Jump Cuts: More of My Letterboxd Reviews. Take Two
A new batch of reviews from my Letterboxd account.
These films were found on Tubi, Amazon Prime, Netflix, the Criterion Channel, and my personal collection. The only editing I’ve done is to correct some bad/awkward grammar. Letterboxd uses a 5-star rating system, which I will be including.
The Quiet Earth (1985) Starring Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge, Anzac Wallace, Pete Smith, Tom Hyde, Norman Fletcher. Directed by Geoff Murphy.
****
Zac (Bruno Lawrence) wakes up one morning, only to find everyone is gone. Then things get complicated.
The Quiet Earth is an incredible take on the last man on earth scenario. Original, thought provoking and rarely predictable. As an added bonus, a gorgeous, haunting, final shot.
Roadgames (1981) Starring Stacy Keach, Jamie Lee Curtis, Marion Edward, Grant Page, Thaddeus Smith, Steve Millichamp. Directed by Richard Franklin.
***1/2
I think we can all agree that delivering meat across the country is an adventure. But I don’t think Stacy Keach and his pet dingo, Boswell, were expecting this kind of trip.
Quirky, thrilling, dark humor road movie keeps you guessing all the way. I went in knowing nothing about this movie. Totally unexpected and fun. Well worth your time. The only nitpick I have is the music was a bit much from time to time, but I got over it.
Stand Up Guys (2012) Starring Christopher Walken, Al Pacino, Alan Arkin, Julianna Margulies, Addison Timlin, Vanessa Ferlito, Mark Margolis. Directed by Fisher Stevens.
***
Doesn’t always hold up logically, however, just watching and listening to Christopher Walken and Al Pacino is entertaining enough. The story is okay, nothing special. The two stars brought the film to life, and I enjoyed it for that reason.
Society of the Snow (2023) Starring Enzo Vogrincic, Agustin Parella, Matias Recalt, Esteban Bigliardi, Diego Vegezzi, Fernando Contigiani, Esteban Kukuriczka. Directed by J.A. Bayona.
****1/2
Like a bad dream where you can barely move, every step is nearly impossible. Only this happened for real. Non-judgmental, unglamorized account of one of modern history’s most terrifying stories of survival. Unforgettable.
Midnite Spares (1983) Starring James Laurie, Gia Carides, Max Cullen, Bruce Spence, David Argue, Tony Barry, Graeme Blundell, John Clayton, Terry Camilleri. Directed by Quentin Masters.
***
Quirky little Australian movie about the dark side of car theft. A clean-cut race car driver falls in love with a clean-cut young woman who sells hot dogs, while surrounded by an odd assortment of misfits and weirdos. Insane car stunts close out the festivities. A real mixed bag of mood and tone. Quite unique.
The Locksmith (2023) Starring Ryan Phillippe, Kate Bosworth, Ving Rhames, Jeffery Nording, Gabriella Quezada, Madeleine Guibot, Charlie Weber, Kaylee Bryant. Directed by Nicolas Harvard.
**
Well-acted, but nothing new. Predictable with all the cliches and story beats in place.
Moral of the story: if you’re in jail and you are offered early release for good behavior, say no. You could be saving the life of a character played by Ving Rhames.
Little Odessa (1994) Starring Tim Roth, Edward Furlong, Moira Kelly, Vanessa Redgrave, Paul Guilfoyle, Natalya Andreychenk, Maximillian Schell, David Vadim. Directed by James Gray.
****
Powerhouse performances dominate this seemingly simple crime film. Brutally honest emotions, and an amazing scene between Tim Roth and Vanessa Redgrave left me stunned. One of the most interesting crime films I’ve seen in a while.
Stone (1974) Ken Shorter, Sandy Harbutt, Deryck Barnes, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Roger Ward, Vincent Gil, Dewey Hungerford, James Bowles, Bindi Williams. Directed by Sandy Harbutt.
***
Looking for a movie about a biker gang who knowingly let a cop join them to stop a murderer who’s killing members of the gang? Well, your ship has come in. Ozsploitation movie is violent and fun. A couple of the stunts are just insane. Enjoy.
The Cycle Savages (1969) Starring Bruce Dern, Melody Patterson, Chris Robinson, Maray Ayres, Karen Ciral, Mick Mehas, Jack Konzal, Walter Robles, Casey Kasem. Directed by Bill Brame.
*
A movie about the biker gang of petty grievances and human trafficking. The bikers beat up an artist, a guy fixing a little kid’s bike, and gang rape an innocent young woman. But the leader (Dern) really has it out for the artist, for drawing pictures of the gang that can be used by the fuzz to identify them(!), and obsessively so.
This is a very ugly movie. It reaches a point where you can’t even make fun of it anymore. However, Bruce Dern is at his evil best. Even after having a shower, he’s still dirty. Casey Kasem plays his brother, and trying to get your head around that is just too much effort.
The Cycle Savages succeeds at being sadistic, and even though Mr. Dern’s character bites the dust in the end, there is no feeling of satisfaction. Just an awful feeling of having to wash this movie off you as soon as possible.
The single star rating is for Mr. Dern’s performance, as a psychotic he rarely disappoints. It’s just too bad the rest of the movie is so vile. The biker gang really doesn’t do very much biking either.
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991) Starring Katsuhiko, Kosuke Toyohara, Anna Nakagawa, Megumi Odaka, Akiji Kobayashi, Tokuma Nishioka, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Kenji Sahara. Directed by Kazuki Omori.
***1/2
The first half is pretty goofy, in a good kind of way, but the second half, Godzilla really gets down to business. A bigger, stronger Godzilla, though dwarfed by modern high-rise buildings, battles King Ghidorah in one of the best monster fights in the series.
Like many Godzilla movies there’s a message, and this one is no different. However, the nuclear/pollution message is kind of lost in the goofiness and destruction. Safe to say, the clear message is: make yourself comfortable and have fun.
The Party’s Over (1965) Starring Oliver Reed, Clifford David, Katherine Woodville, Ann Lynn, Louise Sorel, Eddie Albert, Mike Pratt, Maurice Browning, Jonathan Burn. Directed by Guy Hamilton.
***1/2
What I thought was going to be a dated, cringy beatnik movie turned out to be a fascinating, mature, psychological thriller. Directed in a noir style, fresh off the triumph of Goldfinger, by director Guy Hamilton. The Party’s Over features multi-layered characters and some standout performances from the cast, including Oliver Reed as a disturbed, brooding young man full of contradictions and anger.
Music by John Barry. This film was a real surprise.
Wonderland (2003) Starring Val Kilmer, Dylan McDermott, Kate Bosworth, Josh Lucas, Lisa Kudrow, Eric Bogosian, Christina Applegate, Carrie Fisher, Tim Blake Nelson. Directed by James Cox.
**1/2
An interesting story of some true low life’s, with some excellent performances, marred by frantic cinematography and editing along with annoying graphics. Makes for confusing storytelling. I feel like the director didn’t have any faith in the story he was telling, thinking that an excessively shaking camera and machete-like editing would be more interesting. All that does is diminish some fine performances and makes a fascinating true-life crime story a confusing mess. Style over substance when the substance is already good enough to stand on its own.
Perhaps if Wonderland had been shot in the visual style of The French Connection, this might have been a far more realistic and coherent film.
Thank you for your attention.
