Frontier Gal (1945)

On the run after shooting one of the men who murdered his partner, a man (Rod Cameron) stops in a remote saloon and meets the vivacious entertainer (Yvonne De Carlo) who owns the saloon. Tempers and passions immediately flare up. Directed by Charles Lamont (MA AND PA KETTLE). Yvonne De Carlo in Technicolor is always a treat but boy, is this one a dog! We're treated to De Carlo constantly being humiliated by Rod Cameron's gunslinger (including the "happy" ending where he spanks her!). Rod Cameron never moved beyond being a B movie leading man and it's easy to see why. He recites his lines with all the emotion of an oak tree, he's a real stiff. De Carlo was cast after Maria Montez wisely refused to do the movie. With Sheldon Leonard, Andy Devine and Fuzzy Knight.

10:30 PM Summer (1966)

Set in Spain, during a terrible thunderstorm, a married couple (Melina Mercouri, Peter Finch) traveling with their friend (Romy Schneider), take refuge in a small hotel. During their stay, the wife becomes obsessed with a man (Julian Mateos) on the run from the police for killing his wife and her lover. Based on the novel 10:30 ON A SUMMER NIGHT by Marguerite Duras (who co-wrote the screenplay) and directed by Jules Dassin (NIGHT AND THE CITY). An odd film! There's only the thinnest (very thin) of plots as an enigmatically moody Mercouri obsesses (in equal measure) over the affair that's going on under her very nose between her spouse and her best friend and the crime of passion killer on the run from the law. I'm sure it's about something but I'll be damned if I could figure it out. I wouldn't call it pretentious as it was compelling enough for me to become engaged with it but I'm not sure Dassin figured out what it was about either.

Twister (1996)

A tornado obsessed meteorologist (Helen Hunt) leads a band of storm chasers. When her ex-husband (Bill Paxton), a former storm chaser, arrives with his new fiancee (Jami Gertz) to get the final divorce papers signed, he becomes seduced in the tornado chasing excitement again. Directed by Jan De Bont (SPEED). The tornado sequences are thrilling and awesome. That's the good news. Alas, in between those scenes we're stuck with a banal storyline with trite dialogue. It's not the kind of movie where the acting matters much but there are some good actors in it but you'd never know it from what's on display here. Showing smart, mature meteorologists would have been too boring so we're given imbeciles engaging in moronic behavior like a bunch of juvenile party animals! Only Cary Elwes as the film's villain and Lois Smith as Hunt's aunt resemble actual humans. With Philip Seymour Hoffman (you'd never guess he was one of the best actors of his generation by his work here), Alan Ruck and Todd Field.

Jules Verne's Rocket To The Moon (aka Those Fantastic Flying Fools) (1967)

Set in Victorian England, the famed American showman P.T. Barnum (Burl Ives) backs an idea to sent a projectile to the moon because he thinks he can make money off it. But the idea isn't as easy as it looks especially when a malicious opponent (Terry Thomas) plots to sabotage the impending flight. "Inspired" by the works of Jules Verne and directed by Don Sharp (KISS OF THE VAMPIRE). Jules Verne has nothing whatsoever to do with film. Several of Verne's novels were big hits (20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH) when adapted for the screen hence the "inspired by" credit. As to the film itself, it's more akin to IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD than anything in the Verne universe. Except there's not a laugh to be had in the whole movie. Is there anything worse than a "comedy" without laughs? On the plus side, it looks great. Reginald Wyer's (RATTLE OF A SIMPLE MAN) handsome wide screen lensing, the art direction and costumes are impressive. With Troy Donahue, Gert Frobe, Hermione Gingold, Daliah Lavi, Lionel Jeffries, Graham Stark and Dennis Price.

Dr. Broadway (1942)

A hot-shot Manhattan physician (Macdonald Carey) known as Dr. Broadway knows everyone under the bright lights of the Great White Way ... and they know him! When a gangster (Eduardo Ciannelli) just released from prison contacts him to do a favor, he soon finds himself up to his neck in murder and thievery. Directed by Anthony Mann (EL CID) in his directorial debut. A low budget pseudo Runyonesque tale notable for being Mann's directorial debut. It's a zippy little movie that Mann keeps moving along but the movie needed a more charismatic leading man than the bland Macdonald Carey to hold it together. Everybody has to start somewhere and this was a decent enough beginning for Mann though one would never guess how far he would go based on this outing. With Jean Phillips, Joan Woodbury, J. Carrol Naish, Gerald Mohr and Richard Lane.

The Wyvern Mystery (2000)

When she is orphaned, a young child (Tamara Harvey) is taken in by a local Squire (Derek Jacobi). But now grown into an attractive young woman (Naomi Watts), the Squire's intentions have turned lecherously sinister. To escape him, she flees with his son (Iain Glen) whom she loves. Alas, she soon discovers the dark secrets of the family history. Based on the 1869 novel by J.S. Le Fanu and directed by Alex Pillai (HOW TO DATE BILLY WALSH). A Victorian Gothic that is reminiscent of JANE EYRE but, of course, nowhere near as good. It's often confusing (a nice way of saying incoherent) but it provided Watts with a juicy role while waiting for her big break which would come the following year with MULHOLLAND DRIVE. If you enjoy this kind of BBC Gothic  "imperiled heroine" costume melodramas, you may well like it. I found it just passable (and I'm a big Watts fan), nothing more. With Jack Davenport, Aisling O'Sullivan and Ellie Haddington.

The Man Who Reclaimed His Head (1934)

Set in Paris on the eve of WWI, a pacifist writer (Claude Rains) allows an ambitious politician (Lionel Atwill) to take credit for his words in the broadsheet he publishes. When his political aspirations bring him closer to the very people condemned in the pacifist's writings, he urges the scribe to soften his rhetoric. Based on the play by Jean Bart and directed by Edward Ludwig (WAKE OF THE RED WITCH). The play was a flop (it ran for about three weeks) and also starred Claude Rains, recreating his stage role here. Considering this was not a pre code film, I was taken aback at the violent ending (the title is to be taken literally as well as metaphorically). Other than that, it's your standard tale of a passive man pushed to the brink until the worm turns. Enjoyable enough but not essential. With Joan Bennett (still in the blonde phase of her career), Wallace Ford and Juanita Quigley, one of the most annoying child actors I've ever seen.

Lady Of The Night (1925)

A young inventor (Malcolm McGregor) is loved by two very different women. A refined graduate (Norma Shearer) of a finishing school and an overpainted and undereducated floozy (Norma Shearer). Directed by Monta Bell (LIGHTS OF OLD BROADWAY). Two Norma Shearers for the price of one! Normally, that wouldn't be such a bargain but this was way before Shearer became the grande dame of MGM with a little assist from husband Irving Thalberg. She's actually very good in both parts with her tart standing out. The storyline is pedestrian and we know exactly where it's going but at a brief running time (1 hour, 5 minutes), this silent movie doesn't give you time to get restless. With George K. Arthur and Dale Fuller.

The Mastermind (2025)

Set in 1970 Massachusetts, an unemployed carpenter (Josh O'Connor) turned amateur art thief plans his first big heist. When things don't go as planned, his life begins to unravel. Written and directed by Kelly Reichardt (WENDY AND LUCY). In some respects, this is Reichardt's most commercial film but clearly she's not interested in a conventional heist movie. This is no THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR or OCEAN'S ELEVEN. Reichardt spends very little time on the heist and rushes through it as to get it out of the way. What she's concerned with is the aftermath and O'Connor's struggle to make sense of what he's done. Since O'Connor is one of life's losers (and maybe a bit of a scumbag), we watch from a distance, we really don't care about his fate. The setting of 1970 (with the Vietnam war and protests raging in the background) amid the counter culture of the 1960s (where theft was often considered a political act) shows a country in turmoil and O'Connor's quagmire representative of that turmoil. Not entirely successful but I liked it a lot. With Hope Davis, Gaby Hoffman, Alan Haim, John Magaro, Bill Camp and Amanda Plummer, whose role appears to be severely cut.

The 4th Floor (1999)

A young woman (Juliette Lewis) decides she wants to live by herself for awhile rather than moving in with her boyfriend (William Hurt). When she moves in to her new apartment, everything seems fine at first but things quickly turn bizarre. Written and directed by Josh Klausner (WANDERLAND). A serviceable second tier thriller that doesn't make much sense. Just why is everybody in the building weird, particularly the nutty landlady (Shelley Duvall). When Juliette Lewis is terrorized by the mysterious tenant who lives in the apartment beneath her, why doesn't she just move out? None of this is answered to the viewers' satisfaction. As to who is the perpetrator behind all this, in movies of this sort, I consider who is the most unlikely person to be the villain and I'm almost always right and in this case, it is the most unlikely person and the most likely person. With Austin Pendleton, Artie Lange, Tobin Bell and Robert Costanzo.

Behold A Pale Horse (1964)

A guerilla leader (Gregory Peck) has been on the run since the Spanish Civil War. A police captain (Anthony Quinn) has been after him for fifteen years without any success. But when the ex-revolutionary learns his mother (Mildred Dunnock) is on her deathbed, he is forced into the open. Based on the novel KILLING A MOUSE ON SUNDAY by Emeric Pressburger (yes, the partner of Michael Powell) and directed by Fred Zinnemann (A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS). One of Zinnemann's duds, he directs at a funereal pace. Overlong, too much time is wasted on the activities of a child (Carlo Angeletti) and the movie could have easily been cut by about fifteen minutes. As the Spanish guerilla, Peck is as miscast as he was in THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL but he's not as much fun here. The whole thing seems pointless. Omar Sharif, who plays a priest in the film, reputedly called it, "a bad movie by a great director". I don't think anyone would disagree with him. With Raymond Pellegrin, Paolo Stoppa, Christian Marquand, Daniela Rocca, Rosalie Crutchley and Michael Lonsdale.

The Perfect Snob (1941)

Influenced by her social climbing mother (Charlotte Greenwood), a young woman (Lynn Bari) is looking for a rich husband. But her father (Charles Ruggles) hatches a plan to sabotage an engagement between his daughter and her much older fiance (Alan Mowbray). Directed by Ray McCarey (THE FALCON'S ALIBI). What might have been a cute little comedy misfires because of one central performance. As the suitor who attempts to woo Lynn Bari away from her gold digging plans, Cornel Wilde's character is so obnoxious that the romantic element falls flat on its face. Wilde lacks the charm (he's no Cary Grant) that the role needs in order to make the situation palatable. The other actors fare better, especially Ruggles and Greenwood, a pair of excellent comedy actors who know how to deliver a line. With Anthony Quinn and Chester Clute.