Dracula: Prince Of Darkness (1966)

Four English tourists find themselves stranded in the mysterious village of Karlsbad, a sinister and remote place with a deadly, dark legend. Their journey leads them to a seemingly abandoned castle where a nightmarish destiny awaits them. Very loosely based on the novel by Bram Stoker and directed by Terence Fisher (THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN). The third entry in Hammer's Dracula series and the second to star Christopher Lee as Dracula. There's a sense of deja vu about this project. Reputedly, Bram Stoker's character is recognized as the fictional character with the most movie appearances (over 500 film adaptations) so it feels like we've all been through this before. Actually, this is one of the better Hammer horror movies. Christopher Lee doesn't make an appearance until thirty minutes into the film and then he has no dialogue, he only hisses. My main problem with the movie is how the characters are so obliging. When they arrive at Dracula's castle, it's clear that something unnatural is going on, there are red flags everywhere. So do they get their asses out of there pronto? No! They sit down and have dinner. Only Barbara Shelley's uptight wife senses they're in danger and wants to get out of there but she's overruled by the others. With Andrew Keir, Francis Matthews, Suzan Farmer and Charles Tingwell.

Avec Amour Et Acharnement (aka Both Side Of The Blade) (2022)

A radio talk show host (Juliette Binoche) has been living with her lover (Vincent Lindon) for ten years. When they met, she was involved with another man (Gregoire Colin) and when he suddenly reenters their lives, things spiral out of control. Based on the novel UN TOURNANT DE LA VIE by Christine Angot and directed by Claire Denis (BEAU TRAVAIL). A deeply disturbing look at a complex love triangle. I found it difficult to empathize with Bincoche's character. She's a phony, she's a liar, she's duplicitous and she hurts people. Her live in lover deserves better. Filmed during the Covid pandemic in 2021, the characters in the film wear masks when outside their homes. The performances are top notch and Denis keeps a driving intensity that slowly grows into a powerhouse conclusion. With Bulle Ogier, Alice Houri and Issa Perica.

Meurtre A Montmartre (aka Reproduction Interdite) (1957)

An art dealer (Paul Frankeur) has a wife (Jacqueline Noelle) with expensive tastes. When the opportunity arrives to make money by forging a fake Gauguin, he takes it. But when the forger (Giani Esposito) gets a conscience and his drinking threatens to expose them, the art dealer and his accomplice (Michel Auclair) know they will have to silence him. Based on the novel by Michel Lenoir and directed by Gilles Grangier (LE ROUGE EST MIS). A very good example of French film noir. Frankeur's protagonist is essentially a decent man that crosses a line that he would never have crossed if it hadn't been for a wrong done to him. Once in, he goes deeper into crime until murder seems the only out. The film's only downside is a godawful score by Jean Yatove that is so obvious as to be almost laughable. Noir fans should check this one out. With Annie Girardot and Marcel Bozzuffi.

Pee Wee's Big Adventure (1985)

Pee Wee Herman (Paul Reubens) has a cherished bicycle. When it is stolen, a psychic (Erica Yohn) tells him the bike is in the basement of the Alamo and off he goes to Texas in search of it. Directed by Tim Burton (ED WOOD). I've never been a big fan of Reubens' child-man creation, Pee Wee Herman. But although uneven, the movie is imaginative, colorful, sometimes witty and more often silly fun. The film was a big hit as was Burton's follow up, BEETLEJUICE and Burton became an A list director. The film is surrealistic and inventive enough and with a slightly calculated innocence that it easily overrode my lack of enthusiasm for the Pee Wee character (a little goes a long way). Danny Elfman's score is very clever borrowing from Bernard Herrmann, Nino Rota and John Barry. With James Brolin, Morgan Fairchild, Milton Berle, Diane Salinger, Cassandra Peterson, Elizabeth Daily and Mark Holton.

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

On a hot afternoon in Brooklyn, two optimistic losers set out to rob a bank. Sonny (Al Pacino) is the mastermind and Sal (John Cazale) is the follower. However, the robbery results in a disaster and a media circus. Based on the magazine article THE BOYS IN THE BANK by P.F. Kluge and Thomas Moore and directed by Sidney Lumet (MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS). Inspired by an actual incident, Frank Pierson's Oscar winning screenplay takes a generous amount of artistic license and the result is an intoxicating crime drama laced with black comedy. I'm not Sidney Lumet's biggest fan but he does a fine job here. I think this is Al Pacino's best performance, there's not a flaw that I can pick on. The casting is spot on (all the actresses playing the bank teller hostages are great). Surprisingly considering the two gay characters in the movie are unstable whack jobs, there was none of the blowback from the gay community that greeted films like BASIC INSTINCT, CRUSING and SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. With Chris Sarandon, Charles Durning, Penelope Allen, James Broderick, Carol Kane, Lance Henriksen and Sully Boyar.

The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1939)

Super sleuth Philo Vance (Warren William) faces the zaniest case of his career when a dingbat debutante (Gracie Allen) insists on helping him solve the murder of an escaped convict (Lee Moore). Based on the novel by S.S. Van Dine and directed by Alfred E. Green (THE JOLSON STORY). The novel was the eleventh of the Philo Vance detective books written by Van Dine but this one took an unusual spin in placing a real person, the comedienne Gracie Allen, at the center of the story. Of course, when the film was made, who else but Gracie Allen could play Gracie Allen? I love comedic murder mysteries but the movie is more comedy than murder mystery. One's enjoyment of it depends on one's feelings about Gracie Allen's particular brand of comedy with everyone in the cast playing straight man to her. Fortunately, I quite like her. It's a rather silly movie but I found myself laughing out loud several times. With Ellen Drew, Kent Taylor, Richard Denning, William Demarest, Donald MacBride, H.B. Warner, Horace McMahon and Willie Fung.

Wild Stallion (1952)

After his parents are killed in an Indian attack, a young boy (Orley Lindgren) is taken under the wing of an army horseman (Edgar Buchanan). But the boy has never forgotten his white colt, who ran off after the Indian attack. When he grows up to manhood, he (Ben Johnson) is determined to find the colt, who is now a stallion and the leader of a group of wild horses. Directed by Lewis D. Collins (TWO GUNS AND A BADGE). One of the last movies made by poverty row Monogram pictures before it closed up shop in 1953. It's B programmer, the kind of Saturday morning westerns that played on TV when I was a kid. Strictly routine although it looks more attractive than most of its type because it was shot in color (Cinecolor, not Technicolor). What can I say? Very young kids, horse lovers and western buffs are the most likely demographic to enjoy something like this. For everybody else, it's probably a waste of time. With Martha Hyer, Hugh Beaumont, Hayden Rorke and Elizabeth Russell.

The Case Of The Shooting Star (1986)

Jealous of the time a talk show host (Alan Thicke) is spending with his girlfriend (Mary Kane), an actor/director (Joe Penny) decides to prank him by shooting him on live television with a gun loaded with blanks. However, the gun is loaded with ammo and the TV host is killed. Enter famous lawyer Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) to defend him. Directed by Ron Satlof (PERRY MASON RETURNS). The third of the thirty Perry Mason TV movies made after the original shows' 1966 end. This entry is one of the least interesting ones. The mystery isn't that engaging and it doesn't help that the man Mason is defending is a jerk. With Jennifer O'Neill, Barbara Hale, William Katt, Wendy Crewson, David Ogden Stiers, Ron Glass and Ivan Dixon.

Hangover Square (1945)

Set in 1903 London, a distinguished composer (Laird Cregar) learns of a murder that occurred when he suffered from amnesia. He worries that he may have been the murderer during a memory blackout. Based on the novel by Patrick Hamilton and directed by John Brahm (THE LOCKET). Often described as a horror film, I'm not so sure. I look at it as more of a Victorian noir. Initial reviews were mixed but in the ensuing years, its reputation has climbed. Cregar was going through some personal problems during the filming which actually might have helped his excellent performance as the unstable musical genius. As the manipulating femme fatale, Linda Darnell is properly sluttish. It remains an excellent example of a moody psychological thriller. Cregar died two months before this movie was released. He was 31 years old. There's a superb score by Bernard Herrmann (Stephen Sondheim said it influenced his SWEENEY TODD musical). With George Sanders, Faye Marlowe, Glenn Langan, Ann Codee and Alan Napier.

El (1953)

While at church, an older man (Arturo De Cordova) spots an attractive young woman (Delia Garces) from across the room. He becomes obsessed with her and pursues her romantically eventually winning her over. But after the ceremony, his paranoia and jealousy reveal themselves. Based on the novel PENSAMIENTOS by Mercedes Pinto and directed by Luis Bunuel (VIRIDIANA). Considered by many to be the masterpiece of Bunuel's Mexican period, I found it didn't work for me. De Cordova's character's behavior should be a red flag to Garces' young woman even if she is somewhat naive. He goes bonkers on their honeymoon night yet she continues to stay with him even after he physically abuses her. Victims complicit in their own misery get very little sympathy from me. To be fair, the film remains compelling throughout and it does show the "macho" Latin mentality (at least of its time) where women are chastised for not complying with their husbands (even her mother blames her) and of course, the Catholic church which turns an eye to the sadism of it all. With Aurora Walker and Luis Beristain.

Project Hail Mary (2026)

A man (Ryan Gosling) awakens from an induced coma on an interstellar spacecraft with no memory of how he came to be there. It isn't long before he discovers he's the sole survivor of a three person crew and light years from earth in a distant solar system. Based on the novel by Andy Weir and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE FOR MEATBALLS). An intense science fiction movie that's near irresistible. The film is fortunate to have the immensely likable Ryan Goslng in the lead and his appeal goes a long way in carrying the movie. It doesn't have the intellectual  components of a 2001: A SPACE ODYSEEY or the joyful bliss of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, but it's respectful of the audience's intelligence while it has an emotional core without the sentimental manipulation. Not a great film but a sheer pleasure to watch. With Sandra Huller, Lionel Boyce, Ken Leung, Milana Vayntrub and James Ortiz as the voice of the Gosling's intergalactic companion, Rocky.

Pieces Of Dreams (1970)

A priest (Robert Forster) begins to have doubts about his choice of the priesthood. This struggle intensifies when he meets an attractive social worker (Lauren Hutton) and they begin an affair. Based on the novel THE WINE AND THE MUSIC by William Edmund Barrett and directed by Daniel Haller (THE DUNWICH HORROR). There was a brief period where it seemed Hollywood was fixated on priests breaking their celibacy. In addition to this film, there was THE RUNNER STUMBLES (1979) with Dick Van Dyke lusting after Kathleen Quinlan and MONSIGNOR (1982) with Christopher Reeve playing hanky panky with Genevieve Bujold. None of them were any good. This one is a dull affair with Forster looking pained through out the movie and the wacky concept of Hutton as a wealthy socialite by night and a devoted social worker helping minority children by day. The best thing about the film is the Oscar nominated title song by Michel Legrand and Marilyn & Alan Bergman sung by Peggy Lee which had a stronger shelf life than the movie. With Will Geer, Edith Atwater, Ivor Francis and Helen Westcott.