“Topper’s too nice a fella to be in trouble… I’m going to get him out!”
Synopsis:
When Mrs. Topper (Billie Burke) catches her husband (Roland Young) with the ghost of Marion Kerby (Constance Bennett), she flees to France to obtain a quick divorce; meanwhile, her conniving friend (Verree Teasdale) arranges for a faux baron (Alexander D’Arcy) to [...]
Posted on November 30th, 2008 by admin
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[Note: The following review is of a non-Peary title; click here to read more.]
“Your dead one was a very important man…”
Synopsis:
In the radically overpopulated future, a New York City detective (Charlton Heston) enlists the help of his roommate (Edward G. Robinson) in unraveling the gruesome mystery behind the assassination of a manufacturing magnate (Joseph Cotten).
Genres:
Detectives [...]
Posted on November 29th, 2008 by admin
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“It’s simple: either you want to play football again, or you don’t.”
Synopsis:
A football player (Jeff Bridges) recently fired from his team is hired by a gambler (James Woods) to hunt down his missing girlfriend (Rachel Ward) in Mexico; but things get sticky when Bridges falls for Ward himself.
Genres:
Corruption
Femmes Fatales
Gambling
Has-Beens
Love Triangle
Search
Review:
Few elements work in this [...]
Posted on November 28th, 2008 by admin
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“I told you I’m not an actress… I also told you I lie all the time. Draw your own conclusion!”
Synopsis:
A sultry, psychotic white woman (Shirley Knight) seduces a young black man (Al Freeman, Jr.) on a New York subway.
Genres:
Cat-and-Mouse
Femmes Fatales
Play Adaptation
Race Relations
Trains and Subways
Review:
Based on Amiri Baraka’s incendiary, Obie-award-winning 1964 play, Dutchman qualifies as [...]
Posted on November 27th, 2008 by admin
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“Go ahead — make my day.”
Synopsis:
Detective Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) is sent to the seaside town of San Paulo to investigate a rash of serial killings committed by an artist (Sondra Locke) seeking revenge for a brutal gang rape.
Genres:
Detectives and Private Eyes
Rape
Revenge
Serial Killers
Vigilantes
Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary is overly generous in his assessment of this [...]
Posted on November 27th, 2008 by admin
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“Another woman once thought she owned me. Don’t drive me too far!”
Synopsis:
When a smitten housemaid (Jean Simmons) discovers that her widowed employer (Stewart Granger) secretly poisoned his wife, she blackmails him into giving her a higher position in his household — but his interest in a beautiful heiress (Belinda Lee) causes tensions in their uneasy [...]
Posted on November 23rd, 2008 by admin
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“We’ll make a great team, old man: you for the words, me for the pictures. I can be your eyes.”
Synopsis:
On the brink of a Communist rebellion in Sukarno’s Indonesia, an Australian reporter named Guy Hamilton (Mel Gibson) befriends an idealistic dwarf photographer (Linda Hunt) who helps him get interviews with key political players; but [...]
Posted on November 23rd, 2008 by admin
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“I shall stay until the wind changes…”
Synopsis:
A “practically perfect” nanny (Julie Andrews) with magical powers descends on the home of the Banks family, where a no-nonsense father (David Tomlinson) and suffragette mother (Glynis Johns) fail to spend enough time with their children (Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber).
Genres:
Catalysts
Fantasy
Governesses and Nannies
Literature Adaptation
Musicals
Raising Kids
Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary [...]
Posted on November 19th, 2008 by admin
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“To a pretty woman like you, Sevillinois must become pretty dull.”
Synopsis:
A city-loving bride (Jean Peters) is distressed when her husband (David Wayne) opens a barber shop in a small town, rather than taking her to Chicago as promised.
Genres:
Flashback Films
Historical Drama
Literature Adaptation
Small Town America
Widows and Widowers
Review:
Although he notoriously missed the boat in a number of [...]
Posted on November 14th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: Original Reviews | 1 Comment »
“You want to know everything? Well, believe me, you don’t.”
Synopsis:
A bank teller (Debra Winger) investigates the murder of her lover (Mark Keyloun), a tennis coach turned petty drug dealer.
Genres:
Amateur Sleuths
Drug Dealers
Murder Mystery
Review:
Writer/director James Bridges originally intended for Mike’s Murder to unfold in reverse chronological order (much like Christopher Nolan’s Memento would do to [...]
Posted on November 8th, 2008 by admin
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