Open Range (2003)

Director: Kevin Costner

Writers: Luran Paine, Craig Storper

Composer: Michael Kamen

Starring: Robert Duvall, Kevin Costner, Annette Bening, Michael Gambon, Michael Jeter, Diego Luna, James Russo, Abraham Benrubi, Dean McDermott, Kim Coates, Her Kohler, Peter MacNeill

More info: IMDb

Tagline: No place to run. No reason to hide.

Plot: A former gunslinger is forced to take up arms again when he and his cattle crew are threatened by a corrupt lawman.

My rating: 9/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

I love this movie.  I saw it twice during its theatrical release and a couple more times on DVD and it's just a gorgeous picture.  The scenery is beautiful.  I love the pacing and how it kind of matches the vastness of the location.  The dialogue and characters are wonderful and there's a naturalness to the language and actions that give the film a sense of how some of these people could've been.  The characters are really wonderful and that makes a difference when some of them are threatened, harmed or killed.  You care about them so you're invested in what happens to them.  Costner is a quiet badass and he's amazing in this picture.  Duvall is perfectly cast as his friend who's got some very funny but real moments.  Gambon might come across as a one dimensional villain but you totally understand his motivations even though he's an asshole that needs to be put down.  Ooh, and when the shit hits the fan, you don't want to be on Gambon's team.  The sound is great, too.  I really dug the loudness of the gunshots.  It makes for a powerful statement when they're used.  Like most things, a film is a sum of its parts and this movie is loaded with them.  I really appreciate the attention to detail from the characters you get to know to the generic townspeople as they move about the backdrop.  It feels more natural than a lot of Westerns.  I haven't Seen DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990) in ages.  I remember liking the film but I prefer OPEN RANGE more.  Both films are great but OPEN RANGE really shows off a strong narrative with a compelling story and equally interesting and compelling characters.  It's a shame Costner didn't direct more.  His only other film behind the camera was THE POSTMAN (1997), a good film in its own right though often unfairly criticized.   The Touchstone 2-disc DVD set delivers a fantastic looking anamorphic widescreen print with the second disc LOADED with great extras.  You can pick this one up for $5 online which makes it a safer blind buy for anyone who hasn't seen it.  Now where the hell is the Blu-ray? 

The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938)

Director: Anatole Litvak

Writers: John Wexley, John Huston, Barre Lyndon

Composer: Max Steiner

Starring: Edward G. Robinson, Claire Trevor, Humphrey Bogart, Allen Jenkins, Donald Crisp, Gale Page, Henry O'Neill, John Litel, Thruston Hall, Max 'Slapsie Maxie' Roesnbloom, Bert Hanlon, Curt Bois, Ward Bond, Vladimir Sokoloff, Billy Wayne, Robert Homans, Irving Bacon

More info: IMDb

Tagline: . . . a thunderbolt of thrills and intrigue

Plot: Dr. Clitterhouse is fascinated with the working of the criminal mind. His interest is so deep that he finds the best way to observe criminals in action is to become one himself! Whilst robbing a safe at an exclusive party he stumbles across an organized gang trying to the same thing. He teams up with the gang to observe them in action but one of the members, Rocks Valentine would like nothing better than to see Clitterhouse out of the way.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again? YES!

Robinson is one of my favorite actors and he, along with James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart (also in this film) and Errol Flynn, are on my short list of wanting to watch their entire catalog.  This movie is loads of fun and it's due to the delightful performance by Robinson, the crisp, witty dialogue and the taut pacing. This picture is an awful lot of fun.  I couldn't get enough of Robinson's rapid fire jabs at Bogart (who took it but didn't like it).  for a film from 1938 this picture takes some unusually daring and mature steps.  Oh, and the ending really stunned me.  Considering how crime pictures were treated in the 30s and 40s, the fate of a certain someone will definitely surprise you.  It's definitely a solid Warner Bros. crime flick but the few laughs in it come from Dr. Clitterhouse's biting wit.  He's quick on his feet and this guy knows how to survive in the criminal world using only words.  Warner Bros. pretty much owned the crime genre throughout the 30s and 40s and I like seeing their films of this era that stand out from the standard crime picture that they also churned out.  This one is different and enjoyable as hell.  Warner Bros. gave this film the Warner Bros. Night at the Movies treatment which means you get goodies before the movie like a trailer (RACKET BUSTERS), a newsreel and some shorts.  You also get a commentary track from Dr. Drew Casper and Richard Jewell and two radio broadcasts of this story with Robinson, and the theatrical trailer.  It's a great disc and a no-brainer for fans of Robinson, Bogart or vintage crime pictures.

The Revenant (2015)

Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

Writers: Michael Punke, Mark L. Smith, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

Composers: Ryuichi Sakamoto, Carsten Nicolai

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, Forrest Goodluck, Paul Anderson, Kristoffer Joner, Joshua Burge, Duane Howard, Melaw Nakehk'o, Fabrice Adde, Lukas Haas

More info: IMDb

Tagline: (n. One who has returned, as if from the dead.)

Plot: A frontiersman on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team.

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Probably.

Good flick but best movie and actor Oscar (which it won)?  No.  Tom Hardy was in his finest moment.  He was great.  Hell, I didn't even realize it was him.  I thought it was Ted Levine.  I guess I didn't pay attention to the names in the credits.  It adds an air of mystery for me.  It's weird, I know.  I didn't know much about this movie going in except that there's a bear attack.  It's a good film but it's hardly the masterpiece that was being touted.  One thing I found really distracting was the forever moving camera in the long shots.  It came across as showy and it seemed like it took away from any tension they were going for.  There are some great moments of survival horror.  They did a great job of making this place feel cold and awful to be in.  It's based on a true story which makes it even more incredible but I'm sure the filmmakers took a lot of liberties with it. 

March or Die (1977)

Director: Dick Richards

Writers: David Zelag Goodman, Dick Richards

Composer: Maurice Jarre

Starring: Gene Hackman, Terence Hill, Catherine Deneuve, Max von Sydow, Ian Holm, Jack O'Halloran, Rufus, Marcel Bozzuffi, Andre Penvern, Paul Sherman, Vernon Dobtcheff, Walter Gotell

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The Foreign Legion - they were the greatest fighting force of all time and they obeyed but one command

Plot: Foreign Legion Major Foster (Hackman), an American haunted by his memories of the recently-ended Great War, is assigned to protect a group of archaeologists at their dig. Foster's unit includes the charming, thieving rascal Marco (Hill), who joined the Legion only to avoid prison. After long stretches portraying the boredom and hardship of day-to-day life in the Legion, Foster's command occupies a small village where the archaeologists believe they've found a burial site sacred to the Arabs. An Arab leader (Holm) uses this affront to unite the tribes in Jihad, and attacks the tiny Legion garrison at the dig. An epic battle follows.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

SPOILERS OF ARABIA!  YARRRRRR!!!

Maj. Foster (Hackman) has only one redeeming quality and that's his convictions based on years of experience.  He's the only voice of reason when it comes to standing up against the French government in using his troops to guard an archaeological dig in the desert that saw the previous archaeologists killed by the Arabs.  Outside of that, he's a sad man that's been beaten down by years of war and he spends an extraordinary amount of time telling everyone how pissed he is.  Marco, on the other hand, is the epitome of optimism and he exudes that notion of doing the right thing regardless of the consequences.  That just makes it even harder for the ending when he picks up Foster's post and continues on with Foster's ideals.  The thing is, Foster was made that way through years of brutal warfare.  Marco fights in one battle and he suddenly gets it?  I don't think so.  That's the worst offense of the picture - the ending.  Would he seriously give up freedom and a lifetime with Simone (Deneuve) to stay in the harsh desert and the legion?  He was literally given a get out of jail free card and he does the opposite of what just about everyone else would do.  I get that it makes the story more poetic but I have to call bullshit.  The pacing is fine and the performances are fine.  It didn't gel with me like I would have liked but it is enjoyable.  It's always a treat to see Hill and Hackman.  Oh, and Jack O'Halloran is fun.  During the big battle scene at the end of the picture it hit me that he might have been cast in lieu of Bud Spencer (Hill's longtime screen partner since the late 60s).  He was fun and a super nice guy.  I met him at a comiccon a couple of years back. The Atlantic Film DVD delivers a nice anamorphic widescreen print with the sole extra, the theatrical trailer (non anamorphic widescreen).

The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)

Director: Cecil B. DeMille

Writers: Fredric M. Frank, Barre Lyndon, Theodore St. John, Frank Cavett, Jack Gariss

Composer: Victor Young

Starring: Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde, Charlton Heston, Dorothy Lamour, GLoria Grahame, Henry Wilcoxon, Lyle Bettger, Lawrence Tierney, Emmett Kelly, Frank Wilcox, James Stewart, Julia Faye, Cecil B. DeMille

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The Heartbeat Story of Circus People, Filmed with the Cooperation of Ringling Bros. - Barnum and Bailey Circus!

Plot: To ensure a full profitable season, circus manager Brad Braden engages The Great Sebastian, though this moves his girlfriend Holly from her hard-won center trapeze spot. Holly and Sebastian begin a dangerous one-upmanship duel in the ring, while he pursues her on the ground. Subplots involve the secret past of Buttons the Clown and the efforts of racketeers to move in on the game concessions.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

First of all, shame on Netflix for showing this in widescreen when it wasn't filmed that way (wide started mainstream in '54).  I was watching THE ENEMY BELOW (1957)  on Netflix the other day and they showed it in 1:66 until the end credits and then it went to its proper 1:85 for.  Boneheads.  This is a pretty fun picture.  It's two and a half hours long and probably half of that is the various circus acts during live performances.  That's the fun part.  I was loving that stuff.  I can imagine that seeing this on the big screen 60+ years ago would've been like putting you right there in the big top.  The first 90 minutes of drama does little but build little by little until the final hour when major things start to happen.  It's got a great cast and I was really surprised at how professional Hutton & Wilde looked as trapeze artists.  Their stunt work is amazing.   I'm sure a real trapeze artist would think it's OK at best but to the layman, it looked good to me.  This won the Best Picture Oscar, beating out HIGH NOON, IVANHOE, MOULIN ROUGE and THE QUIET MAN.  Can you believe that?  It's good but it's not better than these movies (I've seen them all but MR). 

Jackass: Volume One (2000)

Writers: Spike Jonze, Johnny Knoxville, Jeff Tremaine, Aron Watman

Starring: Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Brandon DiCamillo, Ryan Dunn, Chris Pontius, Dave England, Steve-O, Ehren McGhehey, Jeff Tremaine, Rick Kosick, Jason 'Wee Man' Acuna

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Don't try this at home.

Plot:  Johnny Knoxville and pals subject themselves to silly and sometimes painful stunts for our amusement.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

While I never saw the show (until now, sorta), I was aware of it when it came out and saw some bits here and there.  It looked like fun.  It wasn't until the movie came out that I saw that one in the theater and got the Jackass experience.  This DVD is the first of what looks like three volumes that compile not-seen-on-TV segments from the show.  It's not as fun as the movies that came after but that doesn't mean that it's not worth a look.  I got the most laughs from the fake baby gags and the prosthetic hard on bit.  That was some funny shit.  It's only about an hour and a half but it sure felt like much more.  There are dozens and dozens of segments.  The Paramount DVD presents the show in its original fullscreen format with the only extra in a commentary track.

Desk Set (1957)

Director: Walter Lang

Writers: Phoebe Ephron, Henry Ephron, William Marchant

Composer: Cyril J. Mockridge

Starring: Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn, Gig Young, Joan Blondell, Dina Merrill, sue Randall, Neva Patterson, Harry Ellerbe, Nicholas Joy, Diane Jergens, Merry Anders, Ida Moore, Rachel Stephens

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Make the office a wonderful place to love in!

Plot: The mysterious man hanging about at the research department of a big TV network proves to be engineer Richard Sumner, who's been ordered to keep his real purpose secret: computerizing the office. Department head Bunny Watson, who knows everything, needs no computer to unmask Richard. The resulting battle of wits and witty dialogue pits Bunny's fear of losing her job against her dawning attraction to Richard.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  Maybe.

Cute movie.  Tracy and Hepburn are just magical together.  She's amazing with fast and witty dialogue and he's effortlessly smart and charming.  Now it's not a gut buster like some of their other comedies but there enough laughs to satisfy and it really is a cute movie.  The film has a naive, goofy look at computers but then again this was sixty years ago.  Newsflash!  Joan Blondell needs to have my babies.  You can tell this is based on a play.  It's almost entirely filmed on an office set.  Maybe some variety would spruce it up some but it doesn't matter.  It's the entire cast and dialogue that make this a fun little picture.  The 20th Century Fox DVD presents the film in anamorphic widescreen and it comes with a few extras with a commentary track with Dina Merrill and John Lee, a one minute portion of a vintage short "Designers Inspired for New Creations By Film Desk Set" and trailers for this film and THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH (both anamorphic widescreen), AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER (non-anamorphic widescreen), ALL ABOUT EVE and THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR (both in their original fullscreen).