Beat the Devil

Beat the Devil is a 1953 adventure-comedy directed by John Huston. The film stars Humphrey Bogart, who had previously starred in a number of notable Huston films like 1941's The Maltese Falcon, 1948's The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and 1951's The African Queen. Alongside Bogart is a pretty solid cast of  Jennifer Jones and Gina Lollobrigida, Robert Morley, Peter Lorre and Bernard Lee. 

The plot involves a group of questionable characters who are all headed to Africa and looking to acquire some valuable, uranium-rich land. Along the way thier boat sinks and, upon reaching shore, they are taken captive suspected of being spies. Story-wise it's nothing special for a movie like this, with many of the characters trying to smooth-talk their way out of situations and willing to doublecross each other if it means advancing their own self-interest. Where the film shines is with the cast, and the bander between the characters is really the main selling point here. Overall, It's not a great movie but, it's fun and good for a couple of laughs.

I give it a 2.5 out of 5.

Today's Movie: Moon

Released in 2009 and directed by Duncan Jones, Moon is easily one of my all-time favorite sci-fi films.

In the movie Sam Bell (played by Sam Rockwell) works alone at a mining station on the far side of the moon, with only the station's artificial intelligence system named GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey) to keep him company. The station exists as a way to mine a fuel source known as helium-3 from the moon's soil by Lunar Industries. Sam is nearing the end of his three-year contract with Lunar and is all set to return home to his wife and daughter back on Earth. One day when making a routine visit to one of the remote helium-3 harvesters, Sam becomes distracted and crashes his rover. He wakes up in the stations infirmary unclear as to how he got there. Curious to find some answers, Sam eventually decides to head back to the crash site. When he opens up the rover and climbs inside, he finds that there is someone inside... himself!

Without giving away the other twists and turns of the plot, I'll just say this; I think Moon is a fantastic movie and I and even placed it on my Top 100 Favorite Films list. Sam Rockwell, who I think is a phenomenal actor, turns in one of the best performances of his career in this one. It's also a very well written, well directed, and engaging film. I'm a bit surprised that I never hear anyone talk about it, as it currently holds a score of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.9/10 on the IMDb. If you've never seen Moon, I highly recommend checking it out. 

5 out of 5.

The Green Mile

It may be hard to believe but, the film adaptation of Stephen King's The Green Mile is fast approaching it's 20th anniversary. The film was released in December of 1999. It was a both a hit at the box-office and with critics, garnering a slew of various award nominations and winning a few along the way. Directed by Frank Darabont (who had just directed a big-screen version of  another King story, The Shawshank Redemption, a few years earlier) The Green Mile definitely a movie worth checking out if you've never seen it -or- if you're like me and just haven't rewatched it in a decade or so.

Set primarily in Louisiana in 1935, the film focuses on a prison cell block where death row inmates are kept. Named the 'Green Mile' because of the green colored floors, we're quickly introduced to the block's new inmate John Coffey (played by the late Michael Clarke Duncan). Although Coffey is an intimidatingly large man, he doesn't seem to have the personality or demeanor of a murderer. Coffey soon starts to endear himself to the guards, especially Paul (played by Tom Hanks) and they eventually discover that he has supernatural healing abilities. There are a couple small surprises along the way but overall I think it's a pretty straightforward story. The strength of this film, beyond just being an interesting story, is in the cast and how it's paced. The movie is a little over three hours long and sure, maybe a minute or two could've been shaved off. However, I think it mostly warrants that runtime and at no point do I feel like the movie drags scenes out unnecessarily. With regards to the cast, having a group consisting of actors like Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, Sam Rockwell, James Cromwell, David Morse, Michael Jeter, and Doug Hutchison really does help to elevate the material.

It's a good movie. I recommend it. 4 out of 5.

Today's Movie: J. Edgar

Released in 2011 J. Edgar is a Clint Eastwood directed film about the career of former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. The film stars a pretty good cast consisting of actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Watts, Judi Dench, and Armie Hammer. It did OK at the box-office and did garner a few award nominations (mostly for DiCaprio's performance). However, it wasn't a huge hit and it received mixed reviews. As of this post, it holds a 43% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.5/10 on the IMDb.

A common complaint I hear levied against this movie is that it's too slow and, as a result, kind of boring. Now, I think the film is far from perfect but, it does have a few key elements that work for me and I think make it a perfectly enjoyable movie. First off, Leonardo DiCaprio's performance is really good. The film alternates between an older Hoover and his younger self, as he recounts the stories of his long career. I think that in both instances, as the young and old Hoover, DiCaprio does a solid job. Additionally, I think that both Hoover and the early years of the FBI are interesting topics. 

To be fair, the movie isn't all good. For example; some of the old man make-up (particularly that applied to Armie Hammer) is unconvincing and, as stated earlier, the film is a bit slow. It doesn't drag so much that it becomes frustrating but, there are some scenes that probably could've been trimmed down, reworked, or cut out completely. One thing that does bug me though is the drab color palette. I'm fine with some color correction to make a film and characters feel muted and a little cold, but why so many directors go for this 'concrete gray' look I'll never understand.

Overall, I like this one. Is it my favorite DiCaprio performance? No. Is it my favorite film directed by Clint Eastwood? No. And honestly, if you're interested in checking out a film about the early history of the FBI then I'd recommend  1959's The FBI Story starring James Stewart over this one. That being said, I think this is a solid movie and I give it a 3.5 out of 5.

The Devil's in the Details

The Devil's in the Details is a crime-thriller about an ex-soldier who is kidnapped by a drug cartel as part of an elaborate plan to rob another cartel. This soldier, Thomas (played by Joel Mathews) is chosen because his sister is a cop, his father is a judge, and his brother is a border patrol agent. So Thomas has connections to all the right people to orchestrate this heist.

It's an interesting premise but, overall, this movie isn't very good. Ray Liotta who plays an ex-Navy Seal and Thomas' psychiatrist does a fine job in the film but, unfortunately he's only playing a supporting role. The rest of the cast is a mixed-bag, with Joel Mathews probably being the weakest of the bunch. The film itself is a bit of a jumbled mess; poorly directed, with a halfhearted attempt at a twist, and an unsatisfying ending. However, despite it's shortcomings, I did find the movie engaging enough that I watched it all the way through without ever reaching for the remote to turn it off. 

I don't recommend The Devil's in the Detail's, unless you're like me and will just watch anything with Ray Liotta in it.

I give this one a 1.5 out of 5.

The Power of Few

Released in 2013 The Power of Few was both written and directed by Leone Marucci. As far as I know this is the only film Marucci has made. Hopefully it stays that way, because this movie is not good. 

The movie is centered around a series of events (a double murder followed immediately by a car crash) and the perspectives of all of those who were involved in or witnessed it. This is a story-telling technique that has been used in a number of films, to varying degrees of success, but in this one it just comes off as pretentious. The intersecting parties/storylines are that of a teenage boy who is planning on robbing a store to get some medicine he needs for his baby brother. A guy who is on the run from two gang members because he's going to testify in court. Two homeless guys, one of which used to be a local news anchor. A courier. A shopkeeper who wants to be an actor. Two special agents trying to locate a mysterious package. And finally a spy who has stolen the Shroud of Turin from the Vatican.

Despite the fairly interesting gimmick of having all these people cross paths Pulp Fiction-style, and featuring a halfway decent cast, I couldn't get into this movie. I don’t give many films a zero rating, but I struggled to find anything about this one that I liked and I almost bailed on it several times. The acting is hit-and-miss, it's over edited, and it feels so much longer than it's actual runtime. Overall, at no point did I find this films plot compelling and I don't recommend wasting your time watching it.

0 out of 5.

Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror

Well, it's finally Halloween and, like so many other people this time of year, I've been on a bit of a horror movie kick the last two weeks or so. Rather than revisit some of the horror classics like Psycho, Frankenstein, Halloween, or The Shining I've been taking a look at some lesser-known titles. Movies like Dog Soldiers, WolfCop, American Poltergeist, Exorcism of the Dead and The Tooth Fairy. In keeping with that trend, today's film is Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror. This is an anthology movie similar to Creepshow or Tales from the Crypt, and it consists of three stories. Our narrator and connecting thread between the different tales of horror is the Hound of Hell (played by Snoop Dogg).

The first of these three stories is titled 'Crossed Out'. A woman named Posie (played by Daniella Alonso) is given a magical tattoo on her arm by a stange and mysterious man played by Danny Trejo. This tattoo gives the Posie the ability to kill anyone simply by spray painting a red 'X' over any tag they have left on a building. She doesn't have to kill anyone, she chooses to. And with her choice to make the hood even more violent than it already was, Posie has to pay the ultimate price.

Next up is 'The Scumlord'. Tex and his girlfriend Tiffany (played by Anson Mount and Brande Roderick) are offered the opportunity to receive a hefty inheritance after Tex's father dies. There is a catch though; They have to move to the hood and live with four of the father's old Vietnam war buddies for one year. Tex in particular treats the vets like crap and eventually pushes them to their breaking point, resulting in the death of both Tex and Tiffany.

And finally the last of the three is 'Rapsody Askew'. This one tells the tale of a rapper known as SOD (played by Pooch Hall) who has seen a meteoric rise to fame. Much of this success can be attributed to SOD's friend Quan (played by Aries Spears), who always stuck by his side even though SOD is a pretty terrible person. One night after a big awards show, a mysterious woman enters SOD's hotel room telling him that she knows all about his misdeeds. Soon after, a zombie version of Quan appears and reveals that he now knows that SOD had him killed. The zombified Quan then kills the hitman and disappears, thus framing SOD for murder.

Overall, I think this is a pretty fun movie. It's obviously no cinematic masterpiece but has a pretty decent cast, it's well paced, and the three tales are all distinct and entertaining. Of the three, I think 'Crossed Out' was probably the one I enjoyed the most. I'm not going to go as far as saying that this should be a 'must-watch' every Halloween but, if you come across it give it a try.

 I give this one a 2.5 out of 5