The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on July 14, 2014

Firefox has three distinct phases. First, there's retired Air Force pilot Clint Eastwood getting recruited into an espionage mission. This part of the film barely takes any time at all–there's three missing months–Eastwood, as the director, does not like montage sequences. Eve   read more

The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on July 13, 2014

Television is a visual medium but budgetary constraints sometimes lead to a lack of visualizations. I assume Ring Around the Redhead, an episode of "Tales from the Darkside," had some serious budgetary constraints. The entire episode has two and a half sets–one is inventor John Hear   read more

The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on July 11, 2014

While a lot of The Brighton Strangler meanders, there are some rather effective moments in the film. It's a B picture, with John Loder as an actor suffering from amnesia who imagines himself his latest role–a murderer. The film's set in London, with blackouts and air raids–not   read more

The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on July 9, 2014

Detour should be episodic, but it's not. The film chronicles the misadventures of Tom Neal's night club pianist, who's stuck not being good enough for Carnegie Hall and having a fickle fiancée (Claudia Drake) from the outset. When he does decide to follow her out to her dreams in Cal   read more

The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on July 7, 2014

The Whole Town’s Talking has some peculiar third act problems, but it also has this extraordinary first act set over three scenes and twenty-some minutes, which evens things out. Some of the problem might stem from Town’s plot–mild-mannered office clerk Edward G. Robinson just hap   read more

The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on July 5, 2014

It’s hard to describe what’s wrong with Rally ’Round the Flag, Boys!; not because its ailments are mysterious but because the sentence is just a little problematic. Rally is a light handling of what should be a mature comedy. It deals with big issues–fifties suburban malaise   read more

The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on July 4, 2014

One of the great tragedies for soap operas has to be Fly II director Chris Walas being too good with special effects–his company does them on the film–to have to direct soap operas. With the exception of these high angle shots of impossibly expansive sets, presumably to emulate thirties   read more

The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on July 3, 2014

The Fly starts with perfect economy. Director Cronenberg does not waste time with introductions or establishing shots–whenever there’s an exterior shot in the film, it comes as surprise, even after Cronenberg opens it up a little. There’s Jeff Goldblum, he’s a scientist, and   read more

The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on June 23, 2014

E.T. is deftly manipulative but also undeniably magical. Steven Spielberg’s direction, both of the actors and of the effects sequences, is phenomenal. He’s often doing an anti-“Twilight Zone” episode, but he never lets himself comment on it. The film’s sincere in all i   read more

The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on June 18, 2014

Baby Buggy Bunny opens with its weakest sequence–a bank robbery. The perpetrator is a baby-sized thug who gets away by throwing on a bonnet and hopping in a carriage. Clearly there are some Baby Herman connections, especially later on when the robber and Bugs Bunny start battling. Bugs gets i   read more

The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on June 18, 2014

Every so often, Labyrinth plays like an episode of “Fraggle Rock” with special guest star David Bowie. Oddly, the film starts Bowie heavy but pretty soon he’s just popping in to remind the viewer he’s still around. His performance is terrible; his singing sequences are fine,   read more

The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on June 11, 2014

With the exception of Jill Eikenberry, all of the cast members from the original return for Arthur 2: On the Rocks. Cynthia Sikes replaces her. Eikenberry’s absence means she’s the only person who doesn’t embarrass herself. I’m sorry, did I say embarrass? I more meant humili   read more

The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on May 31, 2014

Russian Rhapsody is a strange–and very funny–cartoon. First, as a historical document, it's a Hollywood cartoon mocking Hitler (before the end of the war and the extent of his atrocities became clear). In Rhapsody, he's an obnoxious windbag and there are a bunch of good jokes   read more

The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on May 28, 2014

Sabotage demands the viewer's attention. It opens with a dictionary definition of Sabotage, forcing the viewer to read something and then immediately relate it to the rapidly edited sabotage of a power station. This sequence, which sets off the first act of the film, takes place in maybe a min   read more

The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on May 22, 2014

Until the finale, which features a risible fight sequence, Black Angel at least looks and sounds good. The story is atrocious, but the production values make it tolerable. Based on that fight sequence, the short concerns a clumsy, vain and mostly incompetent knight–Tony Vogel in a terrible pe   read more

The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on May 17, 2014

Godzilla is a peculiar picture. It's intensely serious, with director Honda never letting the viewer get a moment's relief. This approach is all throughout the film, which opens with a documentary feel. Honda and co-screenwriter Murata Takeo set up their main characters quickly and withou   read more

The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on May 14, 2014

Tracers: City of Lost Angels was originally intended to be part of an anthology film but it doesn’t feel much like a short subject. With the obviously limited budget, director Band treats it like a television production more than a film. Most of the action plays out in one or...   read more

The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on May 12, 2014

Supernatural is a strange little film. I say little just because it's just over an hour; it has a great pace, however, and always feels full. Maybe because it introduces two subplots before getting to top-billed Carole Lombard. Then Lombard sort of encounters one of the subplots and the other   read more

The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on May 4, 2014

What’s so incredible about Island of Lost Souls is how Charles Laughton doesn’t overpower the entire picture. Laughton’s take on the mad scientist role–playful, gleeful, callous, cruel–is a joy to watch and it definitely contributes but it doesn’t make Souls. Eve   read more

The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on May 4, 2014

The Invisible Man is a filmmaking marvel. First off, R.C. Sherriff’s screenplay sets things up speedily and without much exposition. The film introduces Claude Rains’s character through everyone else’s point of view–first the strangers he meets, then his familiars–all   read more