Hot Takes On Film

 Nightmare Alley (2021 US) A grifter steals a "magic" act and makes money off of it. Based on the novel of the same name from 1946. Guillermo Del Toro writes and directs this Best Picture nominee. It is classified as neo-noir and that would be fair since the 1947 film is solidly noir. I liked it but...I'm a noir fan and prefer the 1947 version. Don't get me wrong the 2021 version is very well shot, the color is lovely. It has the traditional high contrast and deep shadows of noir but I really saw little of the German Expressionism typical of noir. German Expressionism cares little of lovely aesthetic and more about expressing anxiety. The lines are incongruent and misaligned. Where is the order? There is none and that's the point. The lines in this film for the most part were too symmetrical for that and even the color wheel De Toro used was too symmetrical harkening back to Wes Anderson films that are so symmetrical its like ASMR.  Yeah it had contrast but overal

 Wings (1927 US) Silent film following a pilot through WWI. This was just filled with firsts namely the first Oscar for Best Picture. Its pretty neat to watch and see how the movie industry is starting to evolve. This film was pretty expensive for a silent which tended to run like what we refer to as shorts. The general thought was, if we make better silent films audiences will forget about those pesky talkies. They were sooo wrong. But, and that's a big But, its still a stunning piece of history and art. By todays standards its MEH, though. I admit I'm a film purist and just love watching the evolution of film. I just love how pre-code this was. it had a lot going on including nudity and a man and a woman in a bed together. Scandalous. It had several same sex moments including a kiss. Some are saying its the first gay kiss on film and others are saying, "nah man that's just how they rolled back then." It seemed pretty gay kiss to me. Which is not to say its the f

 Judy (2019 US) Renee Zellweger stars as Judy Garland in this biopic of Garland in her later years, warts, drugs and all. Judy, Judy, Judy! My aunts name is Judy and I did that to her. "Auntie Judy, Judy, Judy pass pass pass the green beans green beans green beans". She did not appreciate my joke. Too extra! Extra, was kind of how I felt about Zellweger as Garland. I love biopics and I especially love it when actors "bring it". Zellweger did in fact "bring it" here. She even did the singing. Geez Louise singing is hard enough without having to sound like Judy Garland. Zellweger was rewarded with a Best Actress Oscar for this. Now for the Wizard in the room. The film makes some serious allegations about how the studio (MGM) treated the then under age Garland for that film. I cant confirm if what was in the film (and book) was true. If it is, that's some serious child trafficking BS. Adults should really have known better. I have really been put off of T

 Cabaret (1972 US) Liza Minelli stars as a cabaret performer in 1931 Germany and gets involved in a very interesting love triangle with two guys as Hitler rises. Based on the Broadway musical show and books. Wow! there was so much stuff in this to offend a certain subset of the population, at least in the US. I'm just not sure it would get made today without the outrage machine losing their minds. I would totally go watch it but certainly side eye some dude with a big jacket. Yeah its that nuts here. Anyway, this iconic film was breakout roles for Liza and co star Michael York. This apparently was Liza's first opportunity to sing in a film. She really sounds like her Mama. But what a lot of people don't talk about is her dancing skills. Leslie Caron of An American in Paris got in trouble with the Hays people over a sexy chair dance. She later was aghast and said, "that's ridiculous! What can you do with a chair?" Well Liza showed us what you can do with a chai

 Mank (2021 US) Gary Oldman stars as Herman Mankiewicz and chronicles the process and events as he writes Citizen Kane. Mank more clearly defines the issues that Mank had with Randolph Hearst, brilliantly played by baddy Charles Dance. One of the things I loved about it was the call back to the Deep Focus photography style in Citizen Kane. It was like Christmas for me because they often recreated shots from Kane. Oooooh Ahhhh. This won a lot of Oscars including Cinematography. Its actually really hard to get the old timey look on modern cameras but Cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt pulled it off with an 8K digital camera no less. He added a special filter and shot in B&W. He deserved the Oscar. No doubt though, there was a lot of color work in post to match Citizen Kane. Why shoot in 8K and not the incredibly low resolution of 1941? 8K gives you a lot of material to work with in post especially color. Although incredibly bulky to work with it can be very forgiving and allows for m

Citizen Kane (1941 US) Quasi biographical film exploring the life of media tycoon Charles Foster Kane. Kane was loosely based on William Randolph Hearst And Joseph Pulitzer. This film is often at the top of best films ever made lists. There are many things to note here but one of my favorite things is the cinematography. The shots and lighting are just beyond stunning. Greg Toland won for Best Cinematography with his deep focus style. Deep focus being where the foreground, middle ground and background are all in focus. It tends to really open up the shot where the director can add little stuff to inform the audience. This is one of my favorite styles although it can be expensive because you have to fill the space. That's why ultra low budget films shoot in shallow focus where just the foreground is in focus. You don't have to mess around with the background that much. Director Orson Wells really took advantage of deep focus whether it was too show the backgrounds architectural

 All the Presidents Men (1976 US) Now lets get back to the films we all love. Two reporters, Woodward and Bernstein, investigate the Watergate scandal. Based on the book of the same name. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman star as the two reporters. This film was nominated for Best Picture but lost to Rocky. That was a tough year as it also had Taxi Driver up for Best Picture. I actually really liked this film but I have to warn you they leaned heavily into the nuts and bolts of investigating. I would recommend taking notes or have one of those string boards to help you keep track of all the bits and pieces and the players involved. William Goldman won his second Oscar for writing the script. His first was Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. He of course later wrote the screenplay for Princess Bride which should also have won an Oscar but sadly didn't. Very different stories and styles. This film won an Oscar for sound for its Robert Altman style of dialogue. People talking over eac

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969 US) After a train robbery goes wrong two outlaws played by Robert Redford and Paul Newman find themselves on the run with a Posse on their butt.. If you haven't see this film I can assure you, you have. Its one of the most influential films ever made and has inspired filmmakers for decades. One of the more recent projects it has influenced is "The Mandalorian". It was a bromance and action comedy and audiences loved it. It made a ton of money at the box office that year. I think that its one of the best films ever made. This film was nominated for an Oscar in many categories including Best Picture but lost to Midnight Cowboy. The Insanely talented William Goldman won an Oscar for the script. You remember Goldman? I will give you a hint, "Mawwaige". When Goldman pitched the script to the studio they wanted to change the ending cuz "John Wayne don't run". can you imagine if Wayne played Butch or Sundance? I co

Bridge on the River Kwai (1957 UK, US) Another #WTFWednesday entry. Obi Wan Kenobi oops I mean Alec Guinness stars as the ranking commander of a group of POWs held captive by the Japanese in WWII Thailand. The Japanese force them to build a pivotal bridge across the river Kwai. This is one of my least favorite films. By the end of it I wanted to blow up my TV. SPOILER ALERT. The group builds the bridge and against the wishes of those under him Guinness orders them to build a quality bridge to the best of their ability and not, you know, sabotage it. It was after all a strategic bridge for the Japanese. Seriously General Kenobi would have sabotaged it. But Guinness had to build it according to British Excellence standards to show...I really don't get his point in this. So with great sacrifice they do it. Alec Guinness has an epiphany and decides he probably should have sabotaged it. After all he, at this point, was aiding the enemy. Then he spends the rest of the film trying to blow

 The English Patient (1996 US) its Wednesday and my favorite day of the week. Why? Because its #WTFWednesday. A day to celebrate filmmaker, studio and academy WTF choices. I would love to tell you what this film is about but I can't. I tried to watch it twice and couldn't get through it. Something about a dude who was in a plane crash and lost his memory IDK. Back in the day everyone I knew was talking about how effed up this choice was for best picture. I decided to be fair and watch it before I judge it. Just couldn't do it. It was so slow and long and pretentious. I only made it half way. When the trailer of a film says its a cinematic triumph, run. Now the word is Tour de force. Also run. I take issue with there being lines of demarcation in the film world. On one side is the Every Person and the other side is the ivory tower elites with the Academy working in the Ivory tower camp. My issue is branding a film like this as true art and the rest of you and your peasant ar

Raging Bull (1980 US) Robert DeNiro stars as boxer Jake LaMotta. This Biopic from Martin Scorsese tells the story of a man and his brother (Joe Pesci) who have no idea what to do with their emotions. It works for them for a bit until it doesn't. Scorsese is a smart guy and the film is an in depth study of what we now call toxic masculinity. The film had an awful lot to say about the subject and Scorsese literally pulls no punches. Unfortunately, graduates of the school of "you missed the fucking point" have used the film as a how to manual. Criterion is saying stylistically this film was informed by film noir. To that I say sometimes. It was too uneven to label it a Noir throwback. Black and white does not make film noir. Remember that kids. The film was nominated for best picture and lost to Ordinary People, the film not actual ordinary people. Robert DeNiro won Best Actor. That was pretty spot on as DeNiro really dives into Assholeness and he convinces you to not like h

  It came from Beneath the Sea (1955 US). Like I said earlier I’m a big Ray Harryhausen fan. I just love stop motion. So much so that I made a short film stop motion. This film is all about the # Kaiju and Harryhausen’s work and tbh there isn’t much else going for it. Harryhausen was just so good at what he did that it was enough to carry a film and propel it into legendary status. There is a theory floating about that his work resonates so much now because it was painstakingly hand crafted and not computerized. Yeah there were flaws but it was human flaws. Harryhausen talked about creating this beast. It only had six appendages instead of eight because eight was just too much to animate. He was doing the work one day and got a phone call. When he returned he forgot where he was and had to start all over again. Nowadays there is tech to help the animator but even then that happened to me several times. I stopped answering my phone. I have the Harryhausen box set which is awesome but y

 Fargo (1996 US UK) Joel an Ethan Cohen brought us all this fantastic Neo Noir/Black comedy that has been chosen to be preserved by the Library of Congress. Thank God for that! Frances McDormand stars as a pregnant cop assigned to investigate a murder. This film oh this film is still one of my favorites. A cop investigating a murder is nothing new but a pregnant cop with morning sickness in the Midwest winter is quite unique. The jokes, and there were many, were so understated that you may have missed them so watch it again. The Cohen Bros had made an earlier neo noir with McDormand (Blood Simple) so they knew the drill with Noir. Some call this straight up Black Comedy but I say its a blend. How do you blend comedy and noir? Well like this silly. Now here is the kicker, this film that inspired so many filmmakers, was well done, unique and memorable LOST to the English Patient for best picture. Respect to the English Patient but I could only watch half of it before I was done. I still

An American in Paris (1951 US) an ex GI (Gene Kelly) stays in Paris after the war to pursue painting. He meets a teenager (Leslie Karon) and falls in love. Not joking about the teenager thing. She was way too young for her love interests but oh how she could dance. Judy Garland’s husband directed this Best Picture Oscar winner. Much to the surprise of many this one won against some pretty stiff competition with films like A Place in the Sun and A Streetcar Named Desire. Some tweeted it was “rigged” and demanded a recount. I $*it you not. But the film is really good. Post WWII audiences were still reeling from a tough decade or two and just wanted to go back to happier times. MGM said “sure” with this lively jewel toned, flower infested, kaleidoscope of a film. The music was created by the Gershwin bros after MGM(?) bought the catalog. I could imagine seeing Paris all lively and not burning was a joy. Choreographer was done by Mr. hardass himself Gene Kelly. He had a reputation for bein

  Casablanca (1942 US) “Of all the gin joints in the world this was the closest to my house” (Alan Tudyk on Resident Alien). I know so many of you have seen this but on this day of the Bowl of Super is a great time to rewatch this super classic. I’m also kinda hearing that it’s getting a bit lost in the sands of time and there are quite a few who have not seen it. That’s not OK. So grab someone who hasn’t seen it, tie them to a chair and force their eyelids open. They will thank you by the time Bogie says the famous line “We will always have Paris”. If they press charges tell the judge it was to watch Casablanca. They will totally understand. (Disclaimer: don’t do this.) After all in polite society knowledge of one of the most perfect movies ever made is required. Find it on HBO and Amazon and available to rent on most streaming. Please Like Share and Subscribe

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961 US) based on the Truman Capote novel of the same name. Holly GoLightly(Audrey Hepburn) a troubled high priced hooker meets a writer (George Peppard) moonlighting as a gigalo. To be clear Hot Mess Holly is a hooker and not a socialite like IMDB said. She charged $50 to go to the powder room. Although, Capote said he saw her more as a Geisha. This is one of my favorites. Hepburn and Peppard play hot messes but they get each others brand of mess and can appreciate it. Oh that dress. What iconic! so wow! Hepburn, who can’t sing, was convinced to do a beautiful rendition of Moon River. The film won an Oscar for the soundtrack. Now let’s move to the 600 lb gorilla in the apartment next door, the racist yellow faced performance of an Asian neighbor by Mickey Rooney. Some broadcasters are taking out those scenes before airing it. I say do it. It adds nothing to the film and is soooo cringe. Unlike the racism jokes in Blazing Saddles, who broadcasters love to censor

  The African Queen (1951 US). Humphrey Bogart and Captain Janeway, whoops I mean Katherine Hepburn star in this classic about a spinster missionary who talks a river boat captain into taking a trip up the river and to destroy a German gunship. Based on the novel of the same name. Like a lot of films of the day they bickered a lot. I wonder if relationships at the time were like that. But they did get their poo poo together to survive the African river and the Germans and to fall in love. Eventually they stopped bickering. The implication throughout the film was that god was on their side for this mission because of Hepburn’s faith. This is one of my favorites. It was nominated for an Oscar in multiple categories and Bogie won for best actor. I’m really surprised though that director John Houston didn’t win in his category cuz that was a hard shoot. There was some criticism that the film shot in Africa, had no people of color in it. While that is true it did not have many people in it

 West Side Story (2021 US) Directed by Steven Spielberg. Don't get me wrong the 1957 Robert Wise version is just stunning too. I just liked the updated version. My first thought upon hearing about this film is why would you want to remake such a classic, but I'm glad I watched it. Spielberg did a great job with all aspects but the casting really caught my eye. Triple threat Rachel Zegler as Maria just knocked it out of the park. Oh and those dresses. Spielberg does a great job of heartfelt movies and this was no exception. I'm not a big fan of musicals but I really loved this one and also Hamilton. Spielberg really utilized lens flares here. Star Trek has gone nuts with lens flares so I'm a bit overloaded with them but it worked well for him.  I was watching a documentary of the filming of this. The school dance scene looked particularly hard to shoot with sooo much going on so it took awhile.  Rita Moreno was cast in a matronly role and acted as an anchor on the film.

  To Have and Have Not (1944-45 US) omg this movie. So much to say. This classic was directed by Howard Hawks with cinematography by Sidney Hickox. A romance for the ages blossoms against the backdrop of WWII France. NVM the plot this was all about Bogie and Bacall. They met and started their affair on this film. Bogie was married at the time but they were having a lot of problems, like she stabbed him kind of problems. Bacall was 19 and Bogart was 25 years older but their on screen chemistry was so legendary that Hawks changed the script so Bacall was the one Bogie left with. Bacall was very nervous on this and was shaking a lot. Bogie told her to lower her chin to hide it. But that made her have to look up. Hence was born the “F*ck around and find out look”. Hickox had over two decades of solid experience behind the camera. When noir started to become popular he leaned into it and brought the look to this film. This film is not noir, but it comes close. Hawks and Hickox would later

  Gilda (1946 US) starring Glenn Ford and the OG hot mess Rita Hayworth. Technically and by many accounts it’s noir but I do think the noir took a back seat to relationship drama. Hayworth plays the title role and femme fatale Gilda. Gilda is a hot mess too and creates a lot of heartache for club owner Glenn Ford. I kinda liked the film and Hayworth really grabs your attention especially when she gets going. You just don’t know what brand of trouble she is getting up to. But I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t more noir. So here is your warning. Ford had a reputation for being a womanizer and had a fling with Hayworth even getting her pregnant. Oddly Ford comes across as kinda cold in this film while Hayworth is on fire spreading chaos and destruction wherever she went. Kinda like IRL. Find it on Tubi for free and for rent on most streaming.