Some Dude Reviews Movies

The MCU is a cultural phenomenon. It has outlasted so-called "superhero fatigue," it has surpassed its imitators (the pallid, limping ghost of the DC Cinematic Universe) and it has changed the cinematic landscape forever (for good and ill). And it all came to an end (not THE end, no, there's too much money to made, but AN end, as in a temporary end) on April 26th. My review is hardly going to change your mind: you are either going to see it because you always were going to, or you have already seen it. But. I still like writing about movies. So let's dig in. And, for the record, I will not spoil a single thing: feel free to read this review fear-free. I. What Is It? The snap happened. Half of all life in the galaxy is gone. But the Avengers, the ones that are left, have one last chance to fix it. II. Satisfying This movie is 181 minutes long. Avengers: Infinity War  (2018) is 160 minutes long. Together, if taken as a single film (and...

There is an argument to be made that style can overcome substance. Or, in Jean-Pierre Melville's case, that the style BECOMES the substance. Melville wowed me with his 1970 caper flick, Le Cercle Rouge . I've been cruising for a stylish French noir fix ever since. And wouldn't you know it? The Criterion Channel has Melville's 1967 lone-assassin film, Le Samourai , just sitting there, waiting for me to enjoy. I. What Is It? This is the story of Jef (Alain Delon), a contract killer who is driven into a corner by both the law, and the men who pay him. II. Everything is Cool This movie oozes cool. Everything about it is cool. The suits are cool. The cars are cool. Paris in the 60s is cool. The wonderful swanky night clubs and cruddy greyed-out apartments are cool. Alain Delon is fucking cool. And all of it is shot with Henri Decae's wonderfully cool photography. You could press pause randomly, every few minutes or so and just be in awe at how go...

I'm a huge fan of film noir. I'm also a huge fan of wrestling. When I found out that there was a movie about wrestling in the London underworld, directed by one of the groundbreaking fathers of film noir, Jules Dassin, I almost fell over in my excitement. I. What Is It? This is the story of Harry Fabian (Richard Widmark), a lowly con with stars in his eyes. It's the story of his travel to the top of the London wrestling scene. And it's the story of his long, sordid fall back to the Thames. II. Dassin's Style The man pioneered the film noir genre, and it's no wonder. He utilizes the high contrast chiaroscuro style to wonderful effect, casting a criminal world of flickering whites and deep, inky blacks. The night club set, with all its thrown shadows, feels like a prison: we often see Harry draped in shadowy bars, or framed in window panes. This is the hellhole he desperately wants to escape from. Dassin lights it like a nightmare. Dassi...

I've been on a bit of a Fritz Lang kick (when I'm not kicking Seijun Suzuki, that is). I've seen his paranoid classic, M  (1931), and flash-forwarded 22 years to watch his dirty noir opus, The Big Heat  (1953). On a recent trip to the Rasputin store in Fresno, I picked up one of Lang's big wartime Hollywood productions, The Ministry of Fear  (1944). This film would give me almost a complete sampling of Lang's career, with the exception of his proto-sci-fi masterpiece Metropolis (1927), and his early silent films. And, since it's Spring Break, I decided to sit down and give it a whirl. I. What Is It? This is the story of a man recently released from an insane asylum, embroiled in a Nazi spy-scheme, just trying to return to a sense of normalcy. There are cakes with microfilm hidden in them, cases of books that bear explosives, and a seance mean to mask a secret Nazi spy ring. II. A Clever Little Thriller The Man Out of His Depth trope ha...

I loved Tokyo Drifter (1966) , and have been hoping to inject some more Seijun Suzuki into my life. And guess what? The Criterion Channel has a Suzuki collection, called The Chaos of Cool. It is one of my favorite features of Criterion's streaming service: they curate a collection of a filmmaker's works and present them for your viewing pleasure. For someone like me, who likes to dive into a director's work, it's nice to have a selection of keystone works to pick and choose from. And so, after a pretty taxing week, I decided to kick off my spring break with some swingin' yakuza madness. I. What Is It? This is the story of an ex-cop infiltrating two yakuza clans and pitting them against each other on a quest for revenge. No longer bound by the strictures of the law, he will go to any length to avenge the murder of a mentor and friend. II. Realism is For Squares Suzuki clearly doesn't have time for things like realism or nuance. Hi...

I've been a fan of Fritz Lang since I saw his landmark 1931 thriller, M . It was stylish and felt fresh despite its being released 88 years ago. I've always meant to check out more of his oeuvre. Now that The Criterion Channel is a thing, I have that opportunity! I am not a Criterion shill, but I am quite excited that I now have access to curated lists of classic films. This month there is a collection of noir films released by Columbia, one of which is Fritz Lang's thriller, The Big Heat  (1953).  With the wife out of town and the Criterion Channel app freshly installed, I settled in for an evening of noir. I. What Is It? This is the story of Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford), a no-nonsense homicide cop working the mean streets. When a car bomb meant for him takes his wife instead, Bannion hits the streets with his eye on revenge. He'll be working against organized crime, a corrupt police force, and a city caught in the grip of evil. II. A Lean, ...

I follow movie news, and I catch a lot of trailers for movies that I will never actually see. But every once-and-a-while, one stands out from the crowd. Even though these films will never come through my area (the Central Valley of California is not a thriving independent cinema scene), I will hunt them down on VOD and make it my business to see them. Henry Dunham's The Standoff at Sparrow Creek  (2018) was one such film. I was captivated by the trailer, and followed the film's release. And when it dropped on various streaming platforms, I determined to watch it. And here I am, killing time before WrestleMania. And there it is, The Standoff at Sparrow Creek , available for rental on YouTube. I. What Is It? This is the story of a shooting at a police funeral, and the local militiamen worried it will get pinned on them, and the missing automatic rifle in their barracks guaranteeing that one of them did it. This is the story of an ex-cop who needs to figu...

I'm a sucker for a good heist film. When the first trailer for JC Chandor's new flick, Triple Frontier  (2019), dropped, I was ready. And a little disappointed: you see, I was planning a month of heist-themed films, and Triple Frontier  wasn't hitting Netflix for another month. But now that time has come and gone, and I had a free weekend to sit in front of my television. So I decided to trip down to Brazil with a team of ex military dudes bent on robbing a drug lord. I. What Is It? This is the story of five ex-soldiers and their plan to rob a South American drug lord of hundreds of millions of dollars. II. Gorgeous Photography This movie is pretty. Chandor and cinematographer Roman Vasyanov know how to tell a story with verve without making it feel composed or false. The sight lines and leading lines are there, and the shot comp is sneakily well-established. Even when this film is subdued, the colors are rich and vibrant: the lush blues, and ...