The Desperadoes / Charles Vidor (1943). This picture has all the familiar western movie elements that pleased audiences in the 1940s. It two main strengths for today’s viewers are: it is surprisingly in Technicolor and a knockout cast of Randolph Scott, Glenn Ford, Claire Trevor, Evelyn Keyes, and Edgar Buchanan.
The movie begins with a bang, literally, as a quiet night in town is interrupted by an explosion at the bank which blows out all the windows. The Sheriff, Steve Upton (Scott), has suspicions about the identity of the robbers, but when an old friend of his, Cheyenne Rogers (Ford), a wanted man, comes to town, townsfolk want to blame him. Claire Trevor is the saloon owner who had also known Cheyenne in the past. Horse chases, bar fights, and gun fights ensue
Glenn Ford, 27-years-old, had just been building up his status in movies for two or three years at this point. He is so young here that I didn’t recognize him at first until I heard his voice. I liked seeing him at this place in his career. Recommended for all fans of classic Hollywood westerns.
Hellcats Of The Navy / Nathan Juran (1957). This was the only movie that starred Ronald Reagan and wife Nancy Davis either before or after their 1952 marriage. Both consider this movie to be the nadir and end of their movie lives. They acted almost exclusively for television going ahead.
And truly the movie is a bundle of submarine cliches and tropes: running silent while the crew sweats it out, being buffeted by depth charges, and making emergency dives. Yet, these things always get to me and I become involved in the movie. So while I found the three submarine sequences to be quite watchable, the troubled romance story on shore stops the movie dead. Not recommended unless you will watch just any submarine movie.
Director Nathan Juran was a journeyman who helmed B-movies of all genres but is most well known for science fiction: “20 Million Miles to Earth” (Ray Harryhausen did the special effects) and the cult classic “Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.” He was given a Lifetime Career Award by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films in the U.S.
The Ambushers / Henry Levin (1967). The third of four Matt Helm spy spoofs starring Dean Martin. I can’t believe I ever thought these movies were funny and breezy. Helm doesn’t do much spying or sleuthing. The 50-year-old Dino just leers at and quips about young women but nothing he says is one bit amusing, more cringy and ick-producing. Albert Salmi is the main baddie. James Gregory has the thankless job of being Helm’s boss. Senta Berger and Janice Rule are the female leads. Abysmal.
Baby Driver / Edgar Wright (2017). Tolerable crime adventure about young man forced into being a get-a-way driver for a master criminal. OK, but mostly predictable, nothing you haven’t seen before. Ansel Elgort is the title driver, Lily James is the restless waitress he wants to run away with, and Kevin Spacy plays the mastermind of the robberies. Jamie Foxx and Jon Bernthal are a couple of his dangerous partners in crime. This was Spacy’s last theatrical feature before being cut down by #MeToo.
Killers Of The Flower Moon / Martin Scorsese (2023). A big deal is made of Scorsese having directed this film at 80-years-old. It is a big deal because, as we all know, as we are told daily by one political party, 80-year-old men are not capable of accomplishing anything complex. They are riddled with dementia, can’t talk properly, or think. [Sarcasm alert]
In 1920s Oklahoma, oil was discovered on land owned by Osage Native Americans. The Osage people found themselves very rich but the white establishment plotted to either keep them from their own money or get white husbands for the women who are then murdered so the husband can inherit. A truly tragic and shameful period in U.S. history. The official count is 20 people killed but the author of the book the movie is based on believes there may have been over 100.
The main brain behind the scheme was William King Hale (Robert De Niro), who boasts about how much he loved the Osage and what a good friend he is to them. When his nephew Ernest Burkhart arrives after serving in WWI, Hale arranges for him to marry Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone) who was to be slowly poisoned.
As I watched I observed the stunning cinematography, the flawless performances, and the excellent score, but I saw it all objectively, clinically. Regardless of the horrifying events, I was not engaged with the story. Mainly, I think, because everyone seemed to be moving in slow motion, as if under water. I was getting very impatient and wanting to see how justice was done. Although admiring the many values of the production, I didn’t really like this movie very much. Sounds like a contradiction, I know, but there it is.
Dune: Part Two / Denis Villeneuve (2024). “Dune” has what “Killer Moon” doesn’t, a story told with energy. Even if it starts as something of a slow burn, at least when compared to other science-fiction action, once it gets going the action is visceral. I was thrilled, chilled, and fulfilled with the complex, nuanced characters.
Part Two picks up right where Part One ended. Stilgar (Javier Bardem), leader of the native people, the Fremen, and Rebecca, Paul’s mother, believe Paul (Timothée Chalamet) to be the savior prophesied about, but all Paul wants is to be a Fremen freedom fighter and be with his true love, Chani (Zendaya). Meanwhile, the evil Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) has a new champion, Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler), a sociopathic killer who vows to wipe out the Fremen. Also in the mix is the Emperor (Chistopher Walkin) and the brains behind the throne, his scheming daughter Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh). This is a novel on film. It is not possible to express all my thoughts and observations in this format. There is just too much.
Easter Egg: One of today’s major Hollywood stars has a 5-second cameo and will presumably be in the not-yet-greenlighted Part 3. So be alert for that.
Short Video: “When Your Friend Didn’t Like Dune” 1:09
Perry Mason“The Case of the Stuttering Bishop” Season 2, Episode 20 (March 14, 1959)
The Brokenwood Mysteries“Sour Grapes” Season 1, Episode 2 (October 5, 2014)
Prime Suspect"The Lost Child" Season 4, Episode 1 (April 30, 1995)
Endeavour“Muse” Season 5, Episode 1 (June 24, 2018)
“Cartouche” Season 5, Episode 2 (July 1, 2018)
Badehotellet (Seaside Hotel) “Søminen” (The Nail) Season 8, Episode 5 (March 1, 2021)
…………………..Season 8 Concluded
Discovering Britain“New Forest” Season 1, Episode 2 (February 10, 2016)
