Movie Review: The Snorkel (1958) directed by Guy Green Paul Decker (Peter van Eyck) has gotten away with murder before. Years ago, he murdered his wealthy friend Mr. Brown by drowning him in a boating “accident” so that he could marry the widow and her considerable inheritance, including an Italian villa near the French border. Now… Continue reading Movie Review: The Snorkel
Category: Movie
Movie Review: Blade Runner
Movie Review: Blade Runner (1982) directed by Ridley Scott It is 2019, and Los Angeles is in rough shape. Thanks to climate change, pollution and other factors, animals are nearly extinct. The city itself is dark and run down, with almost perpetual rain showers. Most of the people who can move to off-world colonies have done… Continue reading Movie Review: Blade Runner
Movie Review: Samurai Rebellion (1967)
Movie Review: Samurai Rebellion (1967) directed by Masaki Kobayashi (Japanese title: Joiuchi–Hairyo Tsuma Shimatsu, “Rebellion–Receive the Wife”) The time: 1723-1727 C.E. during the Shogunate period. The place: The Aizu province ruled by Lord Matsudaira, a bit north of Edo. The person: Ichi (Yoko Tsukasa), daughter of a minor vassal. Ichi has been arranged to marry another vassal’s… Continue reading Movie Review: Samurai Rebellion (1967)
Movie Review: Zatoichi’s Vengeance
Movie Review: Zatoichi’s Vengeance (1966) directed by Tokuzo Tanaka Let’s look at one of the Zatoichi films! This Japanese series ran for 26 films from 1962 to 1989, all starring Shintaro Katsu as the titular blind masseur. Plus a five year TV series, and a couple of modern remakes. From the relatively scanty hints of backstory… Continue reading Movie Review: Zatoichi’s Vengeance
Movie Review: Sword of the Beast
Movie Review: Sword of the Beast (1965) directed by Hideo Gosha It is 1857, towards the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Commodore Perry’s ships have forced Japan to open its ports, and social change is rippling across Japan. Yuuki Gennosuke (Mikijiro Hira) thought he was going to help bring reform, but instead wound up killing his… Continue reading Movie Review: Sword of the Beast
Movie Review: Bangkok Dangerous (2008)
Movie Review: Bangkok Dangerous (2008) directed by Oxide Chun Pang and Danny Pang Joe (Nicolas Cage) is very good at his job. Very professional. He stays anonymous, doesn’t ask questions, doesn’t get personally involved with people, and erases all traces. This is very important to be a successful international hitman. How did he get into the… Continue reading Movie Review: Bangkok Dangerous (2008)
Movie Review: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Movie Review: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) directed by Peter R. Hunt James Bond (George Lazenby), agent of Her Majesty’s Secret Service, is a bit at loose ends. He’s spent the last two years trying to track down Ernst Stavros Blofeld (Telly Savalas) with no luck. M (Bernard Lee) would like 007 to move on… Continue reading Movie Review: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Movie Review: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Movie Review: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) directed by Steven Spielberg Elliott (Henry Thomas) is a middle child. He’s old enough to want to participate in his teen brother Michael’s (Robert MacNaughton) Dungeons and Dragons game, but not old enough to be welcome there. He thinks of his little sister Gertie (Drew Barrymore) as babyish, and hasn’t… Continue reading Movie Review: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Movie Review: 48 Hrs. (1982)
Movie Review: 48 Hrs. (1982) directed by Walter Hill San Francisco police detective Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) isn’t having a good day. He started it with fighting with his bartender girlfriend Elaine (Annette O’Toole). Then he invited himself along when two fellow detectives were trying to do a simple credit card theft/fraud bust (they weren’t too… Continue reading Movie Review: 48 Hrs. (1982)
Movie Review: The Black Cat (1934)
Movie Review: The Black Cat (1934) directed by Edgar G. Ulmer Mystery writer Paul Alison (David Manners) and his bride Joan (Julie Bishop) are spending their honeymoon in Hungary, starting with a private compartment on the Orient Express. As so often happens, the railway company accidentally double-booked their compartment with a courtly but somewhat sinister-seeming middle-aged… Continue reading Movie Review: The Black Cat (1934)