bloan2112 Reviews

The Beatles: Get Back (2021)

The Beatles Raw

[10/10 · 3 May 2023]

Loved every minute of this, so many little titbits of information that made sense in future.

John's waxing lyrically about Allen Klein both before and after he met him and then trying to sell him to the others.

Glyn Johns telling a Klein story that deflates John.

George wanting to do a solo album admitting he has plenty of songs 18 months before he recorded All Things Must Pass and John encouraging the idea and George we can do solo stuff with our individual name on it then still do the Beatles thing.

Paul appearing anal wanting everything to be a certain way on many occasions with George looking irritated but controlled but John at this point still looking close to Paul.

Ringo going along with whatever they do, what a gentleman.

Billy Preston giving them a much needed boost as soon as he arrived, a pleasure to see.

So much more throughout the hours.

Extra rooftop footage.

A beautiful documentary for any Beatles fan .

Thanks Peter Jackson.

Air (I) (2023)

1984 Time Capsule

[8/10 · 25 April 2023]

This is a story about Nike and Michael Jordan.

How Nike on the ropes at the time was able to reposition itself by gambling all on a nascent basketball superstar.

How Michael Jordan with the help of his mother played convincingly by Viola Davis was able to change the rules on how a sports star is paid in endorsements.

We all know how the story ends but this shows us the beginning.

Matt Damon does a great job earnestly playing the roly poly Sonny Vaccaro who knows everything about high school and college basketball and has an overwhelming "feeling" but getting that signature was no easy task.

You could even say he had a dream.

Loved the retro music and settings being the same age as Michael this was my year too. This is a pleasant journey that left me in tears a few times and may also move you.

Man Bait (1952)

20 year old Diana Dors.

[6/10 · 25 March 2023]

That was worth it just to see a 20 year old Diana Dors looking stunning with lips to die for.

Apart from the bottle blonde she looked largely natural at this time and more to my taste that the over made up Marilyn Monroe.

Her character attemps a clumsy seduction in the back of crusty George Brent's book shop office that along with her slimy male accomplice played by Peter Reynolds leads to blackmail and tragedy.

George Brent had his Hollywood moments I particularly liked him in Temptation playing an Egyptologist alongside Merle Oberon but here he is passed his prime.

An early Hammer thriller movie for a rainy winter's afternoon , now available in the public domain on Youtube.

Patterns (1956)

A Screenplay For The Ages

[9/10 · 9 October 2022]

Rod Serling I tip my hat to you, this script was sublime.

Not a word was wasted, every interaction was written perfectly.

Caught it on a lazy rainy Sunday and it shocked me how good it was.

The machinations of a NYC corporate office.

Van Heflin plays the new boy unbeknownst to him set up to take over from the crusty passed his prime character played by Ed Begley.

Their boss played deliciously evil by Everett Sloane slowly reveals his true intentions.

The acting is superb, a simple premise of office politics translates to the screen seamlessly and keeps you transfixed till it's climax.

Congratulations to everyone concerned with this gem.

Can't imagine the number of scriptwriters influenced by this writing.

Berlin Correspondent (1942)

Propaganda WW2 Style

[7/10 · 9 October 2022]

Having been subjected to MSM propaganda recently throughout Covid and knowing it's a tool of government often used, it's interesting to view this early attempt by America to turn them against Germany.

This movie follows a correspondent played by Dana Andrews stuck in Berlin and allegedly passing secret information over the airwaves while being supervised about Germany's war effort back home.

It's an entertaining ride full of Inadvertent comedy.

The cliched Nazi villains are pathetic, none of who seem to have a clue how he passes the information.

The main SS villain had me laughing with his insults.

Most Germans were all in by 1941 and that didn't end well for them.

Fun movie with a predictable ending.

Iron Man (1951)

I Don't Think Coke is Ready For Speed

[6/10 · 10 September 2022]

A routine but interesting boxing movie with a pre greying Jeff Chandler aka Coke finally meeting up with his old friend an early Rock Hudson aka Speed in the ring.

Inadvertent comical names for the time.

The action isn't convincing, the actors don't have the look or moves that simulate a good boxer in later movies.

It does have a noir atmosphere that keeps you watching.

Jim Backus also has a role as a newspaper man turned manager.

I like seeing these 40s and 50s movies for the style and catching actors before they made it big.

Was hoping they'd made a sequel with boxers Crack and Meth getting in the ring with Coke.

No such luck.

House of Strangers (1949)

What a Treat

[8/10 · 9 July 2022]

Edward G nailing an Italian as the owner of a bank in NYC with his 4 sons and being an overbearing patriarch.

Richard Conte plays the banks lawyer and his favourite son and is as always good swapping quickfire lines with Susan Hayward also at her best.

A thoroughly entertaining story of an Italian American banking family and it's rivalries.

Good to see Efrem Zimbalist Jr and Debra Paget in some of their early work.

Cry of the City (1948)

A Noir Gem

[8/10 · 3 July 2022]

Love finding these noir gems on YouTube .

The interplay between Mature and the underrated Conte was delicious in this seemingly pedestrian crime drama.

The violence is underplayed yet the tension is there throughout.

The cinematography must have influenced Scorcese I can see it all over Taxi Driver.

If you want to study noir this one is a must.

Elvis (2022)

Elvis Lives!

[8/10 · 28 June 2022]

Not perfect and has some historic rejigging but when Elvis hits the stage the movie rises to it's heights.

My favourite scene being his preparation for his first Vegas show at the International.

Austin Butler carries the movie.

Designated Survivor: #makehistory (2019) Season 3, Episode 4

The end of a good show.

[1/10 · 13 April 2022]

The first 2 seasons were interesting and well written almost a companion piece to my favourite The West Wing and very watchable.

Then the 3rd season starts and there's now regular profanity, a transgender character appears and wants to entrench itself in the White House , Seth finds he has a "sperm" child and wants to connect with her and now 2 unimportant black male characters have explicit sex on screen.

Did someone deliberately drop a grenade on this show, what did they expect the audience to do , cheer?

As they say go woke go broke and shortly after the show ended.

WTF were they thinking?

A sad ending .

Vinyl: The King and I (2016) Season 1, Episode 7

Zak and Richie's episode

[9/10 · 16 July 2021]

Zac and Richie head to LA to sell the private jet and hear a rumour Elvis is unhappy at RCA so go to Vegas to pitch him.

Zac gets all the great lines in this one while Richie tries his best to stay sober. Great chemistry and comedy between these 2 actors.

Vinyl: Cyclone (2016) Season 1, Episode 6

Rock Bottom

[8/10 · 16 July 2021]

You gotta hit rock bottom before you can come back and here we see the lows of a ruined family, a crumbling business and a life spiralling out of control on drugs and booze to the sounds of Bowie and a Buddy Holly fadeout. Rivetting.

All the Way (2016 TV Movie)

Nailed it!

[8/10 · 24 May 2021]

Cranston nailed LBJ. His mannerisms, tendency to spout anecdotes, political maneuverings and that in your face Texan charm dripping with spittle and subtle menace. Enthralling all the way.

Whirlpool (1950)

Gene Tierney

[7/10 · 24 October 2020]

I watched only to marvel at this goddess walking across the screen again. A rather routine story of Tierney who happens to be a kleptomaniac and who's husband is a psychiatrist. She gets taken advantage of by Ferrer's character who has the art of hypnosis. It's ok but comes across as an advertisement for the burgeoning psychiatric profession.Comte as the clueless ( how can that be?) husband is wooden Ferrer is not a bad villain, Bickford as the cop as usual is excellent. Ben Hecht's script has its moments. Still it's worth a look.

Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

All That Trouble Just To Get A Blanket.

[8/10 · 26 September 2020]

The gods send Jason on a mission with his ship the Argo and his crew for their own entertainment where he crosses paths with Talos, the harpies, the clashing rocks and King Neptune, the Hydra and its dreaded teeth. It's fun and the set pieces are glorious to watch. I loved it as a kid and still do.

Woman on the Run (1950)

1950 San Francisco

[7/10 · 30 August 2020]

A well written and entertaining noir whodunnit but the real star is San Francisco in all its B&W glory. At times feels like a tour of the city with an ending at a carnival park at night that has influenced other filmmakers.

Boy on a Dolphin (1957)

Postcards From Greece

[7/10 · 16 August 2020]

Apart from the inadvertant offense to all the Greek diaspora of casting an Italian woman in the starring role this is a treat to watch. In glorious Technicolor you get an eyeful of the glory of Greece pre pollution damage. Athens never looked better particularly the Parthenon and combined with the island of Hydra sells the country as a place to visit . Somewhere in there there is a plot to do with discovering an ancient statue The Boy On A Dolphin that had been lost over 2,000 years ago being transported to Delos and 2 parties one honorable the other not so much who spend the whole movie trying to find it but that's irrelevant because the acting is atrocious . Just sit back and enjoy the scenery.

The Irishman (2019)

Some people say you don't show enough appreciation.

[8/10 · 25 November 2019]

Some people say I don't show enough appreciation? Having just seen this magnum opus i can truly say i have enough appreciation and then some! I tip my hat to Martin Scorcese for getting the band back together for one last gig. I bow and kiss the boots of Joe Pesci,Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino and even Harvey Keitel in a small roll where all he had to do was look and barely speak. Thank you Marty for making the type of movie I thought i'd never see again. The dialogue was sublime,it's old school acting with pauses and subtleties that make you think and full of Scorcese signature moments. True there are no grand surprises in movie making here but as a fan of this genre it does't disappoint. I spotted 5 characters from the Sopranos in small roles. Steve Van Zandt as the crooner was a laugh. Then Pesci's character makes an ironic reference to the fairy Ferrie that he himself played in JFK.

This movie feels like nostalgia and it's meant to be. I walked out after this 3.5 hour marathon and stood at the urinal with all these other guys and we were all nodding to each other in relief for having survived and in joy for having witnessed an instant classic.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

Paul Revere and The Raiders

[9/10 · 19 August 2019]

I woke up today planning to see a movie by Tarantino deliberately avoiding spoilers . As the movie played i felt a crane picking me up and dropping me into 1969. I was immersed. The denseness was overwhelming. The film sets, the tv shows ,the music, the ads all recalling a time long gone. We catch a glimpse of an obscure film poster or a part of a tv show or a song on the radio we might have forgotten that fits the theme perfectly. This was art and entertainment told in a way only a great movie can achieve. Pitt and DiCaprio are on fire both Oscar worthy . One of those movies that needs a second viewing just to take in all the subtle pop culture references that may have been missed the first time. Congratulations QT you did it again!