The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)

THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX  (2008)  ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2

    D: Uli Edel

    Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Vokalek,

    Jan Josef Liefers, Nadja Uhl, Alexandra Maria Lara,

    Stipe Erceg, Sebastian Blomberg, Bruno Ganz

A narrative feature that meticulously recreates the activities of the Red Army Faction. or Baader Meinhof Gang, in the wave of terror that swept Germany in the '60s and '70s. What's striking, apart from its you-are-there realism, is that the film doesn't really take sides. Edel leaves that up to the viewer. The issues that inflame the terrorists are legitimate, but their tactics are literally murder. The government official supervising the manhunt to track them down knows they have to be stopped, but recognizes that to do that, it's important to understand not just what these people are doing, but why. Much of the movie was shot in the exact locations where the events took place, and the actors bear a striking resemblance to their real-life counterparts. When somebody geta clubbed or shot or a car bomb explodes, it doesn't look staged. It looks real. It's finally a movie about people so obsessed with the rightness of their cause that they can't - or won't - see the evil of their own behavior. And an eternal truth: The more zealous people are in their devotion to a political philosophy, the less likely they are to tolerate anybody else. 

Antlers (2021)

 

ANTLERS  (2021)  ¢ ¢ 1/2

    D: Scott Cooper

    Keri Russell, Jeremy T. Thomas, Jesse Plemons,

    Grahame Greene, Amy Madigan, Rory Cochrane

One lesson you might take away from watching this movie is don't set up your meth lab in an abandoned mine shaft. Or it might be don't go into that creepy old house with its death smells and weird, scary sounds all by yourself, and for God''s sake, don't go up those dark stairs and look to see what's behind that double-bolted door. Or maybe when you can tell something horrible is about to happen and ominous music is playing in the background, just fucking call the cops, okay? Or how about when Graham Greene warns you about messing with the old Native American spirits, you listen up and pay attention? Those are some of the things you could learn from a movie like "Antlers". Too bad nobody in the movie actually does. 

The Adventures of Hajji Baba (1954)

 

THE ADVENTURES OF HAJJI BABA  (1954)  ¢ ¢ ¢

    D: Don Weis

    John Derek, Elaine Stewart, Thomas Gomez,

    Amanda Blake, Rosemarie Bowe, Paul Picerni,

    Donald Randolph, Claude Akins, Percy Helton

An Arabian Nights tale about a handsome barber (John Derek) who rides out in search of adventure, and finds it when he encounters a missing princess. (There's also a valuable emerald, a devious dancing girl, a bunch of swordsmen on horseback and an army of warrior women.) I first saw this when I was seven, and some of the images, like the prisoners being hanged and left to die above the canyon, have stayed with me ever since. As old-style storybook escape, it still holds up pretty well, but I guess it doesn't hurt to be seven. Nat King Cole sings the title song, and Amanda Blake, who ran the saloon on "Gunsmoke" forever, plays the leader of the Amazons. 

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

 

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN  

    D: Charles Barton                                          (1948)  ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢

    Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney,

    Bela Lugosi, Glenn Strange, Lenore Aubert,

    Jane Randolph, Charles Bradstreet, Frank Ferguson

Abbott and Costello don't really meet Frankenstein in this, but they do cross paths with the Monster (Glenn Strange), Dracula (Bela Lugosi) and the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.). It's inspired silliness, Bud and Lou's best movie, and the last go-round in Universal's classic horror cycle. One notable slip-up: a shot in which Dracula's image clearly appears in a mirror. You'd think somebody at Universal would've picked up on that, even in an Abbott and Costello movie. 

The Spoilers (1942)

 

THE SPOILERS   (1942)  ¢ ¢ ¢

    D: Ray Enright

    Marlene Dietrich, Randolph Scott, John Wayne,

    Margaret Lindsay, Harry Carey, Richard Barthelmess,

    George Cleveland, Marietta Canty, William Farnum

Honest miners take on treacherous claim jumpers in turn-of-the-century Alaska, with Wayne and Scott duking it out in the climactic, saloon-wrecking brawl. (If you watch the fight closely, you can see that most of their punches are missing by a mile.) Wayne, who was involved with Dietrich offscreen while the movie was filming, would revisit the Klondike in "North To Alaska" (1960). The supporting cast includes silent stars Richard Barthelmess, Harry Carey and William Farnum, who played the lead in the original version of the story in 1914. 

Apartment Zero (1988)

 

APARTMENT ZERO  (1988)  ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2

    D: Martin Donovan

    Colin Firth, Hart Bochner, Dora Bryan, Liz Smith,

    James Telfer, Mirella D'Angelo, Francesca D'Aloja

Dr. Spogersi,

I just watched this. Yikes, what a dark movie. Makes me wonder whether I'd ever want to go to Buenos Aires. I was struck by how much Hart Bochner resembled Anthony Perkins. Even the way he was shot and lit sometimes, it was like looking at a hunkier Norman Bates. And where he ends up at the end, when you think about it, that's a page out of "Psycho", too. I also liked the way it kept circling back to the movie theater, and the great gallery of b&w head shots on the walls of Colin's apartment. Now I think I need to watch a comedy. Or maybe take a bath. Anyway, thanks for the link.

Nick

Desert Island Characters

 

What would movies be without a few supporting players?

Royal Dano

Grady Sutton

George Chandler

Strother Martin

Whit Bissell

Percy Helton

Oscar Homolka

Franklin Pangborn

Leo G. Carroll

Eric Blore