Two-Minute Warning (1976)

Dir: Larry Peerce
5 Star Max HD broadcast

First off, let's talk about the cast! We have a collection to frazzle the brain with this ensemble starring; John Cassavetes, Charlton Heston, Beau Bridges, Gena Rowlands, Martin Balsam, Jack Klugman, David Jannsen, and Walter Pidgeon! So what brings this group of TV actors, indie auteurs, and NRA members together? A sniper at a football game. At an event that I surmise was supposed to be the Super Bowl, a man with a rifle is spotted by a blimp cam on top of the scoreboard. We never see his face but he does have his own music cue that sounds similar to that of a movie slasher and we get plenty of close-ups of his disgusting finger nails. The narrative cuts between this unseen baddie and the lives of the people his actions will effect, a gambler, a young family, a couple trying to figure things out, and the policia, Heston of course. After the sniper attacks a maintenance man, Heston must call in the Swat team, led by John Cassavetes. Some macho posturing occurs, ninety minutes pass, then the shit goes down. It's a fine thriller that tries to break into Altman territory (scarily enough) with camera movements that leave one conversation for another in midstream to give us a natural feel and a sense of urgency. There's actually one incredible sequence where everyone in the video booth watches helplessly as the sniper attacks in such a way that the crowd can't see. The main problem with the film is how much time we spend seeing the lives of the various spectators, but it's both shocking and unintentionally hilarious to see Beau Bridges back hand one of his kids in public, ah the good ol' days. It's also interesting to see Heston ask the killer where he got his gun with such anger, you know that's acting!
Universal released this on DVD over a decade ago and it's now out of print. The HD broadcast from Cinemax looked pretty good and I couldn't tell that framing was too tight even though it was presented 1.85:1 and the movie was reportedly shot 2.35:1.

6/10

The Silence (1963)

Dir: Ingmar Bergman
Criterion DVD

This may be one of the best looking films I've ever seen. Bergman and cinematographer, Sven Nykvist, really knew how to utilize black & white film. It's certainly an asset that helps to draw the viewer i to a very vague situation about a woman, her ill sister, and her co-dependent son, Now it's true that all children are dependent on their parents, but here Bergman suggests a woman that has manipulated her child into only being comfortable with his mother for her own selfishness and insecurities. Their is also a lot of animosity with the sisters and how the boy fits in with their lives. Bergman keeps dialog to a minimum and never lets you in on the exact circumstances of the story. A sequence where a series of tanks roll by in silhouette let's you know something about the time and region the story may take place in. There's plenty of symbolism for the loss of innocence and the familial strife that you'd expect from Bergman, but ultimately I felt a little too detached from the film at it's conclusion making it a lesser effort for me. But it's still Bergman so there's plenty to be had from the film, I just wouldn't start with this one if you haven't had much exposure to him yet.

7/10

The Last Frontier (1955)

Dir: Anthony Mann
Sony DVD

Anthony Mann has made some great films over his career and I am particularly fond of his westerns. This one however had escaped my attention and after watching it I can see why. It's about three trappers (Victor Mature, James Whitmore, & Pat Hogan) that get caught in a skirmish between the military and the local "Indians". The Natives want to run any white men out (and who can blame them?) since the military's arrival. They take the three trappers furs, horses, and guns and send them on their way, but this raises the ire of Victor Mature who decides that they should sign on with the military as scouts so they can earn some of the money back that they lost. His two pals, particularly James Whitmore's Gus, aren't keen on the idea but go along anyway. As soon as the join, Mature becomes a childish wild card that lashes out at everyone, what did this moron expect? He gets caught up in a love triangle, there's a few battle sequences, the end. The main problem with the film is Victor Mature. He seems out of place every step of the way, from his look, his ever-present smile, and his cadence. It doesn't help that his character is never likable, ever. Whitmore is great and has some of the best moments in the film but hardly a reason to sit through the whole movie. A real disappointment but mainly because of Mann's previous track record.

4/10

Whiteout (2009)

Dir: Domenic Sena
Warner DVD

I read the comic when it was released and was certainly impressed with it and particularly it's writer, Greg Rucka. I've since become a fan of Rucka's comic book writing and, if nothing else, am glad he collected a paycheck with this film adaptation that works hard to ignore all the things that made the source mataerial interesting. Let me say, I don't normally complain about movie adaptations being unfaithful to the source material. I prefer to like or dislike the movie based on it's own merits. So looking at Whiteout by itself, it's a mundane, predictable thriller with one dimensional characters, loads of red herrings, and a flat ending that doesn't end soon enough. A lot of the major plot points are kept intact, but the details that made the story fresh are typically missing. The story is about a U.S. Marshall (Kate Beckinsale) stationed at the South Pole. A murdered body is found and that starts a series of murders that she must investigate. Along the way she meets a UN Agent played by the bland Gabriel Macht (in the book this character was a female British Agent, but this way we get a suspect and a love interest rolled into one!) and uncovers a ludicrous plot to smuggle a canister out of the area that was found on a downed Russian plane that's been in the ice for fifty years (why a Russian plane was doing flying over the South Pole is a mystery for the ages). Beckinsale isn't bad but it's hard to buy her as a U.S. Marshall. There's absolutely nothing new or interesting about this one making it one to skip, but whether you see it or not, you'll never think about it again.

3/10

He Ran All The Way (1951)

Dir: John Berry
SIFF Theater

Unfortunately the festival ended early for me and with more of a whisper than a bang. I had seen this on Turner Classic Movies before and had completely forgotten about it until around the five minute mark. The movie stars John Garfield (his last film ever) as a crook that gets talked into robbing a guy carrying payroll money. Things go south and his buddy is killed and Garfield kills a cop. He's paranoid and sweet talks his way into Shelley Winter's life where he takes her and her parents and little brother hostage. But not hostages in a way that you would think or that even makes since, they're hostages that are allowed to leave! As long as one stays with him, the rest can go to work, school, etc.. It's pretty frustrating to watch these characters with so much freedom not be able to come up with a way to overpower or out-think this one hood. It makes the film feel like a twenty minute television episode that's been stretched out to feature length, but that length is only 70 minutes. Every character is utterly unlikeable making it hard to judge the performances because you want them all to get shot. To it's credit there are a few really great scenes where we get a glimpse of Garfield's loneliness or a particularly nice moment where the little brother attacks Garfield but, all in all a lackluster affair that doesn't end soon enough.
The film is note worthy for having almost everyone involved in it getting blacklisted, the reason it is Garfield's final film.

4/10

a P.S. - special thanks to Colin & Holly for hosting me over the weekend, thanks for the hospitality! or the horse brutality

The Mob (1951)

Dir: Robert Parrish
SIFF Theater

Generic title? You bet, but the film was a lot of fun to watch. A bit more light-hearted than a typical noir and more action packed. It stars Broderick Crawford as a cop that goes undercover to infiltrate water front racketeers and find an elusive killer boss named Blackie Clegg. He meets a fellow named Tom Clancy (Richard Kiley) along the way that gives some good advice but also appears to know more than he's letting on. There's some fist fights, gun play, broads, gags, you name it. The movie tackles the same subject as On The Waterfront would a few years later, but I have to say that I probably prefer watching The Mob.

8/10

Cry Danger (1951)

Dir: Robert Parrish
SIFF Theater

Well I meant to finish writing about my festival experience some time ago, but stuff happens. So, I will pick up with the second night's opening film, Cry Danger. The screenings are brought to us via the Film Noir Foundation in an attempt to raise money so that they may restore prints of classic films that may otherwise be lost forever. Last year's festivals and donations went to bringing us this outstanding, well-paced indie produced by star Dick Powell and marked the directorial debut of Parrish, and it is well worth the money they spent. The only remaining film source was from Powell's personal 16mm print which they used to strike the 35mm one used at the exhibitions. Powell plays Rocky Mulloy, a man who is just let out of prison after serving five years for a crime he didn't commit. During his trial he kept stating that he was out drinking with a bunch of marines that were about to ship out, while the supposed crime he was involved with was taking place. Five years later a marine steps forward to corroborate his story and Mulloy is released back into the world. He is met by the arresting officer and his alibi, Delong (Richard Erdman at his sarcastic best). Once the copper tells Mulloy he'll be keeping an eye on him and takes his leave, Rocky turns to Delong and asks him who he is and what he wants. Delong is hoping that Rocky will split some of the stolen dough from the robbery with him since it was never found by the police. The two become fast friends and rent a trailer together to stay in while Rocky looks up the guy who frames him and a buddy's wife, his pal also went to prison on the robbery charge. He gets tangled up in some more trouble as he tries to get paid and clear his friend's name. Parrish was working with another script that was punched up by Bill Bowers that is smart, quick, and full of memorable dialog. It would be hard to choose, but I would say this was my favorite film from the ones I saw.
The Film Noir Foundation is doing great work to keep classic films alive, so I will mention their website in case anyone feels like supporting the cause.

http://filmnoirfoundation.org/

9/10