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This was suggested by an essay which recommended this one and Dead Man. Well, compared to that boring  Johnny Depp vehicle this is a masterpiece: but Is this a Western? Yeah, for about 10'. The other 110' are something else. It is interesting, though , but at 70' it could have earned a 7/10 if you like non-action movies and prefer sentimental, romance stories in a western locale in 1800 USA. Not my cup of tea, though. 6/10

Columbus (2017) - 8/10. A lot like Jem Cohen's Museum Hours, but with architecture in place of paintings. Wide shots and conversation, with a locked-down camera. Beautiful compositions. With music by Hammock. The entirety of the film was shot in Columbus, Indiana, which I now realize is a pretty interesting place.

I absolutely love Caliber 9, but it's been a while since I've last seen it. I still need to watch the second Di Leo set and re-watch the four in the first set.


Van Nuys Blvd. (1979) - One of those rush job 'written in one week and shot in two' kind of movies, and when factoring that in, this is sort of impressive in spite of all its flaws. While it doesn't take place in one night, this movie is basically the American Graffiti formula meets porky's 4 level of writing. But for an objectively not-good movie, there is certainly value. This is shockingly well directed. Director William Sachs knows how to shot in standard widescreen. There is a lot of reliance on low angle shots and just good framing in general. Then there's the time capsule element (a theme park, a disco, a Mel's drive-in type place), which gives this a bump. If you have a fondness for late 70's LA, then this will hold some value. Judging this for what it is, I like it, but I certainly don't recommend it to anyone here....unless Arizona Colt is lurking and reads this. But he's probably seen it. C-

Caliber 9 (1972) - 7/10. This film's got Frank Wolff, Luigi Pistilli, Mario Adorf (chewing scenery like nobody's business), Lionel Stander, and a huge block of wood called Gastone Moschin. It's also got a very stupid story (but with a good premise) and a cast of characters that do one stupid thing after another. However, it also has the most beautiful woman who has ever lived on this planet, Barbara Bouchet, and the dance routine she does at the 38-minute mark is what makes this film worth seeing. I hear there's a 2020 remake/sequel that also stars Barbara. I'm not sure I'm ready to see what she looks like after 50 years.

No Time to Die 2021.  "Final" James Bond film, rate 7/10.

Somewhat too long - needed more precise editing to my untrained little mind.  I liked that some music was drawn from both Dr. No and On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

This suffers from what all such films suffer from: the most interesting character is the first one killed. Thereafter there is a large hole in the story. The solution to the whodunit is not sufficient compensation for that.

While you're not wrong, this is the rare whodunnit where I actually like all the characters. Or like them enough. I thought the last half hour was incredibly creative and more captivating than any reveal in something like The Hateful 8.

A Touch of Sin (2013) 7/10
I've been trying to see this one for years and finally caught it on Amazon Prime. Very good social western/thriller that gives you a great outlook at 2013 China. It's funny how class issues have been sneaking into (maybe it isn't the right word, let's say "flooding") international films over the past decade. I remove one point for the terrible dialogues (and no, it isn't a translation related issue, it's just poor and outdated writing).

A Touch of Sin (2013) - 5/10. Second viewing. Four discrete tales with Kieslowskian overlap, all ending in violence. I don't like any of the stories--it's like they were written by a very talented 14-year old--but as anthropological documents they are interesting. My favorite gag: the film is shot in 2.35:1, and at the midway point there's a shot of a really long snake slithering across the road. Ha! Not so much a touch of sin; rather, a touch of Lang.

The Last of Sheila (1973) - The rare movie where the second act stalls, but then completely recovers and rewards the viewer for sticking with it. Admittedly, I'm not the biggest fan of 'whodunits' since they all tend to be overlong, shallow and showy -- but this one is really good. It has a great cast with peak Raquel Welch, and this is probably much more rewarding on a re-watch than the typical 'whodunit', which generally lacks substance and halfway intriguing characters. B

This suffers from what all such films suffer from: the most interesting character is the first one killed. Thereafter there is a large hole in the story. The solution to the whodunit is not sufficient compensation for that.

Harper (1966) - While the twist at the end doesn't make a lick of sense, this is a good PI movie. What makes that statement even stranger is that the tone is off. It can be relatively dark at times, and then pretty damn campy at other points. There's this studio fake hip psychedelic element to some of the scenes in a couple clubs, but it's sort of charming. But compared to the authentic club scene in Point Blank from just a year later, this movie aged quickly. But that doesn't make it bad, it just doesn't make it The Long Goodbye. While Harper would have been better had it been made a few years earlier, or a few years later, its colorful 60's panavision technicolor look with high key lighting certainly has its appeal. As does a young Pamela Tiffin. The score on the other hand, does not.. B

The Drowning Pool is better.

The Hidden  (1987) I read Hal Clement SF classic thriller, alas, half a century ago. This is based on that one, though almost nobody apparently bothered to notice it. And it's a good one, though the actor playing the policeman is rather inept. 7/10
 

True but not how we would translate it into Americanese.

True is enough.