The Damned – 1947 Clement

This is a ruthless ugly film showing the horrors of the Nazi’s pretty honestly, especially for a 1947 film It’s both a prison film, a war film, and a submarine film and borrows from all 3 sub-genres There’s a great tracking shot of the French doctor being forced through an entire German U-boat Marcel Dalio is great in a small role- so slippery The coffee warehouse is a very nice set piece There are some flaws- like the central action is shown outside of the privy of the main character and narrator- really for the first time- it’s a

The Damned – 1947 Clement2017-03-23T15:52:43+00:00

The Quiet Man- 1952 Ford

Known for its location shooting in Ireland and it shows. It’s absolutely gorgeous exterior photography It’s amongst the best work of all of the 4 leads- Maureen O’Hara, John Wayne, Barry Fitzgerald (pretty sure this is his single best role) and Victor McLaglen. Honestly the only other guy I could see pulling off the McLaglen role to have that sort of size and screen presence to battle with Wayne would be Bond himself It’s not a large role but Ward Bond’s voice-over work as narrator is really well done as well and adds to the comedic touch and light

The Quiet Man- 1952 Ford2023-02-04T17:42:50+00:00

Bill Paxton

Bill Paxton. Paxton is going to be remembered for his comedic performances in James Cameron films (even near dark (bigelow) was produced by Cameron). He’s absolutely essential in these blockbusters. Paxton also directed frailty and gave a great performance there. He gets a chance to shine as lead in a simple man and I absolutely love his small comedic role in true lies. best film: aliens Best lead film : a simple plan most overrated:  he’s never been nominated for an Oscar, and I haven’t seen his tv work so it’s hard for me to say he’s overrated in anything. I

Bill Paxton2020-07-03T10:31:44+00:00

They Live – 1988 Carpenter

Stars wrestler Roddy Piper and Keith David- who I love Carpenter’s score here might be the real star- it’s fantastic Carpenter is clearly influenced by Romero (which he mentions in the film) 50’s sci-fi (he loves 50’s movies in general if you look at the influence of hawks’ rio bravo on assault on precinct 13. There’s a lot of invasion of body snatchers here Very anti-yuppie and anti-reagan. “I came here to kick ass and chew bubblegum… and I’m all out of bubblegum” The entire film has achieved cult status but the overly long (purposefully) fight between the two

They Live – 1988 Carpenter2017-02-28T18:07:36+00:00

Get Out – 2017 Peele

First archiveable film from 2017 for me- I saw I don’t feel at home in this world anymore as well and it missed the archives- it’s an entertaining miss but a miss nonetheless It’s the debut from Peele (who also wrote it) There are past cinema influences galore here- rosemary’s baby (which peele admits is an influence) is visible in the success at which Peele achieves true paranoia. There are also some touches of being john Malkovich, guess who’s coming to dinner, carpenter’s they live, and invasion of body snatchers- it’s almost always a good sign when a film

Get Out – 2017 Peele2022-02-22T22:26:18+00:00

The Major and the Minor – 1942 Wilder

Wilder’s debut the major and the minor isn’t one of the best 10 films of 1942 but it’s worth recommending and I have it in the archives. I hate to get too cute with the title but it’s “minor” wilder but a major triumph for ginger rogers who is wonderful here showing her comedic skill and range; she spends most of the movie posing as a 12 year old but also plays a woman her own actual age for a while (31) and also pretends to be much older for a few scenes and pulls them all off. It’s

The Major and the Minor – 1942 Wilder2020-07-03T10:31:44+00:00

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