Recently Watched Films

Disc 1: Johnny O'Clock

Solid but not spectacular one starting set 3 of the Columbia Noir boxset series. 

Three Stooges short:

The trio are at their least PC with this one. It's kinda poor to be honest. 

And disc 2:

Another solid one. Some of the same cast as disc one including Lee J Cobb - rarely the lead man (here top billing is given to villain William Holden) but certainly the hero of this tale, which also includes a pre-Bond Lois Maxwell. 

And the Stooges:

A better short than the last film had. I tend to think the trio is better with Shemp than Curly. Mad antics all around.

And I'm now at the halfway point of the Chaplin set:

This guy's work has been like gold dust so far. This one could be described as a 'part-talkie' but is still mostly silent. He retired the Tramp character after this, so the next part of the set is going to shake things up.

Quite grounded for a Del Toro film. I actually have the 1940s version of Nightmare Alley on DVD, although I don't remember it too well. This was good, if slow burning and wouldn't be in my top 3 or even 5 of his films. Visually stunning though.

Very good early neo-noir with Glenn Ford, who appears in several of the Columbia Noir pictures in the boxsets. This is also a Columbia film, but it's not from the boxset series. The intro is quite dark and dripping in tension of the time period I reckon. 

I had to watch this gem again before my sub to BFI player ran out, since it is not available anywhere else in the UK, not even on physical media or downloaded purchase. I remain utterly in awe of this film. Just hoping now the director's recent success with Drive My Car gets this one more readily available including a blu-ray release. Although things look bleak for even Drive My Car getting a physical release here at the moment, which sucks. 

Best Spider-Man movie? Possibly. It's certainly the one that can most be geeked out on, though it had its gut-wrenching moments too. 

Crime thriller from Hammer. Quite clever although it harms its own suspense by revealing whodunit right from the start and having the protagonist be immediately onto him. The ending was mostly recent, heavy with karma, although it copped out right at the final hurdle to make the protagonist do the 'right thing'. I enjoyed it overall despite its faults. 

And finally:

Columbia Noir Boxsets #3

Disc 3: Convicted

Now here we have an example of a film poster that straight up lies to your face! See Glenn Ford looking all fierce and carrying a gun up there? Spoiler alert: Ford's character is the protagonist. And he never touches so much as a tiny pistol during the entire movie. 

Despite the lying poster, this was a gem. The best in Columbia Noir set 3 so far.

And as for the Three Stooges:

A pretty solid one, also well watched with the feature film due to the prison theme. Curly breaks the fourth wall. 

Chaplin transitions to full sound and takes a pop at Hitler. He later said he wouldn't have made this if he'd known the full extent of what went on in concentration camps, but the movie holds up to this day. 

Britain, the 1980s. It's the height of the Video Nasty hysteria and things are about to get a bit too real for a film censor. A solid horror outing that never quite makes it to excellent but is still a cut above the bog standard fare. 

Pretty crazy for a 1950s film. 

The hype is fully justified. A compelling drama. Easier to digest than his earlier Happy Hour even though it still runs just shy of three hours. 

Also, this was my 3000th movie I've watched! A new milestone. 

A hidden gem. Wasn't sure about it at first, but once this one gets its momentum going it's a powerhouse, with a really good car chase sequence for a 1950s film. 

And the Three Stooges:

Also one of the best I've seen from them. 

Solid Boetticher/Scott western.