Misery (1990)
3.10 out of 4stars
“After a famous author is rescued from a car crash by a fan of his novels, he comes to realize that the care he is receiving is only the beginning of a nightmare of captivity and abuse.”
A great psychological horror thriller on obsession with tight pacing, endless suspense, smart decisions, and great acting, including an Oscar winning Kathy Bates performance. Also works very well looking at it from a dark comedy perspective too, and that doesn’t even get into the efficient bits of humor thrown into the side story. Bates is nothing short of brilliant as a controlling manic psychopath superfan. And Caan plays the sneaky appeaser well, as both try to manipulate the other throughout. Some nice commentary here on how fanbases/general-audiences want more of the same “hit/popular” material from their authors(or movies) instead of new creative or experimental works from the writers they love. Also a view of how some people hold celebrities on pedestals as idolized God figures and/or are blinded by the image of someone rather than the reality. And of course, let’s not forget the infamous “hobbling scene”.
The Naked City (1948)
3.05 out of 4stars
“A step-by-step look at a murder investigation on the streets of New York City.”
A great police procedural noir mystery that tells its tale in a realistic and rather light sort of way. Uncharacteristically of noir, it’s a rather mellow tale. Its characters deal with serious subject matter in a cleverly, sometimes tedious, methodical way and often use quick witted dialogue. Knocking on doors, dragging in suspects/contacts, and all the legwork needed to find all the details/circumstances surrounding this dead model and trying to put the puzzle pieces together is the goal. Small and big clues pop up as the process moves forward in which, but the characters themselves are just as alluring as the mystery. The cops are all charismatic and focused “nice good guy” types, and one key person brought in for questioning pulls you in with his web of lies and the mystery surrounding him. Barry Fitzgerald as the main joke throwing lieutenant is the attention grabber, but De Corsia in a small role is the real superb stand out of the cast. The film rightfully won awards for its cinematography and editing, keeping things on topic and showcasing New York City during the late 1940’s. Also spawned a TV show of the same name and influenced many crime investigation shows since being released with its format and style, which seems to be the biggest impact of its existence.
The Black Room (1935)
2.70 out of 4stars
“With Boris Karloff playing twins in a dual role in the late 18th century, twins are born to the ruling Bardon de Berghman in Tirol Austria, and the youngest is sent away due to a family legend stating the youngest twin will kill the oldest in a black room. Two decades later, the elder twin arranges the younger twin’s return so the brothers may rule their country jointly. The younger brother slowly finds out that the elder's rule was tyrannical and involves the mysterious disappearance of many locals.”
A great horror drama about fate and prophecy during feudal times with top notch Karloff performances. Easily amongst Karloff’s finest work as he plays 2 different personality twins that sometimes share the screen together. If monitored closely, you can even see some detailed differences between the 2 characters he portrays, Karloff showing excellent attention to detail. While that is likely the main attraction, there is a bit of a spooky feel based on the plot, well done castle/town visuals, and “Karloff’s performances”. Slightly predictable but enjoyable, well done and well directed. Lastly, everytime I see Karloff or Jeremy Irons I think they can be father and son they look so much alike.
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022)
2.90 out of 4stars
“A widowed cleaning lady in 1950s London falls madly in love with a couture Dior dress, and decides that she must have one of her own no matter how impractical.”
A great feel good heartwarming enchanting joyous adventure comedy light drama film. Before seeing this, I read a review calling it “Paddington done in a Phantom Thread style setting” with an adult targeted audience, and that matches it perfectly. It’s an endlessly breezy smooth charming tale full of optimism against adversities, and one of the most charming adult films I’ve ever seen. And even the adversities are told with a rather soft touch. Manville carries the role very well and the “periodic” visuals are at times eye catching. The movie promotes “never giving up on your dreams”, “be nice and comforting to everyone no matter what”, “good things happen to good people”, “diligence pays off”, “humans are deep down kind hearted”, “true beauty is on the inside and shown on the outside in our actions”, and “there is light in even dark times and situations”. It’s easy for one of these movies to feel overly sentimental or otherwise ineffective, but this one hits the right note from the beginning and plays it all the way till the ending.
Nope (2022)
3.00 out of 4stars
“Residents of an isolated inland gulch in California witness a mysterious and abnormal event and attempt to capture video evidence of a UFO.”
A great horror sci fi comedy, I enjoyed it, albeit it's definitely imperfect and a touch messy. I actually have difficulty grading this and reviewing it. On one hand, it borrows a good amount from the films Jaws (yep), Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and War of the Worlds (2005). On the other hand, it borrows very cleverly, creates distinction on its use of those things, and is effective in implementation. There are things I really like in it, and there are a few choices I question and am divisive on how great this movie is. I’ll say the humor is good, some of the horror bits are great, and meat is intriguing while leaving some things left unexplained/unanswered after a slow and somewhat meandering 20-30minute beginning set-up. There are some themes and metaphors/notes in the movie, but I feel the more I say on that the easier it will be to ruin the “unveiling”. I do want to correct one thing I have read about this movie. A lot of people/reviews say it’s not as “brainy” or “deep” as Peele’s previous 2 films, I disagree. The more I think about this movie, the more points I see Peele making or hinting at with the film’s elements/decisions.