Citizen Rules...Cinemaesque Chat-n-Review

Noir Time

07-11-17

Mystery in Mexico ( Robert Wise,1948)

Director: Robert Wise
Writers: Lawrence Kimble (screen play), Muriel Roy Bolton (story)
Cast: William Lundigan, Jacqueline White, Ricardo Cortez, Jacqueline Dalya
Genre: Crime Mystery
Length: 66minutes

After an expensive diamond necklace disappears, insurance detective Steve Hastings is sent to Mexico to investigate. The prime suspect is a fellow insurance agent who disappeared while in Mexico along with the necklace. On the flight down to Mexico, Steve meets Victoria who claims to be visiting her brother, the missing agent.

Early in his career Robert Wise directed this forgotten gem from RKO studios. RKO specialized in shorter, more affordable to make movies, this one comes in at only 66 minutes. When RKO upped their budget for this film, Wise decided to do something unique for the time, film on location in Mexico City.

From left to right: Jacqueline White, William Lundigan, Jacqueline Dayla and Ricardo Cortez.

What resulted is a very authentic little film with lots of personality thanks to the cast. Mystery in Mexico isn't really that much of a mystery, nor is it an action film, or a twisting and turning noir.

Like many of Robert Wise's best loved films this movie shows a lot of character charm and interaction. I cared more for the second string story of the romance than of the actual mystery itself.

The film moves along at a nice clip and one is treated to a gentile noir, light on noirness but full of charm.

I liked it so much I might watch it again!

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Citizen Rules

Noir Time

07-12-17

Hmm

, nobody familiar with those last few movies that I reviewed? OK, maybe this next one that I'm about to write will be of interest....I hope.

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

07-12-17

Christine(2016)

Director: Antonio Campos
Writer: Craig Shilowich
Cast: Rebecca Hall, Michael C. Hall, Tracy Letts
Genre: Biography, Drama

Christine (2016), the movie is a bio-pic about the real life reporter, Christine Chubbuck who worked in a newsroom in the early 1970s and fought to maintain integrity in news reporting, while her boss who's concerned with profits, wants her to do more 'blood and guts' reporting. But it's her very personal battle with depression that makes this movie so memorable.

Director Antonio Campos keeps the focus tightly on Christine, while limiting insight into the other characters. This works well as the other members of the news room appear to us as a mystery, indeed Christine too feels she can't connect to these people. By keeping their stories to a bare minimum the director puts us into the head of the troubled young news reporter and we feel as suspect about her co workers intentions, as she does.

Rebecca Hall does one helluva a job transforming herself into the intensely despondent, Christine. She says so much, just with a glance, she extrudes a turbulent uneasiness...it's all in her facial expressions and body language. It's a fine performance, Oscar worthy.

What also impressed me was the attention to detail in the 1974 circa sets. I mean every little background detail in the sets looks authentic 1974...including the way the film is processed, it has a washed out look that is very period piece looking. It's impressive work.

Christine Chubbuck life is the basis for the 1976 movie Network, fans of that movie need to see Christine (2016).

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Citizen Rules

Noir Time

07-12-17

Bird on a Wire (1990)

Director: John Badham
Cast: Mel Gibson, Goldie Hawn, David Carradine, Bill Duke
Genre: Action, Comedy

A rich lawyer (Goldie Hawn) runs into an old boyfriend who she thought was killed in a plane crash 15 years earlier. The boyfriend (Mel Gibson) has been in the FBI's relocation program, ever since he informed on a pair of vicious drug dealers (David Carradine & Bill Duke).

What can I say? It's Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn, together!... in a buddy action film, with lots of comic scenes included. It's big! It has a crazy plane ride and a helicopter doing loop-to-loops. It's got explosions, motorcycle chases. Mel even gets his legs bashed when they're hanging outside of Goldie's BMW convertible as she flies down the street and his leg meets with a big truck's windshield! Ouch! It was pretty funny, and that's why you watch this movie for early 90s fun!

They really knew how to have fun with movies back in the 80s and early 90s. This is a fun, fast paced, action flick, that is meant for entertainment and it is entertaining.

Mel Gibson is great in this and so is Goldie Hawn (in an annoying way). Well she annoys Mel's character too, so I'd say she did a good job here!

Don't miss the high speed motorcycle escape down Fan Pan Alley which is a real place located in 'China Town' Victoria, B.C. Canada...And I've been there too! The best part was the huge multi level zoo set complete with Tigers, Baboons and two suspension bridges. It has to be seen to be believed.

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Joel

Registered User

07-13-17

Always good to read your reviews of my favorite eras.

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

07-13-17

Above and Beyond (1952)

Directors: Melvin Frank, Norman Panama
Writers: Beirne Lay Jr (story), Melvin Frank
Cast: Robert Taylor, Eleanor Parker, James Whitmore
Genre: Biography, Drama

The story of Army Colonel Paul Tibbetts who overseen project Blue Light which was dedicated to the development and deployment of the worlds first atomic bomb, that was dropped on Hiroshima in World War II.

Wow, powerful stuff! Above and Beyond mixes Col Tibbetts (Robert Taylor) story with his personal life as told by his then wife Lucy (Eleanor Parker). She narrates the movie with a voice over, giving us background into how the overwhelming job of overseeing the development the B-29 conversion unit at Wendover Field, Utah, was accomplished.

Handled respectfully, the subject matter of creating and dropping the atom bomb on Japan was handled quite soberly and we never see 'hurray for our side' or 'let's give them hell'...in fact I was surprised to see how somber Paul Tibbetts and the rest of the flight crew were when they dropped the atomic bomb, it's a powerful moment.

Fairly factual, the movie is fairly factual and many of the events you see actually happened. In one early scene while Tibbetts is still flying B-27 bombers out of England, he and his flight squadron are ordered to fly very low over Germany which results in several of the bombers being lost.

Tibbetts then stands up to the General and tells the General if he wants the planes to fly at the dangerous low level of 6000 feet then the General will have to ride with him! Well, that didn't go over well and later the same General refused to sign his promotion. I would have thought that was Hollywood make believe, but nope, it really happened.

Robert Taylor and Elanor Parker, Robert Taylor started out as a handsome leading man in the 1930's, here an older and perhaps more world weary Taylor turns in one heck of a performance. So to does one of my favorite actresses of the 1950s, Elanor Parker. She adds a human touch that shows us the hardships the wives and families had to endure during this time, when everything was kept a secret, not even the wife of Paul Tibbetts knew about the secret bomb.

Actual B-29s, one of the stars of the movie are the planes! As this was made in 1952 there were still plenty of B-29s and we see them flying and it's quite a site to see Enola Gay airborne along with the two accomplaying camera planes, Necessary Evil and The Great Artiste...it's even more foreboding to see the city of Hiroshima gone in an instant.

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Beatle

BANNED

07-14-17

Originally Posted by Citizen Rules

Rollerball (1975)

Director: Norman Jewison
Writer: William Harrison (screenplay)
Cast: James Caan, John Houseman, Maud Adams
Length: 125 minutes

Synopsis: In the future governments have been replaced by omni-powerful corporations. War and poverty have been eliminated and so has personal freedom. Humans have every luxury they desire but their lives are controlled by the corporations. One man, Jonathan E, a star rollerball athlete refuses to accept the status qua when he's told the corporation wants him to retire from the game.

Rollerball sounds pretty interesting, but it's not. It's merely a dressed up exploitation film with a cool premise...sadly it has no guts and nothing to say.

Besides some futuristic looking buildings, shot in Germany, the film mainly revolves around the circular rollerball track. It's like a glorified version of the old TV roller derby with some mumbo jumbo jargon about evil corporations thrown in to try and make the film seem legit.

Rollerball borrows heavily from classic sci-fi. The classical music score and the uncooperative, talking super computer is very reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey. And the plot idea that women are assigned to houses like furniture, comes straight out of Soylent Green. There's little that's original about Rollerball and even less of a story or character development. We never learn what motivates Johnathan E. We never dive into the underpinning of this futuristic society.

James Caan mumbles his way through the film. His character barely seems to any emotions, and not much of a brain either. Maybe he's been bopped in the head one too many times!...Or more to the point the movie lacks anything reminiscent of a good script, so Caan has nothing to say.

Rollerball is a product, like cotton candy on a hot summers eve...it leaves one with an empty feeling.

Hi Rules.

Returning the favour.

I haven't seen this in ages and I was also probably too young to get it, even if it's rubbish. The one thing I remember is the final confrontation scene when Caan confronts the computer, or what was it? I do like him, though.

I guess this reply of mine comforts to the film - there's little that's original about it.

Gideon58

Registered User

07-14-17

Originally Posted by Citizen Rules

Bird on a Wire (1990)

Director: John Badham
Cast: Mel Gibson, Goldie Hawn, David Carradine, Bill Duke
Genre: Action, Comedy

Hated this movie with a passion...Mel and Goldie made my worst onscreen chemistry list. I'm glad you liked it, but I found it silly and exhausting and didn't laugh once. Maybe I'll give it a rewatch since you seemed to like it.

cricket

Msg

Registered User

07-14-17

Glad you enjoyed Passengers, a big surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I saw Jaws 3D at the movies. I only remember I didn't like it.

Finally saw Ordinary People recently, a terrific film, but not as powerful as I had hoped.

Stirchley

Registered User

07-14-17

Originally Posted by cricket

Finally saw Ordinary People recently, a terrific film, but not as powerful as I had hoped.

I have never gotten the hype with this movie & have never been able to finish it.

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Citizen Rules

Noir Time

07-15-17

Originally Posted by Gideon58

Well, I didn't like it that much

I don't plan on ever rewatching it. But it was a fun popcorn movie.

Originally Posted by cricket

I'm surprised you liked Passengers, but cool

Jaws 3D is like Bird on the Wire, a fun but silly popcorn movie. I just watched Jaws 4 The Revenge, it had some things going for it, and some against.

Originally Posted by Stirchley

I have never gotten the hype with this movie & have never been able to finish it.

MTM as a ice queen, what more does one need in a movie

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

07-15-17

The Beginning or the End (1947)

Director: Norman Taurog
Writers: Robert Considine (story), Frank Wead
Cast: Brian Donlevy, Robert Walker, Tom Drake,
Genre: Docu-drama

About: A fictionalized documentary-drama that covers the early research, development and finally the dropping of the the world's first atomic bomb.

Review: This is one strange movie! It was conceived by a very unlikely person, Donna Reed. Miss Reed along with her high school teacher who later worked at Oak Ridge on the development of the atomic bomb came up with the idea for a documentary style film using actors to demonstrate the development of the atomic bomb during the Manhattan Project...and much more importantly to show the audience the dangers of atomic weapons. The film's title says it all!

We see President Roosevelt aptly played by Godfrey Tearle, deciding on the dangers vs the benefits of dropping the bomb on Imperial Japan who had refused to surrender. We see Hume Croyn introducing the film to the audience as Dr. Oppenheimer. Later we see President Truman also agonizing over the hard decision to drop the bomb or invade Japan with ground troops.

I was shocked that a film made 2 years after the war would take such a pessimistic view of atomic power and weapons while suggesting that the harnessing of the atom could be the end of mankind! For me this was a revelation as I never would have guessed there was so much opposition to the development of atomic weapons so early in the U.S. history.

Along with all the background on the Manhattan Project we get a personal story that involves two men and their wive/girlfriend and the sacrifices they have to go through.

Audrey Totter and Beverly Tyler bring some beauty to this most serious film.

I doubt many people will watch this film today, but if you're interested in history or at lest interested in how people viewed atomic weapons after the WWII, this then would be a worthy film to watch.

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Captain Steel

Msg

"Lois, I never lie."

07-16-17

Originally Posted by Citizen Rules

Passengers (2016)
Director: Morten Tyldum
Writer: Jon Spaihts
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen
Genre: Sci Fi, Adventure, Drama, Romance

A huge automated spacecraft carrying 5000 colonist to a distant planet has a malfunction and as a result one of those 5000 colonist in hibernation is awakened prematurely.

The man (Chris Pratt) finds he's completely alone on the ship with everyone else still in hibernation. Even worse the ship won't reach it's destination for 90 years...and there's no way for him to go back into hibernation.

I really, liked this! I expected the worse, I thought this would be some silly non-stop action movie like the current crop of Star Trek films. Instead I found a more introspective film that explores what it would mean to be alone for one's entire lifetime on a ship with 5000 people all in hibernation.

More so, it explores what would someone do when they fall in love with a complete stranger (Jennifer Lawrence) and become fixated on her after reading her journals. Bringing the lonely man to a decision, does he awaken the woman so that he wouldn't be alone anymore? But In doing so he's condemning her to spend her days on a empty space craft, alone with him.

I must say both Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence were very good here. Yeah I know, JL has done a bunch of those teen movies, but she's a good actress given a good script to work with and Passengers gives her a very intelligent, thought provoking script.

Passengers is not a techno-babble sci fi, in fact it's hardly sci fi in the classic sense. It focuses on the human longing for connection and explores what some might call 'stalking' when a man goes to the extreme to meet a woman he believes he loves, but has never meet.

In some ways this reminds of a cross between Castaway and Titanic in it's exploration of the human soul. Though the film is different enough to stand on it's own feet.

One intelligent twist is, there's someone for the man to talk to, an android bartender played by Michael Sheen. This plot device allows the man to talk about how it feels to be so alone and to want something so bad, (the woman in hibernation) that he considers doing what he knows is wrong. We can see his frustration and obsession growing as he interacts with the amicable, but mostly unaware android bartender. We feel he's wrong, but we can understand it too.

The ship looks cool both the exterior and more importantly the interior. It's vast, and impressive, the CG looked good as the ship looked real and not all CG. I don't want to give away the plot but I will say this is one of the best sci fis I've seen in years, and that includes Interstellar.

Watched this tonight.
Didn't plan to watch the whole thing since I started late, but I couldn't turn it off and stayed up till 4:00 am to see the end. A refreshing sci-fi.

And I liked your suggestion that it is a combination of Castaway and Titanic.

I liked this because it was a "realistic" sci-fi (no aliens or galactic empires, it contained scenarios based on real theories).

This is the movie where I said they stole the plot from my story - and though there were some remarkable similarities, my story lacked the one plot point that gave Passengers the most tension (awakening Aurora) and my story went in a completely different direction toward the third act. Wonder if she was named Aurora because that was Sleeping Beauty's name? And Jennifer Lawrence was certainly a sleeping beauty - in fact, this was the first movie I've seen her in where I really liked her and her character (but I haven't seen a lot of her movies).

This is an esoteric sci-fi that focuses on ethics, loneliness and relationships, while still delivering some dazzling and beautiful special effects.

I thought the reason that it came to cable so quickly was that it might have been of poor quality - but a pleasant phenomenon with sci-fi movies is that when they lack all the qualities that makes them appeal to the most general of audiences, they end up not being very popular and thus going to cable quickly. Which is a treat for those of us who enjoy more meaningful sci-fi with less laser gun battles. In this sense it reminds me of Moon (2009) although it has little else in common outside a theme about loneliness.

Now just don't tell @gbgoodies that Laurence Fishburne shows up for a little while because then she might not watch it, which would be too bad because I think this is a movie she would enjoy.

Last edited by Captain Steel; 07-16-17 at 01:41 PM.

gbgoodies

You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.

07-17-17

Originally Posted by Captain Steel

Now just don't tell @gbgoodies that Laurence Fishburne shows up for a little while because then she might not watch it, which would be too bad because I think this is a movie she would enjoy.

Passengers sounds like my type of movie, and I added it to my watchlist recently after I read a few good reviews of it, but I probably won't get to it until after I finish my list for the 1940's countdown.

I don't like Laurence Fishburne, but I don't usually avoid movies just because he's in them.

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Citizen Rules

Noir Time

07-17-17

Passengers (2016)

Originally Posted by Captain Steel

....I liked this because it was a "realistic" sci-fi (no aliens or galactic empires, it contained scenarios based on real theories).

....Jennifer Lawrence was certainly a sleeping beauty - in fact, this was the first movie I've seen her in where I really liked her and her character (but I haven't seen a lot of her movies).

This is an esoteric sci-fi that focuses on ethics, loneliness and relationships, while still delivering some dazzling and beautiful special effects.

...it reminds me of Moon (2009) although it has little else in common outside a theme about loneliness...

Glad to hear there's another fan of Passengers

I knew about the movie for awhile but seen Jennifer Lawrence was in it and thought it would be another silly CG action movie aimed at tweens. No way was I going to watch it, but then I saw the trailer and it looked intriguing.

I never liked Jennifer Lawrence, not her personally of course, but her movies. She had been in a lot of lame movies. So I really went into this film thinking I'd hate it. It won me over with a haunting question, what would you do if you were stuck for life on a ship all by yourself, but discovered you could wake up a girl you had fallen for, would you do it? Geez...I thought about that but I just don't know what I would do if I was in his shoes?

This is an esoteric sci-fi that focuses on ethics, loneliness and relationships, while still delivering some dazzling and beautiful special effects.

That's a good tag line! Apt too.

Originally Posted by gbgoodies

Fishburne is playing agaisnt character type so you might be OK with him, plus he's only in it for a very short while. Let me know what your thoughts on Passengers are.

gbgoodies

You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.

07-18-17

Originally Posted by Citizen Rules

Fishburne is playing against character type so you might be OK with him, plus he's only in it for a very short while. Let me know what your thoughts on Passengers are.

I'll let you know. It sounds like my type of movie, so it's pretty high on my watchlist. Hopefully I'll find time to watch it after I finish watching some more 1940's movies, but my DVR is pretty full right now, and I have to clear some movies off of there first.

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

07-18-17

Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
Director: Joseph Sargent
Writers: Peter Benchley(characters), Michael De Guzman (screen play)
Cast: Lorraine Gary, Michael Caine, Lance Guest, Mario Van Peebles
Genre: Adventure, Horror, Thriller

Ellen Brody (Lorraine Gary) the wife of Chief Brody has become a widow. After her youngest son is eaten by a Great White shark she starts to fear for the life of her oldest son Mike Brody (Lance Guest) who's now working in the Bahamas doing underwater research with a partner Jake (Mario Van Peebles). She desperately tries to convince her son that the Great White is seeking revenge on her family and wants him to stop scuba diving. He won't...but he does take her to his home in the Bahamas.

There she meets a roguish, good looking man, Michael Caine and starts a relationship. Just when things are looking better, Mike and Jake spot a huge Great White and decided to tag it for a scientific study. But the shark has other ideas!

Not as bad as you think!, This 4th and last sequel to the classic Steven Spielberg movie is much better than it's given credit for. The cinematography is beautiful and skillfully handled. In many ways the camera work is superior to the original Jaws.

I loved the opening scene that is shot solely from the sharks perspective...we see through the eyes of the shark as it approaches the Amity island beach at twilight. The camera varies from underwater to just above the water's surface. It's haunting!

The opening shark attack is especially brutal with it's emotional impact and ferocity. The entire film has a quality about it's production that the previous sequels lacked.

What blew me away was the performance by Lorraine Gary. She was in the original Jaws and in Jaws 2, and in both those movies she never really stood out..here she gets a chance to shine. She's a very likable actress and that's something I didn't notice about her before.

She was one of my favorite characters in the movie. The other favorite was Michael Caine who's quite personable as the roguish and mysterious pilot. There relationship made the film more than just a quick bite to eat.

I wish I could say, I liked the actors who played her son Mike and his partner Jake, but they were both boring, with a capital B. Mario Van Peebles bad Caribbean accent was more annoying than a sun burn in winter. And Lance Guest who plays the son Mike, was lack luster.

This was filmed on location in the Bahamas and at Martha's Vineyard and that alone made the film look authentic. Like I said this is a much better Jaws sequel than people give it credit for. I liked it.

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Last edited by Citizen Rules; 11-18-17 at 11:42 PM.

gbgoodies

You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.

07-19-17

Originally Posted by Citizen Rules

I'm surprised that you gave this movie such a high rating. Just the concept that the shark is out for revenge and followed her to The Bahamas was ridiculous.

I usually like Michael Caine, but IMO this was one of his worst movies.

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

07-19-17

Originally Posted by gbgoodies

Well after giving Jaws 3D a

I had no where to go with my rating but up

Citizen Rules