Category Archives: 7 Star Movies

Mars Attacks! Review

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It’s time for a pretty crazy film that has a lot of fun with itself and the premise. It’s fairly long and gets to really explore a lot of the dynamics of what would happen in a possible alien invasion. While the whole thing is satire, I actually do think a lot of things could play out the way they do in this film. It may lose a little steam by the end as most of the fun parts are in the build up but this is definitely a title that I could recommend.

The film starts by introducing us to a massive amount of characters. You’ve got the president, the army, the advisors, TV reporters, a guy going off to the military, an old lady, people asking for peace, corrupt casino owners, etc. They have so many different plots going on and that’s the fun of it. We find out that aliens from Mars are about to land and so everyone is preparing. Some are nervous, some are thrilled, and the President just wants a good photo op for his ratings. That may seem absurd, but I can picture it. The army of course wants to blast the aliens away but they’re not getting support on that. Unfortunately these aliens are out for blood!

This may seem a bit odd but a lot of times I tend to enjoy building up to a situation even more than the actual payoff. There’s just something really fun about seeing the characters preparing for something and a good movie can really get you right to the absolute peak of intrigue. You just have to see what happens and so the initial fighting and everything is amazing. When I say the film starts to recede by the end, it’s natural to an extent. How can you really top this? The opening of the film can be as comedic and crazy as possible but by the very end it has to start getting a little serious. So the movie is at its best when it is just making fun of everyone. I had a really good time with all of this. I thought it was all good natured fun.

Basically everyone is looking after their own self interests and that seems about right. Others just aren’t smart enough to see any of the big dangers here. When the Martians show up and start blasting everyone, you’re actually happy about it. Humanity just seems so lost in the woods and out of their depths that they absolutely had to be kicked down a notch. They had gotten so complacent in this era of peace that nobody was united or anything. It was really not what you would have expected from the main characters of the universe if it had even just been a few hundred years ago.

I think one of the funnier gags is how the aliens rick them twice though. After the first mass murder event, they actually get the humans to show up and get decimated for a second time. Like are you kidding me? That’s absolutely crazy. They just played on the egos once more and pulled out the W. Like I said, they outplayed us at every corner. Then the final trick was the most embarrassing as they pretended to be a super model to gain access to the president. It was not a very realistic cover up to be honest but I suppose that’s the point. The humans had completely lost their way.

The special effects for the film are actually pretty good. I liked all of the lasers everywhere and the Martians looked funny. This may not have been played very seriously as a whole but the sets and everything could hold their own with an actual disaster film. The writing is also good as a lot of the scenes are genuinely witty so the movie gets full marks there. While the humans were intentionally unlikable, I thought it was done in a way that was legitimately funny so that’s also a big thumbs up.

President James is my favorite character personally. He is just so full of himself and has that loud confidence that I like to see. He’s constantly condescending and really just wants people to say something that he agrees with. It would be real interesting to have someone like him in the White House, that’s for sure. The president’s advisor is a close second though. He just keeps on smoking even as everyone is being blown up. The guy really thinks that it was all a big misunderstanding all the way up to the end. He had some of the best comedic moments because the timing of each scene was absolutely impeccable.

Not every subplot is going to be equally funny of course. The rich lady with her dog was a bit on the weaker side. Basically she’s super ditzy but there’s not a whole lot more to her than that. The old lady who’s going senile is also one that’s fairly generic and not really trying to be different. With such a large cast that is to be expected though. I dare say there are probably at least 20 named characters running around and that really helps you to make the invasion feel real. Films like this should have a large cast and I know it can be hard to balance them but it’s definitely worth the attempt.

The movie doesn’t manage to get by with 0 mistakes though. There is a little animal violence at one point as the aliens do blast a pair of dogs and a bird. The film has them using disintegration rays that are painless and there’s no blood involved so it’s not nearly as bad as the average moment. I would argue it’s still unnecessary though and those don’t really work as jokes. When you tell as many jokes as this film, you are bound to mess up a few times of course but on the whole it did land them more often than not which is the important thing.

I would put this on a fairly high level for an absurd comedy like with Airplane. Now, that is still the greatest comedy of all time and is completely unmatched but this one had that same energy at times with the jokes. The writers had enough knowledge to attack pretty much anyone without ever feeling mean spirited or like it was just targeting one group and I’d say that’s the key to a film like this. As long as you aren’t too sensitive, you’ll be able to have a good laugh at the whole thing.

Overall, Mars Attacks is a pretty fun film. As long as you tend to enjoy humor that borderlines on the absurd then I don’t see you having any problems with this one. Lets face it, we would probably get wrecked by Mars anyway so it’s fun to see them out strategize us at every corner. They were ready for this adventure and were not about to back down. I can definitely respect that. It’s a very long film but one that has a lot happening so you shouldn’t get bored. Trust me, it’s worth the watch.

Overall 7/10

Odd Man Out Review

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It’s time for a film about how crime doesn’t pay. It’s a pretty fun story with a unique setup. You have an Irish gang trying to steal money from the government and from that point on everything gets a little crazy. The writing is solid and I enjoyed all of the characters. The villains were good in their roles and the cops definitely did a good job on their end. In a sense both factions got to have half of the movie although the point of view is always from the villains and heroine. It’s a film that has good pacing and replay value.

The movie starts by explaining to us that the leader of this gang is a guy named Johnny but he’s been in jail for a long time. After he returned, he spent 6 months hiding out in a house and so the rest of the group is thinking that maybe he has gone soft. Johnny is even talking about how perhaps violence isn’t the answer so jail really has changed him quite a lot. Still, Johnny refuses to step aside and still leads the mission. This goes very poorly due to Johnny freezing at the end and so he ends up falling out of the car and a policeman dies. Now the gang is really on the hot seat. Can they find Johnny or even escape with their lives at this point? Once you down a police officer, the heat absolutely multiplies several times over.

First off, Johnny should take a significant amount of heat for everything that happens in the film. When you really think about it, the guy was not ready to get back into the fold. I admire his enthusiasm and everything but he should have recognized that. Getting dizzy and messing everyone up is what caused someone to be dead. The plan would have went off without a hitch otherwise. There’s also not much point in talking about ethics and everything when you are still going to go ahead with the plan anyway. What this really told me is that at the end of the day, Johnny was going to still keep on going at it with the gang even if he thought it was the wrong thing to do.

The film doesn’t hold back on the high price that he has to pay though. He pretty much gets every kind of injury you can after this. The guy can barely stand or move by the end which is why Kathleen had to make a rather serious move. Johnny definitely could and should have done a whole lot better in order to make sure everything was fine. His deputy actually did the best here in that he was the only one brave enough to tell Johnny directly that this was a bad idea. He tried his best but the guy just wouldn’t listen to him at all. That’s just how it goes I suppose.

It was fun seeing everyone get bumped off one by one though. The worst way to go out was for two of them who stop at an old lady’s house. I think she was a friend of the family or something but how can you trust anyone when the heat is this high. It sure was convenient that she noticed them passing by right? Then immediately they start drinking up a storm so they won’t be in peak fighting condition. As always my sympathy starts to go way down when a character starts drinking because now they are really putting themselves in a rotten position. So yeah W for the old lady. I mean she’s a big traitor and all but that’s just what happens when you’re a villain.

Now I keep calling them villains but I admit I’m not super familiar with the Irish background here. Perhaps their cause was decent and all but as they say, once you start murdering then the line is really drawn. You have to be super sure that you’re on the right side by that point and at least from how this film appears, I would say they were on the wrong side. Nothing within made it seem as if they were somehow the true fighters of justice or anything like that.

If anything, in the second half when the cops are taking them all out, I thought the officers looked really reasonable. They didn’t want to murder everyone but weren’t really given much of a choice. They also had to move with a sense of urgency after losing one of their own. They tried everything in order to find Johnny and it was tough since everyone was helping the guy out. You had a painter, Kathleen, a beggar, random people, and even a priest all being rather sympathetic to the guy. Some of them had their motives to be sure but none were being super helpful to the cops, that’s for sure. Even with all of those obstacles the cops managed to go and take names though.

The ending is definitely intense to be sure. When you can choose how to go out, often that is preferable to being taken alive so I get the logic. Kathleen had to make a difficult call and she did not hesitate. It’s a rather sad ending in some respects but also a sign to be careful who you fall in love with. Kathleen’s mother warned her about this as well but she just wouldn’t listen. It’s not easy to control your emotions of course but if you fall in love with a crook then it stands to reason that your end may not be great.

Overall, Odd Man Out is an interesting gang film. I have to admit that I really enjoyed the accents the whole time. I haven’t watched a super large amount of films taking place in Ireland after all. The plot is interesting and there are a whole lot of characters running around. Johnny is basically on the run for almost the entire movie. He’s out there in the rough conditions for over an hour in the movie which is crazy. He bumps into a whole lot of characters and while this can be the only part of the film that feels a bit slow, it works out well enough. It’s a satisfying movie and the strong script really backs it up every step of the way. You’ll definitely be entertained while watching it.

Overall 7/10

Murder by Contract Review

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Link to the original review: https://dreager1.com/2020/07/11/murder-by-contract-review/


It’s time for a film about a professional assassin. It can always be a tricky balance since you want to come up with a scenario that doesn’t paint him in too bad of a light where you dread seeing the guy on screen but at the same time you probably want to play it straight and not try to make the guy sympathetic. I’d say the film does a good job of this. The balance is there and by no means is Claude sympathetic at all. You are free to root against him the whole time with no real issues there.

The movie starts with Claude convincing someone to hire him. Claude passes every possible test and aces each of his hit. Eventually he even murders his boss as one of the orders. Eventually he is given his biggest mission yet, he has to bump off Billie, a witness who will be taking the stand soon. This will be a difficult mission and Claude usually makes it a point not to go after women because they are more unpredictable. You can’t exactly turn down a hit once you are involved though so for now he just has to suck it up and continue with the mission. If he succeeds then he will be loaded and if he fails then it’s game over for his life.

One thing the movie does to stand out right away is have a good soundtrack. This isn’t a guarantee for any film after all. You never know if a movie will have solid music or not so hearing a good track can go a long way. It’s a very smooth kind of beat that works for all of the scenes and supports the tone. The movie is showing just how casual this business is for Claude. It really just is the guy’s job and he preps for it as he would any ordinary assignment. We see how he works out and exercises so he is always in peak condition.

He’s also not very trusting by nature so he wastes a lot of time when two people are sent to accompany him. Ultimately it’s a good idea not to trust those guys but you never felt like Claude was in all that much danger. He was clearly a step above those two. They had some tough talk and looked good at times but the skill difference was immediately apparent. Even 2 on 1 you knew they weren’t about to do anything.

Claude is just too calm and too skilled. He waited for his quick opening and from there it was curtains. He also seems to have very little patience for anyone who hasn’t managed to become successful. He chews out a waiter on this about the guy allowing himself to be stuck in this job for so long when he could have really done a whole lot more for himself. Then as long as you are stuck you at least need to be good at what you do. I think his lecture ultimately fell on deaf ears though.

Then by the end of the film Claude gets rather sloppy himself. I don’t think it was even a full change of heart or anything like that. I think Claude would have finished the job earlier in the film but by this point he just had way too many doubts and conflicting thoughts. He didn’t believe in the mission quite as much as he once did and there are enough dead people already where the whole thing has become a mess. So for all of his tough talk and preparation, Claude folded when it counted.

Billie may be the big target but I wouldn’t say that her role is that big anyway. She’s the big objective but in terms of character there’s not a whole lot to her. She spends most of her time taking shots at the cops for not protecting her more and I definitely get that. She ends up being in harm’s way quite a lot. Part of it is on her even if she won’t take responsibility though. One obvious thing is to never walk by the door or any windows. Stay out of easy sniper range and that’s really basic safety 101. The cops actually had a good plan in allowing people to think she was dead for a while and it was just bad luck that someone ended up tattling to Claude. They couldn’t really predict that one.

The writing throughout the film is pretty good. I definitely enjoyed the banter with Claude and his boss despite the boss being bumped off fairly early. The characters always know just what to say and they all have a whole lot of confidence about them. I like all of the posturing. Even the two guys who were following Claude were brave enough to talk back to him. Well one of them anyway. Claude would tell him to be quiet and the guy would just keep on talking. Quality writing definitely helps to support a good thriller.

The character cast may be extremely small but that still services the film well enough. It helps to show just how alone Claude is and how all of his relationships are really surface level. He talks to the people giving him the missions or ladies who are hitting on him but at the end of the day the guy is really alone. The thrills of being an assassin are really the only benefits he gets at this point and I’m not even sure if he was totally serious about his whole buying a house explanation. I assume that was made up but am not exactly sure, so that adds to some of the mystery of the character. He strikes me as the kind of character who will say exactly what he hopes you want to hear.

Overall, The film is fairly direct and goes by quickly. It’s mainly about Claude prepping for the big mission and then getting a little more nervous as his attempts aren’t working and the deadline is getting closer. It’s another cautionary tale on why being an assassin is super dangerous. You could have hundreds of successful hits but all it takes is one slip up and there goes your life. There is just no escaping your ultimate fate and while you may have a fun time at first, it just won’t end well. This is definitely a film I could recommend. It ticks enough of the right boxes to be fun for all fans of the genre.

Overall 7/10

Time Without Pity Review

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Time Without Pity is definitely a very interesting movie. It’s one of those stories about trying to stay within the realm of the law for as long as possible and only really moving to vigilantism once the options have dried up. It’s a suspenseful mystery and definitely one that has good replay value. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes this kind of murder mystery.

The film starts with a girl getting murdered and so David flies over because his son is the primary suspect. Unfortunately it took a very long time to find David because he was off being drunk. There is a lot of tension here because David was never really around when it counted. Even now, he has only arrived when there are 24 hours left before Alec is to be executed. The reason David didn’t find out sooner is because he was stuck in a treatment facility after being super drunk again. David may have failed Alec in the past but he swears to do right by him this time. He will find the actual killer and save Alec.

The interesting thing about this film is that we see Robert as the murderer in the very first scene. So we know the whole time who the killer is and we’re just waiting for David to put the pieces together. The film allows Robert to look real crazy the whole time since there’s no pretense for trying to make him look even remotely likable. That might sound like maybe David should suspect something but honestly I don’t think that would be enough. The fact that the guy is crazy and abusive doesn’t automatically make him the murderer or anything. Lots of jerks out there after all but they’re not going around sticking it to people.

You are definitely rooting for his downfall the whole time though. This is definitely the kind of film where nobody is perfect though. While we know that Alec didn’t murder the girl, it doesn’t help matters that he didn’t have the best reputation. He also likes Robert’s wife Honor which isn’t good. Keep in mind that his girlfriend his dead but he is still excited to see Honor and have a moment while in jail. I don’t think that should be a priority when you only have a few hours left to live. Or if he’s thinking it doesn’t matter since he’s so close to death that’s arguably just as bad. Alec panics a lot and everything too but I suppose since he’s about to die I’ll cut him some slack there.

As for David, well he’s trying hard to get to the truth of the matter which is great. Full points there of course but then you also have to consider the fact that David being drunk all the time didn’t help matters. He drinks several times during the movie as well and breaks down in a few instances. He was still able to come up with a good plan though which helps. Ultimately he ends on a high note which makes up for a lot of his issues early on. How you finish the race is a big part of how likable a character is after all.

His friend the attorney was also really good. The guy really did everything he could and postponed the execution multiple times. Without him, David would have absolutely been too late so he definitely owes him a whole lot of credit. There are also a few other suspects in the film from David’s point of view like the secretary Vickie or Alec’s best friend Brian. Brian in particular always appears to be hiding a whole lot and playing both sides of the field. It’s why us knowing who the murderer is makes things interesting as you are forced to watch David bark up the wrong tree at times.

There technically isn’t a whole lot of action in this film which makes sense because why would the murderer want to take any chances right? It’s mainly a battle of words with Robert being the only one who is panicking the whole time. David knows deep down that the odds are stacked against him because without any fingerprints or witnesses at the scene of the crime, his only real chance is a complete confession from the murderer. Why would the murderer do that though? There would be no benefit to him, particularly when he knows that the case can’t be solved.

So the film actually addresses this and does it better than I anticipated. I thought we’d have a lazy moment where the villain admits to the crime in front of a bunch of people or something like that, but this doesn’t happen. The villain is caught without confessing to the crime and the way the movie does this is really creative. It goes back to the vigilantism part I referenced earlier. The plan is certainly not legal and actually relies on a lot of deception. It’s a plan that involves a heavy price so most wouldn’t do this even if they thought of it. So the plan worked well here in showing just how far David would go to save his son and it’s also a plan that is realistic enough to work. The villain didn’t really have an out by this point and was completely outplayed.

Overall, Time Without Pity is a really fun film. It’s also a super clever one that tackles what would otherwise be a standard plot in a new way. The first of course is the fact that we know who the murderer is. It’s not the first film to do that of course but the vast majority do not so it’s still a fresh take. Additionally you have the fact that the main character has to solve this case in under 24 hours or Alec will be executed even if he is innocent. So you’ve got the time factor there to make things even more urgent. It’s a really solid set of parameters to fit the film into and it works out really well. The ending is very satisfying and so in the end I would definitely recommend watching this film. It has aged extremely well.

Overall 7/10

Sabotage Review

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It’s time for a very old film but one that definitely executes well and ends up being a fun picture. It’s a fairly short movie so it definitely ends quickly but still gets the full story across. Needless to say, there will always be traitors around trying to cause trouble and if you don’t find them first then it’ll get rough. I definitely can’t say I felt any real sympathy for the villain here.

The film starts with another terrorist attack as the power grid is knocked out. There have been many such events lately and it seems like they are possibly building up to something massive. The cops are having detective Ted look into a lead. They think that Karl Verloc may be one of the traitors helping the villains out but there is no proof. So Ted looks into it but along the way he starts to fall for Karl’s wife. (I had actually thought she was the daughter but at least according to Wikipedia they were married which makes Ted’s romance plot a lot more dicey) Can Ted stay focused on the mission?

The romance plot is pretty bad either way but for sure it gets worse depending on the heroine’s status. Either way Ted shouldn’t be messing around here. He’s got a mission to complete right? He spends a whole lot of time flirting but it’s not like the girl even likes him all that much. In the opening scene he is even trying to defend her when a bunch of people want refunds and she tells him to get lost/threatens him with arrest. Not very charitable right? I dunno if I was him I would have been rather discouraged after that. Ted is a good agent despite this but there’s just not a whole lot for him to do.

Throughout the movie he is still trying to dig up evidence and back in those days this could be really difficult. The ending isn’t exactly happy for him either due to how things play out. Meanwhile the heroine was nice enough. I would usually say she was oblivious in not noticing what Karl was doing but not this time. I don’t see any way that she could have found out the truth so as far as I’m concerned she is innocent there. So the whole thing is just a really rough experience for her.

As for Karl, yeah there’s not much positive to say about him. At the end of the day he sold his soul for a few bucks. You’ll always have an extremely hard time convincing me that there could be any possible way to redeem him after that. It’s just not happening, he knew the risks and made his choice. By the end he does the classic move of trying to say he didn’t know this would happen but that’s really a lie. He knew this was going to happen, he just didn’t know about the specific victims. So yeah no sympathy from me here.

The masterminds don’t actually appear much but that’s by design. Early on the police chief admits that there’s no way the heroes are going to find the top brass. Their job is to find the local traitors working with them but beyond that it gets more to the FBI level. It’s why this is such a hard job because you don’t even know how many villains are out there. A lot of them to be sure but an exact count? You’re just not going to have that kind of information on hand, nor as you likely to get that at any point in the future. It can feel like an endless journey but one that you have to keep going through anyway.

Part of what works well in the film is keeping the whole thing very confined. We have a very small cast of characters and most of the film takes place around 1 block. You know bad things are happening around the world but the only focus is on what’s happening locally. Most people aren’t scared about the local terrorism going on but the fact that it has yet to be stopped is certainly lingering in the backs of their minds somewhere.

The film also doesn’t have the jolly ending that you might expect. Sometimes the heroes just aren’t fast enough and it’s by no fault of their own. You just can’t prevent every possible tragedy from occurring no matter how hard you try. That’s just not possible, nor has it ever been possible. So the film really tries to push that message through and it makes sense. At the same time, the movie never gets super depressing or focuses on this for too long which is why it hits the right balance. I feel like a modern remake would not have the same level of restraint and subtlety.

Overall, Sabotage is a pretty good movie. It’s short and to the point. For that reason there isn’t a ton of things to say here but not every movie needs to be very long. The writing was good and the pacing was always fast. I enjoyed all of the dialogue here even from the villains. The romance may be on the weak side but at least since it’s a very old fashioned one, it’s not like much is happening. It’s really just a lot of flirting the whole time, rather unsuccessful flirting at that. The movie itself is rather timeless as there will always be traitors out there. People desperate enough for some money that they would betray their fellow friends and colleagues. It’s a shame but at the end of the day it’s human nature and so you have to do your best to just stop them all and keep things moving as smoothly as possible. I would definitely recommend checking this title out and again, it’s fairly short so it won’t take long.

Overall 7/10

Devil in a Blue Dress Review

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This review is based on the TV-14 version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

This is definitely one of those films that is noir all the way to the core. Prepare for a lot of characters, a lot of moving parts, and a lot of inner monologuing. It really manages to nail all of the elements here and there’s even a good amount of dry humor/light banter. Once the main guy’s friend shows up the movie definitely gets real lively. All in all I’d say it did a good job here.

The movie starts by introducing us to Easy who is a man that is rather down on his luck. He’s trying to do things the right away after making a mistake once in his past. He owns a house now but the problem is that it’s very hard to get any kind of job. A rather shady individual shows up saying he has a job and it won’t even be that tough. Dewitt is a private investigator who has been having trouble finding a girl who went missing named Daphne. Her disappearance was strange and her husband Todd was forced to drop out of the mayor race. The whole thing sounds dicey right out of the gate, but unfortunately Easy is quite desperate at this point and needs the money. So now begins a mission that is even more dangerous than he could have ever expected.

Right out of the gate nobody is being very helpful. In fact, you could say everyone is trying to get in his way. He goes to the club where Daphne is supposed to frequent and people conveniently don’t remember anything. One girl named Coretta claims to know about Daphne but after using Easy for a while, doesn’t really prove to be super helpful and ultimately withholds her info a bit too long.

In a noir conspiracy like this you basically have to be super careful when you use your cards. Hold them too long and they become useless but use them too quickly and you have tipped your hand. It’s all about the mind games here and a lot of strategy. Fortunately for Easy he is a quick thinker and good at adapting. The whole first half of the film he gets messed over by pretty much everybody. Every faction from the PI, gangsters, cops, and independents are trying to scare and beat the fight out of him.

It’s why in the second half it feels good when Easy finally has some leverage. Mind you he never really gets to take it easy in this film. It’s one of those adventures where he has to stay ready at all times because things can change at any moment. He works really well as the lead even if he’s not the most heroic character. The affair with Coretta for example wasn’t a good move no matter how her current relationship was going.

Easy does make his share of mistakes but often times there’s really nothing he can do. He’s in the middle of such a large operation that at times all he can really do is wait for his chance to get in on the action. I do remember there were quite a few times Daphne would run off and I feel like he could have done more to prevent her from escaping.

Considering the title of the movie and that Daphne is wearing a blue dress, you probably don’t want to trust her very much at all either. Of course you can’t trust anyone here. Daphne is an interesting character though and just being in the middle of this already shows that she has a lot of courage. I don’t think very many could stay alive and keep on making moves as easily as she did in this situation.

Joppy was the most annoying character in the film by far though. The guy’s supposed to be one of Easy’s best friends and a little money gets to him real quick. I know he tries to talk his way out of it but when the stakes are this high that doesn’t mean much. Betrayals are nearly impossible to come back from when your life is at risk.

Dewitt makes for a solid villain. I do think he falls for the trap of getting his plan so convoluted that it works against him though. In a way that happens to most of the characters here but that’s where those mind games come back into play. Everyone’s got their own ideas of how to come out on top here. Even the mayor candidates get involved.

The simplest character here is Mouse and that’s also why he is a standout. When he shows up the villains either talk or get blown away. He doesn’t exactly take no for an answer and he’s also not the most patient character. He racks up quite a body count considering how late into the film he’s introduced. Without Mouse Easy would have definitely been doomed. Now that’s a fact and Easy really needs to thank him some more.

All in all it’s definitely a fun thriller though. The movie’s pacing is always good from start to finish and it is a movie where you really have to be paying attention or you will absolutely get lost. It’s also a title where you don’t really get the answers until the end so you can have fun building up the case in your head for most of it. See if you can figure out who is the true mastermind and what’s actually going on here. Props if you can assemble the pieces even before Easy does.

Overall, Devil in a Blue Dress is a pretty good film. The heroine herself doesn’t actually have as big a role as you might have expected though. She is still crucial to the plot of course but definitely more as a plot device than a main character. She is still fast enough to nab a car before Easy can get away though. The film can be rather intense at some points but never really goes over the top. I could easily recommend this to any fans of the noir/thriller genres. It’s a satisfying movie all around and it’s a fairly long one so it definitely doesn’t end too quickly.

Overall 7/10

Anatomy of a Murder Review

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It’s time for a very long courtroom drama. This one definitely has the length of an epic but it allows the movie to really go in depth on every piece of evidence. The movie is based on a book based on a real case but wit the names and everything switched I figured it should still get the full review and score treatment. It is definitely an intense case all the way and should keep your attention all the way through. It’s dealing with some pretty severe subject matter but actually shows enough restraint not to have any of it on screen so I can really appreciate that.

The film starts with Biegler relaxing. Business has been slow but that’s all about to change. He is asked to represent Laura’s husband Manny in a rather big case. Manny murdered someone but he did it to avenge his wife who had been attacked and Sword Art Online’d by another guy. So Manny’s murder was righteous justice. At least that’s the way he sees it. Biegler has to point out that no matter how awful the other person was, this would still be considered pre mediated murder as it didn’t happen immediately. It’s not self defense or anything as the act had already happened after the guy violated Laura. They could try for temporary insanity but it doesn’t seem like that will hold up. Biegler’s going to really have to fight hard to win this case..but should he win it?

There is a whole lot going on here and so one of the themes is really about just looking ahead and doing your job. It’s the toughest part about being a lawyer to be honest as it means you will sometimes need to defend crooks and people that you know are guilty. You can’t let your personal feelings sway your judgment and have to trust in the jury and the courts system to come up with the right verdict. Manny’s no saint by any stretch of the imagination. For starters he is a domestic abuser who is always hitting Laura and the guy gets insanely jealous. He has a full on violent streak which doesn’t help his case at all. If Biegler is able to get him off, then Laura’s life is about to get a lot worse.

Meanwhile for Laura, she continues to live it up at the clubs. She doesn’t act in the way one would be expected to after such a traumatic experience. It could be the way she is coping but as Biegler says, that doesn’t matter right now, they need the good optics. So he tells her to stop looking so beautiful all the time which is a rather difficult demand for her. Throughout the movie everyone keeps commenting on how beautiful she is and she loves flirting nonstop. That’s basically her gimmick and it doesn’t do wonders for Biegler here. After all, she told the group what happened and there was circumstantial evidence to support it but it’s not like anyone else was there and the cleanup crew could find no evidence.

Thing is, they weren’t likely to find evidence since they didn’t show up until the next day. The movie never actually confirms what happened one way or the other as you are meant to come to a decision on this just like the jury. Personally I do think it happened. Going back to the coping part, I think that’s exactly what happened here. She could have froze up and completely broken mentally but instead she tried to just move past this and use her beauty as a weapon. Her history of flirting and going around started even before the event so most likely it is an event that went sideways. She doesn’t intend to change her ways after one bad outing and either way it doesn’t excuse the guy who got murdered in any way. He got what was coming to him and that’s that.

The film acknowledging that optics are important is a realistic move. Most things are about optics which is why PR is so important. Even if the facts haven’t changed, it does make sense that more people will be sympathetic to Laura’s plight if she looks really homely. It’s a huge bias to be sure but one that does track when you take data samples. In a perfect world she should be able to dress and act however she likes without it affecting her case but nobody lives in a perfect world just yet. I am glad that Biegler stayed strong when she was flirting with him though. That would definitely have been a whole mess and someone has to stay professional. She was really goading him on too but he didn’t take the bait. It is a dangerous game because eventually someone might make a move but at least that day was not today.

One thing that’s always tricky here though is when a film is trying to present someone as super beautiful. A lady so gorgeous that every guy falls for her immediately. There are standards of beauty and people who will immediately be found attractive by most but it’s never to this kind of exaggeration. I would have liked at least one character to have not appeared to be interested just to keep it from being this one sided. Like Biegler admitting she wasn’t his type or something. It’s a super mild nitpick though and I suppose anyone reviewing the film who does think she is super beautiful may disagree on that point. It’s just a pretty large generalization but maybe everyone in the area grew up with roughly the same standards and she would meet all of their criteria each time.

I’d say the only weak part of the film is how people in the courtroom couldn’t really stay professional. The fact that talking about underwear in such a serious case would have people laughing was just weird. I know cultural norms change over time but that felt like a bit much. For a case this serious I wouldn’t expect very many smiles to be had at all, let alone full laughter. Based on that I would assume Laura had already lost the whole jury if they weren’t taking this seriously.

The ending was rather unexpected I have to say. I just wasn’t prepared for things to go in that direction but it’s an interesting way to end things. Sort of like the cycle continues and it also makes you rethink how the case ended one last time. This is really a movie that did not end until the very last moment. I don’t see things going well for the two characters who vanished at the end but maybe things will be better this time. Who knows in the end…..

Overall, This was definitely a very intense movie. There are a ton of characters and supporting evidence that show up at different points in the film. Different twists, half truths, and new developments that recontextualize everything before it. You really have to be paying attention at all times or you might miss something. I’d have preferred the case was about a different topic as the gravity of this one does lower replay value to an extent but you will want to watch it at least once to see what was really going on here. It’s super well known for good reason after all. I doubt you will find very many titles that are quite as detailed as this one. Of course whether or not the law would agree with this, I would say Manny made the right move in taking the guy out. Manny was a terrible character overall but you can’t let that guy live after what he did to Laura. That would really have been the wrong move.

Overall 7/10

Cash on Demand Review

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It’s time for a bank heist film that’s actually handled with no real fights here. The thief is a bit of a gentleman after all who wants to win with his cunning and wits as opposed to his fists. It’s definitely a bold approach of course since a whole number of things can go wrong but this is his plan and he’s sticking to it. We’ll have to see how he fares on this mission.

The film starts by introducing us to Fordyce who runs an incredibly tight ship in his bank. A single mess up is enough for him to really lash out at people. He doesn’t attend the Christmas staff parties or anything of that nature. He does his job and then he heads out. Well, one day he is visited by a senior executive from the insurance agency who wants to make sure that the funds are kept secure. Fordyce wants things to go perfectly so he works with the guy, but it turns out that this Gore fellow is actually a thief. Now that he is inside the bank, he intends to make a clean getaway. He won’t need to even fire a shot. As for Fordyce, he can’t make many moves right now because his family is being held hostage and the villains even got his wife on the phone to prove it. What can this guy do?

I should note that Fordyce is fairly old so fighting is probably out of the question. You already know that he wouldn’t be able to knock the guy out too quickly and additionally, he would need to act quickly because fi the accomplices don’t see Gore go to the window at certain intervals for the hand sign, his family will be gone. Another issue here is that Fordyce has no friends on the job so nobody would notice that he is acting irregularly at all. The day didn’t start out great for him either with how he treated his right hand man Pearson. Yes, things are looking particularly bad for the main character.

The film is rather short as it is barely over an hour so as you can expect the plot details come in fast and hard. This works well for the film because you can’t really have this cat and mouse game going on for too long at this point. Either the guy will get away or the cops will catch him but it’s difficult to have anything in between that. I will give the rest of the staff a good thumbs up here because they did end up calling the cops when they saw that Gore’s name was fake. That was good heads up thinking. They maybe could have also done something to quickly secure him before the cops arrived but I know they were trying to also keep things normal. So all in all it was a good move.

I have to dock some points for Fordyce though. I can’t go into details on this because it involves a twist near the end but he made a huge error and the whole plan falls apart if he doesn’t do this. It involves the whole reason that he is humoring these guys which is that they have hostages. I know things can be tough in the heat of the moment but it was a really bad mistake to make. It could have cost everyone at the bank rather dearly.

I’m giving the police some props to for being very proactive here. They did their jobs and they did them well. They weren’t waiting around to see what the characters were saying, they captured the immediate threat and took it from there. It was one of the better portrayals I’ve seen from them so I definitely appreciated that. Pearson was also good for continuing to do his job despite all of the insults. He was a good second in command.

Finally you definitely have to give Gore props for his performance. The guy was basically involved in a very high stakes gamble on himself. If he made any kind of mistake then he would have been taken down. The guy’s plan could have failed in dozens of ways and yet he didn’t let that scare him from continuing to move forward. That’s what makes him a good villain. He’s also a very charismatic fellow and that’s how he was able to easily ace the human engineering part of the plan. If he was acting shady or crooked from the jump then the plan would have failed immediately from there.

It’s like the scam where someone pretends to be a McDonalds manager to get behind the counter. It’s actually worked several times so these plans do have a real track record of succeeding. That said, it still takes a lot of guts. Also, while Gore was using this as an excuse to mess with them, he did have a point that the bank should have some kind of a true plan. They need better security measures since at the time anyone could walk into the bank and see the manager. That doesn’t make much sense and it is certainly a big liability. At least this experience will help them improve.

Overall, Cash on Demand is a fairly simple film but a fun one. You definitely will have a good time here. The writing is very strong as is common for old time films like this. The character cast is also small so most of the film is really about the banter between them. The actual heist is handled really well and I do applaud the fact that the film was able to handle so much tension without having the villain even fire a shot. It shows just how solid the writing was and while one of the twists may not have been the strongest, it is something that you could find believable in real life as well. So definitely hunt this film down as soon as you can and check it out for a classic bank heist experience!

Overall 7/10

Max Dugan Returns Review

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All right Max Dugan is finally back! Now this is gonna be a real hype sequel, I can feel it! Wait, this is the original film? Pretty odd title I have to admit. The film is fairly solid but the romance is definitely on the unbelievable side and I also think the main characters tend to make the wrong decisions. I know that nobody likes a handout but sometimes you just gotta say thanks, accept the gift and move on.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Nora who is completely exhausted working as a teacher and trying to make ends meet, as well as her son Michael. He isn’t doing very well in Baseball right now. Their day gets worse when someone steals Nora’s car but her police friend Brian lets her borrow his motorcycle. He has had a crush on her for a long while but never has the guts to ask her out. He’s thinking about changing that. Everyone’s lives are thrown upside down though when a man named Max Dugan shows up. He’s Nora’s father who vanished when she was still a kid and so she holds a massive grudge against the guy. He explains that he is dying with a terminal illness so he has no use for money. Nora doesn’t want things to get any more complicated so she allows Max to stay but he can’t tell Michael his true identity. Will the kid figure it out anyway?

I would call this a slice of life film as its core to be honest. Drama could also work but this is a very low key film. Even the drama we do get isn’t about a lot of characters yelling at each other or anything like that. They all tend to handle things rather calmly but at the end of the day Max is officially a criminal so he really needs to tread lightly. If he makes any moves too quickly then he could get arrested which will interfere with trying to make amends with his family.

It’s definitely nice that he wants to be a good person and spread his wealth. He’s certainly got a lot of it after all and at the end of the day you are free to do with your money whatever you want. If he wants to spoil his grandson and his daughter then so be it. Unfortunately this is where the main two can be rather annoying. He gets them all kinds of cool stuff like a new TV, appliances, a car, etc. Now I will say that getting presents from someone you know is a criminal can be dicey but as long as you know the products themselves are good then there is nothing to really worry about right? Also Max did explain the situation and the casino stole the money first. So he’s not really a crook. Legally he is, but it was his money in the first place.

What Nora could have done was instead of bad mouthing the presents and throwing them away, talk with Max so they could coordinate what would be good gift as opposed to him throwing the items all around. At the end of the day this was all to get Celia’s attention and it did work. At that point Max could have switched up his approach a bit. I do think not being able to tell Michael the truth was a bit annoying though and led to some very avoidable problems. Telling him upfront would have been a good idea and Michael was old enough where I don’t think he would end up turning to a life of crime just over it.

Look, being rich is fun. I’m not gonna front on that, everyone says it is not but I guarantee if I ever became rich it would be a blast. There’s just so much you can do with some good money after all and so long as you don’t forget the things that are important, it will only enhance your lives. Because Nora was fighting this every step of the way they didn’t get as much as they could have. I do want to be clear though that Nora doesn’t have to forgive him on account of the lavish presents. You can’t buy love or forgiveness just like that and if it was ever implied that Max was trying this then it would have backfired completely.

It’s why a lot of people don’t like accepting gifts because they feel like this could all just be a trick to make them owe something. I would say for this you just have to be firm. If they didn’t mention anything at first, they can’t suddenly say that you owe them right afterwards. That’s where you would just have to call them out on that. I shamelessly accept gifts when they’re given to me. That’s the whole point of receiving gifts after all right? Max still did need more tact so he didn’t make them the talk of the town but his heart was in the right place.

He’s a good guy and has changed a lot from his older days. At least for Michael it’s nice to meet Max and of course he never got to know the guy from before he changed which helps him out a lot. For Nora, this is at least a big help since she was struggling so much before. Of course the big thing here is really the romance which doesn’t go well for most of the film. Brian really wants to impress Nora but he is just very low confidence and she’s always super busy. I don’t see how he stayed in love with her when she keeps brushing him off.

She’s never mean about it or anything but it’s not like he knows the context. Then with the situation involving Max, he naturally has to bring the guy in which causes more friction. I thought Nora was a bit unreasonable when she was mad at Brian for doing his job. Ultimately of course he would have to go after this guy because Max seems incredibly shady and has way too much money. What else would you expect the guy to do right? So that was annoying the whole time and another reason why I could not get behind the romance. It’s hard to get past all of these issues that they were having. It’ll just be the beginning considering Brian’s line of work. He has to go and stop the villains each time and can’t worry about who they are or hurting anyone’s feelings. I don’t see how their relationship could survive this as they both said some very hurtful things. It’s not so easy to forget that.

There is a random scene in the movie where one of Nora’s students starts cheating and she is eventually caught. It turns out that she wanted to help her cousin because families stick together. It’s a nice story but cheating is still cheating. It’s not exactly the best reason to engage in this so I remember being rather dubious. I think Nora let her off rather easily. You can’t cheat for a reason like that. Everyone has a reason like that if you look hard enough after all. So yeah just don’t cheat is the real lesson.

Overall, Max Dugan Returns is a fun film. In some ways it reminds me a bit of Mary Poppins but it’s definitely still a bit more serious. I liked the themes and who wouldn’t want to have a super rich grandpa like this right? I can already tell you that I would be accepting all of the gifts real quick. Just The romance with Brian is not all that impressive but fortunately the film is able to get past that. At the end of the day the strength here is that the film is fun. The pacing is on point and I enjoyed the characters well enough. It’s just a peaceful kind of story in a small town. Like I said even the drama isn’t super crazy or anything like that. It works as well as you’d imagine. I’d be game for another Max Dugan film at some point.

Overall 7/10

The Man Who Lived Twice Review

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It’s time for a title with an interesting premise. It deals with crimes that took place a long time ago and some incredibly big circumstances that prevent you from just saying that the criminal should be turned in. I’ll hand in my verdict as we go through the movie but I appreciate the dilemma. I would say the whole situation was actually handled rather well so it definitely gets good credit there.

The movie starts off by introducing us to the criminal Slick. As his name would suggest, the guy is fast and always getting out of bad situations. The cops have yet to catch him although they are getting a lot closer now. He has his sidekick Gloves and his girlfriend Peggy stay back and then Slick loses the police by going into a school. There he finds out that there is a way to recover his broken face and along the way he will be transformed into a better person who no longer leads a life of crime. Slick decides to take the deal and it works even better than he ever could have guessed.

Slick is a completely new man with no memory of his past life. He decides to study medicine and after a few years he becomes a full fledged doctor. He quickly gains everyone’s respect for being a man of upstanding character. Slick is a fast learner and his heart’s really into the subject. Unfortunately you can never outrun the ghosts of your past. First his partner Gloves shows up, but fortunately the guy is a super loyal person at heart. He immediately decides to keep the secret of Slick’s old life from the guy and becomes a very reliable chauffeur. Then Peggy shows up and she is the real problem. She wants Slick to go back to his old ways and until he does, she intends to blackmail the guy. It’s a dangerous game that she is playing though because if Slick does go back to his old self…she may be in trouble.

It’s definitely a raw deal for Slick because you’d think the odds of anyone ever finding him is super slim. This was before cameras and all of that after all but that’s just the way that it goes sometimes. Slick was a really solid character in both his good and bad forms so he was a really good main character. As a hero I definitely liked how earnest he is but of course as the villain he could really take charge of a room. In both forms he is written really well and the film definitely had no weaknesses there.

Meanwhile Peggy is a decent side villain but definitely a really short sighted one. She isn’t very smart and doesn’t know when to keep her cards hidden. There are very few advantages to be had in alerting the world about every step that you are going to make. She talks to the cops, Gloves, Slick, etc. She is always talking and this puts her in a really bad spot once everyone start to come together. The ending for her was definitely very avoidable.

I would say that Gloves is definitely the MVP here though. He is a character who is truly loyal through thick and thin. Nothing fazed the guy and he really made the big sacrifice when it counted. I would have liked for him to have had a better ending but it really did show just how far he would go in order to protect his friend. It’s rare to find a true friend like that anywhere so you really have to savor them.

The main heroine in the present is Janet and she’s nice enough. I wouldn’t say her role is huge though or that I remember anything being really unique about her personality. So she fits the role but doesn’t do much beyond that. Then you have the scientist Clifford who is responsible for the change in the first place. Clearly he is a genius for coming up with such a technique and there are seemingly no real side effects. He makes a good pitch for Slick near the end as well.

So in the end, where do I stack up in the case? The court talks about his crimes from years ago and rules on them. First is the debate of memory and on that front, I don’t think it matters. While it sucks to be paying for a crime you don’t remember committing, I would argue that this doesn’t exonerate you from it. For example if you murder someone, then have a really bad fall where you get complete amnesia, you should still go to jail for the crime of murder. So that one’s a non starter for me, memory doesn’t change anything.

The stronger argument you could make here is about the time. Since we’re talking years ago and since then he has been a doctor helping all sorts of patients, then I think it comes down to how severe the crimes were. Anything requiring jail time should still be served out I would say. If we’re talking minor items like fines then I would argue that the good he did as a doctor outweighs the previous crimes. It’s definitely a nuanced debate for sure but that’s how I see it. Either way I was still satisfied with how the movie handled the ending. It was nice enough and Slick really did a lot of good while he was a doctor.

The fact that the whole community was on his side really shows what an upstanding guy he was. I’m sure that victims of any crimes he committed will never forgive him and that’s 100% valid but assuming the technique holds true, he will only continue to help people in the meantime. It would be a waste to have him just rotting away in jail without the ability to help anyone. At least this way he can continue to pay the world back.

Overall, The Man Who Lived Twice is a really fun film. It had a lot of good tension all the way through and I liked the story itself. I’m always mixed about changing someone with a surgery like this but it’s different from mind control or other films where it is forced. The main guy volunteered for it this time so I didn’t have much to say about that. It was his decision to make. So if you are looking for a well written story with a good amount of tension then this is definitely going to be up your alley.

Overall 7/10