Thief's Monthly Movie Loot - 2021 Edition

Here is my final tally for OCTOBER 2021:

A film with the number 10 (Ten, Tenth, etc.) in its title: 10/31
A film with a title that starts with the letters S or T: Touch of Evil, Triangle
A film from the Criterion Collection whose number includes the #10 (i.e. 10, 102, 810): The Parallax View (#1064)
A film from the 2000s: The Descent
A thriller film: Coherence
A film about a virus (Virus Appreciation Day, October 3): Blood Red Sky
A film where a prominent character wears a hat (Mad Hatter Day, October 6): A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
A film with the word “Fire” in its title (Fire Prevention Day, October 9): The Firemen's Ball
A film from Guillermo del Toro (born October 9): Crimson Peak
A film from Austria (Austria National Day, October 26): Goodnight Mommy

Freebies: The Virgin Spring, An Autumn Afternoon, Alien



Solid month, obviously horror-focused. The best watch overall was Alien, but the best first-time watch was The Virgin Spring. A honorable mention to Triangle, which really messed up my mind.

As for the worse, it's easily A Nightmare on Elm Street 4.

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Here are the criteria for NOVEMBER 2021:

A film with the number 11 (Eleven, Eleventh, etc.) in its title
A film with a title that starts with the letters U or V:
A film from the Criterion Collection whose number includes the #11 (i.e. 11, 115, 711):
A film from the 2010s:
A war film:
A film noir:
A film set in Egypt (King Tut Day, November 4):
A film from Poland (Independence Day, November 11):
A film from Jacques Tourneur (born November 12):
A film with the word “Black” or "Friday" in its title:


As usual, suggestions and recommendations are more than welcome!

And for anybody that listens, Episode 48 of The Movie Loot is available, where I talk about all the horror (and horror-adjacent) films I saw during October.

Thief's Monthly Movie Loot 48 - The October Loot

As usual, you can also find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and most podcasting platforms.

Brief notes on October:

A film with a title that starts with the letters S or T: The Square (2013) /The Thin Red Line (1998) /Short Term 12 (2013) Very different but all good movies. The Square is a documentary about the Egyptian democracy movement, although its hopeful notes seem overly optimistic these days. The Thin Red Line is the WWII tale that returned Terrence Malick's poetic, religious visions to the cinematic fold. And Short Term 12 is the at-times harrowing but also graceful story of at-risk children and their caregivers living and working together in a group home. This is the one that put Brie Larson on the map. (On Netflix, Hulu (though no longer as of today), and Peacock, respectively.)

A film from the Criterion Collection whose number includes the #10 (i.e. 10, 102, 810): Memories of Murder (2003) In this recounting of a real case of serial killings (that would be solved only a few years ago) history repeats itself as both tragedy and farce simultaneously. I was lukewarm toward Bong Joon-ho on the basis of Snowpiercer and The Host, but this and Parasite have won me over (and may convince me to revisit his other films). (On Hulu.)

A film from the 2000s: Bon Cop, Bad Cop (2006) Middling buddy cop thriller about two Canadian cops separated by language, culture, and style who inevitably come to a gruding mutual respect. Fine performances but the story is a goof and pretty formulaic. (On Netflix.)

A thriller film: Thriller (1983) Okay, this is mostly a gag entry (a "Thriller" film, get it?!?), but I did watch this with my son last week. And in truth, it's a pretty good and obviously influential music video. However, as is probably known by now, I loathe John Landis, so let's say no more about it. (On YouTube.)

Eye of the Devil (1966) Somewhat trivial but fun black magic thriller about a family line steeped in its own inescapable history. Great cast. (On Criterion.)

A film about a virus (Virus Appreciation Day, October 3): No Blade of Grass (1970) This opens with a montage of humanity's destructive effect on nature: subtle, it ain't. Still, in spite of its sledgehammer themes and variable acting, I enjoyed this more than I expected. Its themes of man's self-immolative habits may be overdone, but they feel timely. (On HBOMax.)

A film where a prominent character wears a hat (Mad Hatter Day, October 6): Tiny Furniture (2010) Everyone in this movie is insufferable (including the dude with the inevitable fedora), but at least the movie appears to be aware of that? Like, it's part of the point, and even insufferable people can themselves suffer? A little of this goes a long way though. (On Criterion.)

A film with the word “Fire” in its title (Fire Prevention Day, October 9): Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) Two women crushed by the mores of their time. Beautiful to watch, hard to take. (On Hulu.)

A film from Austria (Austria National Day, October 26): Angst (1983) Speaking of difficult watches, this film from (more or less) the point of view of a psychotic killer is not easy, but it is intense and well made. (On Criterion.)

It's been too long since I saw The Thin Red Line. I remember not liking it, but then again, I was 19-ish when I saw it, so... who knows how it would fare now.

Short Term 12 is pretty darn good. I wish I could've seen more of Marcus, but still very powerful film. I know @Takoma11 is a big fan of this.

I like this film a lot. I still would put Mother and Parasite above it in Bong's filmography, but this is tops.

This is a beautifully tragic (or tragically beautiful) film. Loved it!

Saw this last year and a hard watch indeed.

Yes, I will rep Short Term 12 every chance I get. I don't think it's perfect, but I do think it's a must-see.

The Narrow Margin follows Detective Walter Brown (Charles McGraw) as he is assigned the duty to protect Mrs. Neall (Marie Windsor), the widow of a notorious mob boss who's got a price on her head as she heads to testify before a grand jury. But things don't go as planned as Brown and Neall find themselves trapped in the same train with the hitmen sent to take her out.

This film was released in 1952, at a time when film noir was perhaps becoming more ambitious in its themes and scope. However, director Richard Fleischer chooses to keep both things small and simple. The premise is rather simple: a cop assigned to protect a women from some hoodlums; and so are the scope and setting: a train ride from Chicago to Los Angeles. Both of these, paired with a 70 minutes runtime, help give this film a slick flow.

The performances are not necessarily flashy, but they're all effective in doing what they're supposed to do; rough cop, feisty woman, tough bad guys, and it all works extremely well with the snappy dialogue that allows them to shoot one liners as fast as they do punches or bullets. In addition, the narrow and cramped corridors of the train help to amp up the claustrophobia of our characters, and how trapped and with no escape they are.

There is a certain twist towards the end that I'm still not sure of how well it works. I understand how it's supposed to make sense within the notion of a corrupted police force, but it still felt a bit of a stretch. However, Fleischer doesn't slow down for us to examine the scenery. He keeps the plot chugging along anyway, without diving too much into it. Much like it's lead character, The Narrow Margin may look a bit rough around the edges, but it is still extremely efficient, reliable, and to the point.

Grade:

Ministry of Fear follows Stephen Neale (Ray Milland), a man just released from a mental asylum in the middle of World War II. After a seemingly innocent visit to a festival, he finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy, and pursued by Nazi agents trying to capture or kill him.

There were several incentives to watch this. First, it's a fairly notable film noir and we're in #Noirvember, of course; second, it's directed by Fritz Lang, who I've enjoyed watching so far; and third, it stars Ray Milland, who I thought was excellent in Dial M for Murder, and I've been meaning to watch more from.

As far as those three, the film delivers the intrigue and fun of a solid noir, with a good dose of twists to keep you guessing. Also, Lang's direction is pretty effective, if not as flashy as some of the other features I've seen from him. Finally, Milland is very good as Neale, transmitting the confusion of a regular man thrown into an unlikely scenario. He is joined by Marjorie Reynolds and Carl Esmond, as two siblings that help him.

But despite the fun that I might have had, I won't deny the fact that I was expecting a bit more from this. The plot is well executed all around, but it's fairly bland. You kinda get the feeling of how a lot of darker elements, especially regarding Neale's past, are glossed over. There's also a bit of ludicrousness to how some of the events unfold, like the whole cake thing.

Despite those limitations, Ministry of Fear still manages to be a reliable and engaging film noir, with some solid performances, good intrigue, and some neat, tense scenes.

Grade:

Out of the Past follows Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum), a former private investigator trying to escape the past. Unfortunately, it all comes back to haunt him when Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas), a greedy former client and his alluring and mysterious girlfriend Kathie (Jane Greer) reappear in his life.

My first time watching this film was back in 2015, when I was taking an online course on film noir, and I think it was the most perfect choice to capture what a film noir is. Mitchum is perfectly smooth in the lead role as the man who seems to have all the cards stacked against him but still pushes through, while Douglas is cool as ice as the antagonist who just won't leave him alone. Finally, Greer does a great job reeling you in, while you're still wondering her real motives.

But aside from the performances, Tourneur delivers a smooth direction that always gives prominence to the lead characters. Pair that with a flawless script that keeps you going back and forth, trying to guess what will happen next, and an inevitably dark ending, and you have the perfect recipe for a film noir.

I remember that back when I first saw it, I couldn't stop grinning at how much I was enjoying this and how great it was. Rewatching it now, already knowing what will happen, made me pay more attention to the nuances in the performances, and I think I liked it even more. Considering that I had given it a 5/5 already, not sure how much higher I could go. This is an undeniable masterpiece.

Grade:

Yeah, it's definitely a masterpiece and among my favorite films of all time. Everything about it - the story, the characters, the dialogue, the ending - all work phenomenally. I think you recommended it to me a while back on RT or Corrie, in fact.

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IMDb
Letterboxd

For anyone interested, my friend Josh G. invited me to his podcast, Your Next Favorite Movie, to talk about *my* favorite movie: The Shawshank Redemption.

You can find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and most podcast platforms. We talked for almost 20 minutes about why I love the film, and what would I do if I was forced to greenlight a sequel and a remake. Check it out!

Probably. I'm sure I've drooled all over it ever since I first saw it.

Set after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Black Widow follows fugitive Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) as she is forced to reconnect with her past "family", including her sister Yelena (Florence Pugh). Meanwhile, they are both being pursued by their former Russian handler (Ray Winstone) and his mysterious agent, the Taskmaster.

Much like its lead character, who's trying to reconcile her present with her past, this is a film that's trying to reconcile and harmonize with what preceded it. Released two years after Endgame, delayed by the pandemic, hindered by its overall reception and maybe even the whole Johansson/Disney+ lawsuit, the film struggles to prove its relevance within the whole MCU.

Regardless of that, the film still manages to be competently made, but a big part of that falls on the performances. Everybody, from Johansson and Pugh to Winstone, David Harbour, and Rachel Weisz, are pretty solid in their performances. I have some issues with how the family dynamics and chemistry between develop, but if it works to some extent, it's solely because of those performances, not because of how it is written.

I also felt that the film missed the opportunity to be more intriguing, considering it's about a former spy that also happens to be a human, and not a superhero. Unfortunately, there is little of that, and the film follows the formula of most MCU films, which is to be competent *enough*. Also, like most MCU films, the last act succumbs to the bombastic excesses of big explosions and gravity defying setpieces.

But like I said twice, the film is competent and not boring. There are a couple of pretty good action stunts, chases, and sequences, and the rating probably owes half a popcorn to the actors. I remember how much I loved Black Widow's introduction to the MCU in the otherwise dull Iron Man 2, and we all know what happened in Endgame. Knowing how things are in comic book films but also knowing about that lawsuit, I guess we'll see if there's future in the franchise for this character, or if she will remain in the past.

Grade:

How do you feel about future Pugh appearances in the MCU? Does it look like they were setting that up, and would you welcome it if it happened? I've read a few reviews that seemed to suggest there might be plans for her character.

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Captain's Log
My Collection

I'll be signing up for Disney+ soon so I can watch the Beatles thing, so I intend to catch up on all the Marvel I've missed while I'm at it

If it's any consolation, I don't think there's a single "awful" MCU film, just like I don't think there's a single "great" MCU film

I actually just watched this for the first time earlier this year when I was further researching Noir for my Genre Deconstruction thread, and while I wouldn't give it a 10 (since I didn't feel it distinguished itself enough for that, compared to other 10 Noirs like The Third Man), I still liked it a lot anyway, and had no real major complaints about its execution, so I'm cool with this anyway. :thumbs up: I'd say that Endgame was pretty much a great movie, but it's been the only such example I can point to in the MCU, and a lot of them don't come anywhere that close, so I think it's just a natural consequence of how safe a lot of them play it; I mean, they haven't made a movie that's critically regarded as "bad" to date (despite the disappointing reviews for Eternals), but they've also never made one that's on the level of The Dark Knight, and they never will if they just keep playing things a certain level of safe, IMO. In other words, it's an iconic series more for popularizing the concept of "cinematic universes" than for actually being great movies in their own rights, if you ask me.

At one point in this film, a nightclub singer sings of a man that likes tough movies, rough love, jealousy scuffles, and gun wagging, all of which she explains, attributes, or blames on "rififi". "Rififi" is a French slang word which can be loosely translated to trouble, violent conflict, show of force, but more specifically "chest puffing" and "macho tough guy posturing". The kind of attitude that can be seen in thugs and criminal, and "makes women come back for more". There's a lot of that in this French film, which obviously lends it its name.

Rififi follows Tony (Jean Servais), a tough but aging criminal that sets out to commit a risky diamond theft. He is joined by his best friend Jo (Carl Möhner), a mutual friend called Mario (Robert Manuel), and a safe-cracker called César (Jules Dassin). The four come up with a plan to break into the store at night, disable the alarms, crack the safe, and walk out in the morning without being seen. But can they succeed?

This is a film of which I had heard countless good things, so it was great to see it deliver. You gotta hand it to Dassin for putting in the lead a man that's not only a criminal, but who we see brutally abusing of his former girlfriend within the first act. Tony is a no-nonsense thief that seems to have nothing to lose, and lives his life in such a way. He's not particularly charismatic and yet we want to see him and his friends succeed.

The heist is impressive, not only because of the skills that each thief shows in pulling it off, but also for how Dassin shoots it. 32 minutes long, with no dialogue or music, and still you're on the edge of your seat for most of that time. But also, how cool and smooth is it that these guys are pulling it off with suits and shiny shoes?

But as cool and cheeky as that might have seemed, much like Tony, the film is a no-nonsense and violent affair. The last act really pushes these men to the limit to test how tough they really are, while ultimately handing them their reward. Regardless of how it ended for them, I feel like I ended up with the biggest loot with this film.

Grade:

Love Rififi. It would make for a great introduction to foreign films.