Vice Squad (1953) Dir. Arnold Laven We follow a day in the life of Captain 'Barnie' Barneby, captain of detectives in the LAPD. In his capacity as leader of the detective squad he drifts in and out of various investigation: the killing of a patrol officer who was in the middle of trying to stop a grand theft auto, preventing a high stakes bank heist that they learn about through an informant, investigating the possibility of marriage fraud from a man who claims to be an Italian count, and even far more run of the mill stuff, like an increase in pickpocketing. Decent Edward G. Robinson noir that follows his lead character through a day of police work. Whilst much of the screentime goes to the bank heist, there is enough attention for the other plot lines as well to keep this balanced. Features a young Lee Van Cleef as one of the bank robbers and Paulette Godard as a sympathetic madam.
You're Cordially Invited [2025] If you're going to watch this, do it on the plane, so you don't have to feel like you wasted 1.5 hrs of your life. That's my entire review.
I haven't watched the most iconic movie for my 80's movie cum cyberpunk retrospective because of a mistake. Now it's time to erase that mistake. Robocop (1987) We work for a living down here, Murphy. Dick, I'm very disappointed. When do we start? ...as soon as some poor shmuck volunteers. Can you fly, Bobby? See I got this problem - cops don't like me so I don't like cops. NanananananananananaBAM. I thought we agreed on full body prosthesis. What are your prime directives? Your move, creep. Murphy, it's you. Dead or alive, you're coming with me. I know you... you're dead! I'm cashing you out, Bob. Oh, guns, guns, guns! You're a cop! He's a cop killer. Just give me my phone call. You're our product, and we can't very well have our products turning against us. I like it! Looking for me? Bye bye baby. Murphy, I'm a mess. They'll fix you - they fixed everything. Robocop just flows so well. For the kind of movie it is, the direction is just perfect - not one wasted second, not one rushed moment, and you can never ever take your eyes from the screen. Brash and outlandish and doesn't take itself seriously in a way that makes it more serious because it's not preaching at you - it's your buddy telling you how it be. Overflowing with memorable one-liners and images, you may be forgiven for getting lost in the Robocopness of it all and losing sight of what it's talking about, but this is intensely meshed with the psyche of the times and everything that grew from then. Omni Corp is just so Omni that it can destroy a city unchecked because it can. It's not evil, it's profit maximizing through synergizing multiple revenue streams to create shareholder value. Murder and mayhem carry the weight of office politics because that's all it has become.
An inexplicably good movie where the sum is much greater than the parts. The ED-209 getting stuck like a turtle on the stairs, Boddicker (Red Foreman!) walking into a room and loudly stating "bitches leave!" before putting a boot in someone's ass, and the insane weaponry that actually fits like it's part of a lived world are just a few of my favorite parts of the movie. I watch this every 3-4 years. It's my second favorite role for Peter Weller after Buckaroo Banzai.
There are so many memorable lines I was thinking of doing the summary with just them, but that's a ~2 hour project to do right.
I would rather sit and stare at the headrest in front of me, with a kid kicking the back of my seat for 1.5 hours of my life than watch a Will Farrell movie.
It's interesting that both this and Total Recall were essentially Paul Verhoeven, the "European auteur", made to pay his dues in Hollywood action film-making and both films are absolute bangers.
One of the many tiny brilliant directorial choices is this camera perspective for the moments when Murphy is drifting in and out of consciousness as they are building the Robocop.
Balle Perdue 3 (2025) Dir. Guillaume Pierret Two years after the events of the second film, Areski is hiding out in Germany, having burned all of his bridges in France. The local criminals he is working with betray him, forcing him back out of hiding and on a path to his home country. At the same time, Lino is returned to France in a prisoner exchange with Spain and becomes aware of Areski's potential re-emergence. Resz' political ambitions mean he needs to tie up loose ends, the biggest of which is Areski, whose testimony could ruin him completely, especially after it is clear he has actually returned from hiding. All three men are soon on a collision course, leading to the same kind of vehicular mayhem we grew accustomed to in the first two chapters. Solid enough conclusion of the Lost Bullet trilogy, perhaps more Areski than Lino's story, at least for the first half of the film. In terms of the car stunts, I do believe I still prefer the craziness of the second film, not that this one is without memorable set pieces either. Quentin D'Hainaut has an all-time great henchman face. This letterboxd review did make me realize that Guillaume Pierret truly kind of is dollar store French George Miller, with the Lino character as his Mad Max.
It was eating at me, so using ninja magic I fixed my review. Now it's weird and nonsensical, as is my preferred style.
Landman [2024] Really enjoyable show to watch (like one of those silly books you can't put down). Consider this a guilty pleasure type of show, but I enjoyed it very much. My only question is why Demi Moore was in it. Second season should be fun.
The Sting [1973] Man, this was a really fun watch. I haven't yet seen the original Ocean's 11, but I enjoyed this one more than the remake. I think the ending was probably rushed a bit, but overall, the movie was excellent. Paul Newman was probably a bit stronger in this one than Robert Redford, but I can now see why they were such a good movie duo.
The Sting should not have been remade. The original Oceans Eleven should never have been made. It’s truly bad. The remake, on the other hand. . . . Well, I’m beginning to think as a rule of thumb, only bad movies with a lot of wasted potential should be remade.
My greatest ever movie disappointment was the JJ Abrams Star Trek remake, but I still generally take remakes on their own merit and try not to paint with a big brush. To comment on a recent example, I understand people that didn't like the 2014 Robocop. The 1987 version was an absolute icon, and the 2014 one didn't dig what made that good. But I more or less liked the 2014 one, and having seen Padilha's two Tropa de Elite movies I kind of see 2014 as a dumbed-down action movie version of those in the guise of a Robocop movie. The crooked cops were cartoons, but I recognize the chief of police and the OmniCorp CEO characters as representing his thinking. Not that the original Robocop wasn't critical of police too. They are portrayed in film generally as justice machines, but in Robocop when push came to shove we see the cops either obey their master (when the SWAT team guns down Robocop) or look out for themselves (go on strike). The only justice machine is.. a machine.
The Flame (1947) Dir. John A. Auer After a cold open in which we see a man seemingly shoot and kill an unseen individual in an apartment, we are treated to a flashback in which we meet the supposed killer: George MacAllister is half-brother to Barry MacAllister, a wealthy man whose money George covets. In spite of Barry's sickly nature, George knows he will not inherit anything should Barry die. To that end, he has devised a scheme to still get his hands on the family fortune: Carlotta, his French flame he met during the war has been working as a nurse for Barry for some time now, with the intention of making Barry fall in love with her and marry her. Once Carlotta becomes Barry's wife, they can then get rid of Barry and George can marry her and get the MacAllister fortune after all. Unfortunately for George, there are soon complications to his plan, beyond its immoral nature: Carlotta finds herself slowly falling for the generous and kind Barry and George himself is confronted with a blackmailer who has found out about his scheme and threatens to reveal it to Barry... Decent B-movie noir, starring John Carroll and Czech starlet Vera Ralston. Perhaps more noteworthy for some of its supporting players, including Broderick Crawford as a slimy operator and Hattie McDaniel (of Gone with the Wind fame).
From Here to Eternity. Year: 1953. Watched on Criterion. Cast: Burt Lancaster, Frank Sinatra, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr. 7/10 Set in the time leading up to Pearl Harbor, a soldier is transferred over and is asked to join the boxing team. The soldier wants none of it and is subjected to harsh treatment. The captain's wife and his second-in-command carry on an affair unknown to the captain. I learned of this movie in high school through Stephen King's Christine, when a character was describing another character. Quite frankly, this was an enjoyable movie. Clifton as Prewitt was fantastic, Sinatra does a decent job as a supporting actor (But not Oscar worthy I think), and the tension between Prewitt and Holmes when it comes to their desires is excellent. Quite frankly if this came out in theaters today, I'd go see it.
Down Three Dark Streets (1954) Dir. Arnold Laven F.B.I. agent Zach Stewart is killed in the line of duty, his killer disappearing from the scene completely unseen. Stewart's superior Ripley takes it upon himself to solve the case, his assumption being that Stewart was killed by someone involved in one of the three cases he was actively investigating at the time of his death: the manhunt for fugitive murderer Joe Walpo, who was signaled as traveling in the direction of Los Angeles, where his ex-girlfriend Connie also lives. Then there is the case of Kate Martell, single mother who is being extorted for the insurance money her late husband left her, a woman who has almost too many people in her life who could be guilty of the blackmail. And finally there is the case of Vince Angelino, a small time operator in a gang of car thieves whose organization has tentacles in both California and Arizona. Stewart had been trying to flip Angelino to testify against the gang at the time of his murder. Ripley is convinced that solving all three cases will also solve the Stewart murder, since he assumes that the killer will also end up being a person of interest in one of the three active investigations. Nice little 1950s noir, essentially another one of those G-men films that is interested in showing off what are presented as authentic investigation techniques used by the F.B.I. Shot in and around Los Angeles, with one important set piece taking place near the Hollywood sign. Broderick Crawford is the lead, I also enjoyed the supporting work of the likes of Marisa Pavan (Angelino's wife) and Martha Hyer (of Some Came Running fame as gangster moll Connie).
Robot Dreams (2024) Dog is lonely so he buys a robot kit. Dog and Robot become best friends throughout the summer until they get separated. Dog tries really hard to get Robot back. But then life happens. As much a love poem to the East Village of Manhattan in the late 1980's as it is to friendship, with detailed locations and brands contrasting with the almost minimalist cartoon figures inhabiting them. While it is a Spanish movie, there is zero dialog so it is universal - however, that means it requires your attention and you need a certain mindset to watch it. The animation style is beautiful and has the most incredible visual flow I've ever seen. It's happy and it's sad and I don't think I'm going to look at a certain 70's song the same way again. Human society has its own version of entropy, and we can't always keep things as they are no matter how much we want to.
Time After Time (1979) A professor in London and just published author of this first book, Text-Book of Biology, H.G. Wells expected to soon be noted for a little something he'd been working on since his college days - The Time Machine. Sorry, now that I hit the 8 minute mark in the movie I realize it's actually a time machine. As in a machine that actually takes you through time. But first he thought he'd show it to his society friends, which goes swimmingly until the constabulary shows up. It seems one of his dinner guests, a doctor John Leslie Stevenson, had been spotted carving up a prostitute in the style of a serial murderer the broadsheets have taken to calling "Jack the Ripper". With no other avenue of escape, Stevenson takes the time machine on its maiden flight far into the future. Wells decides to give chase through time. Now Wells has to navigate the strange world of 1979 to find science fictions most often portrayed historical figure. Wells' ally in the film Amy Robbins asks to take Wells on a tour of San Francisco, saying residents are proud of the city and want to show it off. I think the whole movie is a version of that - this kind of movie is only made if the creators are proud of 1979. And from where the camera was pointed, it looked like it was deserved. Things looked vibrant and cosmopolitan and intrepid. But despite Malcolm McDowell, David Warner, and Mary Steenburgen (and Corey Feldman in his 3 second role as "boy in museum") all doing excellent work in their roles, the movie was just ok. I thought a lot of the film was overly cute and I didn't like the fish-out-of-water humor elements that were a big part of the second quarter of the film. And in the end it turned into a pedestrian detective story complete with car chase. The climax is also weirdly timed and didn't really pay off. I like it best when they were discussing Wells' philosophy and when they were visiting all my favorite spots in the city.
Daylight (1996) Dir. Rob Cohen Near evening rush hour, there is an explosion and a partial collapse of the Hudson River tunnel connecting New Jersey to Manhattan. Whilst many of the individuals in the tunnel die near immediately in the explosions and collapse, a small group of survivors remain, stuck and with no immediate way out. The city's efforts to stage a rescue have to deal with the fact that the trapped people have maybe three hours of oxygen left, so any rescue attempt will have to happen pretty quickly. Former EMS chief Kit Latura offers his services, having led a simulation for such an exact scenario some years earlier. The current people in charge of the situation aren't keen on accepting his help, as Latura had to leave his post after getting several of his employees killed on a bad judgement call. Latura manages to reach the trapped group of survivors in a solo effort, but with no clear way out of the tunnel and with the water level constantly rising. I had caught snippets of this film in ten or twenty minute increments for the past twenty years but never saw it in its entirety, until now. Essentially a disaster movie, almost like a Poseidon Adventure but on land, with Stallone in an approximation of the Gene Hackman role. Unfortunately not so great. Featuring Viggo Mortensen in a small supporting role as a hotshot celebrity adventurer type with too much bravado for his own good. For the first hour or so of the movie, I was confused why everyone kept on referring to the protagonist as "kid". At first this was primarily characters that were older than him, but it took until a 14 year old character also addressed him like that to realize that they hadn't been calling him "kid" but "kit".