A-No. 1 Reviews

The Rain People (1969)

Stunnig film

[10/10 · 23 July 2021]

I'll never forget a chance viewing of this film in 1970 in a theater in Akron, Ohio. I had no idea what it was about, or who Coppola and James Caan were. I was just trying to kill a few hours in a strange town, but when I walked outside at the conclusion of the movie, I was speechless. Mesmerized, Enthralled. I have the DVD now but never watched The rain People again, in case my feeling about the film might have diminished. It was a 10 then, and it will remain so with me. PS- Duvall was also great, even back then. Turns out that he and Jimmy Caan and Coppola all lived together in their penniless early careers.

Godfather of Harlem (2019– )

Entertaining but historically way off base ...

[10 May 2020]

Loved the subject and stories, but disappointed in delivery. Depiction of Chin Gigante is so wrong. Potentially rich character seen as a common thug but in reality he became head of the Five Families. Unlike in this show, they never said his name or called him Chin under penalty of death. And Cassius Clay vs Doug Jones was a 10-round fight, not for a championship. Clay's management group from Louisville is sorely misrepresented. Clay never met with Chin or was asked to take a dive against Jones. They fought a close fight at the old Garden, many thought Jones won. It was early 1963 and Clay's 18th pro fight; two bouts later and he beat Sonny Liston for the title.

The Good Cop (2018)

The Good Cop is good stuff ...

[10/10 · 24 September 2018]

Netflix gifts us with all original episodes, great story lines, terrific cast, wonderful shots of New York City, and lots of laughs. Danza, Groban, Barbaro, Kottkamp, Whitlock highlight this just-released new series that's funny as heck.

Stealing Christmas (2003 TV Movie)

Nice without being sappy ...

[8/10 · 30 November 2003]

Tony Danza, one of the most underrated actors in the business today, does a fine job portraying a bad guy who has the potential to be good, given the right circumstances. He finds that opportunity while on the lam from a failed department store breakin, ending up in a small town and meeting a widowed Lea Thompson and her cute daughter and taking a job as the village Santa Claus for 3 weeks. Solid supporting cast and plausible story line make for an excellent USA network film, seemingly shot in Canada with a mostly Canadian cast. Betty White is, well, a very good Betty White. Film isn't hokey, even if Danza does get off a line about the Lea Thompson character: "She's the boss." Come to think of it, there are times when she resembles Judith Light. All in all, good holiday fare.

The Culpepper Cattle Co. (1972)

Terrific film

[10/10 · 1 September 2003]

Easily one of the greatest Westerns ever, with wonderful character portrayals and a loping pace not unlike the cattle drive it depicts, yet deadly and brutally realistic. Takes all the romance out of the genre, and replaces it with reality. By the way, has anyone noticed that the musical score or main song is the same as "The Flim Flam Man"?

White Boy (2002)

Not bad at all ...

[8/10 · 20 October 2002]

I went to a Hollywood screening Oct. 20, 2002, and enjoyed the

efforts of young director John Marino, who cast rising starlet Alison Lohman and his appealing own son, Johnny Green, in a gritty street movie that pits white guys, with an assist from some authentic street-fighting Afro-American actors, against Nazi skinheads. It's hard to believe that this film was shot on a budget of less than a hundred thousand dollars, because they got a lot on the screen for that mere pittance. Jan-Michael Vincent is fine as a boozing, bleary-eyed cop, and director John Avildsen's son Jonathan is a nasty villain. Veteran New Yorker John "Cha Cha" Ciarcia exec-produced, and the overall effect of "White Boy" is very good. I give it a 6, and wonder what Marino, Lohman, and Green could have done with even a $2.0M budget. As is, this was well worth seeing. The host of supporting character actors all scored well with the audience. I hope Marino gets a nice foreign and domestic distribution deal.

Desert Blue (1998)

Interesting independent film

[25 April 2000]

Another indie film set in the California desert, kind of the same as others --- except different, just like the real lives of people in those isolated towns. This one has numerous cute and appealing perspectives, and makes you laugh often. One minor but distracting error: the pay phone for a callback number has a 702 area code, which was formerly all of Nevada, yet the film is supposedly set in fictional Baxter, California. (Reason is that it was shot in historic Goldfield, NV, which at the time actually WAS in area code 702, although it has since been changed and only Vegas is 702 now). Watch "Desert Blue" -- it's well done, and you'll enjoy it.

Where Does It Hurt? (1972)

One of Funniest Ever

[10/10 · 28 August 1999]

Hilarious, Sellers at his funniest ... a shame you can't get this on video, or even see it on TV anymore ... I'd love to get a good copy somewhere. Maybe it's tied up in court on some legal issue, but a truly riotous hospital farce with Sellers as crooked administrator.

Where Does It Hurt? (1972)

Hilarious

[10/10 · 21 August 1999]

One of the funniest films I ever saw in the theater back in the early '70s, and sadly, it's only been on TV a few times since. This movie should be released on video. It's Sellers at his sleaziest, slimiest best as a crooked hospital administrator. Great cast, great movie. If anyone has a good VHS copy, I'd love to buy it.

The Mouse (1996)

Boxing's most lovable loser

[10/10 · 2 July 1999]

This biography is about one of boxing's funniest characters, Bruce (The Mouse) Strauss, who boasts of being knocked out on every continent except Antarctica ... he retired in the early 1990s, and has guested on David Letterman, with the same dry sense of humor that Bob Uecker has in baseball ... John Savage did a great job of capturing the Mouse's nonsensical character, and considering the budget was just over 100 grand, they did a super job on this picture ... fight fans will love all the boxing figures in the cast.

Emperor of the North (1973)

Great news for fans of this film!

[10/10 · 12 May 1999]

I just discovered this site. For James Barron, tbates, Jack Franklin, and Jason Gore, "The Emperor of the North" is indeed available for sale from the Railroad Museum in Sacramento, CA. I picked up a copy this year, after years ago obtaining one directly from a friend at 20th Century Fox. Happily, they are the same, and not chopped up version we see on TV.

I first saw this film in South Africa in '73 or '74, when they had no TV down there, and watched it in a theater for 6 straight nights because I liked it so much.

tbates, there are several female faces (the girl getting baptized in the river, and the lady shaving in the passenger car) ... James Gore, one "slip-up" is when the charging fast mail passenger train roars down the track toward the 19, which barely makes it onto a siding, yet nobody threw the switch back for the oncoming train to go straight through! It should have derailed at once.

Truly a great film, and I hope you guys find it in Sacramento. All the best to you.