Dumb and Dumber To & Penguins of Madagascar (2014)

Okay, slightly off-topic, but I figured I'd slip these in here since I took them in with my brother as a double-feature.


Dumb and Dumber To

** out of 5

It's nice to have the old morons back, and a lot of the jokes are hilarious, but a lot of this film seems like it's trying too hard, to the point of being embarrassing, as some of the gags go too far for too and get too gross, resulting in poor audience response.  In addition, to the gross-out humor that goes too far, there is something offputting about watching two grown men behave and densely as these characters do;  in the earlier film, the actors were young enough to accept it as a couple of guys too dumb to know better, but here it vaguely smacks of laughing at mentally retarded people.

Penguins of Madagascar

**** out of 5

The best part of the madagascar movies, these penguin heroes prove that they can manage a movie of their own.  This film thankfully keeps the ugly humans that kept showing up in those films in favor of more appealingly designed animals, including a rival team of world-saving polar animals, and a rubber-faced octopus villain.  The backstory of this penguin team is fleshed out in good humorous fashion, while giving us more reason to root for this team (as if we needed it), and setting up the plot that propels this fun film.

Mr. Hulot's Holiday (1953)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046487/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

**** out of 5

Well, film noir and Noirvember is behind us now, and the next month will focus on silent comedy and holiday films.  This film is only a sort-of in either category.   It has dialogue, but any speaking serves mostly as sound effects to underscore the visuals of this gag-filled comic masterpiece.  And the holiday is not Christmas, but a summer vacation of the sort Americans wish they could enjoy like the French do.

The first time I watched this, I didn't really get it.  It was slow, with very little of the laugh-out-loud slapstick-style comedy I was familiar with.  Comedy, yes, but this is not the hilariously manic-paced comedy of the Marx brothers or the wonderful eye-jabbing, face-slapping absurdity of the Stooges.  The humor of Tati is far more subtle, and requires patience and attentive observation.  Even then, the laugh-out-loud moments are few;  this film's humor is the sort that amuses and may elicit a closed-mouth laugh every several minutes, but it is an amusement that is thoroughly satisfying and universally appealing.

Hollow Triumph (1948)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040444/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1


*** out of 5

"It's a bitter little world full of sad surprises"

This movie has also gone by the title "The Scar," which might qualify as a spoiler.  One of the key plot twists involves a scar, which is the distinguishing feature between criminal Paul Henreid and his doppleganger, psychiatrist Paul Henreid.  But this film thankfully offers much more as a noir than a simple mistake involving left-cheek/right-cheek mix-ups.  It manages to make that mistake symbolic of the fate that overtakes all wrong-doers in the dark world of noir.

Wise Guys (1986)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092226/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1


*** out of 5

There's a great tradition of gangster comedies, from Brother Orchid and A Slight Case of Murder to My Cousin Vinny and Analyze This, but one that has been lost in the shuffle is this forgotten title from the mid-80's, with Danny DeVito and Joe Piscopo.  It is directed by a guy who's probably much better known for his serious crime films like Scarface, Carlito's Way, and The Untouchables-- Brian DePalma.  There's a lot that is inherently funny about the mafia to begin with.  Gangster movies always seem like they're just about to burst into comedy at any moment, even when they're at their grimmest "Is this the end of Rico" and "I ain't so tough" moments.  Here, DePalma bursts those seems wide open and pokes fun at the absurdity of The Family, even while he maintains some of the somber, deathly-seriousness of the threat they pose to those who get in their way.  And with Devito and Piscopo as his principle funnymen, this movie manages to never run out of funny or fun, and it ends with a real bang.

Fallen Angel(1945)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037691/?ref_=fn_al_tt_8



**** out of 5

"Even when i was a kid I was always beaten up for something I didn't do."

Without having seen the film, this sounds like a typical title given to a noir film. But once you've watched it, the aptness of the title in its many shades of meaning will be striking.  not only does it describe the moral state of both the lead female roles, one a church organist who falls for a cheap chiseler, the other a lower class gal who knows the game and how to play it, it also describes a central murder- when one of those women is killed- an angel who is literally fallen.

And the film itself is an unforgettable, first-rate classic noir, with some of the best noir pedigree in the genre: Otto Preminger directing, with outstanding performances by  Dana Andrews, Alice Faye, Charles Bickford and Linda Darnell in the lead roles,and supporting performances by familiar faces like Bruce Cabot, John Carradine, Anne Revere and Percy Kilbride (a surprising performance that's miles from his Ma and Pa Kettle comedic bread-and-butter roles).  The script is one of the best, with dialogue that goes beyond the one-liner cracks that most lesser noirs settled for; here, the dialogue's bitter wit builds one line upon the next in a way that progresses much more naturally, like real conversation, but is still written in a clever and entertaining manner.

Bunco Squad (1950)

*** out of 5

This short, quick-paced film has great momentum, but contains many elements that were not made the most of- including the under-used Dante, a real-life magician who plays essentially himself, as a retired magician dedicated to debunking spiritualists as cons, much in the mold of the more well-know Harry Houdini. Character actress Elizabeth Risdon also appeara, in a more serious part here than she usually played, as an elderly woman being conned out of her money by a circle of fake palm readers and spiritualists.

I recently got to see an original poster for this film at an exhibition put on by Susqehanna University graphic design professor Mark Fertig, who runs the blog wheredangerlives.blogspot.com and recently published the terrific book Film Noir 101: Film Noir posters from the 1940's to 1950's.     Noir expert Eddie Muller was there to give an illuminating talk, and when we arrived upon this poster, mentioned an effort underway to restore the film.  While it's not exactly a forgotten gem, it's definitely a fun way to pass 67 minutes.  If it only was half as awesome as its poster, it'd be a definite classic of the genre.

One Girl's Confession (1953)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046143/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1



*** out of 5

"I know, 'he's different.' They're all the same, they just have different faces so you can tell 'em apart."

Cleo Moore in a Hugo Haas noir.  That match-up could describe about a half-dozen films from 1952's Strange Fascination through 1957's Hit and Run, after which she left acting and married a real estate tycoon.

This one is full of a lot of uniquely colorful environments and characters, and manages to maintain a fair amount of tension, along with its loads of noir atmosphere.