SHADOW OF THE THIN MAN (1941) ** ½

Lush married detectives Nick and Nora Charles (William Powell and Myrna Loy) go to the race track to play the ponies and wind up investigating the death of a jockey.  A young reporter named Paul (Barry Nelson from The Shining making his screen debut), eager for a scoop, sticks his nose in the matter and winds up getting framed for another murder.  Mr. and Mrs. Charles then set out to clear Paul’s name and nab the killer.

The fourth Thin Man mystery is a slight improvement over the last one, Another Thin Man.  The scenes of the Charles’ domestic bliss, wrangling their dog Asta, and rearing their son Nick Jr. (Dickie Hall) are a lot of fun (I liked the part where Nick reads his son a racing form he has hidden inside a storybook), but the mystery itself is considerably less involving.  While it’s a little more interesting than the previous entries, the pacing has a tendency to drag whenever Powell is sleuthing.  Luckily, his charm helps keep these overwritten scenes afloat. 

Powell and Loy’s breezy chemistry is as entertaining as ever and their banter is snappier than the previous entries.  The supporting cast is fine too.  We have Donna Reed as Nelson’s loyal girlfriend who helps him in his quest for a story, famed acting teacher Stella Adler plays a socialite with a motive for murder, and Sam Levene has some good moments the investigator on the case.  In addition to Nelson, Ava Gardner and Sid Melton were also making their film debuts.

It’s Loy who gets the best line of the movie when she tells Powell, “I’ll be with you in two shakes of a cocktail.”

THE STING (1973) ****

The Sting is simply one of the greatest films of all time.  It is the product of the best talent in all areas of the medium at that time coming together and creating one of the finest masterpieces in movie history.  It was director George Roy Hill’s love letter to the early days of cinema.  Using various old school techniques to echo the Golden Age of Hollywood, he gave The Sting’s ‘30s period detail an authentic feel, while simultaneously giving audiences something new and refreshing.  Everything from the acting of Paul Newman and Robert Redford (both of whom have never been better) to the superior set design, and impeccable costumes represents the best talent in their particular field firing on all cylinders.  

The script by David S. Ward is the blueprint for all con men movies.  It is one of the most intricately plotted scripts ever written and Hill, not to mention the actors, do it justice at every turn.  The use of Scott Joplin’s ragtime music (arranged by Marvin Hamlisch) adds to the lightweight tone of the movie and is a perfect cherry on top.

Redford plays Johnny Hooker, a small-time grifter who unknowingly heists a bunch of money from feared gangster Lonnegan (Robert Shaw).  He retaliates by killing one of Redford’s associates, which sends him out for revenge.  He looks up master con man Henry Gondorff (Newman) and together they plot a major scam to bilk Lonnegan out of a half a million dollars. 

I’ve seen The Sting several times over the years, but I was lucky enough to see it for the first time in a theater on the big screen, where it was meant to be seen.  It plays just fine on the small screen, but when you see the film in a theater with a mostly full house, it really pops.  Seeing Newman and Redford in their prime, projected larger than life, you can fully appreciate their talents and effortless chemistry together.  

That’s really the word that best describes The Sting, effortless.  There are a lot of moving parts, many vital supporting characters, schemes within schemes, and twists within twists.  Together, Hill and Ward pull it off with style, charm, and élan, making the whole thing look easy.  Likewise, Newman and Redford are a tailor-made team who never once break a sweat.  As good as they were in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (which was also directed by Hill), they’re even better here.  

THE EVICTORS (1979) **

The Evictors comes to us courtesy of Charles B. Pierce, and it’s a lot like his Legend of Boggy Creek and The Town That Dreaded Sundown.  Purporting to be based on a true-life incident, Pierce takes the pseudo-documentary approach he enjoys so well and applies it yet again, giving himself another opportunity to indulge his penchant for local legends and small-town gossip.  While this is arguably his most atmospheric and accomplished work (which honestly, isn’t saying much), it still leaves much to be desired.

He did assemble himself a good cast at least.  Vic Morrow is top-billed, but his role isn’t all that sizeable.  He’s the real estate agent who sells a couple played by Michael Parks and Jessica Harper a house secluded in the countryside during WWII.  Naturally, they’re blissfully unaware of the multiple violent incidents that occurred in the home years before.  Soon after getting settled in, they begin receiving threatening messages in their mailbox and are subject to a shadowy prowler that likes to lurk about the property.

Most of Pierce’s films have an amateurish feel to them, but this one is a serviceable enough attempt to elicit chills.  If anything, it shows what he could accomplish with a capable cast and a decent-sized budget at his disposable.  The black and white flashbacks are marginally effective, although their placement in the narrative often brings the present-day action to a screeching halt.  I’ll admit, Pierce gives the old-timey scenes a nice attention to detail.  It’s just that all the back-and-forth between the timelines prevents the movie from gaining any momentum.  

I liked the scenes where Harper is stalked by the creep while she’s all alone in the house.  Whenever she’s on screen, her presence alone is enough to make you want to watch it.  Unfortunately, the usually weird Parks doesn’t bring anything to the table as he plays things far too low key to leave much of an impression.  I mean, who wants to see Michael Parks play a “normal” guy?  Morrow does a fine job, but his very presence in the role sort of gives away the twist ending.  I mean, would YOU buy a house from Vic Morrow?

BRUCE TAKES DRAGON TOWN (1974) ** ½

Daredevil Alan is a Kung Fu badass who mostly tries to keep to himself.  When a local gangster has trouble with someone muscling in on his territory, he turns to Daredevil Alan for help.  D.A. naturally refuses, so the gangster resorts to kidnapping his mother to ensure he’ll play ball.

That’s right, there’s no one named Bruce in this movie.  Nor does he have even a passing resemblance to Bruce Lee.  While we’re on the subject, I’m starting to suspect this movie didn’t even place in Dragon Town!  What the hell?

The fights occur at a generally non-stop clip.  Normally, this wouldn’t be much of a problem, but we rarely know who’s trying to beat up Daredevil Alan or why.  They just jump out of nowhere and attack him.  The longest stretch of non-fighting comes during a long, boring flashback to Alan’s childhood, so maybe the random ass fights weren’t such a bad idea after all.

There are enough memorable moments to make Bruce Takes Dragon Town a hair or two better than your average chopsocky extravaganza.  I liked the part where some bad dudes try to throw a rope around Daredevil Alan and he confiscates it and starts jumping rope with it.  There’s also a flashback scene in which his brothers are killed in rapid succession that is good for an unintended laugh or two.  Other funny shit:  Daredevil Alan hangs a guard while he’s taking a pee and the odd scene in which his love interest plays with dolls.  

The thing that makes Bruce Takes Dragon Town an (almost) winner for me was the fact that it blatantly steals music for Bernard Herrmann’s score from Taxi Driver!  Hearing one of the best scores from one of the most iconic composers during a slapdash Kung Fu flick is certainly a memorably WTF moment.  I can’t say it makes the movie or anything, but I can honestly say I won’t soon forget it.

AKA:  Dare You Touch Me?

THE PREDATOR (2018) ***

In 1987, Predator came to Earth and went toe-to-toe with Arnold Schwarzenegger and became one of the most popular movie monsters in film history.  Lethal Weapon screenwriter Shane Black was with the franchise from day one, playing the smallish role of Hawkins, a member of Schwarzenegger’s squad.  In the ensuing years, Black, one of the most sought-after screenwriters in Hollywood, became a talented director in his own right, directing such instant classics as Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Iron Man 3, and The Nice Guys.  So what better guy to have at the helm of the Predator’s latest adventure?  I can’t say The Predator is disappointing per se, because there’s a lot to enjoy here.  However, it’s easily Black’s weakest film to date.  

The good news is, The Predator works better as a Shane Black movie than as a logical extension of the Predator franchise.  Some of the additions to the mythology is, at best, a little on the lazy side.  I mean the only new wrinkle here is a Predator who is… bigger than the other ones.  Other than that, it hits all the notes you’d want to see in a Predator flick.  It hunts, it skins, it turns invisible.  It’s a solid Predator sequel, all in all, but some will be left wanting more.

The best part of the film are Black’s quirky characters who are constantly bouncing hilarious one-liners and dirty jokes off each other.  A Predator movie lives and dies by its characters, and this one gives us a fun variation on what we’ve previously seen in the series.  This time out, the guys are soldiers with a slew of mental disorders, a touch of PTSD, and various personality ticks.  Despite their disabilities, the characters are able to overcome their handicaps and work together as a team to combat the killer extraterrestrial.  

At the center of the film is Boyd (Logan) Holbrook as the ringleader of the group.  He has a likeable, commanding screen presence and is a good foil for the other, more colorful characters in his unit.  The most colorful being the team of Keegan-Michael Key and Thomas Jane.  This bickering duo practically steal the movie and need their own prequel spin-off like yesterday.  It’s nice knowing that someone knows how to properly use Jane.  His character, a down-on-his-luck soldier with Tourette’s represents some of the best work he’s ever done.  If Key and Peele is officially cancelled, I’d gladly watch the Key and Jane show any day.

We also have Jacob Trembly as Holbrook’s son, a prodigy who has Asperger’s.  One of the joys of the flick is seeing how Holbrook tries to protect him, but the kid winds up using his own gifts to help the team.  In fact, there are some places where The Predator plays like a plea for tolerance and inclusion, without being at the expense of the sci-fi action fun.

The action sequences honor what have come before.  Black (who co-wrote the film with his Monster Squad partner, Fred Dekker) knows his way around the series and delivers on what you’d come to expect from the franchise.  However, the new twists are uninspired to say the least.  The “Upgrade” Predator seems more like a video game boss than a worthy addition to the established mythology.  That said, the end scene that sets up another sequel is certainly promising.  I’d love to see Holbrook get another crack at the series.  He certainly proves he’s leading man material.

There’s a part of me that almost wishes the Predator wasn’t even in the film.  I’d pay good money to see these characters (who refer to themselves as “The Loonies”) again in a movie that didn’t revolve around a space alien.  (Although if I really had my druthers I would want to see The Nice Guys Meet the Predator, but oh well.)

BLOOD DIAMONDS (1977) **

Safecracker Guido (Claudio Cassinelli) gets out of jail looking to make a fresh start.  Almost immediately, his girlfriend is gunned down by a pair of thugs.  He suspects kingpin Rizzo (Martin Balsam) is behind the killing, if only because he wants his cut from Guido’s last diamond caper.

Directed by Fernando (Man Hunt) Di Leo, Blood Diamonds is a middle of the road Italian crime picture.  It goes through the motions competently enough, but it’s not particularly memorable or involving.  Much of the problem rests with Cassinelli’s humdrum performance.  He plays his character as an emotionless bore and pretty much sleepwalks through the role.  It also doesn’t help that he slaps Barbara Bouchet around a lot, which doesn’t exactly endear him to the audience.

Pier Paolo Capponi is a lot more fun to watch as Tony, Balsam’s mustached right-hand man.  He has a lot of energy while muscling people and telling them to “conform”.  You’ll wish he was the hero instead of the dull Cassinelli.

Even though most of Blood Diamonds is a bore, Di Leo does give us one eye-popping sequence where Bouchet go-go dances in a white bikini.  The song she dances to, “Shock Me” is awesome too and manages to name drop just about all the old school monsters you can think of.  This scene has more weird energy and is more entertaining than the stuff with Guido looking for revenge.  Fans of Bouchet will want to check it out on the strength of this scene alone.

AKA:  Blood and Diamonds.

THE SPACE CHILDREN (1958) **

The Space Children comes with a strong pedigree.  It was produced by William Alland and directed by the great Jack Arnold.  The duo had previously collaborated on such Universal classics as It Came from Outer Space, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and Tarantula.  It was the duo’s first collaboration for Paramount and despite a nifty set-up, it’s sorely lacking the punch of their best work.

Adam Williams gets a job working at a top-secret rocket-testing facility in a seaside town.  His sons get to know the local kids and go exploring in a nearby cave.  There, they find a glowing, pulsating blob that has the power to control minds.  It soon gets the children to help it stop an upcoming rocket launch their parents are working on.

The first appearance of the monster is well done, and Arnold crafts a handful of effective moments.  However, the bigger the monster gets, the more boring the movie becomes.  The scenes of characters spacing out whenever it manipulates their minds get repetitive rather quickly.  The heavy-handed ending doesn’t do it any favors either and its overly preachy nature helps diminish some of the fun.

The movie’s strength is its solid supporting cast full of familiar faces.  Peggy (The Screaming Skull) Webber is fine as Williams’ concerned wife, Russell (Gilligan’s Island) Johnson has a memorable bit as a violent drunk, and Uncle Fester himself, Jackie Coogan turns up (wearing some ultra-tight shorts) as one of the scientists at the compound.  The space children themselves (among them The Rifleman’s Johnny Crawford) do a nice job as well.  Although their efforts aren’t enough to save the film, they at least make it watchable.