Ah yeah, I thought High Heels was slower paced, I preferred Midnight.
[url]http://img826.imageshack.us/i/takersa.jpg/[/url] [size=12pt]Takers [/size](2010, John Luessenhop)
Heist movie about a group of bank robbers who managed to stay out of the hands of the police so far, and that one tenacious cop who will not rest until ā¦ well, I suppose you can guess the rest. Thatās a bit the problem with the entire movie: itās fast-paced, the action scenes are competently staged, but youāve seen it all before.
Matt Dillon isnāt bad as the persistent police man, but itās Idris Elba (some might know him from the hard-hitting TV-series Luther) who steals the show (and I wish they had left Chris Brown out of it)
Passes the time, but donāt expect anything special
3/5
Stryker (1983) - Mad Max rip off, and its actually a very good action movie, they go through so many rounds of bulletsā¦
I could have sworn Enzo G Castellari directed this, its got his style all over itā¦ but was shocked to find out it was Cirio H. Santiago (should see more of his stuff). Though Enzo did direct another film called Striker (1987), which I havenāt seen yet.
Una Sullāaltra (Fulci / 1969)
Also known as Perversion Story and One on Top of the Other this is a nice and stylish crime drama from Fulci with none of the gore you come to expect from him. Too slow paced to really be called a thriller but always engaging for me. Not least because of the presence of the stunningly beautiful Marisa Mell and Elsa Martinelli. There were some men in it too apparently but Iāve forgotten them already.
Has that sort of effect some of the scenes in this one.
[size=12pt]Games [/size] b Curtis Harrington [/b]
![http://img826.imageshack.us/i/takersa.jpg/[/url]](http://img826.imageshack.us/i/takersa.jpg/%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
Another good surprise film for me, with a somehow surprinsing cast even for the time it was made. Cann and Ross (very good actress and a lovely one too) are usual for this type of films I guess, but more strange was to see Simone Signoret envolved in this project, she had her share of non French productions but normally in a more high level productions, my guess is that this more or less unknown film, was not among the likes of Ship of fools or Lumet The Deadly.
One reason is the director, he may had been a more proeminent figure those days, but with a lot of sophisiticated exploitation films an TV series, he was pretty much unknown (I could be wrong butā¦) Iāve never heard of him before so, anyway another film that works almost like a theatre play, but very well made a dynamic one. Itās a thriller with a good story full of tension and with a lot of suspense (not horror in the sense of gore at least) some fine twists (very good ones by the way) and with a very modern feeling,adding a very clever sexual innuendo spicing the story, Iām starting to believe that the sixties were more modern in style and way fo living, than the time we live today. For me this film was like reading a good book you wonāt stop until you finished.
The acting is pretty fine, with Signoret in great style stealing every scene, also with Caan and Ross in good plan. Like I said a vey nice surprise this film ende up to be, Iām very satisfied to be in my collection now, highly recomemded stuff good quality film
Ah by the way the elevator scenes are pretty amazing
4 stars
Sounds like a look to me. I like Caan in his earlier stuff.
Vengeance of She (Owen / 1967)
Sequel to the better known and commercially more successful original which starred Ursula Andress and benefited from the ever positive presence of Peter Cushing. However, surprisingly, I felt that this was the better of the two despite the lack of Cushing.
The role of Ayesha is taken by stunning Czech beauty Olga Schoberova who, for some reason, appears under the alternate eastern European name of Olinka Berova here. Whatever they call her she was gorgeous and more than makes up for the less than charismatic John Richardson and Edward Judd. But, Schoberova or not, this film still has a better script, more intriguing story and overall better content than the original and was enjoyed by myself and the family accordingly. Still absolute tosh from start to finish of course but thatās to be expected and doesnāt detract from its pleasures.
For Eurowestern fans there are a few connections. Richardson, of course was John the Bastard, Schoberova starred in the excellent Lemonade Joe and the North African locations look suspiciously like our beloved Almeria which is unusual for a Hammer film.
Yes Phil some parts were shot in the South of Spain in Almeria, and also in France.
Bootleggers, the police, the mob, Kate Jackson, Dave Carradineā¦ Thunder And Lightning; 1977. All action, with some stunning car-crashes. And probably the best-filmed airboat-chase Iāve ever seen. I only noticed one matte-scene in the car/boat pursuits, showing cops-talking-on-their-radio. The rest of cam-shots were stationary, or on-board. -Meaning that director, Corey Allen put some thoughtful-passion into their staging. Charles Napier, Roger C. Carmel, George Murdock; all impeccably nefarious. Sensational. -Makes Smokey & The Bandit look over-produced and under-paced.
One to watch then (never heard of it)
A Lovely Way to Die
A decent 60ās flick in the tradition of the Harper Movies with Paul Newman or the Tony Rome Movies with Fran Sinatra. This time Kirk Douglas is a former detective and now the bodyguard of a beautiful woman (Sylvia Koscina) who is accused of murder. The title song A Lovely Way to die isnāt bad with the typical 1960ās score. Of course there is a Disco Dancing Scene and not to forget Sylvia in Bikini and Underwear. Eli Wallach is good as usual as Lawyer. Could have been better with more suspense and action scenes but I got what I expected.
Force 10 to Navarone
Robert Shaw, Edward Fox, Harrison Ford, Franco Nero, Rocky Opponent Carl Weathers, Bond Villain Howard Kiel and Bond Girl Barbara Bach starring in a sequel to Guns of Navarone. Directed by Guy Hamilton (Goldfinger and other 007 Movies). IMO it doesnāt work as sequel but itās decent and entertaining enough as stand alone.
āThe Evil Deadā still good. the cheapest made but still the best of the series.
Iāve watched some cracking films over the past week, starting with an obscure blaxploitation film called Black Fist, which was mildly enjoyable low budget trash. After that I saw The Sniper, a sub-par film noir. Thatās when things took a definite upswing, as I put on the awesome Kansas City Confidential. A much better film noir, and it stars some spaghetti heavy hitters: Lee Van Cleef and Jack Elam in early roles. The film has it all, so is definitely recommended. After that, I saw Clint Eastwoodās action romp The Gauntlet. Say what you like about the film, but I found it very easy to watch and enjoy. Another film noir after that, Where the Sidewalk Ends, and then another superb seventies film, Prime Cut. Okay, so I absolutely love Prime Cut, itās brilliant and underrated. The script is good, itās beautifully filmed, and there are great performances from Lee Marvin, Gene Hackman and Sissy Spacek. The filmās only weakness is that the ending is a little cheesy and there are some other light-hearted moments it didnāt really need. Overall, though, this is one of my favourite films of the seventies and is a must see. Light Sleeper got a mention in an earlier post, so I thought Iād watch that. Itās very good, typical of the squalid kind of stuff Paul Schrader does so well. It dragged a little in the middle, but in the end it was a brilliant New York tale. Finally, today I saw Fallen Angel, another rewarding film noir.
One of the few Marvin movies I donāt like
This is what I said about it a while ago:
[i]Prime Cut (1972, Michael Ritchie)
Lee Marvin is sent to Kansas City, by the Chicago mob, to teach the Kansas City mob a lesson. The guy they sent before him, came back as ā¦ a sausage. We also get a girl market (the Kansas City version of a cattle market) and a car eaten by a threshing machine. No, Iām not making these things up.
I know itās not to be taken too seriously, but that doesnāt really help in this case. If only it had been funny, it couldāve worked, but it isnāt. Itās tasteless and above all dull. Not excruciating or terribly bad, just dulll. Even the action scenes, which seem to have a lot of potential at first sight, are needlessly drawn-out and therefore fall flat after a while.
Marvin is good, but canāt save it, Gene Hackman hams it up completely as a gangster called Mary Ann (what the hell where they thinking of?). Biggest surprise, to me, was Sissy Spacek, more precisely the way she looks: I know her best from Carrie, where she looks like the ugly ducking she supposed to impersonate. Here sheās an absolute beauty. Was she deliberately made up negatively (to make her look ugly) in Carrie, or did they hide her homely looks in this one?
Thereās still some good atmosphere, good sparse dialogue, and some chemistry between the big man and the little lady (resulting in a very nice dinner scene). A Peckinpah, Siegel or Penn couldāve worked miracles with this material.
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Starblack then added this comment:
Prime Cut is one of those movies Iāve watched several times in the hope of liking it more. It has Marvin at his peak, a quirky turn by Hackman, great locations, a sense of the grotesque, and yetā¦ nothing quite comes together. As Scherp says, perhaps a stronger director would have fared better.
In other words: opinions donāt match in the Prime Cut case !
I have seen Prime Cut about 30 years ago. I didnāt liked it then either, but now Iām a bit curious how it would be today.
Always enjoyed Prime Cut ever since my view first viewing in the 70ās. Marvin is great, and some good action. But most of all the film just has such a fast pace, helps being a short film though. Yep, and what a fine score, which I am sure I have mentioned in the past 
.
You make it sound like it is especially far-fetched, when it really isnāt by most standards.
I found it funny when it was supposed to be funny. Actually, there are some really charming moments. However, I think it would have been a better film if it didnāt bother and kept to being the gritty film it is at heart. For example, Violetās gang rape is a really powerful scene, and thatās lost somewhat when you mix in some good olā boy comedy
Anyway, I guess our opinions are at polar opposites on this point at least.
I get bored easily, but this film kept me entertained from start to finish. It definitely wasnāt dull as far as Iām concerned, and I personally thought the action sequences were all excellent. So there.
I find it quite amusing that you call it tasteless. This sort of thing is a bit below you? Really?
Save what? Itās a filthy slice of bloody action, and I personally found it extremely enjoyable from start to finish.
I loved that Gene Hackman is called Mary Ann. Itās typical for a farming business to include a womanās name like Mary Ann, to emphasise its homely qualities. Itās a nice surprise when Mary Ann turns out to be a man.
Pfft. The directing is just fine, and all of the sequences with the crops (including the finale in the sunflower field), the opening meat packaging scene, the country fair, the dinner scene, are handled extremely well. There were some wonderful wide angle shots which I particularly liked.
I gotta see this one for myself! Just added it to my netflix queue. Whats up with Gene Hackmanās character being called Mary Ann though? I can already tell, thats going to bother meā¦
Well, we donāt agree on some points, Smoke, those things happen
I only gave my opinion, I donāt mean to suggest that things are below me or anything