Reviews by JR1220

Great music and solid performances throughout. Was especially taken in by the visuals from late 1950s San Francisco. Sinatra is cocksure, but the audience also sees that's he's flying by the seat of his pants, and there is a certain charm there, too. Kim Novak is wonderful as the up and coming performer and Rita Hayworth is a force to be reckoned with. All in all, a nice time capsule of that era

Great music and solid performances throughout. Was especially taken in by the visuals from late 1950s San Francisco. Sinatra is cocksure, but the audience also sees that's he's flying by the seat of his pants, and there is a certain charm there, too. Kim Novak is wonderful as the up and coming performer and Rita Hayworth is a force to be reckoned with. All in all, a nice time capsule of that era

(6 and a half stars)
Like many towns in the Old West, Warlock has a little problem with gun violence, so the townspeople bring in Marshal Clay Blaisedell (by the stalwart Henry Fonda) to end the rampage of the McQuown gang.
At the Marshal's side is Tom Morgan, played by the effortlessly cool Anthony Quinn, and it's implied that the two men have a storied history.
When Johnny Gannon, played by Richard Widmark, breaks away from the McQuown gang, the town is at a crossroads. Will they let the law work out their challenges, or have the Marshal clean things up using his "very particular set of skills."
Ultimately, this is an entertaining classic Western with all the trimmings. Terrorized townspeople, a complicated hero, the question of vigilante justice vs. laying down the law. There are shootouts, the holdup of a stagecoach, and people with complex pasts drifting back into the lives of others to throw a branding iron into the wagon wheel (or some such analogy). This is a deep bench of performers, and while some of the characters are somewhat one-dimensional, it seems to fit the tone of a western of that era. Fans of the early Star Trek will enjoy catching a glimpse of "Doc" as one of the bad guys. All in all, this was an ok western, but I wouldn't put it in the pantheon of great westerns.

"A penny for your thoughts?"
The opening set piece was worth the admission price alone.
Little secret? I've never watched a Final Destination movie before. From clips and trailers, I kind of get the concept, but being immersed in the chaos was another thing altogether.
Death, it seems, and doesn't appreciate anybody messing with his plans. That's what we learn from one person who had a premonition of a disaster and has done everything she could to keep death from coming for her. But when her granddaughter is tormented with horrible nightmares, she starts digging into family lore to try to make her visions go away.
Then the mayhem begins as Stefi (played by Kaitlyn Santa Juana) meets with her grandma Iris to get some answers. The answer she gets is not great. Basically, Iris has been in an adversarial relationship with death and has been a recluse for decades, which has upended the lives of her entire family. Following their brief meeting, death embarks on a spree in order to clear the balance sheets.
Yes, Final Destination is a horror movie and not for the faint of heart. For fans of gore, this will be incredibly entertaining. I went into this one nearly completely in the dark, which was amazing, and was genuinely surprised by the tension, misdirects, and jump scares. It seems like the creative team was having a blood spattered field day with this installment. The music and visuals are incredible and the performers knew full well the movie they were in. This is worth seeing on the big screen if possible, but would make for a great movie night, too.

Taking a big swing is an understatement. How does one poke their finger in the eye of Nazis in 1942 and finding that line between satire and deadly seriousness? Director Ernst Lubitsch, born in Berlin in 1892 does just that. We are placed in Poland and follow Jack Benny and Carole Lombard, a husband and wife team of actors in a local theater in Warsaw, and by all accounts, have a certain amount of celebrity in the area.
As it happens, humans have foibles, and Maria Tura (Lombard) takes interest in a young pilot named Lieutenant Stanislav Sobinski (a young Robert Stack) who has an obvious crush and attends all of her performances. Thus, he sneaks back to her dressing room when Joseph Tura (Jack Benny) is performing the famous "To be or not to be" speech. Hence, the title, which the studio thought would be too "high brow" for audiences of the early 1940's and recommended a change. Ah, the suits. Always thinking they know best.
Then the Nazis storm in, and the lives of the populace are turned upside down. The young pilot goes off to England to be part of the war and the impact of the Nazis becomes paramount.
While in England with some other Polish flyers, Lt. Stanislav has an interaction with a Professor Siletsky, who is a Nazi spy and collecting intelligence on the resistance. He learns this as a result of Siletsky knowing nothing of Maria Tura. Then it's a race against the clock as Lt. Sobinski rushes back to stop the Professor before he can get that information into the hands of the Gestapo.
From there, we are off to races and our merry company of actors take on the Nazis with their steely nerves and acting talents.
Lombard is outstanding in this, and fought hard for the role. Her husband, Clark Gable, even recommended against it. And Jack Benny, while not known primarily as a film actor, is at the top of his game here. Lubitsch sought him out for this role, knowing he would have just the right balance to tie things together.

Waaaay back in July of 1989, many of us watched the video for Cold Hearted Snake featuring the dancing and vocal talents of Paula Abdul, which was an homage to a famous set piece in All That Jazz. At the time, not having watched this movie, I thought Paula was pushing the boundaries with her routine, but Fosse's (or Roy Scheider playing Fosse) version is 10 times steamier.

I've had a chance to watch Paul Newman in many films over the years - from Butch Cassidy to the wise, but prickly Doc Hudson from Pixar's Cars. However, Hud Bannon is like none of the characters I've seen Newman play. He's rough and tumble, cocksure, and a predator to boot. He's no hero. Still, he's a compelling character, as is his father, Homer (played by Melvyn Douglas), and his nephew, Lonnie (played by Brandon De Wilde). The three men have a tempestuous relationship due in part to traumatic events both past and present. And then there is the glue of the family, their housekeeper Alma, played by Patricia Neal, who gives an Academy Award-winning performance. Overall, Hud is a beautiful film to experience, with stunning views of the Lone Star State in crisp black and white. Of course, the backdrop of the vistas provides context for some desperate situations with the family and shows how fragile life can be in that environment. To be sure, Hud is difficult to watch in some spots, but the performances are top-notch, and while Newman's character is problematic, he is unflinching in the titular role.

I'm sorry, what? An extra 3/4 star for the amazing Karen Allen and some of the wiiiiiiild set design. Choices were made. Like, the computer that is attached to Gus's (Karen Allen) truck has a mouth and is talking like a funky dj from the 1970s.
Mostly, it's a fever dream. If you enjoy fever dreams, by all means, please give this a look.

Another gem of a movie from one of the best years for movies of all time - 1985's Pee-wee's Big Adventure. I had seen Pee-wee's antics in a few things here and there, so I knew of his character, but this was prior to Pee Wee's Playhouse, so I was going in fairly cold.
From the opening moments, it was made perfectly clear that this was one of those "it's going to be really difficult to categorize" kind of movies and I was totally into it.
Layer upon layer of antics, zany characters, and that Danny Elfman music to keep us guessing from beginning to end.
And yes, the Tequila dance made me a bit of a legend in the family when I performed at my Aunt and Uncle's wedding about a month later and showed my potential as a showman. Or something.

A joy from start to finish. While Jimmy Stewart is pitch perfect in this role, he’s surrounded by a cast of characters that blew me away. I suppose this is one of the joys of discovering movies from the Golden Age, it broadens the horizons. I especially enjoyed the performance of Dick Wessel (Mr Cracker, the bar owner). He welcomes Elwood and Harvey into Charlie’s Bar with open arms. I would certainly watch this again.