As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly watch parties. On Twitter, I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday and I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday. On Mastodon, I am one of the five hosts of #MondayActionMovie! Every week, we get together. We watch a movie. We tweet our way through it.
Tonight, at 10 pm et, I will be hosting #FridayNightFlix! The movie? 1979’s The Jerk!
If you want to join us this Friday, just hop onto twitter, find The Jerk on Prime, start the movie at 10 pm et, and use the #FridayNightFlix hashtag! I’ll be there happily tweeting. It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.
Everyone had to start somewhere and for Clint Eastwood, that somewhere was 1955’s Revenge of the Creature. Here he is, making his uncredited film debut as a lab technician who has discovered something odd. Even in his very first role, Eastwood’s physicality made him stand out. And check out that gorgeous hair!
4 Shots From 4 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 the 132nd anniversary of the birth of cinematic pioneer, Josef von Sternberg! That means that it’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 Films
An American Tragedy (1931, dir by Josef von Sternberg)
The Scarlet Empress (1934, dir by Josef von Sternberg)
The Devil is A Woman (1935, dir by Josef von Sternberg)
I have about a 30-minute commute to my office every day, so I love to listen to podcasts about my favorite actors and movies. About a year or so ago, I discovered the “Podcast on Fire,” which mostly focuses on Hong Kong movies, but will veer into other Asian related cinema as well. Kenny B and his various co-hosts may do a series on a prominent Hong Kong director one week and a sleazy category III soft porno the next, so the wide variety is especially enjoyable, and I’ve learned so much by going through their back catalog of episodes. I recently came across their series dedicated to popular Hong Kong melodramas. The first episode in the series included a lengthy discussion of ALL ABOUT AH LONG, an award-winning tearjerker starring Chow Yun-Fat. I haven’t watched it in over 20 years, so it was time for a revisit.
Ah Long (Chow Yun-Fat) is a former motorcycle racer who lives in Hong Kong and works as a truck driver while raising his son Porky on his own. The two seem to have a great relationship, even if their situation can only be described as modest at best. Things get interesting when Ah Long’s former girlfriend Por Por (Sylvia Chang), who also happens to be Porky’s mother, enters their life after being away in America for 10 years. In a cruel twist that was brought on because her family did not want her to be with Ah Long, she had been led to believe that Porky had died and her escape to America was her way of dealing with that pain. Now wealthy and successful, she discovers that Porky is indeed alive, and Ah Long has been raising their son alone all these years. Naturally, she wants to be involved in her son’s life. As a matter of fact, she wants to give Porky a life that his father never could.
My favorite living actor, Chow Yun-Fat, gives one of the best performances of his career in this film. It’s especially impressive because it asks him to behave almost completely the opposite of the cool heroes that made him famous around the globe in his Hong Kong action hits like THE KILLER and HARD BOILED. His Ah Long can be funny and charismatic, but he can also be immature and downright mean. There are times he’s so sweet and likable, and then there are times, especially seen in flashback, where he’s not likable at all. Chow doesn’t try to smooth away the rough edges of the character, either. Ah Long is flawed, but he’s also a great dad, and his chemistry with his son Porky (Huang Kun-Hsuan) feels very natural. I also like Chow’s chemistry with Sylvia Chang as Por Por. Even though she wants to take Porky back to America with her, she’s never portrayed as this evil villain, and she and Chow actually end up working together to do what’s best for their son. Chow would win his 3rd Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor for his performance here.
The film is very melodramatic, but director Johnnie To goes out of his way to ground the film in some level of reality. Long before To was transforming the Hong Kong film industry in the late ‘90’s through his Milky Way Images production company, he was a working director just making successful movies. With this film’s cramped apartments, simple meals, awkward dinner conversations, and past romantic regrets, the movie gives all of us something we can latch ahold of. When tragedy enters near the end, it’s especially affecting since we’ve grown to understand and care about the characters. If ALL ABOUT AH LONG doesn’t make you reach for the tissues, you’ve got a heart of stone, my friend!
In my opinion, ALL ABOUT AH LONG is also the kind of movie that determines if you’re a Chow Yun-Fat fan or just a John Woo action movie fan. Chow is about as far away from the charismatic hero of A BETTER TOMORROW as he can possibly get. This is Chow at his most human and relatable, and I’ll admit I loved every moment of his performance. I watched it again on the DVD that I purchased about 25 years ago, and there’s just nobody any better out there.
Hi, everyone! Tonight, on Mastodon, I will be hosting the #TubiThursday watch party! Join us for 1983’s Joysticks!
You can find the movie on Tubi and you can join us on Mastodon at 9 pm central time! (That’s 10 pm for you folks on the East Coast.) We will be using #TubiThursday hashtag! See you then!
118 years ago today, Ian Fleming was born in Mayfair, London. A member of British Intelligence during World War II, Fleming is today best-remembered as the creator of James Bond.
Today’s scene that I love comes from 1962’s Dr. No. Here is Sean Connery, in his first appearance as Fleming’s iconic secret agent. Eunice Gray was cast as Sylvia Trench, who was originally envisioned as being Bond’s permanent “London” girlfriend. She also appeared in From Russia With Love before the idea was abandoned. We all know that Bond’s true love was Tracy di Vincenzo.
Recently, I was sitting on the back deck of my parents’ house visiting with my family. Of course, when I’m around movies are always a topic of conversation, and my sister brought up the fact that she had just watched AN UNFINISHED LIFE and really liked it. My sister has always loved Robert Redford, and when she brought him up, it was fun hearing my mom get on her case about her long-ago recommendation of UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL, that came without the appropriate warning of the movie’s tearjerker of an ending. That’s a no-no with my mom, and we all had a good laugh. When my wife and I got home, we were browsing the Paramount Plus streaming service, and lo and behold, there was AN UNFINISHED LIFE, so it just seemed like the right time to watch it!
The movie centers in on Einar Gilkyson (Redford), a Wyoming rancher who still hasn’t properly dealt with the death of his son about a decade earlier. He blames his daughter-in-law Jean (Jennifer Lopez) for the accident that killed him. When Jean shows up at his ranch, because she’s on the run from her abusive boyfriend Gary (Damian Lewis), Einar tells her that he doesn’t want her there. His heart softens though as she introduces him to Griff (Becca Gardner), the granddaughter that he never knew he had. This sounds like a setup for big-time melodrama, but director Lasse Hallstrom is able to keep things somewhat grounded as we watch this broken family attempt to reconnect.
It’s time for a confession… I’ve never been the biggest fan of Robert Redford. Now don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean that I don’t like him. It’s just that he’s so perfect, maybe too perfect?! My favorite actors are not perfect looking human beings, but they do have an undeniable charisma and screen presence. Actors like Charles Bronson, Roy Scheider, and James Woods immediately come to mind. As such, I’ve never made it a priority to watch all of Redford’s movies, although I’ve watched most of his best at some point in my life. I will say that I think he’s excellent in AN UNFINISHED LIFE. He’s still undeniably “Redford,” but age has a way of evening up the playing field, and this performance relies on his ability to embody a character slowly opening his heart after years of shutting himself off. His scenes with his granddaughter are especially strong, without seeming excessively manipulative. I may look more closely into his later career based on his work here.
I’m also not the biggest fan of Jennifer Lopez. I loved her in SELENA, the film that kickstarted her career, but other than OUT OF SIGHT and ANACONDA, I haven’t enjoyed much else in her filmography. With that said, I think she’s good here. Her character has made one bad decision after another since her husband died, but I can’t help but root for her to find some happiness. In real life, it would have taken a lot of courage to ask someone like Einar for help, and I do appreciate that she’s willing to humble herself for her daughter’s sake.
Have I mentioned that Morgan Freeman is also in the film in the role of Mitch Bradley, Einar’s injured ranch hand and closest friend? He brings his warmth and wisdom to the proceedings even though his character’s unique storyline, which revolves around being mauled by a bear, doesn’t always work. The characters played by Damian Lewis and Josh Lucas also don’t land that strongly. Lewis is Lopez’s abusive boyfriend, but his awful behavior is ultimately dealt with in a way that’s more cartoonish than you might expect in a serious drama. Lucas, who was born in my home state of Arkansas, is fine here as “Crane” Curtis, but he doesn’t have that much to do.
The Wyoming setting for our story is beautiful, but it was actually filmed in British Columbia. My wife spent 18 years of her life in Wyoming, and it’s generally not as green as the “Wyoming” presented here. That’s just a minor nitpick, because for the uninitiated, the setting is beautiful and makes you feel like you’re part of a modern day western. There’s just something romantic and comforting about that, and the wide-open spaces seem to offer endless chances for a new beginning.
Overall, while I don’t think AN UNFINISHED LIFE is a great movie, I enjoyed watching it. It’s a movie that understands the importance of forgiveness by showing us wounded characters who are willing to open themselves up to imperfect people who are just trying to be better. At the end of the day, if any of us want meaningful connections to the people in our lives, we’d better be willing to do the same.
104 years ago, on this date, Christopher Lee was born in London. After serving in the secret service during World War II and reportedly inspiring his cousin, Ian Fleming, to create the character of James Bond, Christopher Lee went on to have a legendary acting career. Though he was best known for playing Dracula, Lee appeared in almost every genre of film and he always gave a good performance. Even when the film was bad, Lee was good.
Today, for Lee’s birthday, I’m sharing a scene between him and Peter Cushing in 1965’s The Skull. Though The Skull isn’t one of the strongest films that the pair made for Amicus, it’s worth watching for the performances of Cushing and Lee. Often cast as rivals on screen, the two were, in reality, the best of friends and Lee often said that he never really emotionally recovered from Cushing’s death.
In the scene below, Lee and Cushing are obviously having a ball trying to outact one another while playing simple game of pool and discussing slightly esoteric concerns.
4 Shots from 4 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 is Vincent Price’s birthday! This edition of 4 Shots From 4 Films is dedicated to him, his memory, and his career!
4 Shots From 4 Vincent Price Films
The Last Man on Earth (1964, dir by Ubaldo Ragona)
The Masque of the Red Death (1964, dir by Roger Corman)
Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs (1966, dir by Mario Bava)
The Witchfinder General (1968, dir by Matthew Reeves)
“Jerry, I’m not a nice person. I’m a mean, selfish son-of-a-bitch. I know you want a story, but I want a killer and what I want comes first!”
— Detective Leo Kessler (Charles Bronson) in Ten To Midnight (1983)
At first, Detective Leo Kessler seems like exactly the type of cop that you would expect to find in a film about a serial killer who knows how to manipulate the system to his advantage. Kessler is tough, plain-spoken, a blue collar warrior who is trying to keep the streets of Los Angeles safe for citizens of every age.
“I remember when the legal meant lawful,” Kessler says, “Now, it means loophole.”
Kessler isn’t thrilled that his new partner, Paul McAnn (Andrew Stevens), is a graduate of Berkley and that he’s got a degree in sociology. Kessler’s doubts are actually justified. One of the first things that McAnn does is drop a wad of chewing gum on the ground at a crime scene. Kessler also knows that Warren Stacy (Gene Davis) is the psycho who has been targeting young women and making obscene phone calls to his daughter, Laurie (Lisa Eilbacher). When McAnn discovers that Kessler has planted blood evidence on Warren’s clothes, McAnn is torn about what to do. “Forget what’s legal,” Kessler says, “and do what’s right.”
But here’s the thing with Kessler. He may say that he’s a mean son of a bitch but he’s not. He’s actually a pretty nice guy. He even discovers that he likes and becomes a mentor to McAnn. Kessler just doesn’t think that someone like Warren Stacy should be wandering around, free to kill. Charles Bronson never gets nearly enough credit for his acting. Leo Kessler isn’t just a touch cop. He’s an old-fashioned guy in a changing world. He’s someone who doesn’t understand why the system is suddenly more worried about the Warrn Stacys of the world than the victims.
He’s also a father.
Leo: “I hate quiche.”
Laurie: “Why did you get it?”
Leo: “I thought it was pie.”
As violent and exploitive as From 10 To Midnight is, I have to admit that I have a sentimental attachment to the film. The difficult-but-loving relationship between Leo and Laurie Kessler reminds me of my own relationship with my Dad. I see a lot of my Dad in Leo and I also see a lot of myself in Laurie. There’s a scene early on where McAnn mentions to Laurie that she’s a lot like her father.
“You think so?” Laurie replies, “I don’t.”
That scene gets me every time because I’ve had people say the same thing to me about my Dad and I used to have the same response. Everyone else picked up on it long before I realized it. For all of Laurie complaints about Leo having always been too busy for her, she’s there to comfort him after he gets kicked off the force. “I’m getting drunk with my old man,” Laurie says. Leo replies that she’s not.
It’s rare to see Charles Bronson cast as a family man. Usually, he played loners, the type of solitary warriors who seemed to have nothing in their lives beyond doing accomplishing whatever their mission happened to be. The Death Wish films did give Bronson a family but they were all dead by the end of the second film. 10 To Midnight features Bronson as not just a tough cop but also Bronson as a father with an independent and intelligent daughter. I think that’s the main reason why 10 to Midnight is my favorite Bronson films.
“No, we won’t.”
— Detective Leo Kessler
Bronson only fires his gun once in 10 To Midnight but he definitely makes a statement with that shot. And after spending 101 minutes watching Kessler trying to stop Warren Stacy, there’s definitely something very cathartic about the simple brutality of the film’s ending. Trying to analyze or understand evil, the film tells us, is pointless.
Sometimes, you just need someone who is willing to say, “No, we won’t.”
Through the Shattered Lens 