Movies
A pretty intense drama that becomes a bit too formal and theatrical in the final act. It's a shame the film couldn't muster a more appropriate ending, but the drama leading up to it was pretty good. A bit heavy-handed still, and it's certainly not an easy watch, but worth the investment. Duke is great in her role, so is Bancroft. The two have some very intense scenes together during the first half, though Bancroft goes slightly off the rails in the second part. Not all the drama feels relevant and a tighter focus on the characters might've made this a better film. Still, a lot better than I expected it to be.Read all
A pretty simple detective story, sporting a young Gene Hackman. It's a film with a decent reputation, though I have to admit I never heard of it before. Not too surprising maybe, as there is little here that stands out for people not wholly in love with the genre. And films like that tend to fade over time. Hackman isn't too bad and the film is decently paced, but that's about the end of it. The cinematography and score are very bland, the plot is by the numbers and the finale is forgettable. Maybe if I cared more about detective (or 70s cinema in general) this could've been more fun, alas.Read all
Bit of a cheesy Cowboys and Indians flick, but at least it's not quite as wannabe tough and/or cool as some of its more illustrious peers. That makes it much easier to sit through, even though the runtime does its best to get in the way of any enjoyment. Not sure who thought it a good idea to turn this into a 140-minute film. The film isn't quite as serious as it sounds, which is a good thing, since the sentiment weighs pretty heavy. I didn't really care for Hoffman's characters, nor the drama he is facing during the film, but compared to other Westerns I found this one a relatively easy watch. Far from great, but I'd expected worse.Read all
Lumière and Company
