A Look Back At 'Psycho' (1960)

One of Alfred Hitchcock’s great cinematic masterpieces (and I would even argue his best) is 1960’s Psycho. I had previously placed it on my ’10 Movies to Watch in October’ list (which you can check out here: http://onlyinthemoviesblog.blogspot.com/2016/10/10-movies-to-watch-in-october.html) but I still felt like I should have given it a little more of a in-depth review.

 This is not only a great psychological horror film but a great film overall, with iconic moments, a great score, solid acting (particularly Anthony Perkins) and wall-to-wall suspense. It’s spawned a couple of sequels, a remake, and TV show. Much like Hitchcock urging theater owners not to let people to enter the theater late, because it would ruin the experience, I’ll give the setup and end it there just in case anyone reading this has not seen the movie.

The Film starts out in Phoenix, Arizona. During a hotel rendezvous while on her lunch hour, a secretary at a real estate office named Marion Crane (played by Janet Leigh) discusses with her boyfriend, Sam Loomis (played by John Gavin), why they can’t afford to get married because Sam is in pretty substantial debt. When Marion returns from lunch, a client comes by the office and drops off a $40,000 cash deposit for a property. Her boss asks her to deposit the money in the bank, and she asks him if she can take the rest of the afternoon off afterwards. But, she doesn’t go to the bank and instead decides to steal the money to give to Sam. So, Marion heads out of town and toward California where Sam lives. That evening, she pulls over on the side of the road and falls asleep, only to be awakened in the morning by a state trooper. He asks her a couple of questions and is suspicious about her nervous behavior but lets her to drive on anyway. Shaken by the run-in with the officer, Marion stops at a dealership and trades in her car for another and then continues on her way.

Later during her travels, it starts raining pretty heavily so she decides to stop for the night at the Bates Motel where she meets Norman Bates and the whole film take a sudden and violent turn.

Like I stated earlier, I think this is one of the all-time great films and it’s always especially good to watch around Halloween. So, if you’re one of the few who hasn’t seen it -or- if you just haven't watched it in a while, go check it out. You’ll be glad you did.

I give this film a 5 out of 5.

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...and for some more good reads check out this Book, Video game, and Comicbook blog:
Boredenthusiast.blogspot.com 

Today's Movie: Soylent Green (1973)

Released in 1973, Soylent Green is a sci-fi/thriller starring Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, and Edward G. Robinson. The film takes place in the year 2022; it’s a dystopian future where the world is suffering from pollution, year-round summer, depleting resources, and a whole slew of other problems. The movie is apparently based on the 1966 novel Make Room! Make Room!, but I’ve never read it so I won’t compare the two.

It’s established pretty early on in the film that the majority of the population is homeless, out of work, and because food is so scarce the common folk have to eat this food called ’Soylent Green’ which is apparently made from plankton. Only the rich elites can afford real fruit, vegetables, and meat.

When a wealthy businessman named William Simonson is murdered, New York City detective Frank Thorn (played by Heston), is sent in to investigate. Thorn checks out the crime scene, questions Simonson’s bodyguard and a woman named Shirl (Leigh Taylor-Young), he takes some of the luxury items like steak and bourbon and also a book titled ‘Soylent Oceanographic Survey Report’.

Later Thorn gives the book to his friend and police analyst Sol Roth (played by Edward G. Robinson)  to do some research. Roth soon discovers that Simonson and the state governor, Joseph Santini, were partners in a law firm, and that Simonson was also a member of the board of the Soylent Corporation. This only further leads Thorn to suspect that the murder wasn’t a burglary gone wrong, but rather an assassination. There are a few twists and turns but, it’s a pretty run-of-the-mill, police thriller until about the last 20 mins.

After further research, Roth decides to go to a clinic for an assisted suicide because he can’t live with the knowledge of his findings. Thorn rushes to stop him, but arrives too late. However, just before dying, Roth tells Thorn to expose the truth. So, Thorn hides aboard a garbage truck headed to a body disposal center, where he sees human corpses are being converted into Soylent Green. This eventually leads to the iconic final line when Heston yells out "Soylent Green is people!”

Overall, it’s decent and there are some interesting ideas in the film, but I wouldn’t call it a ‘must-see’ film. I give this one a 2.5 out of 5.

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Ranking the “Rocky” Movies

Ranking the “Rocky” Movies

I put up a poll about a week ago asking which film franchise I should rank, and this is what won the poll overwhelmingly. So, here is my personal ranking of the 7 films thus far to feature Sylvester Stallone as the iconic character Rocky Balboa. Like my list ranking all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films (which you can check out here: http://onlyinthemoviesblog.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-marvel-cinematic-universe.html) this list is a worst-to-first ranking based on a variety of factors; story, initial viewing and rewatchability and, above all, how much I personally enjoyed one film over another.

#7 Rocky V -1990

There was no internal debate here for the #7 spot, it wasn't even close. This is the only one I have a hard time sitting through. The movie isn’t any fun, Rocky’s son Robert (played by Sylvester Stallone’s real-life son Sage Stallone) is awful, and the plot just doesn’t work for me.

#6 Rocky Balboa -2006

I get what they were going for with this one, but it wasn’t as enjoyable as it could’ve been. It shot passed being just a dramatic look at where the 'Italian Stallion' is at this point in his life and went straight to depressing. Unlike Rocky V, I don't hate this one, it's just not one of my favorites.

#5 Rocky III -1982

 I have mixed feelings about it this one. There are a few game-changer moments for the franchise in this film; most notably Mickey's death, and Rocky and Apollo Creed putting their rivalry aside because Rocky has to learn to fight with the "Eye of the Tiger" in order to beat Clubber Lang (played by Mr. T). It's not the strongest movie, but there's a lot to like about it.

#4 Rocky IV -1985

Interestingly enough, the #4 film in the franchise came in at #4 in my rankings. Is this the 4^th best written or acted film? Nope. But it is a ridiculous bag of fun. They went balls to the wall with this one: it’s got a great training montage, some cheesy lines, they apologetically play up the strained relations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, and it’s one of the most rewatchable films of the franchise.

#3 Rocky II -1979

The first sequel to the masterpiece that is 1976’s ‘Rocky’ is a satisfying continuation. A rematch between Rocky and Apollo would’ve been enough reason to watch the movie, but it's also a solid development of Rocky’s relationships with the other characters from the previous film which places this one pretty high on my list.

#2 Creed -2015

 

This film really surprised my when I saw it in the theater last year. Sylvester Stallone returns as Rocky Balboa and Michael B. Jordan joins the franchise as Adonis Creed (son of Apollo Creed). Both of these actors knock it out of the park it in this film, and it hit all the beats I was hoping it would. It’s not only one of my favorite films in this series, but also one of my favorite films to come out in the last several years.

#1 Rocky -1976

It’s one of the most iconic films in the history of American cinema. The others in the franchise have their memorable moments, but I don't think any of the other films are quite as good as the original. It's a great sports movie, it's a great drama, it won 'Best Picture', it's become the definitive underdog story... It's going to take a damn good movie to eventually knock this one out of the #1 spot.

 

 Have a suggestion for a review, a ranking, or a '10 Movies Everyone Should See' list?

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A Look Back At “The Return of the Pink Panther” (1975)

This one is actually the fourth film in the Pink Panther series and it’s one of my personal favorites. Peter Sellers reprises the role of the bumbling, Inspector Clouseau in this 1975 comedy after having not been in the previous film, 1968’s Inspector Clouseau.

 

As for the plot, the film starts off simple enough, with a mysterious thief stealing the famous Pink Panther diamond. With the diamond now missing, Inspector Clouseau (Sellers) is called in because he had been the one who recovered the diamond the last time it was stolen. When he arrives at the museum, Clouseau examines the crime scene (and destroys several antiquities) before reaching the conclusion that the thief must be none other than Sir Charles Lytton a.k.a. “The Phantom” (played by Christopher Plummer).  However, Sir Charles reads about the theft in the newspaper and realizes that he has been framed. So, Clouseau is out to catch “The Phantom” and Sir Charles is trying to find the real thief in order to clear his name. 

Right from the get-go, this film is a fun ride. It offers up a ton of laughs, driven by some funny writing and a terrific performance by Peter Sellers. 

If you’ve never seen it, then I definitely recommend checking it out.

I give it a 4.5 out of 5.

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