Review – The Maltese Falcon

Though academics could probably find some way to argue the point, I think most folks with an opinion on the subject regard this as the ultimate example of film noir. So if you see only one hard-boiled detective movie from the 1930’s, make it this one. Humphrey Bogart does a flawless job as the bitter, tough-talking protagonist, Sam Spade. The movie features a lot of the genre’s less desirable characteristics (especially extreme sexism). But if you can get past all that, this is a wonderful movie, as well-made and entertaining as it is seminal in film history. Worth seeing

Review – Sunset Boulevard

Usually I don’t care much one way or another about cameo-studded movies about the decadence of “Hollywood Babylon.” But this classic is so full of odd little touches and intriguing plot twists that it’s possible to forgive the heavy-handed sanctimony and the sometimes-stultifying dialogue. I was especially fond of the scene toward the beginning in which our hero, fleeing from a pair of repo men, happens across aging Hollywood has-been Norma Desmond and her butler conducting a funeral for a dead chimpanzee. Though much of the movie has become a bit cliché, it’s still well worth a look. Worth seeing

Review – Ancient Evil: Scream of the Mummy

At no point in this entire movie does the antagonist make the slightest noise, let alone scream. Sadly, that’s nowhere near this picture’s greatest defect. That honor is evenly shared between the amateur acting, dreadful script, and intensely uneven pace. I’ll let horror movies get away with a lot, and leeway typically extends even further when a mummy is involved (even when it’s an Aztec mummy like this one rather than the more traditional, Egyptian variety). But even my lax standards don’t accommodate dull movies, and this one goes so long between interesting moments that even “dull” doesn’t do it justice. Just about the only novel or noteworthy element here is that the teenage guys spend more time stripped down to their underwear than do their female counterparts. So if that floats your boat, you might want to check it out. Otherwise ... Wish I’d skipped it

Review – Magnolia

How sad it is when good filmmakers take a successful film as a cue to make their next picture as self-indulgent as possible. This movie is a prime example. Many of the folks who worked on this effort also worked on Boogie Nights. But the two movies are little alike. Gone are the senses of time, place and humor that were such a big part of the previous success. In their place, well, to be honest there just isn’t much here. The characters and their stories (all loosely connected by an uninteresting lattice of coincidence) pack all the emotional depth of the “gloom, despair and agony on me” routine from Hee Haw, and the script is executed with the aplomb of the old, drugged-out Elvis stumbling through the lyrics to “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” I kept hoping that once I made it through the nerve-grating opening sequence of jump cuts set to the tune of Til Tuesday refugee Aimee Mann crooning “One Is the Loneliest Number” that things would settle down and the movie would stop sucking. No such luck. The picture just kept stinking right up to the final joke. And as if the rest of the production wasn’t enough of a plague, the last gag served as ample support of the David St. Hubbins adage about the fine line between clever and stupid. Wish I’d skipped it

Review – Rollerball

Strap yourself in and get ready for some heavy-handed allegory from the depths of the 1970s. In a dystopian future, corporations run the world, individuality is discouraged if not absolutely forbidden, and all society’s former violence is now concentrated into the cathartic experience of an bloody football/basketball/roller derby combination called Rollerball. Star athlete Jonathan E (James Caan) has become a little too popular for his own good, to the point where he’s in danger of engendering a cult of personality that might re-introduce individualism to an otherwise-happy world. In order to encourage him to drop out of public view, the powers-that-be alter the rules of the sport to make it more and more likely that Jonathan (not to mention all his teammates) will be killed. The result is a gaggle of impressive action sequences punctuated by a lot of preachy posturing. Mildly amusing

Review – Amistad

Though I’m usually not fond of Steven Spielberg’s efforts to be a serious film-maker, this one’s not too bad. Sure, it’s shamelessly manipulative, freely bending several historical truths for the sake of a more clear-cut drama. And it would be easy to dismiss it as yet another Hollywood version of slavery and other race issues portrayed as a conflict between good white people and bad white people. On the other hand, it does feature some strong African characters. And it’s particularly notable as one of the frankest and most brutally honest portrayals of the trans-Atlantic slave trade ever put on film; those who always thought Melville’s “Benito Cereno” might have benefited from a fresh perspective should enjoy this take on slave ship mutinies. Though ultimately it plays a lot like an Americanized version of The Mission with a happy ending, it’s not bad for a sentimental, feel-good version of history. Worth seeing

Review – Day of the Dead

This odd little apocalypse concludes George Romero’s Dead trilogy. Though not quite as good as Dawn of the Dead, the final entry stands up well on its own. With society now completely destroyed by the zombie plague, a few survivors try to hang on in an abandoned missile silo and storage caves. The small group is divided into factions, with scientists trying to unlock the mystery of the plague as they struggle for cooperation from an increasingly hostile military support staff. The result is one of those films that can be watched as light-hearted social allegory or just a plain, old fashioned blood bath horror movie. Worth seeing