Author: Dave Franklin
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20th Century Duvall: Part 4-Westerns
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Read more: 20th Century Duvall: Part 4-WesternsThe Westerns: True Grit (1969), Lawman (1971), The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid (1972), Joe Kidd (1972) & Geronimo: An American Legend (1995) I don’t know too much about John Wayne, except he always seemed to play a similar character: tough, gruff and self-reliant. A man’s man. Didn’t dress in pink much, you know? In the…
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20th Century Duvall: Part 3-Drama
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Read more: 20th Century Duvall: Part 3-DramaDramas: The Chase (1966), Network (1976), The Betsy (1978), The Great Santini (1979), Tender Mercies (1983), The Natural (1984), Rambling Rose (1991), The Paper (1994) & The Scarlet Letter (1995) The Chase united Duvall with Brando for the first time, but although it’s the lesser known of their collaborations this one is worth hunting down.…
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20th Century Duvall: Part 2-Action
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Read more: 20th Century Duvall: Part 2-ActionAction: Bullitt (1968), The Killer Elite (1975) & Breakout (1975) Despite being the best part of sixty years old and having no action in its first twenty minutes, Bullitt still feels fresh and unusual. It might be famed for its superb, eleven-minute car chase, but I take as much pleasure in its taut, understated feel.…
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20th Century Duvall: Part One
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Read more: 20th Century Duvall: Part OneDespite a career lasting more than six decades, a hand in some of the most luminous films of all time and a Best Actor Oscar, Robert Duvall remains curiously unfamous. I suspect if you showed his picture to twenty people in the street, hardly anyone would identify him. Perhaps this is because he prefers supporting…
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Starring Debuts #23: Michael Caine in Zulu (1964)
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Read more: Starring Debuts #23: Michael Caine in Zulu (1964)Caine left it late to become a major player, wading through almost twenty bit parts and slipping into his thirties before Zulu catapulted him to stardom. In truth, his role as Victoria Cross recipient Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead is not among my faves, partly because he doesn’t get to do a lot. It is a notable…
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Starring Debuts # 22: Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Barbarian (1982)
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Read more: Starring Debuts # 22: Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Barbarian (1982)Arnie actually made his starring debut in 1970’s Hercules in New York (in which he must have been about sixteen) but I’m going to ignore it because it’s a cheapie load of embarrassing rubbish.
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Fucked-Up Films #11: Kids (1995)
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Read more: Fucked-Up Films #11: Kids (1995)Synopsis: Contraception disguised as moviemaking. Who the hell would want to reproduce after sitting through this one?
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Thelma (2017)
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Read more: Thelma (2017)Synopsis: A latent lezzer with peculiar mental powers wants a girlfriend. What does it matter if her target isn’t a rug muncher? Director: Joachim Trier Cast: Eili Harboe, Kaya Wilkins, Henrik Rafaelsen, Ellen Dorrit Petersen Like a fair few blokes, I shamelessly employ double standards when it comes to homosexuality. I’m none too keen on…
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The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
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Read more: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)Synopsis: “This is my house.” Director: Nicolas Gessner Cast: Jodie Foster, Martin Sheen, Alexis Smith, Mort Shuman, Scott Jacoby In 1991 Jodie Foster picked up her second Oscar, apparently poised to have one of the most glorious movie careers of all time. Instead, her post-Lambs output collapsed into mediocrity. The rot set in straightaway with…
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Funny Fuckers
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Read more: Funny FuckersHumour is built on cruelty. At least, the funny stuff is. I can give you two childhood examples. I had a couple of mates called Plow and Meg. Plow was a strange lad, skinny as rake with a mass of curly hair and about as likely to get a girlfriend as a piss-stained lamppost. He…