Recent Viewings, Part 2

[M.10rda]

THE STRANGE LOVE OF MOLLY LOUVAIN (1932):
I watched this for Ann Dvorak (rhymes with "Horshack"), who cashed in quick after her spectacular performance as Muni's sister in SCARFACE earlier the same year. She's great here and generally - a tart-tongued 30s precedent to Alison Brie or maybe an edgier Maggie Gyllenhaal. The movie around her, though, is passable at best. Directed by Michael Curtiz before he was "Michael Curtiz, director of CASABLANCA" (which I understand some people really like!), it's only a smidgeon smarter or better than any other bill-filler of the era and less so than some. Too bad, Dvorak deserved more!

Titular Molly is an outwardly spunky hotel desk clerk w/ a dark, depressed side. She dumps her adoring whitebread boyfriend and runs away (literally, in a hot car spitting lead) with a cheap thug who knocks her up and (worse yet!) makes her dye her brown locks blonde!  Dvorak probably has more to play than lots of leading ladies circa '32 but Molly still gets the short end of several sticks. The cops finally lure her into their clutches by using her baby daughter as emotional blackmail/bait. No real SPOILERS, the resolution of the film hinges not on Molly's ability to redeem herself but instead on which of the three crummy choices of men she will end up stuck with: the boyfriend, the baby daddy, or a fast-talking newsman who the audience is probably supposed to root for (but who got on my nerves quick). I realize that even today some ladies feel like their only option is to marry some guy behind doors 1, 2, or 3, but hopefully mainstream movies wouldn't emphasize this neurotic lack of agency............  WhattamItalkinabout, movies still pull that crap all the time!

3/5
Technically this was "pre-code" but all you get is a brief shot of Ann trying on her underwear and stockings in a full-length mirror, which is more than enough considering how much Molly Louvain is already objectified and commodified in this flick.

[Dr. Whom]

THE STRANGE LOVE OF MOLLY LOUVAIN (1932):

Why did they name her after my home town?

[M.10rda]

Your home town is named "Strange Love"...? 

[Dr. Whom]

Your home town is named "Strange Love"...? 

The character, not the movie  

[lester1/2jr]

Cherry 2000 (1987) - You'd think a movie called Cherry 2000 would be some kind of futuristic but titillating 80's adventure and it kind of is, but actually isn't. The first indication something's off is the bad wig/ hairstyle Melanie Griffith wears. What the hell is that thing supposed to be? Also, why is her hair red and she's not Cherry 2000 ITS FALSE ADVERTISING.

I'm glad I saw it. It had a little bit of that 80's energy that I love, but it had a lot of flop energy, too. Griffith, despite her wardrobe limitations, is charming enough though and an 80's flop is still a lot better than the most of the made in 5 seconds AI junk you see nowadays. One thing I don't understand is where all the money ($10 million budget) went? Most of it is just them wandering around in some sort of desert with set pieces that could be procured at a junkyard.

3/5

It's like they improvised an adventure/ rom com while working on the sets of Star Wars or Road Warrior

[FatFreddysCat]

"Shazam: Fury of the Gods" (2023)
The dim bulb teenager in a super hero's body (Zachary Levi) and his super-powered family battle two ancient sisters (Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu) who have stolen an artifact that will allow them to take over Earth. Much blasting, zapping, and punching ensues.
The first "Shazam" flick was disposable popcorn fun and this one is more of the same. It's got a few legit laughs, some impressive effects and a strong cast, but six months from now I'll probably forget that I've even seen this.

[M.10rda]

I had the same reaction to SHAZAM: FOTG. All very disposable.

On the other hand, I think I was 11 or 12 when I caught CHERRY 2000 on cable - in the mid-afternoon! - and couldn't have been more delighted by how R-ish rated this PG-13 rated movie was. Hot android sex in the first 10 minutes and then you get to see Melanie's exposed boobs near the end?! (Briefly - but for an 11-year old boy pre-internet, 1 or 2 seconds could last a lifetime.) I liked the entire rest of the movie, too. Of course, that was probably the 11-year old goggles talking. I seem to recall it was produced in '83 or '84, maybe, and shelved for several years, and no one was too impressed when it was finally released. It does feel very much of a piece w/ flicks released circa '83 - SPACEHUNTER: ADVENTURES IN THE FORBIDDEN ZONE, METALSTORM: THE DESTRUCTION OF JARED-SYN, ICE PIRATES, YOR....... all those Italian Mad Max-alikes...

All that said, I still prefer Melanie w/ that goofy red wig. 

[lester1/2jr]

Context is everything, as they say. I had just watched Body Double the night before, which is a better movie and where Griffith is much more naked. Also a little more believably cast as a porn actress than a bounty hunter.

[FatFreddysCat]

"The French Connection" (1971)
Hard nosed New York cop "Popeye" Doyle (Gene Hackman) races against time to stop a massive heroin deal going down between local mobsters and a French supplier in Wililam "The Exorcist" Friedkin's gritty thriller that earned Hackman an Oscar for Best Actor. Gene is supported by a strong cast that includes Roy "Jaws" Scheider as his partner, and the action sequences shot on the streets of New York are a real time capsule today. Very cool, badass stuff, reportedly based on actual events. R.I.P. Gene.

[LordGraal]

"The French Connection" (1971)
Hard nosed New York cop "Popeye" Doyle (Gene Hackman) races against time to stop a massive heroin deal going down between local mobsters and a French supplier in Wililam "The Exorcist" Friedkin's gritty thriller that earned Hackman an Oscar for Best Actor. Gene is supported by a strong cast that includes Roy "Jaws" Scheider as his partner, and the action sequences shot on the streets of New York are a real time capsule today. Very cool, badass stuff, reportedly based on actual events. R.I.P. Gene.

A favourite of mine.  Creates a very strong atmosphere of New York, great acting - Hackman's boss is played by the cop Hackman is portraying.  Have read the book multiple times and it's well worth a read.

[RCMerchant]

^  Watching that film even smells like NYC. (My home, as it was-looong ago.)
Though not nearly as good a film, DRILLER KILLER also is spot on, as far a NYC ambiance.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Bonnie and Clyde" (1967)
Bank robbing lovers Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway, who was absolutely smokin' hot at the time!) and Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty) machine-gun their way across the 1930s Southwest, becoming folk heroes in the process. The excellent supporting cast includes the late Gene Hackman as Clyde's equally crooked brother Buck, Michael J. Pollard as the couple's dim bulb getaway driver, and Denver Pyle (later known as "Uncle Jesse" on "The Dukes of Hazzard") as a Texas Ranger determined to stop the couple's crime spree.
Arthur Penn's action packed period piece was controversial in its day for its ultra-violence, but it was a box office smash and is still considered one of the best films of the so called "New Hollywood" movement of the late '60s and early '70s.

[indianasmith]

THE QUICK AND THE DEAD  (1995)

Watched this with my wife just now in honor of the late, great Gene Hackman.  Despite its wildly impossible premise, this movie is just pure fun - with Sharon Stone toning down the hotness to play the vengeful Ellen; a ridiculously young Leo DeCaprio strutting his stuff as The Kid, Russell Crow as the gunfighting preacher, and Gene Hackman as the alternately snarling and smiling John Herod, the aging gunfighter who rules the town with his blazing revolvers and lightning reflexes. Some excellent cameos here, too.  A classic shoot'em up, blow'em up extravaganza of vengeance and violence!   4/5

[Dr. Whom]

Ghost Cat Anzu (2024)

11 year old Karin is left at a temple with her grandfather, while her dad tries to settle his debts with the Yakuza. This temple happens to have a ghost cat who walks and talks like a human. When her father hasn't shown up on the anniversary of her mother's death, she decides to visit the shrine at Tokyo.

This is by the studio that made Doraemon, and Anzu bears more than a passing resemblance to Doraemon. It is charming and sweet, and while it does have some good ideas, it is pretty much par for the course. I wasn't bored, though. One thing I personally liked is that while you have a young girl transported into a magical realm, this movie sticks to its own style and doesn't try to out-Miyaki Miyazaki.

[Trevor]

THE QUICK AND THE DEAD  (1995)

Watched this with my wife just now in honor of the late, great Gene Hackman.  Despite its wildly impossible premise, this movie is just pure fun - with Sharon Stone toning down the hotness to play the vengeful Ellen; a ridiculously young Leo DeCaprio strutting his stuff as The Kid, Russell Crow as the gunfighting preacher, and Gene Hackman as the alternately snarling and smiling John Herod, the aging gunfighter who rules the town with his blazing revolvers and lightning reflexes. Some excellent cameos here, too.  A classic shoot'em up, blow'em up extravaganza of vengeance and violence!   4/5

Loved that.

My fave scene is the one in the gunshop with Gene Hackman and Leo Dicaprio where Russell Crowe needs a revolver. 😊😊