Messages |
 Topics |
Attachments
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
Topics - Dust Devil
1
« on: September 25, 2026, 12:22:11 AM »
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3910820/A snowbound horror W from the resurrected Hammer Films. From the brief premise it would appear it is a spin on the Native American Wendigo folklore. The trouble is, despite the release, I can't find where is this supposed to be playing?
3
« on: February 14, 2026, 08:03:41 AM »
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054152/I remembered this being way more impactful than it really is, or perhaps it's just that the times have changed, and everything in it has become part of common knowledge. I was very shocked as a kid for this deromaticized account of secret agencies, especially the most glorified of them all, but that only goes to show how naive I was. Still, the movie has some merit for showing it, even though coated in a comedy setting. Apart from that, nowadays I found very little of my interest in it. Not a comedy, not very thrilling, with wasted performances from an all-star cast. I give a nod to the photography. (what seems like an overly generous) 6/10
4
« on: January 24, 2026, 03:42:25 AM »
6
« on: May 23, 2025, 10:40:54 AM »
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048612/Directed by Lesley Selander. Starring: Sterling Hayden, Yvonne De Carlo, Zachary Scott, Guy Prescott, Robert J. Wilke. I liked this one: it's not very original but it has occasional blitzes, the tone is set to serious and mean from the get go. It's often times pretty ruthless for a mid-'50s AW, with not very stylized but brief cold blooded shootouts, and some good fight scenes. Had there not been the silly half-romance I'd rate it higher. Sterling Hayden is good, Yvonne De Carlo passable. The frenemy/would be sidekick (Zachary Scott) is interesting and gives it a good spin, and there's also the rational, dry and composed villain (Guy Prescott), who has little screen time. Some nice scenery from the Southwest; with the red rocks, mountains, rivers and pine trees. I'm a fool for it, I confess. The final duel is peculiar: on horseback, armed with shotguns with only one bullet. Brief too. Only 80 minutes of running time: I wasn't bored. 6.5/10
7
« on: May 14, 2025, 01:22:03 PM »
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069536/An Italy-Spain-France co-production, Lucio Fulci directed this adaptation of the novel of the same name by Jack London. The info page lists 6 (!) screen writers, and I believe it 'cause it shows, and not necessarily in a good way. It stars: Franco Nero, Virna Lisi, Fernando Rey, Carole Andre, John Steiner, Raimund Harmstorf, John Bartha (  , etc. Ah yes; and the dog. Really more of a ''Adventure in the Far North'' flick than a SW, but it does have its SW moments, and the atmosphere seems awfully familiar. There's not much gun play until the very end. Lucio Fulci directs it slapstick style, with the spirit of a Winnetou movie. At some point there's even a scazzottata ala Bud Spencer & Terence Hill, with Nero standing in for Hill and Harmstorf for Spencer. The action scenes (fights) involving the dog are mostly tedious. It's a movie for kids, with an honest story without any intricate or unexpected plot twist(s). It is only a curiosity nowadays, as I doubt today's kids would be much fond of it. 6/10
8
« on: April 28, 2025, 01:31:58 AM »
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079094/So here's an odd entry in the Euro (British) Western that I've never heard of. It's a British production directed by Brit Anthony Harvey ( The Lion in Winter, Svengali), who's perhaps better known as an editor ( Lolita, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, The Spy Who Came In from the Cold, The Whisperers). But what if I told You it also stars Martin Sheen (''Pike'') and Harvey Keitel (''Henry'') ? I didn't think these two even starred in a W, let alone together in one. Though it is somewhat of a misleading statement because Keitel's character Henry dies in the first 20 minutes or so, so they don't get any real chemistry going, and even the time they are together on screen is not something to write home about. Both characters are cliched: Sheen seems struggling to make something more out of his and Keitel plays some sort of ''Brooklyn trapper'', if you catch my drift. Mind you, this was shot in the same period as Apocalypse now, a movie in which Sheen played the main protagonist and Keitel was fired by the director F. F. Coppola as he saw him not fit for the role that later went to Sheen. It was probably shot before (early 1978) the latter. Pike's main antagonist is Sam Waterston's (going redface) ''White Bull'', who is not particularly original of a character either: stoic and not very savage, who knows what he wants and how to get it. He gives everyone a run for their money and comes on top in the end - he gets the horse, the girl and the victory. Much of the other characters are underdeveloped, though interesting enough with their quirks and all. The cinematography by Billy Williams ( The Wind and the Lion, On Golden Pond, Gandhi) is remarkable. He aesthetically catches and carries many of the scenes of this subpar entry that are otherwise poorly written. The locations in the Mexican state of Durango are pretty much all a breath of fresh air, that looks and feels different than a regular W/SW. The action scenes (with horses) are dynamic and good, and they don't spare the stagecoaches when the action starts. The movie starts as a trapper-themed ''two companions trying to get along'' W but then descends into a ''catch me if you can'' type of a pursuit movie in which many of the auxiliary characters are introduced but meet each other only at the point of... Dying. The final rating won't be high but if it all adds to something you'd care to see, you might give it a chance. 6/10
9
« on: March 26, 2025, 12:06:04 PM »
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056470/''NO LICKER FOR SOLDIERS''John Sturges directs what seems to be a remake of George Stevens' 1939 film Gunga Din, only as a Western comedy. It is boring as hell: although it has some moments that look what SW will later do better and with more soul (like when Sammy Davis Jr.'s mule kicks down (literally) the whole prison to get Dean Martin out), and the chemistry between Rat Pack boys being good but more often than not just childish and hard to believe in the army world. It seems to be one of the most SW-ish AW that I can remember, but it doesn't really know what it wants. Some parts are bizarre, some parts are not self explanatory, some are childish. Here and there a good joke; more because of the camaraderie between the cast members than the actual humor of the skit. Starts with some good battle scenes in town, continues with an overstretched middle part without action, ends with a buffoonish wannabe last stand (that everyone knew wasn't going to happen). Sammy Davis Jr. ain't not Rutledge, but they'll make him into a private by the end of the movie (if one had any doubts). Only for HC Rat Pack fans, I'd say. 4.5/10
10
« on: March 23, 2025, 11:15:21 AM »
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070022/Finally got around watching this, and I must say I am a bit disappointed. The only directing venture by James William Guercio, apparently a famous music producer, it stars Robert Blake as the main protagonist, and Mitchell Ryan, Billy Green Bush, Elisha Cook Jr., Royal Dano, Jeannine Riley and a few others as supporting cast. It was shot on a (1) million dollar budget, with the director renouncing his fee in order to hire cinematographer Conrad Hall ( Cool Hand Luke, In Cold Blood, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Fat City, Marathon Man, The Professionals, etc.). It is visually riveting, with one of the best movie openings ever, and one of the most nihilistic endings too. Everything in between is uneven, with too much satire carried out by often over-the-top performances. Some of the characters are really cartoonish. Despite this I watched it in one sitting, which is an accomplishment considering it's almost 2 hours long. Due to budget constraints they had to cut off portions of the script. I might give it another shot in the future but only because of its visuals. Interesting short interview with the director: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-951g65Psr46.5/10
11
« on: December 28, 2024, 01:18:49 PM »
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058557/Here's a little gem I've only recently had the (brilliant, might I say) idea of watching. Tactfully directed by Bryan Forbes, with an eerie soundtrack by John Barry, it features mesmerizing performances by Kim Stanley (who is/was this woman?) and (Sir) Richard Attenborough. It is a mostly talkie psychologically centered Crime/Drama, without real paranormal elements, but with great attention to character study. You never quite get until the very end if the woman is totally crazy (now that's a stupid Q), or she really has an ace up her sleeve. I liked it very much, but still, in the end something seemed missing. I could not tell You, after watching it for the first time, what it was. 8/10
12
« on: October 25, 2024, 12:28:33 PM »
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072249/Holy macaroni, is this a strange movie! I found this weird crime - action - neo-noir (whatever that is) flick the other day on YT, having never heard of it before. A UK - US co-production, with familiar shades from both schools, as well as (all) others. It stars Billy Dee Williams in the leading role as Lt. Terrence Sneed - a corrupt Frisco cop developing a conscience - on a mission to Paloma, New Mexico. It also stars A Martinez (Cruz from Santa Barbara, I had to say it) as his would-be pard, Vic Morrow as the main local mafioso, Tracy Reed as his estranged girlfriend, and other less known faces. Sneed is not Lando Calrissian before Lando Calrissian, and has some serious not resolved issues within himself: is he an opportunist, sadist, corrupt cop or all? It could best be described as a hybrid of the aforementioned genres but with notable Blaxploitation spells and more or less casual dips into pure Italian B-/C+ quality poliziottescho sauce. One could even go as far as to call it ''Hickey and Boggs for the poor''. Apparently the Italian title is: ''Una medaglia per il piu corrotto'' - ''A Medal for the Most Corrupt''. The plot is not always easy to follow, as one would think at first, and the production values could be called great. Especially for a mid-60s direct-to-video flick, if such a thing existed back then. Whether the most blame is to be put on the editing, directing, or acting is hard to tell. What is strange though, is that some of the car, van, bike and helicopter scenes towards the climax are really dynamic and good. It gets a few points for the unusual geographical setting (NM), both urban and rural. 5/10
13
« on: October 18, 2024, 01:00:19 PM »
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044420/Lumberjack Western with wannabe ruthless businessman Kirk Douglas as the lading man and Edgar Buchanan as the helper/voice of reason/opponent/friend. Not much to say as it is not very dynamic, KD does his antics but one does not have to have a high IQ to figure out he'll change sides by the end of the movie, if not before. The plot is indeed often times silly and buffoonish. I also did not follow much all the legal basis of the scuffles. My biggest concern were the sequoias; seeing some big ole logs I hate to think they cut even one to make this movie, or any movie for that matter. There were some nice shots by the ending when they had to destroy a big dam with dynamite, and a dash of excitement when KD's character is jumping from one giant log to another on a running train. All in all not much. 5 (maybe 5.5) / 10
14
« on: October 16, 2024, 12:26:29 PM »
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049016/Found this on YT, never heard of it before. Apparently we do not have a thread for it on SLWB, and the search engine suggests searching for ''ketchup'' instead.  Anyhow, mediocre seems to describe it best, although I was not bored all that much. It's a professionally done movie - technically it does not have any faults - albeit without any originality, even for a mid-1950s W flick. It's a vaquero W with Victor Jory playing Jared Tetlow - the would-be cattle baron arriving in a small town with his brothers, pards, big herd and even bigger ambitions, only to be confronted by the locals led by Tom "Blackjack" Ketchum (Howard Duff), not willing to give in to pressure. By pure coincidence, the last man Ketchum killed (in self-defense) in another town was Tetlow's brother. The biggest mistake they made is showing Tetlow's every move, and every argument with the townsfolk (as well as his brothers and men). For a movie only 76 minutes long that is too much, and makes is too episodic. No (real) soundtrack also. Based on a Louis L'Amour novel. (around) 6/10
15
« on: October 11, 2024, 02:14:24 PM »
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041223/Poor man's OUATITW, set in the North - the Canadian Rockies. It is not comparable to the latter in any category, firstly and mostly character-wise, which are mostly bland-n-dull stock characters. It fails to capitalize on the scenery too, though it has a few brief shiny moments. There are also naively portrayed Native Americans, brought in just to fill the plot. There's even a scene at some point in the movie, when half a dozen of them get set up and blown away by dynamite sticks given to them as cigars. For HC Randolph Scott fans. It's on YT. 6/10
|
Show Posts