The first look at Zak Snyder’s long-awaited adaptation of Alan Mooore’s classic comic
The trailer for The Watchmen debuts today before The Dark Knight, ending two years of speculation about Zak Snyder’s (300) version of Alan Moore’s classic graphic novel and about twenty three years of hope for fans wanting to see it brought to the big screen in all its byzantine glory.
If you’re not already familiar, the story is really much too complicated to explain in a few short words, except to say it’s a VERY realistic approach to the presence of superheroes in the modern world and covers about forty years of American history while doing so. It’s not for kids, and it’s not particuarly optimistic about human nature, either. And fortunately the movie looks to be painsakingly truthful to Moore’s original vision.
So enjoy the trailer and then read our who’s who guide about The Watchmen universe’s original super-hero team.
A flawed sequel from Guillermo Del Toro, Lord of the Things
Though bearing the same distinct visual style and flair for production design that made 2006’s Pan’s Labyrinth a critical darling and already something of a cult favorite, director Guillermo Del Toro’s sequel to his own Hellboy wears the deep and severe problems with its story and script like a crown of horns. Though at times the talented cast rises above the flat dialogue and plodding, tangent-ridden screenplay, their efforts can’t raise the film above routine or inject life into what is at its weird heart simply an exercise in costuming. Blame Del Toro, whose screenplay shows his limitations as a storyteller even while borrowing liberally and obviously from a constellation of influences.
Beginning with a prologue sequence that’s nakedly derivative of the opening to the first Lord of The Rings, the film’s tale of a broken truce between humans and the mythical creatures of antiquity quickly becomes a game of spot-the-influences, ranging from H.P. Lovecraft to the aforementioned Tolkien to a succession of sci-fi fantasy flicks of recent years, including Cloverfield, Underworld and of course the Matrix trilogy. That’s not in itself a bad thing - science fiction and horror alike are both genres that to a degree thrive on homage and derivation. Except in this case the influence feels disingenuous, even cynical. In creating a world of his own imagination, Del Toro seems to have forgotten how to create vivid characters, and a tin ear for dialogue (along with jokes that would seem flaccid in a Ben Stiller comedy) only makes things worse.
This is partly exacerbated by, ironically, the surprise success of the first Hellboy film, based as it was on a semi-obscure Dark Horse comic by former Batman artist Mike Mignola and starring a cluster of respected (if not exactly popular) character actors. A straightforward, pulpish yarn about demons discovered during World War II and a shadowy government agency that patrols the darker corners of the world, the film banked on audience novelty and delivered. Flash forward four years and a critical - if overrated - success in Pan’s Labyrinth, and the novelty is gone even as the expectations are raised for the modest Hellboy franchise. That the film resembles a Del Toro vehicle more than Mignola’s comic perhaps suggests the writer-director’s priorities in crafting the film.
This creative control even extends so far as to shuffle the cast. The admittedly bland agent John Myers is gone, replaced by Dr. Johann Krauss, a German scientist turned sentient cloud of gas that walks through scenes clad in a kind of Victorian diving suit. Voiced by The Family Guy’s Seth McFarlane in a peppy Colonel Klink impression, the professor has some interesting skills in his retinue (like reanimating the dead) but the praise incessantly lavished upon him by other characters makes his presence grating for much of his first half hour. Rather than characterize by action, Del Toro takes the far clumsier approach of audience-approval-by-telegraph, which practically never works. David Hyde Pierce is also gone as the voice of Hellboy’s chum Abe Sapien. Fortunately Selma Blair and Jeffrey Tambor return, as does (most importantly) Ron Perlman as Hellboy.
The story is nothing if not void of surprises. The goth-esque, sword-wielding villain Prince Nuada is ruthless and treacherous, prone to decapitating adversaries in flying head and Matrix-style wirework splendor. He’s even got a henchman that’s suspiciously similar to the cave troll of Lord of the Rings: TheFellowship of the Ring. His plan for control of the Golden Army, a legion of steampunk robots themselves evokative of The Fifth Element’s Mondoshawan aliens, centers around possession of a golden crown (one crown to rule them all!) that’s split into three fragments. As you can imagine, the search for the third piece takes up much of the middle act. Eventually, order is restored and the quartet of heroes are free to resume their lives - albeit with big changes in store, in a denouement that’s almost sitcomish.
Ultimately, the film suffers from a fractured set of ambitions that does neither of its sides justice. Too much a conventional action flick to rival Pan’s Labrynth in ambition or scope and too much a trendy art piece to succeed as genre entertainment, Hellboy 2 will likely be remembered as a minor film in Del Toro’s celebrated career. At least his next project, adapting Tolkien’s The Hobbit, will allow him to bring much of his inspiration back to its rightful source.
So here’re ten other Batman villains we might - and hope to - see in the third film.
Just about now the anticipation surrounding The Dark Knight ought to hit its fever pitch, which means barring a Matrix Reloaded-level disappointment the film should foster a third installment (which was probably the game plan all along, but it’s still always nice to see these things verified.)
One of the treats of Batman Begins was seeing the clever use of mid- and lower-tier villains like the Scarecrow and Mr. Zsaz in roles that surrounded the Big Bad of Ra’s Al Ghul. Though IMDB’s cast list would indicate that the focus this time is all on The Joker, a third Batman film offers lots of potential to pack the streets of Gotham with a gauntlet of also-ran villains. Not that any one asked us, but we recommend in no particular order:
1. Firefly: Every superhero needs a villain that sets stuff on fire, and pyromaniac arsonist-for-hire Garfield Lynns has the low-tech suit and requisite crazy factor to neatly blaze onto the big screen. The wings could make for interesting visuals, as would seeing Batman tear through a burning building a la The Towering Inferno.
2. The KGBeast: Anatoli Knyazev was a cybernitcally-enhanced Soviet assassin sent to America to kill high ranking defense personnel, thereby prolonging the Cold War. He’s believed to have killed over 200 people in his career, including real-life Egyptian president Anwar El Sadat. While the Cold War is over and done, it’s still easy to imagine the Beast coming to Gotham as a hitman-for-hire.
3. The Mad Hatter: Another of Batman’s gimmick-themed adversaries, Jervis Tetch was so obsessed with Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland that he based elaborate and vicious crimes around its elements. As a foe, he’s basically the Joker but smaller and smarter - and with mind control devices.
4. Electrocutioner: Lester Buchinsky first used electricity-generating harness to execute dangerous criminals; later, he became a crook himself. The epitome of second-tier muscle, he’d be a great stalking horse for a bigger, badder nemesis.
5. Black Mask: Actually rumored at one point to apear in The Dark Knight, cosmetics heir Roman Sionis wore a coal-black mask as the head of Gotham’s underworld. Interestingly, Sionis’ hatred centers not on Batman but instead on his childhood friend - Bruce Wayne. If Batman and Harvey Dent break up Gotham’s current underworld, led in the new movie by boss Salvatore Maroni (Eric Roberts), Black Mask could step into the power vacuum.
6. Clayface: Though there’s been several vilains with this name and powers over the years, probably the classic first version works best on screen: faded movie star Basil Karlo used his powers of theatrical disguise to stalk and murder the cast and crew remaking his classic horror picture The Terror. Basically, Karlo is Lon Chaney meets the Phantom of the Opera - come to Gotham City.
7. Deadshot: Another enforcer type, Floyd Lawton was a society scion who became the world’s greatest marksman - harboring a profound death wish all the while. Later, he sort-of reformed after helping clean up the urban neighborhood where his daughter and her mother lived. An anti-hero closer to Batman’s own psyche than perhaps Batman would like to admit, he’s also got a classic costume, complete with nifty full-automatic wrist guns.
8. Talia Head: Ra’s Al-Ghul’s daughter and Batman’s sometime love interest in the books, Talia succeeded her old man as head of The League of Assassins (or League of Shadows in Batman Begins.) Dark and mysterious, if well-cast she’d make a great third side to a romantic triangle alongside Batman and Rachel Dawes.
9. Deathstroke: Whether or not he appears in The Dark Knight (as some speculators believe he might), mercenary and hero-killer Slade Wilson has enough smarts and brawn to equal Batman’s own considerable prowess. A rooftop confrontation over Gotham could make for an urban Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, only with Batman’s and Deathstroke’s endless array of weapons and gadgets.
10. The Wrath: Intended as the Professor Moriarty to Batman’s Sherlock Holmes, the Wrath made just one memorable appearance in the comics before meeting a violent death. A ruthless hitman who hijacked Batman’s own mystique and tactics, he’s the perfect dark mirror image of what Batman works towards - and represents.
A clip from probably the greatest film noir ever made.
Out of the Past is considered by many to be the greatest film noir ever made, routinely topping fan polls or coming in just behind more famous noirs like The Big Sleep and Double Indemnity. The bleak story of a former private investigator manipulated back into a world of deceit, double-crosses, and sexual manipulation, the calm sophistication with which the characters lie, cheat, and kill one another makes the film a masterpiece of tone and characterization. It’s arguably some of star Robert Mitchum’s best work, as he brings a weariness to the part that hides layers of determination and intelligence. And good God, Jane Greer.
Rather than try and describe the visual look of the film, we’ll just let it speak for itself: after the travelogue montage almost every frame is a picture.
By the way, children of the 1980s have a distinct, if indirect, connection to the film. A 1984 remake, titled Against All Odds, starred Jeff Bridges and Rachel Ward. Even if you’ve never seen the film, you’ve probably heard the title song, Phil Collins’ Oscar-nominated “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now.)”
Out of the Past is available on DVD, by itself and as part of Warner Brothers’ Film Noir Classic Collection, Volume I.
As one would by now expect from Pixar Animation Studios, WALL•E is yet another extraordinary achievement both in terms of animation and of “kiddie fare.” But WALL•E also stands apart from the studio’s other efforts as an incredibly dark and cynical film with an overtly political message. Fortunately the studio’s expert craftsmanship keeps that darkness in check - though sometimes only just barely.
The story revolves around an adorable but lonely little robot assigned to clean up the trash of a deserted and toxic Earth that’s been abandoned by mankind. Except for his pet cockroach, WALL•E appears to be the planet’s only resident, until he discovers the first plant to grow in seven hundred years. Soon afterwards, another robot named EVE descends from space, who (unbeknownst to our hero) has been tasked with scouring the earth’s surface for any surviving vegetation. When WALL•E inadvertently presents his new crush with the object of her quest, EVE is retrieved into space by the starship Axiom, home to the last surviving human beings. But WALL•E relentlessly follows EVE into space, setting off a chain of events that culminate in the humans’ overthrow of their less-than-benevolent robot caretakers.
Besides the obvious environmental themes, the film primarily attacks 21st Century globalization and consumerism. The humans, morbidly obese and incapable of standing up or even looking at each other, lounge about the Axiom in floating recliner chairs as they incessantly purchase new products. Unfortunately, writer/director Andrew Stanton provides no overt explanation for how the inert residents of this consumer-based culture earn a living and perpetuate the ship’s economy. One central onboard location is a shopping mall named “The Economy.”
It’s also difficult to swallow that not one individual has stepped forward to condemn their slothful lifestyle. Even supposing that no radical thinkers would have initially bought into the ship’s quick fix, surely someone would have eventually challenged the establishment that was created over seven centuries. Even the most conservative cultures produce rebels, but apparently that’s not the case here. Only the Axiom’s Captain (voiced by Jeff Garlin) shows any interest in opposing the machines for reasons not directly related to his own survival; but at the same time, his intent to return to Earth seems more like fascination with a new toy rather than a genuine assertion of free will.
Addressing such issues may exceed the scope of a movie that is, at heart, family entertainment. On the other hand, Stanton populates the background with cute malfunctioning robots that serve as WALL•E’s de facto sidekicks, but fails to give them distinct identities (let alone personalities). We know we’re supposed to root for them in the moments racing up to the climax because they’re broken, but not because we’ve come to appreciate them as characters. It’s an obvious ploy for empathy that falls somewhere between disingenuous and lazy.
If that seems harsh, it’s because the consistently ambitious nature of Pixar’s catalogue demands a higher standard than, say, DreamWorks’ annual summertime toy commercials. All the same, WALL•E possesses moments of cinematic majesty and romance that have become nonexistent in the prepackaged commercial entertainment of recent years. One centerpiece scene - in which WALL•E and EVE float in space outside the Axiom - is particularly beautiful in its execution; likewise, the moment that EVE finally realizes the depth of WALL•E’s affection for her feels startlingly (and ironically) natural.
It’s no surprise then that the film ends on an upbeat, hopeful note. Pixar may be willing to push the boundaries of films ostensibly for children, but luckily they recognize that most of us still want a happy ending. And that Stanton delivers - simply, effectively and without condescension. But even the end doesn’t stop the class: stay for the closing credits/denouement, set to the tune of Peter Gabriel’s awe-inspiring “Down to Earth. The song is a shoo-in for Best Original Song at next year’s Academy Awards.
Finally, it’s also worth noting that the film’s sound designer, Ben Burtt, is credited as the voice of WALL•E. Burtt, a bona fide filmmaking legend, served as the sound designer for each of the six Star Wars films, creating the “voice” of R2-D2 (arguably the most famous robot in history), as well as the truly iconic sound of Darth Vader’s mechanical breathing. His presence is almost paradoxical: it’s ironic that one of the major creative forces behind a parable about the triumph of flawed humanity over technology would take part in such a scathing indictment of mechanical dependence.
Mr. July returns with another great concept spun into a so-so film.
Will Smith makes movies that should be better than they are. At least, his typical summertime fare (I, Robot, Independence Day, etc.) usually starts with an intriguing conceit that, for want of studio logic or lack of nerve in deviating from summer blockbuster tropes, winds up receding from the memory almost as soon as audiences can reach the daylight outside the theatre.
And so it goes with Hancock, which if anything sports a stronger premise than many of Smith’s previous big-budget events - a stronger idea than most summer films, period. The story of an alcoholic, self-loathing “superhero” and his winding path to redemption, the film works more as a concept than as a film - or at least, it works better as a concept than it does as this film. Because once the script and director Peter Berg (The Kingdom, Friday Night Lights) realize a movie has to happen, the plot twists and turns only distract from the potential character study hinted at in the film’s first 45 minutes.
Smith stars as John Hancock, a shiftless and amnesiac but superpowered drunk who prefers drinking cheap bourbon by the case and waking up on bus stop benches to fighting crime. He’s frequently urged to do so, however, leaving a wide swath of property damage in his wake. Then he saves the life of public relations expert Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), who convinces Hancock to clean up his act and become the hero Embrey insists lies just below his scruffy surface. Hancock assents, mostly as a way to get close to Embrey’s wife Mary (Charlize Theron). He feels a connection to the housewife, though can’t realize why. That secret becomes the lynchpin of the film’s second half, and includes a plot twist that’s apparently meant to seem astonishing but instead feels obvious. Think for a second. You’ll get it.
From the moment Mary’s secret is revealed, it’s all Big Summer Movie from there, complete with a collection of adversaries that feels as ad hoc and rushed as an emergency committee meeting. Watching the climactic fight, one can’t help but feel the under-developed bad guys serve no purpose except to give Hancock something to punch, throw through a window, or fly towards. But because such a collapse into formula feels anything but surprising by that point, the ambiguity isn’t sincerely disappointing, either. You find yourself asking, “Well, I don’t know why I expected otherwise…”
Part of the blame must ride on director Berg, whose early work (Very Bad Things) showed a technical proficiency but fell short when establishing a narrative rhythm. Apparently, that hasn’t changed over time. Scenes drag, or fail to build suspense, so that the special effects, numerous and lovely though they are, are never given the breathing room necessary to let the audience savor them. Characters talk but never seem in the same space, even in tight confines. It’s also worth noting that, as with The Kingdom, Berg’s visual style when collaborating with co-producer Michael Mann often resembles Mann’s own enough so as to seem derivative.
Smith plays Hancock in full Big Willie Style, bringing his effortless charisma to the hero while never making the pathos feel like schtick. Unfortunately, there’s never any doubt you’re watching Big Willie play a character, for better or worse. Bateman is the picture of nice guy affability, in the kind of part and performance John Ritter (who trod similar thematic ground in 1980’s Hero At Large) used to do so well. Theron puts in a day’s work for a day’s pay: it’s a perfunctory role, and she gives a perfunctory performance.
Partial script credit goes to Vince Gilligan, the creator of AMC’s darkly caustic Breaking Bad as well as some of the more twisted episodes of The X-Files. Gilligan is so adroit at making dark characters tragic - and tragic characters dark - that I couldn’t help but wonder what his initial intentions must have been in the script’s early drafts. Apparently this project has been in development for years, originally with the porn-ready title Tonight He Comes. It’s likely the film was meant to be much more character-driven and brooding, which sort of makes it all the more unfortunate that a Big Summer Movie happened instead.
CBS’s surprise summer hit gives up the funk - and the fun.
Watching the fifth episode of CBS’s summer series Swingtown this evening, we realized advertisers are afraid. Local ads run during the show were the kind normally reserved for the 2am to 6am crowd: Time Life boxed sets of hippie music, car title loans, those ubiquitous and patronizing DanActive yogurt spots, and men’s discount suit warehouses. That’s a shame, because after months of delays and network hemming and hawing Swingtown is turning out to be one of the surprise gems of the summer season, ranking in the top 20 of viewers aged 18-49.
Perhaps the initial marketing of the show is to blame for this hesitance. The show’s original hype centered around couples swinging in the Seventies, essentially having lots of meaningless, hairy sex. But as the show has progressed, this tawdry premise has given way to a much more complicated exploration of interpersonal dynamics between three sets of spouses during a period in history in which so much was changing politically. One couple epitomizes the swinger lifestyle, another couldn’t be more chaste if they tried, and the third wanders in the gray area between those extremes and struggles to find where they fit. Sex absolutely plays a part, but, as in tonight’s episode (which features a fundraiser for Deep Throat star Harry Reems), it’s shown more often as a component of married life - not the most important thing in the world, but not trivial, either.
The cast is, for the most part, spot-on in their roles. Molly Parker is the show’s standout as Susan Miller, the suburban housewife who is exploring new possibilities outside the confines of her home and her limited role within it. Lana Parrilla and Grant Show are intriguing as Trina and Tom Decker, the swinging couple from across the street, and their ability to show vulnerability while maintaining commitment to their lifestyle speaks to their talent as actors. Miriam Shor and Josh Hopkins, as Janet and Roger Thompson, have taken what could have been stiff, teetotalling characters and given them a depth that makes them oftentimes the most interesting characters to watch.
But all is not perfect. The weak link at present is Jack Davenport, whose portrayal of Bruce Miller suffers from his seeming inability to emote with pathos or use more than two facial expressions. As a result, Bruce tends to come off as either a whiny manchild or so laid back that one wonders if anything would get to him. Juxtaposed with the nuanced performances of his castmates, Davenport’s portrayal could use some guidance - or at least one scene where he has to really lose his lethargic cool.
As with any new show, there are kinks. The producers are so intent on proving authenticity to the time period that parts of the episodes feel like retro product placement. For instance, tonight’s episode featured the Millers’ son offering a friend a Yoo-Hoo, rather than a simple drink. If it is simple product placement, it’s sloppy, and if it’s not, it’s unnecessary.
There are quite a few distracting subplots: a romance between the Millers’ teenaged daughter and her teacher; a drug-addicted neighbor whose Foxes-era Jodi Foster-esque daughter befriends the Millers’ son; a stalking ex-boyfriend who only stalls the story’s forward motion. Promising, doomed recent shows like Journeyman and Carpoolers similarly suffered from trying to juggle too many subplots; it would be a shame if a similar fate happened here.
But overall Swingtown appears to be hitting its funky stride. Each episode has been better than the one before it, and the characters continue to develop naturally and interestingly. Mad Men it may not yet be, but it’s getting pretty good at doing its own thing.
The facts and lore about Aaron Eckhart’s tragic role in The Dark Knight - and probably the third Batman movie to come.
When The Dark Knight opens July 18, audiences finally get the opportunity to see an important figure in the Batman mythos that’s until now been long overdue but largely unseen. Two-Face, the hideously scarred criminal mastermind with more dramatic potential than almost any three other Batman villains combined, appears in his youthful idealism as Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent. Played by Aaron Eckhart - whose face is almost a caricature of handsome - the firebrand young mayoral candidate even seems a rival for the affections of Bruce Wayne’s once-and-again sweetheart Rachel Dawes.
10. (Possible spoilers start here.) In the comics’ continuity, Dent becomes hidesously disfigured with toxic acid while questioning crime boss Salvatore Maroni in court. Half his face and hand are ruined by the burns, and the ensuing psychic pain leave him obsessed with the duality of good and evil. In time, he uses a silver coin - one side perfect, the other scarred - to determine his actions.
9. In Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One, several authorities wonder whether Dent himself - muscular, passionate, undisciplined - might be the mysterious Batman. In truth, Dent collaborates and shares intelligence with the actual crimefighter.
8. Since his introduction in 1942, Two-Face has returned time and again, often redeemed of his evil impulses and with his face repaired. Inevitably (and owing to the cyclical nature of comics), he turns bad - and scarred - again. In 2006’s Face The Face storyline, a cured and repaired Dent is trained by Batman to defend Gotham City when he, Robin, and Nightwing take an extended leave of absence.
7. An early encounter between Two-Face and Dick Grayson (the first Robin) would leave Grayson emotionally scarred and put the Batman-Robin partnership in jeopardy. Having kidnapped Batman and a Gotham judge, Two-Face executed the judge while Grayson watched, then savagely beat the young hero. Batman subsequently insisted Grayson take some time off to recuperate and regroup.
6. Though considered too “dark” for the campy 1960s television series, Two-Face was a frequent adversary on the Batman animated cartoons of the 1990s. He also appears in 1995’s Batman Forever, though Tommy Lee Jones portrays the character simply as an ersatz Joker.
5. Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s Batman: The Long Halloween series, which heavily influenced Batman Begins, suggests either Dent or his wife Gilda may also be the serial killer Holiday. The phrase “I Believe in Harvey Dent,” prominently used in The Dark Knight, originated in the storyline.
4. The 1989 graphic novel Arkham Asylum shows psychiatrists attempting to cure Dent’s obsession with the coin by replacing it, first with dice and then a tarot deck. Their efforts leave him unable to make even the simplest decisions.
3. That same year Dent appears in Tim Burton’s blockbuster Batman, portrayed by Billy Dee Williams for some reason.
2. Dent once nursed an unrequited love for Gotham PD detective Renee Montoya, who would later become the crimefighter known as The Question. When the lesbian Montoya spurned his advances, Dent attempted to frame her for murder and outed her sexual identity.
1. Dent’s personality has become more complex as comics have grown more sophisticated. Originally simply a gimmick character reminiscent of Dick Tracy’s bizzare rogue’s gallery, in time various writers have deepened his pathos with, among other elements: multiple personality disorder, bipolar disorder, a history of childhood abuse, and obsessive compulsive disorder. The flipping of the coin to determine actions is also sometimes said to be the two sides of Dent’s personality sruggling with each other.
We’re moving our palatial offices today, so there’s no update. Well, partly that and we’re still trying to figure out how Wanted made fifty one million dollars in a benevolent universe. Seriously, fifty one million dollars for a Matrix derivative based on a second-tier Marvel comic? Chalk it up to America never growing tired of watching Angelina Jolie slink and smirk, we suppose. Oh, and weeks of relentless marketing to a demographic killing time between The Incredible Hulk and The Dark Knight.
In the meantime, we’d like to recommend you check out one of the other blogs we’ve become aquainted with over the past few months:
The Fail Blog: The chronicle of human failure, misery, and misadventure.
The Long Take: Our friend Anil Usumezbas’ intelligent, considered approach to film.
Noir of the Week: An atmospheric yet self-explanatory blog that’s been around for a while. Editor Steve-O is a standup guy.
We’ll be back Wednesday, we promise, just as soon as we unpack all these DVD’s and other less important stuff.
Five films to cool off the steamy mid-summer nights in the naked city.
Despite its shadowy milieu, film noir is the cinema of heat: the heat between a man and a woman, the friction between men on collision courses, the burning need for vengeance or justice or just getting a little distance from your circumstances. It’s the perfect kind of film to relax with during the summer, when nerves and patience already run short - preferably with a whirring ceiling fan overhead and a tall glass of something chilled.
We’re kind of used to Warner Brothers releasing their Film Noir Classic Collection box sets each July, but it looks like they’re not going through with that again this year. So, we’ve put together our own five-pack of classic and semi-classic films to get you through the night.
1. Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) This ain’t the storybook you had as a kid. When a hard-boiled detective with one too many brutality complaints accidentally kills a murder witness, he must frame an innocent man for the crime - even as he falls in love with the man’s daughter. One of several noirs and neo-noirs by writer-director Otto Preminger and starring Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney (the others include the classic Laura), the film is noir at its most primal, yet it still remains nuanced and memorable long after viewing thanks to deeply emotional scenes and compelling acting from every cast member. Though Mitchum and Bogart are most commonly considered noir’s reigning heavyweights, Andrews’ incredible reserve and depth of portrayal make him the thinking man’s noir anti-hero. DVD: Part of Fox’s “Fox Film Noir” library.
2. Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) Though many count 1955’s Atomic Age-themed Kiss Me Deadly as the last great noir of the classic period, Odds Against Tomorrow better deserves that title, looking ahead as it does to the Civil Rights Movement while retaining noir’s classic themes and motifs. Harry Belafonte, Ed Begley Sr. and film noir titan Robert Ryan conspire to rob a small town bank. But Ryan’s ex-con is a hardbitten racist, and the tension between him and Belafonte’s gambling addict simmers into a twist ending that M. Night Shyamalan only wishes he could concoct. Noir siren Gloria Grahame and Shelley Winters appear as women drawn into Ryan’s self-destructive orbit. DVD: Available from MGM.
3. Black Angel (1946) When a gadabout is falsely convicted for the murder of a blackmailing nightclub singer, his loyal wife (June Vincent) teams with the singer’s alcoholic ex-husband (the underrated Dan Duryea) to prove his innocence. Together they infiltrate a nightclub run by a powerful gangster (Peter Lorre), even as the ex-husband’s alcohol-racked memory begins to reveal the killer’s true identity. Haunting and memorable, especially for the lush cinematography and the fine performance by the all-but-forgotten Vincent. DVD: from Universal.
4. The Blue Dahlia (1946) Not to be confused with Brian De Palma’s 2006 flop The Black Dahlia, this glittering bit of noir reunites frequent co-stars Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake in Raymond Chandler’s original screenplay about a returning fighter pilot investigating the murder of his dissipated wife. Chandler’s script is reflective of his Philip Marlowe novels’ serpentine plots and crisp dialogue, while Ladd and Lake’s chemistry lights up the screen as usual. In real life, a bartender gave Hollywood starlet Elizabeth Short the nickname “The Black Dahlia” because the movie was playing at a theatre down the street. Short liked the name, keeping it until her gruesome murder the following year. DVD: Somehow, The Blue Dahlia is yet to come to DVD. Just the same, it’s still widely available on VHS.
5. Kiss of Death (1947) An imprisoned jewel thief (Victor Mature) testifies against his cohorts to get early release after his wife’s suicide leaves their children indigent. Once on the outside, he works undercover to help the District Attorney (Brian Donlevy) bring down psychopathic killer Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark). Basically, the film belongs to Widmark, who plays the well-named Udo with such wide-eyed glee that Mature’s straight-jawed line delivery is almost completely overshadowed. You probably won’t ever forget the scene where Udo throws the handicapped woman down the stairs, either. DVD: Also part of Fox’s “Fox Film Noir” library.
Screaming Blue Movie Reviews updates each Monday, Wedinesday, and Friday, with additional content frequently uploading at other times. The opinions expressed are our own, though we welcome your feedback and comments.
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Film, General | Tagged: 2009 movies, 300, Alan Moore, Billy Crudup, Comedian, comic book movies, comics, DC Comics, Dr. Manhattan, Edward Blake, graphic novels, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Nite Owl, Ozymandias, Rorsharch, Silk Spectre, The Dark Knight, Watchman, Watchman movie, Zak Snyder | 
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