I pride myself on having seem almost every horror film made during the 1930’s, though once in a while an obscure title comes along whose attention has escaped me. But how on Earth did I miss THIRTEEN WOMEN, especially with a cast headlined by Irene Dunne (of all people!) and Myrna Loy ? This fast-paced thriller involving hypnosis, astrology, and serial murder is downright nasty, and has been cited as a precursor to the “slasher” genre… not to mention a whole lot of fun!
We begin with circus performer June Raskob receiving a letter from the mysterious Swami Yogadashi with her horoscope attached, predicting impending doom in the stars for her. But it’s her sister who dies, plunging to her death during their trapeze act (shown in gruesome detail), and poor June goes hopelessly insane. The scene shifts to exotic half-caste Ursula Georgi, who has the Swami under her hypnotic…
The action film career of Keanu Reeves continues this July with Siberia!
In this one, Keanu’s a diamond trader whose partner disappears in Russia. Keanu hops on an airplane so he can investigate. I’m going to guess that it will all somehow involve the Russian mafia because almost everything does nowadays.
Personally, I think they missed an opportunity when they didn’t call this one, “John Wick in Siberia.”
I also think that someone needs to team Keanu and Liam Neeson up for an action film. Speaking of Liam, did you remember to see The Commuter earlier this year? It was surprisingly good.
I’m going to assume that this is a sequel to 13 Cameras, which I reviewed back in 2016. 13 Cameras was about a house that was full of cameras. 14 Cameras ups the stakes by one camera and a motel.
Billionaire Boys Club is an upcoming film that’s based on a true life murder. In the 1980s, two wealthy young men murdered a con artist named Ron Levin. The film was first expected to be released in 2017 but then it got pushed back by a few months. That’s rarely a good sign but I still plan on seeing the film because I enjoy true crime reenactments and, at the very least, I would imagine there would be a lot of fun 80s music on the film’s soundtrack.
That said, the trailer is totally awkward because of the presence of Kevin Spacey in the role of Ron Levin. I saw one comment on YouTube from someone declaring, “It’s cool to see Kevin on screen again.” Of course, what needs to be remembered is that this film was shot in December of 2015, long before Anthony Rapp and several others came forward with stories of decades of sexual harassment and abuse at Spacey’s hands. In fact, this film was completed long before Spacey started work on All The Money In The World. While Christopher Plummer was busy reshooting Spacey’s scenes in that film, Billionaire Boys Club was sitting on the shelf.
Anyway, this film is finally going to be released in August. Interestingly enough, Levin’s murderer will be played by Ansel Elgort, who previously co-starred with Spacey in Baby Driver. I’ll probably see the film, though perhaps not in theaters.
Somewhat under the radar, Texas’s David Gordon Green has had one of the most interesting and varied film careers of any modern filmmaker. How many other directors would be capable of directing both Your Highness and Joe?
Green’s latest film is a sequel/remake/reboot of the horror classic, Halloween. The trailer picks up decades after the end of John Carpenter’s film, with Michael Myers again coming for his sister (Jamie Lee Curtis) and, this time, his niece (Judy Greer). However, Laurie isn’t just passively waiting for the next night that he comes home. Laurie’s got a gun and she’s not shy about using it.
So, judging from this trailer, all of the original Halloween sequels never happened. Needless to say, the two Rob Zombie films have been pushed to the side as well. Whether that’s a good thing or not will depend on how you feel about those films. I’ll be sorry to loseHalloween IIbut the one with Busta Rhymes? Who cares? Rob Zombie’s first Halloween was good but his second one can ride out of town on a mysterious white horse for all I care.
As for this latest film, the trailer looks good. I have faith in David Gordon Green.
Frank McHugh got a rare starring role in the comedy THREE MEN ON A HORSE, based on the hit Broadway play by George Abbott and John Cecil Holmes. McHugh was usually cast as the funny friend of fellow members of “Hollywood’s Irish Mafia “ James Cagney and Pat O’Brien, but here he takes center stage as a meek, hen-pecked type who has an uncanny knack for picking winning horses – as long as he doesn’t bet on them!
Greeting card writer Erwin Trowbridge is beset by a whiney wife, obnoxious brother-in-law, and bullying boss. After a row with wifey brought on by meddling bro-in-law, Erwin leaves his humble Ozone Park, Queens abode and decides to skip work and get sloshed. Stumbling into a seedy hotel bar frequented by Runyonesque gamblers, Erwin gives them a winning pony – then passes out. The three mugs, Patsy, Charlie, and Frankie, bring him up…
I’d follow Chris Pratt to the gates of Hell. In fact, I have. Anyone tried to sit through Passengers recently?
Anyway, the important thing is that this looks like a fun and cute movie, sure to be full of laughs for both the kids and the adults. This looks more like that Lego movie about Batman than the Lego movie about all the ninjas. I’m looking forward to it.
(Actually the LEGO movie with all the ninjas had a cute cat in it so it wasn’t all bad.)
Yesterday, when I heard that there was a trailer for a film called Bumblebee, I was really excited because I assumed it would be a Pixar film about a bee who speaks with the voice of Martin Freeman and who wonders why he was given the ability to sting if he can only use it once before dying.
Then I watched the trailer and I discovered that it was just another Transformers movie.
Actually, to be specific, this is a Transformers spin-off. In fact, it’s a prequel! It’s set in the 80s, which means that there will be a lot of retro fun to be had! So, this might be better than the average Transformers film. Or it might really suck, again like an average Transformers film.
Regardless, I bet it will have a killer soundtrack.
(Also, there is a reason for cautious optimism. Michael Bay is not directing. Instead, the director is Travis Knight, who previously gave us the brilliant Kubo and The Two Strings.)
Today is the 74th anniversary of D-Day, a day in which thousands sacrificed themselves so that the world could live free of Hitler’s tyranny.
Now, back in 1944, they didn’t have the nightly news. They didn’t have CNN or MSNBC or Fox News. There was no 24-hour news channels. And certainly, there was no internet. No one live tweeted the invasion of Normandy. No one blogged about it. No one marked themselves safe on Facebook. Instead, for many of the citizens back home, their first knowledge of D-Day came from the newsreels that often ran before movies.
The newsreel below is from June 9th, 1944, three days after the invasion. Take a look:
Also, be sure to check out some of our previous D-Day posts:
What’s an Insomnia File? You know how some times you just can’t get any sleep and, at about three in the morning, you’ll find yourself watching whatever you can find on cable? This feature is all about those insomnia-inspired discoveries!
Last night, if you happened to be awake at 2:30 in the morning, you could have turned over to Starz and watched the 1997 film, Donnie Brasco.
Benjamin “Lefty” Ruggiero (Al Pacino) has spent his entire life as a loyal Mafia soldier. It’s the only life that he knows and he can tell you some stories. He remembers the early days, back when men like Lucky Luciano, Frank Costello, and Meyer Lansky were in charge of things. Lefty is proud to say that, over the years, he’s successfully carried out over 20 hits. Lefty is lucky enough to be an associate of an up-and-comer nicknamed Sonny Black (Michael Madsen). While Sonny was in prison, Lefty kept an eye on Sonny’s family. Lefty feels that Sonny owes him. Whether Sonny feels the same way isn’t always quite clear.
Lefty’s problem is that everyone loves him but few people respect him. The aging Lefty is viewed as being a relic and, at most, they merely tolerate his constant bragging. Lefty may fantasize about the big bosses knowing who he is but, when he tries to greet one of them at a party, it becomes clear that he doesn’t have the slightest idea who Lefty is. Lefty spends his time worrying that he’s dying and dreaming of one last opportunity to make a name for himself.
In fact, perhaps the only really good thing that Lefty has going for him is his friendship with Donnie Brasco (Johnny Depp). Donnie is a jewel thief, a tough and volatile orphan who Lefty introduces to Sonny. Sonny is immediately impressed with Donnie. In fact, Sonny thinks so highly of Donnie that he assigns Donnie to look over his operations in Florida. Lefty can only watch as his protegé’s star starts to eclipse his own. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. As Lefty explains it, Donnie’s success is also Lefty’s success because Lefty is the one who brought Donnie into the crew. Of course, if Donnie ever fails, the failure will be on Lefty as well.
As for Donnie … well, his name isn’t actually Donnie. His real name is Joe Pistone and he’s a FBI agent. When he first agreed to work undercover, he was told that the assignment would only last for a few months. Instead, the months turn into years and, piece by piece, Joe vanishes as he transforms into Donnie. The formerly soft-spoken college graduate is soon beating up waiters and chopping up bodies in basements. His wife (Anne Heche) fears that her husband may no longer exist. “I am not becoming like them,” Joe/Donnie says at one point, “I am them.”
Donnie Brasco is hardly the first film to examine life in the Mafia. It’s not even the first movie about an undercover FBI agent who manages to worm his way into the mob’s hierarchy. What sets Donnie Brasco apart are the performances of Pacino, Depp, Heche, Madsen, and, as a talkative mob associate, Bruno Kirby. As played by Pacino, Lefty may be a hardened killer but he’s also just a working class guy who wishes that his boss would just show him a little appreciation. Lefty may be capable of casually shooting a guy in the back of the head but, at the same time, there’s something heartbreakingly sad about the sight of him tearing up a greeting card that he hoped to personally deliver to the big boss. As for Johnny Depp, he gives a surprisingly restrained performance, rarely raising his voice except when he’s yelling at his family. Donnie may appear outwardly calm but the stress of losing his identity is always present in his eyes.
Interestingly, for a mob movie, there’s little violence to be found in Donnie Brasco. It’s not until 90 minutes in that we get the expected scene of rival mobsters getting ambushed and gunned down. Donnie Brasco isn’t about violence. Instead, the film’s heart is to be found in the story of Lefty and Donnie’s odd friendship. Instead of being about who is going to kill who, this film is about Lefty’s desire to be something more than he is and Joe’s struggle to remember who he used to be before he became Donnie. It’s a touching and effective gangster film and one to keep an eye out for.
