Plot: A police detective goes undercover in the underground S&M gay
subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer who is preying on
gay men.
My rating: 6/10
Will I watch it again? No.
I'm not sure where this film failed. It's an interesting premise but I don't think it went far enough with Steve's (Pacino) descent into a world unlike his own and the overall investigation of solving the murders. The picture is an hour and forty minutes and it doesn't seem nearly long enough and that another half hour would give the film time to really delve into what's important to the picture. That's just my amateur opinion, of course, and I respect William Friedkin and his body of work that this is the story he wanted to tell. But what I found fascinating isn't given enough serious time to develop. It's neat seeing so many actors in early roles like Ed O'Neill, James Remar and Powers Boothe. The ending is satisfying enough but it's what happens after Steve is done with his undercover work that blew me away. The ambiguity was fucking insanely good. It could've been a red herring for the audience and a way to make you go, "ooooooh!", but I loved it just the same.
Plot: Ten years after leaving the S.I.S., former agent/assassin David Callan
is living a quiet life as the owner/operator of a militaria shop. He is
forced out of retirement to participate in one final assignment.
My rating: 6.5/10
Will I watch it again? No.
For the most part, this is pretty good. The story and dialogue, acting, direction and editing are well done. It's the music that is all over the place from awful to suitable. And being how this is a British TV movie, it was shot on video which is a drag since the quality isn't on par with the quality of the product. Woodward is excellent as the former spy, Callan, and Callan is a beast of a professional. The way he handles the Ruskies at the end when he's got the drop on him is so good that filmmakers need to watch this brief scene to see how a pro handles a gun. There's not over-talking the situation and dragging out the moment. He's efficient and understands not to fuck around and to quickly turn the situation in his favor. Anyway, this has only whetted my appetite for more Callan adventures. WET JOB was the last of three projects Woodward did as the character, preceeded by the film, CALLAN (1974) and the series of the same name which ran for 43 episodes from 1967-1972.
Starring: Tony Randall, Senta Berger, Herbert Lom, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Terry-Thomas, Gregoire Aslan, John Le Mesurier, Klaus Kinski, Margaret Lee, Burt Kwouk
Tagline: Strange girls in his room...Loaded guns in his back...Looks like it'll be a bang-up vacation!
Plot: One of six travelers who catch the bus from Casablanca airport to
Marrakesh is carrying $2 million to pay a local operator to fix United
Nations votes. But which one?
My rating: 7/10
Will I watch it again? Probably not.
This was cute in a fun way. This US / UK co-production was filmed in Morocco. Tony Randall's Andrew Jessel is the comedic relief. There's very little about the film that suggests it's a comedy besides him. Achmed (the driver Andrew and Kyra hitchhike with, played by Aslan) has the biggest laugh with the timing of one of his lines in a conversation with the pair. Everybody else plays it straight which works wonderfully. It would've been nice had Randall toned down the antics a little more, but it's not a deal killer by any stretch. He just stands out because he's the only one doing it. I didn't find him annoying because he doesn't go full ridiculous, thankfully. I liked the budding romance between Andrew and Kyra. It was handled well by letting it play out more smoothly and naturally than what you'd usually get in a major motion picture.
The cast is fantastic. Just having any of these big names is enough to get my attention. I loved how the rest of the cast played their roles seriously and didn't resort to anything resembling going even a little overboard. Herbert Lom kills it as the big villain of the piece, Mr. Casimir. He's not cartoonish in any way and that's a fucking blessing. So often when he played the heavy in comedies he'd go over the top. Here he's an intelligent man on a mission solving unexpected problems on a dime, as they occur. What's even better is the way he treats his girlfriend, Samia (Lee). She adores him and she's genuinely rooting for him to win and wants to be helpful even though she's a borderline young, dumb blonde (or maybe she's not, yet another well-written and performed part). The beauty of their relationship is that he doesn't seem to mind her piping up with ideas. He digs her and he's looking forward for this transaction to be complete so they can be off. This type of dynamic is incredibly rare in popcorn movies like this. I loved it and I want more of characters behaving like this! Here's Samia in action where Andrew introduces himself...
And here's a little something for those looking for some beefcake...
Day-um, Tony! Who knew?
It's also nice to see Senta Berger in a beefier role that doesn't rely on her looks as much as her intellect. She's got the biggest role in the picture along with Randall and she's great. Besides leaning a little too heavy on the comedy (and it's not really bad at all), and being how it's great that this was filmed in Morocco, the locations aren't all that special but they are varied. The movie mostly takes place in Marrakesh. I'm not saying all spy movies have to have location shooting like on a Bond picture (let's face it, few spy movies had the budget of a Bond movie) but maybe having a little more exotic spots would've been nice. If this is all I have to bitch about then it's not a bad movie at all. Look, I really enjoyed this and I would've loved to have seen this on the big screen. It's not a great movie but it's fun and charming. Get the widescreen version and play it on the biggest screen you can. It's not going to bring anything new to the genre but it succeeds in what it wants to be and that's entertaining.
Man, I watched this back to back with another mid-60s Eurospy flick that I liked. That's two good ones in a row. Should I chance it with a third? Fuck it! Why not?!
Starring: Larry Pennell, Margitta Scherr, Roberto Camardiel, Barbara Valentin, Linda Sini, John Bartha, Raf Badassarre, Nando Angelini, Wolfgang Kieling, Brad Harris
Plot: The FBI sends agents to Jamaica to investigate arms smuggling to revolutionaries in Santo Domingo.
My rating: 6/10
Will I watch it again? Nah.
Well, it's another middle of the road Eurospy picture and, like so many others, the main character (the James Bond type) has a wisecrack for EVERYTHING. I hate that shit. Ken (Pennell) is so flippant that's it's refreshing when he drops the bullshit and gets down to kicking some ass. The story is just an excuse to move Ken from location to location and to give the picture some action scenes. It's not a bad flick but it's marred by aloofness of Ken. By the end of the film I was growing rather fond of actor Larry Pennell. I still didn't like how light in tone his character was (which may not have been his fault). He's got a striking physique which is a shame they didn't show it off more.
That's Hercules/Samson/Goliath actor Brad Harris in the shirt. That man is equally buff. When this came out in '65, the Bond craze was at its peak and a lot of imitators tried riding those coat tails and a lot of them fell by the wayside. This was likely one of them. The locations are lovely, as are the numerous hot Euro-broads, and Marcello Giombini's score has a Bond feel to it at times so there's enough ear and eye candy to keep you occupied but there's no escaping that this doesn't come close to the seriousness of a Connery Bond flick (yeah, I know the Bond pictures got sillier as they went on but this was in '65 when there were only four of them). The print I saw was a lousy fullscreen one. I definitely won't see this again but I probably would if a nice widescreen copy turned up someday.
Starring: Jack Thompson, Carol Burns, Denis Lill, Donna Akersten, Martyn Sanderson, Marshall Napier, Cliff Wood, David Copeland, Ken Blackburn, John Bach, John Black, Karl Bradley, Greg Naughton, Alan Jervis Wilks
Tagline: In 1941 Stan Graham ran amok with his guns and murdered 7
men....Sparking off one of the most bizarre manhunt's in history. The
tragedy is that it really happened.
Plot: During World War 2, a farmer in New Zealand murders seven people, and
the police, along with local Maori trackers, hunt him in the bush
country.
My rating: 7.5/10
Will I watch it again? Yes.
Great performances, especially from Jack Thompson (Stan) and Carol Burns (his wife). Burns really lights up once the shit hits the fan. She completely sells it. Thompson makes you feel like he lived it. It's worth watching for those two alone. But then you've also get to see a side of New Zealand you haven't seen, and a little slice of life there from 80 years ago. The build-up to the killing is splendidly handled and the tension builds almost to a breaking point. Richard Hartley's excellent score is used sparingly and with precision. It makes you appreciate that moments with no music are just as important as those with it. That's something that most people don't consider, particularly those who make movies.
An hour and fifteen minutes in is when the things get ugly for everyone and it is intense. What happens feels like you would imagine would happen when people get show with a low caliber rifle. Not every shot is a lethal one. It's harrowing how it goes down. The next half hour is the aftermath and manhunt. In reality, Stan alludes escape in the bush for twelve days. Here it feels like maybe two or three. It was somewhat refreshing how the final act goes down but at the same time it was a little odd because we're not used to that as an audience. You'll have to see it to understand. I'd rather avoid spoilers on this one. I don't want to say that I'm disappointed that the film's final half hour went the way it did but I would like to have spent more time with the Stan's ordeal and with the manhunt effort.
Tagline: They brought terror from beyond our galaxy!
Plot: A spaceship containing specimens for an intergalactic zoo crashes on
Earth near a small back woods town. The specimens escape, and soon town
folk are turning up mutilated.
My rating: 5.5/10
Will I watch it again? No.
I like watching low/no budget movies made by people who are passionate about making them. Don Dohler was a Baltimore filmmaker who started with this movie and made a few others (which I'll have to check out). He also started Cinemagic Magazine in the early 70 and sold it to Starlog in '78. I started reading it shortly after and still have a few of those early issues around here somewhere. Neat-O. For an ultra low budget movie, the story is simple at first but gets more intricate as the movie goes on and there's a lot of exposition at the end which made it even cooler. I dig Ken Walker's electronic score. Some scenes more than others but it's largely pretty cool and effective. The special effects run the spectrum.
There's even a stop motion animated creature at the end! I LOVE that shit. Anyone who includes stop motion animation in their pictures gets major points with me. The acting is on the "gather everyone you know and put 'em in a movie" quality but there are some decent performances all things considered. Some of the lines the sheriff had were great. I'll have to add the sequel to my list.
Writers: James L. Brooks, Matt Groening and LITERALLY 13 others!!!
Composer: Hans Zimmer
Starring: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Pamela Hayden, Tress MacNeille, Albert Brooks, Karl Wiedergott, Marcia Wallace, Joe Mantegna, Tom Hanks
Plot: After Homer deliberately pollutes the town's water supply, Springfield
is encased in a gigantic dome by the EPA and the family are declared
fugitives.
My rating: 7.5/10
Will I watch it again? Probably not.
The only thing that makes this different than the TV show is it's 90 minutes (the equivalent of four episodes) instead of 22, is that you get to see Bart's dick. When this came out, that was the big news and the thing that everyone was talking about. You could say that Bart's weiner was on everyone's lips. That whole sequence of hiding his dick as he skateboards through the city and then finally revealing it was a hilarious bit. It feels like most of the jokes are in the first act with each of the next two getting fewer and fewer. It's not a home run by any means but it is fun for the most part. I wonder if Disney+ edited out Marge saying "...throw the goddamn bomb!". Probably. Assholes.
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