“Bogart: Life Comes in Flashes”- The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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The poster and trailer for Bogart: Life Comes in Flashes are here.  I’m a Bogart fan and look forward to see this one.

Narrated in his own words, the first official documentary to explore the remarkable life and legacy of Hollywood legend and cultural icon Humphrey Bogart. Framed around the five key women in his life, the film intricately weaves together his most important relationships against a backdrop of world events giving a fresh and captivating perspective on one of Hollywood’s most revered stars.

In Select Theaters November 15

“Murder by Death” (1976) written by Neil Simon, starring Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, Eileen Brennan, Truman Capote, James Coco, Elsa Lanchester,David Niven, Maggie Smith, Nancy Walker, Estelle Winwood and James Cromwell / Z-View

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Murder by Death (1976)

Director: Robert Moore

Screenplay: Neil Simon

Stars: Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, Eileen Brennan, Truman Capote, James Coco, Elsa Lanchester,
David Niven, Maggie Smith, Nancy Walker, Estelle Winwood and James Cromwell.

Tagline: By the time Eileen Brennan, Truman Capote, James Coco, Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, Elsa Lanchester, David Niven, Peter Sellers, Maggie Smith, Nancy Walker and Estelle Winwood figure out whodunnit, you’ll die laughing.

The Plot…

The eccentric and wealthy Lionel Twain (Capote) invites the five greatest detectives in the world for dinner. The guests include…

  • Sam Diamond (Falk) and his sexy assistant Tess Skeffington (Brennan)
  • Sidney Wang (Sellers) and his son Willie Wang
  • Monsieur Milo Perrier (Coco) and his chauffeur, Marcel (Cromwell)
  • Jessica Marbles (Elsa Lanchester) and her nurse, Miss Withers (Winwood)
  • Dick (Niven) & Dora Charleston (Smith) and their pet pooch, Myron

The guests arrive to Twain’s remote creepy old mansion.  They are  unaware that others were invited.  When everyone sits down for dinner, Twain pushes a button that locks all doors and windows.  He then announces that someone will be murdered at midnight.  Twain says that he will give one million dollars to the detective that solves the crime.

Slightly before midnight the butler is found dead.  Then right after midnight, Twain’s body is discovered.  He’s dead from twelve stab wounds.

Let the game begin.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Murder by Death is a parody of the great “old dark house” and movie detective whodunits of the past.  Sam Diamond is a hardboiled dick from the mold of Sam Spade.  Sidney Wang and his son is based on Charlie Chan and his #1 son.  Monsieur Milo Perrier is modeled on Hercule Poirot.  Jessica Marbles was inspired by Miss Marple. Dick & Dora Charleston are stand-ins for Nick and Nora Charles.

The theatrical film debut of James Cromwell.  It is also the final theatrical film of Nancy Walker.

The animated cartoon drawings of the detectives at the start  of the film were created by Charles Addams, the creator of The Addams Family.

The doorbell screams are Fay Wray’s from King Kong.

If you’re a fan of the type of movies parodied, you should enjoy this.  Everyone gets a moment to shine.

Murder by Death (1976) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Endurance” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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The clever poster and compelling trailer for Endurance worked.

Deal me in.

In a legendary feat of leadership and perseverance, polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton kept his crew of 27 men alive for over a year despite the loss of their ship in frigid pack ice. Over a century later, a team of modern-day explorers sets out to find the sunken ship. From National Geographic Documentary Films and directed by Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin and Natalie Hewit, ENDURANCE tells the inspiring stories of these two landmark expeditions, bound by their shared grit and determination.

The 20 All-Time Best Noir Films!

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Christian Blauvelt at IndieWire came up with a list of The 20 Best Film Noir Movies of All Time.  It’s not a bad list.

I’ve seen 16 of the top 20.  The films I haven’t seen are ‘Christmas Holiday’ (dir. Robert Siodmak, 1944); ‘Leave Her to Heaven’ (dir. John M. Stahl, 1945);  ‘The Reckless Moment’ (dir. Max Ophuls, 1949) and ‘Sweet Smell of Success’ (dir. Alexander Mackendrick, 1957).

Using just Blauvelt’s 20, here are my top five (in alphabetical order)…

  • Big Sleep, The (dir. Howard Hawks, 1946)
  • Double Indemnity (dir. Billy Wilder, 1944)
  • In a Lonely Place (dir. Nicholas Ray, 1950)
  • Night of the Hunter (dir. Charles Laughton, 1955)
  • Touch of Evil (dir. Orson Welles, 1958)

There are two noirs that would have made my top five had they made Blauvelt’s list: The Postman Always Rings Twice and The Big Heat.

For some reason I usually don’t consider Night of the Hunter a noir film.  Same goes for The Maltese Falcon.  I love both of them, but they don’t usually come to mind.

“Tarzan’s Revenge” (1938) / Z-View

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Tarzan’s Revenge (1938)

Director: D. Ross Lederman

Screenplay: Robert Lee Johnson, Jay Vann, based on characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Stars: Glenn Morris, C. Henry Gordon, Hedda Hopper, Joe Sawyer, George Meeker, Howard Hickman and Al Thompson.

Tagline: TARZAN CALLS AGAIN…and new thrills sweep the jungle wilds!

The Plot…

An expedition into the jungles of Africa runs into trouble with a dangerous tribe.  Tarzan to the rescue.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Tarzan’s Revenge is really bad.  Poor acting equal to the poor story and direction.  Tarzan’s yell will make you laugh.

Glenn Morris gets the least amount of screen time of any actor who has played Tarzan.  For that you’ll be thankful.

Tarzan’s Revenge (1938) rates 1 of 5 stars.

“Get Fast” starring Lou Diamond Phillips and James C. Clayton – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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The poster and trailer for Get Fast scream fun drive-in movie.

Deal me in.

US Release Date: November 15, 2024

Starring: Lou Diamond Phillips, Bradley Stryker, Alisha-Marie Ahamed, Fei Ren

Synopsis: After a heist goes wrong, a thief and a troubled orphan must rescue his kidnapped partner from a ruthless drug lord and her charming hitman. With guns, cars, and explosions, their escape is a high-stakes race against time.

“I Am Not Your Negro” (2016) directed by Raoul Peck / Z-View

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I Am Not Your Negro (2016)

Director: Raoul Peck

Screenplay: James Baldwin, Raoul Peck based on Remember This House by James Baldwin

Stars: James Baldwin, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, Robert F. Kennedy, Harry Belafonte, Dick Cavett, Bob Dylan, Sidney Poitier, Ray Charles, Doris Day, Gary Cooper, Tony Curtis, Joan Crawford, Rod Steiger, Richard Widmark, Fay Wray, Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston, Michelle Obama, George W. Bush, Stepin Fetchit, Audrey Hepburn, J. Edgar Hoover, Coretta Scott King, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Samuel L. Jackson (narration).

Tagline: In “Remember This House” Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished -a radical narration about race in America, through the lives and assassinations of three of his friends: Martin Luther King Jr., Medgar Evers and Malcolm X. using only the writer’s original words.

The Plot…

Author and activist, James Baldwin intended to write a book exploring racism in America through his eyes and what he learned from his friends civil rights leaders Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Medgar Evers.  Baldwin started the manuscript but died before it was finished.

Filmmaker Raoul Peck decided to make a documentary using Baldwin’s manuscript, his words from interviews and writings to create a film that would envision Baldwin’s planned book.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Nominated for 2017 Academy Award Best Documentary Feature.

James Baldwin was a fascinating speaker.  He was intelligent, perceptive and had the ability to hold an audience in the palm of his hand.

I Am Not Your Negro (2016) rates 4 of 5 stars.

THE WIDENING GYRE: A SPENSER NOVEL by Robert B. Parker

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THE WIDENING GYRE by Robert B. Parker

First sentence…

I was nursing a bottle of Murphy’s Irish Whiskey, drinking it from the neck of the bottle sparingly, and looking down from the window of my office at Berkeley Street where it crosses Boylston.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Spenser is hired to find who is blackmailing Meade Alexander.  Meade is a congressman running for the Senate. He’s happily married. Meade’s a law and order guy.  The most important thing in his life is he’s  a Christian.  Meade’s as All-American as apple pie and baseball.  Meade’s also being blackmailed.  But not because of anything he’s done.

Ronni, Meade’s wife caused the problem.  There’s video of her having sex with college boys.  Lots of video.  And she’s into it.

Meade wants the problem to go away.  If the video gets out, his campaign is finished.  Spenser agrees to take the job, not so much for Meade, but because of Ronni.  As Spenser digs deeper he discovers so heavy hitters in the Boston underworld are involved.

Yikes!

+++++

Robert B. Parker’s Spenser novels have always been required purchases for me.  Parker and Spenser never disappoint.

Rating:

“Aftermath” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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The poster for Aftermath is okay, but the trailer has me interested.

Deal me in.

US Release Date: November 1, 2024
Starring: Dylan Sprouse, Megan Scott, Nick Apostolides
Director: Patrick Lussier
Synopsis: A returning war veteran, stricken with PTSD, gets trapped with his teenage sister on Boston’s Tobin Memorial Bridge as a heavily weaponized group of ex-military revolutionists takes everyone hostage.

“The Order” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Definitely on board for the poster and trailer for The Order.

Deal me in.

Based on a true story, an alarming surge in violent bombings and bank robberies in the Pacific Northwest leads a weathered FBI agent into a deadly cat-and-mouse game with a charismatic domestic terrorist plotting to overthrow the US government.

Starring: Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan and Jurnee Smollett
Directed by: Justin Kurzel
Release Date: Exclusively in Theaters, December 6th