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PeteG
Reviews
The Invisible Man (2020)
New Twist on a Couple of Older Classics ... But Maybe Not the One You Think
(sort of a) Spoiler Alert!!
I knew two things from the TV trailers. First, I wanted to see this movie. Second, this was not Claude Rains in goggles and bandages.
With an opening, I'm tempted to call it a tracking scene, as engaging as "Double Jeopardy", it was fairly easy to tell where this story was coming from but it took a while to see where it was going.
Again, I had suspicions from the trailers that there was a good amount of Bergman/Boyer "Gaslight" to be burned but completely missed the Audrey Hepburn/Richard Crenna "Wait Until Dark" connection. Once it got me (or I got it), I completely understood all the open floorspace in the kitchen.
Expected plot twists and strong support from Harriet Dyer make this movie well worth a matinee ticket. You won't feel bad paying full price if you're big on Elizabeth Moss but you might feel cheated on the big unresolved issue at the end.
Detour (1945)
Double Feature of a Lifetime!
Imagine the luck of seeing Detour on a double bill with (my introduction to) Citizen Kane. That was my good fortune in 1977 and I saw them both for a buck! Movie night on campus .. .. them were the days. There are movies that stay with you and movies that don't. Then, there are movies that change your life. I always thought there was more to it than an under-bill for "the best movie of all time" and as I learned to appreciate film noir, it becomes like any art. I don't know what it is but I know what I like. I understand that in 1992 the Library of Congress recognized Detour as the definitive noir movie of the 40s and in the same year a shot for shot remake of the classic was made starring Tom Neal Jr. I admit I haven't seen the remake and not sure I have any interest in doing so. My life can only take so much change. p.s. I've always wanted a car like Haskell's.
Goin' South (1978)
What's the fascination with the city of Motherly Love?
My late father and I always referred to this as the movie we "accidentally" watched on HBO late one night. We were hooked when the posse rode right across the Rio Grande into Mexico and "Ol' Speed" fainted! For the rest of his life he always greeted me in the morning with "Good mornin' Spot!" In much the same vein as another of his favorites (Evil Roy Slade), it is difficult to find two lines together from this movie that can be taken seriously ("Please wipe your feet." . . "I always do!")("I'll be outside running a reference test." . . "Why don't you run one on your skull while you're at it?"). I have watched my home-recorded VHS upwards of 25-30 times and now that the DVD has been released, I look forward to adding it to my collection once again because . . . . "I can do this all day long! I'm talking about . . All Day Long!" Give it a spin and give it a chance.
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
Clear Two Nights on Your Calendar . . .
Some of Tarantino's work will stay with me forever . . (my last thought before I hit off the first tee is "We should have shotguns for this." - - "Stuck in the Middle" played as background for the garter ceremony at my daughter's wedding - - Every (M&L or A&A) shake is now a $5 shake). Even work that isn't his visually is trademarked in his writing (check out Dennis Hopper's history of the Italian people in "True Romance"). Some work, however, may not meant to last that long. KB1 (and 2) are delightfully enjoyable while the film runs, but disappear almost as quickly as the screen goes dark following the credits. I waited to watch both in a back-to-back but ended up with a 24 hour interruption. Perfect. I'd suggest this M.O. to anyone who hasn't seen the movie(s) and hasn't been talked out of seeing them. Keep the remote handy when the scene shifts to the House of Blue Leaves (KB1) . . the tracking shot into the Ladies' Room is worth a rewind.
That Championship Season (1999)
A Classic of Our Generation
In much the same way as "Our Town" or "Death of a Salesman" was for earlier ones, "That Championship Season" is becoming a classic of a later generation. By some scheduling fluke, I was able to watch "TCS" with my son before its scheduled release on ShowTime about a week early.
This latest incarnation will no doubt reach more viewers than have other productions and Paul Sorvino has done a great job with a cast of actors both recognized for their dramatic accomplishments and just breaking out of comic or character actor roles. Gary Sinise (Forest Gump, Truman-HBO) and Vincent D'Onofrio (Homocide, MIB) provide solid ground for Sorvino's anchor and define an orbit for Tony Shaloub (Wings, MIB) and Terry Kinney (OZ-HBO) to work freely within.
Watch this and rent the 1982 video.