Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate it | {Insert Appropriate Seasonal Greeting Here}

[Tasty Biscuits]

3-Iron / 빈집 (Kim Ki-duk, 2004)

I had similar reactions upon seeing it. An enjoyable experience equal parts relaxing and contemplative. I enjoyed the "turn" in realism in the 3rd act personally. I'm gonna see if I can find what I wrote about it regarding my own interpretation of said turn.

Edit: I was able to find my ramblings after all. I'd like to think there's moments of coherency

Spoiler

Was he beaten to death in prison, and his ghost just floating about afterwards, or was he actually able to gain the ability to turn himself invisible through a heightened self-consciousness? Either answer is acceptable, though neither essential.

So, what to make of the use of a 3-iron golf club? I did find the parts where it was used for violence to be a bit, well, cheesy, but I did a little digging after watching the movie and found something online which I certainly subscribe to, which is the 3-iron club being symbolic to the 3 main steps of Buddhism: 1) Impermanence, 2) Non-Self, and 3) Nirvana (enlightened existence). We see this play out in the film in a fairly seamless, natural progression.

At first, our protagonist Tae-suk is just drifting from place to place, with no home of his own, and, I'd argue, no real individual sense of self, as he seems to more-or-less just assimilate himself into whatever particular house he is in at that time, only for it all to be erased once he comes upon a new place. Thus, impermanence. The non-self is achieved when he is in prison -- now that he is unable to travel from place-to-place, he is forced to look inward, not outward, for a source of identity. Through peaceful self-reflection and the eschewing of anger, he is able to remove his self/soul from its physical limitations (or is he?), which leads us to stage 3, Nirvana, the enlightened state-of-being, as he is now able to travel through the world in whatever state (physical/metaphysical) he desires, and weighs nothing on a scale. Yes, it's far from a perfect reading (even the original title in Korean was "Empty Houses"), but I like it anyway.

And about that relationship, I think the film's greatest achievement is to have the first words exchanged between our protagonists be "I love you," and for those words to be fully, completely earned -- we don't doubt it for a second, we don't feel the need to mentally backtrack and see if we missed anything, or feel like we are coming in cold to two characters whose history we don't yet know or understand. It really is such an understated, lovely sleight of hand Kim accomplishes there, and it's something I suspect no other movie has ever pulled off so well, if at all.

sidenote: I always hope I'll come away from any film with one image that will really stick with me afterwards, and for 3-Iron it's when he's in his prison cell with that cheeky (no other way to describe it) grin, egging himself on with each of his hands. That whole sequence really is a bit of a curveball in terms of tone. In fact, the entire 3rd act deviates from the first two as well in this sense, but this is more than welcome and serves the film a positive momentum as the conclusion draws near.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

The World, The Flesh, and The Devil (1959) - 6/10

Good premise, poor almost budget-like acting. Basically last man left on earth after a nuclear holocaust (he was trapped under a mine which the film wasted 10 minutes on then another 20 minutes on him bumbling about realizing he's the last person). Eventually discovers another pretty girl, they have some really poor forced drama constantly brought up. Brings up some issues of racism in a decently subtle-ish way but really not very well done in the way of directing or entertaining after the initial premise plays out.

 

[Pink Mist]

I had similar reactions upon seeing it. An enjoyable experience equal parts relaxing and contemplative. I enjoyed the "turn" in realism in the 3rd act personally. I'm gonna see if I can find what I wrote about it regarding my own interpretation of said turn.

Edit: I was able to find my ramblings after all. I'd like to think there's moments of coherency

Spoiler

Was he beaten to death in prison, and his ghost just floating about afterwards, or was he actually able to gain the ability to turn himself invisible through a heightened self-consciousness? Either answer is acceptable, though neither essential.

So, what to make of the use of a 3-iron golf club? I did find the parts where it was used for violence to be a bit, well, cheesy, but I did a little digging after watching the movie and found something online which I certainly subscribe to, which is the 3-iron club being symbolic to the 3 main steps of Buddhism: 1) Impermanence, 2) Non-Self, and 3) Nirvana (enlightened existence). We see this play out in the film in a fairly seamless, natural progression.

At first, our protagonist Tae-suk is just drifting from place to place, with no home of his own, and, I'd argue, no real individual sense of self, as he seems to more-or-less just assimilate himself into whatever particular house he is in at that time, only for it all to be erased once he comes upon a new place. Thus, impermanence. The non-self is achieved when he is in prison -- now that he is unable to travel from place-to-place, he is forced to look inward, not outward, for a source of identity. Through peaceful self-reflection and the eschewing of anger, he is able to remove his self/soul from its physical limitations (or is he?), which leads us to stage 3, Nirvana, the enlightened state-of-being, as he is now able to travel through the world in whatever state (physical/metaphysical) he desires, and weighs nothing on a scale. Yes, it's far from a perfect reading (even the original title in Korean was "Empty Houses"), but I like it anyway.

And about that relationship, I think the film's greatest achievement is to have the first words exchanged between our protagonists be "I love you," and for those words to be fully, completely earned -- we don't doubt it for a second, we don't feel the need to mentally backtrack and see if we missed anything, or feel like we are coming in cold to two characters whose history we don't yet know or understand. It really is such an understated, lovely sleight of hand Kim accomplishes there, and it's something I suspect no other movie has ever pulled off so well, if at all.

sidenote: I always hope I'll come away from any film with one image that will really stick with me afterwards, and for 3-Iron it's when he's in his prison cell with that cheeky (no other way to describe it) grin, egging himself on with each of his hands. That whole sequence really is a bit of a curveball in terms of tone. In fact, the entire 3rd act deviates from the first two as well in this sense, but this is more than welcome and serves the film a positive momentum as the conclusion draws near.

Wow great insights, especially the connection between the 3-iron and the connection to Buddhism. My background on Buddhism is admittedly limited but it seems like a pretty decent reading of the symbolism.

On the words spoken between the protagonists:

Spoiler

I had originally written in my review that the two leads put in an impressive performance where they didn't say a single word.

But then when I was rereading what I had written I was like "wait... they did share some words with each other at the end, and those were some pretty damn important words, how did I miss that?". As you said, it is a really understated moment and it had gone right over my head - blink and you'll miss it - but very powerful especially when you do realize what had occured and that those are the only words they've said to each other. As you said, I've never seen a film pull off that trick, and kudos to Kim because in lesser hands it may have felt gimmicky.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

Wow great insights, especially the connection between the 3-iron and the connection to Buddhism. My background on Buddhism is admittedly limited but it seems like a pretty decent reading of the symbolism.

On the words spoken between the protagonists:

I'm glad you saw it and posted, I hadn't thought about it in quite some time, and our brief back-and-forth reminded me just what it is about it that makes it such a worthwhile (and, frankly, endearing) work.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Irrational Man (2015) - I didn't remember it being great but I didn't remember it being this bad either. Trainwreck of a script. The performances are terrible. Actors really did line up to work on any film so long as the script read Woody Allen. The lines sound like poor imitations of Woody Allen. I don't know if it's due to Allen's direction, but it seems like the actors truly believed the dumb shit the movie was saying in a pompous kind of way. A truly terrible film. How do you f*** up Joaquin Phoenix?

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Hooper, 1974) – After revisiting every Halloween films but the worst one (couldn't resign myself to watch it again), I thought about doing the same for these. I've seen the “original trilogy” many times, and one of the many remakes (the Nispel one), but there's quite a few of these Chainsaw films I've never seen. This original one is still holding up pretty well. Considering his latter offerings (and considering Spielberg probably did most of the work on Poltergeist), it's hard to understand how Hooper managed to craft such an effective shock horror film that early in his underwhelming career (he did a few fun movies afterwards, but never a good one). I haven't seen his first film, Eggshells, but it is considered somewhat experimental, so maybe he did have some of that sensibility. The ancestor of the Rob Zombie movie signature, this white-trash extravaganza packs more than a few inventive ideas and manages to create a pretty cohesive and coercive atmosphere. 7.5/10

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Analyze This (1999) - 6.5/10

I like 90s comedies but I hate 90s comedies mixing suspense with the comedy unless it's an out and out black comedy which this isn't dark enough to be (it's directed by Ramis who I found out also did Groundhog Day which is still in my top 5-10 all-time). The stakes get a bit too high here considering it's supposed to be a dumb comedy, Billy Crystal film shave this issue imo where they cross the line into uncomfortability and having DeNiro constantly jump from comedy to threatening wasn't fun for me. The comedy is mediocre, not great but better than today's comedies. The storyline is not one I could not care enough about at all though due to the films constant tone-jumping.

Also Lisa Kudrow was cute, they made her quite frumpy in Friends I guess. I'm glad she ended up with roles in decent films like this, Long Shot, Easy A, etc unlike Monica. f*** you Monica.

 

[Pink Mist]

Winter Brothers / Vinterbrødre (Hlynur Pálmason, 2017)

In rural Denmark, two brothers are stuck in a dead-end job working at a chalk mine. They supplement their meager income by making moonshine from stolen materials at the factory and selling the booze to their coworkers on the job. The main brother we follow, Emil (Elliott Crosset Hove), is a bit of a f***up - he’s thin as a rail, sinewy, wild and careless – the kind of person who is easy to become the brunt of jokes. One day selling his booze he screws up bad and the small community turns against the brothers. I’ve seen the plot compared to Taxi Driver, and while there is some comparison, Winter Brothers is a very different film. Emil is like a Travis Bickle character, he’s very volatile and on the verge of exploding in violence, but the film never results in a bloodshed like Taxi Driver. The tension sure raises and there’s some close calls, but it never boils over. There is a great blend of genres in this film, as Pálmason brings in black comedy, absurd and surreal dream sequences, and the aforementioned elements of a psychological thriller to great effect and does a good job balancing these differing genres. The film presents a great commentary on toxic masculinity and Crosset Hove puts in an amazing performance as the lead showing a lot of vulnerability. The cinematography shot in 16mm by Maria von Hausswolff is also incredible merging the contrasting whites of the chalk mine with the winter snow. I’m not sure why there aren’t more films that take place in a mine since the loud, dark, and claustrophobic setting of a mine makes a great setting for a film. Very good film worth giving a shot.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Doctor Zhivago (1965) - Directed by David Lean

Another classic crossed off my backlog and another absolute directorial masterpiece by Lean.

The film is a romance story back-dropped by the events of World War 1, The Russian Civil War, and The Russian Revolution. The story is told as a narration from General Yevgraf Zhivago, half-brother of the titular Doctor Yuri Zhivago. Yevgraf is looking for his brother's long-lost daughter after the events of the War. What could otherwise be just another romantic drama becomes so much more when viewed within the context of the time period and setting, not to mention the amazing score and directing by Lean.

As with most epics, it is a somewhat slow developing film, focusing quite a lot on the interactions of the characters and the setting, as well as their development throughout. The mood of the movie really helps to express the feelings of the characters and capture the overall feeling of the time period. From the chaos in the streets, constant tension and military conflicts springing from thin air, to the cold and helpless drawling of Russian Winter. It's incredible how a film that centers around romantic interaction of one woman can be so much more with more substance around it.



As a side note, I first learned of this film after watching the "Unforgivable" videos on YouTube (they're too NSFW for me to link here, but if you know you know...) In "Unforgivable #2" he says he brought over three DVD's... Doctor Zhivago, Brief Encounter, and Bridge on the River Kwai (a Lean night). After having seen the first 2 films, it is absolutely hilarious that he is recommending these movies, given the aggressive and violent tone of the rest of the satire in "Unforgivable".


Edit: Next on the list for me is Great Expectations.

 

[heatnikki]

Minamata - 6.5/10

Based on a true story, Johnny Depp is a war photographer that comes out of retirement to document the plight of some Japanese coastal communities devasted by the effects of mercury poisoning from industrial pollution.

Good film overall

 

[silkyjohnson50]

I wouldn’t call Nightmare Alley bad, but it also wasn’t that good. Maybe meh is the best way to describe it? A big cast and impressive atmosphere at times, but if you’re going to be meh, don’t be 2.5 hours long.

Kimi, on the other hand, came in at an impressive 1.5 hours. It wasn’t groundbreaking and it’s not going to make any end of the year lists, but I really enjoyed it for what it was. “I’m glad I watched that” isn’t something I’m left saying enough these days, but Kimi hit the mark for me.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (Hooper, 1986) - I would like to nominate this one as the worst sequel ever made. I know, I know, Exorcist II: The Heretic is widely despised, but at least the original film wasn't trashed by Friedkin himself, and anyway, it's still a way better film than this crap here. It's no use listing everything that's stupid in this film, Hooper justified it all by saying it was humor, and yeah it often tries to be, but the jokes are stupid too ("What was it? The Rambo III soundtrack?!", "S-C-E-X: sex!"). Doesn't help that everybody overacts (what was Dennis Hopper thinking?), and that they turned the big bad guy into a horny fat ******. I hadn't seen the film in at least 25 years, hated it back then, and I probably hate it even more today. 1.5/10

And not so bad it's good, just plain trash.

 

[PocketNines]

The Man Who Lived Again (1936)
2.65 out of 4stars

"Dr. Laurience, a brilliant but unstable scientist experimenting with transferring minds, becomes vengeful when his magnate patron withdraws his support."
A good sci-fi film whose best attributes are a surprisingly expressive Karloff and lots of quick dry wit. This film was a little awkward to follow due to the fact that almost everyone but Karloff was speaking at an expedited rate, which seems even more odd when you consider this movie is barely a bit over 60minutes long. As long as you can adjust to that, there's a decent mad scientist story with a lot of dry humor. I think Karloff knocks his role out of the park, bringing just the right amount of charismatic active menace emphasis to the part. Sadly imo, it isn't until the last 3rd of the movie that it really starts to take off, and it's humor and fun and drama kicks up a couple notches and it's "literal premise" actually unfolds on screen. Personality swaps thrown into different situations alongside some twists and turns make the last 3rd a blast and deliver everything promised by it's plot.

The Hitch-Hiker (1953)
2.60 out of 4stars

"Two fishermen pick up a psychopathic escaped convict who tells them that he intends to murder them when the ride is over."
At 71minutes short, a good but slightly monotonous noir film. There's no question that it works more often than not with creating tension and mood, but I felt it to be a bit repetitive. The movie is well acted, smarter than it has to be, and does create a decent amount of turns to keep the story moving along, but I can't forgive some things. I won't tell you scene for scene, but in this already short movie, there are a few scenes/situations that repeat, aside from the already continuous on and off driving. Also on that note, I personally feel there were a few to a handful of situations that would have been ideal for them to escape from their captor earlier on in the movie with no attempt made. Because of that, it's a good movie that does it's job but is not without reservations.

Death on the Nile (2022)
2.50 out of 4stars

"In 1937, while on vacation on the Nile, Hercule Poirot must investigate the murder of a young heiress."
A good Agatha Christie murder mystery film with lots of style and charisma. All of cast seems to be having a ball, especially Branagh in the lead role. The investigation and twists are noteworthy, but unlike Murder on the Orient Express, I guessed the killer of this film correctly right after the murder took place. I don't know if that's a knock on the screenwriting or a knock on the story, but it did hurt the joy of the journey a bit. Some interesting choices made with the film, especially with evolving Poirot's character.

The Hitch-Hiker is an example of the kind of film I exclude from my criteria for doom / ambiguity noir. It is an ITR film – incident, tension, release. There are tons of films that follow incident-tension-release and many of them have noir setups and are noirs (eg, Crime Wave (1953)), so a distinction is required. There is a whole rash of films like The Petrified Forest (1936), Blind Alley (1939), The Dark Past (1947), He Ran All the Way (1950), Split Second (1953) and The Desperate Hours (1955) to name a few, where there's a home invasion of regular people by desperate criminals. Breakdown (1996), Panic Room (2002) off the top of my head for more recent examples of this type of film. Die Hard (1989) is another ITR.

Here's the thing about incident-tension-release films. They rise and fall on the viciousness of the threat and the cleverness / agency of the threatened. They provide a service for viewers to vicariously experience fear and then get a release. Nearly the entire horror genre is grounded in ITR.

We aren't actually doomed in real life because we successfully fight our way out of fearful and threatening situations against long odds. That's not doom. That's "be prepared for doom." We are doomed in real life because human beings are what they are, build the social constructs that they do, and there's no way out. There is not actually release.

The Hitch-Hiker is brisk and lean, and specifically is a very strong example of the ITR arc. Ida Lupino as director deserves special mention. I'd put her with Robert Ryan, Robert Mitchum, Richard Widmark and Gloria Grahame as locks in any top 10 list of the genre.

 

[sdf]

Recent events makes me think about this scene

 

[PocketNines]

Odds Against Tomorrow-1959

A bank heist film with interesting angles. Earl (Robert Ryan) has been in trouble in the past (including manslaughter). Johnny (Harry Belafonte, what a voice!) is a night club singer/musician with gambling debt troubles. Burke (Ed Begley Sr), a former cop, recruits the two reluctant accomplices for the job who take an instant dislike to each other. Good supporting cast including Shelley Winters, Gloria Grahame and a small early role for Wayne Rogers (Trapper from M*A*S*H*). Packs alot of story into 95 minutes. Nice location shots, tense, well done.

This is a tremendous film noir. Belafonte is awesome. Cicely Tyson in a brief movie debut. Ryan is one of the greatest actors of the era bar none, and Begley is his usual great self.

For those who know Lone Star (1996) for the masterpiece it is (and direct reply to Chinatown's "forget it Jake" for the people without such a forget privilege), the woman who plays Otis Payne's wife also pops up in a bar scene with Belafonte – Carmen de Lavallade.

Odds Against Tomorrow is a perfect example of the genre providing value: Here is why we are F***ed. Noir is at its best when it is honest about the reasons why. Is American racism a reason we are F***ed with a capital F? Yes, yes it is.

I have it #3 on the all time doomed heist noir list. There are only two that top it, and they are pretty easy to guess: The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and Rififi (1955). Another exceptional doomed heist/race noir is Across 110th Street (1972).

 

[PocketNines]

Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
3.15 out of 4stars

"In 1945, a one-armed stranger comes to a tiny western town possessing a terrible past they want to keep secret, by violent means if necessary."
A great noir western with a slow burn yet tightly written mystery and drama at it's core. Most surprising to me, it included a few quality memorable action sequences done in 3 different physical styles. I blame me for this, but I the film personally didn't get my mind spinning on anything of real interest to me, even though it did have a plethora of themes that included responsibility, emotional stability, oppression/bullying, morality, guilt, mob mentality, caution of appearance judgements, and prejudices. That said I was amazed with it's entertainment value and quality across the board. Well acted by all, with great turns from Spencer Tracy and Robert Ryan in the 2 lead spots.

The Face Behind the Mask (1941)
2.90 out of 4stars

"Janos Szabo is a kind, innocent immigrant to America. Just after he arrives though, he is caught in a fire and his face is horribly burned and disfigured. Although a skilled craftsman his hideous features make it impossible for him to get work, and driven by despair he is forced to turn to crime to live."
A great noir film featuring Lorre as a captivating lead alongside some morals and food for thought. I was surprised when I read that there was trouble directing Lorre due to him drinking 'alcoholic breakfasts' and the necessity of shooting his scenes in the morning, because I thought he was spot on and his usual active elaborate self for the majority of the movie. This was "another" tale about the question "Is it ethical to turn to a life of low end crime as a means of survival due to severely unfortunate life circumstances? Especially when the situation involves life or death or even homelessness/starvation." And the movie carried that out fascinatingly well. At what point does doing bad things for good reasons become a moot point? At what point does one lose their honor, identity, or even the viewer's sympathy through living life like this? We are also given the view on the other side of the spectrum also, without explaining how or why for those curious of seeing this. Sometimes it's not the situation you are given that is awful, but how you react to it is what determines it's meaning and effect on your life. Some people can create lemonade out of even the most sour lemons. Not to mention, the story has a couple twists and turns with closure.

X/The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963)
2.65 out of 4stars

"A doctor uses special eye drops to give himself x-ray vision, but the new power has complicated consequences."
A good sci-fi horror/drama about a cautionary scientist's self-experimentation with the unknown, yet fascinating tool of x-ray vision and beyond. Milland carries this Corman film well in the lead role, and the concept of x-ray eyes is well explored and it's journey well evolved. It covers about all the bases it needs to with it's concept: medicinal use, fun use, use out of need, and more that I won't ruin. The pov "x-ray" vision eyes, albeit a touch repetitive, is a feast for the eyes to see kaleidoscope-like light spectrums, through/into items, and past human clothes to skin depth, organ depth, and skeletal depth. I debate on what the true theme of the film is, so I'll just lay out my top possibilities: "curiosity killed the cat", obsession, addiction, and/or megalomania.

Dog (2022)
2.60 out of 4stars

"Army Ranger Briggs (Channing Tatum) and Lulu (a Belgian Malinois dog) buckle into a 1984 Ford Bronco and race down the Pacific Coast in hopes of making it to a fellow soldier's funeral on time, whom was also Lulu's handler during wartime. "
A surprisingly good drama comedy that is more serious than expected as it explores the topics of mental/emotional trauma of post war-experienced soldiers and their struggled assimilation into society and their family/personal lives (this includes dogs that have seen action also for the record). Don't get me wrong, there is still a solid amount of goofball humor and dog related 'cuteness' mixed in, but it's definitely not drowning in it. It tries hard enough to explore the serious nature of it's seriously "under real world resolved" subject matter in it's own way, that isn't as deep as you'd want it to be but refreshingly extensive. Full of heart and widespread emotions. Definitely better than I expected it to be.

The Face Behind the Mask (1941) is good enough to be in the 101-200 range. Peter Lorre makes the character human and believable at all times. One of the very best early noirs.

Bad Day at Black Rock is like The Ox-Bow Incident to me – noir/western hybrids which are both more western than noir and both superior to The Big Heat, the pure western protagonist arc that tricked critics into calling it noir because critics think style is substance. If you like Bad Day at Black Rock, then you must also see Act of Violence (1949) starring Robert Ryan.

 

[tardigrade81]

Not a movie but reading The Tommyknockers by Stephen King. 10/10 so far. Very entertaining

will watch the 3 hour limited movie series after I’m done and compare. Something tells me things like where the girl is digging up the UFO and having a heavy flowing period staining her jeans won’t be in the movie lmao. King is an interesting author.

 

[The don godfather]

Conan the barbarian. One of the best action films of all time. Arnold Schwarzenegger best. The soundtrack probably the best of all time. 10 out of 10.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Green For Danger (1946) - 6/10

f*** I should've just read the novel. The 20s to 50s was a golden age of British crime novels and the films generally failed to translate them. In this one, the murder takes half an hour to get going and the detective isn't exactly a likable Hercule Poirot type. It's Alastair Sim playing another cocky and overly-antagonizing police inspector who gets to the bottom of the crime in the most forgettable way possible.

Still, it's fairly watchable as British films from the 40s and 50s usually were.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Eyes of Fire. Continuing a trip through Shudder's folk horror collection. This is a good premise and I dug the Colonial Pennsylvania setting. The 80s FX are dated but I thought were still pretty effective. The real killer unfortunately is the acting -- bad and irredeemable across the board. Tough hurdle to clear.

Wilczyka. (aka She-Wolf). Polish wolf woman horror. Super atmospheric. Definite slow burn. Looked fantastic. Hammer/Gothic vibes. Well acted. Thought it was fantastic.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Tombstone and Wyatt Earp. Forever linked as one of those Hollywood competing project rivalries. The former won the day then and now despite it being the smaller budgeted, less traditionally epic, less prestigious of the two.

Tombstone has the soul of a B movie and is great because of it. Great fun. Endlessly quotable. Earp has A movie aspiration that just make it plodding and dull.

The latter loses almost every comparison to the former, save a few spots here and there. It's odd to me that a generally compelling screen presence like Kevin Costner is so flaccid in a story he should be right at home in. His Western bona fides are strong but not here.

The one interesting point of comparison is Val Kilmer vs. Dennis Quaid. Kilmer wins but Quaid is pretty good and the clear high point of Earp.

Raw entertainment trumps austerity.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Tombstone and Wyatt Earp. Forever linked as one of those Hollywood competing project rivalries. The former won the day then and now despite it being the smaller budgeted, less traditionally epic, less prestigious of the two.

Tombstone has the soul of a B movie and is great because of it. Great fun. Endlessly quotable. Earp has A movie aspiration that just make it plodding and dull.

The latter loses almost every comparison to the former, save a few spots here and there. It's odd to me that a generally compelling screen presence like Kevin Costner is so flaccid in a story he should be right at home in. His Western bona fides are strong but not here.

The one interesting point of comparison is Val Kilmer vs. Dennis Quaid. Kilmer wins but Quaid is pretty good and the clear high point of Earp.

Raw entertainment trumps austerity.

I'll stand by the assertion that Kilmer should've gotten an Oscar for his Doc Holliday role.

 

[Chili]

The Hitch-Hiker is an example of the kind of film I exclude from my criteria for doom / ambiguity noir. It is an ITR film – incident, tension, release. There are tons of films that follow incident-tension-release and many of them have noir setups and are noirs (eg, Crime Wave (1953)), so a distinction is required. There is a whole rash of films like The Petrified Forest (1936), Blind Alley (1939), The Dark Past (1947), He Ran All the Way (1950), Split Second (1953) and The Desperate Hours (1955) to name a few, where there's a home invasion of regular people by desperate criminals. Breakdown (1996), Panic Room (2002) off the top of my head for more recent examples of this type of film. Die Hard (1989) is another ITR.

Here's the thing about incident-tension-release films. They rise and fall on the viciousness of the threat and the cleverness / agency of the threatened. They provide a service for viewers to vicariously experience fear and then get a release. Nearly the entire horror genre is grounded in ITR.

We aren't actually doomed in real life because we successfully fight our way out of fearful and threatening situations against long odds. That's not doom. That's "be prepared for doom." We are doomed in real life because human beings are what they are, build the social constructs that they do, and there's no way out. There is not actually release.

The Hitch-Hiker is brisk and lean, and specifically is a very strong example of the ITR arc. Ida Lupino as director deserves special mention. I'd put her with Robert Ryan, Robert Mitchum, Richard Widmark and Gloria Grahame as locks in any top 10 list of the genre.

Have been watching Robert Ryan films of late, enjoyed them all (Act of Violence, The Racket, On Dangerous Ground, Crossfire, Berlin Express, The Iceman Cometh). Odds against Tomorrow reunited the Roberts, Wise and Ryan from The Set-Up (one of Martin Scorcese's favorite films). Unlike on screen, Harry Belafonte and Robert Ryan became friends in real life.

 

[PocketNines]

Green For Danger (1946) - 6/10

f*** I should've just read the novel. The 20s to 50s was a golden age of British crime novels and the films generally failed to translate them. In this one, the murder takes half an hour to get going and the detective isn't exactly a likable Hercule Poirot type. It's Alastair Sim playing another cocky and overly-antagonizing police inspector who gets to the bottom of the crime in the most forgettable way possible.

Still, it's fairly watchable as British films from the 40s and 50s usually were.

Here are my recent notes for this film, going as I went along:

– Green for Danger is mostly English melodrama set in wartime with narration and flashback
– The V-1 explosions serve to drive doctor together with nurse
– Green for Danger is what Get Carter destroyed. The small group of suspects and someone did a murder. An arrogant Scotland Yard figure-outer.
– There's a whole scene where one nurse starts screaming hysterically and gets slapped by a fellow nurse. Hysterical women needing a slap
– Just tiresome. You have to like this particular brand of British upper class dialogue murder play to include it in a general grouping of value
– Just sort of basic and lame as far as being a noir. Not top 200 for sure.
– This is a parody of a form of murder mystery that's very bad and should go away forever. The English are f---ing weird (note: my English grandmother who helped crack Nazi codes at Bletchley Park and was killed by covid was from Durham, UK)
– Like, it doesn't matter who did it. Who would be invested in any aspect of this film and someone being guilty or not?
– It's a pile of dogshit on film.​

 

[Chili]

This is a tremendous film noir. Belafonte is awesome. Cicely Tyson in a brief movie debut. Ryan is one of the greatest actors of the era bar none, and Begley is his usual great self.

For those who know Lone Star (1996) for the masterpiece it is (and direct reply to Chinatown's "forget it Jake" for the people without such a forget privilege), the woman who plays Otis Payne's wife also pops up in a bar scene with Belafonte – Carmen de Lavallade.

Odds Against Tomorrow is a perfect example of the genre providing value: Here is why we are F***ed. Noir is at its best when it is honest about the reasons why. Is American racism a reason we are F***ed with a capital F? Yes, yes it is.

I have it #3 on the all time doomed heist noir list. There are only two that top it, and they are pretty easy to guess: The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and Rififi (1955). Another exceptional doomed heist/race noir is Across 110th Street (1972).

Good clip of Harry Belafonte talking about Odds Against Tomorrow: