A few thoughts on some movies recently watched:
Non-Stop (2014) – This thriller is definitely a B movie, but the kind of B movie that has turned Liam Neeson into an unlikely late career action star. It has a few silly moments, but the film never really slows down long enough to allow the film to dissolve in your mind. It’s a solid thriller that hearkens back to old school mysteries. There’s a killer aboard a plane and plenty of recognizable faces – who could it be? Solid film worth a trip to the theater for an old-fashioned good time. Screened in the theater.
The Wind Rises (2013) – Billed as Hayao Miyazaki’s farewell to the cinema, this animated melodrama is gorgeous to look at but devoid of an engaging, coherent story. About halfway through the visuals stop being enough and I could no longer pretend I was anything but bored. Screened in the theater.
About Last Night (2014) – I’ve never been much of a Kevin Hart fan, but he and Regina Hall are the life of this party. I found myself laughing out loud at their interactions and found their relationship nearly enough to justify the price of admission. Nearly. Alas, the rest of the movie falls completely flat, thanks to a paint-by-numbers script that doesn’t stand up to logical scrutiny and lifeless performances by the other two leads in the film, Michael Ealy and Joy Bryant. When Hart and Hall weren’t filling up the screen, I felt like I was watching a bland beer commercial (obvious product placement sponsor: Heineken). Screened in the theater.
Rage (1972) – There are some cringe-worthy moments early in the film thanks to George C. Scott’s heavy-handed direction, but the film eventually turns into an interesting, if flawed, revenge drama. Based on real-life events, Scott plays a farmer who is poisoned along with his son by an accidental release of nerve gas by the military. When the military and public health authorities refuse to play it straight, and the kid dies, Scott decides to seek revenge before his own poisoning takes his life. Although the first half drags, once the revenge begins the film gets interesting enough to merit a recommendation. Not for folks that don’t like seeing the depiction of animals dying – it gets a little brutal at times in that regard. Streamed via Warner Archive Instant.
The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970) – This political satire drags a bit in the second half, but it still hits the mark overall. Despite being more than 40 years old, this film’s wit has aged well. More impressively, the political satire still manages to land punches and seems every bit as relevant today as it was then. I definitely recommend this underrated British gem. Streamed via Warner Archive Instant. Get a Warner Archive Instant 2 week Free Trial
Telefon (1977) – This formulaic serial killer movie from legendary director Don Siegel is in no way assisted by the Cold War spy plot grafted onto it. Just the opposite, it makes the whole thing all the more ludicrous. Extra demerits for the ridiculous accents. I’m fine with not bothering to fake accents, but at least make things consistent. One person faking a Russian accent (badly) while another person doesn’t bother to drift from the Queen’s English is annoying as hell. As for the plot, the whole thing is laughable. So laughable that Siegel and the writers insert a jarring scene of exposition into the middle of the film in which two minor characters basically catalog all of the “why don’t they just do X” scenarios the audience has been thinking for the first part of the film and try to explain them away. They don’t manage it. At least don’t say it would be impossible for the Soviet Union to send a bunch of spies in to the U.S. to assassinate people when the entire premise of the film is that the Soviet Union managed to send a bunch of spies in to the U.S. to blow things up. Rather than giving logic to the film, the scene of exposition actually just demolishes the logic of the film altogether. Lead Charles Bronson’s performances tend to always be hit-and-miss propositions. Sometimes his macho distance thing works – see The Mechanic – and other times it feels out of place. It doesn’t help in this one that leading lady Lee Remick appears to have been told she was to perform as if in a romantic comedy, not a thriller. If you want to watch something from Don Siegel in the 1970s, go get Charley Varrick instead. If you want some hard-boiled Charles Bronson, and you don’t feel like watching Once Upon a Time in the West again, try The Mechanic or Mr. Majestyk. Telefon was streamed via Warner Archive Instant
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