Knives Out, I would have been happy to pay to see this in the cinema, a sequel is being planned.
Lets hope the sequel isn’t another True Detective 2
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The best album of the nineties was recorded here (amongst many others) and it wasn’t OK, Computer 
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Yes a surprising joy🙂
I think it was the joy of a genre that is very rarely seen, I must admit the last Hercule Poirot left me underwhelmed in comparison to the earlier sumptuous Albert Finney Murder On The Orient Express
A kind of UK cross between King Kong and Godzilla, Gorgo (1961) is a rather creaky monster flick-cum-morality tale. After a spate of undersea vulcanism, a 60-foot prehistoric creature is unleashed, and wreaks havoc off the Irish coast. Two sailors on the make subdue and capture the beast and – against scientific advice – bring him to London for exhibition. Unfortunately, Gorgo (as the creature is named) is just a baby and his mum (five times bigger) comes looking for him, destroying London in the process.
It’s all very silly. Nevertheless it’s great to see a picture set in my part of the world (SW London) and there’s a certain pleasure in seeing London – as opposed to Tokyo or New York – getting trashed by a 300-foot monster, with Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Piccadilly Circus and Battersea Park coming out of it quite badly. And its nice to see mother and son – who, let’s face it, are largely blameless – stroll off, reunited, at the end, back to the depths whence they came.
The trailer is great fun - talk about hype!
The Horse Soldiers
John Wayne & John Ford, with William Holden as the internal antagonist as a cavalry troop raid deep behind the Confederate lines.
In their move south the troop pick up a Southern lady and her maid. While this is initially reasonably handled a romantic liaison is jarringly conjured from very little, with Wayne as the male half, where Holden’s character would have been a better choice, if this was needed at all.
This film contains some great elements that don’t really spark for me. The Holden vs Wayne antagonism is not really driven home. The stress of being in unfriendly country never truly builds. Later in the movie a military academy sends its very young men out to face the battle hardened Unionist troops, and the opportunity for some biting action is squandered, at any level.
The film ends with a highly dubious successful charge by the cavalry across a narrow bridge against well positioned opposition.
The American Civil War was one of, if not THE, first war with modern firearms. The slaughter was awful, and very much a harbinger of the First World War. This film skirts all the moments which could make this a true war film, it rather becomes a catalogue of missed opportunities as it tries to shoehorn an unlikely romantic tale into a movie where it shouldn’t exist.
Disappointing.
M
Warlock
Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda and Anthony Quayle.
A good cast and very nearly an excellent film. Warlock is a frontier town with a ranch owner and cowboys who choose to ride rough trod over the local deputy sheriff, disposing of him in short order, but not fatally. The town elders decide to hire their own marshal, calling on the services of a famous gunman, enter Henry Fonda and his close friend and partner Anthony Quayle.
Widmark is one of the cowboys, an elder brother to a hot headed youngster who is also in the gang. As the plot progresses his view is more level headed and independent and leads him to part ways, eventually becoming the town deputy sheriff.
The script has some excellent nuance. The protagonists are both deeply flawed, and the film gives us enough time to get to know and care for them, so that when they are threatened we genuinely care. This is heightened when movie successfully plays with the juxtaposition of a paid mercenary against the government sponsored agent. Where the script almost hits a great beat is in aligning each male lead with a women, grounding each of the characters and adding depth; ultimately I felt this failed as I was not convinced of either relationship. In fact I would have been far more convinced if the female partners for the protagonists had been swapped, although this wouldn’t have been as clever I could have believed it far more.
Over all I did enjoy this film, and it was so close to being very memorable.
M
Indeed @MrUnderhill – Wayne was one of the top box-office stars at the time (and Ford a reliable director of hits) and the public (as well as critical) response to the film was very lacklustre back in 1959. It was regarded as a flop.
Hi K,
The only thing that bought a smile to my face was some plageurism in the soundtrack, the ‘love’ theme was a copy from a theme from The Searchers, I am assuming it was the same composer, but I haven’t checked.
M
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The Searchers was the great Max Steiner, Horse Soldiers was David Buttolph, who I’m not familiar with.
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I really enjoyed this. Very entertaining and a nice new take on the genre.
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Can’t say I agree, thought it was a terrific piece of Cinema.
Beat the Devil
What a excellent bit of cinema. Robert Morley on superb form and the whole cast in fine fettle. This is a wonderfully witty, grimy, underhand, Walter Mitty-ish drama that is chock full of wry humour.
Directed by John Huston and written by Huston and Truman Capote.
Highly Recommended.
M
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King Arthur on DVD
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Seen this several times, it’s not even that great but somehow has turned into one of those “…watch it when it’s on and nothing else is” films.
A brilliant film and maybe best left at that but I think there would have been mileage in Hurt continuing the role of Arkady Renko.
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Been watching all the original Pink Panther movies with the kids. Forgotten how daft they are, they love them so far.
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Nothing like a dystopian flick in these pandemic times, is there? John Carpenter’s best films – Hallowe’en, Assault on Precinct 13 and this – are all low-budget B pictures executed with great imagination, style and élan, belying their budgets. I can’t fault this one from 1981 – Issac Hayes, Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef Donald Pleasance and Ernest Bourgnine are all great, as are the sets, costumes, AD and Carpenter’s electronic score is outstanding.
Unreservedly recommended.
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