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Reviews
Kiss of Death (1947)
There is something compelling about family man and loving father Victor Mature.
Victor Mature plays Nick Bianco, who tries to go straight and have a family life...but instead runs into the problem of a lot of former criminals, who are passed over for jobs because of their criminal background. It's Christmas and with two young daughters counting on Nick to put presents under the tree, Nick pulls a jewelry store robbery with his old gang. Unfortunately, Nick is shot and subsequently caught and arrested in the process. At the time of his arrest the prosecuting attorney applies a lot of pressure to Nick trying to get him to turn on the rest of the gang...using his family as leverage. Secure that his fellow crew members are taking care of his family, Nick refuses to squeal...until his wife commits suicide and his daughters end up in the orphanage.
Just when Nick remarries a sweet girl named Nettie and is creating a lovely family with his girls...the jury comes back and this heartless criminal Tommy Udo is let loose back into society with a taste for revenge on Nick.
There are some wonderful performances all around. I did find Richard Widmark's portal of Tommy Uno to grate on my nerves with his obnoxious laugh, anxious behavior and vile smile. Colleen Gray was a lovely surprise as Nettie and both Brian Donlevy and Karl Malden put in solid performances on the right side of the law. This crime noir is heavy on the snitch storyline but should make noir fans' watch list. This is definitely Victor Mature's film and he is oddly compelling as this reformed family man.
This Woman Is Dangerous (1952)
Pour yourself a Sazerac and settle in for this Joan Crawford crime melodrama.
Joan Crawford plays a strong women and the brains of a criminal gang consisting of two brothers and one of their wives. After consulting a doctor about her headaches and given the bad news that she could go blind within the week if she doesn't have this specialty surgery, she moves up their planned heist job. The job is to rob an illegal gambling house that Joan has been frequenting in the process of staking it out. The older brother, Matt, is a bit of a violent and jealous hot head...which ultimately creates problems for everyone including Joan Crawford's character Beth. Beth leaves to have surgery with a specialist...and the separation allows for a lot of things. Her surgeon Dr. Ben Halleck, is not only handsome but good and kind. The two develop a kind of romance and it looks like she might be able to get out of the life and go straight...until the Louisiana police and Matt interfere.
Joan Crawford is wonderful in this film. There is so much ground covered in this film clubs, restaurants, trailer parks, women's prison, hospitals...this film required a lot of extras, who were wonderful. The real scene stealer however is the good doctor Ben Halleck, played by Dennis Morgan and his adorable daughter Susan, Sherry Jackson. Very dramatic with a noir like story, Joan Crawford fans will be thrilled. This isn't Mildred Pierce, but it's still pretty good.
The Letter (1940)
Bette Davis plays the ultimate in despicable characters as the coldest murderess on screen Leslie Crosby.
This film starts with the most callous murder I have ever seen on screen as this woman steps out of a plantation home where she keeps firing a gun over and over at this man who tumbles down the stairs...clearly dead long before she stops firing. She has this cold completely uncaring countenance as she coolly returns to inside.
Eventually, people come running and everyone treats her with a level of deference that she clearly doesn't deserve. We learn she is the wife of a Malayan rubber plantation administrator and named Leslie Crosbie, played by Bette Davis. What acts for authority takes Leslie to Singapore where the attorney general determines that she must sit for a trial. And just when her lawyer is confident of their success...as the title implies word of a letter comes up as he is approached by a representative of the victim's widow, a local woman who is in possession of an incriminating letter from Leslie to the deceased.
This is a beautiful film and surprisingly suspenseful as it builds up to it's shocking conclusion. I felt terrible for the husband Robert, played by Herbert Marshall. He is so delightfully positive it was difficult to watch. Beautiful cinematography and interesting for its setting alone, this is a must see for Bette Davis fans and fans of crime noir.
The Man Who Watched Trains Go By (1952)
Decent early 50's crime drama with some disappointing casting.
I was really disappointed to see that no effort was made to cast the Dutch roles in this film with convincing Dutchmen (or women). I am not sure why they thought anyone would believe that this predominately British Cast could pass as Dutch when then not only don't look the part, but don't sound the part either. That aside the story was about a by the book bookkeeper named Kees Popinga, who discovers that his boss (the owner of the company, Julius de Koster) has bankrupted the business and is going run with the rest of the money and his French mistress Michèle. When Kees confronts Julius, his boss has an accident and dies. Kees then takes the money and boards a train to France where he seeks out Julius' French mistress, who initially doesn't give him the time of day. All the while Kees is being followed and badgered by a Paris inspector named Lucas. When the inspector lets it slip that Kees has Julius' money, Michèle...who was only bilking Julius of his money for her real boyfriend the wastrel Louis, changes her tune about Kees Popinga...the mild mannered bookkeeper from Groningen.
I was irritated by the portrayal of the Dutch and the disdain shown by the French. I notice that they did use French speaking actors to play the French roles...making the lack of Dutch accents even more noticeable. To be honest, I am not the biggest Claude Rains fan and him playing the very non-Dutch Kees Popinga did not win me over. Slow moving, but great cinematography...I think train aficionados will enjoy this film. I preferred the title The Man Who Watched Trains to The Paris Express. I wish they had handled Groningen and the Dutch aspects of this film with more care and this really keeps it from being recommend in my book.
Screaming Mimi (1958)
Decent modern noir with some great performances by two lovely ladies.
The voluptuous Swedish bombshell Anita Ekberg is the draw in this late 50's psychological film noir. She went from winning Miss Sweden 1950 to playing Virginia aka the nightclub dancer Yolanda, who has an incredibly sexy and suggestive modern dance number in a club run by the tough and hardened Gypsy (played by the real Gypsy Rose Lee).
I will say her dance number (which appears in it's entirety twice) is worth seeing, and so is Gypsy Rose Lee's performance of "Put the Blame on Mame".
Now for the story...Virginia is attacked in the shower by a man wielding a knife, who is shot and killed in front of her. In the moment, her screams left such a huge impression on her step brother (or half brother) that he had to sculpt her in the moment. Thus the birth of the screaming Mimi statue. Meanwhile, Virginia seeks psychological help at a hospital where her treating physician falls in love with her. Fast forward to Virginia working as a dancer named Yolanda with her doctor, under a different name, playing her overprotective manager. It is then that a women ends up stabbed to death with a steaming Mimi statue left broken with her body. The handsome columnist Bill Sweeny becomes enchanted with Yolanda and is left to figure it all out.
The lure is the ladies, although the California coastline is also lovely. I think film noir fans will enjoy this slightly more modern noir. I loved Yolanda's massive dog Devil...in fact he man be my favorite character in the film!
Fear (1996)
This is a decent 90's psychological thriller set in my hometown Seattle, that might just surprise you.
This was a rewatch for me, as I actually saw it back in the 90's and remembered enjoying it. This time around I shared it with my husband, who was delighted that it is set in our beloved backyard and the Old Seattle that we knew and cherished, not the current filthy, lawless, cesspool that has put such high taxes on filming that they all fake a Seattle location with film shot up in Vancouver, B. C. The city and coastline are gorgeously shown off and they chose a lovely designed home for our architect and his blended family.
The film does an excellent job laying the ground work for this psychological thriller, allowing Nicole (a young and lovely Reese Witherspoon) and David (a young Mark Wahlberg) to fall in love in a very natural and believable way. The father Steve (played by C. S. I's William Petersen) is understandably concerned and protective of his daughter Nicole. Everything is fairly copacetic, until a violent incident occurs that makes Nicole question the type of person David really is...but David slowly wins back her trust with the usual promises of 'it will never happen again'. In fact part of the beauty of this film is it's ability to lure you in to a sense of complacency before peeling back the curtain to its violent end. There are a few thriller cliches...like I am sure everyone will predict what happened to the security guard, but there are also a few smart moves that I hadn't seen before (like the home security and the brother's quick thinking in the moment.
Overall, I think this is an enjoyable psychological thriller that shows off Seattle well. I thought the performances by young Reese Witherspoon, Mark Wahlberg and Alyssa Milano were well cast and well done. And I thought the adults weren't too shabby either, I particularly enjoyed the performance of the step-mother played by Amy Brenneman. If you are a fan of thrillers particularly those of the psychological variety, I think this should be on your "to see" list. Go in with an open mind and I think you will be entertained.
Star of Midnight (1935)
If you are a Thin Man fan like me, pour yourself a Sidecar and enjoy a smooth ride!
My husband and I are huge Thin Man fans and I mean huge...our first couple of dates were spent going to the theater to see the entire Thin Man series of films on the big screen. Hand in hand with being Thin Man fans is being fans of William Powell, which is why I was surprised that we hadn't seen this little gem.
As I understand it, after the success of the first Thin Man film William Powell was loaned out to the Radio Pictures Studio for Star of Midnight which is shockingly similar. This had all of the hallmarks of a Thin Man film, minus some of the more colorful characters and of course Myrna Loy! Powell plays lawyer Clay "Dal" Dalzell and the witty repartee comes between him and Ginger Rogers who plays the lovely but dogged socialite Donna Mantin.
Donna Mantin has been in love with Dal since she was a child and when Dal is approached by his young friend Tim Winthrop to help find his missing sweetheart, she seizes the opportunity to trick Dal in to helping her get letters back from gangster Jimmy Kinland, help him find the missing Alice...all while trying to trap him into marrying her. The mystery begins before Del even starts looking for the missing Alice, when Tim spots her in a New York show during a live performance under an assumed name and shouts her real name out in the theater, only for her to go missing again! Meanwhile, the tenacious reporter Tommy Tennant winds up dead just as he is revealing a breaking story tied to the missing girl to Dal. Tommy is shot dead and Dal is winged in the process, but winds up picking up the murder weapon...making him the prime suspect when New York's finest flat foot inspectors show up to investigate.
I absolutely love this film! Is it the Thin Man? No, but it is the next best thing. William Powell is his usual suave self and a true joy to watch as he downs cocktails like Sidecars, three olive dry Martinis, and Gimlets all while getting ahead of everyone else in solving the murder, retrieving the letters, and finding the missing Alice. He is self proclaimed a "Charlie Chan, Philo Vance and The Sphinx" all rolled into one. His apartment is a modern deco marvel and worth seeing...especially the bathroom. The dialog is fun and snappy...
"If in my communings with the spirits, astral or liquid, I receive any any message or omen I'll let you know."-Dal
"The woman is a shameless hussy and a fact distorter!"-Dal
"You're not in love with a woman but a card trick."-Dal
"Sergeant, you are right. That ain't impossible either."-Dal
"Swain! Orange Juice, coffee! Don't spare the horses!"-Dal
"Oh, that's alright, we nurses are used to our patients' eccentricities. They often get violent."-Donna
"You know me the Florence Nightingale of Park Avenue."-Donna
"You're something of a criminologist."
"Well, I have read everything Edgar Wallace ever did."-Dal
I missed Myrna Loy, but Ginger Rogers gave it her all even copying Myrna's Nora's signature nose scrunch, parrying playful kicks to the backside, getting the hallway brush off ala Nick and Nora, and getting saddled with the bar bill. I think Thin Man and William Powell fans will eat this up like a stuffed egg. Grab a cocktail, sit back and enjoy!
Curious Caterer: Foiled Plans (2024)
The best Curious Caterer yet!
I am really enjoying the slow build and mature relationship being built between caterer Goldie and Detective Tom. This was a departure in that it takes place over less than twenty four hours at a costumed fundraising function at a gorgeous vintage building in a snow storm. Goldie has been asked to cater the event, her daughter is participating in a fencing demonstration, and both her ex husband and Tom are invited as guests for the event.
Trapped together because of the snow storm, their host is murdered and Goldie, Tom, his two fellow detectives, a U. S. Marshal who showed up uninvited looking for Tom's father who is a recently escaped prisoner, Goldie's daughter and her best friend all work together to try to solve this murder.
The costuming was fun and I loved Goldie's dress it was very flattering. I loved the romantic repartee between Tom and Goldie throughout this episode. I also appreciated the pacing and twists added to this plot and even though I had worked out the mystery, I still enjoyed it.
This Hallmark Mystery series is based on the books by Diane Mott and while I haven't read one yet...they are encouraging me to do so.
I recommend this series to my fellow Hallmark mystery fans and am really looking forward to the next one. The acting is great and so far the storytelling is interesting.
Legend of the Lost Locket (2024)
Natasha is lovely in this antique driven Hallmark mystery.
It was nice seeing both Natasha Burnett and Viv Leacock outside of their roles as a married couple on When Calls The Heart. It was also really nice to hear Natasha's actual speaking voice for a change.
The story is about a London based British antique dealer named Amelia Scott, who together with her business partner is carrying on her mother's research and search for the missing half of the fabled true love locket which she believes may have made its way to America via Jamestown, Massachusetts. Once she arrives to Jamestown, Amelia keeps her business secret but is aided in her search by the local sheriff.
I found the story to be a little bit problematic and the ending even more so. But it was a lighter mystery and it was nice to see it involve a sampler, paint restoration and antiques. I might watch another, but it's not quite on my recommendation list.
The Long, Hot Summer (1958)
Paul Newman and Orson Welles crackle in this Southern family drama.
Paul Newman plays the drifter Ben Quick, from the infamous barn burning Quicks. Young and hungry, Ben comes into a town where everything has one man's name on it Varner...specifically Will Varner played by Orson Welles.
Will Varner himself used to be young and hungry and sees something of himself in young Ben. So much so he strikes a few bargains with him...including offering up marriage with his only daughter Clara.
Clara is played by Paul Newman's real life wife Joanne Woodward, and the two definitely have chemistry. Clara, a school teacher, has been saving herself for a local mama's boy but then gets a little steamed up when Ben pokes the bear.
This is a quintessential southern story, complete with southern drawls, lemonade and wrap around porches. My favorite southerner was actually Agnes Stewart played by Sarah Marshall. It was fun to see Angela Lansbury as the great Varner's in town girlfriend Minnie. And the character Eula Varner played by Lee Remick was hilarious and lovely as only a vapid southern beauty could be.
Interesting southern family drama that Paul Newman fans will. It was a decent character study and should be on classic film fans' to see list.
Inside Man (2022)
Professor T (Belgian) and Lieve Mama (Dutch) mashup in this British American dark comedy thriller.
"A good reason and a bad day, everyone is a murderer...you just have to meet the right person."-that made me laugh (probably wasn't supposed to be funny, but it did appeal to my dark sense of humor).
This is a darkly comedic short BBC series (season 1 has just four episodes) which combines season three of Professor T (the original Belgian series-with a brilliant imprisoned criminologist solving crimes) and the short Dutch series Lieve Mama (with an initial crime followed by bad decisions and a husband and wife cover-up).
Even though I did find it derivative of two tv series that I had just recently watched on Walter Presents, I still enjoyed this short run production and thanks to season one episode four's post credits' scene...I look forward to more. I love Stanley Tucci and have enjoyed David Tennant (he is still my favorite Dr. Who), both were perfectly cast in their roles as murder and potential murderer.
I think this is an enjoyable comedic thriller, that left enough questions on the table for a follow-up season. I think I would recommend this to fans of Professor T and fans of dark comedy who don't mind watching the cascading effects of poor decision making...and a vicar no less!
Standout acting all around, but I particularly enjoyed the performances of Kate Dickie, who played the questionable Morag and Dolly Wells, who played tutor and victim Janice Fife.
Not Your Romeo & Juliet (2023)
This felt very much like a school project...a Christian school project.
This felt very much like a school project...a Christian school project, and that is not a criticism per se but a commentary on the low budget production quality. My favorite part of this film was the side story of Micki's mom Toni going back to school, giving a fake name, having a crush on her teacher and him giving her famous names for pseudonyms. Audrey Hepburn, Katherine Hepburn, Betty White, etc. It added a fun charming note to the film and became my favorite part.
As for the main romantic storyline it was a bit cliched. Two student newspaper writers spar in print, fall in love in person, and then discover their true identities after a brief fake out. In the end they lean into their faith, start a clean slate and become friends. It was ok, but not a recommendation from me to my fellow romantics.
Irish Wish (2024)
Probably not a top tier romantic comedy, but colorful with a great backdrop.
The Irish countryside and beautiful manor are really the best parts of this film. It's a romantic comedy, so the bar is set pretty low...but I would say this one is just middle of the road. One highlight was Jane Seymour...who was fantastic, as always, but very underused as Lyndsey Lohan's character's mother. I was quite confused as to why the Saint Brigitte character was wearing an East Indian Salwar Kameez? And while I appreciated the color that they added to the sets, it was particularly obvious that the flowers in the lily pond were fake, along with the flowers on the tree at the wishing bench, and flowers in the field. Is nature not beautiful enough? Does everything have to look like an animated Disney set like Bambi? I think the lush green countryside of Ireland is beautiful all by itself...it did make me wonder what James Joyce would have said to all the artificial enhancements.
The film was more surreal than real, but some like fantasy...it's not generally my thing, particularly in the realm of romantic comedies. I did like Ed Speleers in the romantic lead role, especially since he has been a lot of villains in works like Outlander, You and Downton Abbey. It was nice to see him be charming for a change.
Not quite a recommendation from me for my fellow romantics...unless you are big fans of the animated Disney Princess fantasy.
The Secret Lives of Big Cats (2020)
Right up my alley as a huge fan of big cats...can't wait to see more.
There can never be enough footage of big cats, in my opinion. This nature series focuses on capturing big cats in the wild and where it excels is in some rare footage using both moonlight and infrared cameras. The new technology does not mean that the camera crew wasn't met with challenges of their own, from large territories to tremendous speed to just sheer elusiveness, the big cats are always a challenge to capture in the wild. It was interesting to see how the industry of tourism and interaction with regular humans are impacting what we are now able to see and observe in the wild. The cats captured are tigers, snow leopards, lions, leopards, pumas, jaguars, and cheetahs.
The series may be light on the science, focusing more on certain hunting techniques while ignoring others. There is some never before seen footage that make the series completely worthwhile, for example Jaguars hunting sea turtles on a Costa Rican beach, a death defying plummet of a snow leopard with an ibex for prey, seven pumas sharing a kill, the inner city antics of leopards in Mumbai, and a night time hunting technique by a pride of lions involving a chaser and multiple catchers.
If you are a big cat fan like me, this series is not to be missed...so what if the narrator has difficulty pronouncing Montana. :)
Lonely Wives (1931)
A few to many girls in this pseudo wife-swapping precode comedy.
Edward Everett Horton gets to not only play the lead Richard 'Dickie' Smith in this uproarious pre-code comedy but a dual part as the supporting character a famous theatrical impersonator named Zero. Dickie is a lawyer whose wife is out of town, for which he is trying to make the most of it as a ladies man. Unfortunately his mother-in-law
Mrs. Mantel keeps foiling his plans...that is until the famous impersonator Zero shows up requesting to do Dickie in his act. Dickie agrees on one condition, that he play him convincingly overnight with his mother-in-law so he can meet two dolls out at a club. This plan is working out great till Dickie's wife surprises Zero by coming home early...and that is when all the hilarity ensues.
I love Edward Everett Horton, but the show stealer in this film is the Canadian actress Maude Eburne, who plays Mrs. Mantel the mother-in-law as she cleaverly tries to get herself some grandkids!
Cute by today's standards but very risqué for all it's pre-code innuendos. While not high on my list I still think classic film fans will enjoy this one. And the clothing is to die for!
Berlín (2023)
The supporting cast and high production value are the reasons to tune in to Berlín.
I really enjoyed the Casa de Papel (Money Heist) series, but I can't say that I liked the character of Berlin. So, you might understand why I wasn't really eager for this series...but it did pleasantly surprised me primarily thanks to the supporting cast.
The series takes place chronologically before Casa de Papel, when Berlin himself has amassed a team to pull of a fairly elaborate heist of priceless jewels from a highly guarded vault before an auction. The plan is fairly well laid out, the team members each have their roles...and then Berlin himself puts it all in jeopardy when in becomes infatuated with the mark's wife while performing surveillance. It was unbelievably annoying and part of why I never liked the character of Berlin from the start.
I did however love some of the other romantic stories...like between Keila (Michelle Jenner) and Bruce (Joel Sánchez), Cameron (Begoña Vargas) and Roi (Julio Peña) and Damien(Tristán Ulloa) and his wife. I was thrilled to see Julio Peña outside of his roll of Ares Hidalgo in A Través de mi Ventana. This definitely was not Casa De Papel, it just didn't have the same levelheaded leadership...what do you expect when Berlin is the boss. The crew is almost entirely made up of young members who are also apt to make mistakes and rash decisions.
To recap, my expectations were very low as the series was built around a character that I already didn't like and I enjoyed it more than expected because I liked the supporting cast and as a romantic I loved the romantic intrigue between all but Berlin and Camille. I am not sure who I would recommend this to, but the production quality was as high as La Casa De Papel. It will be interesting to see if this gets green lit for a second season.
Review based on watching in it's original Spanish language with English subtitles.
Which Brings Me to You (2023)
These two hot messes meet at a wedding and have a therapy-like coming together.
Lucy Hale, who I discovered in "The Hating Game", is absolutely lovely...but plays the hot mess Jane in this film. Together with Nat Wolff, who plays Will, they make up the romantic duo which starts as a simple wedding guest hook-up...but quickly and somewhat awkwardly morphs into the potential for more.
These two are well suited for one another, Hale and Wolff, with excellent chemistry. The story is unusual for a romantic comedy, in fact it tells itself rather inside out. We learn about all of their past failed relationships...the why you wouldn't want to be in a relationship with either one, but at some point you start pulling for these two.
I am not going to say this is the most romantic film, but I think young people today might identify with their plight. While not on my recommendation list, I didn't hate it. I enjoy some of the dialogue and the idea of being brutally honest from the start.
Blind Date Book Club (2024)
Absolutely loved it! Buckley and Krakow are golden in this book focused romance.
I enjoyed the blind date with a book concept being added to this Hallmark romance starring When Calls The Heart's Erin Krakow and Robert Buckley from iZombie. I really like Robert Buckley, he seems so genuine in every role I have seen him play. He plays famous YA fantasy writer Graham Sterling. He owes his publisher book at of his famous YA series, only instead he has written a historical romance novel which his publisher not only doesn't want, but doesn't want his name even associated with. Determined to try this new genre, Graham self publishes his romance under a pseudonym and when he hears a public radio interview of a Nantucket bookstore owner who has combined her self cultivated "blind date with a book" books with a book club, he hightails it to Nantucket where he hopes to get her to choose his book for some honest and unbiased criticism.
This is a sweet slow build romance that highlights how people's love for books brings them together. I loved the concept and who could say no to Robert Buckley's sensational smile and charm? I wish there were more book clubs like this because I would absolutely join and I really like highlighting the importance of small independent bookstores for introducing smaller and lesser know authors...and just bringing people together over their love of books. This is a strong recommendation to fellow romantics, particularly book lovers and want to be writers. Positive, inspirational and romantic.
The Gentlemen (2024)
Not for the faint of heart, but loaded with comedy and great characters, the pairing of Theo James and Guy Ritchie is gold.
I love Theo James and tuned in strictly based on his starring role in this series...but I was even more pleasantly surprised to discover Guy Ritchie's touch. My family loves Guy Ritchie's work, particularly his "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels"...in fact my parents still refer to themselves as a certain type of horticulturist. Having said that this series started in a classic Guy Ritchie fashion...so you either love it or hate it. He has a particular colorful high flash style, with violence and comedy.
Theo James plays Eddie Horniman, current U. N. soldier and soon to be Lord. He is sent home for the death of his father who passes over the eldest son Freddy to bestow the lordship on the more stable second son Eddie. It doesn't take long to discover why...and to discover where the Lord was getting large sums of money as we are introduced to Susie Glass.
There are some great characters in this series, highlighted by a dramatic pause and typeset appearing across the screen Ritchie style. The series is short at eight episodes and after the first couple it settles down into a bit of a pattern involving identifying a problem, coming up with a solution to a problem, then being thrown a curveball, then having to get out of an even bigger problem.
Flashy with good sets, costumes and music, I found the series highly enjoyable. It is loaded with comedy, but also drugs, foul language and lots of violence. I know it's not for everyone's tastes. However, If you are a big Guy Ritchie fan or a big Theo James fan, I can highly recommend the series.
I do like the unexpected and the chicken scene, which seemed to be going on an inordinately long time ends in an unexpected surprise...so I would like to say that I disliked the scene and that it was unnecessary...but then you would have missed the surprise.
That Uncertain Feeling (1941)
A screwball comedy that was more sad than funny.
I think a better title for this film is "the hiccup". A well to do housewife goes to be psychoanalyzed and ends up divorcing her husband of six years for a neurotic pianist. Melvyn Douglas, Harry Davenport and Eve Arden are the best part of this screwball comedy. I found both Burgess
Meredith and Merle Oberon hard to watch.
I think Larry Baker should have left Jill and found a more loyal and sensible wife...of course that wouldn't make a very good comedy. The pianist Alexander was the most screwball character and I just can't believe someone would leave Melvyn Douglas for him.
As you can tell this film left me scratching my head instead of laughing. This does not make my recommendation list as I think there are far better films out there even with these exact stars.
Wonka (2023)
Disappointed and I struggled to get to the end.
I would say I am not a fan of musicals...but that is simply not true, I just like musicals from the golden age of Hollywood with music by Gershwin, Berlin, Kern, etc. This, I don't know what this was...it was melancholic and didn't seem to appeal to any audience, let alone children like the original did. It didn't make the candy appealing and it didn't offer up an intriguing story. It looked like a live theater set and much of the acting was too campy or over the top to draw you in.
I'm not sure if the campy style was meant to be funny or not, but I felt that it fell flat. It's a shame because I think the origin story of the infamous Willy Wonka could have been really interesting. It was also unfortunate that they didn't choose an actor that would be more believable as Gene Wilder's younger self...think crazy eyes and frizzy blonde or red hair. That in and of itself might have been more interesting than this ultra tame Timothée Chalamet version of a young Willy.
I didn't know going into this film that it was a musical and unfortunately I was ready to leave within the first fifteen minutes. Nit a recommendation from me.
Odd Man Out (1947)
This was almost like watching a game of hot potato only played with a human.
I am not a James Mason fan, but this was more of a character study of humanity. A subversive Irish group perpetrates a theft to fund their cause. During the crime their leader is mortally injured and eventually left behind. The film is his journey through the city, which made for a fascinating story as there were those willing to help him, those who felt obligated to help out of human compassion, those who wanted to profit off of his location, a painter who wanted to paint him...but most of all this overwhelming desire of most individuals he encounters to not want to get caught anywhere near him.
There is also this love story as one woman races to find and save him. Unusual for a film, but bleak...not just in how it was filmed but in how the story was told. There are some overly dramatic scenes...but in my opinion that is just classic James Mason. Different enough I might recommend it to hard core classic film fans...but for most I would say give it a pass.
The Chase (1946)
This is an exceptional film noir that has some great deceptions.
This noir has a lot going on and so many great scenes which keeps it on my Film Noirs to recommend list. It starts with this wonderful scene with little to no dialogue that conveys a lot. We see a possibly homeless Robert Cummings drooling in front of a window where they are cooking hamburgers, where he finds a wallet on the sidewalk. After using money from the wallet to buy a large meal, our down on his luck former soldier Chuck Scott travels a good distance to return the wallet to it's rightful owner. The rightful owner happens to be a brutal mobster named Eddie Roman (Steve Cochran) who has a laconic henchman named Gino (Peter Lorre). Before Chuck meets Eddie, we see a scene in which Eddie is abusive to his female manicurist and barber in his palatial home. Eddie hires Chuck to be his chauffeur after being impressed by his honesty...but feels the need to test him in a special car in which he has the gas and breaks rigged to be bypassed for controls in the backseat. The trouble...and there is always trouble in a good film noir, is in the form of Eddie's wife Lorna Roman (Michèle Morgan). She is unhappy and desperate to escape Eddie and her life with. She has taken to long solitary walks on the Florida beach at night...that is until she convinces Chuck to help her sneak aboard a steamship.
And this is where the noir ratchets up to be a great mystery thriller as Lorna is murdered in Cuba and Chuck is blamed when they go ashore for some entertainment and to celebrate their freedom. On the run and desperate to prove his innocence is when Robert Cummings and this noir hits it's stride.
This is a film noir that I highly recommend to noir fans. The villain is very sinister, Cummings is a great every man, the backdrop is picturesque, and mystery is divinely convoluted. Noir at it's best!
Boomerang! (1947)
A singular prosecuting attorney is the draw for this courtroom drama based on a real life crime.
Based on the real life senseless murder of a Catholic priest, this recreation focuses on the prosecuting attorney's journey for justice. We start by seeing the initial crime and it's witnesses. There is a strong overshadowing narrator who tries to bring familiarity to the city and make the crime personal for the viewer. The prosecutor seems tenacious and determined, but the witnesses have all identified a suspect that they have in custody and there is major pressure to get what seems to be a slam dunk conviction. The public is wound up and have amassed in a mob mentality for the conviction and to add to the pressure local politicians and businessmen are adding political aspirations to the prosecuting attorneys resume.
The film works hard to lead you down a path, but I was very happy wit( the actual results which left you guessing until the bitter end in some courtroom theatrics. While not my favorite film it was interesting and might be a good recommendation for anyone interested in our justice system.
One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery (2024)
Hannah is back...teaching, running the bakery and solving a murder and I just can't get enough.
Hannah Swensen Mysteries has consistently been one of my three favorite mysteries on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries, along with Aurora Teagarden (the Candace Cameron Bure version) and Mystery 101. This entry has Hannah teaching a baking class at the local community college where she collaborates with literature professor Bradford Ramsey...who not only seems enamored with Hannah, but ends up dead quite literally stabbed in the back with one of Hannah's own knives. This unfortunately puts Hannah on the suspect list.
This entry introduces us to Lake Eden's own all business "I don't have a sweet tooth" county prosecuting attorney, Chad Norton (played by the suave Victor Webster). Most of the cast favorites have returned like Hannah's beloved mom who is played so delightfully by Barbara Niven and our favorite partner-in-crime and local dentist Norman (played by the consistently wonderful Gabriel Hogan). There were some noticeable absences like Hannah's brother in law police officer Bill, but probably more noticeable is Hannah's fiancé the beloved detective Mike, who has been played from the very first film by Cameron Mathison. The story was given that Mike went to Quantico to join the FBI? I am really sad to see Cameron Mathison go, as I really like him as an actor and thought he and Alison Sweeney had amazing chemistry together. On a side note I did enjoy Alison Sweeney and Victor Webster in the Wedding Veil series of movies, they were well matched and it will be interesting to see what develops here.
The series is based on the cosy mysteries written by Joanne Fluke, but this film was actually written by Alison Sweeney herself. The mystery was decent, but what really keeps this amongst my favorites...if not my favorite, is the camaraderie amongst the cast being lead by Alison Sweeney herself. Barbara Niven is not only lovely, but lends so much great comedy to this series. This entry has Delores deciding to be an private investigator...think big hats, sun glasses and trench coats.
Highly recommend this fun mystery series to all the cosy mystery fans out there.