Reviews

A classic entry in the Sci-fi genre from the '50s.

As with other films from this era, like The Day the Earth Stood Still 2 years earlier, Invaders tries in its own way to stop Earth from launching beyond its own atmosphere.

But was it an attempt to take over Earth for its own uses? I'm not sure or convinced of that.

But it's interesting in one important way: As the astronomer Dr. Kelston explains to Jimmy and Dr. Blake the present and future of space travel, you hear basically the goals and aspirations of the US space program at that point in time. Werner Von Braun had already established himself as the new voice of Man In Space (see the Disney features from 1955 for more on Braun and rocketry).

Von Braun had shared his visions with just about everyone around the world by 1953, the date of this film, and Dr. Kelston reiterates Von Braun's space philosophy. This of course reinforces the American plan to conquer space for peaceful purposes, mostly peaceful anyway for Von Braun.

Surely, audiences had heard Von Braun speak and read his writings, so Dr. Kelston's speech must have sounded familiar to the audience.

Is hilarious, but fits Shatner's character quite well. Billy's performance made this episode worth watching, due to his usual over the top melodramatic antics.

I've been watching all the episodes of Columbo once a week since forever on Peacock and it's fascinating to see how he aged in both his physical and acting aspects. This one still has the little tune of "this ol' man" playing in the background when he's at work on a particular focus of his investigation.

The plot is not quite as good as earlier episodes, but the clever twists of the villain make it fun.

The biggest part was of course Shatner, but wait there's more: Go find a film noir titled "The Big Clock" from 1948. It stars the famous Charles Laughton. As "Butterfly" opens with Shatner, I immediately saw Laughton in his demeanor, right down to the moustache! Was Billy Shatner mimicking Laughton? They both acted in the same dramatic fashion in their respective roles in their films. Maybe Shatner was paying homage.

As Spock would say..."Fascinating."

After watching the first season and the first 2 eps of the 2nd, I am done with this bore.

It's a great example of modern TV: cliched, dull, predictable...and not funny.

How this mess won any awards is beyond me. Current TV trends are in the dumpster and generating a huge fire within it.

No wonder I stick to PBS.

Having read a few great books and watched other docs on cephalopods, I was eager to see this recent release.

I was not disappointed. This is an engaging film that reveals what science has mostly known about the octopus.

But seeing it on film through the experience of one person's interactions through a full and only year of an octopus' life really shows what these amazing creatures endure. And how smart they are.

This doc is highly recommended.

This is a very good film that will appeal to a broad audience. The Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft of WW II and the RAF was a pivotal military weapon for the victory over the Germans, especially the Battle of Britain.

The lack of specific technical information for this aircraft was probably intentional to allow even those who were not interested, or might not understand aeronautical design, to appreciate the history and people who were associated with this aircraft.

There are many YouTube videos that cover the designs and flight characteristics of all the aircraft shown in this film, including German types.

Having not read the book and stumbled upon this film on FXX Retro, I am writing this brief comment from the perspective of aviation safety and the Federal agency that investigates airline crashes.

This film is fascinating for those reasons. If you've watched "Air Disasters" on the Smithsonian channel. you are already aware of the methodology and painstaking detail required for crash resolutions. Of course news outlets provide detail and online resources are abundant.

I couldn't help but compare how different it was back then in 1964 than it is today, and yet, we have a long way to go explaining mysterious accidents and disappearances.

"Fate..." is worth watching if only to see these differences.

Why oh why does Hollywood have to muck up decent originals with remakes?

Do they think a newer version will improve on something previously done?

Do screenwriters think they can do better on a book converted into film than prior scripts?

Do we have to see classic films ruined by this stupid notion forever??

What a trite, tediously dull flick.

The plot plods despite being only an hour long.

The acting is predictable, and the whole premise absurd.

I don't see any noir in here, and not much of a movie either.

Probably the best film about road racing. Despite the character melodrama, we get to see the machines, the drivers and details about this very competitive sport.

Of course, the melodrama must include the bickering between teammates about track position, etc. It's all part of the reality that makes this film good.

This film has the foresight to also include the upcoming Japanese F1 motorsport industry.

And of course there are flaws and inconsistencies and curious choices in production and even Oscar nominations.

Why is Yves Montand, a 45-year-old driving here? He's over the hill for a young man's sport. Paul Newman should have been in this film, since he was just getting started in a real-life racing career.

The music score is horrible, and downright annoying with the repetitive theme that creeps back in again and again. Maurice Jarre was an accomplished film composer, and this was one of his worst.

With 4 Oscar noms and wins, this film did ok. But what happened to photography? Despite the strange multiple box/split screen technique used, the camerawork is spot on, yet no nom for that.

Overall, this film work watching to see how Formula 1 used to be, with all of its dangers and excitement.

A waste of time, talent and script, if you can call it a script.

Full of cliches, bad acting, stupid plot points and their resolutions.

Do not bother to watch this "flick."

Did Flint (and the producers) know something America didn't in 1967? I'm making reference to that remark in the title of my review. Reagan was already Governor of CA at this point. :)

Anyway, the plot is unique, the parody unqualifiedly silly but fun.

All the cliches and spy references are present and accounted for. Of course there are plenty of continuity problems, bad special effects and inaccurate ones.

James Coburn was in his prime and drawing good box office. What else did he need? More fun as witnessed here.

Overall, an entertaining film with lots of eye candy as required.

Good noir with tension and crafty conniving.

Racism rears its head and works to effect here with the 3 plotters.

I love to watch dramas with subversive motives and plans that unravel. The unraveling is always good to observe. Typical noir in that respect.

But each of these 3 characters has needs and only cash can solve their personal dilemmas.

Good screenplay and acting.

Nice little noir from Stanley.

Good cast and characterizations, as well as cinematography. I liked the way the camera defied walls and spaces to continue the thread of dialog between characters as they moved through rooms.

There were some sloppy places in the script and scenes. Some here think the narration wasn't necessary. I found it sometimes useful as Kubrick attempted to disjoint time as the pilot built up to the climax. Without the voiceover, it was possible to get confused with the time-jumps.

The dialog was typically snappy as found in noir, but there were times that it seemed the actors/actresses were just spouting off their lines a hurry before they forgot them.

A better noir than what I remembered.

Welles was a genius who had unfortunate precocious tendencies as a director.

His later films were just as inconsistent as his early ones, but a late noir classic of his, A Touch Of Evil, is now revered instead of despised as it was when released. Part of that problem was due again to his inability to stop shooting film; thus, the studio edited Evil to death. Fortunately, the recent restored version of Evil has given us what Welles had originally intended, and there's no disappointment.

But I digress. :)

The Stranger is good despite the restrictions placed on Welles. It was one of the few profitable films he directed. But this is not noir, despite what Eddie Muller on Noir Alley on TCM thinks.

Great performances by the leads make this a good thriller woven around a sound plot. The cinematography is well done, and does suggest a noir landscape, but that's not enough to qualify it as noir.

It is well worth watching.

A sporting good film with James Mason and Danielle Darrieux.

I will not go into details so as not to ruin your fun, but this is a, pardon the cliche´, must-see film.

Spying was not for the faint-of-heart no matter which side you were or weren't on. But Mason, one of my favorite male actors of all time, pulls off a great performance of a great, supposedly-true story.

There is some great snappy dialog amongst the characters. Clever writing.

The ending will make you laugh just as it did Mason.

Bernard Herrmann's music score is quickly identifiable.

I own this and still watch it on TV when it pops up. Never get tired of it.

Between Maltin's 2/4 star and IMDB's 7.3/10 ratings, and being a noir fan, I was curious to see which was right about this film.This is more of a melodrama than noir.

And the triple flashbacks are useful and clever but nothing to write home about. Just part of the structure.

The host of Noir Alley on TCM. Robert Muller, really built this film up, but I'm not impressed. Maltin was right in his review.

Now if you want to experience a great example of flashbacks, check out The Killers, which Muller never even mentions in his intro/outro before The Locket played on TCM's Noir Alley. The Killers will have you using a notepad to follow the flashbacks and their interlocking structure to the plot. Highly recommended and Burt Lancaster's first film.

Ray's personal troubles aside, he was a great director.

But this "techninoir" mess is a sad send off for an otherwise great career.

PG is hardly noir. But it is a great example of cliched, predictable, bland and blase´ fluff.

Yes, it's quirky, unusual, and odd. All for the wrong reasons.

Of all the mobster movies I've seen, this is one of them. "Some Like It Hot" even steals and makes fun of lots of previous mob movies, and SLIH plays off what you see in PG.

Terrible waste of Metrocolor and talent.

It took me 4 years but I finally got to see this tonight.

It was what I expected: a subtle-not-so-subtle satire and poke at Hollywood, Broadway, celebrity, acting, fantasy, fame and reality.

Many who have negatively reviewed this film have completely missed the point. Their loss.

Deserved the Oscars it received.

And the drum score was awesome! The Academy was totally off-base with its decision to deny it a nomination.

This brief film using real footage about the Battle of Midway is significant for several reasons.

The most important is that it shared an important battlefield of WW II (in color no less) with the general American public, who relied on every scrap of news they could get. Radio, newspapers and news reels were the most popular, so seeing this short in their neighborhood theater was just as important.

Second, if you want to generate enlistment in your military forces, sure this type of film might accomplish that. And to boot, show some pride in your country's war accomplishments against a vicious enemy.

Third, take note that the cameramen risked their lives as much as the soldiers, sailors and airmen, and deserve as much credit. Director John Ford was injured while recording with his camera.

This may not be a polished Hollywood filmmaking result, but it was never intended to be.

As some have said here, this is a sleeper that should not be missed.

Is it true "once a criminal always a criminal"? This cast certainly works hard to answer this question.

Hoffman, Busey, Stanton, Russell, and Walsh all give great performances to a tight, well-written script.

There is no fluff here, just a straight shooting story.

The soundtrack is excellent as well.

If you're reading this around the beginning of February, 2018, you can watch it for free on the TCM app on your portable device.