Current Events > zithers' weekly movie roundup

(+) Yeah! (+)

hello CE. here are stray thoughts on some films that i, the arbiter of taste in all things cinema, saw this week.

black legion (1937, archie mayo)
humphrey bogart pre-stardom plays a regular guy factory worker... but then he is passed over for a promotion by a polish immigrant. he joins a hate group called the black legion (a very obvious stand-in for the kkk - they even run around wearing hoods and setting shit on fire) and loses control of his life. its a powerful story that is (cliche incoming) sadly still relevant today. there's quite a bit of grating moralizing in this, so i wish it had been made a few years earlier, before the hays code had come into effect. it could have a little more lurid and gritty like some other films i'm gonna be talking about. mayo was a very workman-like director who got the job done but it would have been nice to see a bit more panache. highlight of the film is probably when bogart has to take his vows to the legion and swears that he understands the devil will roast his heart over the fires of hell if he ever betrays america. fun! comes with a light recommendation and hey its on hbo max right now!

blonde crazy (1931, roy del ruth)
after hankering for a pre-code after black legion i decided to throw this on. james cagney is a broke bellhop who meets broke cleaning lady joan blondell and they became con artists together, traveling around swanky hotels in various cities to find marks. cagney and blondell have pretty electric chemistry (see also: footlight parade) which carries the film, as it's not exactly the most plot-heavy movie. there's a lot of innuendo which is fun and watching cons succeed or fail is basically inherently dramatic, right? as usual with pre-code films about economic hardships, despite it being a generally breezy movie, it gets pretty upsetting! which i enjoy, to be clear. comes with a light recommendation and can be rented digitally just about anywhere.

point blank (1967, john boorman)
lee marvin plays a mobster who is shot in the back by his partner during a heist and gets his revenge. this was boorman's second feature and marvin had total creative control on the film but deferred everything to the director. he was young and had come over from england and was apparently influenced by lots of european films of the time because there is a whole lot of sense-memory stuff and elliptical editing going on this, which i wasn't really expecting. also a lot funnier that i expected. marvin is terrific, he kicks a lot of ass in it, you get to see angie dickinson's boobs, there's great location shooting in SF/LA, and so on and so forth. highly recommended. rentable on all digital platforms.

i am a fugitive from a chain gang (mervyn leroy, 1932)
another pre-code, woo. had seen this one before, probably ten years ago. a man returns from WW1 and leaves his home town to make a life for himself. after constant failure he gets roped into a robbery and is convicted to ten years of hard labor. and you can probably guess what happens next based on the title. this is what i was hoping black legion would be more like, just down and dirty and depressing. it begins a bit creakily but once he winds up on the gang it really improves. and it ends with an incredibly hard-hitting, visceral moment. it gave me chills even though i knew it was coming. HIGHLY recommended. rentable on all digital platforms.

tune in next week when i'll review idk yet.

Next week review Ant-Man, Shazam 2 and Dungeons and Dragons

MabusIncarnate posted...

Next week review Ant-Man, Shazam 2 and Dungeons and Dragons

honestly i might stream d&d when it hits. same directors made game night. saw it get compared to some past swashbuckling blockbuster type deals like the mummy, pirates of the caribbean, national treasure, and whatnot. that sounds kinda fun.

not fun enough to see in the theater tho.

these movies are too old

are they actually old if you havent seen them

btw @blue_inigo

Zithers posted...

here are stray thoughts on some films that i, the arbiter of taste in all things cinema

Have you thought about selling your bottled farts? Or do you just huff them all yourself?

MrKapowski posted...

Have you thought about selling your bottled farts? Or do you just huff them all yourself?

what did you think of the reviews pal

Zithers posted...

what did you think of the reviews pal

I stopped reading at my previous quote

MrKapowski posted...

I stopped reading at my previous quote

i apologize for offending you and hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. and i hope you enrich your life by viewing some of these movies. take care.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


thanks. latter two are both 8+/10 i think if you enjoy arbitrary numerical ratings. do the $4 rental bro. theyre both 92 minutes i think. which is longer than the first two movies :O

Zithers posted...

blonde crazy (1931, roy del ruth)
after hankering for a pre-code after black legion i decided to throw this on. james cagney is a broke bellhop who meets broke cleaning lady joan blondell and they became con artists together, traveling around swanky hotels in various cities to find marks. cagney and blondell have pretty electric chemistry (see also: footlight parade) which carries the film, as it's not exactly the most plot-heavy movie. there's a lot of innuendo which is fun and watching cons succeed or fail is basically inherently dramatic, right? as usual with pre-code films about economic hardships, despite it being a generally breezy movie, it gets pretty upsetting! which i enjoy, to be clear. comes with a light recommendation and can be rented digitally just about anywhere.

I recently watched Trouble in Paradise; this seems quite similar. how do you think they compare?

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

You should watch an old movie starring Humphrey Bogart. He's a badass @dolomedes

averagejoel posted...

I recently watched Trouble in Paradise; this seems quite similar. how do you think they compare?

trouble in paradise is way better. i like roy del ruth but he doesn't really compare to ernst lubitsch, who is one of the GOATs.

i would save roy del ruth for when you've become fully pre-code pilled and need to start going deeper.

primetime bump

I'm thinking about watching All Quiet on the Western Front

Should I watch the old ass original or the new one on Netflix?

Zithers posted...

honestly i might stream d&d when it hits. same directors made game night.

Damn, didn't know John Francis Daley was the director for the D&D movie. Even more reason to see it. Still though I'll wait until it is on streaming.

Accolon posted...

I'm thinking about watching All Quiet on the Western Front

Should I watch the old ass original or the new one on Netflix?

new one is terrible. original is good.

bump

watch the old movies ce

Zithers posted...

i apologize for offending you and hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. and i hope you enrich your life by viewing some of these movies. take care.

Not offended, just don't care about anything you have to say, especially in regards to movies

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


why would he click on the topic if he doesnt care about what i think about movies wtf!!

I mean, I read the first bit and decided the rest wasn't worth bothering.

This isn't difficult.

Chain Gang is fantastic. Haven't seen the others.

Phantom_Nook posted...

Chain Gang is fantastic. Haven't seen the others.

yeah im glad chain gang held up. one of the more haunting endings i can remember seeing. and it shows how evil cops and capitalism are which is always cool

MrKapowski posted...

I mean, I read the first bit and decided the rest wasn't worth bothering.

This isn't difficult.

maybe if you read my reviews you would realize how smart i am wrt cinema. ever think about that?? huh???

Why isn't Chain Gang streaming anywhere

Zithers posted...

are they actually old if you havent seen them

Yes!

Why can't you just review the movies without the arrogant dickishness? I can't help but think that you'd attract better responses if you didn't pretend your movie opinions made you hot shit.

Heartomaton posted...

Why can't you just review the movies without the arrogant dickishness? I can't help but think that you'd attract better responses if you didn't pretend your movie opinions made you hot shit.

it was like five words. why are you so annoyed by that. there's way more words in the OP that are slightly less annoying if you bothered to read them. also if someone is going to pretend to be annoyed by that i will lean into it and just annoy them more =)

Blue_Inigo posted...

Why isn't Chain Gang streaming anywhere

gotta get the turner classic movies dude

WBC_Injury posted...

Yes!

wrong

Zithers posted...

it was like five words. why are you so annoyed by that. there's way more words in the OP that are slightly less annoying if you bothered to read them. also if someone is going to pretend to be annoyed by that i will lean into it and just annoy them more =)

I'm not, I was asking a question. But it's been in multiple topics, as well as more than one post in this one, hence the asking in the first place.

Heartomaton posted...

I'm not, I was asking a question. But it's been in multiple topics, as well as more than one post in this one, hence the asking in the first place.

you have to establish a strong brand and unique postcraft dude

You really don't. That's superfluous, and even if it wasn't, there are plenty of other options besides arrogance. I'm asking why you chose it.

Heartomaton posted...

You really don't. That's superfluous, and even if it wasn't, there are plenty of other options besides arrogance. I'm asking why you chose it.

you do. otherwise you are a faceless poster who people don't know or care about.

and some people just deserve to be condescended to, like everyone who marked me and got me warned for saying that super mario bros is a movie for children.

Zithers posted...

you do. otherwise you are a faceless poster who people don't know or care about.

That isn't true, because there are plenty of posters who are known for just being who they are.

and some people just deserve to be condescended to, like everyone who marked me and got me warned for saying that super mario bros is a movie for children.

Why do they deserve condescension, because they disagreed with you, or because they marked you? If it's the former, what makes you think that? And if it's the latter, why aren't you doing targeted condescension directly to them instead of just being arrogant in general?

Heartomaton posted...

That isn't true, because there are plenty of posters who are known for just being who they are.

sounds like they forged a strong identity/brand

Why do they deserve condescension, because they disagreed with you, or because they marked you? If it's the former, what makes you think that? And if it's the latter, why aren't you doing targeted condescension directly to them instead of just being arrogant in general?

going with both. also did you read the reviews or watch the movies or want to see them after reading the reviews bc youre creating an identity as someone who throws threads off-topic which i do not appreciate so plz back out of my topic thanks

Zithers posted...

sounds like they forged a strong identity/brand

Yes, but they did it by acting as they naturally do, not by nonsensically acting like their subjective opinions somehow put them in a position to talk down to people. That's the point I'm making.

going with both.

Why? Like everyone else, you aren't infallible. People are allowed to disagree with you, and it doesn't put them below you to do so.

And as for the marking, they might not have even all been doing it for the same reason. Some might have done it purely because they disagreed with you, sure, but others might have done it because they took issue with your posturing. In that case, wouldn't they be justified in doing that?

also did you read the reviews or watch the movies or want to see them after reading the reviews bc youre creating an identity as someone who throws threads off-topic which i do not appreciate so plz back out of my topic thanks

I skimmed them, but none of them grabbed me as films I'd like to see, so I didn't commit.

And it's not really a fair assertion to claim I'm making an identity for topic derailment, because it only applies to your individual perception. I'm not sure if it's a widely held one among the other posters here, because I haven't really asked, but you can't really speak for anyone but yourself anyway.

Besides, it takes at least two to derail a topic, so you're just as guilty as I am in that regard.

not reading any of that

thinking about which movies i'm gonna see this week. having some rough deadlines at work so doubtful im hitting 4 again oh well

gonna diversify with time periods a bit probably

I mean, if your faux-arrogant persona - er, sorry, "brand" - can handle letting me have the last word, then I suppose there wouldn't really be a point in you reading it.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


what does it smell like

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


There's nothing difficult about laughing at and pointing out TCs shitty gimmick

Zithers posted...

maybe if you read my reviews you would realize how smart i am wrt cinema. ever think about that?? huh???

But I already know I don't give a shit what you think about "cinema", and reading your opinions isn't likely to change my mind lol

Zithers posted...

you do. otherwise you are a faceless poster who people don't know or care about.

Congratulations, you've convinced a board full of morons that you're a pretentious jackass.

DrizztLink posted...

Congratulations, you've convinced a board full of morons that you're a pretentious jackass.

this goes for all online spaces. can't just be an npc dude.

MrKapowski posted...

But I already know I don't give a shit what you think about "cinema", and reading your opinions isn't likely to change my mind lol

then why are you in here you weirdo

leave me alone to enjoy my movies

Smh CE hating on films

Zithers posted...

then why are you in here you weirdo

leave me alone to enjoy my movies

No need to flame

I'll leave you alone when you stop gatekeeping

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


Did TC give you a fart jar to say this?

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/8/0/AAFOjXAAEayI.jpg