Fair value of Pale Rider: $2.00. This is a middling Clint Eastwood western, surprisingly old-fashioned, which is really only for the Eastwood completists. And Death Was His Name: After a posse of hired thugs devastate a ramshackle prospecting camp, a young girl prays for justice. Soon enough, Preacher (Clint Eastwood) appears, silently and inexorably fighting […]
Pale Rider
December 15, 2020 by
Film Title
Pale RiderSynopsis
Anonymous man ruins capitalism in small California town.
Director
Clint EastwoodCast
Clint Eastwood as the Right Reverend Scowl and Squint
Richard Dysart as Moustache Twirler
Chris Penn as Moustache Twirler Jr.
Michael Moriarty as the Common Clay of the New West... you know, a moron.
True Grit
October 4, 2020 by
Film Title
True Grit (2010)Synopsis
A gnarly and stubborn girl employs True Grit to help track down her father’s murderer
Director
Ethan & Joel CoenCast
Jeff Daniels as The One-Eyed Dude
Hailee Steinfield as a national treasure.
Matt Damon as smarmy, and ostensibly Texas
Josh Brolin as the bad guy.
1 Hour 50 Minutes, PG-13 for maiming and violence. Fair Value of True Grit: $15.00. Because you can’t watch Sergio Leone all the time, this tale of Prairie Justice is one of the better of modern westerns. In many ways it is the perfect balance of the comedic and the dark aspects of Coen Brother’s […]
Raising Arizona: Devon’s Take
September 20, 2020 by
What Makes Raising Arizona Work? FAIR VALUE of Raising Arizona: $8.00. Like contemporaries A Fish Called Wanda or Brain Donors, Raising Arizona is a relentless slapstick comedy that has high re-watchability. THE COEN BROTHERS BEGIN HONING THEIR CHOPS: In many ways, Raising Arizona is the wooliest, most slapdash of all of the Coen comedies. They […]
Army of Darkness
August 9, 2020 by
Film Title
Army Of DarknessSynopsis
Ash is back in time to go medieval on an army of deadites.
Director
Sam RaimiCast
Bruce Campbell
Embeth Davidtz
Marcus Gilbert
Ian Ambercrombie
Patricia Tallman
Richard Grove
One hour 21 minutes, R for copious fountains of blood Fair Value of Army of Darkness: $20.00. If you asked me to name a film that was the perfect embodiment of the charm of midnight movies, it would be Army of Darkness. Perfectly fun, endlessly quotable, and never dull. More cheesy goodness than a Wisconsin […]
Evil Dead 2
August 1, 2020 by
Film Title
Evil Dead 2Synopsis
A continuation of The Evil Dead, where Ash tries to survive in a cabin possessed with evil.
Director
Sam RaimiCast
Bruce Campbell
Sarah Berry
Dan Hicks
Kassie Wesley Depaiva
Ted Raimi
Denise Bixler
Richard Domeier
1 hour 24 minutes, R for violence and gore Fair Value of Evil Dead 2: $6.00. It’s one of the classics of 80s horror comedy, not as memorable as it’s sequel, but a live action Warner Brothers cartoon of zombie slapstick. The Bruce Campbell Show: It’s all on the comic chops of the lead, Bruce […]
Three Days of the Condor
July 28, 2020 by
Film Title
Three Days of the CondorSynopsis
A CIA analyst must flee undercover when a team of assassins slaughter his station.
Director
Sydney PollackCast
Robert Redford
Max von Sydow
Faye Dunaway
Cliff Robertson
1 hour 57 minutes, R for violence Fair Value of Three Days of the Condor: $6.00. This Sydney Pollack classic is a twisty and cynical spy film, one that prefigures much of the Jason Bourne films in the theme of ‘disavowed spy forced to live off his wits’. Crackling. Golden Age Cinema and the […]
The Farmer’s Wife (1928)
July 19, 2020 by
Film Title
The Farmer's WifeSynopsis
A middle-aged empty-nester has trouble finding another suitable mate
Director
Alfred HitchcockCast
James Thomas
Lillian Hall-Davis
Gordon Harker
Gibb McLaughlin
Maude Gill
Louie Pounds
2 Hours 9 minutes Fair Value of The Farmer and His Wife: $0.00. In this early (1928) silent film, a young Hitchcock is both out of his element (mystery) and his medium (dialogue), and so this early drama is generic and basic, largely lacking in Hitchcock’s style. This is a snoozer. Summary of the Concept: […]
Juno and the Paycock
July 15, 2020 by
Film Title
Juno and the PaycockSynopsis
A family earns a big inheritance and forgets their basic values
Director
Alfred HitchcockCast
Barry Fitzgerald
Sara Allgood
John Laurie
1 hour 34 minutes Fair Value of Juno and the Paycock: $-5.00. 1920s knockoff Bernard Shaw misery porn that lacks in much of the style or timing that Hitchcock would later display. This early Hitchcock film shows why he went to thrillers and suspense- it’s artless and heartless. Summary of the Concept: A poor […]
Secret Agent (1936 Hitchcock film)
July 5, 2020 by
Film Title
Secret AgentSynopsis
During World War One, a newly recruited British spy is dispatched to Switzerland to hunt unknown German agents.
Director
Alfred HitchcockCast
John Gielgud
Madeleine Carroll
Peter Lorre
Robert Young
Percy Marmount
1 hour 26 minutes Fair Value of Secret Agent: $2.00. If it’s streaming, it’s a good old timey punt, with amusing performances by Peter Lorre and John Gielgud Summary of the Concept: During World War I, a newly commissioned British spy is tasked with identifying and catching a German spy moving through Switzerland. What’s […]
The 39 Steps
June 15, 2020 by
Film Title
The 39 StepsSynopsis
Hook up with a spy girl, get wrongfully accused of murder.
Director
Alfred HitchcockCast
Robert Donat
Madeleine Caroll
Lucie Mannheim
Godfrey Tearle.
1 hour 26 Minutes The Grandfather of all Spy Films. Without The 39 Steps, no Bond. No Bourne. No The Fugitive, the most obvious modern descendant of this film, which truly established Hitchcock on the map of international cinema. Fair value of The 39 Steps: $20.00. It’s must-see cinema, in the same way as Star […]
