Leone's dreamy violent alternative universe western version of Kurosawa's YOJIMBO is better than you recall on a rewatch. It follows the slow pace of a "spaghetti" western, but each step is worth the journey.
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Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase 1939
Two very Victorian old sisters are going to give their home and property over for a new children's hospital. but according to their father's last will & testament one sister must stay in the house every night for 20 years or forfeit the estate. Of course, they are being so charitable due to goody two shoes Nancy Drew's influence. BUT ... someone is trying to scare the old bat nervous neurotics out of the house with only 2 weeks to go…
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Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter 1939
Nancy goes to a rural lake area with her lawyer dad and their bubble headed housekeeper for a supposed restive summer, but it is actually a guise for Lawyer Drew to help defend family friend "Uncle" Matt from a murder charge. Uncle Matt is accused of murdering a feuding farmer neighbor.
Nancy sticks her nose into the investigation and corrals Ted Nickerson (the boy next door) into her jittery over active busy body activities. This time Nancy gets into a…
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Nancy Drew... Reporter 1939
Nancy and some other school kids win a contest to work as cub reporters on the local paper and she cunningly lies and cheats to get a story better than writing a story on the local bake-off. Thats our hyper emotional Nancy! She cajoles her way into a murder trial and sticks her investigative nose into a another tight vise of danger and physical harm. Of course she drags her next door neighbor Ted into the mess, but this time…
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Nancy Drew… Detective 1938
The Nancy Drew of the four Warner Bros mystery programmers made in the 30s is NOT the tried and true stalwart girl of patient methodical detection of the young adult novels. This movie Nancy is hyper driven, possibly has ADHD, maybe needs Ritalin, loud, shrill, impulsive, lies, is insanely bossy, a coward, and will be on several mood stabilizers in her adulthood or an alcoholic.
Nancy is determined to solve the disappearance of an elderly dowager who bequeaths most of…
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Bros 2022
A Gay Minstrel Show that wants to be a"different" type of rom-com but only gives us stereotypes. It also wants to make fun of those Hallmark romance movies, but only duplicates them in so many ways AND other cliches such as "Character Runs To Lover After Changing Mind" bit from MANHATTAN and a HARRY MET SALLY ending with the always reliable standby moment of "Expressing Feelings Through Public Display of Singing to Loved One in Audience". Don't forget the "Romance…
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Sphinx 1981
Great travelogue, boring movie.
Lesley-Anne Down in a downer of a thriller that involves her egyptologist character dodging assassins and finding romance with Frank Langella as a policeman of ancient artifacts who has the personality of an empty sarcophagus. It's all about a valuable stolen mummy case and the black market. It's not interesting at all and you'll try to stay awake, hence SPHINX stinks and that easy joke reminds me of my nephew's Mummy Stand-up comedy act at his…
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Avatar: The Way of Water 2022
When I viewed the first AVATAR movie it was with friend in an IMAX auditorium and in the 3D experience. It was an exciting afternoon and afterwards the words bandied back and forth were "That was long!" - "Wow. That was like an amusement ride!" and those two exact same utterances can be paired with this experience.
The 3D effects seemed even better. The middle section involving some of the main characters learning the underwater wonders and survival techniques of…
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Beauty's Worth 1922
Naive Quaker girl has a romantic soft spot for her childhood boyfriend who is now a man-about-town from a classy clan. Much to her delight (and. he pious aunts) she is invited to a swank summer country club to mingle. However, her very all covering matronly attire is ridiculed as is her innocent demeanor. An artist (with a valet) who is visiting admires her from afar and creates a fashion change in the while producing a charades amusement which appears…
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The Bride's Play 1922
Snail paced melodrama about a pure young Irish lass torn by her infatuation for a visiting cad of a poet who dresses in a way that must have inspired the attire of Mel Brooks' 2,000 year old. This poet romances women in a fedora, cape, and a walking stick. Meanwhile, the lass doesn't fully realize how much she is adored by the solid honest country squire who has the personality of cold unbuttered toast.
It all culminates in a ritual of an old Irish wedding ritual and you won't care what happens.
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The Cocoanuts 1929
Stagey, but not as creaky as you might think, very early talkie featuring the very talky Groucho and his anarchic brothers in their first film.
There's music here, too, but it is very incidental and an interruption to the several set pieces of crazed surreal comedy. The musical numbers are sung with somewhat tonal disturbance by the romantic leads, including a leading man who appears to be as stiff as a piece of plaster board and loves to smile by…
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The Towering Inferno 1974
Irwin Allen produced this top heavy star laden disaster jewel in his crown after the successful POSEIDON ADVENTURE. A huge phallic symbol tower looms over San Francisco and its inaugural opening to the public and a party to tuxedoed and bejeweled high society is marred by a fire that traps the swells at the near top of the erection. It's gonna blow!
This is a LONG movie of lots of high priced movie stars in a panic and trying all…