ph: Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott
Saturday, October 19, 2019
The Hoodlum (1951)
Paroled sociopath career criminal Vincent Lubeck betrays his family's trust when he masterminds a complex armored car robbery.
Above-average crime drama is tough, but not very surprising; Lawrence Tierney is especially notable as the irredeemable criminal beyond any hope.
Halliwell (no star): "Toughish crime support with interesting moments."
Maltin**1/2: "Tough, compact, entirely predictable low-budget crime saga."
Una Mujer Fantástica (2017)
A transgender woman who works as a waitress and moonlights as a nightclub singer, is bowled over by the death of her older boyfriend.
A subtle, heartfelt tale of a transgender's woman confronted with bias and hatred and ignorance towrd her own grief; Daniela Vega's performance in the title role is indeed fanatstic.
Sunshine Cleaning (2008)
In order to raise the tuition to send her young son to private school, a mom starts an unusual business -- a biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service -- with her unreliable sister.
Fairly entertaining, if not too exciting family comedy-drama solidly directed and especially watchable for the good ensemble of characters.
Maltin***: "Likable comedy-drama...The two stars are perfectly cast and aided by a handpicked ensemble."
Friday, October 18, 2019
Thursday, October 17, 2019
First Lines: Charles Stross - Iron Sunrise
IMPACT: T plus 1392 days, 12 hours, 03 minutes
Wednesday ran through the darkened corridors of the station, her heart pounding.
The Ides of March (2011)
An idealistic staffer for a new presidential candidate gets a crash course on dirty politics during his stint on the campaign trail.
A biting, but not very original look at US election politics is mainly watchable for its first-rate cast and good direction.
Maltin**: "Purported inside look at backroom politics covers awfully familiar ground and offers no real surprises; with a cast of this caliber it's easy to take but still doesn't add up to much."
The Butterfly Effect (2004)
While suffering blackouts - caused by reading his own journals - a young man travels into parallel universes of his life, and each time he tries to undo the catastrophes to others that he has caused to them.
Basically, yet another (supernatural) time travel odyssey, this effort does suspensefully add a moral component and an culminating urgency to resolve the imminent paradoxes.
Maltin**: "Interesting premise takes much too long to develop; in the meantime the film wallows in unpleasantness."
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Photographer: Clarence Sinclair Bull
(Marion Davies)
Bio:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Sinclair_Bull
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
First Lines: Iain M. Banks - The Algebraist
It had thought it would be safe out here, just one more ambiently black speck deep-chilled in the vast veil of ice debris wrapping the outer reaches of the system like a frozen, tenuous shroud of tissue.
Monday, October 14, 2019
Abduction (2011)
A young man realizes he's not his parents' son, and after they are attacked and murdered, he finds himself amidst a mysterious conspiracy.
Mediocre spy thriller with some Bourne Identity allusions speeds along with run-of-the-mill action sequences and some remarkably wooden performances.
Maltin**: "Teenage BOURNE IDENTITY rip-off gives TWILIGHT star Lautner a chance to show off his action, if not acting...Nothing memorable here, but the pace is intense and the movie doesn't try to be more than a filler for Lautner fans."
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