Category Archives: Film Review

Lethal Tender (1997, directed by John Bradshaw)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Montessi (Kim Coates) and his men have taken over a water filtration plant, are holding hostages, and keep threatening to poison the water supply.  Rogue cop David Chase (Jeff Fahey) and Melissa Wilkins (Carrie-Anne Moss) sneak around the plant and try to stop the terrorists.  David Chase is set up to be a John McClane type but instead, he only kills one terrorists and then lets everyone else do most of the work.  Of course, the whole water filtration hostage situation is just a distraction so Mr. Turner (Gary Busey) can steal a bunch of bonds.  Busey sits behind a computer for most of the movie, lending his name but not much else.

A good cast is wasted in what is definitely one of the worst of the many Die Hard rip-offs to come out in the 90s.  There’s not enough action, with Jeff Fahey as a passive hero and even the great Kim Coates reduced to standing around and doing a lot of yelling for most of his time on screen.  Gary Busey is the big star here but it’s obvious that he was only on the set for a few hours and his plan for stealing the bonds never makes sense.  Whenever anyone questions his plans, he says that it involves computers.  In the 90s, I guess that was enough.

Watching this last night, I realized that I had seen it on Cinemax back in the day.  It didn’t make much sense back then either.

The Killing of Billy The Kid (2023, directed by Brett Bentman)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

In the year 1881, a recently arrested prisoner named Thomas Riley (Andrea Zirio) attempts to gain his freedom by offering to inform Sheriff Pat Garrett (Thom Hallum) about the location of a man calling himself Henry McCarty.  At first Garrett asks why he should care about a man named McCarty but, when Riley reveals that McCarty is actually the infamous Billy the Kid, Garrett becomes much more interested.

The Killing of Billy The Kid is a straight-forward account of the events leading up to the death of Billy the Kid (played here by Paul Addison).  While there are flashbacks to the pasts of both Billy and Garrett, the majority of the film is Garrett heading out to the location where Billy is hiding.  With a few notable exceptions, it sticks to the general accepted facts about the death of Billy the Kid.  Paul Addison plays Billy as being a cocky punk and probably comes closer to capturing Billy’s actual personality than a lot of other actors have.

The budget was obviously low (the imdb says it was made for only $30,000) but the film still looks good and it’s version of the old west feels duty and isolated enough to be passable.  I have seen the film listed as having a 90-minute runtime on some sites.  Every streaming version that I’ve found clocks in at 77 minutes and, when I watched the film, it didn’t seem like there were any parts of the story missing.  Addison and Hallum are convincing in their roles, looking authentic whether riding a horse or shooting a gun.  For western fans, there’s much to appreciate about The Killing of Billy The Kid.

10 Films For The Week (7/6/25)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

America, Hell Yeah!

As I always do, I celebrated Independence Day by watching one of the greatest films ever made, the original Red Dawn (1984).  The communists land in America and try to take over and, sadly, they succeed to a large extent.  However, a group of high school students led by Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen refuse to go down without a fight.  Say it with me, “Wolverines!”  This film really doesn’t get the respect that it deserves.  Not only is it well-acted but, despite it’s reputation, it doesn’t glamorize war.  Most of the Wolverines do not survive.  C. Thomas Howell, the most committed of the Wolverines, loses a bit of his soul and goes from being a fresh-faced high school student to someone who can execute a former friend without a moment’s hesitation.  While evil Russian William Smith plots to destroy the rebels, Ron O’Neal comes to respect their dedication.  Still, in the end, the best thing about this film is that it’s shamelessly patriotic and unapologetically anti-communist.  “Avenge me!” Harry Dean Stanton yells and you better do it.  The film can be found on Max.

Warren Oates, Hell Yeah!

Yesterday was the birthday of the great character actor Warren Oates.  Brad reviewed two of his films and Jeff shared a scene from Strips.  I would like to recommend the enigmatic 1966 western The Shooting (1966).  Deliberately paced and philosophically-minded, this film features Oates in a leading role.  Millie Perkins and Jack Nicholson (who wrote the screenplay) make for a wonderfully menacing duo of villains.  The Shooting can be found on Tubi.

Sylvester Stallone, Hell Yeah!

Today is Sylvester Stallone’s birthday.  As far as I’m concerned, Stallone’s best performance was in First Blood (1982).  The sequels, which were a bit more simplistic and jingoistic than the first film, have tended to overshadow just how good Stallone was as a troubled veteran who just wanted to get a cup of coffee and who found himself being thrown in jail for refusing to “go across the border.”  Of course, it’s not just Stallone who is great in First Blood.  Brian Dennehy and Richard Crenna were, arguably, never better than when they played Sheriff Teasle and Col. Troutman.  First Blood was one of the first films to really be sympathetic to the plight of the Vietnam veteran.  Rambo may snap and destroy an entire town but, after what he’s put through, you won’t blame him.  First Blood is on Tubi!

Of course, if you really want a fun and wonderfully absurd Stallone film, check out the arm wrestling epic, Over The Top (1987).  Stallone is Hawk, a truck driver who makes his living as an arm wrestler.  Robert Loggia tries to Stallone’s son away so Stallone has to prove himself to be the world’s greatest arm wrestler.  I distrust anyone who doesn’t love Over The Top.  It can be viewed on Tubi.

Tom Cruise, Hell Yeah!

If you’re still in the mood to celebrate Tom Cruise’s birthday, Losin’ It (1982) features Cruise as a teenager in the 60s who goes down to Mexico with his friends so that he can …. well, lose it.  While the comedy is often predictable, Losin’ It is still an amiable enough film and Cruise gives a likable performance and his character has a really sweet romance with Shelley Long.  The great John Stockwell is also in the film.  Director Curtis Hanson went on to do L.A. Confidental.  Losin’ It is on Tubi!

It’s become fashionable to criticize Risky Business (1983), released a year after Losin’ It, for being a materialistic film but …. eh, screw that.  Between the soundtrack, the surreal direction, Guido the Killer Pimp, and Tom Cruise bringing out the sunglasses at night, Risky Business is one of the best films of the 80s and it can be viewed on AMC+’s Prime Channel.

In Cocktail (1988), Tom Cruise  is the last barman poet!  A guilty pleasure for sure but a pleasure, nonetheless.  Cocktail can be viewed on AMC+.

The Running Man, Hell Yeah!

There’s a remake of The Running Man coming out this year.  I’ll live it to you to decide whether or not that’s a necessary thing.  I will say that the original Running Man (1987) holds up very well, as both an action film and a media satire.  You can smell the cigarettes and gin whenever Richard Dawson is on screen.  The Running Man can be viewed on Tubi.

Beach Fun, Hell Yeah!

Saturday was National Bikini Day.  If you missed your chance to celebrate, you can make up for it be watching Malibu High (1979), a film from the legendary production company, Crown International.  It’s all fun and games the beach until a young woman is dumped by her boyfriend and decides to become a professional assassin.  Malibu High can be viewed on Tubi.

The End of the World, Hell Yeah!

If you’re in the mood for some end of the world action, the low-budget, independently made A Thief In The Night (1972) is currently on Tubi, along with its sequels, A Distant Thunder, Image of the Beast, and The Prodigal Planet.  A Thief In The Night is not necessarily a great film but it does have a few moments of dream-like intensity.  And it’s short!  It can be viewed on Tubi.

Click here for last week’s entry!

 

 

Demolition Man (1993, directed by Marco Brambilla)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

File written by Adobe Photoshop¨ 4.0

In the near future, law-breakers and other destructive types are not put in prison but are instead cryogenically frozen and left in suspended animation until they’ve served out their sentences.  The most fearsome criminal in the world, Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes) has been frozen but so has his nemesis, Detective John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone).

In the far future, Los Angeles is a part of a megalopolis named San Angeles.  Envisioned and watched over by a seemingly benign dictator named Cocteau (Nigel Hawthorne), San Angeles is a wannabe utopia where cursing leads to an automatic fine and all of the restaurants are Taco Bell.  When he’s thawed out for a parole hearing, the suddenly super-powered Phoenix makes his escape.  The police, no longer knowing how to deal with violence, make the reluctant decision to thaw out John Spartan.  Assigned to work with the enthusiastic Lenina Huxley (Sandra Bullock), Spartan must navigate this strange future to defeat Phoenix.

For some reason, Demolition Man never seems to get the respect that it deserves.  Made at a time when both the Rambo and the Rocky franchises appeared to be over, Demolition Man features one of Stallone’s most appealing performances as he deals with a society where just saying a bad word can cause a scandal.  Just as Spartan proves that his brand of destructive police work still has its place in the future, Stallone proved that he could still carry an action movie in 1993.  There’s a lot of knowing humor to Stallone’s performance.  After a series of failed comedies in the 80s, Demolition Man was the movie that proved that Stallone could be intentionally funny.  Stallone is also surrounded by one of his strongest supporting casts.  Wesley Snipes attacks his villainous role with gusto while Denis Leary breaks out his stand-up routine as Edgar Friendly, the leader of San Angeles’s rebels.  This is also the film that led to Sandra Bullock getting cast in Speed and she’s so incredibly adorable here that even Stallone breaks out into a smile while acting opposite her

(In 1993, you couldn’t turn on television without seeing Sandra Bullock saying, “All restaurants are Taco Bell.”)

Demolition Man is an action film and it lives up to its name, with all the demolition that a viewer could want.  Even more so, It’s also a satire, of both Stallone’s previous films and what was then known as “political correctness.”  Demolition Man’s portrayal of a sterile society where everyone had been programmed to be docile and inoffensive wasn’t that far off from what a lot of politicians were then promoting for America at large.  Luckily, John Spartan was around to put an end to that.  The end result is one of Sylvester Stallone’s most memorable films.

Brad reviews THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2012), starring Sylvester Stallone! 

Posted on by Bradley Crain

I was the target audience for the “Expendables” movies. From the first time I ever heard of the concept, I was all in and gladly told everyone I knew about the upcoming movie. Just the prospect of a big time action movie in 2010 starring Sylvester Stallone and bringing back so many of my favorite actors of the 1980’s and 1990’s was just too good to pass up. After reading updates on the project for at least a year, I was so ready when THE EXPENDABLES (2010) finally hit theaters on August 13, 2010. I don’t remember if I made it to the theaters on opening night, but if not, I definitely made it soon thereafter. Unfortunately, a year of building up my expectations also made it impossible for the movie to completely live up to them. I enjoyed the film and bought the blu ray as soon as it was available, but it just wasn’t everything I hoped it would be. I don’t think anything could have lived up to my expectations to be completely honest. THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2012) came out a couple of years later, and with Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris added to the cast, I was ready to go again, albeit with admittedly lower expectations. 

THE EXPENDABLES 2 follows our group of elite mercenaries led by Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) and Lee Christmas (Jason Statham) as they head to Albania for CIA operative Church (Bruce Willis) to retrieve a box from a downed airplane. We find out that the box contains a computer that knows the exact location of 5 tons of weapons grade plutonium. The mission goes to pot when the team encounters the ruthless Jean Vilain (Jean-Claude Van Damme), the leader of a terrorist group, who forcibly confiscates the computer and then kills one of the expendables to teach them some “respect.” Obviously, this doesn’t set well with Barney and he decides the best option for payback is to “Track them, find them, and KILL them!” The remainder of the film follows the team as they try to do just that and stop Vilain from selling the plutonium to the highest bidder. They also get some timely help from fellow badasses like the “lone wolf” Booker (Chuck Norris) and Trench (Arnold Schwarzenegger). 

THE EXPENDABLES 2 is my favorite film of the franchise, and that’s why I decided to review it today, on Sylvester Stallone’s 79th birthday. The “Expendables” franchise was designed to bring back the nostalgia of 80’s and 90’s action films, and in my opinion, this first sequel gives me what I was actually wanting from the first film. Taking over from Stallone, Director Simon West assembles a film with explosive action scenes, cartoonishly evil villains, cheesy one-liners and over-the-top violence that doesn’t try to be anything more than what it is. The movie leans hard into its glorious, nostalgic absurdity and as a guy who grew up on these guys and their action films, I pretty much enjoyed every moment! 

THE EXPENDABLES 2 doesn’t work without the cast of action movie veterans who bring back good movie memories just by showing up on screen. As a massive collector of Blu rays and DVD’s, I own a physical copy of just about every movie made by Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Chuck Norris during their 80’s and 90’s heydays. Most of these discs replaced a previously owned VHS tape, and each of these actors has their own “section” in my collection. These are the movies, along with those of actors like Charles Bronson and Clint Eastwood, that I revisit the most every year. I’m a huge fan of Hong Kong cinema and Jet Li as well, but his role here is just a cameo at the beginning of this installment. Jean-Claude Van Damme has ended up showing such strong staying power in his career, and his performance as the villain is a true highlight for me. Also, my son, who would have been around 12 when this came out, had just discovered the “Chuck Norris Facts” and he loved telling me his favorites. That silly pop culture phenomenon brought a whole new level of fun to Chuck’s extended cameo in this film. I did want to shout out Dolph Lundgren and Jason Statham as well. I may not put them on as high a pedestal as some of the others, but they’re still awesome! Is THE EXPENDABLES 2 the best work of any of these actors? Of course the answer is no, but the filmmakers dredged up my memories in just the right way and gave me 103 minutes of fan service and fun! 

With all that said, I do understand that a person who doesn’t carry nostalgic memories of action films gone by may not enjoy THE EXPENDABLES 2 near as much as I did. The film relies on nostalgia, and without that, the plot itself is very thin and many of the lines will come across as head-scratching clunkers. Even so, most action fans should still enjoy the non-stop sensory assault and violence served up by true genre pros. I loved it and offer no apology for that! 

Brad reviews MY OLD MAN (1979) – starring Warren Oates and Kristy McNichol! 

Posted on by Bradley Crain

In my continuing celebration of Warren Oates’ birthday, I decided to check out his 1979 TV movie MY OLD MAN, with Kristy McNichol. Based on a 1923 short story from Ernest Hemingway, Oates stars as Frank Butler, an alcoholic horse trainer and compulsive gambler, who goes to see his 16-year-old daughter, Jo (Kristy McNichol) after the death of her mother. In an effort to have some sort of relationship with Jo, Frank asks her to spend the summer with him, where he introduces her to his world of horse racing, as well as his old flame Marie (Eileen Brennan). Things get off to a rocky start, but with time the two start to develop a loving and meaningful relationship. Frank’s notorious bad luck even changes for the better for a while, and he’s able to buy Jo her own racehorse. Unfortunately, just as things are starting to go well, Frank suffers a life threatening injury in the horse stables, and Jo is faced with the possibility of having to take on life without her mother or her father… 

For a 1979 TV movie, I enjoyed MY OLD MAN. I like Warren Oates as the grizzled father who wants a relationship with his daughter but who also has no idea of how to go about it. He’s cranky and not happy to have someone else to answer to, but he also shows just enough vulnerability that we believe that he has a chance to be a caring dad. Kristy McNichol also does a good job as the 16 year old daughter who wants to get to know a dad that she’s only been told about thus far in her life, with most of those things not being very good. For this movie to work, their relationship has to work. I think both Oates and McNichol effectively express their characters’ desires to connect with each other simply because they’re father and daughter and that means something. As the father of a daughter myself, I know firsthand that our bond is truly special and one of the most important things in my life. And I’ll do anything to keep it that way. 

Aside from the central relationship between Frank and his daughter Jo, I also like the relationship between Frank and his old flame, the waitress Marie (Eileen Brennan). Brennan is very good in the role and effectively conveys her character’s strong love for Frank. Frank needs her and even tells his daughter at one point, “No matter what was going on with me, she never lost her respect for me, and she never stopped caring about me. To me, that shows a lot of class.” From my perspective, I know that all of us guys need someone like Marie in our lives. I’m extremely blessed to have my own “Marie,” even if she does go by a different name. I do want to mention one more relationship in the film that’s interesting, and that’s between Frank and his former jockey George, played by a young Michael Jeter. The two have a bad past that rears its head over the course of the film, and Jeter acquits himself quite well acting against the seasoned veteran. 

Overall, I enjoyed MY OLD MAN as it worked its way through its themes of family reconciliation and personal redemption. The last 20-30 minutes wasn’t quite as effective for me when the TV movie melodrama really kicked in. It still had some good moments, but it felt a little more forced once the focus shifted away from the relationships being developed by the central characters. With that said, I watched this movie in celebration of Warren Oates, and he’s just as great as I had hoped. He’s more than enough reason to watch the film even if it’s not perfect. 

Retro Television Review: The American Short Story Episode 5: Bernice Bobs Her Hair

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Saturdays, I will be reviewing The American Short Story, which ran semi-regularly on PBS in 1974 to 1981.  The entire show can be purchased on Prime and found on YouTube and Tubi.

This week, we have an adaptation of the short story that brought F. Scott Fitzgerald his first great literary success.

Episode #5 “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”

(Dir by Joan Micklin Silver, originally aired in 1976)

In this adaptation of a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Shelley Duvall plays Bernice.  Bernice is a socially awkward young woman from the country who, at the start of the glorious 1920s, spends the summer in the city with aunt (Polly Holliday) and her popular cousin, Marjorie (Veronica Cartwright).  Though initially annoyed with having to watch over her cousin, Marjorie eventually decides to teach Bernice how to be a “society girl.”  Marjorie teachers her how to flirt and, even more importantly, Marjorie spreads a rumor that Bernice is not only going to get her hair bobbed (which, at that time, was associated with being a flapper) but she’s going to let all the boys watch.  Bernice goes from being seen as someone who is boring to being someone who is daring and rebellious.  The rumor of her bobbing her hair gives Bernice a mystique, one that will only last as long as there’s a possibility of it happening.

Soon, all of the boys are interested in Bernice and Bernice becomes even more popular than Marjorie.  Marjorie, with her long braids and her cultivated manners, watches in jealousy and horror as the boy across the street, Warren (Bud Cort), suddenly goes from liking Marjorie to liking Bernice.  Marjorie is herself in love with Warren, though one gets the feeling that the love was more about the idea of Warren pining for her than any real desire to be with him.  Realizing that the key to Bernice’s popularity is due to her unfulfilled promise to get hair bobbed, Marjorie tricks Bernice into actually doing it.  Suddenly, Bernice is no longer as popular and her aunt is no longer comfortable with her being seen as a member of the family.  The party invitations dry up and Marjorie once again claims her place as the long-haired society queen.  Bernice prepares to return home but she has one more trick up her sleeve before she leaves.

I liked this one.  Joan Micklin Silver gets wonderful performances from her cast and shows that she, more than even Robert Altman, understood how to best utilize Shelley Duvall’s quirky screen presence.  While this adaptation is dominated by Duvall, I also really enjoyed Bud Cort’s earnest eccentricity as Warren.  (“I’m getting old.” — 19 year-old Warren.)  Finally, Veronica Cartwright gave an intelligent performance, one that kept Majorie from just becoming a one-dimensional villain.  A look at the mystique of popularity and the way that social standards are casually accepted and rarely questioned, Bernice Bobs Her Hair works as both a wonderful short story and a witty short film.

Brad reviews COCKFIGHTER (1974), starring Warren Oates!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

I read about the movie COCKFIGHTER many years ago, and I remember the review being very positive. I had never watched the film before, but with today being Warren Oates’ birthday and it being available on Amazon Prime, I decided I’d finally watch it. 

Directed by Monte Hellman and based on Charles Willeford’s 1962 novel, COCKFIGHTER introduces us to Frank Mansfield (Warren Oates), a man completely obsessed with the southern “sport” of cockfighting. As we meet him, he’s in the process of losing a bet and a cockfight with Jack Burke (Harry Dean Stanton). The loss isn’t just a setback, it costs him all of his cash, his truck, his trailer, and his current girlfriend Dody White (Laurie Bird). We also notice in these early scenes that Frank only communicates through sign language and writing notes. It seems that he’s been living under a self-imposed vow of silence. Two years earlier, on the eve of the big, season-ending cockfighting grand finale, Frank’s big-mouthed braggadocio caused him to lose his prized cock, and the prestigious “Cockfighter of the Year” medal in a meaningless hotel bet, also against Jack Burke. Frank vows not to speak again until he wins that medal. Coming up with cash in the only way he can by selling his family’s home, Frank buys a new cock named White Lightning from Ed Middleton, played here by the film’s writer Charles Willeford. Armed with new fowl and a new, capital rich partner named Omar Baradansky (Richard B. Shull), Frank will not let anything stop him, including the love of his life Mary Elizabeth (Patricia Pearcy) or an axe wielding competitor (Ed Begley, Jr.), from being named “Cockfighter of the Year” and finally regaining his voice and the respect he desires!

COCKFIGHTER definitely has some things going for it. First and foremost, Warren Oates is so good in the lead role as the obsessed man who puts success in cockfighting above anything else in his life, including every other person. He literally sells the family home out from under his alcoholic brother Randall (Troy Donahue) in order to fund his next cock purchase after he’s gone bust. This sets up quite the sight gag for such a gritty and realistic film as a large truck and trailer drives away the family home taking up the entire state highway. When his long time fiancé asks him to give up cockfighting, he just gets up, leaves her shirtless and heads back out on the circuit. He writes her a letter from the road and tells her he loves her, but he also makes it clear that life without cockfighting is a life that he’s unwilling to live. Oates’ Frank Mansfield is not the kind of person you’d ever want to depend on in life, but he’s also an uncompromising individual who is determined to live life wholly on his own terms, accepting of the successes and failures that come with it. I watched the film because it features Warren Oates, and after having done so, I can say that his performance is truly special. 

COCKFIGHTER is one of those movies that makes us feel like we’re watching real people, and that’s kind of fascinating even if they reside in a world that we don’t really want to live in. The primary credit for that has to go to director Monte Hellman and Oscar winning cinematographer Nestor Almendros (DAYS OF HEAVEN). The restraint that is shown in the storytelling, as well as the sweaty, ramshackle authenticity of the Georgia locations, brings the story to life. The supporting cast also does its part to create the world of COCKFIGHTER. Harry Dean Stanton as Jack Burke, Frank’s primary rival in the cockfighting game, is excellent as you might expect, and he seems a lot like a regular guy. I really like Richard B. Schull, who plays Frank’s outgoing and talkative partner Omar. His friendly and gregarious personality seems a little untrustworthy at first, but he turns out to be the most likable person in the film. And finally, I want to shoutout Charles Willeford. Not only did he write the source novel and screenplay for COCKFIGHTER, he also gives a solid performance as Ed Middleton, an old-timer in the game who treats Frank with honesty and decency when he’s hit rock bottom. 

With all the positive things I’ve said above, I have to address the graphic depiction of cockfighting in COCKFIGHTER. This was the 70’s, and the scenes shown here are real and were very difficult for me to watch. It’s not fun to see animals fight and kill each other, and this is coming from a person who loves fried chicken and is not particularly an animal lover. The scenes are presented as matter of fact and in service of the story, but that still doesn’t make them easy to watch. Director Monte Hellman has gone on record to express his personal disgust at even filming these scenes. While a movie made in the 1970’s probably couldn’t have been made without these sequences, I just wanted to make it clear that this film is probably unwatchable for a lot of people.

Overall, COCKFIGHTER is a relic of the 1970’s. It’s a gritty and realistic film, featuring a great central performance from Warren Oates. It’s also an ethically troubling film that features real animal on animal violence. Based on that I don’t necessarily recommend the film. Rather, I just want to share my own thoughts, and you can determine if you want to watch it or not. That’s what I’ve tried to do above. 

Flame of the West (1945, directed by Lambert Hillyer)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Marshal Tom Nightlander (Douglass Dumbrille) shows up in a lawless frontier town, tasked with bringing peace.  He could sure use the help of Dr. John Poole (Johnny Mack Brown), a former gunslinger who has set his weapons aside and now works as the town doctor.  Dr. Poole has sworn off guns but with corrupt businessman Wilson (Harry Woods) and his gang determined to keep their town lawless, Poole is soon forced to reconsider.

This B-western from Monogram is better than many of the other low-budget, poverty row westerns of the era.  While the plot is another example of a corrupt businessman and his gang making life difficult for peaceful settlers, the characters in Flame of the West are a little more complex than usual.  Brown stands out playing a character who, for once, doesn’t want to fight and believes that it’s better to talk than to shoot.  Of course, this being a B-western, he soon sees the error of his ways.  Dumbrille was usually cast as a villain so this film is a chance to see him in a likable and heroic role and he’s very convincing as a Wyatt Earp-style marshal.

Of course, even a serious B-western is still a B-western so songs and entertainment are provided by the gorgeous Joan Woodbury and Pee Wee King and his Golden West Cowboys.  (Don’t worry, I had never heard of them before, either.)  Joan Woodbury plays a saloon owner who wants to bring a higher class of entertainment to the frontier and she provides the film with enough sex appeal that 1945 audiences probably didn’t mind having to sit through the musical numbers before getting to the inevitable showdown between Johnny Mack Brown and Harry Woods.

Flame of the West is a good B-western that shows what dependable actors like Johnny Mack Brown and Douglass Dumbrille were capable of when given the opportunity.

The Color of Money (1986, directed by Martin Scorsese)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

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If you grew up in the 80s or 90s, you probably had at least one friend whose father kept a pool table in the garage.  This movie was probably the reason why.

Fast Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) was once The Hustler, the legendary pool player who recovered from having his fingers broken with a bowling ball and went on to defeat the legendary Minnesota Fats.  That was a long time ago.  Now, Fast Eddie is a slick liquor salesman in Chicago.  Eddie stills hangs out at the pool halls, despite his bad memories of the game.  When he sees a cocky young player named Vincent (Tom Cruise) and his girlfriend Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), he takes them under his wing and teaches them how to hustle.  It’s not always easy because Vincent doesn’t like to lose, even if it means a chance to score an even bigger victory later on.  Eddie finds himself being drawn back into the game, even as he starts to wonder who is hustling who.

I always forget that The Color of Money is a Martin Scorsese films.  It’s a film that Scorsese made at a time when he had a reputation for only being able to make art films that critics loved but audiences stayed away from.  After the box office failure of The King of Comedy and his abortive first attempt to make The Last Temptation of Christ, Scorsese took The Color of Money to prove that he could work with a studio.  This is a Disney Scorsese film, with his signature camera moves but not much of his religious torment.  Even if it’s not one of his personal films, Scorsese makes pool look exciting, a battle that is as much about psychology as physicality.  Watching The Color of Money, you can smell the chalk on the tip of the pool cue.

Scorsese brings the seedy pool halls to life but it’s Paul Newman’s performance that dominates.  The Color of Money won Newman his first and only Oscar and he deserved it.  Newman had first played Fast Eddie Felson in 1961, in The Hustler.  Returning to the role twenty-five years later allowed Newman to show what would eventually happen to the angry young men that he played in the 60s.  Eddie has grown up and he’s got a comfortable life but he’s not content.  He finally has stability but he misses the game.  He needs the thrill of the hustle.  Newman is at his best in The Color of Money, building on The Hustler but also revealing new sides of Eddie Felson.

Newman is so good that Tom Cruise often gets overlooked but both Cruise and Mastrantonio hold their own against Paul Newman.  Cruise especially does a good job as Vincent, playing him as someone who is too cocky for his own good but also not as dumb as he looks.  Just when you think you’ve got Vincent figured out, Cruise surprises you.  The Color of Money came out the same year as Top Gun and Cruise’s Vincent feels like a commentary on the talented, troubled, but cocky characters that Cruise was playing at that time.  Cruise, Scorsese, and Newman make a good team in this more-than-worthy sequel.