Quick Change
March 12, 2006
New York City. There have been many cinematic odes to the Big Apple, from Woody Allen’s Manhattan (1979), to Blue in the Face (1995), but few films have shown comedic contempt for this famous metropolis — Martin Scorsese’s double hit of...
Blood and Wine
March 10, 2006
Director Bob Rafelson and Jack Nicholson had a number of memorable collaborations in the 1970s (Five Easy Pieces and The King of Marvin Gardens) and worked once together during the 1980s (The Postman Always Rings Twice) and again during the 1990s (Man...
Fox in a Box: Featuring Pam Grier
February 27, 2006
Fox in a Box essentially repackages three vintage Pam Grier Blaxploitation films that had been previous released separately but now with a bonus disc that pays tribute to this enduring cinematic icon. Watching these movies reinforces what an incredible...
Four Brothers
February 25, 2006
The set-up for Four Brothers (2005) is classic B-movie fodder: four buddies reunite after many years to avenge the death of a loved one. As young foster kids they were considered to be lost causes and a kind woman (Flanagan) raised them on her own. Present...
Kiss of Death
February 24, 2006
Kiss of Death (1947) belongs in a sub-genre of film noir that blends a documentary style with a noir look and sensibility. Nick Bianco (Mature) is a jewel thief caught and sent to prison. While waiting to be sentenced he meets Tommy Udo (Widmark), a sadistic...
Shoot the Piano Player
February 23, 2006
Filmmaker Francois Truffaut admired the hardboiled romanticism of David Goodis’ 1956 crime novel Down There so much that he decided to adapt it into a film called Shoot the Piano Player (1960), the follow-up to his extremely successful debut, The 400...
Sin City: Recut Extended Unrated
February 16, 2006
It only makes sense that if one is going to adapt a comic book into a film that it be faithful in look and tone to its source material. Otherwise, why adapt it in the first place? Of course, there is always the danger of being too faithful to the look...
Busting
February 14, 2006
The 1970’s was a great decade for gritty buddy cop movies with the likes of The French Connection (1971) and Hickey & Boggs (1972). 1974 was a particularly good year with The Super Cops (1974), Freebie and the Bean (1974) and the largely forgotten...
Pickpocket
February 13, 2006
Robert Bresson’s Pickpocket (1959) is about Michel (LaSalle), a man compelled to steal from others. He works the streets, subways and train stations of Paris taking money from unsuspecting victims with his nimble fingers. He wears a plain, non-descript...
Le Samourai
February 8, 2006
Le Samourai (1967) begins with no dialogue for several minutes as director Jean-Pierre Melville expertly conveys everything we need to know visually. He shows professional hitman Jef Costello (Delon) getting ready for a job. It is the kind of introduction...
