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Paradise: Stray Bullet (1988)
Nicolas Surovy is the only reason to watch
A lot of people enjoyed this show, as "Paradise" and then as "Guns of Paradise". Honestly, it didn't truly succeed in either incarnation because it was simply boring as hell. Lee Horsley, although attractive and able in the saddle, is stiff and uninteresting as the uncle taking care of nieces and nephews with nary an acting chop among them. Except for the eldest girl-child the kids all seem to have been plucked from speech therapy sessions, reluctantly. There is ZERO chemistry between Horsley and Sigrid Thornton, who is always looking wistfully out of windows while mumbling her lines and wishing she were back in Australia where she is, for some unknown reason, thought of as a good actress. Everyone on the show is low-key--hence, boring--with the only spark of excitement coming from Nick Surovy as sometimes brutal Marshall Brakenhouse and his odd relationship with Horsley's Ethan Cord character. The writers certainly could have done more with that, but nobody seemed to care whether the viewers were ENTERTAINED! The pace of the episodes are slowwwwwwwww and the editing steps on whatever comedic or dramatic timing exists in a scene. The only other character of mild interest is Dehl Berti who plays John Taylor, an Indian. Berti is actually a native American, authentic and wise in his role---unfortunately he has many scenes with the amateurish and boring children. If for some reason you are hard up for a western, this will suffice, especially if you are trying to get some sleep.
The Big Valley: Judgement in Heaven (1965)
A Rubik's cube of a Barkley Christmas
The main plot has been etched by other reviewers, so I won't bore you with that. However, I completely disagree with the reviewer who said Billy Joe seemed timid--on the contrary, he was sadistic, bemused, menacing and full of himself as a teenaged clone of Billy the Kid (authentically played by a very young Nicolas Surovy). If anyone was timid, it was poor Heath, who thankfully only had a few lines, which he stuttered through in barely audible gasps. Stanwyck was wooden, as usual, maybe even more so, and wasn't particularly festive, it being Christmas and all. Peter Breck (Nick) who was a real life quick-draw guy has no chance at gun play in this episode, as he and all the other Barkley's, including the sexy little Miss Maybelle, go off "visiting", leaving Jarrod and Silas sitting ducks for the advancing Billy Joe. OK, maybe it was because the story centered on lovely and luscious Lynn Loring and her sexual tension with Richard Long; their story is plausible enough, but Long seems more like a jesuit priest in his abject stiff-arming of ANY amorous to-do with Maybelle. The chances are there, he just gives that situation a WIDE berth. Commendable, but not very entertaining. He was smart in the end though, because when Billy has his pistol up Jarrod's nose, he makes it abundantly clear what the outcome would be if Maybelle suddenly decided to become a Barkley. Silas, the gay black butler must be commended for his patience in this episode- -not only did he make great scrambled eggs, he kept his cool even as he knew what was happening before any of the other thick-headed dudes did, and he played along with a straight face. If only there were more scenes with Billy and Maybelle, and less with his mouthy cohorts!
Stark (1985)
Should have been a TV series after the 2nd film "Mirror Image"
Nicolas Surovy is always great. In Stark, it was easy to envision a long-running series resulting from his movie specials, as Surovy is a handsome, well-rounded leading man. Sorry, but Marilu Henner stunk this one up and tried way too hard for every inch of screen. The 2nd Stark film, "Mirror Image" paired him well with a young Kirstie Alley, and their obvious chemistry lifted what might have been just another movie- of-the-week style outing to another level entirely. The fact that Stark is in Vegas as a fish out of water from Wichita imbues his character with a slight naivete, but don't let that fool you--it's obvious he came from the gritty, soulful, sexy side of Wichita! Def worth watching, if you can find it--hold your nose when Henner is around.
Sweet Jesus, Preacherman (1973)
Gem of a time capsule!
Even though it plays more like a TV movie than a theatrical release, this film captures early 70's LA street life inadvertently and entertainingly. Many scenes were shot out in the streets, at local joints, giving a glimpse of life at the time. Enjoyable scene at the nudie bar, and later at the girl's tiny apartment. Moseley is wonderful as the Preacherman, and there are many familiar faces in the cast throughout. It is not blaxploitation in the least, but rather a thought-provoking timestamp of urban black life, with the exploitation coming from the politicians and others involved with "Jason Lee", who quickly warms to his charade role as community and spiritual leader, while still bullying, beating and strong-arming those in his way. The action scenes are a bit stiff, the narrative a little slow moving, but there is much more to look at and be entertained by, like the mad fight in the baptismal font that cements Preacherman's destiny. Def worth watching.
Wife vs. Secretary (1936)
Fun, sexy!
Originally a story by naughty Anita Loos, published in Cosmopolitan magazine, where she scandalized the 'old guard' by revealing the cutting-edge, cool, hip practice of wives palling around and spending recreational time with their husbands! Previously, men hung out chewing cigars and slurping brandy with other men for recreation, and didn't make a habit many times of sharing a bed, or even a room with the wife. Watching the opening of the film carefully, you will notice Van and Linda don't share a bedroom; their rooms adjoin, and he has his own bathroom. As they come out of their respective rooms in the morning and embrace, they share an intimate aside about "last night", revealing how he didn't want to leave her bedroom, and she replying that she hadn't asked him to leave. At breakfast they compete with tales of their intimate fly fishing vacation they have just returned from, another novelty in that the wife is fly fishing, and knows her way around a lure. Their conversation is intimate and witty. He pranks her with the novel presentation of an anniversary gift, followed by engulfing kisses and more intimate patter. Even the help gets in on the fun, noting that Mr. Stanhope had not yet touched his trout. The modern woman in her modern marriage, an enviable marriage to a loving, devoted, demonstrative hunk of a rich husband who only has eyes for her! Kind of a fairy tale for the modern woman of the times, still attractive today. Many intimate, sexy moments between Gable and Loy; a smooth, enjoyable story.
A Letter to Three Wives (1949)
Mystery ending??????
Paul Douglas-Linda Darnell, sensuous, electric, lots of spit between these two. Kirk Douglas can barely restrain his animal self, in a milquetoasty role that he isn't suited for, but is still terribly attractive in. Thelma Ritter, what can you say? Brilliant as always; so genuine, so likable. Connie Gilchrist ditto. Jeanne Crain had an admirer at the studio, so despite her being obnoxious to listen to and look at, she still shows up in movie after movie. She is par for the course in this one. Ann Sothern is cute and does her best with a silly storyline, but now for the spoiler:
it was BRAD who ran away with Addie-Here's why
When Brad's wife Deborah returns home from the picnic, the house man gives her a note, the message being that Brad won't be home that evening. When Deborah reads the message to herself, it is read to us in the audience by narrator ADDIE--ADDIE reads the message in a snide fashion, that Brad won't be home. Later, at the club dance, when Porter says he ran away with Addie, but changed his mind, George tells Porter, "you're quite a guy". Why would George congratulate Porter saying he ran off with another woman? Also, Rita states, "She would have known in the morning, anyway" referring to Brad staying gone for good. When her husband did not return in the morning, Deborah would realize it was definitely Brad, not Porter who had run away with Addie, despite Porters' confession, which he made so that Deborah wouldn't worry all night. Also, nobody reacts to Porter having tried to leave Lora Mae, not even Lora Mae! Porter's confession was an obvious attempt to draw a line in the sand of the relationship between himself and Lora Mae. No one seems the least bit concerned that Porter's confession is true, because they know it isn't. It's obvious, despite some who may believe differently, that it was Brad who ran off with Addie; if not, then why have Addie narrate Brad's message for Deborah?? Duh
Larry Crowne (2011)
Hollywood Scooter Propaganda
Strange film, designed to get middle America guilty over their mini-vans and SUV's. Don't let any of the positive reviews fool you, or sway you to waste 2 hours of your precious time on this horror, a patchwork of absurd, obtuse, and manipulative sequences and characters, including a very convenient perky, attractive young coed who mysteriously obsesses over Tom Hanks' ditzy old dude characters' every move. Valderrama shows up, fresh from his PUNK'D appearance as a screaming girl, to hold sway over the scooter people and look lovingly into Tom Hanks eyes. Absolutely nothing is real, authentic or human in this movie, including Julia Roberts ooey-gooey cement face in close-up after close-up. BS movie experience, Truly a WTF??!!
Beauty for Sale (1933)
Truly Romantic Love Story
There's a ton of stuff to like about this movie. Remembering that it's still pre-code, we get LOTS of skin, with the girls constantly dressing and undressing intimately, and babbling throughout. Several stories of luv are woven into the plot of the movie, which sort of centers on a swanky salon for bored wives of tycoons: one of the girls surreptitiously falls for beautifully handsome Phillips Holmes, son of Hedda Hoppers' salon owner "Madame Sonia", to her regret and other bad things. But the real love story involves gorgeous Madge Evans and (in this role) a surprisingly sensual Otto Kruger. The scene of him explaining the anticipation of her call, of being in love, and wanting her, was truly touching; makes you look again and again at his physical reaction to her. The beginning of the movie is a bit wild, until Madge Evans gets away from the clingy, dominating bf, and the suffocating boarding house, to move uptown with the girls and slave in the salon, scathingly watched over by the genius that is Isobell Jewell. Put her dialect performance against Hepburn's "Trigger" in Spitfire, and you will see who the REAL actress is, and how stinky sexual politics have manufactured the idea that Katharine Hepburn could act. I felt for Madge, Una, and the rest of the girls in their struggles to conquer love and the city, and the unfolding relationships are sexually charged, coercive, erotic, sentimental, frightening, intriguing,and even dangerous. Stay until the end, no matter what you think the story is doing to you.....it's worth it.
When I'm Old Enough... Good-Bye! (1962)
excellent short film with a yummy barry primus
a punk style film from 1962, about a young guy who wants more than anything to quit school and work, like his old man. in his first film, barry primus as the jonesing for a J-O-B teen, is fresh and real, and though he is surrounded by young overwrought method actors, he resists the high drama and stays down to earth. the scenes with his father are particularly poignant, and primus makes his wooden girlfriend seem almost alive with his charm and energy, quite fantastically drawing you into this curiously bizarre story of letter sorting, cig smoking, flippy stuck-up girls, over-the-top buddies, plus there's a twist ending, not to mention the amusing irony in doug's continually crying over wanting a job.....