VHS and Betamax You Have Recently Rented

[Devon Malcolm]

Against All Odds

I was aware that Jeff Bridges used to be a good-looking man but blimey. Anyway, typical 80s vaguely erotic thriller where almost nothing happens yet it's still quite enjoyable, although I've no idea why. Rachel Ward though.

The Big Sleep (original) (TCM)

This has never been my favourite classic noir and that's still the case, even though it's still a great piece of filmmaking. The story's just a bit light for all the twists and characters that are attached to it, but the dialogue and performances are what really make it.

Gangster No. 1 

Just absolutely dreadful and weird for no particular reason. Plays like a totally unaware pastiche of British gangster films a couple of years after Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was a completely aware one. I remain largely convinced that Paul Bettany is rubbish as well.

Goodfellas

Great, sure, but The Irishman aside I still am not budging from the opinion that Scorsese's most interesting films are his non-crime ones.

[DavidB6937]

1 hour ago, Devon Malcolm said:

The Big Sleep (original) (TCM)

This has never been my favourite classic noir and that's still the case, even though it's still a great piece of filmmaking. The story's just a bit light for all the twists and characters that are attached to it, but the dialogue and performances are what really make it.

What are some of your favourite noirs? It's one of those things I've always meant to watch more of.

[Devon Malcolm]

2 hours ago, DavidB6937 said:

What are some of your favourite noirs? It's one of those things I've always meant to watch more of.

Classic era:-

* Double Indemnity - my personal favourite from this era, probably Billy Wilder's best film as well, which is saying something for him.

* Touch of Evil - once you get past Charlton Heston as a Mexican, it's practically perfect. I like to think the current fat era Russell Crowe was inspired by Orson Welles in this.

* The Killers - I struggle to think of a film with a better written plot than this, ever. The first half an hour, especially, are ridiculously good. Its director, Robert Siodmak, also made The Dark Mirror, The Suspect and The File on Thelma Jordon, all of which are superb.

* Sunset Boulevard - one of those films that is always on 'best of' lists and as such you're suspicious of because how can it be THAT good? It totally is though.

* Vertigo - it's probably the closest to a classic noir that Hitchcock ever made, maybe just ahead of Dial M for Murder and The Wrong Man, which are both outstanding. Improves on every single rewatch.

There's also Strangers on a Train, The Big Combo, Gun Crazy, Night and the City, The Big Heat, Sorry Wrong Number, The Night of the Hunter and No Way Out off the top of my head.

Neo-noirs (1965 onwards):-

* Miller's Crossing - as I've said before on here, if there was ever a scientific formula created for the perfect film, it would be Miller's Crossing.

* Chinatown - the odds are you wouldn't like this first time round but the rewatches are vital to unravel it all and, when you do, it's almost flawless.

* Blade Runner / Blade Runner 2049 - always raises someone's hackles when you call these noirs, but they totally are (especially the first one) and two of the best of all time.

* Point Blank - probably the crossing over point from the classic to neo periods, also one of the coolest films ever made and there's Lee Marvin.

* Blood Simple - the Coens know this genre better than anyone else in modern filmmaking. Unbelievable this was their debut.

John Dahl's triple-bill of Kill Me Again, Red Rock West and The Last Seduction is essential. Fargo, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, One False Move, Under the Silver Lake, A Simple Plan, LA Confidential, Devil in a Blue Dress and Blow Out are all greats.

[SaitoRyo]

Watched a bunch of stuff lately, here's what sticks out. 

The Border (1982)

Jack Nicholson plays a border patrolman working the US/Mexico border in Texas. Gets in way over his head. Harvey Kietel and Warren Oates are there as his shifty superiors. It's alright and certainly interesting subject matter for a major production with genuine stars, but it should be better considering who is involved. 

Hooper (1978)

Is there a more watchable movie star than Burt Reynolds? I loved this. Perfect Saturday night film. Reynolds is an ageing stuntman who wants one last big payday before retiring his knackered body so he agrees to do the biggest, most dangerous stunt ever filmed (along with rookie stuntman Jan Michael Vincent). Yes, there's a lot of bar fighting and car racing and stuff but it's also a really good film about filmmaking. It's also something of a crisis in masculinity and says some interesting stuff about getting older, working in a superficial business etc. 

The Comeback Trail (2020)

Not seen much about this, but it has De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Tommy Lee Jones, Emile Hirsch and others in it. One of those mid-size, genre amalgamations that doesn't quite work but is enjoyable enough. De Niro is an old producer who has debts to some unscrupulous characters, so he plans to make a shitty B western film and kill off Jones during it in order to get the insurance money. I liked the period setting (late 70's), but it completely predictable and seems like a bit of a wasted opportunity all told. 

Coogan's Bluff (1968)

Total Clint Eastwood star vehicle. Sexual politics all over the place. Fish-out-of-water story. Not terrible. Not great. Just sort of 'there'. 

Payday (1972)

Drifting road film about a Nashville country singer (Rip Torn) who is on his way home during a break in his hectic touring schedule. It's a character study about a character who is not necessarily nice, but complicated, and uses his status to manipulate people in an attempt to keep his spiralling life somewhat on the tracks. It's a bit jarring in places, probably due to when it was filmed and the fact it was made by a first-time director, but it's a good hidden gem of a film. Sort of thing you'd find on TCM at one in the morning and wonder how you've never heard of it before. 

[Scott Malbranque]

Tell No One : I forgot how tense - and intense - this movie actually is. Herself isn't much of a subtitle reader, but lately I've been introducing these sort into our viewing habits and she's been receptive thus far. You could equate that to ourselves in the pit when we first got together and all, but we're 14 years together with a lockdown and a torn foreskin in between, so subtitles is as piquant as it gets now. Great movie, glad it's been left alone remake-wise, and I think Kristin Scott Thomas should be in everything. Just pop up, deliver a line with a Gauloises in one hand and a Petit Fours in the other, and walk away.

The Girl in the Basement : This was the missus' choice. All hers. I just saw "Lifetime Movie" and I said "Ah bollocks!" but I was intrigued because I'll always have a soft spot for John Bender himself, Judd Nelson. It was actually surprisingly decent. Some scenes were actually truly upsetting and unsettling in it's desired sense, and then others were quite unsettling (Mainly any scene outside the Basement itself) because the acting was poxy. A surprisingly well made and well acted (Well, by anyone within the confines of the basement) flick and I was actually chuffed to be hit with

Spoiler

as happy and schmaltzy an ending as they could give us.

Oxygen : It's a good movie. Still on the fence with it all though. It's incredibly nerve wracking for the first two thirds of the movie but kind of disappears into it's own arse come the end. I've seen some reviews saying the ending was great, but I didn't like it. Melanie Laurent is as great as ever though, and Mathieu Amalric is frustratingly creepy, so yeah, it's good. Just not great.

[Devon Malcolm]

11 minutes ago, Scott Malbranque said:

Oxygen : It's a good movie. Still on the fence with it all though. It's incredibly nerve wracking for the first two thirds of the movie but kind of disappears into it's own arse come the end. I've seen some reviews saying the ending was great, but I didn't like it. Melanie Laurent is as great as ever though, and Mathieu Amalric is frustratingly creepy, so yeah, it's good. Just not great.

Looking forward to watching this later. Melanie Laurent is great, and a really good director. Respire was one of the most anxiety inducing films I've ever seen, absolutely brilliant. Galveston, with our boy Ben Foster, was also really good.

[Scott Malbranque]

 

4 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Looking forward to watching this later. Melanie Laurent is great, and a really good director. Respire was one of the most anxiety inducing films I've ever seen, absolutely brilliant. Galveston, with our boy Ben Foster, was also really good.

I completely forgot that she directed Galveston! I think I'll watch that again this evening. I haven't seen our Ben on my screen in over a month at this stage. And that's far too long a break. 

[Devon Malcolm]

Thief

I'm not a massive Michael Mann fan and wasn't big on this when I first saw it, but I was wrong. Outside of The Insider, this is Mann's most clutter-free and direct film. Just brilliant, no-nonsense, industrial stuff. Absolutely outstanding.

Black Widow

Anyone expecting some Debra Winger / Theresa Russell G/G action will be sorely disappointed, but this is a smart little thriller that's a cut above most 80s neo-noirs. Interesting use of its cast too, and an unusual ending.

Reversal of Fortune

Jeremy Irons somehow manages to butcher his own accent in a tedious adaptation of Alan Dershowitz's bullshit account of the Claus von Bulow case. God bless Ron Silver though, in a deserved and rare lead role.

Deadline USA (ok.ru)

Superb journalism-oriented noir with Humphrey Bogart trying to keep his paper afloat while exposing a Mafia don. A bit preachy towards the end but you can rarely go wrong with Bogie, and Richard Brooks, who was a great and now mostly forgotten director.

[WeeAl]

6 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Thief

I'm not a massive Michael Mann fan and wasn't big on this when I first saw it, but I was wrong. Outside of The Insider, this is Mann's most clutter-free and direct film. Just brilliant, no-nonsense, industrial stuff. Absolutely outstanding.

 

Deadline USA (ok.ru)

Superb journalism-oriented noir with Humphrey Bogart trying to keep his paper afloat while exposing a Mafia don. A bit preachy towards the end but you can rarely go wrong with Bogie, and Richard Brooks, who was a great and now mostly forgotten director.

Between Heat, The Insider, Collateral and Thief, I guess I'd have to call myself a Michael Mann fan. I think Thief is an utter gem that way too many people haven't seen. Glad to see that you feel similar Dev, when coming from the view of not being as fond of his stuff. I keep trying to get my brother to watch it and he keeps putting it off. Best of it is, once he does give in, he'll be raging he waited as long. 

Enjoyed your post on the Noir's and Neo-Noir's on the last page, seen some of them, but not all, and your opinion on The Killers in particular has me wanting to seek it out. Second the love for Double Indemnity. Anyone that hasn't seen it by now, needs to get that changed pronto. 

[Devon Malcolm]

6 minutes ago, WeeAl said:

Between Heat, The Insider, Collateral and Thief, I guess I'd have to call myself a Michael Mann fan. I think Thief is an utter gem that way too many people haven't seen. Glad to see that you feel similar Dev, when coming from the view of not being as fond of his stuff. I keep trying to get my brother to watch it and he keeps putting it off. Best of it is, once he does give in, he'll be raging he waited as long. 

Enjoyed your post on the Noir's and Neo-Noir's on the last page, seen some of them, but not all, and your opinion on The Killers in particular has me wanting to seek it out. Second the love for Double Indemnity. Anyone that hasn't seen it by now, needs to get that changed pronto. 

I would list those as my favourites of his too, but I'm just not on board with this theory that crap like The Keep, Blackhat and Miami Vice are all misunderstood pieces of genius. They're all awful.

The Killers has been reworked a couple of times as well, and there was a pretty good 1964 remake by Don Siegel (who you can never go wrong with) with Lee Marvin (ditto) that's worth seeing. The original is public domain so you should find it knocking about online easily.

[CleetusVanDamme]

Those Who Wish Me Dead is a good-ass thriller. I hope it's not such a long wait to see Jolie next in an action role again. Long live the Queen.

I often lose track of directing vs writing but whenever Taylor Sheridan's name pops up it's usually good.

[Devon Malcolm]

20 minutes ago, CleetusVanDamme said:

Those Who Wish Me Dead is a good-ass thriller. I hope it's not such a long wait to see Jolie next in an action role again. Long live the Queen.

I often lose track of directing vs writing but whenever Taylor Sheridan's name pops up it's usually good.

I was hoping to catch this at the cinema but it's not on at any time I could attend. But yeah, Sheridan is always a sign of quality, Wind River was really overlooked.

[Devon Malcolm]

The Woman in the Window (Netflix)

Well this was just shit, which seemed inconceivable until I actually watched it. A total mess that gives way to your usual stalk-and-slash shit, even Amy Adams is bad in it. My boy Wyatt Russell does his best with it but this is the biggest disappointment of the last couple of years by far.

Oxygen (Netflix)

Another entertaining bit of sci-fi fluff from Netflix and another good bit of disposable entertainment from Alexandre Aja. Knows its limitations and you get to look at nobody but Melanie Laurent for an hour and a half.

Shattered (Prime)

Typical, trashy 90s thriller with a couple of superb scenes and some amusing overacting by everyone, especially Greta Scacchi. Well worth spending an hour and a half with.

The Public Eye (ok.ru)

This was seen as an experiment to see how Joe Pesci fared in a lead role after the success of Home Alone and Goodfellas. He does great, obviously, but this is a little gem of a film that adds to the list of superb 90s neo-noirs.

From Hell

Johnny Depp and Heather Graham's respective terrible stabs (oh ho!) at Cockney accents aside, this was a lot more enjoyable than I was expecting. There's always something happening and some great globs of violence, plus the ending's actually quite satisfying.

A Perfect Murder

No idea why Viggo Mortensen decided to be a low-talker in this, but it's a reasonable Dial M for Murder rehash. Douglas - always great, Mortensen - bloody awful, Paltrow - breathtakingly stunning and also bloody awful. Good fun.

The Spook Who Sat by the Door (YouTube)

Little known blaxploitation film about a black activist who infiltrates the CIA. Not like any blaxploitation film you've ever seen, but a thoughtful, really well acted and angry piece of work that would have been hugely influential if its release hadn't been limited and even held back. 

[King of Hamptons]

Watched Spookies last night, decent 80s horror. It did feel like that they had come up with loads of great practical Sfx and just wrote a film around them though. Definitely worth a watch though. 

[DEF]

59 minutes ago, King of Hamptons said:

Watched Spookies last night, decent 80s horror. It did feel like that they had come up with loads of great practical Sfx and just wrote a film around them though. Definitely worth a watch though. 

There's a really good documentary about Spookies on the Vinegar Syndrome disc. Essentially the nob head producer fired everyone after they had shot 75% of the film. He hired a new director, completely new cast and put those bizarre sections with the ghoul, the wife in white and naff zombies in it that don't connect to the main plot at all.

It's a fun movie as it is but you can't help but think it would have been far more cohesive without the interference. The cast were absolutely furious with how it turned out.