Jack's Reviews

Blood Simple (1984)



Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Cast overview: John Getz, Frances McDormand
Running time: 99 minutes

This is the second Coen brothers film I've reviewed on this site, the other being Fargo, and I'm convinced that this is slightly better. It's a gripping debut, revolving around a cuckolded husband who hires a private investigator to kill his cheating wife and her new man, though nothing goes smoothly.

The writing here feels completely assured for a debut, and indeed the Coen brothers instantly broke into their stride - some directors take time to find their feet and create something worthwhile; here I think they instantly created something marvellous - I may be in a minority with this but I think it's among their best films.

Some parts of it are particularly shocking and disturbing, and I found the burying alive scene to be one such example, but it enhances its position as a gritty crime thriller. The Texas setting complements this grittiness, also, and one thing I think the Coen brothers do as well as any film-maker is choose appropriate settings for their films. This is no different. I also loved Carter Burwell's soundtrack, which is so subtle yet so chilling and it's perfect for this film.

All the acting performances are superb, with M. Emmet Walsh earning particular credit in my eyes as the double-crossing and downright evil private detective. He's completely cold and chilling, and a memorable movie character. Frances McDormand, a regular in Coen films, plays her part very well as per.

Very highly recommended debut from the Coen brothers, and it's already rocketed near the top of my favourite films.



Quotes
Private Detective Visser: Gimme a call whenever you wanna cut off my head. I can always crawl around without it.

[first lines]
Private Detective Visser: [narrating] The world is full o' complainers. An' the fact is, nothin' comes with a guarantee. Now I don't care if you're the pope of Rome, President of the United States or Man of the Year; somethin' can all go wrong. Now go on ahead, y'know, complain, tell your problems to your neighbor, ask for help, 'n watch him fly. Now, in Russia, they got it mapped out so that everyone pulls for everyone else... that's the theory, anyway. But what I know about is Texas, an' down here... you're on your own.

Private Detective Visser: You know, you know, a friend of mine a while back broke his hand and put it in a cast. Very next day, he falls, protects his bad hand, and he breaks his good one. So he breaks it too, you know. So, now he's got two busted flippers. So, I says to him: "Creighton," I says. "I hope your wife really loves you, because for the next five weeks, you can't even wipe your own god damn ass."
[laughs]
Private Detective Visser: That's the test, ain't it? Test of true love.

Trivia
On the advice of Sam Raimi, the Coens went door-to-door showing potential investors a two minute 'trailer' of the film they planned to make. They ultimately raised $750,000 in a little over a year, enough to begin production of the movie.

The title is based on a phrase from the Dashiell Hammett novel 'Red Harvest', in which "blood simple" is a term coined to describe the addled, fearful mindset people are in after a prolonged immersion in violent situations. Blood Simple writers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen later made Miller's Crossing (1990) which is loosely based on that novel.

The finished film was brought to L.A. and shown to the major studios, and all passed on the movie. Later that year it was accepted into the 1984 New York Film Festival, and then shown at the Toronto Film Festival, where a deal was made with Circle Films to distribute the movie domestically.

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Raising Arizona (1987)



Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Cast overview: Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter
Running time: 94 minutes

I'm thinking of going through the Coen brothers' filmography, starting which their first - Blood Simple., which I've already reviewed - and finishing with their newest effort, Inside Llewyn Davis. This is their second film, and it couldn't be more different from their first - Blood Simple. is a crime thriller, whereas this is a comedy with elements of crime mixed in, though the tone of the two films is very different.

Unfortunately, I don't think it's very good. I'm not a fan of Nicolas Cage in anything I've seen him in, and - although he's better here - he still doesn't stand out as anything above average. The acting all-round is just mediocre, though it was nice to see Frances McDormand and M. Emmet Walsh make appearances of varying importance.

I can't quite pin down what I didn't like about it, though the writing felt very contrived and forced, and it took me a fair bit of willpower to persevere to the end. It's not uniformly awful, and there are some nice moments, but it just didn't grip me as much as I would have liked. I'm disappointed because I've really enjoyed the other two Coen brothers films I've seen so far, but this fell completely flat for me.

Overall, a film I wouldn't recommend, which is something I was expecting to be able to do after reading the very positive reviews. It's dull, uninteresting and I struggled to sit through it. I appreciate most people clearly like it, and that's fair enough, but I see very few redeeming features here. I perhaps laughed a couple of times, which in an hour and a half isn't enough.



Quotes
Leonard Smalls: You want to find an outlaw, hire an outlaw. You want to find a Dunkin' Donuts, call a cop.

H.I.: There's what's right and there's what's right and never the twain shall meet.

Ed McDonnough: You mean you busted out of jail.
Evelle: No, ma'am. We released ourselves on our own recognizance.
Gale: What Evelle here is trying to say is that we felt that the institution no longer had anything to offer us.

Trivia
Fifteen babies played the Arizona quintuplets in the film. One of the babies was fired during production when he learned to walk.

Nathan, Jr. doesn't cry at all throughout the entire movie. But all the other main characters do at some point.

Edgar Wright's favorite film.

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Dog Day Afternoon (1975)



Director: Sidney Lumet
Cast overview: Al Pacino, John Cazale
Running time: 125 minutes

This is one of my favourite films, one of those I consider to be perfect, and one of those that I will often come back to. It's fantastic. Sidney Lumet has a reputation as a great director, though he may be somewhat underrated among many. The plot is simple enough, revolving around what is supposed to be a straightforward bank robbery - as straightforward as bank robberies get, anyway - on a New York street on one sultry summer afternoon. Naturally, as is often the case, everything goes wrong. The police and FBI soon arrive and a tense and suspenseful four-hour stand-off ensues, a battle of wits and nerve between the police and Sonny and Sal - played respectively by Pacino and Cazale - takes place.

The acting and directing is first-rate, with this being the film in which Pacino really made his name and stood out as a fantastic actor. He may be known as a gung ho-type actor but here he plays someone who is good at heart but just makes a mistake that costs him dear - Cazale is more low-key, but he had a terrific knack of displaying emotion with his eyes and facial expressions. Sadly he was taken from us at far too young an age, though the five films he starred in are all regarded as classics. The supporting cast also provide a good base - perennial character actor Charles Durning as Detective Eugene Moretti was effective and authentic, and Chris Sarandon as Sonny's transsexual lover Leon was equally good.

The dialogue is sharp, thrilling, and witty, and Frank Pierson received a much-deserved Oscar for it. There's also plenty of tension built up as a result of the suspenseful writing, both mixing some of the more mundane conversational discussions with tenser moments. Sonny's chants of "Attica! Attica!" to the assembled crowd, for example, has become an iconic cinematic moment, and was a reference to the Attica prison riot four years earlier.

This is an excellent film, in my opinion, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good crime drama with characters who are far more than just the cardboard cutouts present in many films in the genre. Pacino provides arguably his best performance ever, and the writing is terrific.



Quotes
Sonny: I don't wanna talk to some flunky pig trying to calm me man.
Det. Sgt. Eugene Moretti: Now you don't have to be calling me pig for...
Sonny: [notices other officers moving toward him] What is he doing?
Det. Sgt. Eugene Moretti: [shouts at officers] Will you get back there!
Sonny: What are you moving in there for?
Det. Sgt. Eugene Moretti: [runs toward closing officers] Will you get the **** back there! Get back there will you!
Sonny: [to the other officers moving toward him] What's he doing? Go back there man! He wants to kill me so bad he can taste it! Huh? ATTICA! ATTICA! ATTICA! ATTICA ATTICA! ATTICA! ATTICA! ATTICA! ATTICA! ATTICA!
[yells to cheering crowd]
Sonny: ATTICA! ATTICA! REMEMBER ATTICA?

Sonny: Kiss me.
Det. Sgt. Eugene Moretti: What?
Sonny: Kiss me. When I'm being ****ed, I like to get kissed a lot.

Sonny: [to his mother] I'm a ****-up and I'm an outcast. If you get near me you're gonna get it- you're gonna get ****ed over and ****ed out.

Trivia
The real bank robber (John Wojtowicz) had watched The Godfather (1972) to get ideas the day he robbed the Chase Manhattan bank. Both Al Pacino and John Cazale were in "The Godfather".

Another notable improvisation in the film was John Cazale's answer to Al Pacino's question of where in the world he'd like to fly to. Pacino's surprised response was absolutely genuine as he had no idea what Cazale was going to say.

John Cazale was cast at Al Pacino's insistence, despite being nowhere the age of the real Sal, who was 18 at the time. Sidney Lumet was opposed to the idea because the actor was clearly inappropriate for the part. However, when Cazale came in to read for the part, Lumet was sold on him within 5 minutes.

Trailer

Wow you're racking these up quite quickly Jack.

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Cheers. Mixing films I'd already seen before I started this thread with films I've watched recently.

Yeah, your building quite a collection. I need to get a move on .

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Play Misty for Me (1971)



Director: Clint Eastwood
Cast overview: Clint Eastwood, Jessica Walter
Running time: 102 minutes

This is one I've been meaning to watch for a while, being a big fan of Eastwood's. It also happens to be his directorial debut, and he's gone on to make his name since with various films, some better than others, but it's clear even from this nascent effort that he always had a good eye for what makes a good film. The directing is very good, though there are a couple of long shots of speech that come across a bit distant. Still, that's a minor quibble, and it doesn't affect your enjoyment of the film.

And that's the main thing: this is an enjoyable film. The plot is simple enough - a local radio DJ has an obsessed fan who begins to stalk him incessantly, and it soon becomes clear that she's more than a couple of spanners short of a toolbox. As the film progresses, the tension grows and Jessica Walter's character - the stalker - becomes ever more obsessed and impinges on Eastwood's character's - Dave - life. It seems to me - though I'm no expert on mental health - a very realistic portrayal of how someone might act in such a position. Her obsession is frightening, and her behaviour and unpredictable temper reminded me a lot of another female obsessed fan - Annie Wilkes from Rob Reiner's Misery. Walter is terrific at creating such a character, and I think this is a decent acting effort from Eastwood, whose frustration and sheer confusion at what is happening is apparent throughout the film's fairly short running time.

The setting works well, and the many shots of the surrounding beaches and Pacific Ocean give a sense of location - and just work well. Eastwood knew this area well as he has lived there for a long time. That much is clear. Sometimes a clear geographical standpoint is missing from films - not here, the small-town nature works well.

This is a good directorial debut for Eastwood, who would go on to make better films but this is certainly one of his more underrated efforts, in my opinion. It slows a bit in the middle but that doesn't stop it from being an 8/10 sort of film. Recommended.



Quotes
Evelyn: God, you're dumb.

Evelyn: Something wrong?
David 'Dave' Garver: No, I keep getting the feeling I know you from somewhere.

David 'Dave' Garver: I'm just trying to tell you something. I'm trying to tell you there's a telephone. I pick it up and I dial it.

Trivia
The first scene Clint Eastwood shot was his former director Don Siegel's cameo as Murph the bartender. As a joke, Eastwood made Siegel do 11 takes - then told the cameraman to put the film in the camera.

Jean Shepherd claimed that "Play Misty for Me" was based on a real-life incident in which he was stalked by a female fan, which culminated in her trying to stab him.

Steve McQueen turned down the lead role, claiming that the female lead was stronger than the male.

Trailer

Really enjoyed Play Misty for Me. Nice review

Have you seen The Beguiled? That's my favorite Eastwood flick.

Not fully. It's on my list to check out, though. Cheers.

Nice reviews Jack, I completely agree with your opinions on Blood Simple and Raising Arizona. I used to love Dog Day Afternoon but wasn't as crazy about it the last time around.

I need to see Play Misty for Me again, I don't remember it.

Listen to Swan about The Beguiled, I also love that movie.

Good reviews Jack. I agree with you about Raising Arizona, it's my least favourite of the Coens films, that and The Ladykillers.

12 Angry Men (1957)



Director: Sidney Lumet
Cast overview: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb
Running time: 96 minutes

This is a film that has previously passed me by in terms of not having watched it - I was, of course, aware of its existence and its reputation as a classic, but simply never got around to watching it. I'm a fan of Sidney Lumet as a director, though, and particularly his expertise in the field, and Dog Day Afternoon is one of my favourite films.

I can see why this is a classic. Firstly, it's in one setting - a closed jury room - which requires sublime acting and excellent writing for it to hold the audience's attention for the running time, and thankfully both elements are present here. It could work well as a play, given the closed setting and tension that is developed through the argument and debate between the twelve jurors present in the jury room.

The performances here are stellar, with Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb giving the best, although everyone adds depth, development and a sense of credibility and authenticity to their respective characters, including an early Jack Klugman role. As mentioned, good acting is vital in a setting of this nature, as the film would have fallen completely flat without acting of this calibre.

Overall, I can't believe I haven't watched this earlier, and it deserves its place in the IMDb Top 250. Lumet's directing is masterful, the acting is first-rate, and it should make for a particularly memorable and powerful film in anybody's book. I'd recommend this highly, if there remains anyone who hasn't seen it.



Quotes
Juror #8: Let me ask you this: Do you really think the boy'd shout out a thing like that so the whole neighborhood could hear him? I don't think so - he's much to bright for that.
Juror #10: Bright? He's a common ignorant slob. He don't even speak good English.
Juror #11: He doesn't even speak good English.

[last lines]
Juror #9: Hey!... What's your name?
Juror #8: Davis.
Juror #9: [shakes his hand] My name's McCardle.
[pause]
Juror #9: Well, so long.
Juror #8: So long.

Juror #8: It's always difficult to keep personal prejudice out of a thing like this. And wherever you run into it, prejudice always obscures the truth. I don't really know what the truth is. I don't suppose anybody will ever really know. Nine of us now seem to feel that the defendant is innocent, but we're just gambling on probabilities - we may be wrong. We may be trying to let a guilty man go free, I don't know. Nobody really can. But we have a reasonable doubt, and that's something that's very valuable in our system. No jury can declare a man guilty unless it's sure.

Trivia
At the beginning of the film, the cameras are all positioned above eye level and mounted with wide-angle lenses to give the appearance of greater distance between the subjects. As the film progresses the cameras slip down to eye level. By the end of the film, nearly all of it is shot below eye level, in close-up and with telephoto lenses to increase the encroaching sense of claustrophobia.

With the deaths of Jack Warden (Juror #7) on July 19, 2006 and Jack Klugman (Juror #5) on December 24, 2012, none of the twelve stars of 12 Angry Men (1957) are still alive.

The movie is commonly used in business schools and workshops to illustrate team dynamics and conflict resolution techniques.

Trailer

A Clockwork Orange (1971)



Director: Stanley Kubrick
Cast overview: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee
Running time: 136 minutes

Well, this is an unorthodox watch, to say the least. Kubrick is something of an enigma for me, in that he can produce very good films such as The Shining, and turn in overrated pretentiousness such as this. I appreciate it's a very highly regarded piece of cinema, but I'm struggling to see why. It's not the bizarre qualities of the film that turn me off, as a rule - The Shining itself is bizarre and off-the-wall at times, but it still has a decent enough plot and enough conventional elements to make it worth watching. This tests cinema to its very limits, but not in a way that works, in my opinion.

There are some good elements, such as the intense and appropriate soundtrack that appears to have partly been recycled in The Shining. It fits very well with the theme, as does the liberal use of Beethoven's music. The use of colour - vivid and vibrant in virtually every scene - was an interesting addition. The acting was also OK, particularly from McDowell, but as a whole this just seems wanting on several levels. Maybe Kubrick set out to create something completely crazy and fantastical, and if so he succeeded. The premise is decent, and this could have worked, but for me it falls completely flat. Still, many people like it - I don't much understand their love for it myself.

The language used in the script is incomprehensible at times in terms of its complexity, but perhaps Anthony Burgess' novel of the same name that this was adapted from did the same and Kubrick was simply taking inspiration from that. It doesn't make for a particularly engrossing or interesting film, though, and it's hard to follow at times. Again, this could have been a deliberate move from the director.

Overall, this is the worst Kubrick picture I've seen thus far, and it's hard to follow, incomprehensible and dull at its worst, although it does have some redeeming features in the excellent soundtrack and Malcolm McDowell as an interesting protagonist. Still, I certainly don't rate it highly among the films I've watched recently.



Quotes
Alex: It's funny how the colors of the real world only seem really real when you viddy them on the screen.

Alex: Ho, ho, ho! Well, if it isn't fat stinking billy goat Billy Boy in poison! How art thou, thou globby bottle of cheap, stinking chip oil? Come and get one in the yarbles, if ya have any yarbles, you eunuch jelly thou!

Alex: Viddy well, little brother. Viddy well.

Trivia
Alex performing "Singing in the Rain" as he attacks the writer and his wife was not scripted. Stanley Kubrick spent four days experimenting with this scene, finding it too conventional. Eventually he approached Malcolm McDowell and asked him if he could dance. They tried the scene again, this time with McDowell dancing and singing the only song he could remember. Kubrick was so amused that he swiftly bought the rights to "Singing in the Rain" for $10,000.

When Malcolm McDowell met Gene Kelly at a party several years later, the older star turned and walked away in disgust. Kelly was deeply upset about the way his signature from Singin' in the Rain (1952) had been portrayed in A Clockwork Orange (1971).

The doctor standing over Alex as he is being forced to watch violent films was a real doctor, ensuring that Malcolm McDowell's eyes didn't dry up.

Trailer

Well, it's certainly not for everyone. But it is striking, and I've loved it for over 40 years.

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

That's true, and it's certainly innovative in a sense. Still, I wouldn't want to take away from.anyone's enjoyment of it.

a pretty incredible list and wonderfully far-ranging in genre. I finally got around to reading it all and appreciated the honesty when a movie wasn't to your liking. Very good reviews. Looking forward to future ones

Cheers! I've been lucky in that only a couple of the films I've watched recently have been poor - in my opinion - but I try to give honest views.

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)



Director: Joseph Sargent
Cast overview: Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw
Running time: 104 minutes

I love a tense thriller in this sort of mould, and this fits that description perfectly. Joseph Sargent's 1974 film centres around armed men who hijack a New York City subway train and demand a ransom. Should it not be paid, they will execute one person for every minute's delay - at least I think it's a minute, it's a month since I watched it and I've taken a lot in since then. It's an idea that is a simple one for ramping up tension, and it's been covered in a plethora of films since this one, but I can't think of many where it works as well as it does here.

One other nice thing is the credibility of the villains. Robert Shaw was such a terrific actor, and taken from us at far too young an age, and his villain here is both believable and chilling, and it's his acting prowess that conveys such a cunning character to us. He's effective without being overbearing, and there's a great balance between him and Matthau's character, who was perhaps better known for his comedy roles alongside Jack Lemmon, but here he shows his versatility and effectiveness when placed in a more serious endeavour. Quentin Tarantino also took inspiration from the colours that form the villains' names - Mr. Blue, for example. It's a nice touch that once again shows the originality of this film at the time.

The film's moderate running time and taut writing creates a brisk and rapid pace, with the tension holding up throughout that time. In other films, there's a tendency to create a longer film and some of the vibrancy and urgency is lost - which is essential with a plot such as this, and the natural "time is of the essence" idea. The characters develop as the film moves along, and this adds to the film. There's no wasted time developing characters and adding unnecessary plot details, it's virtually all action.

Overall, this is a great film and holds up well as one of the most interesting and entertaining of the seventies. The acting performances are very good also and, while I don't think it's perfect, it's an excellent film well worth watching.



Quotes
Mr. Blue: I once had a man shot for talking to me like that.
Mr. Gray: Yeah, well, that's the difference between you and me. I've always done my own killing.

Mr. Blue: Ladies and gentlemen, it might interest you to know that the City of New York has agreed to pay for your release.
[Hostages cheer]
Old Man: Excuse me, sir. Would you mind telling us now how much you're getting?
Mr. Blue: Why is that of interest to you, sir?
Old Man: Well, a person likes to know his worth.
Mr. Blue: One million dollars.
Old Man: That's not so terrific.

Mr. Blue: Be Quiet! Now be quiet! nothing will happen as long as you obey my orders.
Pimp: **** man that's what they said in Vietnam, and I still got my ass shot full of lead.
Mr. Gray: Shut your mouth ******! and keep it shut!
Mr. Blue: Mr. Gray!

Trivia
In a TVO (Ontario, Canada) interview, the producer said that this film did terrific box office in New York, Toronto, London and Paris - all cities with subways - but was considered a flop in the rest of the world.

When frustrated by the situation on the subway train, the Mayor blurts out, "****, piss, ****!" These are, in order, the first three of the seven words you can't say on television for which George Carlin is famous.

Ever since the release of the film, no #6 train has never been scheduled to leave Pelham Bay Park Station at either 13:23 or 01:23 by the New York City Transit Authority. This was the practice for many years until the policy was discontinued but generally as a kind of tradition and caution, trains are still not scheduled to leave the Pelham Bay Park Station at either 1.23 am or pm.

Trailer

More nice reviews; I agree with 12 Angry Men but A Clockwork Orange is in my top 5. That's cool though, it's not for everyone. In fact, it has many qualities that I don't normally like in a movie. I haven't seen Pelham in quite a while but know I liked it. Keep it up Jack