Li'l Duce's Reviews Palace

[titoli]

Logan (2017) At IMDB it gets 4 star and I'd agree were it not for the mutant kids: one (the "mute" mutant) was enough. But it has a good suspense story (though I missed how Stewart survived his death in a previous episode) and good action scenes. 7-8/10

[titoli]

Safe (2012)This precedes Parker and of course it is not as good, though the action scenes are very good. I think they should have given to the kid's gifts a part in helping Statham's fight vs. the villains. But is 7/10.   

[titoli]

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) This is notable for the last fight and the Pentagon escape with great special effects, but for the rest there's too much talk, cuts would have been in order. 7/10

[titoli]

Total Recall (1990) One of the best Schwarzenegger, thanx even to the Dick-s literary source. Though some of the sets look like what they are and Schwarzenegger is still working at his playing abilities it has a good pace and a good photography.7-8/10

[titoli]

The 6th Day(2000) I cannot remember whether I had seen it. Maybe. Anyway is a good Schwarzenegger in the Dick mode. But, as usual, cuts would have proven beneficial. The Schwarzenegger father and husband is always unconvincing when there is not an ironic approach like in True Lies. And even the Duvall character is overblown. 6-7/10

   

[titoli]

Daddy Long Legs (1955) More of a Leslie Caron movie, than Astaire's. Actually the only number worth remembering is the Slue Foot. Astaire sings Something's Gotta Give too slowly  (compare with the Sinatra's rendition). The Caron numbers are not memorable  (they even tried a kind of hommage to the Girl Hunt ballet of two years before with predictable results). Fred Clark, let alone Thelma Ritter, cannot fullfill the gaps of a weak story which allows little room for humour. 6/10

[titoli]

The Da Vinci Code(2006)  Both the novel and the movie are based on a sequence of thrilling scenes that never abates, though the dialogue between McKellen and Hanks to explain things to Tautou is quite goofy. 8/10

[titoli]

Three Little Words (1950) One of the best Astaire, thanx to the Pan choreographies. I hadn't realized that those famous songs were by the same authors. Only problem is that there is not comic relief, as Skelton (not my favorite comedian) is not playing a comic role and the baseball scenes were better left out. Vera Ellen is a great partner and Arlene Dahl is eye candy. 7-8/10

[titoli]

Follow the Fleet (1936) As to the score by Berlin it has one classic and two other good songs, the rest (especially the two songs given to Harriet Nelson) forgettable. The main problem lies with the secondary plot which, instead of comedians, is given to the romantic story between Scott and Nelson with predictably boring effects. Actually the comedic relief is assigned to Astaire and Rogers: not a great idea. So you must watch this exclusively for the dancing numbers which are a little short of brilliant, in spite of Pan's coreography, because the sets are not as garish as in other movies of the duo. 6-7/10

[titoli]

The Leopard Man (1943) This is the one of the three Tourneur I hadn't seen before and it is excellent except for the finale, which is resolved too simplistically, without leaving anything to doubt. That's why Cat People is probably superior (though more than twenty years have passed since I saw it). Another masterful use of sound. Probably will be recycled as a noir. 8\10

Well, having read the novel I gave it  another try and the movie is excellent in the parts (the three homicides. In the novel there are four) where it sticks closely to the source. The finale, although different, it sucks just like in the literary source, as I had written in 2011. Both novel and movie do not rank as noir in my book. But the rating is the same, the problem I have with the novel being that the descriptions of the murders, especially the one in the cemetery, are too bloated. 8\10

[titoli]

Broadway Melody of 1940 Not as good as I expected. The story thatkeeps the musical numbers is even flimsier than usual and there is no comic relief. But it-s the musical numbers which are not up to the quality of the songs, especially two classics like I Concentrate on You and Begin the Beguine. The first one is simple boring the second it gets better when the arrangement veers toward the swing instead of the beguine in the first part. A pity because the movie had a great start with a good song (Please Don?t Monkey with Broadway)and a great dancing duo with Astaire and Murphy, a number up to the best filmed by Astaire. 7\10

[titoli]

The Wolverine (2013) Logan makes Tokio. The funeral scene and the ensuing chase and fight on the bullet train are good but the rest, even the last fight, are no thriller. I give it a 6\10 only because it-s a Wolverine story. 

[titoli]

The Transporter ( 2002) This is good for the first part, until the attack on Statham's home. From then on it becomes a little dull as the kickboxing 1 against 20 repeat themselves and the McGuffin of the illegal migrants from Asia is not gripping. The sequence of the chase on the road infuse new breath and earns this one a 6-7\10.

[titoli]

Transporter 2 ( 2005) Weaker than the former.. The son of Vittorio Gassman cannot make a credible villain as he is here a mediocre actor and his English is annoying to my ears, there is no suspense and the action scenes add little to what was seen in the first movie of the series. 5\10.

[titoli]

Transporter 3 ( 2008 ) By far the best of the trilogy and one of the best action movies I reviewed, on a level with, say, Taken. I am uncertain about giving it more than 8\10, I should watch it again. Anyway it is one of those movies without pause, the girl does not slow down the pace and  you do not know until well into the narration what it is all about.