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The Hitcher (2007)

I must admit this fared better on a rewatch but that is purely for the reason I had a very very low expectation.. in that sense it was better.. Taken as a movie on its own right it’s not terrible but taken as a remake, it deserved way better and Michael Bays name should not have been near it!! Sean Bean does his best in the role and there was some things I think he got right in his manner and expressions that warmed me to his interpretation in the last half.. you have that feeling of someone drugged on evil, not at all indifferent to his crimes but profoundly touched by them and wanting to die.. strange, mysterious... but he’s no Rutger Hauer.




Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 1957)
8.5/10

Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) prepares to lead his men on the hopeless attack on the Anthill in the greatest anti-war film of all-time.
I think this is the highest rating I've seen you dish out, but I'm glad it goes to this film
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THE MUMMY'S HAND
(1940, Cabanne)



"Should Kharis obtain a large amount of the fluid, he would become an uncontrollable *monster*, a soulless demon with the desire to kill and kill."

Yes, if someone were to feed the mummy with a certain leave juice, he would kill and kill and kill. Fortunately, if that happens at 40+ minutes in a 67 minutes, the time to kill and kill and kill is not that much; which is a good thing for most of the characters, but a bad thing for a "horror" film about a killing mummy.

Following the success of several sequels to their Universal Monsters, the studio released The Mummy's Hand to capitalize on the first film. This one follows archaeologist Steve Banning (Dick Foran) and his partner Babe Jenson (Wallace Ford) as they set out to find the tomb of Princess Ananka. However, they stumble upon the mummy of Kharis, who was buried alive for trying to bring Ananka back to life.

Unfortunately, the film takes too long to get things going. The first half hour is devoted to Banning and Babe's shenanigans in Egypt, trying to get the expedition going. Once they get out, it takes around 10-15 minutes more until they find the mummy and it's brought back to life, and that's when it kinda picks up a bit. At least, the banter between the lead characters is solid, and I think Tom Tyler was menacing enough as the mummy, at least looks-wise.

Grade:



Full review on my Movie Loot



I forgot the opening line.

By http://gogorama.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33530359

The In-Laws - (1979)

Thanks to coming here, 2021 is probably my best ever year for unearthing new movie gems - and that's despite reading a lot about film and having cinephile friends. Well, The In-Laws goes into the gem category - I can tell when I stop to think about it to review it and this big unstoppable grin spreads over my face. Sometimes I can enjoy a funny comedy without even laughing - but during The In-Laws I laughed more than I have since I can remember. From the tsetse flies in Guatemala to "Serpentine!" to the Chinese in-flight safety demonstration to Ed Begley Jr.'s $50 wedding present (the reactions from the now secretly-millionaire participants) - man. Somehow this film sits there undiscovered all this time. Peter Falk and Alan Arkin are treasures. Genuinely funny films like this are hard to find.

9/10


Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24606274

The Secret in Their Eyes - (2009) - Argentina

Coming to complicate your 25-film ballot for the 2000s Countdown is El secreto de sus ojos - a film everyone should see as it excels in all areas of filmmaking. Cinematography, score, script, performances, direction - it's more than just a taut thriller and love story, it's a real work of art and watching it once again in relation to my list is making me think very hard about it's inclusion. It's significantly different from the very much inferior remake, so don't view that as a signifier of what this film is. From the complicated world of Argentinian politics to excruciatingly difficult questions about what justice, love and friendship means, this film has it all and captures it in a captivating and beautiful way. Wonderful film.

9/10
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Latest Review : Le Circle Rouge (1970)



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Victim of The Night
THE MUMMY'S HAND
(1940, Cabanne)





Yes, if someone were to feed the mummy with a certain leave juice, he would kill and kill and kill. Fortunately, if that happens at 40+ minutes in a 67 minutes, the time to kill and kill and kill is not that much; which is a good thing for most of the characters, but a bad thing for a "horror" film about a killing mummy.

Following the success of several sequels to their Universal Monsters, the studio released The Mummy's Hand to capitalize on the first film. This one follows archaeologist Steve Banning (Dick Foran) and his partner Babe Jenson (Wallace Ford) as they set out to find the tomb of Princess Ananka. However, they stumble upon the mummy of Kharis, who was buried alive for trying to bring Ananka back to life.

Unfortunately, the film takes too long to get things going. The first half hour is devoted to Banning and Babe's shenanigans in Egypt, trying to get the expedition going. Once they get out, it takes around 10-15 minutes more until they find the mummy and it's brought back to life, and that's when it kinda picks up a bit. At least, the banter between the lead characters is solid, and I think Tom Tyler was menacing enough as the mummy, at least looks-wise.

Grade:



Full review on my Movie Loot
Yeah, this is probably my least favorite Mummy movie that I've seen (all the Universals, all the Hammers, handful of others).



Watch it as a double bill with The Naked Kiss and thank me later.
I still need to see Shock Corridor, but I second The Naked Kiss.



Yeah, this is probably my least favorite Mummy movie that I've seen (all the Universals, all the Hammers, handful of others).
I've only seen the 1932 version, and the 1959 one with Cushing and Lee. I would love to see what @ThatDarnMKS has to say about this one, or any others. I know he vouched for one or two of them in a conversation we had a while ago, but I don't remember which one(s).



Clifford (2021)


Saw this with my pre-K daughter, and it was pretty dreadful. Clifford's animation was a bit strange, but the movie itself was lacking.

My daughter loves Clifford books and TV shows, and this movie has barely any of the fun those have. She was noticeably bored several times here. The movie's theme was pretty serious instead of playful, so maybe this only plays to junior high age level kids (who probably don't care much about Clifford)? From my perspective, the attempts at adult humor were also pathetic.



Victim of The Night
I've only seen the 1932 version, and the 1959 one with Cushing and Lee. I would love to see what @ThatDarnMKS has to say about this one, or any others. I know he vouched for one or two of them in a conversation we had a while ago, but I don't remember which one(s).
I think there are several good or at least passable Mummy films. I think I liked both The Mummy's Tomb and The Mummy's Ghost at least a little. And all the Hammer ones are at least acceptable.
I'll also be interested to see what MKS has to say on the subject.



I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend The Mummy's Hand to a newcomer, but I've always given it some credit for managing to have a distinct personality from the rest of the series. Curse, Tomb and Ghost are all virtually indistinguishable from each other, even for me who's watched them many times since 1990 or so. To this day I don't have the correct sequence memorized, and when I want to watch the series I have to rely on the packaging to remind me which comes next. On the other...hand...Mummy's Hand has always been the one I can recognize on sight. Like Babe Jenson or not, I at least remember who he is.

And now it's time for my semi-annual plug of The Mummy's Curse, which includes one of my favorite rising-from-the-dead scenes in all of horror films, from any decade.
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I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend The Mummy's Hand to a newcomer, but I've always given it some credit for managing to have a distinct personality from the rest of the series. Curse, Tomb and Ghost are all virtually indistinguishable from each other, even for me who's watched them many times since 1990 or so. To this day I don't have the correct sequence memorized, and when I want to watch the series I have to rely on the packaging to remind me which comes next. On the other...hand...Mummy's Hand has always been the one I can recognize on sight. Like Babe Jenson or not, I at least remember who he is.

And now it's time for my semi-annual plug of The Mummy's Curse, which includes one of my favorite rising-from-the-dead scenes in all of horror films, from any decade.
And that's the original series. Once we get to the Hammer ones, there's The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, The Mummy's Shroud, and Blood from the Mummy's Tomb



And that's the original series. Once we get to the Hammer ones, there's The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, The Mummy's Shroud, and Blood from the Mummy's Tomb
Not to mention the off-brand films like Pharoah's Curse. Mummy films are not historically known for their creativity.

It's a miracle we didn't get a "Son of".



I usually have to phrase it as “I’m a fan of the Kharis Mummy films” than naming any of theme specifically. This is due to watching all of them in extremely close proximity due to their short run time and continuing arcs/characters (something I would recommend to someone underwhelmed), they have blended together to some degree. So if I accidentally reference a strength that’s not specifically in Hand, forgive me.

Despite there being actual Mummy in only 1/3 of a short film, that’s still a substantially greater amount of Mummy action than the previous universal film. It’s also the first that introduced a priest using the mummy as a golem/slasher type assassin, a notion that would be used from Hammer to the Brendan Fraser romp (though they blended the priest and mummy himself for that one).

The decision to add more comedy makes it feel decidedly more modern and the focus on the adventurers made it feel like a classic Alan Quartermain-esque serial stumbling into a mummy film, something again used in the Fraser flicks.

I also recall the climax having several layers to it, a shootout on the steps of the tomb, a damsel rescue and a fight with the Mummy. It all felt so much more MUMMY than the reheated Dracula joint we originally got.

Is it top tier Universal horror? Not at all. But I think it’s more fun and influential than the lion share.



I usually have to phrase it as “I’m a fan of the Kharis Mummy films” than naming any of theme specifically. This is due to watching all of them in extremely close proximity due to their short run time and continuing arcs/characters (something I would recommend to someone underwhelmed), they have blended together to some degree. So if I accidentally reference a strength that’s not specifically in Hand, forgive me.

Despite there being actual Mummy in only 1/3 of a short film, that’s still a substantially greater amount of Mummy action than the previous universal film. It’s also the first that introduced a priest using the mummy as a golem/slasher type assassin, a notion that would be used from Hammer to the Brendan Fraser romp (though they blended the priest and mummy himself for that one).

The decision to add more comedy makes it feel decidedly more modern and the focus on the adventurers made it feel like a classic Alan Quartermain-esque serial stumbling into a mummy film, something again used in the Fraser flicks.

I also recall the climax having several layers to it, a shootout on the steps of the tomb, a damsel rescue and a fight with the Mummy. It all felt so much more MUMMY than the reheated Dracula joint we originally got.

Is it top tier Universal horror? Not at all. But I think it’s more fun and influential than the lion share.
Yeah, there were certainly things I liked, but just not enough for me to fully recommend. For what it's worth, I think I rated the original about the same. I wasn't a fan of that one either.



Yeah, there were certainly things I liked, but just not enough for me to fully recommend. For what it's worth, I think I rated the original about the same. I wasn't a fan of that one either.
I think it’s possible that your estimation of it will grow with the sequels. They do pad some time in a very precursor to F13, where they recap the previous film at the beginning, but they’re all generally brisk, light fun.