Since today is Orson Welles’s birthday, I wanted to share at least one scene that I love from his films. The famous tracking shot from 1958’s Touch of Evil, which begins in America and ends in Mexico, truly shows Orson Welles at his visionary best.
It’s also Welles at his most clever. Knowing that he wouldn’t be given control over the editing of the footage he shot, Welles included as many long shots as possible to make it more difficult for an editor to chop up or alter his vision.
4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
Today we celebrate what would have been the 110th birthday of the great Orson Welles! It’s time for….
4 Shots from 4 Orson Welles Films
Citizen Kane (1941, directed by Orson Welles, DP: Gregg Toland)
The Stranger (1946, dir by Orson Welles, DP: Russell Metty)
Touch of Evil (1958, dir by Orson Welles. DP: Russell Metty)
The Trial (1962, dir by Orson Welles, DP: Edmond Richard)
If you enjoy bone-crunching action filmmaking, Gareth Evans’ films THE RAID (2011) and THE RAID 2 (2014) are as good as it gets in the 21st century. When I saw that Evans had a new film coming to Netflix that stars a badass looking Tom Hardy, I have to admit I got excited. The trailer only increased my anticipation with its promise of stylized, intense action, as well as a cast that includes personal favorites like Timothy Olyphant (JUSTIFIED T.V. Series) and Forest Whitaker (GHOST DOG). I settled in front of my TV and hit play, with high hopes for HAVOC!
The film opens with conflicted police detective Walker (Tom Hardy) sharing words of regret via voiceover, and then immediately shifts to a high speed chase between an 18 wheeler and a bunch of cops. It is an intense scene that ends with washing machines filled with cocaine being thrown onto a trailing cop car! We soon learn that the big truck was being operated by Mia (Quelin Sepulvida) and Charlie (Justin Cornwell), the son of ethically challenged businessman Lawrence Beaumont (Forest Whitaker). It seems Charlie and Mia stole the drugs to pay off her debts to Chinese triads. When they go to a club to deliver the drugs, a group of masked men proceed to interrupt the drop and kill everybody, including the beloved son of the triad’s leader Tsui (Yann Yann Yeo). When Walker sees Charlie on security footage from the club, he goes to Beaumont, a man who knows his dirty secrets, and makes a deal. He’ll get his son back, and they’ll be square for life. Soon the triads are in town ready to hunt down and kill Charlie and Mia, who they believe are responsible for the massacre. Add to that a group of corrupt cops, led by Vincent (Timothy Olyphant), who also want Charlie and Mia dead, and detective Walker and his new partner Ellie (Jessie Mei Li) have their hands full on Christmas Eve!
Here are some observations after my first viewing of HAVOC. First, Tom Hardy is a badass in the central role as Walker. I’ve been a fan of Hardy ever since he started breaking out in America after his performance in BRONSON (2008). I really loved him as Mad Max in FURY ROAD (2015). I’d never really envisioned him as this kind of action lead, but he definitely brings a certain gravitas to the role. Second, this movie feels like a bone crunching super hero movie at times, as it’s chock full of special effects. I found the action sequences featuring gunplay and hand to hand combat to be brutally awesome, but the car chase scenes aren’t quite up to the same standard. I mentioned the 18 wheeler chase in the plot description. As the scene plays out it’s a lot like watching an unrealistic chase scene from a later sequel to THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS franchise. It’s an exciting scene in a lot of ways, but it doesn’t seem set in the real world, which is a slight subtraction for me. Third, the movie is set on Christmas Eve, and I enjoy films that take place on holidays. We have a scene early in the film where “Father of the Year” Walker is buying his daughter’s Christmas gifts at a local convenience store. A little later, there’s a cool abduction scene that plays out to the sound of Bing Crosby singing “O Holy Night.” That’s good stuff. Fourth, director Evans seems to be trying to channel the spirit of 80’s and 90’s John Woo, as his film features an endless arsenal of weaponry, coupled with high emotions, and even a little classic music from an iconic scene in Woo’s own A BETTER TOMORROW (1986). No matter how many rounds are fired, there’s always more bullets or guns to be found as the last half of the film is almost nonstop action spread out over two amazing sets, first in a club and then at a cabin. And both of our featured parents, murderous triad leader Tsui and corrupt businessman Beaumont, get a chance to show their human sides by illustrating their sacrificial love for their children. Although HAVOC most certainly does not compare favorably to Woo’s HARD-BOILED, I can also see that Hong Kong classic being referenced here. Fifth, I’m a big fan of Timothy Olyphant, especially of his character Raylan Givens in the TV series JUSTIFIED. I had to forget Raylan on this night because his character here is an irredeemable piece of crap. Of course, Olyphant is excellent and delivers his evil with a smile on his face.
Overall, I enjoyed HAVOC, but I don’t think it’s quite as good as either of the director’s RAID films, and that’s okay. I’d probably go with a solid 7 stars out of 10 for a rating. I love Hardy and Olyphant, who both bring their tremendous charisma to the table. I also enjoyed the many cool moments throughout the film leading to the action extravaganza that plays out at the end. It will be interesting to see how often I want to go back to this film in future years. I do know that if you enjoy action movies, you should definitely watch this film. Just don’t expect another RAID 2.
Farm workers Steve (Ronald Reagan) and Danny (Richard Whorf) arrives in Florida, looking for work. The whole town is controlled by the corrupt Henry Madden (Gene Lockhart) but the honest Steve would rather work for Nick (George Tobias), who treats his workers fairly. While Steve romances Lola Mears (Ann Sheridan), who works at a “juke joint,” he also tries to organize the other workers into demanding better conditions. When Madden frames Steve and Lola for a murder, the entire town turns against them.
This is not a bad Warner Bros. melodrama. As with a lot of Warner Bros. films, the heroes are the poor workers who have found themselves exploited by wealthy men like Madden. As played by Ronald Reagan, Steve is no radical firebrand. He is just someone who wants the workers to get a fair shake and who wants to help decent bosses like Nick make a living despite the efforts of Madden to put them out of business. As was so often the case with his movies, Reagan is an affable hero without ever actually being compelling. Gene Lockhart is the dependably hateful villain and the cast is full of dependable character actors, including Faye Emerson, Alan Hale, Howard Da Silva, and Fuzzy Knight.
Ann Sheridan is really the main reason to Juke Girl and she’s as sexy and tough as ever. There’s a reason why this movie was named for her character’s profession, even though its really only a minor part of the film. Sheridan is the main attraction here and she gives a strong performance as a bad girl who is actually good underneath it all. Her character worries that settling down with Steve will mean a lifetime of struggling to make ends meet but she sees that Steve is worth it by the end of the movie. The town may not be worthy of either of them but Steve and Lola are meant to be together.
Every Monday night at 9:00 Central Time, my wife Sierra and I host a “Live Movie Tweet” event on X using the hashtag #MondayMuggers. We rotate movie picks each week, and our tastes are quite different. Tonight, Monday May 5th, we celebrate Cinco de Mayo with DARK ANGEL (1990) starring Dolph Lundgren, Brian Benben, Betsy Brantley, Matthias Hues, and Michael J. Pollard.
I really enjoy Amazon Prime’s plot description for the film… “A renegade cop undercover on a drug sting discovers a murderous alien who feasts on the brains of heroin addicts.” Honestly, if that description doesn’t make you want to watch the film, there’s probably nothing I can say to bring you along. On a side note, I remember this movie going under the name I COME IN PEACE when I was in high school, which is kind of cool because the bad guy will say he comes in peace right before committing horrific murder. But now it’s called DARK ANGEL, so that’s that.
So join us tonight for #MondayMuggers and watch DARK ANGEL! It’s on Amazon Prime. The trailer is included below:
From Luis Bunuel’s 1965 short film, Simon of the Desert, the faithful Simon (Claudio Brook) finds himself transported from 6th Century Syria to the 1960s by the Devil (Silvia Pinal). The song playing at the club is called Radioactive Flesh. Simon wants to go home. The Devil wants to dance.
4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
Happy Cinco De Mayo to all of our readers! It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 Great Mexican Films
Simon of the Desert (1965, dir by Luis Bunuel, DP: Gabriel Figueroa)
Like Water For Chocolate (1992, dir by Alfonso Arau, DP: Emmanuel Lubezki)
Cronos (1993, dir by Guillermo del Toro, DP: Guillermo Navarra)
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006, dir by Guillermo del Toro, DP: Guillermo Navarro)
As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in hosting a few weekly live tweets on twitter and occasion ally Mastodon. I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of Mastodon’s #MondayActionMovie! Every week, we get together. We watch a movie. We snark our way through it.
Tonight, for #MondayActionMovie, the film will be an encore presentation of Truth or Dare? A Critical Madness, from director Tim Ritter!
It should make for a night of fun viewing and I invite all of you to join in. If you want to join the live tweets, just hop onto Mastodon, pull up Truth or Dare on YouTube, start the movie at 8 pm et, and use the #MondayActionMovie hashtag!
Enjoy!
Since every horse in this weekend’s Kentucky Derby is a descendant of legendary racehorse Secretariat, I thought I would share the scene from the 2010 movie where the super horse wins the first leg of the Triple Crown. It’s good stuff!
Today is Star Wars Day. (It’s May 4th. May the Fourth Be With You! I’ll stop now.) Five years ago, I ranked all of the Star Wars feature films that had been released up until that point from best to worst. Here’s how I ranked them:
Since that was a while ago, I decided to take a look back and see if I still felt the same way. Here are my brief thoughts on each film, in order of release.
Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope (1977, directed by George Lucas) — A New Hope may not be the best Star Wars film but it’s still the most entertaining, even if George Lucas doesn’t seem to realize that. A tribute to the serials and space operas that Lucas grew up with, A New Hope features great action scenes, special effects that hold up well despite not being as slick as modern CGI, and great performances from Alec Guinness and Harrison Ford. Mark Hamill would eventually become a much better actor, though you might not guess just from his performance here. Watching New Hope today, I really appreciate that the movie doesn’t get bogged down in overexplaining things. We don’t need to know what the Clone Wars were specifically about or what the Kessel Run actually was. They sound cool and that’s all that was really required. Despite what some claim, there is absolutely no evidence that Darth Vader was meant to be Luke’s father in this move.
Star Wars Holiday Special (1978, directed by Steve Binder) — Only aired once, I debated whether to include it here or not. I eventually did just because it features the debut of Boba Fett. It’s as bad as you’ve heard but the special’s real since is that it’s incredibly boring. Harrison Ford still looks happier here than he did in Return of the Jedi.
Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back (1980, directed by Irvin Kershner) — The best of the original trilogy, this installment was surprisingly dark, downbeat, and violent. Mark Hamill finally started to show some signs of growth as an actor while Harrison Ford’s Han Solo continued to be the coolest rebel in the universe. Combining the more thoughtful scenes with Yoda with the action-orientated scenes on Cloud City made this the most intelligent of the Star Wars films. The battle on Hoth remains one of the best action scenes ever. I think every kid who saw this movie wanted an AT-AT Walker. I know I did.
Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi (1983, directed by Richard Marquand) — It’s not quite as bad as its reputation, largely due to the opening with Jabba the Hutt’s court. Jabba is so grotesque and evil in this movie that it’s hard not to regret that the subsequent films made him into more of buffoon than a crime lord. Brining back the Death Star made this film feel like a retread. The Ewoks were created to sell toys but so was everything else in this movie. Harrison Ford looks particularly grouchy at the end.
The Ewok Adventure (1984, directed by John Korty) and Ewoks: The Battle For Endor (1985, directed by Jim and Ken Wheat) — I guess if these had been successful, there would have been an Ewok television show. The Ewok Adventure feels childish and features a narrator. Battle for Endor is surprisingly violent for a movie about teddy bears. Both films are more bland than truly bad.
Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace (1999, directed by George Lucas) — There’s been some revisionism about this film. Some people actually defend it now. Not me. It’s still pointless. This movie started the trend of every popular film having to have an in-depth “mythology” behind it. It turns out that the Evil Empire was all about trade routes and tariffs. Jake Lloyd gets more blame than he deserves. Overexplaining the Force was a sign of things to come. This movie would feature Natalie Portman’s worst performance if not for…
Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones (2o02, directed by George Lucas) — As painfully generic as its title, this movie was responsible for Hayden Christensen having an undeserved reputation for being a bad actor. I doubt any actor, no matter how talented, could make Lucas’s dialogue feel natural.
Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith (2005, directed by George Lucas) — The only one of the prequels that actually added anything to what we already knew, Revenge of the Sith is dark, violent, and it doesn’t have as many slow spots as the other prequels. Ewan McGregor finally gets a chance to act and Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman are finally given actual characters to play. Today, some people say it’s the best of the Star Wars films. They’re wrong but it’s still pretty good.
The Clone Wars (2008, directed by Dave Filoni) — The only animated Star Wars film doesn’t get much attention and it does get bogged down in the mythology of the of the prequels. No one really cares about the specifics of the Clone Wars. The fact that it’s animated and clearly marketed at kids makes the dialogue easier to tolerate.
Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens (2015, directed by J.J. Abrams) — When this first came out, a lot of people (including myself) were so happy to have a new Star Wars film that we overrated it. It’s hard to watch today without thinking about how bad things got after it was released but it does still hold up well as a space adventure, though Daisy Ridley’s blandness is more apparent on subsequent viewings. The performances of Adam Driver and John Boyega still hold up. The main attraction, though, is Harrison Ford returning as Han Solo.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016, directed by Gareth Edwards) — The first stand-alone live action Star Wars feature film is a thrilling space adventures that holds up on subsequent viewings and works because the stakes actually feel real. For the first time since New Hope, the Death Star is actually frightening. This remains one of the best films in the franchise and it’s not surprising that it led to the best of the Star Wars television shows.
Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi (2017, directed by Rian Johnson) — The haters are right about much of this film. For all the complaints about Disney not allowing their Marvel directors much freedom, the Star Wars sequels shows what happens when a franchise isn’t sure where it wants to go. Rian Johnson tries to bring Star Wars down to Earth but that’s not where we want Star Wars. Rose Tico was an annoying character and her line about saving what we love deserves all of the mockery it received but Kelly Marie Tran still didn’t deserve to be run off of social media. Turning Luke into a bitter old man was this film’s greatest sin.
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018, directed by Ron Howard) — That this wasn’t a box office hit was the a clear warning sign that audiences were getting bored with Star Wars. This Han Solo origin story isn’t bad. Ron Howard could direct a film like this in his sleep. It just feels unnecessary. Alden Ehrenreich does his best but no one can replace Harrison Ford as Han Solo.
Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker (2019, directed by J.J. Abrams) — J.J. Abrams tries to undo everything that Rian Johnson did in his film. I don’t blame Abrams because Johnson’s film wasn’t great but just shrugging it all off doesn’t really work either. The sequel trilogy, which started with such high hopes, ends with a whimper. Daisy Ridley’s boring performance doesn’t help.
My rankings, as of 2025, are below:
