstanding genre;
the stars seize their opportunities avidly, and the film does not
outstay its welcome."
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
The Rundown (2003)
A tough aspiring chef is hired to bring home a mobster's son from the Amazon but becomes involved in the fight against an oppressive town operator and the search for a legendary treasure.
Competently made and occasionally funny action comedy; the plot itself is silly and not very original.
Halliwell*: "A vehicle intended as an easy ride for a new action star; it runs smoothly and The Rock charms when he is not beating up the opposition."
Maltin**1/2: "This cheerfully derivative adventure is mindlessly entertaining but might have been better with a less campy approach and fewer slo-mo body-slammin' fights and stunts."
First Lines: Castle Freeman Jr. Go With Me
Midsummer: The long days begin in bright, rising mist and never end.
Monday, January 2, 2017
Long Weekend (2008)
A vacationing couple in the wilderness learns what happens when they disrespect nature.
OK thriller with an ecological message; not really very original, but it's nice to see nature striking back for once.
Trading Places (1983)
A snobbish investor and a wily street con artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.
Halliwell**: " Surprisingly witty comedy, which while not aspiring to great heights, and marred by a few excesses, brought a refreshing breath of air to a declining genre."
Maltin**1/2: "Fine cast breathes life into time-worn comedy premise...Murphy, in his second film, is a comic powerhouse, and makes up for director Landis' indulgences..."
Hitchcock/Truffaut (2015)
Filmmakers discuss how Francois Truffaut's 1966 book "Cinema According to Hitchcock" influenced their work.
This documentary provides not much new about the famous book and the two directors, but you'll find more insight from the invited guest directors.
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