To the Shores of Tripoli (1942)

Directed by Bruce Humberstone
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Fox)

John Payne is the fresh Marine Corps recruit who clashes with Sergeant Randolph Scott at boot camp. Maureen O'Hara is his romantic interest, a nurse on the base. In one of the best scenes, Scott is knocked unconscious on a target for battleship practice, and it is up to Payne to save him. Payne decides to leave the Corps for a desk job, but all that changes after Pearl Harbor. The movie is a routine patriotic boot camp drama, with some early glimpses of Harry Morgan and Alan Hale, Jr.

Goliath and the Barbarians (1959)

Directed by Carlo Campogalliani
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Wild East)

Muscleman Steve Reeves vows revenge against the invading horde who killed his father in a remote Italian village during the Middle Ages. He wears a mask and wields a club. The daughter of the leader of the barbarians falls in love with him, leading to more conflict. Will their love survive? Will he find his father's murderer? How many exotic dances will there be?

Lady Killer (1933)

Directed by Roy Del Ruth
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Bros)

Cagney vehicle in which he plays an ex-gangster trying to go straight. He leaves his cronies in New York and travels cross country to LA with girlfriend Mae Clarke. He ends up in the movies and falls for co-star Margaret Lindsay. Soon he is a leading man, sporting a thin mustache and loads of money. His old cronies show up to take advantage of his new status. Cagney frequently abuses the women in his life, especially Clarke who gets slapped around and dragged by her hair. The most interesting part is the behind-the-scenes views when he is making movies. The tacked-on happy ending is pure Hollywood.

Picture Snatcher (1933)

Directed by Lloyd Bacon
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Bros)

Cagney is an ex-gangster trying to go straight as a newspaper photographer. Unfortunately he chooses the 1933 version of the National Enquirer and ends up a morally bankrupt paparazzi. He smuggles a camera into the execution chamber and snaps a photo of a woman strapped to the electric chair. In the exciting conclusion, he gets caught in a shoot-out between an old gangster buddy and the coppers, snapping pictures all the while. Cagney's character has a maniacal laugh and a roving eye.

Batman & Robin (1997)

Directed by Joel Schumacher
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Bros)

Entertaining, if awful, "so bad it's good" fourth entry in the Batman series. Schwarzenegger is Mr. Freeze, who speaks mostly in supposedly clever but stupid one-liners. Uma Thurman is Poison Ivy, constantly spraying the men with her pheromone powder to lure them to her deadly kiss. Alicia Silverstone puts on the leather as newcomer Batgirl, who is also an ace motorcycle rider. Clooney is smug and charming and downright annoying as Batman. The film has more leather than an s&m flick, with several close-ups of leather clad butts and breasts. The story makes no sense at all and frequently deviates to meaningless fights, motorcycle races, flashbacks, internal bickering, and on and on and on.

Success Is the Best Revenge (1984)

Directed by Jerzy Skolimowski
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(VHS, Magnum Entertainment)

Political allegory from Skolimowski focusing on exiled Polish director Michael York and family's problems in England. York is trying to finance a TV production about the Polish soccer team. John Hurt is the eccentric millionaire to whom he pleas for help. The result? A set of giant Newton's cradle balls is constructed, then mixed with strobe lights and riot police, their purpose unclear. Meanwhile, his teenage son Michael Lyndon is bullied at school for being a Pole, and reacts by going punk: he gives himself red-spiked hair and lightning bolt make up, then tries to flee the country. Any serious political statement from Skolimowski is undermined by the silliness of it all.

Smart Money (1931)

Directed by Alfred E. Green
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Bros)

Edward G. Robinson is a small town barber and gambler who goes to the big city in search of fame and fortune. At first he is taken for a sucker in a poker game and loses everything, but over time becomes the richest gambler in the city with power and influence. His weakness is girls, and it leads to his downfall. James Cagney is his friend and partner, in their only co-starring roles.

Wagon Wheels (1934)

Directed by Charles Barton
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Lions Gate)

Not so much a remake as a reshoot of 1931's Fighting Caravans, and not as good. Many scenes are lifted from the original and spliced with the new footage. Randolph Scott is the new leading man, a scout for a wagon train traveling from Missouri to Oregon. There are now many songs, including the title Wagon Wheels, and a cute kid who can kill Indians with a slingshot. Stick with the original.

Fighting Caravans (1931)

Directed by Otto Brower and David Burton
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Lions Gate)

An extended opening sequence featuring two old geezers getting Gary Cooper out of a jam gets this film off to a rocky start. However, once the caravan gets underway through the prairie and mountains it turns into quite a majestic show. The location shooting is simply spectacular, from the barren plains, the muddy fort, the snow packed mountains, a river crossing and finally the Oregon redwoods. Cooper's reluctant romance with French actress Lili Damita can get a bit tedious and it takes forever for the Indians to appear, but otherwise a very good early talkie western. The Lions Gate DVD has undergone restoration and looks much better than others in the Zane Grey series.

Wanderer of the Wasteland (1945)

Directed by Edward Killy and Wallace Grissell
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Lions Gate)

A better-than-average Zane Grey programmer thanks to unusual desert locales, some fancy dancin' to hot lead and a cute girl by the name of Audrey Long. The movie starts with a boy wandering out of the desert, his parents robbed and killed in their wagon train. He's got a single clue as to the killer: the crescent J brand on a dead horse. He's adopted by some friendly locals, but grows up to take revenge on the killers. He finds them in Arizona. In a familiar Zane Grey plot device, he takes up work on the ranch of the suspected killers, only to fall in love with the daughter. Don't worry, there is a happy ending.

The Light of Western Stars (1940)

Directed by Lesley Selander
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Lions Gate)

Victor Jory is a playboy cowboy with a drinking problem. The sister of his best friend, a Boston socialite, arrives in the dusty border town and immediately they fall in love. He's got continuing problems with evil gun runners and the sheriff, and goes on the lam to Mexico. She gets him off the booze and manages to solve his legal problems as well.

The Fighting Westerner (1935)

Directed by Charles Barton
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Lions Gate)

This has more in common with "old dark house" mysteries than westerns. People are being crushed to death by a giant stamper machine at a radium mine. One of them was Randolph Scott's brother, and he arrives to help a crusty old deputy find the killer. There is a phantom dressed in black with a cape. Ann Sheridan is the romantic interest. Talk, talk, talk.

The Horse Soldiers (1959)

Directed by John Ford
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, MGM)

John Wayne commands a cavalry battalion deep into the heart of Mississippi during the Civil War. William Holden is the doctor with whom he frequently butts heads. They pick up southern belle Constance Towers at her antebellum mansion, and are forced to take her along in fear she may leak their whereabouts to the enemy. Spends a little too much time perhaps on the personal melodrama, but the action picks up towards the end.

Tarzan and the Trappers (1958)

Directed by Charles F. Haas and Sandy Howard
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

The series regresses into juvenile nonsense in this episodic entry. Cheeta makes a return big time, with the usual anthropomorphic hi jinks. There is more than the usual allotment of stock footage. In the first story, trappers come to the jungle, but when they capture Cheeta and Boy, Tarzan calls on his elephant friends to rescue them. In the next story, a big game hunter goes after the ultimate trophy: Tarzan himself. The trail leads to a crumbling lost city with forgotten treasure. The Warner DVD makes a fatal mistake in trimming the full-frame picture to faux widescreen, these were made-for-TV and the misframing is quite obvious at times.

Batman Returns (1992)

Directed by Tim Burton
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Bros)

Batman becomes completely Burton-ized in this sequel. The Burton style transcends all: story, character, plot, they are all slaves to Burton's imagination run amok. Its got evil clowns, giant rubber ducks, a catwoman, Arctic World, homicidal penguins and perhaps the vilest villain ever put on film: a cross between Humpty Dumpty and Scrooge. The sets are incredible, the make-up fantastic, but Danny DeVito's Penguin is impossibly over-the-top, even more than Jack Nicholson's Joker or Carey's Riddler, and there is a mean streak running through everything that sucks the joy out of it. A fascinating failure on all levels, compare to Howard the Duck.

Love at First Bite (1979)

Directed by Stan Dragoti
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, MGM)

Quotable but ultimately silly spoof of Dracula. George Hamilton plays the count as a suave but dumb immigrant from Transylvania in the big lights of New York City. His non-hunchback assistant is a bug-eating Arte Johnson. The count is in love with model Susan Saint James, a narcissistic pill-popper and boozer. Her husband is a psychiatrist and just happens to be a descendant of vampire killer Van Helsing. It all comes across as second rate Mel Brooks, never funny and frequently inducing eye-rolls.

City for Conquest (1940)

Directed by Anatole Litvak
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Bros)

Cagney and Sheridan grow up in the New York slums. They continue their relationship into adulthood, but Sheridan falls for the suave Anthony Quinn, who promises to put her name in lights as his dance partner. Cagney prefers to stay in the old neighborhood, and initially shuns the opportunity to continue his boxing career. However, when he realizes she has left him, he gives into friends and pursues the championship, with tragic results. Ann's career is not much better, but it is not until years later that they realize ambition has nearly ruined their lives. Elia Kazan almost steals the movie with his portrayal of the young hoodlum Googi, and makes you wonder what his career might have been as an actor rather than director.

Summer of Secrets (1976)

Directed by Jim Sharman
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(VHS, VidAmerica)

Jim Sharman followed up Rocky Horror Picture Show with this grim depiction of an old man living on a remote island, reliving his life through home movies. He's got a hired hand who indulges his every whim, and when a young couple arrives on the island in their boat, he kidnaps the girl and locks her in the basement. Her boyfriend eventually finds her, but instead of getting her out becomes friends with the old man and even indulges in his obsessions. Soon, the girl is playing a role in his movies and they are one big happy family. Only the old man has a secret, he's really a doctor Frankenstein with his wife cryogenically preserved. He proceeds to bring her back to to life, but she rejects him in favor of the younger handyman. If you are familiar with Rocky Horror, then some of those themes are revisited here, but without the songs and satire, it becomes boring and ridiculous.

Zodiac (2007)

Directed by David Fincher
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Paramount/Warner Bros)

David Fincher's epic treatment of California's famous Zodiac Killer claims to have been exhaustively researched and true to the facts. It's basically a police procedural, sort of an NCIS only with explicit violence. The main problem, other than its extreme length, is poorly drawn characters. We hardly get to know the two main police investigators before the trail goes cold and they essentially give up. Fincher is more interested in the less interesting newspapermen, Robert Downey Jr and Jake Gyllenhaal. Downey is an obnoxious hot shot reporter with a drinking problem and Gyllenhaal a timid cartoonist. By the time the second act arrives, Gyllenhaal miraculously becomes an obsessed detective, his life ruined by his pursuit of the killer's indentity. It's a transformation that seems hardly likely given his character in the first half. Suddenly, all of the pieces start falling in place for Gyllenhaal, in a rush of insight and information. His payoff, and ours, is a brief glimpse of the killer as an employee in a hardware store. Hardly worth his job and family, or nearly 3 hours of our time.

Five (1951)

Directed by Arch Oboler
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Sony)

One of the first and one of the best nuclear holocaust films. Five strangers gather in a remote house in the hills, apparently the only survivors of a worldwide nuclear war. It's a microcosm of humanity: greed, ambition and racism all raise their ugly heads in the person of Eric, whose arrival causes tension in the group. He's especially at odds with their presumed leader Michael, an Ivy League student who is content to stay put in their very nice and large house. Roseanne, the only woman, is pregnant by her former husband, though nobody is really sure he is dead. She wanders into the city with Eric one day to find him, the streets littered with skeletons, only to discover his true intentions. Intelligent and insightful screenplay with some truly haunting imagery, though a bit constrained by the mostly rural setting.

Tideland (2005)

Directed by Terry Gilliam
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, ThinkFilm)

Terry Gilliam's Alice in Wonderland inspired tale of a little girl coming to grips with the death of her parents and subsequent abandonment in a run down house on a desolate prairie. Mom dies early, apparently on methadone trying to kick a heroin habit, and dad shortly after when she injects him with heroin. Yep, he's got his little girl trained to prepare his daily injection. She lives for awhile with his rotting corpse, but the neighbors finally show up, and they are in worse shape than her parents. The adult has a bee phobia, and walks around in full-beekeper gear. She also is a taxidermist, and guess what she keeps mom preserved in an upstairs bedroom. She puts her talents to use on the deceased heroin addict as well. Her teenage son, who has undergone some kind of partial lobotomy, thinks the prairie is underwater and the local train a land shark. He strikes up an uncomfortable friendship with the little girl. What does it all mean? Why do they all have southern accents? Where is the local police? Why don't we see the giant mining operation earlier, even though it seems to be right next door? Why is every scene filmed in "floating cam" forcing the viewer to constantly twist their neck?

Superdad (1973)

Directed by Vincent McEveety
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Disney)

Typical Disney slapstick from the early 70s, with many of the same cast members from the Dexter Riley series. An innocent group of teenagers hangs out on the beach near LA. As graduation approaches, they worry if they will stay together in college. Kurt Russell and Barbara Rush are the young couple, but her dad, Bob Crane, doesn't approve of their beach bum lifestyle. He cooks up a fake scholarship and gets her to move away to San Francisco, with unintended consequences. It's a dated but interesting criticism of the California lifestyle, even if stereotyped, and much better than reviewers would lead you to believe.

El Condor (1970)

Directed by John Guillermin
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

Jim Brown escapes from the chain gang and hooks up with Lee Van Cleef to search for gold in the desert. They find Patrick O'Neal as General Chavez, living in hedonism as the king of his own country at a remote fort. Brown, Cleef and their army of Indians use the old Trojan horse trick to get in, leading to a massacre. Jim Brown gets the girl and Cleef the gold, or so they think. Excellent soundtrack by Maurice Jarre. I had a problem with the graphic bullfight and some of the horse falls looked a little too real.

The Dude Ranger (1934)

Directed by Edward F. Cline
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Lions Gate)

Easterner George O'Brien inherits a ranch in Arizona. Someone is stealing his cattle, and he takes a job as cowpoke at a nearby ranch to find out who. Naturally he falls in love with the lovely rancher's daughter Irene Hervey. Comic relief comes in the form of a cowboy with a ukulele. Zane Grey story reduced to not much more than a romantic comedy.

Each Dawn I Die (1939)

Directed by William Keighley
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Bros)

Cagney is framed for murder and sent to prison. He meets career criminal Raft and the two strike up a friendship. Before you know it, Cagney is a hardboiled criminal himself and becomes one of the worst prisoners. His transformation from mild-mannered newspaperman to angry prisoner was a little too fast and easy. Of course, that's what the audience wanted, Cagney is the ultimate gangster, but the production code demanded that criminals could not be glamorized, so they made him a newspaperman. Anyway, Raft plans an escape, and once on the outside goes after the men who framed Cagney. It all leads to a prison riot, where bad man Raft gets his just reward and good man Cagney is set free, just like the code demands.

Getting Straight (1970)

Directed by Richard Rush
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Sony)

Elliott Gould kicks off the 70s as a former radical going back to school for his master's degree amidst residual unrest on a Berkley campus. He's trying to shed his image and get a teaching job, but everyone around him, from his students and professors to his girlfriend, seems to be conspiring against him. He frequently breaks down into his patented rants against the system. The most interesting one occurs during his oral exam for the degree, when a professor presses him on the sexual orientation of his beloved F. Scott Fitzgerald. A very dated film, with a rather dull performance by Candice Bergen as his blond bimbo girlfriend, but an interesting time capsule. Compare to the edgier The Strawberry Statement.

Inserts (1974)

Directed by John Byrum
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, MGM)

Essentially a filmed play that takes place on one set: the mansion of a Hollywood director in the early 1930s. Richard Dreyfuss is the former "Boy Wonder", afraid to leave the comfort of his house or bottle, he's constantly downing rum. He's got a small film set in a corner of his living room, a bed, on which he makes silent "stag" films. In this setting, director/writer John Byrum explores the relationship between the director and his actresses. Veronica Cartwright is a lightweight and will do anything he asks of her, as long as she gets her junk. At one point she tries to seduce him, but he is unable to rise to the occasion. She goes upstairs for a fix, but accidentally overdoses. In walks producer Bob Hoskins and his girlfriend the lovely Jessica Harper. Hoskins takes up the task of disposing of the body, leaving Dreyfuss alone with Harper. She is much different than Cartwright, intelligent, independent, but with an overriding desire to make it in the movies. The interplay between the two is fascinating, leading to an unexpected role reversal. A unique film with many insights into the facade of Hollywood and the relationship between an artist and his model.

Reds (1981)

Directed by Warren Beatty
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Paramount)

Exquisitely filmed, sprawling epic of Communism in America and Russia in the early 20th century. Warren Beatty writes, produces and directs himself as John Reed, American writer and socialist. He becomes deeply involved with the Communist movement and Louise Bryant, played wonderfully by Diane Keaton. Despite all of the international politics this is basically a love story between two strong, independent personalities. They experiment with "free love" only to find surprise, it doesn't work. They eventually get married, but politics gets in the way and they endure a long separation. Beatty ends up back in Russia, where he is used to spread Communism in the Middle East. He is reunited with Keaton, but it is bittersweet.

Who'll Stop the Rain (1978)

Directed by Karel Reisz
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, MGM)

Exceptionally depressing story which follows 2 kilos of heroin from Vietnam to California to Arizona. Everyone who comes into contact with the drugs undergoes a transformation: Michael Moriarty, the timid photographer who starts the operation only to see himself beat up by thugs and the police, his friend Nick Nolte, whom he hires to smuggle the drugs, once a hippie now a Marine Corp-trained killer, and his wife Tuesday Weld, who begins as a mother working in a San Francisco bookstore only to become a heroin addict. Then there are the police officers trailing them, crooked ex-junkies trying to get a piece of the action. A memorable finale takes place at a remote Arizona mountain rigged up with strobe lights and speakers blaring CCR. Superb performances all around, but a real downer watching all of these people fall so low for drugs.

A Choice of Weapons (1976)

Directed by Kevin Connor
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(VHS, Paragon)

Donald Pleasance is the the leader of the Knights of Avalon, a modern-day medieval society who have jousting tournaments at their large castle. They take justice into their own hands by kidnapping criminals in London and subjecting them to trials, which inevitably lead to their death. When one of their own discovers what is going on, he is brutally killed by the others. His son arrives from America and teams up with a retired Scotland Yard commissioner, who wields a wicked umbrella, to uncover the killers. Although filled with violence, it often resembles a made-for-TV Sunday night mystery. Barbara Hershey looks pretty but doesn't have much to do as the love interest.

The Son of Swordsman (1969)

Directed by Joseph Kuo
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Crash Cinema)

Confusing story of a young swordsman who must deliver a mysterious "box" to his relatives. Once he gets there, the story becomes a convoluted tale of revenge involving two families. Backwards film loops are used to make people "jump" from the ground to high places. Gravity is assumed not to exist in many of the fights as people hang in mid air. Arrows are caught in mid flight and thrown back to their origin. There is a multiple twist ending involving a pair of lovers who may or may not be brother and sister.

A Slight Case of Murder (1938)

Directed by Lloyd Bacon
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Bros)

Edward G. Robinson plays his gangster persona for laughs, and for the most part it doesn't work. I went into the film thinking it was a serious gangster drama, and it took about half of it to realize it was supposed to be a comedy. The highlight is the speech given by Robinson at an orphanage on the nature of "success", truly a classic scene as he spices it up with gangster slang. Mostly though it's Robinson and his wife Jane Bryan trying to act high society with their old gang.

Back to Bataan (1945)

Directed by Edward Dmytryk
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Bros)

John Wayne is the Army colonel who leads a group of Philippine guerrillas against the invading Japs. The patriotism of the time tends to send this one over the line of American propaganda, in particular its characterization of the invaders as cruel torturers of women and children. Nonetheless, Wayne is the indefatigable American hero, oblivious to pain or death while fearlessly leading his troops to victory. Anthony Quinn is miscast as the Philippine guerrilla leader.

Code of the West (1947)

Directed by William Berke
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Lions Gate)

Heavy Raymond Burr is bullying local homesteaders to get their land. The railroad is coming to town and he stands to make a ton of money. Bob Wade and sidekick Chito will have nothing of it, and set out to prove that Burr is behind the violence. Zane Grey story and Lone Pine locations add little to this predictable programmer. Where's Tim Holt?

The Living Desert (1953)

Directed by James Algar
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Disney)

Desert wildlife is seen hunting and being hunted in this pioneering documentary by Walt Disney. I don't like to see any animal in distress, but luckily Disney limits this to a tarantula, rattlesnake and occasional bug. It can get silly at times when the anthropomorphism runs amok, such as the mating ritual of scorpions set to a square dance. However, the time lapse photography of blooming flowers towards the end is sheer beauty.

Under the Tonto Rim (1947)

Directed by Lew Landers
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Lions Gate)

Another solid B western from the Zane Grey/Lew Landers/Tim Holt combo. Holt infiltrates a gang of outlaws by posing as a bandit with hidden loot. Their greed overcomes their mistrust of a stranger. He's brought to their mountain hideout, but is followed when he goes back to town to tell the sheriff. Zane Grey's story, even if condensed, makes all the difference.

Pursuit (1972)

Directed by Michael Crichton
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, MGM)

Cat-and-mouse thriller involving an FBI agent, a deranged politician and a booby trapped hotel room filled with enough nerve gas to kill over a million people in San Diego. A clock occasionally shows on the bottom of the screen, indicating the time left until detonation. It's never as good as you want it to be and dated, but an interesting look into the early mind of first-time director Crichton, whose next film was to be Westworld.

Tarzan and the Lost Safari (1957)

Directed by Bruce Humberstone
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

Tarzan in color and widescreen for the first time. A plane full of rich white people get drunk and bicker among themselves, then crash land. Tarzan rescues them and then leads them through the jungle. A "bad" jungle tribe is after them to make a sacrifice to their god, with the help of a white hunter who has lied to Tarzan and the party about his involvement. Tarzan figures it all out. Some horrendous special effects, especially in the plane at the beginning, but it settles down nicely and turns out to be one of the better Tarzan movies since the 30s.

Trained to Kill: USA (1973)

Directed by Daniel Vance
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(VHS, Paragon)

Vietnam vet comes home to rural Arizona where he has flashbacks to the jungle. To make matters worse, local carny thugs are terrorizing his father's ranch. There is a racial undertone, as the carny gang is lead by a large black man played by Tom Scott who seems to have a problem with the white ranchers. Well, all of this leads to the inevitable "big fight" between the carnys, who get some help from their biker friends, and the ranchers, who get help from their old Army pals.

San Quentin (1937)

Directed by Lloyd Bacon
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Bros)

Average prison drama with Bogey sentenced to San Quentin where Pat O'Brien is trying to root out corruption and introduce new reforms. O'Brien also happens to be falling in love with Bogey's sister, Ann Sheridan. O'Brien is miscast, his easy-going persona and soft-heart would not have lasted a day in the real San Quentin. To make matters worse, Bogey falls for it, leading to a hokey happy ending. Ann gets to sing a few songs in a nightclub.

Bataan (1943)

Directed by Tay Garnett
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Bros)

Relentlessly downbeat film about a small platoon of soldiers fighting a hopeless battle in the Philippine jungle. No punches are pulled, it's violent and bloody, frequently enshrouded in ground fog that makes it feel more like a horror film than war. The ensemble cast is excellent: Robert Taylor is the war-weary Sergeant, he's got a personal beef with Lloyd Nolan in perhaps his best role, even Desi Arnaz turns in a good performance as the jazz-loving Ramirez. The ending is a knockout.

Batman Forever (1995)

Directed by Joel Schumacher
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Bros)

Another loud, obnoxious over-the-top Batman movie. Vil Kilmer takes over the lead role, but his mumbling makes him virtually indistinguishable from Keaton's Batman. Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones are the villains who get to overact in the most extreme ways possible. Carrey, in particular, plays one of the most annoying characters ever put on film. Nicole Kidman looks pretty in her various black dresses, perfect hair and makeup, but her dialogue is atrocious. Slightly better than previous Batman's, but that's like saying asparagus is better than celery, none of them are really very good.

Thunder Mountain (1947)

Directed by Lew Landers
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Lions Gate)

Better-than-average programmer with Tim Holt returning to his home town to start farming, but having to deal with an old feud instead. Martha Hyer is a member of the opposing family in the feud, but they find a way to fall in love anyway. At one point in their courting, he takes her down to the ground and firmly spanks her, I mean really spanks her good! That was unexpected to say the least. Well, eventually the Hatfield and McCoys (or whatever their names were) have to make friends to fight the real enemy, the corrupt sheriff who is at the beck and call of the local gambling joint owners. Some fancy two-handed shootin' by Holt in the exciting climax. Lone Pine locations are also good.