2016 Movie Challenge – Page 6

Challenge Week 40: Moonrise

On November 7, 2016

In 2016 Movie Challenge

Wow. I had high hopes for this, as I’ve been heard good things about it (not from a lot of people, as it’s pretty obscure), I loved the Frank Borzage film Jeremy gave me earlier (here’s that review), and I generally like film noir no matter what.

I was unprepared for how much I would love it.

The opening is a very expressionistic depiction of a man being hanged, all in shadows, followed by an ominous shot of a baby crying in a crib with a shadow over him cast from a hanging toy. Flashforward, the kid is getting bullied on the schoolyard about his dad being hanged. Flashforward again, the young man is still getting into fistfights over this spectre from his past.

Challenge Week 40: Crime Wave

By Jandy

On November 7, 2016

In 2016 Movie Challenge

I’m pretty much always going to like film noir, so my fellow film blogger Kristina was wise in choosing a couple of lesser-known noirs for me to watch. Crime Wave is a fairly straight-forward crime drama, with a gang of crooks holding up a gas station – when one of them is wounded, he makes his way to a former associate of theirs, Steve (Gene Nelson), who’s trying to go straight. Before long, Steve’s pulled back in (totally against his will), and becomes something of a battleground between his parole officer, who believes in him, and the detective in charge of the case (Sterling Hayden), who doesn’t.

Challenge Week 39: The Docks of New York

By Jandy

On October 21, 2016

In 2016 Movie Challenge

I’ve actually had this on my media server for quite a while unwatched, so I was really glad that Jeremy gave me the boost to go ahead and watch it. Unfortunately, I’ve had it for long enough that I have no idea if it had the score he recommended (Gaylord Carter) or not, but I didn’t mind whatever music was with it, so I guess it was all right.

Josef von Sternberg is kind of hit or miss with me – I’ve mostly seen his films with Marlene Dietrich, and I loved Shanghai Express, but am only fair to middling on the other two or three I’ve seen. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this, but it’s a fairly simply story of a boilerman (George Bancroft) on leave from his boat saving a girl (Betty Compson) from committing suicide by the docks and then falling for her.

Challenge Week 39: Little Man, What Now?

By Jandy

On October 21, 2016

In 2016 Movie Challenge

I love that people have dug deep in this challenge and brought me some classic-era films that I not only hadn’t seen, but hadn’t even heard of! I’ve see a few Frank Borzage films but never really gotten the hype, so I was glad to get another chance to check him out – and spoilers, I got another one the following week, heh. Based on the strength of the two films, I need to reevaluate all the others I’d seen and dismissed, because I loved them both.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, Little Man, What Now?. The two main characters are poor folks in Weimar-era Germany, and we first meet them at a gynecologist’s office. The doctor confirms Lammchen’s pregnancy, then takes just about all of Hans’ paltry salary in payment. The unmarried couple (the only real reason it deserves a Pre-Code tag) gets married secretly, because his boss is set on getting him to marry his daughter – without stringing her along, Hans is in danger of losing his position.

Challenge Week 38: Fanny and Alexander

By Jandy

On October 18, 2016

In 2016 Movie Challenge

This is one of my least favorite kinds of posts to write, because it’s so hard to write about beloved films from master filmmakers that I liked but didn’t strongly connect to. It’s one thing if I DISLIKE a film like this, because at least that’s something to hang a reaction on. I will say that I watched the theatrical cut because while 3 hours is doable, 5 1/2 wasn’t really, but I would like to return and watch the television cut later on.

The first half of Fanny and Alexander places the titular siblings in a large, warm, and loving theatrical family. It’s difficult at first to tell exactly how everyone’s related to each other, but it doesn’t matter too much, because everyone loves and cares for each other – even when the children’s father has a fling with the maid, it doesn’t seem too troublesome or out of the ordinary. This half is not dissimilar to Bergman’s Smiles of a Summer Night, though the addition of color and kids makes it even more light and whimsical.

Category: 2016 Movie Challenge Page 6 of 21

Challenge Week 40: Moonrise

Challenge Week 40: Crime Wave

Challenge Week 39: The Docks of New York

Challenge Week 39: Little Man, What Now?

Challenge Week 38: Fanny and Alexander