Li'l Duce's Reviews Palace

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Clear and Present Danger (1994)  This was good until what the story was about is made clear: then it goes completely bonkers, with no spark of credibility. But there's a very good scene, the one of the ambush which is as good as any in Black Hawk Down. That makes me give it a 6-7/10

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Cobb (1994) I first knew about this character (not to be confused with the Ty Cobb former WH lawyer) reading a portrait which exposed all his warts like it is done in this movie. This biopic is worth watching even if one, like me, considers baseball the dullest game around, second maybe only to cricket. 8/10

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The Last Boy Scout (1991) This one starts and proceeds like a very good P.I. neo-noir effort, but halfway it turns into a buddy (willis' buddy being, you guessed it, black) and then you add the kid and it turns almost into a comedy. But it is a big ALMOST because the action never falters with chases and the finale in the stadium. A solid 8/10.

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Pygmalion (1938) The late forum contributor Groggy preferred this one to MFL. Wendy Hiller better than Hepburn? Sure, but that is a given. But Howard? I always detested this guy since they wanted me to believe that any woman would put him above Gable. Anyway, Harrison is more credible as is less hectic than him. And in MFL you have some good songs, some great scenes (the horse race) and great color. I give it 6/10

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Breakdown (1997) Action thriller in thje mould later taken by, well, Taken. No metropolis, this time, but the desert in Arizona.  10/10

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Charade (1963) This half comedy, half thriller must have been written in a couple of days. The plot hasn't got a spark of originality, while the comedy (the embarrassing banter scenes between the two leads) never manage to make you smile, let alone laugh. Grant plays under sedatives, Coburn delivers his worst performance ever, miscast as can be; Geotge Kennedy anticipating the black amputee of Live and Let Die;  and Matthau, well, I can't help but laughing at him even if he plays a non comedic role: and the more he is serious the more ridiculous the effect. Of course, at the time, he wasn't perceived as a comedian and so i's not his fault: that's just the effect on me. But his last scene, in the theatre, is the only one worth saving of the movie.  Strangely, I like the no more child-like Hepburn, in spite of the bland lines she must deliver to Grant. And the Paris of the time, with Les Halles and the hirondelles really looks like another planet: a planet where you could enter the American Embassy directly, even occupy an office temporarily vacated  for lunch breack. 6/10

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U.S. Marshals (1998)  I didn't know there was a sequel to The Fugitive, with Snipes being the one who runs. But the main figure is TLJ, who really dominates the movie which unfortunately is not even distantly  comparable to the predecessor. The plot is not particularly original and the actors, apart from Jones, are really inadequate. Snipes is good only in the action scenes, particularly the chase which ends up with the jump on the train. Downing is really unnoticeable, still learning the trade. 7/10

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The Equalizer 3 (2023) What's this shit? 4/10

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Die Hard (1988) 8/10

[drinkanddestroy]

Die Hard (1988) 8/10

I must have watched the first three Die Hards a total of 50 or 100 times in my teens. (I watched the fourth one once, it was a piece of crap and never watched any subsequent ones.) The third was my favorite, I watched it more than other two combined, followed by the second then the first.

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Iron Man 2 (2010) The car race scene in Montecarlo and Rorke as the villain grant it a solid 7/10.

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The Aristocats (1970) A couple of good songs but nothing memorable. 7/10

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Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) Should this make the neo-noir list? Only CJ knows. What is not working is the rabbit's voice: not very distinctive. The plot is what it is. So it's mildlly funny. 7/10

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Cobb (1994) I first knew about this character (not to be confused with the Ty Cobb former WH lawyer) reading a portrait which exposed all his warts like it is done in this movie. This biopic is worth watching even if one, like me, considers baseball the dullest game around, second maybe only to cricket. 8/10

It seems that the whole story was baloney: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzbJn2UAoIs

[cigar joe]

Gunn (1967) Unfortunately couldn't find subtitles so I lost about 50% of the dialogues and couldn't make out the why and wherefore of the schemer's plot. but I can tell that this is based on rehashing of  old material: see the first episode of the Gunn series itself (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTMVMRJtF68), the Spillane's "Juno was a man" trick; even the final song is an unashamed steal from  The Vogues Five O'Clock World. The problem with all these movies made in the mid- sixties is that they lack grittiness, they all look too slick, both as to locales and as to characters. And I include the Harpers, the Tony Romes and the rest. It will be Don Siegel who, gradually, will change the look of the detective stories starting from Madigan, through Coogan's Bluff and finally with Dirty Harry, the first of the new breed.  Edwards tries to include some Bondism (the moronic kill with the spear gun), some  nudity, some torture (the squash) but all subdued and unimpressive. Still the plot, as far as I could make out, was intriguing and the rhythm was good. Halfway between 6-7/10.

The copy I saw was the American cut.

I'm thinking they were probably re-using some of the old material because they were trying to jumpstart a Peter Gunn 2.0 TV series for the 1960s. I agree it's a 6-7/10. The International cut is supposed to have some more nudity than the US cut. (there are a few stills online of Sherry Jackson from the film with a tie in to a Playboy spread)