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Industry"},{"term":"Lions for Lambs"},{"term":"Lust Caution"},{"term":"Lynch:  The Documentary"},{"term":"László Nemes"},{"term":"Makoto Shinkai"},{"term":"Margot at the Wedding"},{"term":"Marion Cotillard"},{"term":"Mark Wahlberg"},{"term":"National Board of Review"},{"term":"Nicholas Winding Refn"},{"term":"Noah Baumbach"},{"term":"Olivier Assayas"},{"term":"Oscilloscope"},{"term":"Patrick Wang"},{"term":"Peter Berg"},{"term":"Private Fears in Public Places"},{"term":"Quentin Tarantino"},{"term":"Raul Ruiz"},{"term":"Ridley Scott"},{"term":"Ryan Gosling"},{"term":"Sam Mendes"},{"term":"Saw"},{"term":"Searchlight"},{"term":"Spider-Man 4"},{"term":"Steve Jablonski"},{"term":"Steve McQueen"},{"term":"Studio Ghibli"},{"term":"Taika Waititi"},{"term":"Terrence Malick"},{"term":"The Bucket List"},{"term":"The Chronicles of Narnia:  Prince Caspian"},{"term":"The Dark Knight"},{"term":"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"},{"term":"The Golden Compass"},{"term":"The Happening"},{"term":"The Kingdom"},{"term":"The Lovely Bones"},{"term":"The Other Boleyn Girl"},{"term":"Things We Lost in the Fire"},{"term":"Tsai Ming-liang"},{"term":"Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married"},{"term":"Viola Davis"},{"term":"Walk Hard"},{"term":"Wizarding World"},{"term":"Zodiac"},{"term":"bong joon-ho"},{"term":"f.w. murnau"},{"term":"film scores"},{"term":"fritz lang"},{"term":"germany"},{"term":"horror films"},{"term":"james wan"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"From the Front Row"},"subtitle":{"type":"html","$t":"Movie News, Reviews, and Commentary by Matthew Lucas"},"link":[{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/posts\/default"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default?alt=json-in-script\u0026orderby=published"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/"},{"rel":"hub","href":"http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/"},{"rel":"next","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default?alt=json-in-script\u0026start-index=26\u0026max-results=25\u0026orderby=published"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"generator":{"version":"7.00","uri":"http://www.blogger.com","$t":"Blogger"},"openSearch$totalResults":{"$t":"3152"},"openSearch$startIndex":{"$t":"1"},"openSearch$itemsPerPage":{"$t":"25"},"entry":[{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-3641409916130704742"},"published":{"$t":"2021-08-06T17:03:00.001-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-08-11T17:08:36.335-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"sony pictures classics"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Review | Nine Days | 2021"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-HeR4vMHNKo0\/YRQ68H0rdsI\/AAAAAAAAkNA\/9XB6x5w1MZQFPPGoA0zXVLAWUZQzbZ_wwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2928\/1.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1074\" data-original-width=\"2928\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-HeR4vMHNKo0\/YRQ68H0rdsI\/AAAAAAAAkNA\/9XB6x5w1MZQFPPGoA0zXVLAWUZQzbZ_wwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/1.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003ELeft to Right: Winston Duke as Will, Zazie Beetz as Emma in NINE DAYS. Photo by WYATT GARFIELD. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EA lonely man sits in a ramshackle cabin in the middle of a barren desert. He spends his days watching old VHS tapes chronicling the lives of several unknown people, seemingly shot from the perspective of person themselves. These, it turns out, are the souls that Will (Winston Duke) once approved to be born on Earth. But when one dies unexpectedly, Will's world is thrown into turmoil, and he must select a new soul to grant the gift of life, a task complicated by his determination to uncover the reason behind the death of one of his greatest achievements.\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-nLUgGzSLS0I\/YRQ7jLH57CI\/AAAAAAAAkNI\/3cZggiUTCRospZvUZG8sIXRCVF0vdCa6gCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/ninedays_poster.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"2048\" data-original-width=\"1382\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-nLUgGzSLS0I\/YRQ7jLH57CI\/AAAAAAAAkNI\/3cZggiUTCRospZvUZG8sIXRCVF0vdCa6gCLcBGAsYHQ\/w270-h400\/ninedays_poster.jpg\" width=\"270\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EThe parade of souls that come through his home undergo a series of interviews, not unlike a job interview, to determine if they are suitable for life on Earth. But one soul in particular challenges all of Will's preconceived notions of life itself. Emma (Zazie Beetz) refuses to answer many of his questions, rejecting their premises completely, she follows him as he goes about his work and interrogates his methods. She is frustrating, she is unique, she is, in fact, full of life. Will finds his entire worldview challenged, and his understanding of life itself put to the test.\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt's a fascinating premise for a film, and first time feature filmmaker Edson Oda guides \u003Ci\u003ENine Days\u003C\/i\u003E with a quiet sense of restraint, anchored by Winston Duke's stoic performance. Oda wisely doesn't spend much time trying to explain the world of the film, it simply exists within the four walls of the Will's house surrounded by a sandy windswept landscape. It's contemplative, but ultimately a bit stagey, its action confined to a very specific space that never quite feels particularly cinematic, despite the intriguing premise. In some ways, it recalls Michael Almereyda's\u003Ci\u003E\u0026nbsp;Marjorie Prime\u003C\/i\u003E, another somewhat metaphysical exploration of existence that managed to more easily transcend its liminal sense of space.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOda's writing is sharp, but one often wishes that the characters were more developed for something that's clearly meant to be a character study. Their emotional beats often hit hard but it's difficult to escape the feeling that we're missing the same things about them that Will is, unable to see them as clearly defined personalities. It's denouement is a lyrical powerhouse, but there's always something about it that somehow feels distant and intangible, as if it never quite fully embraces the spiritual ramifications of its premise. There's certainly a lot to love here, and Oda has established himself as a talent to watch, as \u003Ci\u003ENine Days\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;seemingly lays the groundwork for bigger and better things to come.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E -  ★★★ (out of four)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ENINE DAYS \u003C\/b\u003E| \u003Cb\u003EDirected by \u003C\/b\u003EEdson Oda | \u003Cb\u003EStars\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003EWinston Duke, Zazie Beetz, Bill Skarsgård, Benedict Wong, Tony Hale | \u003Cb\u003ERated R\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;for language | \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow playing in select theaters.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/3641409916130704742\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=3641409916130704742","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/3641409916130704742"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/3641409916130704742"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/08\/review-nine-days-2021.html","title":"Review | Nine Days | 2021"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-HeR4vMHNKo0\/YRQ68H0rdsI\/AAAAAAAAkNA\/9XB6x5w1MZQFPPGoA0zXVLAWUZQzbZ_wwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/1.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-6490887465838102226"},"published":{"$t":"2021-08-02T16:59:00.003-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-08-02T18:15:17.520-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Disney"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Review | Jungle Cruise | 2021"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-jJsZXB14AGM\/YQhbv_5smcI\/AAAAAAAAkMo\/B72yBqaLT_wEOv05H3LPim2b39MXV-GKwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/junglecruise_publicity_stills_002_2k_cc_r709f_200305_7a18c70c.jpeg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"858\" data-original-width=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-jJsZXB14AGM\/YQhbv_5smcI\/AAAAAAAAkMo\/B72yBqaLT_wEOv05H3LPim2b39MXV-GKwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/junglecruise_publicity_stills_002_2k_cc_r709f_200305_7a18c70c.jpeg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EMovies based on Disney attractions have historically been a mixed bag.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EPirates of\u0026nbsp;the Caribbean\u003C\/i\u003E famously launched a successful franchise, even if the sequels mostly failed to live up to the simple charms of the original. \u003Ci\u003EDinosaur\u003C\/i\u003E (2000), \u003Ci\u003EThe Country Bears\u003C\/i\u003E (2002), \u003Ci\u003EThe Haunted Mansion\u003C\/i\u003E (2003), and \u003Ci\u003ETomorrowland\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;(2015) didn't make many waves, while Brian De Palma's \u003Ci\u003EMission to Mars\u003C\/i\u003E (2000) was mostly well received by critics, even if most people probably don't even realize it was inspired by a Disney attraction that closed in both Disneyland and Disney World in 1993.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-dDNFWGl_BQ8\/YQhb0_Pyz-I\/AAAAAAAAkMs\/Ycqw43-1LvE5e5F_HLMvpiE0I9rcITk7gCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/19e2d732acf99598e165912a1b0224a6_2021x3000_ab903793.jpeg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"2048\" data-original-width=\"1380\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-dDNFWGl_BQ8\/YQhb0_Pyz-I\/AAAAAAAAkMs\/Ycqw43-1LvE5e5F_HLMvpiE0I9rcITk7gCLcBGAsYHQ\/w270-h400\/19e2d732acf99598e165912a1b0224a6_2021x3000_ab903793.jpeg\" width=\"270\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EWith only one Disney attraction spawning a bona fide hit, it's not surprising that it's taken this long for the studio to try again. But if any Disney attraction not already based on a movie was ever going to be turned into a big screen extravaganza, Jungle Cruise makes the most sense. An opening day attraction at Disneyland and a pet project of Walt himself, the Jungle Cruise is an enduring classic that was already loosely inspired by a movie (\u003Ci\u003EThe African Queen\u003C\/i\u003E), so its translation to the big screen wasn't a giant leap. With its parade of corny jokes and loose exploration plot, the ride provides a pretty wide canvas on which to apply any original story.\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEnter \u003Ci\u003EJungle Cruise\u003C\/i\u003E, which casts Emily Blunt as Dr. Lily Houghton, an intrepid scientist determined to prove the existence of a mythical tree known as the \"flowers of the moon,\" in hopes of using the tree's magic to create new healing medicines and help bring an end to the destructive conflict of World War I. Her guide into the Amazon rainforest is Frank Wolff (Dwayne \"The Rock\" Johnson), the skipper of a dilapidated river boat who specializes in cheesy adventure rides for wealthy tourists. They are pursued by Prince Joachim (Jesse Plemons), a German royal who hopes to use the flowers to help Germany win the war. But first, they must both face an army of undead conquistadors, led by Aguirre (Edgar Ramirez), who are forever cursed to haunt the Amazon after an unsuccessful attempt to find the flowers of the moon hundreds of years earlier.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDirected by Jaume Collet-Serra (\u003Ci\u003EThe Commuter\u003C\/i\u003E, \u003Ci\u003ENon-Stop\u003C\/i\u003E),\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EJungle Cruise\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;plays well on established properties like \u003Ci\u003ERaiders of the Lost Ark\u003C\/i\u003E, \u003Ci\u003EThe Mummy\u003C\/i\u003E, and even Disney's own\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EPirates of\u0026nbsp;the Caribbean\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;to create an agreeable mix of comedy and swashbuckling action. Collet-Serra, who has made something of a career out of crafting enjoyable B-thrillers starring Liam Neeson, has an eye for action, and the set pieces in\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EJungle Cruise\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;often feel like a throwback to epic adventure films of old. Its biggest drawback, however, is that its over-reliance on CGI makes it feel much less tangible and more plastic than the original \u003Ci\u003EPirates\u003C\/i\u003E, lowering the stakes as well as the grandeur. Aguirre and his conquistador brethren feel like knockoffs of Davy Jones and his crew from\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EPirates of\u0026nbsp;the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest\u003C\/i\u003E, and don't look half as good, despite it being 15 years later.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut there's also plenty to enjoy here; amusing supporting performances by the always welcome Plemons and Paul Giamatti as a frazzled gangster, while Emily Blunt makes for an engaging lead in the vein of Rachel Weisz's character from \u003Ci\u003EThe Mummy\u003C\/i\u003E, and Jack Whitehall charms as her foppish brother, whose love of high living puts him constantly at odds with his jungle surroundings. It's a solid adventure yarn, and Collet-Serra balances its tone well, keeping with the tongue-in-cheek nature of the ride, but its occasionally questionable CGI makes one long for the more grounded action of the original\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EPirates of\u0026nbsp;the Caribbean\u003C\/i\u003E,\u0026nbsp;whose use of CGI complemented its real elements rather than the other way around. It may be standard operation for tentpoles these days, but\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EPirates\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;almost feels like the last of a dying breed, and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EJungle Cruise\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;never quite captures that same spark.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★★ (out of four)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EJUNGLE CRUISE \u003C\/b\u003E| \u003Cb\u003EDirected by\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003EJaume Collet-Serra | \u003Cb\u003EStars \u003C\/b\u003EDwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Edgar Ramírez, Jack Whitehall, Jesse Plemons, Paul Giamatti, Dani Rovira | \u003Cb\u003ERated PG-13\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;for sequences of adventure violence | \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow playing in theaters nationwide and on Disney+ with Premiere Access\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/6490887465838102226\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=6490887465838102226","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/6490887465838102226"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/6490887465838102226"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/08\/review-jungle-cruise-2021.html","title":"Review | Jungle Cruise | 2021"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-jJsZXB14AGM\/YQhbv_5smcI\/AAAAAAAAkMo\/B72yBqaLT_wEOv05H3LPim2b39MXV-GKwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/junglecruise_publicity_stills_002_2k_cc_r709f_200305_7a18c70c.jpeg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-4591891416840833719"},"published":{"$t":"2021-07-15T15:37:00.007-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-07-16T11:30:28.003-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Disney"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Marvel"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Review | Black Widow | 2021"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-yfnBDF_r7_U\/YPCNXPsjxnI\/AAAAAAAAkLM\/M-zjTMOECvUrme3RXodi4ISa9_Pw0iC8QCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2752\/fbd0920_comp_9a27fe41-2.jpeg\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1142\" data-original-width=\"2752\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-yfnBDF_r7_U\/YPCNXPsjxnI\/AAAAAAAAkLM\/M-zjTMOECvUrme3RXodi4ISa9_Pw0iC8QCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/fbd0920_comp_9a27fe41-2.jpeg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003EBlack Widow\/Natasha Romanov (Scarlett Johannson) in Marvel Studios' BLACK WIDOW. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios.\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EMarvel has all but gotten its formula down to a science at this point, turning into a well-oiled machine that churns out easily digestible content multiple times a year. Due to the effects of COVID-19, \u003Ci\u003EBlack Widow\u003C\/i\u003E is the first new Marvel film to hit theaters in nearly two years, since \u003Ci\u003ESpider-Man: Far From Home\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;was released in July of 2019.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-jiLiyOErEYc\/YPCNclSN2bI\/AAAAAAAAkLQ\/v_PkDufix9sdG7wMtUbCrLmWEy9wn1WjACLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/042_blackwidow_digital_keyart_teaser_r16_lg_77c22dcb.jpeg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"2048\" data-original-width=\"1382\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-jiLiyOErEYc\/YPCNclSN2bI\/AAAAAAAAkLQ\/v_PkDufix9sdG7wMtUbCrLmWEy9wn1WjACLcBGAsYHQ\/w270-h400\/042_blackwidow_digital_keyart_teaser_r16_lg_77c22dcb.jpeg\" width=\"270\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EOriginally slated for release in 2020,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EBlack Widow\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is a prequel of sorts, that follows the adventures of the titular heroine, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) after the events of \u003Ci\u003ECaptain America: Civil War\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;(2016) left her exiled from the Avengers. Here, we see her reunited with her sister, Yelena (Florence Pugh), who was also a victim of Soviet-era mind control experiments designed to create an unstoppable force of \"widows,\" female super soldiers under the control of Dreykov, aka Taskmaster (Ray Winston). Together, they must reunite with Yelena (Rachel Weiss) and Boris (David Harbour), two Soviet operatives who once posed as their parents in a Cold War-era spy mission in the United States, to take down Dreykov before he can unleash his widows, infiltrate world governments, and impose his will upon international affairs.\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ci\u003EBlack Widow\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is a slick entertainment in the standard Marvel style, hewing more closely to the paranoid spy thriller vibe of \u003Ci\u003ECaptain America: The Winter Soldier\u003C\/i\u003E, right down to its typically over-the-top climactic superhero smackdown taking place on an enemy vessel in the sky. Pugh and Harbour make especially entertaining additions to the MCU, and director Cate Shortland (\u003Ci\u003ESomersault\u003C\/i\u003E) peppers the film with some engaging set pieces that alternate between action and comedy. The problem with\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EBlack Widow\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is how, perhaps moreso than any other film in the MCU, it typifies the kind of uncomfortable relationship between Marvel and the interests of American imperialism that as been a through-line in the series.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOf course, some films in the MCU certainly pay lip service to questioning institutions, as SHIELD agents actually being secret HYDRA agents have made up major plot points in the film, but the belief in the American ideal, no matter how flawed its institutions may be, remains a cornerstone of the MCU as embodied by contrasting heroism of WWII era patriot, Captain America, and billionaire entrepreneur, Iron Man.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EBlack Widow\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;s plot revolves around a Cold War era mind control plot being carried out by Soviet agents who embed communist spies right into American neighborhoods. These mind control tactics come to represent a hegemony of thought, a lack of personal freedom, and Natasha's escape to the United States represents an achievement of liberty, a shedding of the chains of communism. Nowhere is this clearer than in the portrayal of Harbour's Red Guardian, a kind of Soviet foil to Captain America, as a total buffoon. Drunken and overweight, with the words \"Karl\" and \"Marx\" tattooed across his knuckles like Robert Mitchum in \u003Ci\u003ENight of the Hunter\u003C\/i\u003E, Red Guardian comes off like a store brand Captain America, a Soviet-era knockoff who's rivalry with Cap is completely one-sided and quixotic.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhether out of a sense of comedy or something more insidious,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EBlack Widow'\u003C\/i\u003Es anti-communist subtext almost feels Randian at times, taking potshots at Soviet inferiority at every turn, reinforcing the idea of America's (and therefore capitalism's) inherent superiority. It should come as no surprise that a film churned out by the biggest entertainment conglomerate on earth, is in fact a de facto apologia for American exceptionalism, but it's certainly indicative of the way capitalism is treated as the inevitable default, and communism becomes a punchline served up for cheap yuks. Its consistent and sometimes subtle digs feel almost propagandistic, working to undermine socialism by relying on hoary Cold War cliches that would have felt old hat even 30 years ago.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ci\u003EBlack Widow\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is certainly a slick entertainment, but that's what makes its underlying themes so troubling. By turning its human trafficking plot into a Cold War farce, it loses any potential teeth it could have had by shrugging it off as a problem of communism, trapping its adherents in a prison of conformity. There's certainly a lot to like here, but don't be fooled by its shiny veneer, because what makes this film tick is ultimately a tired bit of imperialist corporate propaganda designed to make capitalism seem like a moral default rather than a destructive aberration.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★ (out of four)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBLACK WIDOW \u003C\/b\u003E| \u003Cb\u003EDirected by\u003C\/b\u003E Cate Shortland |\u0026nbsp;\u003Cb\u003EStars\u003C\/b\u003E Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz, David Harbour, Ray Winstone, Olga Kurylenko | \u003Cb\u003ERated PG-13 \u003C\/b\u003Efor intense sequences of violence\/action, some language and thematic material | \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow playing in theaters nationwide, and on Disney+ with Premiere Access.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/4591891416840833719\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=4591891416840833719","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/4591891416840833719"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/4591891416840833719"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/07\/review-black-widow-2021.html","title":"Review | Black Widow | 2021"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-yfnBDF_r7_U\/YPCNXPsjxnI\/AAAAAAAAkLM\/M-zjTMOECvUrme3RXodi4ISa9_Pw0iC8QCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/fbd0920_comp_9a27fe41-2.jpeg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-2059624013725542836"},"published":{"$t":"2021-07-05T17:56:00.001-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-07-05T17:56:05.572-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Fear Street"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Netflix"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Review | Fear Street Part 1: 1994 | 2021"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-mm2jIBfuBHs\/YON-6U8TEUI\/AAAAAAAAkKs\/Ca8lHxphkYsvs20m1qg1-6-xjo5J6U8XQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2740\/1_008_070_c_v007.%25255B1000-1215%25255D_1.156.1_CR.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1147\" data-original-width=\"2740\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-mm2jIBfuBHs\/YON-6U8TEUI\/AAAAAAAAkKs\/Ca8lHxphkYsvs20m1qg1-6-xjo5J6U8XQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/1_008_070_c_v007.%25255B1000-1215%25255D_1.156.1_CR.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EThe first part of a planned trilogy being released over a period of a few weeks on Netflix, \u003Ci\u003EFear Street Part 1: 1994\u003C\/i\u003E, is based on R.L. Stine's popular series of horror novels for teens that were kind of like the older, meaner cousin of Goosebumps during the 1990s.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-8vw19p43VSk\/YON_A6scjNI\/AAAAAAAAkKw\/EjOEEmGqdw0NaEWF-fG5a1m9ZuCkbP8hwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/FearStreet_1994_Main_Payoff_Vertical_27x40_RGB_EN-US.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"2048\" data-original-width=\"1383\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-8vw19p43VSk\/YON_A6scjNI\/AAAAAAAAkKw\/EjOEEmGqdw0NaEWF-fG5a1m9ZuCkbP8hwCLcBGAsYHQ\/w270-h400\/FearStreet_1994_Main_Payoff_Vertical_27x40_RGB_EN-US.jpg\" width=\"270\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EThis first entry in the trilogy introduces us to a group of teenagers from the seemingly cursed town of Shadyside, where seemingly normal people have been turning into murderers for generations. After an encounter with a group of bullies from a wealthier rival town, the teens soon find themselves under siege by a gang of killers from the town's haunted past - and must band together to break the centuries-old curse or die trying.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ci\u003EFear Street 1994\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;plays a bit like \u003Ci\u003EScream\u003C\/i\u003E meets \u003Ci\u003EScary Stories to Tell in the Dark\u003C\/i\u003E, taking elements from various Fear Street novels and using them as both a winking nod to horror films from decades past and a terrifying thriller in its own right. And yet, despite its use of a nostalgic property from the 1990s, never feels like its leaning too hard into dewy-eyed recreations of childhood properties. This is, first and foremost, a horror film, and director Leigh Janiak wastes no time in letting us know that we are far, far away from Goosebumps kiddie horror, even though its aesthetic is very grounded in the kind of teen horror films that populated the cinematic landscape in the 1990s. It also distinguishes itself by putting a queer romance front and center rather than on the periphery, with its two \"final girl\" protagonists former girlfriends whose relationship has been on the rocks ever since one of them chose status over love by moving to the rival town, Sunnyvale.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt it going to reinvent the horror genre the way some have claimed in rapturous social media notices? Most likely not, it's all a bit too rooted in elements of the past to really pave the way for horror's future, but that doesn't stop \u003Ci\u003EFear Street 1994\u003C\/i\u003E from being one hell of a good time. It's been a long time since we've seen a horror film that's this much fun, a purely enjoyable chiller that beautifully captures the feeling of its pulpy teen novel roots. I can't wait to see where this series goes next.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★★ (out of four)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EFEAR STREET PART 1: \u0026nbsp;1994 \u003C\/b\u003E| \u003Cb\u003EDirected by\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003ELeigh Janiak | \u003Cb\u003EStars\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003EKiana Madeira, Olivia Welch, Julia Rehwald, Benjamin Flores Jr., Fred Hechinger, Ashley Zukerman | \u003Cb\u003ERated R\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;for strong bloody violence, drug content, language and some sexual content | \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow streaming exclusively on\u0026nbsp;Netflix\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/2059624013725542836\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=2059624013725542836","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/2059624013725542836"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/2059624013725542836"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/07\/review-fear-street-part-1-1994-2021.html","title":"Review | Fear Street Part 1: 1994 | 2021"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-mm2jIBfuBHs\/YON-6U8TEUI\/AAAAAAAAkKs\/Ca8lHxphkYsvs20m1qg1-6-xjo5J6U8XQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/1_008_070_c_v007.%25255B1000-1215%25255D_1.156.1_CR.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-2067385259545262786"},"published":{"$t":"2021-07-05T17:12:00.003-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-07-05T17:36:50.354-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Warner Archive"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Blu-Ray Review | Ziegfeld Follies | 1945"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-oXZ2PYfpKk8\/YON1YdSUalI\/AAAAAAAAkKc\/i09ohWXF49Qg1fRJ5iBVRbEQpm4Dr6CGgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1056\/fc455fe7c036ebc9217a794ca12c1a54.png\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"786\" data-original-width=\"1056\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-oXZ2PYfpKk8\/YON1YdSUalI\/AAAAAAAAkKc\/i09ohWXF49Qg1fRJ5iBVRbEQpm4Dr6CGgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/fc455fe7c036ebc9217a794ca12c1a54.png\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003ESetting out to recreate the grand, star-studded variety show feel of Ziegfeld's Follies, \u003Ci\u003EZiegfeld Follies\u003C\/i\u003E is a series of impressively mounted acts, from dance numbers to songs to comedy routines to Vaudeville acts, featuring the likes of Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Lucille Ball, Lena Horne, Esther Williams, Cyd Charisse, Red Skelton, and more.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-itkhyFXVpTE\/YON1lH4pRQI\/AAAAAAAAkKg\/o2AXtiyDp50KHqZi1vHXenDnSp4-F2-EwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s500\/51fGHLITTAS.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"500\" data-original-width=\"383\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-itkhyFXVpTE\/YON1lH4pRQI\/AAAAAAAAkKg\/o2AXtiyDp50KHqZi1vHXenDnSp4-F2-EwCLcBGAsYHQ\/w306-h400\/51fGHLITTAS.jpg\" width=\"306\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EThe film is framed as a heavenly reverie, as the great Florenz Ziegfeld (William Powell, briefly reprising his role from \u003Ci\u003EThe Great Ziegfeld\u003C\/i\u003E) looks down from above and imagines the thrill of throwing one last Follies. What follows is a veritable who's who of Hollywood stars of the 1940s, in which must have felt like a refreshingly carefree spectacle to weary audiences as World War II neared its end. There are certainly highlights here - Judy Garland's delightfully tongue-in-cheek satire of stardom, \"A Great Lady has an Interview,\" Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly dancing \"The Babbit and the Bromide\" (in their first of only two on-screen pairings), the disastrous but beautiful \"bubble dance\" in the final number, \"Beauty,\" Victor Moore as a harrowed client facing a fine begging his brash lawyer, Edward Arnold, to \"just pay the $2!\" But the sheer amount of material in the two hour film almost feels oppressive. What would have been stunning on the stage becomes tedious on film, as the novelty of the variety show structure begins to wear thin long before the back-loaded succession of heavy-hitting acts gives us what we've wanted to see all along.\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere's something charmingly sincere about its nostalgic recreation of what is now essentially a lost artform, bringing some of Hollywood's most glittering stars together for a dazzling, carefree variety show right at the end of WWII. But its lack of overarching theme or cohesion makes it an often tough sit, and the Ziegfeld looking down from heaven framing device is just way too cutesy for its own good. There are certainly individual elements to enjoy here, and it looks gorgeous in its new Blu-Ray transfer from Warner Archive, but the scattershot nature of \u003Ci\u003EZiegfeld Follies\u003C\/i\u003E may test the patience of even the most ardent fan of classic Hollywood musicals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★ (out of four)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EZIEGFELD FOLLIES \u003C\/b\u003E| \u003Cb\u003EDirected by \u003C\/b\u003EVincente Minelli | Lucille Ball, Fred Astaire, Lucille Bremer, Fanny Brice, Judy Garland, Kathryn Grayson, Lena Horne, Gene Kelly, James Melton, Victor Moore, Red Skelton, William Powell, Edward Arnold, Marion Bell, Cyd Charisse, Esther Williams | \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow available on Blu-Ray from \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/stores\/page\/ED270804-095F-449B-9B69-6CEE46A0B2BF?ingress=0\u0026amp;visitId=6171710b-08c8-4829-803d-d8b922581c55\u0026amp;tag=blurayforum-20\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EWarner Archive\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/2067385259545262786\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=2067385259545262786","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/2067385259545262786"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/2067385259545262786"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/07\/blu-ray-review-ziegfeld-follies-1945.html","title":"Blu-Ray Review | Ziegfeld Follies | 1945"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-oXZ2PYfpKk8\/YON1YdSUalI\/AAAAAAAAkKc\/i09ohWXF49Qg1fRJ5iBVRbEQpm4Dr6CGgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/fc455fe7c036ebc9217a794ca12c1a54.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-1195817051821810831"},"published":{"$t":"2021-06-23T14:11:00.003-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-06-23T14:16:53.576-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Warner Archive"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Blu-Ray Review | Madame Curie | 1943"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-zJEdpVpgWVA\/YNJpfd-svhI\/AAAAAAAAkKA\/whpcRMP3JE0e855rCvNA1V9ONcgoT7duwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/madamecurie1943.82296.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1334\" data-original-width=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-zJEdpVpgWVA\/YNJpfd-svhI\/AAAAAAAAkKA\/whpcRMP3JE0e855rCvNA1V9ONcgoT7duwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/madamecurie1943.82296.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003EGreer Garson and Walter Pidgeon in MADAME CURIE.\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EMervyn LeRoy's \u003Ci\u003EMadame Curie\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;seems to check every box of an Academy friendly biopic. Major stars? Check - Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon were hot off the Oscar-winning \u003Ci\u003EMrs. Miniver\u003C\/i\u003E (1942) and were in \u0026nbsp;especially great demand. Socially conscious topic? Check. Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel prize in a male-dominated profession, whose discovery of radium was one of the major scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-JCBNguHh0Xc\/YNN4ZObTlfI\/AAAAAAAAkKI\/dXEm5poKECIKkJCZUmC_R6tBFwBvgO8BgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s300\/51OPS0YGggS._SX300_SY300_QL70_ML2_.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"300\" data-original-width=\"230\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-JCBNguHh0Xc\/YNN4ZObTlfI\/AAAAAAAAkKI\/dXEm5poKECIKkJCZUmC_R6tBFwBvgO8BgCLcBGAsYHQ\/w307-h400\/51OPS0YGggS._SX300_SY300_QL70_ML2_.jpg\" width=\"307\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EFilms like this were all the rage in the 1930s and 1940s (\u003Ci\u003EThe Great Ziegfeld\u003C\/i\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EThe\u0026nbsp;Life of Emile Zola\u003C\/i\u003E, \u003Ci\u003EThe Story of Louis Pasteur\u003C\/i\u003E, \u003Ci\u003ESergeant York\u003C\/i\u003E, \u003Ci\u003EThe Pride of the Yankees\u003C\/i\u003E, \u003Ci\u003EYankee Doodle Dandy\u003C\/i\u003E, the list goes on...). The Academy's love affair with biopics is well known and continues to this day, and while\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EMadame Curie\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;certainly has many of the tropes that are familiar to the genre, it's also not as dry as its subject matter might suggest.\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe script may be a bit hackneyed and heavy on the exposition (it's certainly working overtime to make complex scientific ideas as easy to understand as possible), but thanks to a luminous performance by Garson in the title role and sharp direction by LeRoy (\u003Ci\u003EGold Diggers of 1933\u003C\/i\u003E, \u003Ci\u003ELittle Caesar\u003C\/i\u003E),\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EMadame Curie\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;positively hums at the excitement of exploring a new frontier. The film is first and foremost a love story between Marie and her husband Pierre (Pidgeon), but LeRoy wisely blends their burgeoning and deepening love into the wonder of scientific discovery.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt's an ingenious move, and the film is stronger because of it, transcending its rather staid biopic roots and often tingling with a kind of magic that sets it apart from its often dry biopic siblings. The film was ultimately nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Garson), and Best Actor (Pidgeon), ultimately losing the top Oscar tone other than \u003Ci\u003ECasablanca\u003C\/i\u003E. While\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EMadame Curie\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;certainly hasn't endured the same way that film has, and it never hits the heights of \u003Ci\u003EMrs. Miniver\u003C\/i\u003E,\u0026nbsp;it's certainly a fine studio production that is much better than its nearly non-existent reputation might suggest.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★★ (out of four)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMADAME CURIE\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E| \u003Cb\u003EDirected by \u003C\/b\u003EMervyn LeRoy | \u003Cb\u003EStars \u003C\/b\u003EGreer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Henry Travers, Albert Bassermann, Robert Walker, C. Aubrey Smith, May Whitty | \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003EAvailable June 29 from \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/stores\/page\/ED270804-095F-449B-9B69-6CEE46A0B2BF?ingress=0\u0026amp;visitId=6171710b-08c8-4829-803d-d8b922581c55\u0026amp;tag=blurayforum-20\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EWarner Archive\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/1195817051821810831\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=1195817051821810831","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/1195817051821810831"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/1195817051821810831"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/06\/blu-ray-review-madame-curie-1943.html","title":"Blu-Ray Review | Madame Curie | 1943"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-zJEdpVpgWVA\/YNJpfd-svhI\/AAAAAAAAkKA\/whpcRMP3JE0e855rCvNA1V9ONcgoT7duwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/madamecurie1943.82296.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-3891284610795392696"},"published":{"$t":"2021-06-14T12:21:00.005-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-06-14T12:21:51.357-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"flicker alley"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Blu-Ray Review | Children of Divorce | 1927"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-DJjN4qkXsFE\/YMeBFaL4FbI\/AAAAAAAAkJU\/jpcjv4ZKPlMeq_FMLjXahkLFgNN20bIFwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/1080343547.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1477\" data-original-width=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-DJjN4qkXsFE\/YMeBFaL4FbI\/AAAAAAAAkJU\/jpcjv4ZKPlMeq_FMLjXahkLFgNN20bIFwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/1080343547.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EFrank Lloyd sure did love purple melodrama, didn't he? The Oscar-winning filmmaker, who helmed two Best Picture winners, \u003Ci\u003ECavalcade\u003C\/i\u003E (1933) and \u003Ci\u003EMutiny on the Bounty\u003C\/i\u003E (1935) and won two Best Director statuettes for \u003Ci\u003EThe Divine Lady\u003C\/i\u003E (1928) and \u003Ci\u003ECavalcade\u003C\/i\u003E, had a sensibility that was perhaps more suited to the silent era, dealing in big emotions and ham-fisted explorations of topical social issues.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-l4jDVg4exnM\/YMeBN8FB3vI\/AAAAAAAAkJY\/UrETT-p0vhU8Z9Le-4G_Pg0aINKm_Gu4QCLcBGAsYHQ\/s517\/810072542687.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"517\" data-original-width=\"395\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-l4jDVg4exnM\/YMeBN8FB3vI\/AAAAAAAAkJY\/UrETT-p0vhU8Z9Le-4G_Pg0aINKm_Gu4QCLcBGAsYHQ\/w305-h400\/810072542687.jpg\" width=\"305\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EIn \u003Ci\u003EChildren of Divorce\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;(1927) he tackled, you guessed it, the devastating effects of divorce on children. Set in a divorce colony in Paris (which were apparently a very real thing),\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EChildren of Divorce\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;follows the exploits of three children left behind by divorced parents who grow up to be deeply scarred by their experience. Reunited as adults, Clara Bow, Esther Ralston, and Gary Cooper end up as a love triangle, with the more worldly Bow and virginal Ralston vie for the affections of Cooper's handsome heir. Married to Bow in a moment of deception but longing for Ralston, Cooper is forced to confront his own desire not to pass on his own trauma to his children through the divorce he experienced as a child.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere's a lot of social drama finger-wagging here, and naturally the \"loose\" woman is punished in the end, but many of Lloyd's worst instincts (on full display in \u003Ci\u003ECavalcade\u003C\/i\u003E) are curbed by the uncredited hand of Josef von Sternberg, a much more elegant filmmaker who was called in by Paramount for reshoots and editing tweaks after they were appalled by Lloyd's original cut. The result is a film that teeters on sanctimony but is rescued largely by the chemistry between Bow and Cooper (who were dating at the time), with Bow as the current \"it-girl\" and Cooper a handsome newcomer who knew how to command the screen (and he's much more compelling here than he as the symbol of macho stoicism he later became).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe film was originally released on a special Blu-Ray edition by Flicker Alley several years ago, which has since sold out. It has now been re-issued as an MOD disc for those who missed the original release. And while I don't think\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EChildren of Divorce\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is some overlooked masterpiece, it's an intriguing film in its own right, if for no other reason than for the magnetic performances of its two stars and the uncredited rescue job by von Sternberg, who succeeds in blunting Lloyd's penchant for speechifying, even if the overall effect remains drudgingly moralistic. It's a beautiful restoration, undertaken by the Library of Congress in 2010 and lovingly transferred by Flicker Alley - and offers a tantalizing glimpse into the early careers of two of Hollywood's most luminous stars.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★★ (out of four)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECHILDREN OF DIVORCE \u003C\/b\u003E| \u003Cb\u003EDirected by \u003C\/b\u003EFrank Lloyd | \u003Cb\u003EStars\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003EClara Bow, Esther Ralston, Gary Cooper, Einar Hanson, Norman Trevor, Hedda Hopper | \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow available on Blu-Ray MOD from \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.flickeralley.com\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EFlicker Alley\u003C\/a\u003E!\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/3891284610795392696\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=3891284610795392696","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/3891284610795392696"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/3891284610795392696"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/06\/blu-ray-review-children-of-divorce-1927.html","title":"Blu-Ray Review | Children of Divorce | 1927"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-DJjN4qkXsFE\/YMeBFaL4FbI\/AAAAAAAAkJU\/jpcjv4ZKPlMeq_FMLjXahkLFgNN20bIFwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/1080343547.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-752153332376863565"},"published":{"$t":"2021-05-26T12:46:00.000-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-05-26T12:46:28.719-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Disney"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Review | Cruella | 2021"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/--bEsa1uHO3o\/YK1clnyvU2I\/AAAAAAAAj9w\/PUCJ-bq45h0D4Qc2TWNCO9KkdFmCsEhKgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/54ef35acd285f9af82d77181a776cd8a_4096x2730_06f1b8bd.jpeg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1365\" data-original-width=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/--bEsa1uHO3o\/YK1clnyvU2I\/AAAAAAAAj9w\/PUCJ-bq45h0D4Qc2TWNCO9KkdFmCsEhKgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/54ef35acd285f9af82d77181a776cd8a_4096x2730_06f1b8bd.jpeg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EJust when it seemed like the idea of Disney live action remakes\/reimaginings had gone completely creatively bankrupt, along comes Craig Gillespie's \u003Ci\u003ECruella\u003C\/i\u003E, a surprisingly nimble origin story for infamous \u003Ci\u003E101 Dalmatians\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;villain, Cruella DeVil. While \u003Ci\u003EMaleficent\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;(2014), and its sequel, \u003Ci\u003EMaleficent: Mistress of Evil \u003C\/i\u003E(2019), sought to upend its source material's narrative by turning its villain into the hero, \u003Ci\u003ECruella \u003C\/i\u003Etakes a different approach, not trying to justify her evil deeds as much as explain them - giving her a \u003Ci\u003EDevil Wears Prada\u003C\/i\u003E-esque origin story that pits the aspiring fashionista and budding villain Estella (Emma Stone) against a ruthless, established fashion designer (Emma Thompson) in a battle for dominance of the London fashion scene.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-0bJ5Je-E9Nk\/YK1cvZlE3JI\/AAAAAAAAj90\/2QTi7R4TCIgP3_Y6S5evO5hkZq77ryrEgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/cruella_digital_keyart_teaser1_195d_v9_lg_eb68387c.jpeg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"2048\" data-original-width=\"1383\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-0bJ5Je-E9Nk\/YK1cvZlE3JI\/AAAAAAAAj90\/2QTi7R4TCIgP3_Y6S5evO5hkZq77ryrEgCLcBGAsYHQ\/w270-h400\/cruella_digital_keyart_teaser1_195d_v9_lg_eb68387c.jpeg\" width=\"270\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EWhile \u003Ci\u003ECruella \u003C\/i\u003Ecertainly doesn't break any new ground, it's one of Disney's most effortlessly entertaining live action films in recent memory. Gillespie, who became a Hollywood breakout after helming \u003Ci\u003EI, Tonya\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;in \u0026nbsp;2017 (but has a solid track record of moderate successes like \u003Ci\u003ELars and the Real Girl \u003C\/i\u003Eand\u003Ci\u003E The Finest Hours\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;under his belt), directs the film with a bit of wicked glee, reveling in Cruella's bad girl aesthetic as she clashes with her would-be mentor for dominance and a bit of revenge for her role in her mother's death many years earlier. The film hints around and the origins of Cruella's history with Dalmatians, but stops short of explaining her desire to turn them into fur coats, an omission that is refreshing for not over-explaining every bit of IP lore, but makes the final transition into \u003Ci\u003E101 Dalmatians \u003C\/i\u003Efeel like quite a leap from the character we've just spent nearly two and a half hours with. Therein lies \u003Ci\u003ECruella\u003C\/i\u003E's biggest problem - it's simply too long, and although the two Emmas are absolutely smashing together, the build up to the final showdown feels overstuffed with revelations, twists, and flashbacks that bog the otherwise fleet-footed story down.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENevertheless, it's difficult not to like a film that allows Emma Stone and Emma Thompson to chew the scenery in this way. Glenn Close may forever be the definitive live-action Cruella, but there's a certain delight to be had in watching these two world class actresses having the time of their lives as two cutthroat fashionistas willing to do anything it takes to be number one, even if that means leaving a few dead bodies in their wake. It's all surprisingly dark for a Disney film, but one has to give credit to Gillespie, who made an unsympathetic character like Tonya Harding so complex and nuanced in \u003Ci\u003EI, Tonya\u003C\/i\u003E, for humanizing Cruella without excusing her actions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStone is terrific in the role, but its Thompson who steals the show, managing to channel both Meryl Streep's Miranda Priestly from\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EThe Devil Wears Prada\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;and Daniel Day-Lewis' Reynolds Woodcock from \u003Ci\u003EPhantom Thread\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;into a new, deliciously megalomaniacal creation. Come for the lead performances, stay for the sumptuous costumes by Jenny Beavan that seem to top themselves in each subsequent scene. It ultimately may not be reinventing the wheel, but Gillespie manages to breathe enough new life into Disney's live action remake formula with some stylistic tweaks and a darker, more grown up tone that is a consistent pleasure to watch. It may not be punk rock, its Disney for chrissakes, but I'll take this over their dreary shot for shot remakes of animated classics like \u003Ci\u003EBeauty and the Beast \u003C\/i\u003Eand \u003Ci\u003EThe Lion King \u003C\/i\u003Eany day.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★★ (out of four)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECRUELLA \u003C\/b\u003E| \u003Cb\u003EDirected by \u003C\/b\u003ECraig Gillespie | \u003Cb\u003EStars\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003EEmma Stone, Emma Thompson, Mark Strong, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser | \u003Cb\u003ERated PG-13 \u003C\/b\u003Efor some violence and thematic elements | \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003EOpens Friday, May 28, in theaters and streaming via Disney+ Premiere Access\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/752153332376863565\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=752153332376863565","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/752153332376863565"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/752153332376863565"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/05\/review-cruella-2021.html","title":"Review | Cruella | 2021"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/--bEsa1uHO3o\/YK1clnyvU2I\/AAAAAAAAj9w\/PUCJ-bq45h0D4Qc2TWNCO9KkdFmCsEhKgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/54ef35acd285f9af82d77181a776cd8a_4096x2730_06f1b8bd.jpeg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-8329962242055490507"},"published":{"$t":"2021-05-24T17:56:00.004-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-05-24T17:58:16.300-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"criterion collection"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Blu-Ray Review | Merrily We Go to Hell | 1932"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-OPAWgOXEiRU\/YKwf3luFgNI\/AAAAAAAAj80\/trKXxFrj6ucN33KsfZ0ymZEBaahx2SLfwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1467\/1076_image_06.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1080\" data-original-width=\"1467\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-OPAWgOXEiRU\/YKwf3luFgNI\/AAAAAAAAj80\/trKXxFrj6ucN33KsfZ0ymZEBaahx2SLfwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/1076_image_06.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-small;\"\u003ESylvia Sidney and Frederic March in MERRILY WE GO TO HELL. Courtesy of the Criterion Collection.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EIn 1932, Dorothy Arzner was the only woman directing films within the Hollywood studio system. While her none of her films were ever major hits, and many have been forgotten in the decades since, they are nonetheless responsible for launching the careers of such legendary actresses as Clara Bow (\u003Ci\u003EGet Your Man\u003C\/i\u003E), Katherine Hepburn (\u003Ci\u003EChristopher Strong\u003C\/i\u003E), and Lucille Ball (\u003Ci\u003EDance, Girl, Dance\u003C\/i\u003E), while bringing a much needed feminist perspective to the studio system that was lacking in many films of the period.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-lk2nT-JJEGs\/YKwgHSpaIwI\/AAAAAAAAj88\/2tCN5mKU5mgTlFSBXQci4-KgjF_0rZaUQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1892\/1076_BD.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1892\" data-original-width=\"1523\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-lk2nT-JJEGs\/YKwgHSpaIwI\/AAAAAAAAj88\/2tCN5mKU5mgTlFSBXQci4-KgjF_0rZaUQCLcBGAsYHQ\/w323-h400\/1076_BD.jpg\" width=\"323\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E1932's \u003Ci\u003EMerrily We Go to Hell\u003C\/i\u003E was Arzner's fourth collaboration with actor Frederic March, here gamely playing the part of Jerry Corbett, an aspiring playwright whose reliance on alcohol constantly threatens to sink him and everyone around him. Sylvia Sidney is Joan Prentice, an heiress who falls in love with him and gives up everything to be with him, even though he disappoints her at nearly every turn, often showing up late to functions, showing up drunk, or not showing up at all. Joan believes in Jerry when no one else does, wanting nothing in return but to hear the words \"I love you\" (\"gee, you're swell\" is all he can ever muster), and in turn Jerry slips back into his hard drinking ways, pining for an actress who once broke his heart.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFearing she will lose Jerry forever, Joan agrees to letting him see his one time lover (Adrianne Allen) on the side, an experiment in open marriage that ends disastrously and threatens to bring Joan's world crashing down around her. It seems that no matter how much time, love, and energy she invests in Jerry, he is simply unable to make even the most minimal effort for anyone other than himself.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ci\u003EMerrily We Go to Hell\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;grapples with themes of alcoholism and infidelity in ways that are surprisingly frank for the time, even in pre-code era Hollywood. Arzner deftly illustrates the sacrifices that women were often forced to make in the decidedly patriarchal ideals of marriage (many of which still endure today), where the men are given leeway to do whatever their heart desires, while the women were expected to be good little housewives who support him no matter what.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EMerrily We Go to Hell\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;takes that idea to its logical extreme, and the result is often hard to watch, as Jerry's self-destruction coupled with Joan's selfless devotion becomes nearly unbearable. Naturally, it paints in bold strokes to make its point, going from romantic comedy to tragedy in the span of 83 minutes, but its emotional core rings true. It's a bruising film, made even more so by Sidney and March's devastatingly truthful performances, skewering society's skewed gender standards and expectations for a \"happy\" marriage. It's clear where Arzner's sympathies lie, and for a society that continues to value the perspectives of men,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EMerrily We Go to Hell\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;feels like an uncompromising punch in the gut in ways that will likely feel revelatory to men, and all-too-real to women.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE \u003C\/b\u003E- ★★★ (out of four)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMERRILY WE GO TO HELL \u003C\/b\u003E| \u003Cb\u003EDirected by \u003C\/b\u003EDorothy Arzner | \u003Cb\u003EStars \u003C\/b\u003ESylvia Sidney, Frederic March, Adrianne Allen, Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher, George Irving, Esther Howard | \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow available on Blu-Ray and DVD from The Criterion Collection.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESpecial Features:\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003ENew, restored 4K digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDorothy Arzner: Longing for Women, a 1983 documentary by Katja Raganelli and Konrad Wickler\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003ENew video essay by film historian Cari Beauchamp\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003EEnglish subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003EPLUS: An essay by film scholar Judith Mayne\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/8329962242055490507\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=8329962242055490507","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/8329962242055490507"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/8329962242055490507"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/05\/blu-ray-review-merrily-we-go-to-hell.html","title":"Blu-Ray Review | Merrily We Go to Hell | 1932"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-OPAWgOXEiRU\/YKwf3luFgNI\/AAAAAAAAj80\/trKXxFrj6ucN33KsfZ0ymZEBaahx2SLfwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/1076_image_06.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-895395780318833800"},"published":{"$t":"2021-05-18T14:46:00.000-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-05-18T14:46:04.572-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Netflix"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Review | The Woman in the Window | 2021"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-BdiYBxT2HFE\/YKQKMMbOAlI\/AAAAAAAAj8U\/eB24ZJBqd1cvcUez4TwhNOvIxWihsYAMwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/DF-03354_R.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1365\" data-original-width=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-BdiYBxT2HFE\/YKQKMMbOAlI\/AAAAAAAAj8U\/eB24ZJBqd1cvcUez4TwhNOvIxWihsYAMwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/DF-03354_R.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-small;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EAmy Adams as Anna Fox in THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW. Photo by Melinda Sue Gordon. Courtesy of Netflix.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EOriginally slated for release in October of 2019, Joe Wright's \u003Ci\u003EThe Woman in the Window\u003C\/i\u003E was lost in the shuffle of Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox, before finally being sold off to Netflix to be unceremoniously dumped on the streaming service this past week, nearly three years after completion of principal photography.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-twbx1JwBnQg\/YKQKgVddS7I\/AAAAAAAAj8c\/He1Dmu55rMgGADhAA46mMvSkYD-a36ZfQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/EN-US_WITW_Ensemble_Vertical_27x40_RGB_PRE.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"2048\" data-original-width=\"1383\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-twbx1JwBnQg\/YKQKgVddS7I\/AAAAAAAAj8c\/He1Dmu55rMgGADhAA46mMvSkYD-a36ZfQCLcBGAsYHQ\/w270-h400\/EN-US_WITW_Ensemble_Vertical_27x40_RGB_PRE.jpg\" width=\"270\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EBased on the best-selling 2018 novel by A.J. Finn,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EThe Woman in the Window\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;tells the story of an agoraphobic psychologist named Anna Fox (Amy Adams) who believes she witnessed a murder in the apartment across from hers. After reporting the murder to police, she is told not only did the murder never happen, but that the woman she believes she saw killed never existed, causing her to question her own reality and finally face the trauma of her past. The story borrows heavily from Alfred Hitchcock's \u003Ci\u003ERear Window\u003C\/i\u003E, along with films like Steven Soderbergh's \u003Ci\u003EUnsane\u003C\/i\u003E and other contemporary book club book club selections like \u003Ci\u003EThe Girl on the Train\u003C\/i\u003E. Protagonists questioning their own sanity is nothing new, and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EThe Woman in the Window\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;brings nothing new to the table, taking it's pulpy source material and failing to find anything \u0026nbsp;particularly interesting within its pages, despite a screenplay by Tracy Letts.\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAdams is in fine form but the script does her no favors, the expository dialogue working overtime to flesh out the novel's intricacies. It's certainly beautiful to look at. Director Joe Wright (\u003Ci\u003EAtonement\u003C\/i\u003E)\u0026nbsp;and cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel (\u003Ci\u003EAmélie\u003C\/i\u003E)\u0026nbsp;shoot the film like a Douglas Sirk melodrama, but you'll find none of Sirk's abilities to translate soap opera trappings into trenchant social commentary. By the time the film reaches its wild conclusion, it feels like it has gone completely off the rails, with its monologuing villain and hyperactive violence that is so cartoonish that it seems completely at odds with the rest of the film.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor a film about internalized trauma it certainly explains itself in the most blunt fashion, relying on ludicrous plot contrivances and coincidences to drive the action forward. Adams, and indeed Wright, seem completely \u0026nbsp;lost as to how to tackle the material, whether to play it straight or embrace its trashy aesthetic. It's a fine line that has been walked to much greater success before (think David Fincher's \u003Ci\u003EGone Girl\u003C\/i\u003E or \u003Ci\u003EThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo\u003C\/i\u003E), but here it the result is listless and deeply uninterested in the story it's trying to tell. It's not the epic disaster that it's reputation suggests, it's just a dreary and uninspired thriller will likely be quickly forgotten.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E -  ★★ (out of four)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ETHE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW \u003C\/b\u003E| \u003Cb\u003EDirected by \u003C\/b\u003EJoe Wright | \u003Cb\u003EStars \u003C\/b\u003EAmy Adams, Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie, Brian Tyree Henry, Julianne Moore, Fred Hechinger, Tracy Letts | \u003Cb\u003ERated R\u003C\/b\u003E \u003Cb\u003Efor\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;violence and language | \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow streaming exclusively on Netflix.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/895395780318833800\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=895395780318833800","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/895395780318833800"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/895395780318833800"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/05\/review-woman-in-window-2021.html","title":"Review | The Woman in the Window | 2021"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-BdiYBxT2HFE\/YKQKMMbOAlI\/AAAAAAAAj8U\/eB24ZJBqd1cvcUez4TwhNOvIxWihsYAMwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/DF-03354_R.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-5089689431176041342"},"published":{"$t":"2021-05-18T10:21:00.007-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-05-18T11:08:01.333-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Warner Archive"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Blu-Ray Review | The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex | 1939"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-_3gcI7_SiVU\/YKPLXXOhlBI\/AAAAAAAAj8E\/B4oVV_AfQdMuCkT92CiiQeKCMerOwjuRwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/MV5BZjk0MWQzYzgtMzBlZS00YWY1LTliNzEtZDYyNGUyNmEyMmE0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTk2MzI2Ng%2540%2540._V1_.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1220\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-_3gcI7_SiVU\/YKPLXXOhlBI\/AAAAAAAAj8E\/B4oVV_AfQdMuCkT92CiiQeKCMerOwjuRwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/MV5BZjk0MWQzYzgtMzBlZS00YWY1LTliNzEtZDYyNGUyNmEyMmE0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTk2MzI2Ng%2540%2540._V1_.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EReleased in the Greatest Year for Movies\u003Cspan face=\"arial, sans-serif\" style=\"background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36); color: #202124; font-size: 16px;\"\u003E©\u003C\/span\u003E\u0026nbsp;that was 1939, Michael Curtiz's\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EThe Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex\u003C\/i\u003E, starring Bette Davis and Errol Flynn at perhaps the height of their stardom (not to mention Olivia de Havilland, who co-starred in \u003Ci\u003EGone with the Wind\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;the very same year) was viewed as something of a letdown as in the wake of Curtiz's 1938 output, which included such all-timers as \u003Ci\u003EThe Adventures of Robin Hood\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;(which was nominated for Best Picture) and \u003Ci\u003EAngels with Dirty Faces\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E(for which he received a nomination for Best Director).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-nEKS1uuhFHs\/YKPNV2-pLoI\/AAAAAAAAj8M\/CIw_LoYuelQikOhbDLzQmcZNacLK08uCwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s500\/51wYp4AuKTL.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"500\" data-original-width=\"383\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-nEKS1uuhFHs\/YKPNV2-pLoI\/AAAAAAAAj8M\/CIw_LoYuelQikOhbDLzQmcZNacLK08uCwCLcBGAsYHQ\/w306-h400\/51wYp4AuKTL.jpg\" width=\"306\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ci\u003EElizabeth and Essex\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;reunited Curtiz with his Robin Hood, Errol Flynn, de Havilland, and composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold for another historical epic that landed much differently than the jaunty escapades of Robin Hood. Where \u003Ci\u003ERobin Hood\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;was light and fleet-footed,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EElizabeth and Essex\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;seems ponderous and self-serious; and indeed, it's certainly a much darker story, detailing the tempestuous romance between Queen Elizabeth I (Davis) and the Earl of Essex (Flynn). It has the sprawling battle scenes and high drama, but it's ultimately a film about two people, separated by title and power, doing everything they can to wound each other, whether out of jealousy or some misplaced sense of duty. For Elizabeth, Essex was a dashing younger man, for Essex, Elizabeth was path to greater power. Whether or not the two are actually in love makes up the film's central conflict, as palace intrigue continually keeps them apart, along with Essex's hubris and Elizabeth's mistrust and determination to divorce feelings from her royal duty.\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt's certainly a sumptuous production - Warner Bros. pulled out all the stops and were rewarded with five Academy Award nominations in below-the-line categories like Best Cinematography (Color), Best Art Direction, Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, and Best Score. But it failed to garner much attention for its most notable elements, specifically Bette Davis' towering performance (she was nominated instead for \u003Ci\u003EDark Victory\u003C\/i\u003E, losing to Vivien Leigh for \u003Ci\u003EGone with the Wind\u003C\/i\u003E). Davis, hidden under heavy makeup and playing a much older character, is at her diva-licious best, managing to chew the scenery while imbuing her character with a real sense of conflict. That the film ultimately ends tragically is almost a given, but\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EThe Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is surprisingly heavy. Yet one can see \u0026nbsp;Curtiz establishing the groundwork for Shekhar Kapur's \u003Ci\u003EElizabeth\u003C\/i\u003E decades later, itself an overripe melodrama with a towering performance at its center.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHistorical accuracy has never been at the forefront of films about Queen Elizabeth, but Curtiz's film is perhaps better than it gets credit for. It's certainly a bit repetitive, the back and forth between Elizabeth and Essex begins to feel like a familiar pattern by the end, but Davis and Flynn are just so good here that we truly become invested in their characters. It's a historical epic with the heart of a character piece, and the chemistry between Davis and Flynn elevates what could have easily become a turgid spectacle. Curtiz always had an eye for human relationships, and he creates a palpable sense of loneliness and isolation in the way he frames Davis. Trapped by tradition, power, and distrust, her Elizabeth is as much a tragic figure as the ill-fated Essex, each a sacrifice to the inhuman ideal of monarchy. It is an often overlooked film in the careers of nearly all the major participants; but now, gloriously restored in a new Blu-Ray edition from Warner Archive,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EThe Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;shines again.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★★ (out of four)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ETHE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX \u003C\/b\u003E| \u003Cb\u003EDirected by \u003C\/b\u003EMichael Curtiz | \u003Cb\u003EStars \u003C\/b\u003EBette Davis, Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Donald Crisp, Alan Hale, Vincent Price | \u003Cb\u003ENow available on Blu-Ray from \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/stores\/page\/ED270804-095F-449B-9B69-6CEE46A0B2BF?ingress=0\u0026amp;visitId=6171710b-08c8-4829-803d-d8b922581c55\u0026amp;tag=blurayforum-20\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EWarner Archive\u003C\/a\u003E!\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/5089689431176041342\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=5089689431176041342","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/5089689431176041342"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/5089689431176041342"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/05\/blu-ray-review-private-lives-of.html","title":"Blu-Ray Review | The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex | 1939"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-_3gcI7_SiVU\/YKPLXXOhlBI\/AAAAAAAAj8E\/B4oVV_AfQdMuCkT92CiiQeKCMerOwjuRwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/MV5BZjk0MWQzYzgtMzBlZS00YWY1LTliNzEtZDYyNGUyNmEyMmE0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTk2MzI2Ng%2540%2540._V1_.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-1399122263251242442"},"published":{"$t":"2021-05-14T16:30:00.016-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-05-14T16:46:13.935-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"criterion collection"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Blu-Ray Review | The Furies | 1950"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-DfPjcoMYU-A\/YJ7clG2nkmI\/AAAAAAAAj70\/SfzxN-iwskEpGQhzxzmsd7oIbj3hg8izACLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/435_image_02.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1614\" data-original-width=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-DfPjcoMYU-A\/YJ7clG2nkmI\/AAAAAAAAj70\/SfzxN-iwskEpGQhzxzmsd7oIbj3hg8izACLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/435_image_02.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003EBarbara Stanwyck in Anthony Mann's THE FURIES. Courtesy of The Criterion Collection.\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EComing off a string of film noir detective joints like \u003Ci\u003ET-Men\u003C\/i\u003E (1947) and \u003Ci\u003EHe Walked by Night\u003C\/i\u003E (1948), Anthony Mann turned his attention to the Western genre, beginning a string of films that would carry him through the 1950s and ultimately come to define his career. \u003Ci\u003EThe Furies\u003C\/i\u003E was the third film Mann directed in 1950, after \u003Ci\u003ESide Street\u003C\/i\u003E and arguably his most popular western, \u003Ci\u003EWinchester '73\u003C\/i\u003E, starring James Stewart. It's certainly an unusual entry in the genre - more in line with revisionist westerns like Samuel Fuller's \u003Ci\u003EForty Guns\u003C\/i\u003E (also starring Barbara Stanwyck) from later in the decade than anything else at the time.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-9KHcVr4xycs\/YJ7c7S3a6NI\/AAAAAAAAj78\/YW4n_xp3g6Y9qLFKHISb-nzlzmZwiRDwQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1892\/435_BD.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1892\" data-original-width=\"1523\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-9KHcVr4xycs\/YJ7c7S3a6NI\/AAAAAAAAj78\/YW4n_xp3g6Y9qLFKHISb-nzlzmZwiRDwQCLcBGAsYHQ\/w323-h400\/435_BD.jpg\" width=\"323\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Furies\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is, first and foremost, a melodrama and a romance, its western trappings (taken from the 1948 novel by Niven Busch), almost coming across like window dressing. The film centers around Vance Jeffords (Stanwyck), tempestuous daughter of cattle baron T.C. Jeffords (Walter Huston, in his final performance). Willful and spoiled, Jeffords all bun runs her father's expansive ranch, The Furies, as her father fends off squatters and creditors by issuing worthless \"TCs\" as a kind of IOU. Deeply in debt and facing foreclosure, T.C. is faced with either doing business with Rip Darrow (Wendell Corey) the son of his mortal enemy who has eyes for Vance (or is it her father's ranch?) or watching his mighty empire crumble to dust. Vance is likewise torn between two men, handsome Mexican homesteader, Juan Herrera (Gilbert Roland), whose family has been squatting on the Furies, and a love\/hate relationship with Darrow. But when T.C. brings home a wealthy woman (Judith Anderson) with an eye for marriage, Vance feels her position as her father's favorite threatened, and begins to conspire to win the Furies for herself, by any means necessary.\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMann brilliantly centers two deeply flawed characters at the story's center, even hinting at a possible incestuous relationship between Vance and T.C. But T.C.'s abuses eventually become too much to ignore, as he violently throws the squatters off his land, cruelly targeting the Harrera family in order to take revenge on Vance.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EThe Furies\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;was a continuation of Mann's fascination with Shakespeare's \u003Ci\u003EKing Lear\u003C\/i\u003E, with T.C. the clear Lear figure, a lion in winter whose waning power is threatened once the sharks sense weakness and begin to circle. For much of its runtime,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EThe Furies\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is a brutal tale of intergenerational struggle for power, the Furies becoming a deeply corrupting influence on all who seek to control them. Curiously, Mann undoes much of the moral ambiguity in the final act which ties things up too neatly and retroactively lionizes T.C. in a truly bizarre way that seems totally incongruous to not only the character, but to the film's view of him up to that point. It almost feels like a studio mandated happy ending that just does not fit, and it undermines the integrity of the film in troubling ways.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe result is a deeply unusual film, one filled with fire and fury that curiously pulls its punches at the last minute, displaying Mann's gritty sensibilities in striking ways while sacrificing its carefully crafted themes in a misguided attempt at a happy ending. Existing in a dark moral gray area for much of its runtime,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EThe Furies\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;ultimately ends up with a pat Hollywood ending that leaves what could have been a western masterpiece as a strangely unsatisfying \"what if?\" There are so many things to love here - Stanwyck's fiery performance, Huston's jovial menace, Judith Anderson's layered performance as the sympathetic would-be usurper of Vance's crown, Victor Milner's striking, Oscar nominated cinematography; taken together these elements push\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EThe Furies\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;to near greatness, only to stop just short. Mann would continue to tinker with his ultimate paean to \u003Ci\u003EKing Lear\u003C\/i\u003E in films like \u003Ci\u003EThe Man from Laramie\u003C\/i\u003E (1955) and \u003Ci\u003EMan of the West\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E(1958), and in a project called \u003Ci\u003EThe King\u003C\/i\u003E, that never came to fruition. But\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EThe Furies\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;remains a fascinating entry in the Western genre; flawed, powerful, and haunting, a meditation on the all-encompassing corruption of capitalism that, in perhaps the most American fashion, ends up paying tribute to the very figures it set out to condemn.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★★½ (out of four)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ETHE FURIES \u003C\/b\u003E| \u003Cb\u003EDirected by \u003C\/b\u003EAnthony Mann | \u003Cb\u003EStars \u003C\/b\u003EBarbara Stanwyck, Wendell Corey, Walter Huston, Judith Anderson, Gilbert Roland, Thomas Gomez | \u003Cb\u003ENot Rated\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;| \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow available on Blu-Ray and DVD from The Criterion Collection.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESpecial Features:\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003EHigh-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAudio commentary from 2008 featuring film historian Jim Kitses\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003ENew interview with critic Imogen Sara Smith (Blu-ray only)\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003EThe Movies: “Action Speaks Louder Than Words,” a 1967 television interview with director Anthony Mann\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003ERare on-camera interview with actor Walter Huston, made in 1931 for the movie-theater series Intimate Interviews\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003EInterview from 2008 with Nina Mann, the director’s daughter\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003EStills gallery of behind-the-scenes photos (DVD only)\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003ETrailer\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003EEnglish subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003EPLUS: An essay by critic Robin Wood and a 1957 Cahiers du cinéma interview with Anthony Mann, as well as a new printing of the 1948 novel by Niven Busch on which the film is based\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/1399122263251242442\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=1399122263251242442","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/1399122263251242442"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/1399122263251242442"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/05\/blu-ray-review-furies-1950.html","title":"Blu-Ray Review | The Furies | 1950"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-DfPjcoMYU-A\/YJ7clG2nkmI\/AAAAAAAAj70\/SfzxN-iwskEpGQhzxzmsd7oIbj3hg8izACLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/435_image_02.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-4164729355177043339"},"published":{"$t":"2021-05-13T16:37:00.009-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-05-13T16:40:11.616-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"criterion collection"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Blu-Ray Review | History is Made at Night | 1937"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-22PUDdUjjm0\/YJ2Mmggug7I\/AAAAAAAAj7g\/xknz4ZDOyE4tr1wA_VBPO2S0JODJNiDjgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1465\/1072_image_05.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1080\" data-original-width=\"1465\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-22PUDdUjjm0\/YJ2Mmggug7I\/AAAAAAAAj7g\/xknz4ZDOyE4tr1wA_VBPO2S0JODJNiDjgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/1072_image_05.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-small;\"\u003ECharles Boyer and Jean Arthur in Frank Borzage's HISTORY IS MADE AT NIGHT. Courtesy of The Criterion Collection.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EThere are few filmmakers who could juggle so many genres, not just in their careers but in a single film, with such grace as Frank Borzage. Borzage, who won the very first Academy Award for Best Director in 1929 for \u003Ci\u003E7th Heaven\u003C\/i\u003E (and again in 1932 for \u003Ci\u003EBad Girl\u003C\/i\u003E) had a reputation for making incisive love stories. An eternal optimist, Borzage was the kind of filmmaker who believed deeply in true love, and managed to convey that on screen without an ounce of sentimentality. Love certainly conquers all in Borzage's films, but he displayed a keen understanding that it wasn't always an easy road.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-c_21F8Gl64U\/YJ2OLAlO-EI\/AAAAAAAAj7o\/KBmgCH9OZ547_TxW9FkYKV4DVQMhHsKMACLcBGAsYHQ\/s1892\/1072_BD.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1892\" data-original-width=\"1523\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-c_21F8Gl64U\/YJ2OLAlO-EI\/AAAAAAAAj7o\/KBmgCH9OZ547_TxW9FkYKV4DVQMhHsKMACLcBGAsYHQ\/w323-h400\/1072_BD.jpg\" width=\"323\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ci\u003EHistory is Made at Night\u003C\/i\u003E is a strange animal - it's a love story, a melodrama, a comedy, and a disaster picture picture all rolled into one, featuring tonal \u0026nbsp;shifts that would have given the audience whiplash in the hands of a less capable director. There's a certain bliss to going into this film blind, experiencing its unusual pleasures organically and with no expectations, because what Borzage achieves here is nothing short of wizardry. It begins with socialite Irene Vail (Jean Arthur) leaving her possessive husband, a shipping magnate named Bruce (Colin Clive), who sends his goons to frame her for infidelity so he can stop the divorce and force her to remain with him. She is rescued, however, by a passerby named Paul Dumond (Charles Boyer), the headwaiter of a local restaurant in Paris. The two form an almost instant bond, one that Bruce becomes determined to break at all costs, including committing a murder and framing Paul. Eventually reunited in America, Paul and Irene become determined to set things right and live happily ever after, that is until Bruce conspires to sink his own ship on its maiden voyage in order to send the couple down with it.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt's such a wildly unlikely scenario that could only happen in Hollywood, but Borzage handles it with such charm and wit. Boyer and Arthur are a magnetic pair, and Leo Carrillo provides memorable comic relief as Paul's boss and best friend, the world-renowned chef, The Great Cesare. Yet perhaps the standout here is Clive, Dr. Frankenstein himself, in one off his final performances. Clive, suffering from alcoholism and mere months away from his untimely death from tuberculosis and pneumonia at the age of 37, is terrifyingly intense here as the jilted, jealous husband, who is himself an alcoholic. It's an almost painful performance to watch in hindsight, but Clive is tremendous here, displaying a towering talent cut down far too soon.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat Borzage was able to juggle so many disparate elements into such an endearing picture is a testament to his skill as a filmmaker.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EHistory is Made at Night\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;takes high drama to nearly ridiculous heights (a jilted ex-husband ordering a steam ship captain to go into an ice field at top speed in hopes of sinking the ship to kill his ex-wife and her new beau is the very definition of \"extra\"), but by God this thing works, and not only merely works, it works like gangbusters. It lays out a kind of epic romantic template that would be followed by James Cameron in \u003Ci\u003ETitanic\u003C\/i\u003E decades later (there's no way Billy Zane's Caledon Hockey wasn't inspired at least in part by Clive's Bruce Vail). It grounds its wild plot with endearing characters, charming comic relief, and a deep and abiding belief in the power of love to conquer all. You'll find no cynicism or irony here, Borzage plays it 100% straight, and the result is something quietly enchanting, a guileless and wide-eyed paean to romance whose innocence never feels in any way cloying - it's just pure classical Hollywood magic.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★★★ (out of four)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EHISTORY IS MADE AT NIGHT \u003C\/b\u003E| \u003Cb\u003EDirected by \u003C\/b\u003EFrank Borzage | \u003Cb\u003EStars \u003C\/b\u003ECharles Boyer, Jean Arthur, Leo Carrillo, Colin Clive | \u003Cb\u003ENot Rated \u003C\/b\u003E| \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow available on Blu-Ray and DVD from The Criterion Collection.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESpecial Features:\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003ENew, restored 4K digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003ENew conversation between author Hervé Dumont (Frank Borzage: The Life and Films of a Hollywood Romantic) and film historian Peter Cowie\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003EInterview from 2019 with critic Farran Smith Nehme about director Frank Borzage’s obsession with romantic love\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAudio excerpts of a 1958 interview with Borzage from the collection of the George Eastman Museum\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003ERadio adaptation of the film from 1940, broadcast by The Screen Guild Theater and starring Charles Boyer\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003ERestoration demonstration\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003EEnglish subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003EPLUS: An essay by critic Dan Callahan\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/4164729355177043339\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=4164729355177043339","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/4164729355177043339"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/4164729355177043339"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/05\/blu-ray-review-history-is-made-at-night.html","title":"Blu-Ray Review | History is Made at Night | 1937"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-22PUDdUjjm0\/YJ2Mmggug7I\/AAAAAAAAj7g\/xknz4ZDOyE4tr1wA_VBPO2S0JODJNiDjgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/1072_image_05.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-26156428234372476"},"published":{"$t":"2021-05-08T17:35:00.001-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-05-08T17:35:23.820-04:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Review | Here Today | 2021"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-WCv_Kh9numc\/YJcC3kN9MGI\/AAAAAAAAj7M\/aeJ6bzKgQG88AE7DCUbppYkFsaaCCxSygCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/HT_D14_102219_0339.tif\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1404\" data-original-width=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-WCv_Kh9numc\/YJcC3kN9MGI\/AAAAAAAAj7M\/aeJ6bzKgQG88AE7DCUbppYkFsaaCCxSygCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/HT_D14_102219_0339.tif\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003ETiffany Haddish and Billy Crystal in Sony Pictures' HERE TODAY. Courtesy of Sony Pictures.\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EWritten and directed by Billy Crystal, \u003Ci\u003EHere Today\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;stars the venerable comedian as an aging comedy writer named Charlie Berns who is privately facing the onset of dementia.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-OzZ_u8h00ok\/YJcD8vlsGhI\/AAAAAAAAj7U\/Yn0FsSdZpeQN5BEC2bZ_epXrUvQVqZuvwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1000\/HERE_OnLine_1400x2100_FNL_02_667x1000_thumbnail.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1000\" data-original-width=\"667\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-OzZ_u8h00ok\/YJcD8vlsGhI\/AAAAAAAAj7U\/Yn0FsSdZpeQN5BEC2bZ_epXrUvQVqZuvwCLcBGAsYHQ\/w266-h400\/HERE_OnLine_1400x2100_FNL_02_667x1000_thumbnail.jpg\" width=\"266\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EFacing not only the loss of his career but the memories of late wife, Charlie sets about to write a memoir of his life in order to preserve them, but the pressures of his job and his rapidly progressing condition make it difficult for him to work. That is until he meets Emma Payge (Tiffany Haddish) in one of those \"win a date with a celebrity\" auctions, and what begins as a minor annoyance soon becomes an unlikely friendship that will change them both.\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile not as long as his career in front of the camera, Crystal's career as a director is long is not particularly prolific -\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EHere Today\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is only his 4th film since 1992. And while there's nothing groundbreaking here, it's a pleasantly inoffensive \"opposites attract\" buddy comedy with a decidedly schmaltzy tinge. For a film about a comedy writer, its surprisingly light on laughs (even during the SNL-esque comedic segments that are genuinely supposed to be funny), and for most of the running time the film has difficulty balancing its comedic elements with its more serious themes. Still, Crystal and Haddish make for a fine pairing even when working with such thin material, and their friendship really gives the film a lot of heart. It may tread familiar beats, but it packs a surprising emotional punch thanks to an unexpectedly nuanced performance by Crystal, who conveys a great range of pain masked by a funny man's persona. His rapport with Haddish holds the film together even when the script can't quite support emotions its trying to convey. By the end,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EHere Today\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;seems to fit like an old glove; well-used but warm, familiar, and comforting, filled with celebrity cameos and nostalgic references. Even when it threatens to veer into schmaltz, overplaying its hand in ways that occasionally feel forced, the balance of old school and new school comedy represented by Crystal and Haddish makes for a pleasing combination, even if Haddish feels somewhat trapped by a script that doesn't quite seem to know what to do with her particular talents.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★½ (out of four)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EHERE TODAY \u003C\/b\u003E| \u003Cb\u003EDirected by \u003C\/b\u003EBilly Crystal | \u003Cb\u003EStars \u003C\/b\u003EBilly Crystal, Tiffany Haddish, Sharon Stone, Penn Badgley, Kevin Kline | \u003Cb\u003ERated PG-13\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003Efor strong language, and sexual references | \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow playing in select theaters.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/26156428234372476\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=26156428234372476","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/26156428234372476"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/26156428234372476"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/05\/review-here-today-2021.html","title":"Review | Here Today | 2021"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-WCv_Kh9numc\/YJcC3kN9MGI\/AAAAAAAAj7M\/aeJ6bzKgQG88AE7DCUbppYkFsaaCCxSygCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/HT_D14_102219_0339.tif","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-1257014533035315132"},"published":{"$t":"2021-05-04T13:20:00.007-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-05-04T13:29:30.635-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Warner Archive"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Blu-Ray Spotlight | New From Warner Archive - Another Thin Man, Broadway Melody of 1940, Doctor X, Each Dawn I Die"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-K6lGTes05Xo\/YJGA-BAKhnI\/AAAAAAAAj6o\/_DoNm8zn6_MDXqDgmHH3aOHToyVaLcpaQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/anotherthinman1939.1747.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1334\" data-original-width=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-K6lGTes05Xo\/YJGA-BAKhnI\/AAAAAAAAj6o\/_DoNm8zn6_MDXqDgmHH3aOHToyVaLcpaQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/anotherthinman1939.1747.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EANOTHER THIN MAN\u003C\/b\u003E (W.S. Van Dyke, 1939)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe third entry in the venerable \u003Ci\u003EThin Man\u003C\/i\u003E series finds Nick and Nora Charles \u0026nbsp;juggling life as new parents during a weekend getaway in which they inevitably get sucked into solving a mystery. At this point, the conceit is beginning to wear a little, um...thin, and the introduction of the baby into the mix does little to enhance the story as he disappears for most of the running time. \u003Ci\u003EAnother Thin Man\u003C\/i\u003E lacks the effortless sparkle of its predecessors, with the mystery taking more focus and shrouding the film in a darker air of intrigue.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWilliam Powell and Myrna Loy are a delight as always, even if their repartee doesn't feel quite as witty as in the previous two films, and they make the most of what they're given.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EAnother Thin Man\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;hews closely to the tried and true formula, and it mostly works thanks to the charm of its leads. Director W.S. Van Dyke, who also helmed the first two films in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EThin Man\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;franchise, as well as the next entry, \u003Ci\u003EShadow of the Thin Man\u003C\/i\u003E, was well known for his ability to crank out films quickly, relying on single takes and even filming actors interacting without their knowledge to make scenes feel spontaneous. Its part of what gives the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EThin Man\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;series its charm, but these films work best when focusing on its central sleuths rather than the mystery itself, which tends to pull focus for the franchise's third entry.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★½ (out of four)\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-elLCM8UoQW4\/YJGBdFGZBoI\/AAAAAAAAj6w\/vRhpTqkyOF4McFBG1trZ1hc6nScbwTxaACLcBGAsYHQ\/s1200\/broadway-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"675\" data-original-width=\"1200\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-elLCM8UoQW4\/YJGBdFGZBoI\/AAAAAAAAj6w\/vRhpTqkyOF4McFBG1trZ1hc6nScbwTxaACLcBGAsYHQ\/w640-h360\/broadway-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBROADWAY MELODY OF 1940\u003C\/b\u003E (Norman Taurog, 1940)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMostly remembered as the first Academy Award winner for Best Picture with sound, 1929's \u003Ci\u003EThe Broadway Melody\u003C\/i\u003E actually spawned three name-only sequels from MGM that capitalized on its success - \u003Ci\u003EBroadway Melody of 1936\u003C\/i\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EBroadway Melody of 1938\u003C\/i\u003E,\u0026nbsp;and finally,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EBroadway Melody of 1940.\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;While not as technically impressive as Warner Bros' \u003Ci\u003EGold Diggers\u003C\/i\u003E series that ran from 1933-1938 under the watchful eye of legendary choreographer, Busby Berkeley, the \u003Ci\u003EBroadway Melody\u003C\/i\u003E series managed a second Best Picture nomination for\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EBroadway Melody of 1936\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;(easily the best of the series), before going out with Fred Astaire topping the bill in 1940.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ci\u003EBroadway Melody of 1940\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;follows the \"struggling performer makes good\" formula that drove the previous entries in the series, with Astaire and George Murphy starring as two nightclub hoofers who dream of making it big on Broadway. But when a mixup leads Murphy to get Astaire's dream job (with his dream partner), Astaire has to set things straight with the show's absent minded owner (the always delightful Wizard of Oz himself, Frank Morgan) before the creditors come calling. Astaire and Eleanor Powell make a great team, and their final number \"Begin the Beguine\" is perhaps one of the legendary star's most graceful set pieces, but the film itself feels rather tired, and the formula for these large scale showbiz musicals that dazzled in the 1930s was beginning to wear thin.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;- ★★½ (out of four)\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-vzZBxUVSDCo\/YJGB67Lr3eI\/AAAAAAAAj64\/zEmTuSVEW3Ar4vc29P6h5CkFx9ebt4DRgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s982\/1086E33C-A484-4D91-9FFC-F0203F7BCD00.jpeg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"719\" data-original-width=\"982\" height=\"468\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-vzZBxUVSDCo\/YJGB67Lr3eI\/AAAAAAAAj64\/zEmTuSVEW3Ar4vc29P6h5CkFx9ebt4DRgCLcBGAsYHQ\/w640-h468\/1086E33C-A484-4D91-9FFC-F0203F7BCD00.jpeg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EDOCTOR X\u003C\/b\u003E (Michael Curtiz, 1932)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMichael Curtiz directs this spooky mystery set around a medical school where each student of Doctor Xavier (Lionel Atwill) becomes a suspect in a series of grisly murders, leading the doctor to attempt to recreate the murders in his lab with the help of his beautiful assistant, Fay Wray. Much of \u003Ci\u003EDoctor X\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;feels like a dry run for \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2020\/06\/from-repertory-june-2020.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EMystery at the Wax Museum\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E (1933), which featured much of the same cast as well as rare two-strip Technicolor cinematography (the result of a stock quota Warner Brothers needed to use within a certain time frame). Both films are similarly atmospheric and feature grotesquely disfigured who steal corpses from the morgue, but\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EDoctor X\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is a more exposition-heavy film, with a good chunk of the 76 minute running time devoted to Lionel Atwill leading detectives around the school and introducing them to potential suspects.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStill, while\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EMystery at the Wax Museum\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;may be the strongest of Curtiz' unofficial horror trilogy (which also includes 1936's \u003Ci\u003EThe Walking Dead\u003C\/i\u003E),\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EDoctor X\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is still a gruesome little chiller, made even more lurid by the sickly green hues of its early Technicolor. Warner Archive's new Blu-Ray features a stellar new restoration, detailed in the UCLA before\/after restoration reel, also included on the disc along with a documentary about the horror films of Michael Curtiz, and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EDoctor X'\u003C\/i\u003Es place as the first in the unofficial trilogy. It's a fascinating look behind the method of one of the Golden Age's of Hollywood's busiest and most reliable filmmakers, as well as Warner Bros' reluctant ventures into the horror genre to compete with Universal's burgeoning monster series.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;- ★★★\u0026nbsp;(out of four)\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-ZaeVO1h3HUY\/YJGCEJfA9-I\/AAAAAAAAj68\/oXUtPg1q86g3axd1E-GqInVeTP1D1EumwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/eachdawnidie1939.615.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1334\" data-original-width=\"2048\" height=\"416\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-ZaeVO1h3HUY\/YJGCEJfA9-I\/AAAAAAAAj68\/oXUtPg1q86g3axd1E-GqInVeTP1D1EumwCLcBGAsYHQ\/w640-h416\/eachdawnidie1939.615.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EEACH DAWN I DIE\u003C\/b\u003E (William Keighley, 1939)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA reporter on the verge of throwing the lid off a massive organized crime conspiracy gets framed for murder in William Keighley's \u003Ci\u003EEach Dawn I Die\u003C\/i\u003E, which cast James Cagney in a familiar tough guy role but this time as a good guy. Once inside the prison Cagney faces brutal guards, constantly beating prisoners and threatening them with \"the hole,\" while coordinating with outside forces to prove his innocence and bring down the crime ring. He partners up with Hood Stacey (George Raft), a gang boss and murderer whose conscience leads him to help his newfound friend lead a revolt against the cruel prison guards in order to help Cagney expose the real villains.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ci\u003EEach Dawn I Die\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is a Production Code era film that smartly keeps Cagney on the wrong side of the law while allowing him to be the hero, taking a gritty look at prison conditions in the process. Here, the prisoners are the heroes in a story of corrupt district attorneys, cops, and politicians who are little more than petty bullies willing to do anything to hold on to power. Cagney is at his best here, and his partnership with Raft makes for a strong love\/hate relationship that drives the picture forward. It may not be one of Cagney's most famous roles, but it's one of his most indelible. The new Warner Archive Blu-Ray also includes a delightful \"Warner Night at the Movies\" package that includes cartoon shorts, newsreels, and trailers from 1939, along with a fascinating featurette that puts the film in context with Cagney's already established gangster persona from the pre-code era.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;- ★★★½ (out of four)\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow available at the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/stores\/page\/ED270804-095F-449B-9B69-6CEE46A0B2BF?ingress=0\u0026amp;visitId=6171710b-08c8-4829-803d-d8b922581c55\u0026amp;tag=blurayforum-20\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EWarner Archive Amazon Store\u003C\/a\u003E!\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/1257014533035315132\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=1257014533035315132","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/1257014533035315132"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/1257014533035315132"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/05\/blu-ray-spotlight-new-from-warner.html","title":"Blu-Ray Spotlight | New From Warner Archive - Another Thin Man, Broadway Melody of 1940, Doctor X, Each Dawn I Die"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-K6lGTes05Xo\/YJGA-BAKhnI\/AAAAAAAAj6o\/_DoNm8zn6_MDXqDgmHH3aOHToyVaLcpaQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/anotherthinman1939.1747.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-2238878410245057615"},"published":{"$t":"2021-04-13T18:28:00.001-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-04-13T18:29:03.427-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Warner Archive"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Blu-Ray Spotlight | New From Warner Archive - Crossfire, Damn Yankees, Isle of the Dead"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-d2g7CPKHNf8\/YHYZy_Y0XPI\/AAAAAAAAj50\/bYLtLWHQ0dQFKZXrkdpTM4M-V8LZ4jApACLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/crossfire1947.71903.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1334\" data-original-width=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-d2g7CPKHNf8\/YHYZy_Y0XPI\/AAAAAAAAj50\/bYLtLWHQ0dQFKZXrkdpTM4M-V8LZ4jApACLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/crossfire1947.71903.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003ECROSSFIRE\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E (Edward Dmytryk, 1947)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAntisemitism was not a topic often covered in Hollywood films in 1947. Even in the wake of WWII, the topic of racism was often treated in hushed tones and implications, such as in John Huston's 1942 film, \u003Ci\u003EIn This Our Life\u003C\/i\u003E, in which Bette Davis blames her own hit and run on a black man in order to escape justice, one of the earliest films to illustrate weaponized white privilege, albeit without ever mentioning the word \"racism.\" Ten years earlier, Warner Brothers, wary of distribution in Hitler's Germany, stripped its Oscar winning Best Picture, \u003Ci\u003EThe Life of Emile Zola\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;of any mention of antisemitism in the Dreyfuss Affair, reframing Alfred Dreyfuss as simply a fall guy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, rather than a man targeted for being Jewish.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFast forward a decade to 1947, when Warner Bros. released \u003Ci\u003ECrossfire\u003C\/i\u003E, a \u0026nbsp;film noir mystery about the murder of a young soldier who became the target of an intensely antisemitic officer. Adapted from the novel by Richard Brooks,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003ECrossfire\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;doesn't bury bigotry in the subtext, instead tackling it head-on and acknowledging the officer's hateful motives in no uncertain terms. It begins subtly, with Robert Young's hard boiled detective picking up on phrases such as \"guys like that,\" and snide comments about the soldier's heritage as he searches for his murderer. Director Edward Dmytryk treats antisemitism not unlike the way Spielberg treats the shark in\u003Ci\u003E\u0026nbsp;Jaws\u003C\/i\u003E, an unseen threat circling the periphery of the film before its big reveal, and the impact feels like an earthquake. It's not a gimmick, it's an incisive portrait of how bigotry is treated with a wink and a smile by those in the know, how its ideology is assumed by those who subscribe to it, weaseling its way almost unnoticed into our most respected institutions. Like the best noirs,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003ECrossfire\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;makes great use of shadow (filming the opening murder entirely in silhouette to hide the killer's identity), and was ultimately rewarded with five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Robert Ryan), and Best Supporting Actress for Gloria Grahame's sharp turn as a haunted bar girl. The film would ultimately lose Best Picture to \u003Ci\u003EGentleman's Agreement\u003C\/i\u003E, which also tackled antisemitism in a new, post-WWII awareness, but with a glossier Hollywood treatment than Dmytryk's gritty noir.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★★ (out of four)\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-yxr9quEgkKM\/YHYaAlyJ7mI\/AAAAAAAAj54\/doic2cDom3EX4cO3LJk_MmdX27OWk-5MwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1000\/Damn-Yankees-Still.png\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"560\" data-original-width=\"1000\" height=\"358\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-yxr9quEgkKM\/YHYaAlyJ7mI\/AAAAAAAAj54\/doic2cDom3EX4cO3LJk_MmdX27OWk-5MwCLcBGAsYHQ\/w640-h358\/Damn-Yankees-Still.png\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EDAMN YANKEES\u003C\/b\u003E (Stanley Donen, George Abbott, 1957)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhatever Lola wants, Lola gets, and if Lola ordered a pristine new Blu-Ray transfer of her legendary musical, \u003Ci\u003EDamn Yankees\u003C\/i\u003E, then this new release from Warner Archive is just what the doctor ordered. Directed by Staney Donen (\u003Ci\u003ESingin' in the Rain\u003C\/i\u003E) and George Abbott (who helmed the original Broadway stage production),\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EDamn Yankees\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;tells the story of a middle aged real estate broker who makes a deal with the devil to become the world's greatest baseball player to help his beloved Washington Nationals to victory. The catch? He gets turned into his younger self and must leave his old life, and his beloved wife, behind.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFaithfully adapted from the Broadway musical with much of its original cast intact (save for up and coming Warner star, Tab Hunter), including Gwen Verdon as Lola and Ray Walston as the devilish Mr. Applegate,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EDamn Yankees\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is classic Hollywood entertainment with a toe-tapping score and consistent amiability that makes it hard to resist. While the film's proscenium blocking keeps it from from reaching the heights of Donen's\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003ESingin' in the Rain\u003C\/i\u003E,\u0026nbsp;Bob Fosse's choreography is allowed to unfold organically with minimal directorial interference, making it a kind of Broadway artifact, translated nearly verbatim (minus a couple of songs reportedly out of Hunter's range) to the screen. Fosse himself even makes a rare appearance in the film's signature number, \"Who's Got the Pain,\" alongside is muse and future wife, Verdon. The film's Technicolor cinematography really pops on Warner Archive's new Blu-Ray, and while the disc is pretty bare bones (with no special features), it's the best this film has ever looked, making it a must own for fans of Broadway musicals and classic Hollywood alike.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★★ (out of four)\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-v3_zNMLAI7I\/YHYaO18IkLI\/AAAAAAAAj58\/5VTpIjyEwV0SwYJrAWyKKuu7AoedljbaQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1214\/6957791b9a151e14dc22f96cee780e8f.jpeg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"900\" data-original-width=\"1214\" height=\"474\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-v3_zNMLAI7I\/YHYaO18IkLI\/AAAAAAAAj58\/5VTpIjyEwV0SwYJrAWyKKuu7AoedljbaQCLcBGAsYHQ\/w640-h474\/6957791b9a151e14dc22f96cee780e8f.jpeg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EISLE OF THE DEAD\u003C\/b\u003E (Mark Robson, 1945)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVal Lewton is, perhaps, one of the greatest forces in horror cinema, yet he is rarely given his due. Acting as a producer on B pictures throughout the 1940s and 50s, Lewton was given a series of lurid titles and given free reign to crank out whatever product he could. The results were some of the most psychologically astute and beautifully filmed horror pictures of their time, from \u003Ci\u003ECat People\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003Eto \u003Ci\u003EI Walked with a Zombie\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;to \u003Ci\u003EThe Leopard Man\u003C\/i\u003E, Lewton took material that should have been little more than quota quickies and turned them into eerie meditations on life and death.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESome of his most indelible work was done with Boris Karloff, including \u003Ci\u003EThe Body Snatcher\u003C\/i\u003E (1945), \u003Ci\u003EBedlam\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;(1946), and 1945's \u003Ci\u003EIsle of the Dead\u003C\/i\u003E, a supernatural horror film starring Karloff in which, true to Lewton form, the real horror isn't so supernatural after all. Karloff stars as General Pherides, a Greek military man who visits a lonely island to visit the grave of his late wife, only to find it overrun with a mysterious plague, which he attributes to the presence of a kind of vampire, and vows to track her down. What follows is a haunted and shockingly timely exploration of grief that becomes a terrifying descent into madness, grounded by a knockout performance by Karloff at its center, as a man coming unravelled by fear of his own making. It's a moody and riveting piece of psychological horror that has been lovingly restored to near pristine quality. It's a hidden gem from both the career of Karloff and Lewton that, in the age of COVID, stands ripe for rediscovery.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★★ (out of four)\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003ENow available from \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/stores\/page\/ED270804-095F-449B-9B69-6CEE46A0B2BF\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EWarner Archive\u003C\/a\u003E!\u003C\/h4\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/2238878410245057615\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=2238878410245057615","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/2238878410245057615"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/2238878410245057615"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/04\/blu-ray-spotlight-new-from-warner.html","title":"Blu-Ray Spotlight | New From Warner Archive - Crossfire, Damn Yankees, Isle of the Dead"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-d2g7CPKHNf8\/YHYZy_Y0XPI\/AAAAAAAAj50\/bYLtLWHQ0dQFKZXrkdpTM4M-V8LZ4jApACLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/crossfire1947.71903.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-17651785473959569"},"published":{"$t":"2021-04-07T17:34:00.001-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-04-07T17:34:09.101-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"HBO Max"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Monsterverse"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Review | Godzilla vs. Kong | 2021"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-c-VmC316ItY\/YG4ih2MvDLI\/AAAAAAAAj5c\/oKb4DtcHUqE2vbm6hj98vFPRyRl_J-_TQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2574\/rev-1-GVK-v010016_R5_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1222\" data-original-width=\"2574\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-c-VmC316ItY\/YG4ih2MvDLI\/AAAAAAAAj5c\/oKb4DtcHUqE2vbm6hj98vFPRyRl_J-_TQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/rev-1-GVK-v010016_R5_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003EGODZILLA battles KONG in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ action adventure “GODZILLA VS. KONG,” a Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures release.\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EIt's somehow fitting that the film that resurrected the box office after a year of being decimated by COVID-19, was the fourth installment of a franchise that had seemingly been written off. Warner Bros. Monsterverse, which began in 2014 with Gareth Edwards' \u003Ci\u003EGodzilla\u003C\/i\u003E, eventually leading to \u003Ci\u003EKong: Skull Island\u003C\/i\u003E and \u003Ci\u003EGodzilla: King of the Monsters\u003C\/i\u003E. The latter two were met with less enthusiastic reviews (although I remain a staunch defender of\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EKing of the Monsters\u003C\/i\u003E) and ever decreasing box office returns, making Adam Wingard's \u003Ci\u003EGodzilla vs. Kong\u003C\/i\u003E a likely culmination of Warner's attempt to take classic movie monsters like Godzilla, King Kong, Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah into their own Marvel-style universe of clashing kaiju.\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-40f9IAI-FXc\/YG4i6VyfH7I\/AAAAAAAAj5k\/9NiHoJXd6PwMxQu75s9Yzz0QWFUQzs9bACLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/Txtd_Face-Off_Adv_MAX_1sht_GVSK.tif\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"2048\" data-original-width=\"1382\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-40f9IAI-FXc\/YG4i6VyfH7I\/AAAAAAAAj5k\/9NiHoJXd6PwMxQu75s9Yzz0QWFUQzs9bACLcBGAsYHQ\/w270-h400\/Txtd_Face-Off_Adv_MAX_1sht_GVSK.tif\" width=\"270\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EWith the the vaccination rollout resulting in theaters reopening their doors,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EGodzilla vs. Kong\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;had the fortune of being the first blockbuster release to open theatrically since the darkest days of the pandemic, revitalizing the box office in ways that \u003Ci\u003ETenet\u003C\/i\u003E couldn't quite manage last summer. And it's a good thing too because it's actually quite good, delivering every ounce of bonkers kaiju mayhem one could want in a film that its a giant lizard against a giant ape for a titanic battle royale in downtown Hong Kong. While some will dismiss it as silly, like Michael Dougherty's \u003Ci\u003EKing of the Monsters\u003C\/i\u003E before it,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EGodzilla vs. Kong\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;actually seems to understand the DNA of Toho's Godzilla series. While the environmentalism at the heart of Toho's kaiju pictures, which were originally born out of the grief of the twin nuclear disasters of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is less pronounced in their American counterparts,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EGodzilla vs. Kong'\u003C\/i\u003Es outrageous sci-fi plot and corporate villains driven by hubris and greed would feel comfortably at home in Toho's Heisei period of the late 80s and 90s.\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt's hard to believe that in 2021 we're watching the continuation of cinematic ideas first conceived in 1933 and 1954, but it's gratifying to see these two venerable creatures still bringing in crowds. Here you've got King Kong wielding a battle axe facing down Godzilla and his nuclear breath, drenched in neon light and accompanied by a wailing synthetic score by Tom Holkenborg, surrounded by a human plot that involves an evil multinational corporation and a hollow earth (one of the most stunningly realized sequences in a major Hollywood blockbuster in years);\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EGodzilla vs. Kong\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is outrageous, over the top, and wholly spectacular. It delivers on its promise to provide bone-crushing kaiju action, while simultaneously delivering one of the most shamelessly dorky, unapologetically weird studio entertainments in recent memory. Everything about it is big, bold, and \u0026nbsp;completely un-subtle, world's away from Edwards' grounded, terrifying take in\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EGodzilla.\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;But this is exactly the same direction the Toho films go - a serious reboot followed by increasingly outrageous sequels, and Warner's Monsterverse is following that model to a T. What it lacks in \u003Ci\u003EGodzilla\u003C\/i\u003E's sense of scale and \u003Ci\u003EKing of the Monsters\u003C\/i\u003E' epic grandiosity, it makes up for in sheer guts, going all-in on the sci-fi oddities to deliver something strangely beautiful and consistently thrilling.\u0026nbsp;Wingard's downtown showdown would feel right at home in films like 1991's \u003Ci\u003EGodzilla vs. King Ghidorah \u003C\/i\u003Eor 1995's \u003Ci\u003EGodzilla vs. Destoroyah\u003C\/i\u003E, and features the return of a classic Godzilla villain that really takes the film to the next level. The movies are back, and with the film's strong box office success, even with its day and date streaming premiere on HBO Max, it's likely we haven't seen the last of Godzilla and King Kong.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★★ (out of four)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGODZILLA VS. KONG \u003C\/b\u003E| \u003Cb\u003EDirected by\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;Adam Wingard | \u003Cb\u003EStars\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003EAlexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza González, Julian Dennison, Lance Reddick, Kyle Chandler, Demián Bichir | \u003Cb\u003ERated PG-13 \u003C\/b\u003Efor intense sequences of creature violence\/destruction and brief language | \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow playing in theaters nationwide and streaming on HBO Now.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/17651785473959569\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=17651785473959569","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/17651785473959569"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/17651785473959569"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/04\/review-godzilla-vs-kong-2021_7.html","title":"Review | Godzilla vs. Kong | 2021"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-c-VmC316ItY\/YG4ih2MvDLI\/AAAAAAAAj5c\/oKb4DtcHUqE2vbm6hj98vFPRyRl_J-_TQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/rev-1-GVK-v010016_R5_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-5644000060978701079"},"published":{"$t":"2021-03-31T12:14:00.004-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-03-31T14:09:57.224-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"criterion collection"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Blu-Ray Review | Two Senegalese Classics from Criterion"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-obhTxOYfqjg\/YGSfKXZBMOI\/AAAAAAAAj5E\/nIue6SWvxyU6BOpyYXYOZYJ-TkfvgQuTACLcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/Mandabi_KarenFG_0006_Layer%2B2.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"900\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-obhTxOYfqjg\/YGSfKXZBMOI\/AAAAAAAAj5E\/nIue6SWvxyU6BOpyYXYOZYJ-TkfvgQuTACLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/Mandabi_KarenFG_0006_Layer%2B2.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003EA scene from MANDABI. Courtesy of the Criterion Collection.\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMANDABI\u003C\/b\u003E (Ousmane Sembène, 1968)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENotable for being the first film ever to be filmed in an African language, Ousmane Sembène's\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EMandabi \u003C\/i\u003E(\u003Ci\u003EThe Money Order\u003C\/i\u003E)\u0026nbsp;is part grim satire, part absurdist tragedy; a Sisyphean portrait of a poor man's struggle to exist in a world designed to benefit the wealthy and the elite. Centering around Ibrahima Dieng (Makhouredia Gueye), an unemployed man whose nephew sends him a 25,000 franc money order from Paris to distribute amongst the family, the film not only examines the way in which money changes human behavior, it eviscerates the absurdity of the bureaucratic state. When Dieng's friends and neighbors learn of the money order, the immediately descend on him to ask for money, but he finds himself unable to cash the money order since he doesn't have ID, a record of his birth, or the ability to read the agreements in order to get those documents. By the time he's finished, he's all but spent the entire money order just to cash it, ending up worse off than he was at the beginning of the film when he thought fortune had at last smiled upon him.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESembène was an intensely political filmmaker, and while he pulled his focus away from French colonialism after his previous film, the pointedly anti-colonial \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2017\/01\/from-repertory-12317.html\"\u003EBlack Girl\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E, to take aim at, as he put it in a 1969 interview, \"the dictatorship of the bourgeoise over the people.\" In that regard,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EMandabi\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is perhaps one of the greatest communist films of all time, disguising beneath its absurdist humor a sense of righteous fury at the government roadblocks seemingly set up specifically to keep the poor in their place. Indeed, the very existence of\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EMandabi\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003Eis something of a protest. By shooting the film in Wolof, rather than the customary French, Sembène is declaring that this is a Senegalese film made by and for Senegalese people. And although funders demanded that Sembène put together a French language version simultaneously, it is the Wolof version that has endured, giving a voice to African cinema that had not previously been heard. Senegal has an especially rich cinematic tradition, giving rise to Sembène, Djibril Diop Mambéty (\u003Ci\u003ETouki Bouki\u003C\/i\u003E), his niece, Mati Diop (\u003Ci\u003EAtlantics\u003C\/i\u003E), Safi Faye (\u003Ci\u003EKaddu\u003C\/i\u003E \u003Ci\u003EBeykat\u003C\/i\u003E), among many others. While the specter of French colonialism hangs over many of the nation's defining works, there is often a deeply humane political sensibility at play that speaks their filmmakers' leftist worldviews, tackling the universally corrupting influence of money whether it be the promises of riches or how they affect human behavior. One might mistake\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EMandabi\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;for a religious parable centering around a modern day Job, but that's what makes Sembène's communist worldview so bracing - the tone may be bitter, but there's a deep and abiding humanity at its core that is at once universally appealing and difficult to forget.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★★★ (out of four)\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-whMRxyS-35c\/YGSfcat-RsI\/AAAAAAAAj5M\/ekUl9cJryC4K4uUBL6TFf9W5WG7ET03mgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1200\/685_image_02.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"900\" data-original-width=\"1200\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-whMRxyS-35c\/YGSfcat-RsI\/AAAAAAAAj5M\/ekUl9cJryC4K4uUBL6TFf9W5WG7ET03mgCLcBGAsYHQ\/w640-h480\/685_image_02.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003EA scene from TOUKI BOUKI. Courtesy of the Criterion Collection.\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ETOUKI BOUKI \u003C\/b\u003E(Djibril Diop Mambéty, 1973)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI was first introduced to Djibril Diop Mambéty's dazzling\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003ETouki Bouki\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;(\u003Ci\u003EJourney of the Hyena\u003C\/i\u003E)\u0026nbsp;through the Criterion Collection's first box set from Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project. Watching Scorsese's introduction (once again included in this new standalone release), it's nearly impossible not to get caught up in his clear love and enthusiasm for this film, and it lives up to his effusive praise in every way. More abstract and perhaps more impressionistic than the socialist realism of the films of his contemporary, Ousmane Sembène, the films of Djibril Diop Mambéty have an almost otherworldly quality to them, fully part of the Senegalese landscape in which they take place, yet existing on a kind of dreamlike plane, alive with the sights and especially the sounds their characters encounter.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELike Sembène, however, Mambéty's films are also deeply political, often informed by the effects of French colonialism on his native Senegal.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003ETouki Bouki\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;follows the misadventures of a young couple who long to leave their impoverished existence in Senegal for the promise of a better life in France, a journey that is increasingly thwarted by seemingly cosmic circumstances. Their journey across Senegal on the back of a motorcycle mounted with cattle horns becomes a kind of modern day Odyssey, often accompanied by the cheery strains of Josephine Baker's \"Paris, Paris,\" whose stark dichotomy with the events portrayed on screen strikes an absurdly comical commentary on the promise of riches that await them in France. Sound often played an key role in Mambéty's work, reportedly because his youthful trips to the cinema were made outside the gates where he could only hear the films, because he could not afford the cost of a ticket, and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003ETouki Bouki\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;s use of music is perhaps some of the most indelible in cinema history. It's so rich, so memorable, and so perfectly in tune with the film's thematic content - actively deepening the absurdity of the French promise in contrast with the poverty left behind by French influence in post-colonial Senegal. Mambéty made precious few films in his long career, directing only two features and five shorts between 1969 and 1999, but\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003ETouki Bouki\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;remains his masterpiece - a mischievous yet haunted exploration of post-independence Senegal that deftly evokes the futility placing ones dreams in the the ideal of their formal colonizers. Where Sembène sought cold, hard truth, Mambéty sought emotional honesty, crafting a visceral experience striking visuals and daring aural soundscapes that sought to make sense of a world that no longer did.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;- ★★★★ (out of four)\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EMANDABI and TOUKI BOUKI are now available on Blu-Ray and DVD from \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.criterion.com\"\u003EThe Criterion Collection\u003C\/a\u003E!\u003C\/h4\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/5644000060978701079\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=5644000060978701079","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/5644000060978701079"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/5644000060978701079"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/03\/blu-ray-review-two-senegalese-classics.html","title":"Blu-Ray Review | Two Senegalese Classics from Criterion"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-obhTxOYfqjg\/YGSfKXZBMOI\/AAAAAAAAj5E\/nIue6SWvxyU6BOpyYXYOZYJ-TkfvgQuTACLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/Mandabi_KarenFG_0006_Layer%2B2.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-3664336148381387712"},"published":{"$t":"2021-03-24T16:34:00.001-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-03-25T11:25:22.765-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Warner Archive"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Blu-Ray Spotlight | New Releases From Warner Archive"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Cdku4sPwF2E\/YFuhvQ7tSAI\/AAAAAAAAj4s\/B2NqdcCpbKoarT5DADbj27B2VLyLbizagCLcBGAsYHQ\/s660\/The-Pirate-Judy-Garland-Gene-Kelly-7.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"400\" data-original-width=\"660\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Cdku4sPwF2E\/YFuhvQ7tSAI\/AAAAAAAAj4s\/B2NqdcCpbKoarT5DADbj27B2VLyLbizagCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/The-Pirate-Judy-Garland-Gene-Kelly-7.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ETHE PIRATE\u003C\/b\u003E (Vincente Minelli, 1948)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOft overlooked in the oeuvres of both Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, Vincente Minnelli's \u003Ci\u003EThe Pirate\u003C\/i\u003E is perhaps one of the most unique musicals of its era. The film was \u0026nbsp;considered a major bomb at the time, losing over $2 million at the box office despite its bankable stars. And indeed, it features a considerably more convoluted plot than the average MGM musical extravaganza, switching back and forth between reality and fantasy with ease. Garland stars as Manuela, who is engaged to a wealth man she doesn't love, while fantasizing about marrying the pirate, Macoco. Kelly plays a traveling actor who fits the bill, and becomes Macoco's avatar in Garland's reveries, although the film purposefully doesn't do much to distinguish between what's real and what's not.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPerhaps that's why the film didn't go over well with audiences in 1948, because it's almost too smart for its own good. But its metatheatrical musical stylings border on the avant-garde under Minelli's nimble direction, and while the film certainly has some cringe-worthy sexual politics in hindsight, it's also a much better film than its reputation suggests - sending up swashbuckling epics with a wink and a splash of glorious Technicolor.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★★½ (out of four)\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-xgMXYLiTWcs\/YFuh85gOREI\/AAAAAAAAj4w\/C3fmENv6RPATJ8iPUFacBm471or9UWRAQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1280\/image-w1280.jpg.webp\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"720\" data-original-width=\"1280\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-xgMXYLiTWcs\/YFuh85gOREI\/AAAAAAAAj4w\/C3fmENv6RPATJ8iPUFacBm471or9UWRAQCLcBGAsYHQ\/w640-h360\/image-w1280.jpg.webp\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESHOW BOAT\u003C\/b\u003E (George Sidney, 1951)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis colorful Golden Age musical hasn't aged particularly well, and not just because of its cringe-worthy racial stereotypes and idealistic view of the antebellum South. There are some glorious moments here, to be sure, William Warfield's stirring rendition of \"Ol' Man River\" chief among them, but the film is poorly plotted between its lavish musical numbers. It all but buries a plot about a black showgirl \u0026nbsp;(played by the very white Ava Gardner) passing for white in sundown towns along the river where her romance with a white man is criminalized, and its central romance between the captain's daughter and a swarthy river gambler never really takes off.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt piles on the Technicolor spectacle, with each number feeling like a finale (at least until the actual, rather anti-climactic ending), making for an experience that feels bloated and over-stuffed, full of flash and visual pizazz but lacking any real stakes or sense of emotion. The same cannot be said, however, of the new Warner Archive Blu-Ray release, which is an absolutely stunning improvement over the old DVD release which came from a faded, damaged print. The new Blu-Ray is absolutely pristine, showcasing the dynamic colors present in Sidney's dazzling Golden Age musical. The film itself is still not great, but the gorgeous Blu-Ray transfer is enough to recommend taking a trip on this old show boat - it's a feast for the eyes and ears if nothing else.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;- ★★ (out of four)\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-u1PtlvyM6v8\/YFuiJ_uDiLI\/AAAAAAAAj40\/3fu344gpEkImR2ZEYq6NtDZF6SfNMPT4QCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1024\/v1.bjsxODg1NzA7ajsxODcyMjsxMjAwOzEwMjQ7NzY4.jpeg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"768\" data-original-width=\"1024\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-u1PtlvyM6v8\/YFuiJ_uDiLI\/AAAAAAAAj40\/3fu344gpEkImR2ZEYq6NtDZF6SfNMPT4QCLcBGAsYHQ\/w640-h480\/v1.bjsxODg1NzA7ajsxODcyMjsxMjAwOzEwMjQ7NzY4.jpeg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EA TALE OF TWO CITIES\u003C\/b\u003E (Jack Conway, 1935)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Academy loved Charles Dickens adaptations during this time, nominating \u003Ci\u003EA Tale of Two Cities\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;for two Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Film Editing, just a year after showering love on \u003Ci\u003EDavid Copperfield\u003C\/i\u003E. And while Jack Conway's\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EA Tale of Two Cities\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;remains, perhaps, the most well regarded (along with 1938's \u003Ci\u003EA Christmas Carol\u003C\/i\u003E starring Reginald Owen), it has an air of stuffiness so common in studio prestige pics. It's certainly a sumptuous production - Conway pulled out all the stops in his big budget recreation of the storming of the Bastille for his French Revolution drama, but the human drama feels staid and somewhat inert.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt's a spectacle at heart, about French aristocrat Charles Darnay (Donald Woods), who renounces his rank and heads to England to study, where he falls in love with Lucie Manette (Elizabeth Allan) who is also being courted by Sydney Carton (Ronald Colman). When Darnay is imprisoned by revolutionaries upon his return to France, Carton devises a plan to rescue him, even if it means going to the guillotine in his stead. Produced by David O. Selznick, \u003Ci\u003EA Tale of Two Cities \u003C\/i\u003Eis\u0026nbsp;a grand melodrama, filled with big emotions and stirring set pieces, but it's also incredibly dry, which holds it back from standing alongside many other classic Hollywood spectacles of the day. The Blu-Ray transfer from Warner Archive is crisp and beautifully rendered (the storming of the Bastille remains an all time great set piece), but the film itself feels terribly dated.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;- ★★½ (out of four)\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003ENow available from \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.wbshop.com\/warnerarchive\"\u003EWarner Archive\u003C\/a\u003E!\u003C\/h4\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/3664336148381387712\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=3664336148381387712","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/3664336148381387712"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/3664336148381387712"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/03\/blu-ray-spotlight-new-releases-from.html","title":"Blu-Ray Spotlight | New Releases From Warner Archive"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Cdku4sPwF2E\/YFuhvQ7tSAI\/AAAAAAAAj4s\/B2NqdcCpbKoarT5DADbj27B2VLyLbizagCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/The-Pirate-Judy-Garland-Gene-Kelly-7.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-3636044984912663023"},"published":{"$t":"2021-03-23T21:22:00.006-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-03-23T21:30:48.990-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"SXSW"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Festival Report | SXSW Part 2 | 2021"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-LOlc1I-QIno\/YFqTLwAVqeI\/AAAAAAAAj4M\/7IT9LNJXBJQg_ATijUBl8HmgOggwA48AgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1000\/the-fallout-sxsw.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"563\" data-original-width=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-LOlc1I-QIno\/YFqTLwAVqeI\/AAAAAAAAj4M\/7IT9LNJXBJQg_ATijUBl8HmgOggwA48AgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/the-fallout-sxsw.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ETHE FALLOUT\u003C\/b\u003E (Megan Park, USA)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt's become almost cliche to refer to films about mass shootings as \"timely,\" but with new ones happening in America seemingly every week (a routine we're sadly settling back into after a COVID-induced break in the violence), it seems these films will somehow always feel ripped from the headlines. To its credit, Megan Park's \u003Ci\u003EThe Fallout\u003C\/i\u003E is one of the few films I've seen about the aftermath of a traumatic event that really deals with the fact that people grieve in different ways - and that there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. Exploring the ways in which a teenage girl's life changes in the aftermath of a school shooting,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EThe Fallout\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is naturally a tough watch - in equal turns raw, warm, bittersweet, and even funny. It really nails the rollercoaster emotions in the aftermath of tragedy - the PTSD, the sadness, the anger, and the ever-present nagging fear, Park navigates them \u0026nbsp;all with great wisdom and grace.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJenna Ortega gives an incredible performance in the lead role - her character constantly trying to hide her grief beneath humor and ironic detachment, but the pain shows through the cracks, and it's a marvel to behold. What really struck me, though, is that the scattershot ways she tries to cope with the trauma - drugs, sex, humor, lethargy - are never judged. While others channel their grief into activism and judge her for not following that path, the film allows her space to grieve in her own way. It also acknowledges the lingering affects of trauma - hidden but always present, always ready to re-emerge through unexpected triggers. It's teen drama sheen belie a disarming emotional complexity. There have now been two mass shootings in America in the span of a few days since I saw this film, and I've returned to it several times in my mind - especially its haunting denouement that derails a seemingly happy ending with the idea that this is a problem that will continue in perpetuity, the wounds never fully healed. Never has a film so indelibly captured the \u0026nbsp;sheer primal terror of a school shooting, coupled with such a realistically uneven path of grief for its young protagonists. It lets kids be kids - volatile, irreverent, \u0026nbsp;finding love and even humor in the midst of the fallout - but it's that razor sharp exploration of the fickle messiness of trauma, told with such heart, that really makes the film standout. It will be a tough watch for many, and there will doubtless be more shootings before the film is finally released, but it's an essential, cathartic watch nevertheless.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE \u003C\/b\u003E- ★★★½ (out of four)\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-DkmuUCMLkVg\/YFqTwX7XmwI\/AAAAAAAAj4U\/xCMKmf_rhoQC3DpFrnZXrXIyX_-RJVSwQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1200\/here-before-post-cover.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"600\" data-original-width=\"1200\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-DkmuUCMLkVg\/YFqTwX7XmwI\/AAAAAAAAj4U\/xCMKmf_rhoQC3DpFrnZXrXIyX_-RJVSwQCLcBGAsYHQ\/w640-h320\/here-before-post-cover.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EHERE BEFORE\u003C\/b\u003E (Stacy Gregg, Ireland)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAndrea Riseborough delivers a stellar performance in the otherwise middling sort-of supernatural thriller, \u003Ci\u003EHere Before\u003C\/i\u003E, that casts Riseborough as a grieving mother who comes to suspect that her next door neighbor's daughter is actually her own deceased child who passed away in a car accident years before. As she sinks deeper into paranoia, tensions rise at home with her exasperated husband and her terrified son, and as she grows ever closer to the little girl, her relationship with her neighbors begins to deteriorate, revealing damaging secrets that threaten to destroy them all.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe film is a little too clever for its own good, so the twists it telegraphs never quite land, but it's an eerie mood piece with a firecracker performance by Riseborough at the center. Riseborough is truly best in show here, and while\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EHere Before\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;goes through the routines of turning a mother's grief into horror, Riseborough's powder keg of suppressed anguish is something to behold. The film's screenplay cuts too many corners and hinges on too many contrivances, but under Stacey Gregg's elegant direction it manages to sustain itself through its melancholic atmosphere and Riseborough's wrenching performance.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE -\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E★★½ (out of four)\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-4bPIa8dOSxg\/YFqT8vN3ikI\/AAAAAAAAj4Y\/xNLKFPhEf50AKHMeqo6kSMX6wSgI2_HAgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1024\/15-Lucy-Lawless-as-Tzod_Main-1024x574-1.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"574\" data-original-width=\"1024\" height=\"358\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-4bPIa8dOSxg\/YFqT8vN3ikI\/AAAAAAAAj4Y\/xNLKFPhEf50AKHMeqo6kSMX6wSgI2_HAgCLcBGAsYHQ\/w640-h358\/15-Lucy-Lawless-as-Tzod_Main-1024x574-1.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ETHE SPINE OF NIGHT\u003C\/b\u003E (Philip Gelatt, Morgan Galen King, USA)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Spine of Night\u003C\/i\u003E is one of those love-it-or-hate-it films, a go-for-broke animated fantasy epic that swings for the fences with its bold ambition. It's also one of the biggest WTF films in years, featuring graphic, over-the-top violence, and explicit, almost constant nudity, coupled with an incredibly dense, time jumping plot about a primal world where rival clans vie for the power contained in a mysterious flower,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EThe Spine of Night\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is, to put it mildly...a lot.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt's certainly a wild ride, often playing like an epic conceived by a bunch of high schoolers who were stoned out of their minds and were like \"you know what would be EPIC!?\" And, frankly, it kind of is in a weird way. The mythology is convoluted as hell but the craft is incredible. The rotoscoped, hand drawn animation is awesome to behold. There's just such a singularity of vision here that it's impossible to ignore, even though I'm not sure that makes it \"good.\" It's certainly unique and deeply earnest - featuring sometimes sincere and sometimes oddball turns by Lucy Lawless, Richard E. Grant, and Patton Oswalt.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EThe Spine of Night\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is almost like a teen boy's ultra violent fever dream come to life on a grand scale. It's beautiful, edgy, incomprehensible, and mesmerizing all at once - a singular achievement, if an oppressive one, consumed by the vastness of its vision but so full of complex lore than it will likely lose all but the most die-hard fantasy fans. Is it worth the journey? Absolutely. But beware, it's a test of endurance destined to be one of those \"I was there moments,\" for better or for worse.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★ (out of four)\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-NIEc0Xw90ik\/YFqUNaOKo_I\/AAAAAAAAj4k\/CoUOXE5PtXsieHheebHzqETKb7jYFifqwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/Swan-Song_jazzie_Photo-Credit-Chris-Stephens-min-scaled-1-189043755-1616348623473.jpeg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1152\" data-original-width=\"2048\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-NIEc0Xw90ik\/YFqUNaOKo_I\/AAAAAAAAj4k\/CoUOXE5PtXsieHheebHzqETKb7jYFifqwCLcBGAsYHQ\/w640-h360\/Swan-Song_jazzie_Photo-Credit-Chris-Stephens-min-scaled-1-189043755-1616348623473.jpeg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESWAN SONG\u003C\/b\u003E (Todd Stephens, USA)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBased on a true story, Todd Stephens'\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003ESwan Song\u003C\/i\u003E is a warm, big-hearted paean to gay elders and pioneers that casts Udo Kier as a flamboyant hairdresser who escapes from his nursing home for one final job - styling his one time favorite client for her funeral. Like a queer version of \u003Ci\u003EThe Straight Story\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;(ironic, I know), Kier wanders a landscape filled with ghosts - memories of the partner he lost to AIDS, ramshackle gay bars on the verge of gentrification, reliving his traumas and his glory days as the \"Liberace of Sandusky\" Ohio.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe film features a powerhouse performance by Kier, along with a strong supporting turn by Jennifer Coolidge as a one time rival, and pitch perfect needle drops of Robyn's \"Dancing on My Own\" and RuPaul's \"Sissy that Walk.\"\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003ESwan Song\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is a gloriously, unashamedly queer film, a hilarious and bittersweet ode to gay pioneers who came before, and the modern queer landscape they helped create. It's a rare thing to see a film deal so directly with gay elders, and when they do, it tends to look at them when they were young. But Stephens gives this elderly diva the send off he deserves; a film filled with joy, heart, and hope, that finds life where there was once only despair.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003ESwan Song\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is one of this year's best films to date, and the queer crowd pleaser we deserve.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★★½ (out of four)\u003C\/h3\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/3636044984912663023\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=3636044984912663023","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/3636044984912663023"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/3636044984912663023"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/03\/festival-report-sxsw-part-2-2021.html","title":"Festival Report | SXSW Part 2 | 2021"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-LOlc1I-QIno\/YFqTLwAVqeI\/AAAAAAAAj4M\/7IT9LNJXBJQg_ATijUBl8HmgOggwA48AgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/the-fallout-sxsw.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-6413302958908646477"},"published":{"$t":"2021-03-17T14:43:00.007-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-03-18T23:03:54.608-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"SXSW"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Festival Report | SXSW Day 1 | 2021"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-m7ST_IvShEg\/YFJNbe0yPcI\/AAAAAAAAj3g\/BChykJpTJCAWxuPqUkHaRVG5pZ_F47CsACLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/EOU_Still_02.15-6.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1152\" data-original-width=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-m7ST_IvShEg\/YFJNbe0yPcI\/AAAAAAAAj3g\/BChykJpTJCAWxuPqUkHaRVG5pZ_F47CsACLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/EOU_Still_02.15-6.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ETHE END OF US\u003C\/b\u003E (Henry Loevner, Steven Kanter, USA)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe lockdown romantic comedy you didn't know you needed and definitely didn't ask for is better than it has any right to be. Starting out in March 2020, Nick (Ben Coleman) and Leah (Alison G. Vingiano) are coming to the end of a four year relationship, until the COVID lockdown scuttles Nick's plans to move out and forces the two to become roommates on the outs. Their relationship is tenuous at best for a few weeks, but they soon find a way to rekindle their friendship and make the most of things - that is until Leah starts Zoom dating which causes Nick to realize that he still has feelings for her, setting up yet another make or break conflict within the confines of their quarantine.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf that description made you roll your eyes, you're definitely not alone. \u003Ci\u003EThe End of Us\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;definitely feels \"too soon\" but benefits from the freshness of the memories of the early days of COVID. We're essentially locked down with the characters so they're thankfully not insufferable. Some real human moments here courtesy of a likable and capable cast that finds plenty of honest moments from all-too-familiar COVID angst. It's a unique breakup comedy whose beats mostly feel truthful and earned, never feeling forced or overly cutesy in its application of recent history, and ultimately leading to an unexpectedly wise exploration of relationships, and how even failed romances can help us grow as human beings. It's a laid back and agreeable romantic comedy that, like its characters, manages to make the best out of a terrible situation. One only hopes this doesn't become a trend.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;- ★★★ (out of four)\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-uy6KKQnUWi0\/YFQUjfHAKoI\/AAAAAAAAj30\/uapJ2gt0CJUpzxn78pbnRK8zwOIznpnmQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1000\/gaia.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"562\" data-original-width=\"1000\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-uy6KKQnUWi0\/YFQUjfHAKoI\/AAAAAAAAj30\/uapJ2gt0CJUpzxn78pbnRK8zwOIznpnmQCLcBGAsYHQ\/w640-h360\/gaia.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGAIA\u003C\/b\u003E (Jaco Bouwer, South Africa)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMother Earth takes her revenge in this South African body horror film that plays out like \u003Ci\u003EThe Happening\u003C\/i\u003E by way of \u003Ci\u003EThe Descent\u003C\/i\u003E. Two park rangers head into a primordial forest planning to study the trees, and instead find a father and son living in a kind of primitive, post-apocalyptic state. At first they appear to be doomsday preppers living off the grid and away from the prying eyes of modern technology, but it soon becomes apparent that their elaborate traps are not meant for the rangers, and that a darker, more ancient evil lurks within the forest, one that is preparing to assert itself on a much larger scale and is merely waiting on the right vessel to carry it out into the world.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFeaturing grotesque creature design that feels like something out of \u003Ci\u003EHannibal\u003C\/i\u003E, \u003Ci\u003EGaia\u003C\/i\u003E is a psychedelic eco-horror fantasia that works its way under your skin and stays there. It's a kind of environmental morality play writ larger, in which earth is essentially taking its revenge on humanity, but it keeps its focus small scale and intimate, mixing pagan and Biblical lore into something deeply unsettling. It often feels like the film \u003Ci\u003EAnnihilation\u003C\/i\u003E wanted to be but never quite was, an often abstract but less thematically nebulous film that seems to tremble with both awe and horror at the awesome power of nature, at once ancient, omnipresent, and all-powerful.\u003Ci\u003E\u0026nbsp;Gaia\u003C\/i\u003E is\u0026nbsp;an unnerving yet beautifully filmed descent into madness, signaling director Jaco Bouwer is a thrilling new voice in modern horror,\u0026nbsp;having crafted one of the most unique horror films to come along in quite some time. It's a primal and terrifying work of art.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;- ★★★½ (out of four)\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-ZmM8YPAveAg\/YFJNAOf2NWI\/AAAAAAAAj3Y\/k6EYp06XpMAeUFbmOb5nv2rFF26NofVcgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/Lena%2Band%2BPotato%2Bfilling%2Bout%2Bthe%2Bmail%2Border%2Bbride%2Bapplication.png\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1149\" data-original-width=\"2048\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-ZmM8YPAveAg\/YFJNAOf2NWI\/AAAAAAAAj3Y\/k6EYp06XpMAeUFbmOb5nv2rFF26NofVcgCLcBGAsYHQ\/w640-h360\/Lena%2Band%2BPotato%2Bfilling%2Bout%2Bthe%2Bmail%2Border%2Bbride%2Bapplication.png\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPOTATO DREAMS OF AMERICA\u003C\/b\u003E (Wes Hurley, USA)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBased on director Wes Hurley's own experiences growing up gay in Russia during the fall of the Soviet Union, \u003Ci\u003EPotato Dreams of America\u003C\/i\u003E is a beguilingly idiosyncratic queer coming-of-age tale that may be a little rough around the edges, but it's so full of heart that it's difficult to resist. From his days as a young lad in Russia where he was bullied at school for being different, to his flight to America after his mother signs up to be a mail order bride, landing them in a conservative American home that's as oppressive as anything he experienced behind the Iron Curtain, Potato longed for a place where he could simply be himself. He finds religion as a young boy, and conjures up an effeminate Jesus as an imaginary best friend, and watches American movies every night, viewing America as a land of happy endings (and attractive men).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile his dreams of a better life in America don't exactly come true the way he imagined as a young, film-obsessed gay boy in Russia, but he finds acceptance in unusual and unexpected places. Troublingly, it begins with an anti-communist bent that feels a bit misplaced, but rhymes well with the eventual anti-gay sentiment he encounters in America. Just as Russia's problem wasn't communism itself, neither are the problems he encounters with Christianity representative of the entire faith - and his new puritanical step-father has one of the most satisfying arcs for a bigoted character I've seen in a while, even if the change seems a bit abrupt, and the meta ending mirrors Almodovar's \u003Ci\u003EPain and Glory\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;without the dramatic heft, but the film is such a singular and unusual vision that its odd pacing and oddball energy quickly become positives rather than negatives, as if Hurley simply decided to toss out the classical Hollywood rulebook and make a film that was true to him (the transition from the characters' lack of Russian accents in Russia to their conspicuous Russian accents in America, for example, is jarring - but makes thematic sense as it highlights their cultural alienation). It's just so full of joy - the joy of self-discovery, the joy of filmmaking, the joy of queerness itself, that it deftly overcomes its occasional tonal bumps to provide a warm and lasting impression.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EPotato Dreams of America \u003C\/i\u003Eis\u0026nbsp;an utter delight.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;- ★★★ (out of four)\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Aw_I4XSP9Ak\/YFJMHBLE01I\/AAAAAAAAj3I\/XUkIjrcavbgzXU47jEE7sI5o-G300q06wCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/SYT%2BFilm%2BStill%2B01.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1365\" data-original-width=\"2048\" height=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Aw_I4XSP9Ak\/YFJMHBLE01I\/AAAAAAAAj3I\/XUkIjrcavbgzXU47jEE7sI5o-G300q06wCLcBGAsYHQ\/w640-h426\/SYT%2BFilm%2BStill%2B01.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESEE YOU THEN\u003C\/b\u003E (Mari Walker, USA)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETwo exes agree to meet after nearly 13 years apart in an attempt to smooth over the past. Only one of them has since come out as transgender, a wrinkle that suddenly puts their incompatibility into sharper focus. Such is the premise of Mari Walker's \u003Ci\u003ESee You Then\u003C\/i\u003E, a haunting trans spin on Richard Linklater's BEFORE films, featuring the guileless sense of possibility of \u003Ci\u003EBefore Sunrise\u003C\/i\u003E coupled with the world weary sense of unexamined pain of \u003Ci\u003EBefore Midnight\u003C\/i\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhat begins as an evening of warm reminiscence and understanding about why their relationship abruptly ended ultimately devolves into the two women peeling a scab off an old wound, as Walker beautifully explores femininity, trans womanhood, and motherhood through the eyes of her two broken characters - cisgender artist Naomi (Lynn Chen) living a life that transgender Kris (Pooya Mohseni) longs for, without appreciating it or understanding the unique hurdles Kris must face to get there. By its very nature, the film is talky and often meandering, but the emotional impact it builds to is shattering. Chen is remarkable (didn't realize how much I'd missed her since \u003Ci\u003ESaving Face\u003C\/i\u003E almost 17 years ago) and relative newcomer Mohseni brings a quiet dignity to the film. \u003Ci\u003ESee You Then\u003C\/i\u003E deals with a lot in a short time frame, but it makes the most of it of its brief running time. The years of regret and loss shared by these two women is palpable, no longer romantically compatible but inexorably linked by their pasts, they offer a deep emotional well for Walker to explore what it means to be a trans woman in America, and how even the most routine relationships can have lasting effects. It's a lovely and perceptive debut film for Walker.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★★ (out of four)\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-sf32h213PXk\/YFJMurjufoI\/AAAAAAAAj3U\/yCi0erIuglMG2EFBZMBCK_AyPIZ5lqimQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/146862329_111756254240443_5433136556397481626_o.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1152\" data-original-width=\"2048\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-sf32h213PXk\/YFJMurjufoI\/AAAAAAAAj3U\/yCi0erIuglMG2EFBZMBCK_AyPIZ5lqimQCLcBGAsYHQ\/w640-h360\/146862329_111756254240443_5433136556397481626_o.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ETRADE CENTER\u003C\/b\u003E (Adam Baran, USA)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe tragedy of 9\/11 has never really been examined through such a uniquely queer lens as it is in Adam Baran's documentary short, \u003Ci\u003ETrade Center\u003C\/i\u003E, a haunting reverie on New York's hidden gay past as told by the men who once frequented the popular cruising spots that dotted the old World Trade Center campus. \u003Ci\u003ETrade Center\u003C\/i\u003E paints an utterly enrapturing queer portrait of old New York now lost to time, forever changed by the surveillance state and the newly sanitized modern architecture of the Freedom Tower that now stands in place of the fallen Twin Towers. There's something wistful and bittersweet about the tales of anonymous sex that once took place in the bathrooms and secluded stairwells of the Trade Center, examining a once thriving underground queer culture that only exists in memory, wiped away by George Bush and Rudy Giuliani in the name of fighting terrorism and \"cleaning up\" the city. It may only be 9 minutes long - but it carries with a lifetime of memories - \u003Ci\u003ETrade Center\u003C\/i\u003E is powerful, essential viewing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;- ★★★½ (out of four)\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EThe SXSW Film Festival continues through March 18, 2021.\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/6413302958908646477\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=6413302958908646477","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/6413302958908646477"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/6413302958908646477"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/03\/festival-report-sxsw-day-1-2021.html","title":"Festival Report | SXSW Day 1 | 2021"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-m7ST_IvShEg\/YFJNbe0yPcI\/AAAAAAAAj3g\/BChykJpTJCAWxuPqUkHaRVG5pZ_F47CsACLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/EOU_Still_02.15-6.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-1000407338023146495"},"published":{"$t":"2021-03-16T00:04:00.010-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-03-16T15:44:49.408-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"flicker alley"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Blu-Ray Review | Laurel OR Hardy | Flicker Alley"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-cuSlDya4iiw\/YFAtWz7BJNI\/AAAAAAAAj2s\/iZdo6tQqmFQF74U9gM5ehpYlGndEzWh3gCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1920\/1783109541.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1080\" data-original-width=\"1920\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-cuSlDya4iiw\/YFAtWz7BJNI\/AAAAAAAAj2s\/iZdo6tQqmFQF74U9gM5ehpYlGndEzWh3gCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/1783109541.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003EOliver Hardy and Mae Hotely in 1915's LUCKY STRIKE\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003ESome of my fondest memories of my grandfather involve watching Laurel \u0026amp; Hardy shorts on his couch on Saturday mornings. Other kids looked forward to Saturday morning cartoons, but I looked forward to Saturday morning Laurel \u0026amp; Hardy on AMC, back when AMC stood for (and actually meant) American Movie Classics. When I wasn't with my grandparents on Saturdays, he would tape them for me to watch later, and I still have VHS copies of these old AMC programs with some of Laurel \u0026amp; Hardy's most iconic films - the Oscar-winning \u003Ci\u003EThe Music Box\u003C\/i\u003E, \u003Ci\u003EBlock-Heads\u003C\/i\u003E, \u003Ci\u003EBerth-Marks\u003C\/i\u003E, \u003Ci\u003EMen-o-War\u003C\/i\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003ECounty Hospital\u0026nbsp;- \u003C\/i\u003EI loved watching the two legendary comedians get themselves into another nice mess, and then try (usually unsuccessfully) to get out of it again. Whether they were trying to sneak away from their wives to go to the lodge, or trying to convince a vengeful husband that they weren't actually flirting with their wives, or trying to fix something around the house only to make the problem ten times worse, Laurel \u0026amp; Hardy created templates that would be followed by filmmakers, comedians, and sitcom writers for decades to come.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-L8MccopwWSM\/YFAt_7pSifI\/AAAAAAAAj20\/I9rbWqN_1A8gVSPqg95xgjurAJKIch2EACLcBGAsYHQ\/s1500\/1783146251.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1500\" data-original-width=\"1211\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-L8MccopwWSM\/YFAt_7pSifI\/AAAAAAAAj20\/I9rbWqN_1A8gVSPqg95xgjurAJKIch2EACLcBGAsYHQ\/w323-h400\/1783146251.jpg\" width=\"323\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EYet one rarely thinks of Laurel without Hardy, or Hardy without Laurel. It's always \"Laurel and Hardy,\" and never just Stan Laurel or Oliver Hardy. However, the two actors weren't always a comic duo. Both men cut their teeth on silent films, before eventually being teamed up by Hal Roach just before the dawn of the sound era, resulting in some two decades of classic comedy. The films the two men made separately are not nearly as well known as the films they made together, and many of those early solo shorts have been long unavailable. But now thanks to the remarkable new Blu-Ray collection from Flicker Alley, fans and newcomers alike can discover the origins of Laurel and Hardy through their solo works dating all the way back to 1914.\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe two disc set devotes an entire disc to each actor, showcasing their growth as individual performers from supporting players to solo artists, tracing them from their somewhat inauspicious beginnings all the way through 1926, one year prior to the official beginning of their partnership with 1927's \u003Ci\u003EDuck Soup\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;(the pair had previously appeared in films together, but never as a comedy duo). The earliest film included in the set is 1914's \u003Ci\u003EMother's Baby Boy\u003C\/i\u003E, which stars Babe Hardy (as he was billed early in his career) as a spoiled mama's boy who enlists the help of his family to deal with some rather persistent bullies who interrupt his fumbling attempts at courting. Many of Hardy's early films involve mistaken identities and lower class characters who fall in love before striking it rich - bringing other suitors to their door before ultimately deciding to stick with the ones who loved them when they were poor (\u003Ci\u003EThe Servant Girl's Legacy\u003C\/i\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003ELucky Strike\u003C\/i\u003E). While Hardy hadn't yet developed the fussy pomposity that would define his Laurel and Hardy persona, these earlier films often came with much happier endings than the fates that befell his characters in later years.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-KrEiDsweFJ8\/YFAuFxAHRcI\/AAAAAAAAj24\/3OF_No4jHuAZfb9ZPe8zy51uko13XAwfQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1920\/1783099766.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1080\" data-original-width=\"1920\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-KrEiDsweFJ8\/YFAuFxAHRcI\/AAAAAAAAj24\/3OF_No4jHuAZfb9ZPe8zy51uko13XAwfQCLcBGAsYHQ\/w640-h360\/1783099766.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003EStan Laurel in 1923's WHEN KNIGHTS WERE COLD\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELaurel's disc begins with 1918's \u003Ci\u003EBears and Bad Men\u003C\/i\u003E, in which Stan plays a bit part as a village idiot. This straight-faced, dim-witted persona carries through many of his films, on into the Laurel and Hardy era, but it's fascinating to watch that develop as producers pushed him as a kind of Buster Keaton knock-off. While Laurel's solo films don't quite have the same visionary comedic prowess that Keaton was working with at the time, sharp-eyed Laurel and Hardy fans will notice the seeds of ideas that would later be explored in some of the duo's classic comedies taking root here. Pay attention to Stan's workplace hijinx in 1922's \u003Ci\u003EThe Egg\u003C\/i\u003E,\u003Ci\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003Eand how they presage the sawmill antics of 1933's L \u0026amp; H classic,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EBusy Bodies. \u003C\/i\u003ELaurel was often considered the creative brains behind the operation, while Hardy was more of an affable actor-for-hire, which is perhaps why Laurel's films feel more like a staging ground for better things down the road.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYet neither Laurel or Hardy would find the success on their own that they would ultimately find together, and there often seems to be something missing from this collection of curios, and that's each other. Laurel needed Hardy as much as Hardy needed Laurel, a fact that becomes abundantly clear when watching them perform solo. These aren't bad films by any stretch of the imagination, but they lack the spark that the two found when working as a team. Flicker Alley's beautifully restored Blu-Ray set is a must-have for fans of Laurel and Hardy, if for know other reason than to discover why they worked so well together by understanding what they lacked apart. Laurel and Hardy films have a special kind of magic, that rare spark of two performers who each brought to the table something the other lacked, and managed to achieve greatness together. Laurel and Hardy were lighting in a bottle, and here we get to see their humble beginnings in one fantastic package.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003ELaurel Or Hardy: Early Films of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy \u003C\/i\u003Eis now available from \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.flickeralley.com\/classic-movies-2\/#!\/Laurel-or-Hardy-Early-Films-of-Stan-Laurel-and-Oliver-Hardy\/p\/256746838\/category=20414531\"\u003EFlicker Alley\u003C\/a\u003E!\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/1000407338023146495\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=1000407338023146495","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/1000407338023146495"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/1000407338023146495"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/03\/blu-ray-review-laurel-or-hardy-flicker.html","title":"Blu-Ray Review | Laurel OR Hardy | Flicker Alley"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-cuSlDya4iiw\/YFAtWz7BJNI\/AAAAAAAAj2s\/iZdo6tQqmFQF74U9gM5ehpYlGndEzWh3gCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/1783109541.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-1062163993982165077"},"published":{"$t":"2021-03-11T16:21:00.003-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-03-11T16:27:26.836-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ang Lee"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"kino lorber"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Blu-Ray Review | Lust, Caution | 2007"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-V7hlI_eB1p0\/YEqJfTxVreI\/AAAAAAAAj2Q\/oUA3Tq5LAx0EhdkN28h2IuJTgu7NmGs-QCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1200\/lustcaution04.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"675\" data-original-width=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-V7hlI_eB1p0\/YEqJfTxVreI\/AAAAAAAAj2Q\/oUA3Tq5LAx0EhdkN28h2IuJTgu7NmGs-QCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/lustcaution04.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003ESet in Hong Kong and Shanghai during the Japanese occupation of China during WWII, Ang Lee's \u003Ci\u003ELust, Caution\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is based on the 1979 novel of espionage and romance by Eileen Chang. Coming on the heels of Lee's Oscar success \u003Ci\u003EBrokeback Mountain\u003C\/i\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003ELust, Caution\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;marked a return to his home country of Taiwan for the filmmaker, but this time the response was much more muted than the major accolades that were showered upon his previous Taiwanese film, the Oscar-winning \u003Ci\u003ECrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-5eq7vsLs6k4\/YEqJk2pCGWI\/AAAAAAAAj2U\/okXdXD5vnV4wB1hVjktNJzIFyBA5FhTnwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1841\/738329251932%2B%25281%2529.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1841\" data-original-width=\"1514\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-5eq7vsLs6k4\/YEqJk2pCGWI\/AAAAAAAAj2U\/okXdXD5vnV4wB1hVjktNJzIFyBA5FhTnwCLcBGAsYHQ\/w329-h400\/738329251932%2B%25281%2529.jpg\" width=\"329\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EThe film was ultimately disqualified by the Oscars from contending as Taiwan's official submission to the Best International Film category for not being \"sufficiently Taiwanese,\" and failed to garner any other Oscar nominations outside of that category. Maybe it was the more restrictive NC-17 rating and its graphic sex scenes that kept it from gaining traction with the Academy, but revisiting it now nearly 14 years after its original release, it's clear that the film was robbed. There are so many artists who worked on\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003ELust, Caution\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;that were working at the very top of their game; from Rodrigo Prieto's rich cinematography, to the impeccable costume design by Lai Pan, to Alexandre Desplat's haunting score (perhaps his finest work to date) the film is a constant feast for the senses.\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYet it's the work of the principal cast that give the film its heart. Tang Wei (who beautifully navigates er character's journey from guilelessness to world-weariness) stars as Wong Chia Chi, a university student whose theatre troupe hatches a plot to assassinate local police chief, Mr. Yee (Tony Leung). Using Wong as bait in an extended undercover operation, her job is to seduce the married man and lure him into a trap. After their initial plot in Hong Kong fails and the students disperse, Wong Chia Chi encounters Mr. Yee once again in Shanghai. Enlisted by the resistance for a much more sophisticated undercover operation, Wong finds herself drawn into an intense affair with Mr. Yee, one that ranges from rape to unbridled passion, and the two begin to meet for regular rendezvous . Mr. Yee's caution soon gives way to lust, threatening to evolve their relationship in to something much deeper, putting the entire operation in jeopardy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe sex scenes in\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003ELust, Caution\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;are often as sensual as they are disturbing, with Wong's relationship with Mr. Yee walking a tightrope between manipulation and genuine affection. But therein lies the underlying critique of fascism, as Wong's flirtation with authoritarianism in the form of Mr. Yee, a man both terrifying and alluring, ultimately leads to ruin. It's a delicate dance, and Lee navigates it beautifully, never blaming Wong for her choices as Mr. Yee has an undeniable appeal. Lee has consistently demonstrated a certain talent for exploring human relationships, and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003ELust, Caution\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is perhaps one of his thorniest, most complex works, the central relationship feeling at once exploitative and yet undeniably sexy, real and yet rife with unspoken danger. At last getting its rightful due with the gorgeous new Kino Lorber Blu-Ray,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003ELust, Caution\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;is a film that feels ripe for re-discovery. In a world where fascism is once again appealing to so many, there are disturbing lessons to be learned here among the film's sensuous pleasures. It emerges now as one of the most accomplished, and consistently overlooked, films of Lee's illustrious career.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★★½ (out of four)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELUST, CAUTION \u003C\/b\u003E| \u003Cb\u003EDirected by \u003C\/b\u003EAng Lee | \u003Cb\u003EStars\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003ETony Leung Chiu-Wai, Tang Wei, Joan Chen, Leehom Wang | \u003Cb\u003ERated NC-17 \u003C\/b\u003Efor some explicit sexuality | \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003EAvailable on Blu-Ray from \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.kinolorber.com\"\u003EKino Lorber\u003C\/a\u003E on March 30!\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/1062163993982165077\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=1062163993982165077","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/1062163993982165077"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/1062163993982165077"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/03\/blu-ray-review-lust-caution-2007_11.html","title":"Blu-Ray Review | Lust, Caution | 2007"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-V7hlI_eB1p0\/YEqJfTxVreI\/AAAAAAAAj2Q\/oUA3Tq5LAx0EhdkN28h2IuJTgu7NmGs-QCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/lustcaution04.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-926637492552225825"},"published":{"$t":"2021-03-04T18:56:00.004-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-03-04T19:49:59.314-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Warner Archive"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Blu-Ray Review | San Francisco | 1936"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Pvr5q9CxCY4\/YEFy0ORqSFI\/AAAAAAAAj14\/oDAgeIHii7olubD03OEPho1pnRLtW9PAACLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/sanfrancisco1936.3173.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1334\" data-original-width=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Pvr5q9CxCY4\/YEFy0ORqSFI\/AAAAAAAAj14\/oDAgeIHii7olubD03OEPho1pnRLtW9PAACLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/sanfrancisco1936.3173.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EWhile there's an argument to be made that \u003Ci\u003EAirport\u003C\/i\u003E and its imitators like \u003Ci\u003EThe Poseidon Adventure\u003C\/i\u003E and \u003Ci\u003EThe Towering Inferno\u003C\/i\u003E are the templates of the modern disaster film, you'd have to go all the way back to 1936 with W.S. Van Dyke's lavish MGM disaster spectacle,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003ESan Francisco\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;to see the formula's cinematic origins. Setting a love story in front of the impending San Francisco earthquake of 1906, the film was such a runaway success that 20th Century Fox nearly lifted the storyline wholesale for \u003Ci\u003EIn Old Chicago\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;the very next ear, with both films getting nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-XmgbFS5EUcs\/YEFy5l49JqI\/AAAAAAAAj18\/HZbfxGB0WC0skAQSe3EqAc99PgguPxKYgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s888\/883929738328.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"888\" data-original-width=\"680\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-XmgbFS5EUcs\/YEFy5l49JqI\/AAAAAAAAj18\/HZbfxGB0WC0skAQSe3EqAc99PgguPxKYgCLcBGAsYHQ\/w306-h400\/883929738328.jpg\" width=\"306\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EIn all, \u003Ci\u003ESan Francisco\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003Ewas nominated for six Oscars; Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Spencer Tracy), Best Original Story, Best Assistant Director, and won the Oscar for Best Sound Recording. It's certainly a handsome production, with the dashing Clark Gable in the leading role as Blackie Norton, an unscrupulous nightclub owner vying for the affections of singer Mary Blake (Jeanette MacDonald) with a rival theatre producer. Tracy co-stars as Father Mullin, an old friend of Blackie's who is perhaps the only person who sees the good in him. The great San Francisco earthquake ultimately tears them apart and forces them together, but it doesn't happen until the last 15 minutes or so of the nearly two hour film, which means much of the runtime is spent with these characters' petty dramas, which would become the hallmark of so many disaster films that are long on build up and light on payoff. Thankfully, the earthquake and resulting fire are impressive achievements, even if the denouement feels rushed and overly saccharine, with lots of hymn-singing and a last minute religious conversion for the atheistic Blackie. It's the kind of tacked on bit of self-importance that often characterized lavish studio pictures of the early Production Code period, and it feels like the writers simply didn't know how to end the film and chose to do it as quickly as possible.\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ci\u003ESan Francisco\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;feels like something of a relic now. \u0026nbsp;Gable's character is such an abusive cad (an element that received some pushback from the screenwriters after seeing how Van Dyke was directing the film) that it's difficult to become invested in the love story, and Gable reportedly hated his leading lady so much that he would often eat garlic before having to kiss her on camera, which explains their overall lack of chemistry. Gable was a born movie star, but it's pretty clear none of the actors were particularly invested (Gable is said to have only done the film because he was in debt to Louis B. Mayer after the studio head paid off one of his many mistresses). It's really only of interest now due to its influence on the disaster genre, combining turgid melodrama with the grand backdrop of a natural disaster. Mark this one as \"for Oscar completists only.\"\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★ (out of four)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESAN FRANCISCO \u003C\/b\u003E| \u003Cb\u003EDirected by \u003C\/b\u003EW.S. Van Dyke | \u003Cb\u003EStars\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003EClark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald, Spencer Tracy, Jack Holt | \u003Cb\u003ENot Rated \u003C\/b\u003E| \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow available on Blu-Ray from \u003Ca href=\" www.wbshop.com\/warnerarchive\"\u003EWarner Archive\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/926637492552225825\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=926637492552225825","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/926637492552225825"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/926637492552225825"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/03\/blu-ray-review-san-francisco-1936.html","title":"Blu-Ray Review | San Francisco | 1936"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Pvr5q9CxCY4\/YEFy0ORqSFI\/AAAAAAAAj14\/oDAgeIHii7olubD03OEPho1pnRLtW9PAACLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/sanfrancisco1936.3173.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36921766.post-786952047381386759"},"published":{"$t":"2021-03-03T18:53:00.005-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-03-03T18:56:49.735-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Netflix"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Review | I Care a Lot | 2021"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-98pG-fRXrt4\/YEAhR1OkFLI\/AAAAAAAAj1k\/QiGmEJ6HG_MEXa_EeTjaqJ8gwB9TdVr5gCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2740\/I_Care_A_lot_00_10_55_07.png\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1147\" data-original-width=\"2740\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-98pG-fRXrt4\/YEAhR1OkFLI\/AAAAAAAAj1k\/QiGmEJ6HG_MEXa_EeTjaqJ8gwB9TdVr5gCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/I_Care_A_lot_00_10_55_07.png\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003ERosamund Pike as Marla. Courtesy of Netflix.\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EThere has been a lot of debate amongst film critics lately about the difference between depiction and endorsement, and where the line is drawn between glorifying evil characters and condemning them. Thanks to moral outrage from pearl clutching prudes aghast at the amorality of Hollywood, the Production Code once dictated that all characters who did bad deeds get their comeuppance in the end, and no film could portray bad people in such a way that could potentially make them look good. That's how gangster movies like 1933's \u003Ci\u003EThe Public Enemy\u003C\/i\u003E fell out of style. And even though the charismatic but brutal James Cagney got what was coming to him in the end, the film was barred from be re-released after the Production Code was enforced, and the heyday of the gangster picture was replaced with films that focused on cops and \"G-Men\" whose job was to catch the baddies those pre-code films had turned into heroes.\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-nSI8zlUfczw\/YEAhcDP_90I\/AAAAAAAAj1o\/kgUhaI3HpZ4TzxEaXKf8QIhSBtDiSP-_gCLcBGAsYHQ\/s2048\/ICareALot_Vertical_Main_RGB_PRE.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"2048\" data-original-width=\"1383\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-nSI8zlUfczw\/YEAhcDP_90I\/AAAAAAAAj1o\/kgUhaI3HpZ4TzxEaXKf8QIhSBtDiSP-_gCLcBGAsYHQ\/w270-h400\/ICareALot_Vertical_Main_RGB_PRE.jpg\" width=\"270\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EIt's something we still wrestle with today - are movies merely morality plays in disguise? Or should films be allowed to put amoral people im the spotlight? It's a gray area, of course, and one that J Blakeson's \u003Ci\u003EI Care a Lot\u003C\/i\u003E explores gleefully. But this is a reminder that just because someone is the protagonist of a piece does not make them the \"good guy,\" and that depicting their evil doesn't mean that the film is endorsing their actions. In\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EI Care a Lot\u003C\/i\u003E, Rosamund Pike stars as Marla Grayson (a role for which she recently won a surprise Golden Globe for Best Actress) \u0026nbsp;who makes a living by railroading unsuspecting senior citizens and having herself appointed as their legal guardian, dumping them in nursing homes while she liquidates their estates for her own gain. She messes with the wrong person, however, when she Jennifer Peterson (Diane Wiest), who is not the sweet old lady she appears to be, and finds herself the target of Peterson's mob boss son, Roman (Peter Dinklage). Not intending to be beaten at her own game, Marla goes toe to toe with Roman, resulting in a truly wild battle of wits and ruthless cunning that threatens to destroy them both and everything they love.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESometimes \"deliciously evil\" is just what we need out of a movie, and that is exactly what \u003Ci\u003EI Care a Lot\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;delivers - a nasty shot in the arm of bad people doing bad things to each other that is enormously satisfying, where people whose success depends on the misfortune of others ultimately find their own undoing. Pike has created such an indelible, fully realized character, and Wiest does so much with her limited screen time that it reminds us of what a creative force she truly is. There's a certain amoral vim and verve to the proceedings that is at once horrifying and thrilling, allowing us to revel in the characters' evil while also recoiling from their monstrous deeds.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EI Care a Lot\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;exists in a fascinating moral gray area that pulls no punches. Clearly we're not supposed to \"like\" these characters, but it's an undeniably fun ride watching what level of cruelty the characters escalate to next. Movies are not necessarily meant to reflect our morality back to us, sometimes they allow us to enter the world of wholly immoral characters and engage with them on their own terms. That's what makes\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003EI Care a Lot\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;such a wildly entertaining film, because we're not really rooting for anyone, we can really focus on the journey. With a vivid color palate, Pike's ice cold demeanor, Wiest's mischievous twinkle, and Dinklage's unbridled rage, the audience is transported into a world where terrible people are terrible to each other, trapped in the zero sum game of human exploitation, where the only winners are those who decide to take the ride with them. This is one hell of a movie.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e87a9d;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGRADE\u003C\/b\u003E - ★★★½ (out of four)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EI CARE A LOT\u003C\/b\u003E | \u003Cb\u003EDirected by\u003C\/b\u003E J Blakeson |\u003Cb\u003E Stars \u003C\/b\u003ERosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage, Eiza González, Dianne Wiest | \u003Cb\u003ERated\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cb\u003ER\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;for language throughout and some violence | \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow streaming exclusively on\u0026nbsp;Netflix.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/feeds\/786952047381386759\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=36921766\u0026postID=786952047381386759","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/786952047381386759"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/36921766\/posts\/default\/786952047381386759"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.fromthefrontrow.net\/2021\/03\/review-i-care-lot-2021.html","title":"Review | I Care a Lot | 2021"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matthew Lucas"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/04031967293313685427"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-98pG-fRXrt4\/YEAhR1OkFLI\/AAAAAAAAj1k\/QiGmEJ6HG_MEXa_EeTjaqJ8gwB9TdVr5gCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/I_Care_A_lot_00_10_55_07.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}}]}});