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Posted: |
Aug 28, 2020 - 3:31 PM
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By: |
MusicMad
(Member)
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The Fourth Protocol (1987) ... 6/10
Enjoyable, if stupid, modern-day cold way spy thriller. With a cast of mostly Brits & Irish actors, excellent in their roles (well most of them had played such roles time and again) the only mistake is Ned Beatty (happily on screen for a few minutes only). Pierce Brosnan, in his first major role is good, and Michael Caine is sure-footed.
It's stupid because the plot tries to be too clever ... once you know the end you realise it doesn't hold-up ... far too much was left to chance; but without the twist we are left with a scenario in which a foreign state has sought to carry-out a terrorist act on British soil ... which, of course, couldn't happen ... 
The film's structure (plot-line) is uneven (e.g. the opening sequence proving Caine/Preston is good at his job takes far too long ... and it's not central to the film's plot) and the detailed double-dealings setting up the act are too distinct from Caine's lead role.
There is some lovely scenery (Lapland, Finland ... and Essex  ) and a few good action scenes but this is more Smiley than Bond. The score by Lalo Schifrin is downbeat and not very interesting but good enough not to be intrusive.
As an aside, I do have memories of seeing it on its release in 1987 in Swansea: we were with friends staying on the Gower coast for the weekend and I recall having a discussion (argument?) with our host after I said it was the best film I'd seen that year; he challenged me re: it being a better film than Crocodile Dundee which he claimed was far more original ... clearly he had not seen many films.
Mitch
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Posted: |
Aug 28, 2020 - 3:47 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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The Godfather (1972) ... 8/10
Also, storywise I have trouble with the timeline of the final act: Michael is attending the baptism of his nephew ... is this meant to be the child Connie is carrying when her husband (Paulie?) attacks her, so setting Sonny up? Surely not. But are we meant to accept that Paulie was allowed to remain within the family after this wife-beating?
Mitch
Connie's husband is "Carlo Rizzi" (Gianni Russo). "Paulie Gatto" (John Martino) is Don Vito's driver. "Sonny" (James Caan) later instructs "Clemenza" (Richard Castellano) to kill Paulie because of his role in setting up Don Vito for ambush. (Paulie had called in sick the day Don Vito was attacked.)
While it may not be that obvious, in the timeline of the film, a year passes between the time Micheal returns home from Sicily and when he sends Carlo and "Tom" (Robert Duvall) to Las Vegas. That allows plenty of time for Connie's baby to be born and then subsequently be baptized (which usually occurs within 3 months of birth). By the way, the baby in the baptism scene is Sofia Coppola.
As for Carlo being allowed to stay in the family after beating Connie, he is, of course, sent off to Vegas, away from Connie, and is later killed for conspiring with Barzini (Richard Conte) to have Sonny murdered.
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Posted: |
Aug 28, 2020 - 9:28 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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HELLBOUND (1994) - 7/10
While it's unclear as to whether HELLBOUND ever had a theatrical release, it still stands as one of Chuck Norris' better films. While I'm not a big fan of occult themes in westerns (see my review of THE DUEL above), I'm more accepting of the theme showing up in other genres. Here, it's combined with a police thriller.
When a dead prostitute literally drops into the laps of "Sergeant Frank Shatter" (Chuck Norris) and his black partner "Detective Calvin Jackson" (Calvin Levels), the two Chicago cops also find a dead Israeli rabbi and a strange artifact at the scene of the crime. After the murder, Shatter and Jackson’s presence is requested in Israel so the two can answer the questions of the local police force in Jerusalem. This sets off a "Da Vinci Code" type pursuit for the scattered pieces of an ancient scepter, in which our two cops get involved with a strange professor (Christopher Neame), his beautiful assistant (Sheree J. Wilson), and an emissary from Satan himself known as Prosatanos.
The film has good location shooting in Israel, a decent mystery, and plenty of action, all helmed by Chuck's brother Aaron Norris. There is also an OK score by George S. Clinton. This would prove to be Chuck Norris' last film for Cannon Pictures, mainly because the company went bankrupt soon thereafter.
Immediately after completing this film, Norris would begin playing another cop in the CBS series "Walker, Texas Ranger." Walker also had a black partner, played by Clarence Gilyard Jr. And Sheree Wilson would co-star with the pair as the local Asst. D.A. The three would remain together through the entire eight-season run of the show.
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Posted: |
Aug 29, 2020 - 2:10 AM
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By: |
MusicMad
(Member)
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The Godfather (1972) ... 8/10
Also, storywise I have trouble with the timeline of the final act: Michael is attending the baptism of his nephew ... is this meant to be the child Connie is carrying when her husband (Paulie?) attacks her, so setting Sonny up? Surely not. But are we meant to accept that Paulie was allowed to remain within the family after this wife-beating?
Mitch
Connie's husband is "Carlo Rizzi" (Gianni Russo). "Paulie Gatto" (John Martino) is Don Vito's driver. "Sonny" (James Caan) later instructs "Clemenza" (Richard Castellano) to kill Paulie because of his role in setting up Don Vito for ambush. (Paulie had called in sick the day Don Vito was attacked.)
While it may not be that obvious, in the timeline of the film, a year passes between the time Micheal returns home from Sicily and when he sends Carlo and "Tom" (Robert Duvall) to Las Vegas. That allows plenty of time for Connie's baby to be born and then subsequently be baptized (which usually occurs within 3 months of birth). By the way, the baby in the baptism scene is Sofia Coppola.
As for Carlo being allowed to stay in the family after beating Connie, he is, of course, sent off to Vegas, away from Connie, and is later killed for conspiring with Barzini (Richard Conte) to have Sonny murdered.
Thanks, Bob, for the correction re: the name of Connie's husband ... Carlo (how could I forget: I have an Italian cousin with than name ). Yes, I recall the family dealing with the driver, Paulie but it is the timeline re: Carlo's treatment of Connie (so as to set-up Sonny) - their child's baptism which bothers me.
Sonny's murder happens whilst Michael is hiding in Sicily and, as you confirm, Michael is back in the US for a year (his own words) before he meets up with Kay; who knows how much time passes (during which he has sent Carlo to Las Vegas) before he can arrange the killings of the other Dons. Yet Connie surely gives birth within the first half of that 12 month period following Michael's return, so to suggest that Michael and Kay attend the baptism of a 3 month old stretches plausibility. Also, since Michael knows of Carlo's involvement in Sonny's murder I don't see him sending Carlo to Las Vegas. Added to which the killings of the Dons is far too easy.
These events (sloppy script), plus star Brando (over-acting, etc.), rob the film of one point for my rating.
Mitch
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Two Guns and a Coward. 6/10 with Anthony Steffen. A bit different than the usual. Steffen plays a circus trick shot who can't shoot people for real ( due to childhood trauma). He gets the credit for killing the villain's gang ( when he did it himself). Thus he's none too happy and gives hero some agro. Can the hero find his mojo in time? Nice to see Nello Pazzafini playing the circus ringmaster instead of a heavy. The young kid playing second fiddle wasn't as annoying as usual. Not a lot of gunplay, which was also a change. It was more story! Music by Rustichelli was a bit bellow par, at least for me.
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Posted: |
Aug 30, 2020 - 10:45 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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HIGH SPIRITS (1988) - 6/10
In Ireland, "Peter Plunkett" (Peter O'Toole) manages the hotel at Castle Plunkett, a dilapidated castle that has been in his family for generations. He is told by the castle’s current owner, an American named Jim Brogan, that if the money owed on Castle Plunkett’s mortgage is not paid in three weeks it will be foreclosed and relocated to Malibu, California. Peter decides that to make Castle Plunkett profitable, he needs to advertise it as a haunted tourist attraction, with the staff playing the "ghosts." But when the staff bungles the operation for the first group of tourists that arrive, the castle's real ghosts begin to appear.
This mildly amusing comedy evolves into romantic entanglements between the primary living couple (Steve Guttenberg and Beverly D'Angelo) and the main ghost couple (Liam Neeson and Daryl Hannah). The pre-digital effects may evoke some nostalgia among older viewers, but they are crude by today's standards. George Fenton's lively score was released by GNP Crescendo.
The film's budget was reported as anywhere from $10 million to $17 million, but it pulled in less than $9 million at the U.S. box office. Director-writer Neil Jordan revealed that the film’s producers did not allow him to be involved with the final edit of the film, “making a bland comedy out of what was meant to be a biting satire.”
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Tarzan and the slave girl 6/10 with Lex Barker ( so mum was happy). Watchable and easy on the brain. Music by Paul Sawtell was ok. For a change it wasn't wall to wall.
Also The Magnificent Texan 2/10 with Glenn Saxson. Almost rubbish. It came on and then went off,what happened? Don't know, nothing? It was decently made. Francesco DeMasi's music was probably the best thing in it. Glad I didn't buy it.
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Posted: |
Aug 31, 2020 - 11:18 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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LET'S GET HARRY (1986) - 7/10
One thing raises this picture above the run-of-the-mill, mid-1980s action film--the presence of Robert Duvall in the cast. Mark Harmon is "Harry," an engineer / plumber from the Midwest who gets kidnapped by a version of the Colombian Cartel. His brother, played by Michael Schoeffling, leads a group of his plumber buddies (Tom Wilson, Glenn Frey, Rick Rossovich) into Colombia to rescue Harmon, who was employed as a pipeline worker. Also held captive by the guerrilla drug dealers is the U.S. Ambassador (Bruce Gray). Gary Busey is a fast-talking, trigger-happy, coke fiend--a car dealer who bankrolls the rescue mission and insists on going along. Since these guys are all amateurs, they need some help. They hire gung-ho veteran mercenary "Norman Shrike" (Robert Duvall), the only one who knows how to take down the guerrillas.
The film was written by Charles Robert Carner, from a story by Samuel Fuller and Mark Feldberg. Fuller was originally slated to direct, but opted-out to direct the ill-fated WHITE DOG. Stuart Rosenberg directed, but he was not satisfied with the film and had his name removed from the credits. The studio asked him to do re-shoots with greater screen time for Mark Harmon, who became a TV star on the "St. Elsewhere" series while the film was being shot. Even so, Harmon's role is limited.
Despite these behind-the-scenes issues, the film is competently made, the action is plentiful and not cheap-looking, and Robert Duvall makes everyone in the cast seem a little better. Brad Fiedel's score was released on LP by Varese Sarabande, who re-issued it on CD in 2015 as part of their LP-to-CD subscription series. LET'S GET HARRY barely had a release, taking in only $141,000 at the box office, but there are many worse action films out there.
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Posted: |
Aug 31, 2020 - 1:51 PM
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By: |
MusicMad
(Member)
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Gunn (1967) ... 2/10
I know of this film and its origin, the TV series Peter Gunn (1958-61), only from the fabulous music score by Henry Mancini. That said, the score to this film is no patch on the score to the TV series and perhaps that should have been a warning.
This film is nothing more than a glorified (no: make that an extended) episode of a very weak TV show of the 1960s. Only Ed Asner carries any acting weight ... the cast, including star Craig Stevens, are no better than walk-on parts for run-on-the-mill episodes of long-forgotten shows. Question: did Craig Stevens act as understudy/stand-in for Cary Grant? He appeared to model himself on that star ... lacking every quality apart from build and looks.
The script is awful, the plot rubbish and director Blake Edwards was having a very bad day. Apart from Mr. Asner, and a few attractive ladies, the best thing about this mess was Mancini's weak score (surely re-used atmospheric cues from earlier scores) and his very brief on-screen scene (non-credited) at the piano. The score includes a lovely melody, typical Mancini, but it is arbitrarily used and seems out of place. On the album there is a great track (A Quiet Happening) but this is heard only as a brief clip. A couple of vocals pass the time.
A poor quality 4:3 TV broadcast image didn't help, but this is rubbish ... big time!
Mitch
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