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arsenkashk
Reviews
Blood on the Sun (1945)
Cagney can't rise above stereotypes
I was stunned by the contrived plot, the terrible stereotypes and the painful dialog. The film, set in the 1930s, came out at the end of World War 2 and yet it doesn't seem informed by any of the events of the war. The ultimate threat seems to be the Japanese invading the United States mainland. The actors playing the Japanese are badly made up and almost comic. Cagney has a few moments, but the bland writing and plot holes are too much for any one actor to overcome. In fact, the most heroic moment of the film is when the Baron (a Japanese baron?) honorably commits hari-kari because he has failed to carry out his plan of world domination. It's hard to believe that's what the director wanted us to take away.
A Star Is Born (1954)
A major disappointment.
I was disappointed with many aspects of a Star is Born. The restored version of the film is more than an hour too long. There are so many drawn out scenes and musical numbers that any tension between the characters is completely dissipated by the time we come to the tragic ending. The two great scenes -- Judy Garland's night club performance of the Man that Got Away and her song and dance routine in her living room using a lamp shade as a Chinese hat -- don't make up for all of the other overly long and unnecessary (as far as the plot or the character development is concerned) musical numbers. This is a showcase for Garland's considerable musical talents, it is not a well scripted movie. It's ashame because James Mason is terrific in his scenes.