Death Watch (aka La Mort En Direct) (1980)

Set in an unspecified future, death because of illness is quite rare. A television reality program films dying people for entertainment, a soap opera for the masses that gets high ratings. But one dying woman (Romy Schneider) refuses to be a part of the degrading process and flees. But she doesn't know her traveling companion (Harvey Keitel) actually works for the TV program and is secretly filming her last days. Based on the novel THE UNSLEEPING EYE by David G. Compton, the film is no longer science fiction. Today, reality television is the norm and we're used to cameras following people around in their most troubled and intimate moments, recording each teary breakdown and screaming match for the famished public. That being said, Bertrand Tavernier's film is still a disturbing look at humans being robbed of their dignity and offered up as a sacrifice to the lowest common denominator. Schneider is quite good and it's interesting to see the contrast in acting styles between her and Keitel. She's simple and direct and he's busy, busy, busy. With Max Von Sydow, Harry Dean Stanton and Therese Liotard.  

The Abominable Snowman (1957)

Against his wife's (Maureen Connell) wishes, a British scientist (Peter Cushing) joins up with a Himalayan expedition headed by an American fortune seeker (Forrest Tucker) to find the mysterious Yeti or Abominable Snowman. Based on a television play THE CREATURE by Nigel Kneale (THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT), who also did the screenplay and directed by Val Guest. This is a well constructed intelligent Hammer horror handsomely shot in B&W wide screen (HammerScope) credited to Arthur Grant that takes a cue from 1940s horror master Val Lewton. Kneale and Guest know that if were to see the actual Yeti, it would be a disappointment. Instead, we see a hand, its eyes or its full body in shadow, never the complete creature. They concentrate on atmosphere and tension rather than blood and gore and the end result is a first rate horror flick. The subtle underscore is by Humphrey Searle. With Richard Wattis and Arnold Marle.

The Treasure Of Monte Cristo (aka The Secret Of Monte Cristo) (1961)

An ex-Army officer (Rory Calhoun) in His Majesty's service becomes embroiled in intrigue when he agrees to escort a Colonel (Ian Hunter) and his daughter (Patricia Bredin) on a quest for the hidden treasure of Monte Cristo. But there are three other partners in the treasure hunt and not all of them are to be trusted. This unpretentious adventure film never pretends to be more than it is, a "B" level swashbuckler. As such, it's amiable fun. While it may be a "B" movie, it has the look of an "A" film principally because of the film's production design, costumes and location shooting (shot in Dyaliscope). Calhoun makes no attempt to hide his American origins although he's playing a British solider of fortune but the rest of the cast fit right in. It's not the kind of film that requires much in the way of acting but John Gregson as an island bandit and the beautiful Gianna Maria Canale as a femme fatale stand apart from the rest of the cast. Directed by Robert S. Baker and Monty Berman. With Peter Arne and Sam Kydd and Francis Matthews.

Straw Dogs (1971)

In the rural English countryside, an American mathematician (Dustin Hoffman) has just moved into an old farmhouse with his English wife (Susan George). The local villagers appear to have a contempt for him and the local thugs blatantly make passes at his wife. In fact, the ruffians push him to his limits and eventually, the worm turns. Based on the novel THE SIEGE AT TRENCHER'S FARM by Gordon M. Williams, this is a film that intellectually you want to hate. Sam Peckinpah doesn't even attempt to conceal the film's blatant misogyny. There are only two women in the film and one is raped and the other is murdered as if being punished for their sexuality. The film's thematic elements are also troubling. Hoffman's mild mannered intellectual is looked upon with contempt for not being quite a "man" not only by the villagers but by Peckinpah himself. But the film is so brilliantly made that one can't help but eventually give oneself over to it (Pauline Kael called it a "fascist work of art"). Hoffman is superb, one of his 2 or 3 best performances. He plays it so close to the vest that we're never quite sure of his motivations. The final siege of the farmhouse is a classic of editing and tension. The excellent Oscar nominated score (the film's only nomination) is by Jerry Fielding.  With David Warner, Ken Hutchison, Peter Vaughan, Sally Thomsett and T.P. McKenna.

Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)

A wealthy spoiled invalid (Barbara Stanwyck) overhears a murder plot over the telephone when the wires get crossed. All alone in her mansion, she attempts to contact the police as well as her husband (Burt Lancaster) who should have been home hours ago but no one takes her seriously. Based on a 1943 radio play by Lucille Fletcher, the radio play was a half hour long and had a tour de force performance by Agnes Moorehead as the invalid in what was essentially a one woman show (it's available for listening on youtube). Well, a movie can't be a half hour long so the screenplay (also written by Fletcher) has been has been expanded to a feature length 90 minutes. Unfortunately, what this does is pad out the screenplay with lots of backstory flashbacks which dilute the suspense that was carefully built up in the radio play. The director Anatole Litvak and Stanwyck do manage to whip up the necessary tension in her present day scenes but every time they cut away to a flashback, the suspense dissipates. With Wendell Corey, Ed Begley, William Conrad and Ann Richards.

Sins Of Jezebel (1953)

In 9th century B.C. Israel, its King (Eduard Franz) is marrying the Phonecian Princess Jezebel (Paulette Goddard) against the advice of his prophet Elijah (John Hoyt). The evil Jezebel takes a lover (George Nader), the captain of the King's guards, upon her arrival and soon plots to install her pagan gods in Israel. Part of the pleasures of watching the biblical or Roman epics of the 1950s is the extravagance of the sets and costumes and exotic locations. Those that aren't legitimately good films (BEN-HUR, SPARTACUS) can often be kitschy fun (SAMSON AND DELILAH). Alas, this low budget "epic" plays like a Sunday school pageant. Garbed in cheap looking threads, we're begrudged the minor pleasure of even Goddard in glamorous costumes. Ghastly and not even ludicrous enough to be "camp". The film makers even deny us the spectacular Biblical death of Jezebel who according to scripture was gobbled up by wild dogs (instead she's run over by a chariot)! Directed by Reginald Le Borg, it was filmed in a TV station on Sunset Boulevard with the exteriors shot in Simi Valley, California. With Margia Dean and John Shelton.

Of Human Bondage (1934)

A medical student (Leslie Howard) becomes infatuated with a tawdry manipulative guttersnipe (Bette Davis). But as cruel as she is to him, he can't help but take her back each time she comes into his life. The actress Gena Rowlands once recalled in an interview, when as a young girl, how astonished she was the first time she saw Davis's performance. That she'd never seen anything so raw and visceral before. One can only imagine the impact of Davis's performance on 1934 audiences used to the ladylike acting of Norma Shearer, Janet Gaynor and Kay Francis. Davis let it all hang out, exposing the very rot of her mean spirited viper. After all the mediocre parts Warners was giving her, it took this loan out to RKO to show them what they were doing wrong though it would take a few more years before Warners wised up. Based on the 1915 W. Somerset Maugham novel (which was filmed again in 1946 and 1964), it also contains one of Howard's better film performances. There are still those who question why he keeps taking her back after her continuous mistreatment but haven't we all seen those inequitable relationships in real life? The film indicates his embarrassment over his club foot and self doubt leave him with a sense of inferiority that perhaps he feels he's not good enough for anyone else. Neatly directed by John Cromwell. With pretty Frances Dee, Kay Johnson and Reginald Denny.

Jackie Brown (1997)

A flight attendant (Pam Grier) is detained by two government ATF agents (Michael Keaton, Michael Bowen) who discover cocaine in her carry on bag which she swears she did not know about. But the ATF agents actually have bigger fish to fry ..... namely the gun runner (Samuel L. Jackson) for whom she delivers money from Mexico to L.A. Based on RUM PUNCH by Elmore Leonard, the third film from Quentin Tarantino is possibly his best. While the film has all the familiar Tarantino touches, at heart it's a valentine to Pam Grier. The Queen of blaxploitation films in the 1970s, it's the role of a lifetime for Grier who takes the opportunity and runs with it. The part allows her to go from hard to vulnerable to resourceful to frightened, in other words, the gamut and she does it easily without going all actress-y on us. But she's not the whole show. In addition to Jackson, she gets excellent support from Robert De Niro, Bridget Fonda and a beautiful performance by Robert Forster that earned him an Oscar nomination. The film is clever yet never falls into the trap of thinking it's more clever than it is. One of the best opening title credit shots (a homage to THE GRADUATE) I've seen. As with any Tarantino film, it has an irresistible soundtrack.

Kyuketsu Dokuro-Sen (aka The Living Skeleton) (1968)

A gang of contemporary pirates hijack a ship, kill all the crew and passengers and steal the ship's gold cargo. Three years later, the identical twin sister (Kikko Matsuoka) of one of the murdered passengers sets a plot for revenge in motion. Directed by Hiroshi Matsuno, this supernatural ghost story has a near ingenious plot but it's so poorly constructed and executed that it comes off as a slightly cheesy potboiler. Parts of the film look gorgeous thanks to Masayuki Kato's crisp and atmospheric lensing but some of the effects are embarrassing. I can give the miniature ship in a bathtub a pass but those cheap paper flying bats? Really? There is one clever "twist" near the end that's a shocker even though I guessed it just minutes before it was revealed. But this film really could use a remake by some talented people. In the right hands, this could be a corker of a ghost thriller. With Masumi Okada and Yasunori Irikawa.

The Andromeda Strain (1971)

When a satellite crashes in a small New Mexico town, it kills all the inhabitants except two: a baby and an old man (George Mitchell). It seems the satellite picked up some sort of space virus and that virus is responsible for the deaths. How did these two survive? A crackerjack team of scientists (Arthur Hill, David Wayne, Kate Reid, James Olson) in a sterilized underground laboratory race against time in an attempt to analyze the virus so it can be destroyed before it spreads. Based on the best seller by Michael Crichton (JURASSIC PARK), director Robert Wise returns to the science fiction genre where he made one of his best films, DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. While ANDROMEDA STRAIN doesn't attain the iconic status of that film, it's still a thrilling well made piece of sci-fi. Wise goes for a sort of documentary approach to the film's subject matter so it takes awhile in getting set up as the meticulous exposition plays out. He also wisely cast relatively unfamiliar (mostly) theater actors for the central roles rather than big name movie stars thus furthering the realism of the film. While some may find it slow going, I applaud Wise for not turning it into action piece (until the very end anyway). With Paula Kelly, Ken Swofford and Ramon Bieri.

Murder At The Gallop (1963)

When Miss Marple (Margaret Rutherford) discovers the body of an elderly curmudgeon (Finlay Currie) in his home, she suspects foul play but the local police inspector (Charles Tingwell) will have none of it. The coroner's report states he died of a heart attack. Naturally, she decides to do some sleuthing on her own. For fans of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple books, the robust Rutherford is nothing like the genteel birdlike spinster of the novels. Of all the many actresses who have played her, perhaps Joan Hickson came closest to the books' Marple in the English TV versions of the 1980s. Indeed, MURDER AT THE GALLOP isn't even based on a Miss Marple book, it's adapted from Christie's AFTER THE FUNERAL in which the sleuth is her other great creation, Hercule Poirot! The film also has Miss Marple on horseback and dancing the Twist, something Miss Marple would never do. Okay, enough of the bitching. As for the film, it plays like a good episode of MURDER SHE WROTE but as usual, Margaret Rutherford is irresistible (even Christie thought so, she dedicated her book THE MIRROR CRACK'D to her) and while she may not be the book's Miss Marple, to many cinema goers of a certain age, she is Miss Marple. Directed by George Pollock. With Robert Morley, Flora Robson, James Villiers, Katya Douglas and Stringer Davis (Rutherford's real life husband). 

Pane, Amore E Fantasia (aka Bread, Love And Dreams) (1953)

In a small Italian village up in the mountains, a marshal (Vittorio De Sica) becomes infatuated with the prettiest girl (Gina Lollobrigida) in town but she has her heart set on the marshal's subordinate (Roberto Risso). This comedy was extremely admired in its day and spawned two sequels. Luigi Comencini won the best director award at the Berlin film festival and the film's screenplay by Ettore Maria Margadonna was nominated for an Oscar. Seen today, it's an innocuous enough romantic comedy but the bubbles have evaporated. After awhile, it becomes rather tedious as De Sica leches after Lollobrigida while she dodges him at every turn. Although De Sica is top billed, the film belongs to Lollobrigida who is more earthy and natural here than her later glamorous film image. With Marisa Merlini, Virgilio Riento, Tina Pica and Maria Pia Casilio (UMBERTO D).