Man of the West (1958)

I saw MAN OF THE WEST (1958) starring Gary Cooper for the first time, unbelievably, last week. An extraordinary Anthony Mann film based on THE BORDER JUMPERS 1955 novel by Will C. Brown. Its theme, one of redemption, has much in common with Shakespeare's KING LEAR. And that cast! Julie London, Lee J. Cobb, Jack Lord, John Dehner, and Robert J, Wilke hit all the marks, and then some. I'll be writing more on this gem at some point in the months to come.

Move It On Over

Thanks for stopping by but my latest post titled Forgotten Western Classics: The Spikes Gang (1974) is at the Western Fictioneers. C'mon, lets head on over there together.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

It took me four months to watch the biggest film of 2015—Star Wars: The Force Awakens—and here are a few haphazard thoughts from my first, late-to-the-game viewing last night:

What a strong actor Daisy Ridley (Rey) is in every scene. All the youngers are marvelous but this lady has serious acting chops—looking forward to watching her in material beyond a space opera. And for the returning veterans: Great to see Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewie (Peter Mayhew) though Carrie Fisher seemed stiff as Leia—uncomfortably so. And, hey, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han sure could have used you a little sooner. (I’m sure that will all be explained in further detail but talk about sitting this one out, right?) That being acknowledged when we do see the last of the Jedi’s, this fanboy, was seven-years-old again, it was 1977, in Dryden, New York, and I was watching the original with my mom and dad at a drive-in. The Force Awakens is what ‘going to the movies’ is all about.

Minor nitpicks: Believe this point has been voiced in numerous fandom circles: found it amusing that Luke, Han Solo, etc., are myths after only thirty odd years. But, who knows, sands through the hourglass may move faster this galaxy far, far away. And I would have liked to have seen more of Chewbacca in a couple of key scenes.

When talent, writing, and direction is packaged fresh, it’s almost eye-opening and awe-inspiring how a plot that has so many borrowed elements from Star Wars: A New Hope can seem born again. J.J. Abrams deserves a ton of credit for paying homage and also providing a fresh direction.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a whole lot of fun that I recommend to everyone … especially us old scruffy-looking nerf herders.

The Raven Trailer

IGN's Top 25 Crime Films

The list which I mostly agree with can be found here. (Thanks, Jay.)

Marlowe

Marlowe DVD review here. Great film worth buying for Bruce Lee's scenes and Rita Moreno's sexy dance number. I always felt Marlowe was a little misplaced in the 1960s but overall I liked the film.

1969 trailer

Robin Hood

I really enjoyed the hell out of this movie. I thought a fresh approach had been brought to a tired legend and the acting and directing were all top notch.

Your thoughts?


Robin Hood trailer | The New York Times: That Robin Guy and Sir Ridley | Roger Ebert's take | Guardian review.

On Stranger Tides

Penelope Cruz. I'm there.

Under The Tonto Rim

Hulu has added Under The Tonto Rim (1947) starring Tim Holt, a B western that throws in every enjoyable cliché an aficionado can look forward to. But being a RKO flick, it's a cut above B movies from other studios of the time. This pithy story, based on the Zane Grey book, clocks in at an hour and twelve seconds. Richard Martin and Nan Leslie also star, with Jason Robards appearing in an early supporting role. A complete synopsis can be found at AllMovie.

Wild West Monday: Seraphim Falls review

The Tainted Archive is a daily must-read and its founder, Gary Dobbs, is—to borrow a line from Anthony Quinn—a one man tango. He single-handedly began a western revival with his Wild West Mondays of which I’ve been fortunate to be a part. WWM #3 is coming up soon so he’s asked different writers to contribute a piece of their own choosing on books, films, Old West history etc. Click on over where I’m reviewing Seraphim Falls.

Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940)

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again...



Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5| Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13

Daphne du Maurier and Alfred Hitchcock bios

The Spirit

How did I miss out on The Spirit growing up? I’m not sure, but knowing me, I was probably in the Sgt. Rock and GI Joe section.

I've read my first Spirit, The Portier Fortune, in Best Crime Comics and have become hooked by Will Eisner’s masked man of mystery. And now after watching the trailer, I’m looking forward to the Frank Miller film coming this Christmas.



I love the Sin City look of the film and that Frank Miller style that translates well from graphic novels to the big screen. I’m not really familiar with Gabriel Macht who’s playing The Spirit but his bio includes roles in The Good Shepherd and The Recruit. Of course, all eyes will be fixed on the combined charms of Eva Mendes, Scarlet Johansson, and Paz Vega -- enough to make a Jessica Rabbit jealous.

The Thin Man Goes Home

I'm a fan of The Thin Man (1934), starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, based on the hardboiled novel by Dashiell Hammett. This film blends mystery and elegance with a charm that only old Hollywood can deliver. The success of the The Thin Man led to five more movies that were filmed every two to three years, imparting a quality that's lacking from other sequels of yesteryear. My charmer had never seen any of the films and I had only seen the 1934 original and its follow-up, After The Thin Man (1936). The Thin Man Goes Home (1944) is the fifth in the series and is perhaps an odd point to pick it up, but, with the accessibility of Google, we watched this one first.



We enjoyed the movie, but I found Nick and Nora's inebriated banter while solving crimes in the first two movies more entertaining than in this film where the pair are on the wagon (his preferred drink being cider) and left to solve the crime completely sober. Even so, their chemistry is still apparent ten years after the original and their playful interaction delivers a raciness rarely seen in the day. I wondered as we neared the end of the movie with just a few minutes to go, if there was enough time to reveal the murderer, but Nick quickly puts all the pieces together nicely and points to the guilty party in a final showdown.

The Thin Man Goes Home reviews

Rogert Ebert: The Thin Man

DVD Review: The Compete Thin Man Collection

The Dark Knight

I am now officially an older moviegoer according to Monday’s USA Today. Dan Fellman of Warner Bros. says, "We're starting to get those older moviegoers who maybe see three or four movies a year. They never rush to see a movie, and now that they can get a seat, they are coming out."* Yep, that's me, though honestly if my charmer had not wanted to see The Dark Knight, I probably would have passed altogether, but we went and I came to a new revelation. But first, the movie. It was great, the best Batman ever and I've seen them all. The acting was outstanding, and though Heath Ledger gets a lot of attention, Aaron Eckhart as Two Face and Gary Oldman as Commisioner Gordon are equally on the mark. Supporting cast of Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman round out a who's who of top notch actors. A decided improvement over the cast of Batman and Robin of a decade ago. The movie was indeed dark maybe a little too much so for the 4 and 8 year-olds I saw in the audience, but for a Batman fan who likes his Caped Crusader a little more Frank Miller than Adam West, this was dark to a T. My only small gripes, the movie was 30 minutes too long and Christian Bale's Eastwood-esque gravelly voice as Batman was a little too distracting. These are minor complaints, because honestly, this was a well done film.

My revelation is I'm bored with the Batman rehashes. Each time they reboot these movies, we are introduced to the villains as though we've never met them. If the producers and directors think younger audiences need a back story to catch them up to speed, I disagree. Who hasn’t grown up watching or reading Batman in some form, for example, with Nicholson as the Joker and Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face. These kids know the villains, we all do. Do us a favor and not waste time reintroducing the entire mythology every decade; let's just jump right into the action with some fresh material.

As I said, The Dark Knight is superb but maybe I need a new hero. And what good timing with The Watchmen coming out next year – something new at the flicks I haven't seen before. Of course, like an old fart, I'll check it out in its 4th or 5th week.

*This quote was taken from the printed copy of 'USA Today'. The online article had a slightly different quote