silasmrner's Reviews

Out of the Past (1947)

10/10

3 January 2024

One sure fire way to deliver a never miss noir is adapting a solid story (Build My Gallows High) by a renowned hard-boiled author (Geoffrey Homes) and sticking close to the source material. Of course it was helped by Homes being hired on to adapt his story for the screen. Much like the Maltese Falcon and The Asphalt Jungle, where the book's narrative fabric is saved word for word in the script, the story is lifted from the stilted dialogue in far too many noirs.

Any hint of this being run of the mill drama is further elevated by a stellar cast. Mitchum personifies a conflicted noir lead (as he does effortlessly in his other noir work.) Jane Greer may have been new to star billing, but she dishes out her devious femme fatale lines as she plays Mitchum for a sucker. At the same time she must also sidestep Kirk Douglas, her criminal boss. He is terrific despite this being one of his first meaningful roles. It's clear he's going to be an important piece of Hollywood's future. Rhonda Fleming has a small, but crucial role as another in Douglas's harem of conniving women. She shows her chops as a less prominent femme fatale in this story and it's a shame that she wasn't cast in a lead role in other noir of the period.

This film is the epitome of Noir and must be at the top of any such list.

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The Searchers (1956)

5/10

Acclaimed Classic falls short of mark.

31 May 2023

The Searchers has so much wrong with it that it's amazing it has managed the garner such praise; that's solely on the basis of the Ford/Wayne/Monument Valley connection. The film is full of cliche, bad acting, over-acting and formula writing. Where to start? How about the Anglo Saxon casing of Henry Brandon as the feared Comanche Chief Scar? Blue eyes and all. How about the early chase scene where once Wayne and party are across a wide river, and they managed, with their sidearm pistols, to shot countless Indians off their horses at a 100-yard distance. Ford's use of the same old supporting actors finally runs out of steam here and they are often are played as foils. Their is all the freshness of a tenth film of the Three Stooges. And we have the typical Ford scenes between the young lovers which are played with slap-stick effect. The movie never reaches the quality peak that most reviewers give it; about the only praiseworthy element is the Monument Valley location, which though almost a given with Ford, never disappoints. And the other, the final shot finding Wayne walking away with a Harry Carey-like mannerism as a tribute to that GOAT actor.

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Mildred Pierce (1945)

10/10

"It's Your Fault I'm the Way I Am"

2 March 2023

If you've raised a daughter, and I've raised two, you may have heard similar words as teens. Fortunately, my daughters overcame that self-centered and selfish view of their lives (likely contributed to by much indulgence on my part) and became lovely, responsible and forgiving women.

In this beautifully crafted and classic noir adaptation, poor Mildred never quite gets the hang of child-rearing. She has the fortitude to ax worthless husbands, the ambition to create a booming chain of drive-in restaurants from a selling kitchen pies beginning and the instinct to not only avoid a lecherous Jack Carson but use him to her ends. But she's a sap for her daughter Veda, who's been playing her like a violin with parental guilt since a pre-teen.

The film hits on all cylinders. It's well- mounted. Noir often use flashbacks to tell murder who-done-its and "Mildred" does it extremely well. The scrip is witty; cynically so. It's hard to find any character who's not believably well-developed despite their importance - a tribute to casting and acting.

The type of movie that has aged well and is endlessly watchable for all the reasons we love movies.

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Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

5/10

Prose worthy intentions, inadequately fulfilled.

23 February 2023

The problem with making giant stage hits into movies is always a challenge - no more proven a point by this lumbering effort. Of course, the production had to contend with The Code while dealing with a key element of story: homosexuality. That aside, as with Williams' other stories, southern accents have to be accounted for and some actors can believably carry that off; others not so well. And that's a problem with this movie. Some like Ives are natural in executing the script, but you can never shake that the fact that most of the primary actors are affecting their deliveries. When you compare this stage-to-movie effort with, say, Brando and cast in Streetcar (which more successfully finessed Code restrictions), you can perhaps appreciate the point of doing it well v. Just doing it.

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The Hustler (1961)

10/10

"No bar, no pinball machine, no bowling alley. Just pool....this is Ames mister."

21 November 2021

Now that captures the heart of this movie: the gritty underbelly of pool hustling right out of the pool hall in the 50's that I grew up in. Casting, acting, montage all spot on. But what this film does is what many sports-related stories fumbles - an inability to capture the true nature of its subject; to do it the justice it deserves. Gleason and Newman play pool expertly in full shots. You never for a moment remember they are actors. The love story between emotionally crippled lovers blends nicely with Newman's coming to grips with his inability to handle being the best pool player in the game. Tragically losing at love ends up making him a winner. One minor complaint: in the montages of the match between Fats and Eddie, the many reaction shots of both players and onlookers suffer from very poor continuity. Ex. In the back and forth shots of Scott and Fats, their collars go from buttoned to unbuttoned and back to buttoned. I hate to be picky, but this is a classic for God's sake.

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The Billion Dollar Code (2021)

10/10

Exceptional Staging of a Complicated Subject Matter

20 October 2021

If you expect a cannon shot opening for a technical subject that spans twenty years, and that affects your expectations of a linear story, you need to quit movie criticism. Docudramas pose hurdles for themselves. Ones that tackle unfamiliar incidents or subjects raise the bar a bit farther. This production succeeds by every measure and what should be our expectations. Its acting is spot on. The casting of the lead actors to play the 20-year age differences is the best I've seen. It not only adds to the necessary drama but delivers when all the integrating technical explanations to the plot. The story is told in a back and forth manner, which is the only effective and suspenseful way it can be told.

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The Way West (1967)

4/10

Another Hollywood Western Epic Failure

9 August 2021

Aside from the authentic location representation of the period, a terrible screenplay and overwrought acting delivering absurd dialogue is about a one sentence summary all one needs. When you have a cast of hundreds, character development always seems to suffer.

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A Rainy Day in New York (2019)

10/10

One of His Wittiest Romantic Comedies

18 May 2021

I punched this one up with low expectations but was blessed with a gem in the rough. Punchy dialogue and poignant story with twists that suspend disbelief. Allen continues to get the most out of non-star actors. And arguably as a nice a tribute to NYC as Manhattan.

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Bridgerton (2020– )

1/10

How long, Oh Lord, How Long.

9 January 2021

...must we be asked to accept these period pieces with contemporary diversity? An insult to intelligence.

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Money Heist (2017–2021)

10/10

Seamless

16 May 2020

It's a part of probability that a great many improbable things will happen. And this series proves that point. Since we must suspend our disbelief while engrossed in the story, Money Heist makes it easy with plausible plot twists that keep the viewer on the edge of the couch. Great production values, superior acting.

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The Lobster (2015)

1/10

How do films like this get a green light?

5 May 2020

A better question is how credentialed actors lend themselves to such a project. A totally preposterous story line, if there is even a linear thought here. A wooden script, read by actors as if they are still sitting around the rehearsal's first reading. If this is the future, then it's good we are living now.

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Babylon Berlin (2017–2025)

9/10

Berlin - Almost a Century Ago. Puts You Right There.

20 April 2020

I can agree with all the rave reviews Babylon Berlin has received and season three kept the quality keen. Germany during the 20's was a eclectic place, politically, socially, and the in the arts. What this show does is bring that time to life in the most realistic of ways. The production's cost is astronomical and it shows. The season storylines connect nicely.

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1917 (2019)

4/10

War Movies - Tough to Make

9 February 2020

It's said that "Dying is easy; comedy is hard." Well that can be said for War Movies as well. This film might be technical and visual perfection, but it's a one trick pony after 15 minutes. I had a sneaky suspicion from the trailer how it would play and it lived up to expectations.

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Niagara (1953)

7/10

Stylish Offering Hurt by Casting

28 October 2019

Warning: Spoilers

This well-mounted murder tale captures your attention, with the iconic Falls playing an impressive supporting role. The showcasing of Monroe as lead actress is a stunning statement of the camera's love for her. She fills the femme fatale needed to make this noir, but technicolor ruined that idea. Jean Peters is very good and very good-looking - Monroe's brunette equivalent.

Cotton's part is a bit off-center, a problem better writing or casting might have fixed. But face it, in the first place he's a bit long in tooth as Monroe's husband. Then he, in mid film, suddenly goes from a seriously disturbed veteran of the Korean War, who seemingly can not function in society, to a calculating wife-killer and an elusive fugitive on the run - a juxtaposition difficult to suspend disbelief for. Those Commie Chinese tried to kill him in the war and drove him nuts; the discovery of an unfaithful wife and his attempted murder by her boyfriend did things for him psychotherapy couldn't.

The casting of Max Showalter was an absurd choice; a goofball who is an even more unlikely as a husband for Jean Peters. How her character, the only sane and sensible one, could fall for such an idiot, pushes credibility the the extreme. His delivery of most lines with a stupid grin and hawking laugh marked everything he said as gratingly annoying - he was one of the most overbearing actors of that period. The only believable role I ever bought was as a singing traveling salesman in the Music Man, a role mercifully short.

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Desert Pursuit (1952)

5/10

Worth Watching if.......

10 October 2019

...only for the Alabama Hills location shots. And it is a singularly unique plot, because it's the only in the imagination of a screen scenario where you could find Arab henchmen in Death Valley.

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Rawhide (1951)

10/10

A Tribute to the Alabama Hills

5 September 2019

A great many westerns have used the Alabama Hills as backdrop, but this is not only one of the finest made there but one where the Hills share the spotlight. The mail way-station was built tucked away amongst the rocks and is the single set for all the story's action. That combined with a suspenseful story, excellent cast, and fine production values make it an underrated classic of the genre. Interestingly, the same could be said for Yellow Sky; albeit, it needed a number of locations with the much of the principle story also set in the Alabama Hills.

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The Opposite Sex (1956)

2/10

Why TV Almost Put Movies Out of Business

29 August 2019

Banal, corny script. Musical numbers and dance routine totally forgettable. June here on the brink of being too old for her past cutesy image which carried her box office success of the 40s and early 50s in a succession of lightweight fare.

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Charité (2017– )

9/10

Lots to digest in a one season story

17 July 2019

But the task is well executed. While there is some telescoping of historical events, I have a degree in history and the story line I found to be artistically effective. Acting, pacing and production values exceed expectations. And to disagree with one reviewer, the Russians were barbaric in their ending of the war. If anything, that was downplayed.

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The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

10/10

Quintessential Crime Noir - Sets the standard.

3 June 2019

It's difficult finding fault with this film. And perhaps that's because it has several connections to a predecessor crime classic, The Maltese Falcon. Both are directed by John Huston. Both are from popular crime-classic novels. Both movies had dialogue, pacing and plot extracted verbatim in large chunks. The books read like the screenplays and vice versa. That makes a seamless and excellent story adaption. In the Asphalt Jungle an you get an impeccable cast with consistently excellent characterization. Even Monroe's lines are straight from the book. She delivers believably, making her performance stand strongly to the rest.

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The Ministry of Time (2015–2020)

10/10

Suspend Your Disbelief and Sit Back

27 March 2019

A series of clever episodes with extremely good acting and subtle situational humor. I liken it to Mission Impossible except you must travel thru time to pull off the caper. That adds the novel ability to take any historical incident , major or minor, and expand your historical appreciation of the event. And the movement back and forth thru time demands your attention to the story, because your disbelief is always just below the surface, crying to be listened to. And it does improve your Spanish.

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If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

8/10

Painful - the Test of its Strength

12 January 2019

More of these stories need to be told, as they help explain the feelings which impede normalcy in interracial relationships- why whites can't fully grasp the anguished past blacks carry as almost an hereditary memory. But these are sad, painful stories and not run-of-mill Hollywood fodder, so you won't see many of them. See this one.

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Green Book (2018)

9/10

Uniformly Presented Period Piece Marred w/minor Errors.

12 January 2019

Warning: Spoilers

Most of the favorable responses accurately capsule this film and don't justify repeating. But such care in producing a fine effort is always diminished when annoyingly full of historical error. Aretha Franklin (referenced) was not a well-known performer in 62. A black police officer on the Macon force in 62? Hummm. Maybe. Lawrence of Arabia (background marquee) not released until a year after the setting. And always, wrong vintage cars being used. And would someone fact check whether Bobby Kennedy convinced George Wallace in 62 to order a small-town police chief to spring both guys within hours after what was, technically, a righteous detention? Come on, two years later he couldn't get a black in 'Bama without Federal Marshalls. Millions spent on such productions are routinely skimped when it comes to due diligence.

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Deadwind (2018–2021)

10/10

Labyrinth of a Mystery

11 January 2019

Masterfully written, terrifically told, and beautifully acted. I'm amazed at the shallow criticism 'had the murderer tagged by episode 3.' Maybe so, but this story was the unravelling of what the complicated crime was about and even had the killer been guessed early (which I doubt) it was problematic to what this series delivered - buyable plot twists and turns featuring complex characters. Get on board. One to binge with.

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Wanted (2016–2018)

8/10

Recipe for Tasty Entertainment

31 December 2018

How do you take a fairly preposterous premise - two innocent strangers kidnapped together and escaped, wrongly charged with capital crimes, chased for three seasons over multiple continents by honest and dishonest authorities and the latter's affiliated underworld characters - and make it work beautifully? Im unsure, but this series works so nicely that it is worth the travelogue journey with them.

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Dogs of Berlin (2018– )

9/10

Well Worth Watching

31 December 2018

As is usual with complex story lines and a plethora of characters from disparate groups ( cops with different agendas, three sets of criminal elements, and a far-right nationalist sect) it takes some viewer patience while the story builds. That probably accounts for some of the misplaced criticism of script and characters by those requiring a quick entertainment fix. The murder mystery which is the seed of the story sustains it's suspense and it all neatly ties together in the end. The Turkish/German immigration conflict is fairly played. My only complaint with this type of show is the near miraculous recovery from severe beatings, bullet wounds and scary falls by main characters -it strains my ability to suspend disbelief. But that's the movies!

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