forrestvaughan Reviews

Murder, My Sweet (1944)

A great Marlowe in a surprisingly faithful adaptation

[9/10 · 21 February 2022]

Powell perfectly sticks the landing in the challenging jump from broadway beau to the hard-bitten Philip Marlowe and helps to make this a great, if not mold-breaking noir. Powell's Marlowe is, much like the plot, pleasantly faithful to Chandler's novel as he conveys the iconic detective's tough exterior, strong morals, and wittiness; a guy who knows it all without being a know-it-all.

It can be difficult to translate the complex web of a plot common in Chandler novels to the relatively fast-paced medium of the big screen. However, this picture seems to be able to do so without eliminating too much of this complexity and killing the magic feeling one gets when the whole big mess comes together in the book.

This film will be of great interest to Powell, Chandler, and noir fans alike.

Blood and Black Lace (1964)

Substance is for chumps - style is where it's at!

[9/10 · 21 February 2022]

Okay so maybe substance is alright too. But this flick is a shining example that when your movie looks this good, a simple little slasher mystery becomes an awesome film experience. What a neat movie!

Brilliant colors, a spooky villain, and a snap-provoking soundtrack have established this as an essential for fans of Italy's B-movie heyday.

Nightmare Alley (2021)

Pulp magazine styling abound but inconsistent overall

[7/10 · 21 February 2022]

This picture takes the very noble attempt to revive this classic noir with a highly stylized and gritty take. Rather than leaving the gruesomeness of the geek implied, we get to see him in action; rather than give our character something of a neutral, if not happy ending, as the original does, he gets no redemption; rather than an accidental bump on a tree, our 'hero' pummels Grindle like Leto in Fight Club. All of this seems to be what would be expected of modern reboots of these classic films-dialing up the realism, violence, sexuality, etc. To turn the original on its head and also deliver the same sort of impact the original would have had on the audience of its day. People have been doing grit-i-fied versions of old noirs since the 70s though, so that's all pretty par for the course.

Where this movie stands (or tries to stand) out is in amping up the style. Awesome sets, costumes, and semi-surreal feeling hint at a new breed of noir style that's more influenced by the exciting drawings on the covers of pulp magazines than any actual 40s noir movie or Hammett novel. The styling, however, often feels somewhat inconsistent, like it can't quite decide how out-there it's going to be. Some sets and scenes like Ritter's office or the bloody car getaway find a nice middle-ground between Keira-Knightly-oscar-nominated-period-piece and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. But others fall more solidly in the period-piece oscar-bait camp.

Overall, good. But I was a little disappointed, especially compared to how wonderfully executed the original is.

Also, more minor, but the way they set up the switch of the wood alcohol and liquor bottles was frustratingly blatant. I remember the Power version being much more subtle. "Here's two boxes, one's got booze, one's got poison. Can't see any reason why keeping them so close together might be a bad idea. Moving along..."

Tom Jones (1963)

60s/70s Adventure at its Finest

[9/10 · 13 September 2020]

The renewed interest in the adventure stories of the 18th and 19th centuries that seems to have come about in the 1960s and '70s spawned many fantastically fun movies and this picture ranks with the best them, perhaps bested only by 1973's The Three Musketeers (how can you beat Michael York?). Though I went into this movie expecting a good time, I ended up having up having one of the most genuinely FUN movie watching experiences I have had in recent memory. The twisting plot, the scathing look at the life of the aristocrats of this period (and how grimy it really was), and the timelessly bawdy laughs lead to a thoroughly engaging watch.

Highly recommended to all.

Danger 5 (2011–2015)

Absolutely brilliant, but not for everyone

[9/10 · 7 September 2016]

I absolutely love this show. It's witty and clever and right on the nose. The model car and plane fight scenes put the hilarious camp over the top but it remains interesting and the novelty of the 60s TV show theme is not quick to grow stale. I know people who don't like this show for various reasons and I certainly think that you have to have the right sense of humor for it, but when you do, its a total riot. The second season is not quite as appealing to me as it takes a turn for the random more often than not but I see its merits and it still has me laughing often enough. I think that this is one of the most underrated shows of all time and cannot recommend the first season enough If you don't like it by the first two episodes however, it will probably never appeal to you.

I just got my Danger 5 patch in the mail the other day.