Movie Reviews: Gun Crazy

Gun Crazy
directed by Joseph E. Lewis

I've always liked older movies. Over the past few years I've been watching more noir films. This 1949 film, although it obviously was not explicit in terms of sex or violence, was nonetheless quite bold at how it used those two themes.

It was something which was Tarantino before its time. The script was written by blacklisted screenwriter and novelist Dalton Trumbo.

Gun Crazy certainly had to have made an impression on Arthur Penn's later film Bonnie and Clyde, in terms of the beret wearing female lead, the innovative camera work and the automobile being used as metaphor for danger and freedom. There is a long unbroken shot from the rear of the automobile that is intoxicating. It puts the viewer in the criminals' POV.

Although as mentioned there's little here that would offend modern audiences in terms of sex/violence (people fall down wordlessly when they're shot, an attractive woman runs while wearing tight clothing) in some aspects this is an intensely sexy film. The leads had great chemistry together. People can express a tremendous amount of emotion with eyes and facial expressions.

Bart Tare (John Dall) is an aw shucks kind of guy who, despite being unwilling to harm any living creature, has since childhood been obsessed with firearms of all kinds. Not only is he a natural marksman, he works continually to improve his skills. 

Movie Reviews: Dracula Untold

Dracula Untold
directed by Gary Shore

For centuries the Ottoman Turks conquered large areas of Europe . They were turned back at Vienna twice, in 1529 and 1683. Those experiences, along with others, could explain why so much of European inspired fantasy or historical literature has themes of invasion by dark hordes from the East. 

Before the Turks could besiege Hungary and Austria and go toe to toe with the Holy Roman Empire they had to go thru Romania, or more precisely Wallachia. 

Like any small state caught between two larger states , Wallachia made the best of a bad situation. Vlad Dracul III, who became known later as Dracula or Vlad the Impaler, for his preferred method of dealing with enemies, was as a young boy along with his brother Radu, sent to Istanbul as a hostage for his father's (ruler of Wallachia's) good behavior. Neither Vlad nor his brother were well treated. They were part of the system of devshirme or blood tax, in which conquered Christian states were forced to provide thousands of young boys to the Ottomans. 

These boys would be taught Turkish, forcibly converted to Islam and trained as soldiers or state officials. Some would also be raped, something that happened to Dracula and his brother, either as punishment or just because some Turk felt like it. Christian boys were also subject to beatings, starvation and imprisonment.

While such treatment left Radu with a fear of Turks and  constant desire to please them, it caused the exact opposite reaction in the older Vlad. Well that's the history which the movie obliquely references. 

Bill Maher and Coronavirus Controversy

It's rare that Bill Maher and I are on the same side of the issue. But Maher recently pointed out something that was previously posted on this blog. The coronavirus apparently started in Wuhan, China. It is not racist to say that.



Maher did not put on yellowface and say that the virus started in China. He didn't pull up the sides of his eyelids, use racial slurs for Chinese, or deliberately affect a bad Chinese accent. Maher didn't start ranting that the pandemic proved that Chinese were inferior and should be repatriated from Western nations or exterminated altogether. 

Introverts vs. Extroverts in Quarantine

I thought this was accurate. As an introvert I am often amazed, amused and occasionally irritated by just how much extroverts need interaction with and attention from others. It really is their bread and butter. 

And I know that at various times extroverts are amazed, amused and irritated by how little introverts need to publicly or frequently interact with other people. I know this because extroverts have routinely told me so.

Movie Reviews: Derailed

Derailed
directed by Mikael Hafstrom

This older movie had a top shelf cast but a somewhat ridiculous story. 

But because of the cast and the fact that the plot moves quickly, it is something that can be fun to watch if you don't want to engage your deeper cognitive abilities all that much. 

The story twists were somewhat obvious to my mind, at least after the first third of the film. The film engages in a common and quietly racist trope. When the main character gets into trouble he turns to a Black employee who is WAY down the corporate ladder for advice on how to successfully break the law and deal with violent criminals. 

After all everyone knows when you need advice on scaring off thugs, it's best to talk to a Black man, who has probably been to prison and has experience with violence. This isn't a satire. So that left a bad taste in my mouth. 

This would as if I went to an Italian-American co-worker and demanded she put me in touch with the local Mafia Family or approached an Arab-American co-worker for tips on how to build effective package bombs. Problems would arise. 

Anyway this film is set in Chicago. Charles Schine (Clive Owen) is a put upon advertising executive married to a harried school teacher, Deanna (Melissa George). The couple, although not old, doesn't have a lot of time or interest in making whoopie any more. This is because their daughter has Type One diabetes and has already had two kidney transplants fail. 

Bernie Sanders Drops Out

As you may have heard Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign to become the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

He still intends to carry on a battle for his vision at the Democratic Convention.

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont ended his presidential candidacy on Wednesday, concluding a quest that elevated him as a standard-bearer of American liberalism and clearing the way for a general election between the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joseph R. Biden Jr., and President Trump at a time of national crisis.

“I cannot in good conscience continue to mount a campaign that cannot win and which would interfere with the important work required of all of us in this difficult hour,” Mr. Sanders said, adding, “While this campaign is coming to an end, our movement is not.”

If Mr. Biden, the former vice president, can now lay claim to the Democratic nomination, he still faces considerable challenges in uniting the party and mobilizing a broad base of voters for the November election. Unlike Mr. Sanders, Mr. Biden inspired little enthusiasm among young voters, nor did he develop signature policy proposals. He triumphed because many voters rejected Mr. Sanders’s policy agenda as too far to the left and prohibitively expansive, and were convinced that Mr. Biden had the best chance to beat Mr. Trump in November.

I don't think Biden is a particularly strong candidate, although Sanders certainly had his issues. I believe that Biden is suffering from some cognitive or verbal declines. I think that Biden and his team underestimate Trump's nastiness and combativeness. About 40-45% of the electorate is devoted to Trump. I don't think there are too many Trump voters who will be amenable to reasoned arguments. Biden still has to give it the old college try though.

Movie Reviews: A Most Violent Year

A Most Violent Year
directed by J.C. Chandor

This is an older film that for some reason I had never watched. Thanks to our friends in Wuhan and our feckless President, between working from home and "sheltering in place", I have oodles more free time. So I checked out this film because it was on sale. I'm glad I did.

Although people who are sensitive to depictions of mayhem might worry that the film's title describes the theme and events I would disagree. There IS violence and threat of same but that's not the film's focus. 

This is a character drama that happens to be set in a time and place (1981 New York) when violence, both organized and street, occurred more frequently. But the film's question is not whether the protagonist can use violence more effectively than his enemies. This would of course be the sole point were this film to feature other action hero actors.

This film's protagonist is not going to swear upon all that is holy, righteous bloody vengeance over the body or bodies of his wife/brother/sister/children/mother/father/grandparents/teacher/girlfriend/dog, 
survive a rigorous sadistic training program, and finally show up at the Big Bad's Evil Mansion to deliver some much needed viewer catharsis by killing everyone in sight, before he delivers a prolonged painful death to the Big Bad. 

This last deed is usually accompanied by a pithy one liner like "See you in Hell!" or "Now you know who I am." or my favorite, "You should have killed ALL the (insert family name)!!". This is not that kind of movie.