ANDY'S PRIVATE SCREENING ROOM
Mini-reviews of my favorite films from the '30s to the present
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Sunday, June 2, 2013
THE APPALOOSA (1965) Horseplay and gunplay in Old Mexico
THE NAKED PREY (1966) Wilde prey
DETECTIVE STORY (1951) Tough day in the squad room
THE DESPERATE HOURS (1955) Bogie pays an uninvited house call on the Cleavers
12 ANGRY MEN (1957, 1997) x 2
MY DINNER WITH ANDRE (1981) Delicious!
JACOB'S LADDER (1990) Long hard climb
BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK (1955) Never underestimate a one-armed man. Or a lousy movie title
Thursday, May 30, 2013
ON THE BEACH (1959)Armageddon in Australia
HARD EIGHT (1996) Gambling and gamboling in Vegas
INVADERS FROM MARS (1953) Hey Pop, does that thing in your neck get FM?
THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX (1966) Fasten your seatbelts - it's going to be a bumpy desert
THE QUIET EARTH (1985)/DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS (1963) Two really bad ways to start the day
THE COUNTRY GIRL (1954) Bing goes dramatic - Grace goes without makeup
ORDINARY PEOPLE (1980) The family next door in silent crisis
ONE-EYED JACKS (1961) Better smile when you call somebody that
RED PLANET (2000) Stranded in space
SERPICO (1973)/PRINCE OF THE CITY (1981) Good cops, bad cops
In SERPICO, Al Pacino is the young officer who, to maintain his individuality, splits his passion and energy between bohemian living and good police work. Refusing to take bribes, he is ostracized by his already skeptical fellow officers. Sickened by the extent of police corruption, he goes to his superiors, but when he discovers they are ignoring his charges, he takes the potentially fatal step of breaking the blue wall of silence and going public with his exposé.
Eight years later, Pacino passed on the role of Ciello in PRINCE OF THE CITY, thinking the character too similar to Serpico. Lucky for us Treat Williams got the part of the conflicted New York cop who goes undercover for the feds in order to ferret out police corruption. At first, Ciello recklessly gets off on the danger, believing himself invincible. But as trial dates near and various screws tighten, the guilt-wracked Ciello is forced to give up his partners and friends, and the house of cards comes tumbling down. Danny Ciello is arguably the best role of Williams’ career, just as Frank Serpico was one of Pacino’s. Must-see performances, both.
HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET (1993) Three men and Adena
ARLINGTON ROAD (1999) Imagine if Ozzie and Harriet were terrorists
In the three years since his FBI agent-wife's murder in a botched anti-terrorist operation, a college history professor (Jeff Bridges) has grown increasingly obsessed with subversive groups. His bitterness and paranoia momentarily ease when new neighbors (Jim Robbins, Joan Cusack) befriend him and his young son. But soon, he begins to suspect they really are terrorists and begins a pursuit for the truth that leads to a horrific revelation you won't see coming. Too-timely a topic, unfortunately.