This weekend's review: Gray Lady Down.

Despite being a submarine-centric movie, Gray Lady Down isn’t a reject from my Sub Month project; I just stumbled across it somewhere else and thought the title and summary made it worth seeing. And the movie does wind up containing elements that work or that I like. The problem is, those bits are scattered ( Read more... )

Today's review: Aty-Baty, Shli Soldaty...

While the summary of this particular movie seemed interesting enough, the real reason I was curious to watch it was the lyrical sounding title: Aty-baty, Shli Soldaty…*. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting, though the fact that it’s a) a Russian movie made in the Soviet era, and b) centers around a ( Read more... )

This weekend's review: The 1982 version of Ivanhoe.

While the 1952 version of the Ivanhoe story left me cold, I was willing to give the 1982 version a look both to give the story another chance and because James Mason was in it. And I will say that this version had a very different feel, so I didn't feel as if I watched the same thing twice. ( Read more... )

Today's (slightly late) review: Bring Me the Head of the Machine Gun Woman.

A title like Bring Me the Head of the Machine Gun Woman definitely does the job of making you want to see it, even if you suspect the movie is going to be pure schlock (though for some, that might be even more of a draw). In my case, I was curious about the title and ( Read more... )

This weekend's review: The Big Combo.

The Big Combo is a solid noir title, punchy and hinting at some sort of violence or action. It’s not quite as eyecatching as something like Double Indemnity or The Big Heat, but if you’re a noir fan, it’s the sort of thing you want to see or maybe even actively seek out. Alas, the movie underneath the title ( Read more... )

Today's review: The Sea Gull.

I was a little concerned when I sat down to watch The Sea Gull. While I wanted to watch the movie because of James Mason’s involvement, a family member of mine made a face and an “ick” noise when they saw it on my “to watch” list. They clarified it was because of Anton Chekov’s work in general and not this adaptation ( Read more... )

This weekend's review: The Man Between.

The Man Between looked right up my alley, since it had three words in the summary that were guaranteed to pique my interest; “thriller” and “James Mason”. In addition, the summary compared it to The Third Man, and while that’s not a huge favorite of mine, it’s got some good cinematography and atmosphere, ( Read more... )

This weekend's review: Green for Danger.

As someone who has a fondness for eye-catching noir titles, Green For Danger was right up my alley from the word go. I had no idea what the title meant, but given both the title and the setting (a makeshift hospital in Britain during WWII), I was sure it would be unique. And while there’s truth to that…the ( Read more... )

Today's review: Journey to Italy.

I decided to watch Journey to Italy both because George Sanders was in it and because the image advertising it featured him and Ingrid Bergman pressed close to each other and looking off to the side with worried looks on their faces*. From that, I figured this was some sort of drama, of the thriller or possibly ( Read more... )

This weekend's review: That Hamilton Woman.

That Hamilton Woman sounded like it was right up my alley. A period piece set during the Napoleonic era, featuring Horatio Nelson and therefore the Royal Navy, and a love story? All it would need is a big role for a cat and it would be perfect. Alas, not only is there no cat, the movie didn’t really ( Read more... )