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The Thin Man, a review by goodguy

The Thin Man (1934) Written by: Albert Hackett & Frances Goorich, based on a novel by Dashiell Hammett Directed by: W.S. Van Dyke Starring: William Powell, Mirna Loy DVD: R1-US Warner (2002)

Cover Blurb: Nick and Nora Charles cordially invite you to bring your own alibi to 'The Thin Man', the jaunty whodunit that made William Powell and Myrna Loy the champagne elite of sleuthing. Bantering in the boudoir, enjoying walks with beloved dog Asta or matching each other highball for highball and clue for clue, they combined screwball romance with mystery. The resulting triumph nabbed four Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture) and spawned five sequels. Credit W.S. "Woody" Van Dyke for recognizing that Powell and Loy were ideal together and for getting the studios okay by promising to shoot this splendid adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's novel in three weeks. He took 12 days. They didn't call him "One-Take Woody" for nothing.

The movie is charmingly funny whenever the two main characters interact, but quite boring when they are not. The supporting cast plays a bunch of stock characters, typical for gangster movies and murder mysteries of that time. The murder mystery itself doesn't make much sense, which would be forgivable if the movie wouldn't spend too much time on it. So I fully agree with Nick, who at one point complains that the case puts him way behind in his drinking. Ah, and the drinking. The two leads drink heavily and continously throughout the movie, and mostly the hard stuff. But it is neither the hard-boiled, "noirish" anti-hero drinking, nor some kind of social commentary, it is just a quirky mannerism of *both* Nick and Nora. One has to admire the completely carefree attitude the movie has towards it.

The DVD was re-released in 2005 as part of Warner's Complete Thin Man Collection, containing all six "Thin Man" movies (1934 - 1947).


(From May 2008 Man/Men Marathon - Discussion Thread on May 19th, 2008)

The Driver, a review by Jon

THE DRIVER (1971)
3 out of 5



Ryan O'Neal is a getaway driver for hire. Bruce Dern is the cop willing to bend the rules to catch this "cowboy" red-handed.

No existential soul-searching here, just bruising action served ice-cool. O'Neal's driver (no names again) is the best money can buy and he covers his tracks very carefully. But Dern's detective is hot on his tail and even sets up a job for the driver to take. There are several car chases, usually featuring several police cars. They're good fun and plenty of vehicles are involved. Walter Hill's set-ups are solid no nonsense action, which he is known for. One fantastic scene features him driving a Merc around a garage, smashing the bodywork to pieces to prove a point to the criminals who dared question whether he was good enough. He refused the job after leaving them with no doors.

The story is straightforward too. Bruce Dern is great fun as the cop working both sides to his own end. It has something of a western feel with the outlaw driver (Dern calls him "cowboy" a couple of times) and perhaps continues the genres idea of the last free hero, or last frontier. It's only let down by being a bit too cool and a bit too laidback in the lead couple of O'Neal and Isabelle Adjani. O'Neal is trying to channel Steve McQueen but often has an expression like he's just farted and hopes no-one noticed! I'm being a bit unfair; it's more a case he didn't do anything wrong and the script gave him nothing to say. It's just actors like McQueen sets the rules with Bullitt amongst others for this kind of thing, while Ryan was in Love Story. It just proves there is more to acting the cool anti-hero than standing still and not saying anything.

I thoroughly recommend the film overall. The inspiration for the classic game of the same title, it's an old fashioned noir played out in fast cars. I read in another review that people have drawn comparisons with Le Samourai and although it's hero shares the empty room and he seems only to exist when working, I wouldn't push it any further.

The Car's not really the star...
There are various cars; he starts in a Cadillac, then moves to a Ford, wrecks the before mentioned Merc and finishes the movie in a pick-up. Really, this isn't a film about the cars, just The Driver. The idea being, put him in a Flintstones car he'll still pull off the job. This goes someway to demonstrating Hill's direction as he doesn't waste time on too many bodywork angles, just the stunts.

Can't find a decent trailer, so here is the "Job Interview"...
Trailer

(From Car Movie Marathon on August 26th, 2008)

My PILOT Marathon, a review by Rich

Title: Father Ted: Series One

Certificate:15
Year:1995


Plot:The irreverent BritCom that has been called 'undoubtedly the finest comedy about three Catholic priests stuck on a tiny island off the Irish coast ever made' is now available on DVD. Features all six episodes of the highly-acclaimed premiere season, in which the trio's shaky grasp on reality is challenged by such things as the arrival of the world's worst funfair and the All Priests Stars-in-Their-Eyes Competition.

Good Luck, Father Ted
Ted gets his chance to be on TV when he is to be interviewed by a magazine programme. But 'FunLand', the most pathetic travelling fair ever invented has come to Craggy Island, and while Ted is distracted with Father Jack, Dougal seizes his moment of glory.


My Review:
Witty and intelligent comedy, that literally created a cult following in UK.
It felt a bit disjointed as the actors feel their way into their roles, and begin working together for the first time. Ardal O'Hanlon has the best lines in this opener, with Frank 'Feck Off' Kelly in top form. Personally I never found Dermot Morgan funny, but obviously a great loss nonetheless that he died young.
It's a nice blend of British comedy, at times quite subtle and character based, at others in your face brash and crass.
I've probaly seen 20 or so episodes at different times over the years, but will one day plan to watch the whole series in order, I will, I will, I will.
 

(From My PILOT Marathon on September 29th, 2009)