Tarawa Beachhead (1958)

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Paul Wendkos
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Sony Movie Channel)

A Marine Corp lieutenant runs amok in combat and kills, perhaps intentionally, the best friend of Kerwin Matthews. Back in New Zealand, Matthews falls in love with his friend's widow while the lieutenant courts her sister. They are practically at each others throats before being called back to duty for another island invasion. There are some good ideas floating around in this anti-war drama, but the melodrama is overemphasized and the final combat scenes rely on too much stock footage. Matthews is quite good in his non-Sinbad role!

Hell's Horizon (1955)

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Tom Gries
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Sony Movie Channel)

A grounded and bored bomber crew fight among themselves over a woman, drink themselves to death over a letter from home or find other ways to kill time. When they are finally sent on a bombing mission to Korea, their old habits come back to haunt them. The combination of ridiculous melodrama and stock footage for the combat scenes sinks it. Chet Baker (and his trumpet) is wasted as one of the crew members.

Road Gang (1936)

Warner Bros-First National
Directed by Louis King
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Two newspaper reporters are railroaded to prison for printing a story about a crooked politician. Inside, they are subjected to torture by the guards, one of them eventually dies trying to escape. The prisoners start a mass riot in a mine in support of the wronged man. The gritty scenes of prison life are undermined by weak performances by the leads and a pat ending. Any use of the name "Metcalf" in the dialogue in reference to the politician is mysteriously edited out in the TCM print.

The Star Witness (1931)

Warner Bros.
Directed by William A. Wellman
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

An "all-American" family is terrorized by a mobster after they identify him in a gangland shootout. His buddies kidnap their little kid and threaten to kill him if they don't recant their testimony. Dad is beat-up when he refuses their demands out of a sense of "duty". It is up to grandpa, an old Civil War coot (played by Chic Sale in heavy makeup), to show them the way. It's a little too preachy for my tastes, and the cuteness of the kids, especially Dickey Moore, is overplayed to the point of annoyance.

The Spoilers (1955)

Universal-International
Directed by Jesse Hibbs
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Encore Westerns)

Fifth filming of the story of Alaskan miners tangling with a group masquerading as lawmen trying to jump their gold claim using legal tricks. It resembles the western TV shows of the time: stereotyped characters filmed on the Universal back lot. The famous fight scene for the ending lacks a punch, mainly due to lead Chandler's lack of charisma. There is a poorly staged model train wreck featuring obvious toy passengers not to scale.

Prison Ship (1945)

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Arthur Dreifuss
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Sony Movie Channel)

A group of international POWs are put aboard a freighter by their Japanese captors. They leave the ship brightly lit in the hopes it will be sunk by an American submarine, neatly disposing of the prisoners. Realizing this, the prisoners try a variety of escapes, eventually succeeding. There is a an execution scene, including a small girl, and torture, both of which are rather graphic for 1945, but it guess it was the war years. That might also explain the blatant Japanese stereotyping and American propaganda. However, the short running time and lack of characterization are what really sink it.

The Doorway to Hell (1930)

Warner Bros.
Directed by Archie Mayo
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Lew Ayres is miscast as a Chicago gangster who muscles his way to the top of the mob. After he makes his fortune, he tries to retire in Florida with his floozy wife. However, when his brother is murdered he returns seeking revenge. James Cagney, in his second role, would have been much better in the lead, but here plays Ayres best friend, and his wife's lover.

Melancholia (2011)

Magnolia Pictures
Directed by Lars von Trier
My rating: BOMB
IMDb
(Showtime Beyond)

The first half of this film is an unbearably boring wedding party. Bride Kirsten Dunst pees on a golf course and has sex with a stranger. Her drunk father steals silverware. Her mother gives a hateful speech. The groom leaves alone, the only person demonstrating common sense. After getting to know, and loathe, these people, we get to spend the second half of the film with them waiting for the end of the world. Whether or not it's all just a metaphor for depression is irrelevant, either way it's a pretentious bore, filmed in nauseating shaky cam guaranteed to bring on a migraine. And what would a von Trier film be without a little animal abuse, here in the form of horses being beaten and whipped.

Pitfall (1948)

United Artists
Directed by Andre De Toth
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Dick Powell is bored with his predictable life of husband and insurance salesman. An investigation leads him to infidelity with pretty Lizabeth Scott. However, when she finds out about his wife, they call it off. Meanwhile, private detective Raymond Burr, obsessed with Scott, becomes insanely jealous, leading to murder. Grim depiction of the American dream, but I thought the ending was pat and the acting suspect, particularly Scott as the femme fatale. 

Fearless (1993)

Warner Bros.
Directed by Peter Weir
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Cinemax)

Airplane crash survivors Jeff Bridges and Rosie Perez struggle to cope with their experience. Bridges starts to believe he is invulnerable to death, which gives him an almost religious outlook on his own life. He takes it upon himself to comfort other survivors, most notably Perez, who lost her young son. Perez leans on her Catholic religion, but is afraid to leave her own house until Bridges coaxes her out. Their relationship threatens to cross the line, further endangering his already shaky marriage with Isabella Rossellini. The film works on multiple levels: as religious allegory, as a psychiatric case study, but best of all as a story of one man's attempt to find the meaning of his life, and ultimately our own.