Thief's Monthly Movie Loot - 2025 Edition

Yup, the ol' "Born Sexy Yesterday" trope:

Point Blank follows Walker (Lee Marvin), a professional thief that is double-crossed and left for dead by his partner after a big hit. He then sets out to find him determined to get revenge and his money back. Based on the first of a series of crime novels, the film is one of several that served to push forward the neo-noir style/genre by featuring a no-nonsense, anti-hero lead with a simple goal and few scruples.

This is a film I've been hearing about for a while. Not sure why I hadn't moved on it before, considering I'm a big fan of Boorman's Deliverance, or how much I enjoy noir/neo-noir, and how much I've enjoyed what I've seen from Marvin up to this point. But anyway, now that I've seen it, I have to say it was definitely worth the wait. Point Blank is lean, mean, and to the point, but without sacrificing in style and atmosphere.

Marvin was perfect for the lead role. It made sense to realize that he was heavily involved in the production and development of the film and character. He truly embodied the essence of Parker, a man of few words that seems dead-set on getting what he considers is his. The rest of the cast, especially John Vernon as Walker's partner and Angie Dickinson as the love interest, were pretty good.

The whole craft of the film was mostly impeccable; Boorman's direction, Philip H. Lathrop's cinematography, and Henry Berman's editing, they all use time jumps, cuts, reflections, zooms, and wide shots to great effect as they highlight the character's entrapment and inner conflicts. But regardless of how trapped he is or how much he struggles with his morals, he keeps chasing those shadows, determined to get his money, and refusing to just lay down and die.

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Ahhh, 1999! The rise of personal computers, the Internet, and nu metal, paired with the inevitable dread that the combination of those three things could be the demise of humankind as we know it. That is part of the premise behind Y2K, an odd mish-mash of horror, romcom, and sci-fi that follows a group of teens trying to survive a technological apocalypse.

Back in the late 90s, the fear surged in the IT community that systems would malfunction at the end of 1999 due to a common practice among programmers to just use two digits for the year (i.e. 1998 = 98). But what would happen when the clock strikes midnight and the year 2000 comes up? Will computers interpret it as 2000 or 1900? Will that be enough to send systems around the world spiraling?

For better or worse, the film doesn't dwell that much on the logistics of it, but rather on the possibility that this might trigger a technological takeover. Y2K follows primarily Eli (Jaeden Martell), a shy high schooler that is trying to use a New Year's party as an excuse to get closer to Laura (Rachel Zegler), the most popular girl in school. However, things go awry when electronic devices start to go crazy at midnight, forcing them to flee while trying to figure out a way to survive.

I have to admit I was in the mood for something silly last night, and for the most part, this fit the bill. The film's main success is in developing likable characters that you can easily root for. For the first act, this is Eli and his best friend Danny (Julian Dennison), who easily steals the show (both in the party and the film). Then it easily shifts to Zegler, and most of the characters they pair up with. A lot of them are one-dimensional stereotypes, but for what the film is going for, it mostly works.

There is an overload of nods and winks to the era. There's nu metal, CD burning, dial-up Internet, video rental stores, Tamagotchi's, Chumbawamba; even Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst has a supporting appearance in the second half of the film as *checks notes* Fred Durst. So part of the enjoyment of the film might depend on your tolerance for this not-so-subtle references.

My main issue with the film is in its inability to find a proper tonal balance. Trying to juggle genres like horror, romcom, and sci-fi isn't easy and the film struggles with it for most of its run. I think the film faltered when it was trying to be overly serious and dramatic, and most successful when it embraced the silliness of its premise. Those were the moments that kept me from throwing my computer out of the window.

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From the MoFo Top 100 Neo-Noir Countdown...

Payback (1999) did NOT make that Neo-Noir list, nor will it make the '90s Redux. For my money it is still the best and definitely the most entertaining of the major Parker/Walker/Porter film adaptations, the other two in addition to Point Blank and The Outfit being the Blaxploitation precursor The Split (1968) and Jason Statham as Parker (2013).

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

I actually went back to the Neo-noir Countdown thread to read everyone's thoughts on the film, including that same post. Thanks for putting it here, though. I know I saw Payback back in the day, but barely remember it. I remember enjoying it, but it should be fun checking it out again.

Here's my summary for APRIL 2025:

Horror and thrillers: Cat People, Planet Terror, Scream VI, Trap, Y2K
Comedies: Real Genius, White Barber, City Lights
MCU films: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Action films: Diamonds Are Forever, G20, Point Blank
Other films: Heat Lightning, Forbidden Planet
Rewatches with the kids: Aladdin, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade




Had a lot of fun with this batch. My favorite first-time watches would be Point Blank and City Lights, but a bunch of others were pretty good.

The weakest first-time watch would be White Barber, but even that one's at 2.5 which is pretty good for a low budget short.

This review might include some SPOILERS

High Plains Drifter follows a stranger (Clint Eastwood) that is hired by the townsfolk of Lago to protect them from a trio of gunslingers, only to have him uncover deep-seated corruption within the same town. That is part of the reason why he is warned to be careful, that people might be afraid of him. But he knows more about who these people are than most (including the audience) and he knows that's why they are afraid.

I've been hearing good things about this Eastwood western for a while, so it was high on my watchlist. Most of what I heard about it was accurate as the film, Eastwood's second, is technically well made. The direction and cinematography are pretty good, and the story has a lot of effective dread and tension as we try to piece out the puzzle of what's going on, and why the Stranger is doing the things he do.

Unfortunately, some of the things he does include raping two women, something that I wouldn't have a problem with in terms of the story, if it was framed in the proper way. However, Eastwood decides to portray it as "something they had coming", that they "enjoyed anyway", and I had some real issues with that. Even if we take his character as being a ghost, the devil, or fate coming to exert revenge on the town for their past crimes, it just wasn't the right way to frame this.

Putting that aside, I enjoyed the film's slow descent into hell; something that is quite unsubtly portrayed, and how it threads the lines between action, thriller, and horror. There really isn't much difference in Eastwood's performance from, say, The Man with No Name (or most of his early westerns), but I'd say his rough, tough, no-nonsense persona suits this film better than others.

Ultimately, I'm torn in terms of how I feel about this film. Like I said, it's technically well made, the story has a lot of great elements to it, as far as how the town is forced to face the consequences of their actions. However, the way the film treats rape is inexcusable. I'm not against the character doing it, but rather how the direction and script wants to sell it to the audience. So if that's something you might have an issue with, approach with caution.

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