Riveting! Zodiac Directed by David Fincher • 2007 • United States Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr. David Fincher’s riveting, meticulously constructed procedural centers on the true story of the notorious serial killer known as the Zodiac who terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1960s and early 1970s and the intense manhunt he inspired. Jake Gyllenhaal leads an outstanding ensemble cast as Robert Graysmith (whose book of the same name provides the basis for the film), a cartoonist at the San Francisco Chronicle who is drawn into the investigation after his paper receives a cryptic letter from the Zodiac. What plays out is a searing and singularly haunting examination of twin obsessions: one man’s desire to kill and another’s quest for the truth.
I watched this today. The amazing cast and the fact that it is Elia Kazan's last film should make it one of the great films of the 70s. I had never seen it before, probably because of the bad reviews, and never paid attention to how many great actors were in it. On paper you would think there is no possible way that this can be bad. I didn't hate it, and I am glad I finally seen it, but I get why it doesn't have a good reputation. It's not a great script and it kind of wanders aimlessly, but it's still worth a viewing for all the great talent that is involved with the film. The only movie with De Niro and Nicholson together is worth the price of admission. Throw in Ray Milland, Robert Mitchum, and Jeanne Moreau and it's an entertaining film if you are not expecting too much. The Last Tycoon Directed by Elia Kazan • 1976 • United States Starring Robert De Niro, Tony Curtis, Robert Mitchum F. Scott Fitzgerald’s final novel—a fascinating tale of studio politics in early Hollywood—is breathtakingly adapted to the big screen by Elia Kazan (in his own swan song) and scriptwriter Harold Pinter. Robert De Niro leads a powerhouse cast as studio head Monroe Stahr (a thinly disguised portrait of Irving Thalberg), in command of his studio but haunted by a love lost to the past. Tony Curtis, Robert Mitchum, Jeanne Moreau, Theresa Russell, Anjelica Huston, and Jack Nicholson contribute stirring supporting performances to this richly detailed look at Hollywood’s past.
The Swimmer - With Burt Lancaster. I didn't want anything too deep last night. It was good, fit my mood.
Been on a run of 6 or 7 Kirk Douglas movies. I had never seen "Posse" before - it has no noir visual trappings whatsoever but has a noir view of the world, particularly the I-didn't-see-it-coming ending. Highly recommended.
Finished Michael Mann's Thief. Enjoyed it. Glad I saw it, glad I didn't blind buy it on blu ray. It kind of rushed through its Rififi like heist at the end.
Since the time change I have hit the Criterion Channel hard.. Enjoyed Niagara quite a bit, the color shots from that era were terrific, and MM was a real treat, I visited The Falls with the family a few years ago so I added a 1/2 star just for that re-experience. 3.5/4 Night and the City, rock solid Noir thriller with Richard Widmark, one of the better films I have seen him in, found myself rooting for him even though I shouldn't be, he showed a lot of empathy for this trouble character, good solid Noir and bonus points for the on-location London shots. 3.5/4 I wake up Screaming, another solid Noir, not as enjoyable for me as Night and the City but still a good watch, what drove me crazy was the use of Somewhere over the Rainbow as an overture, super weird. Betty Grable was a good watch, a couple of plot twists kept it interesting. Not sure how they came up with this title though.... 3/4 (I aded a 1/2 start for Betty Grable) They could rename this the noir channel and I would be in all all the time... I did Catch Day of the Jackal from 1973 last month, really solid Thriller that holds up very well, great combo of cat and mouse with a very satisfying ending. Really enjoyed this one. 3.5/4
That was a blind buy for me ages ago because it looked right up my alley. I couldn’t get into widmark at all and found him annoying. But I liked all the side characters quite a bit. I think I’m due for a rewatch!
This was rather silly but OK, IMO. Maybe the book was better. Nightmare Alley Directed by Edmund Goulding • 1947 • United States Starring Tyrone Power, Joan Blondell, Coleen Gray Darkness lurks behind the bright lights of a traveling carnival in one of the most haunting and perverse film noirs of the 1940s. Adapted from the scandalous best seller by William Lindsay Gresham, NIGHTMARE ALLEY gave Tyrone Power a chance to subvert his matinee-idol image with a ruthless performance as Stanton Carlisle, a small-time carny whose unctuous charm propels him to fame as a charlatan spiritualist, but whose unchecked ambition leads him down a path of moral degradation and self-destruction. Although its strange, sordid atmosphere shocked contemporary audiences, this long-difficult-to-see reflection of postwar angst has now taken its place as one of the defining noirs of its era—a fatalistic downward slide into existential oblivion.
He's not usually my cup of Tea, but I liked him in this, maybe he was the best of the worst of characters to root for. And Gene Tierney was criminally underused in this!
Caught this on Noir Alley a while back. Maybe I was in the right mind and mood for it but I thought it was fun with the carny stuff mixed in your normal noir stuff.
Whoa just saw that Guillermo Del toro is remaking nightmare alley with cate blanchett. Interesting. I like some del Toro, interested to see his take on this.
Not a bad way to spend a week or two... Not listed in the graphic, but also includes: "The Love Parade", "Monte Carlo", "The Smiling Lieutenant", & "One Hour with You".
Yes, it was fun but for some reason I thought it would be more like Freaks (1932). The scenes with the tarot cards seemed quite plausible, didn't they?
The Daytrippers. I like Critierion Channel so I can check out movies I'm curious about without having to buy. Perfect example here. I used to love these quirky 90s indie type movies, not so much anymore. But it was fun, had a few laughs, I grew up in northern NJ in the late 80s so seeing the neighborhoods and NYC from roughly that era was neat. Good late night watch for something not too heavy.
Last night, Boomerang!, 1947 with Dana Andrews, Lee J. Cobb, Arthur Kennedy, Karl Malden, Jane Wyatt. Directed by Elia Kazan.
"Ryan's Daughter" - it didn't need to be 3+ hours but I was surprised how much I like it- there are a lot of forgotten "classics" lurking at CC
Don't look now but... More Hitchcock! Hithcock For The Holidays 21 Films The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, 1927 Downhill, 1927 The Man Who Knew Too Much, 1934 The 39 Steps, 1935 Sabotage, 1936 Young and Innocent, 1937 The Lady Vanishes, 1938 Foreign Correspondent, 1940 Saboteur, 1942 Shadow of a Doubt, 1943 Lifeboat, 1944 Rope, 1948 Rear Window, 1954 The Trouble with Harry, 1955 The Man Who Knew Too Much, 1956 Vertigo, 1958 Marnie, 1964 Torn Curtain, 1966 Topaz, 1969 Frenzy, 1972 Family Plot, 1976
Very, very good. Stevie Directed by Robert Enders • 1978 • United Kingdom Starring Glenda Jackson, Mona Washbourne, Alec McCowen The great Glenda Jackson delivers one of her finest performances as celebrated British poet Stevie Smith (of “Not Waving but Drowning” fame) in this wonderfully literate chamber piece. Centering on the writer’s relationship with her dotty aunt (the equally fantastic Mona Washbourne), with whom she lives in the London suburbs, STEVIE paints a by turns warmly humorous and poignant portrait of a singularly eccentric talent whose outwardly staid, uneventful life masked a fierce inner passion and a uniquely keen, iconoclastic mind.