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The Getaway, a review by Jon

The Getaway ****
4 out of 5

Political manoeuvring gets Doc (Steve McQueen) out of prison even when a parole board said no. Now he has a bank to rob for benefactor Benyon (Ben Johnson) with the help of his wife (Ali MacGraw) and Rudy (Al Lettieri). The job goes wrong and now Doc and his wife are on the run from Benyon's enforcers and Rudi, looking for the $500,000.

Five years after Bonnie and Clyde re-wrote the rulebook and one year after the enigmatic Vanishing Point and Two-Lane Blacktop, we're well into America's New Wave cinema and Sam Peckinpah doesn't disappoint with a typical example of how to mix thriller and art-house. The first 10 minutes is like a European short film; Bonnie and Clyde ruffled a few feathers with abstract editing, against the Hollywood idea of invisible cuts, but Peckinpah goes one better to show Doc's frustration at prison. It's a powerful, almost wordless sequence and forever separates the director from modern pretenders.

Don't be put off by the prospect of contemplative arty stuff like that though. This is as tough a thriller as any and the King of Cool McQueen was never cooler, channelling Bogart to deliver one of his best characters as Doc. He is utterly fantastic. Just look at the scene where he calmly buys a shotgun to immediately use on the police car that's pulled up outside. Or his memorable one-liners ("How ya doin', Slim?" ) and the way he deals with MacGraw! I mean, she's not a great actress, but she does convince, so she hardly deserved getting slapped around!

There's another example of how Hollywood had changed, allowing women to be slapped. Peckinpah really out-does himself though with the injured Rudy, taking a vet and his wife hostage, they end up cuckolding "poor little Harold"! Al Lettieri is great as Rudy, always menacing even when he's playing games. He was supposed to star in Rabid Dogs for Bava two years later and that film does owe a lot to this in many ways. Interesting how that happens. That European cinema should influence a shift-change in America, a change that Europe itself picks up on.

Certainly The Getaway revels in violence enough to be honourary Giallo. Revels may be the wrong word though, because this is another intelligent and accountable commentary on a violent society (see how the kids wander over to look at a recent corpse, similar to how children tease the scorpion in The Wild Bunch). Peckinpah's set-pieces are incredible, reminding one of Leone's spaghetti westerns, especially with the bizarre Morricone influenced score. And he was the best at slow-motion photography since Kurosawa. Certainly John Woo could take a few lessons.

Walter Hill's (The Driver) screenplay is tough, but a lot of fun, with terse to-the-point dialogue. Scenes like Doc retrieving the lost bag of money was indulgent, but I wouldn't miss it for anything ("when you work a lock, don't leave scratches"). Overall, a very watchable, powerful action-thriller, the like of which is sorely missed and probably makes Michael Bay cry. All the CGI flashy shit that passes for action movies these days can't recreate a partnership like McQueen, Hill and Peckinpah.

(From Stop Thief! The Robbing Bastard Marathon on August 16th, 2009)

Hot Target, a review by Jimmy

Title: Hot Target (1985)

Genre: Borefest
Director: Denis Lewiston
Rating: R
Length: 1h33
Video: Full Frame
Audio: English
Subtitles: None

Stars:
Simone Griffeth
Steve Marachuk
Bryan Marshall
Peter McCauley
Elizabeth Hawthorne

Plot:
At first glance, Christine Webber (Simone Griffeth) would seem to be a woman who has everything. A wife of a successful NZ businessman, she is beautiful, sophisticated, stylish - the perfect wife and mother. But scratch the surface and see that Christine is also a Woman trapped by the very "perfection" of her life.

To be honest I haven't watch this completly, something that was unable to do with The Sorority. Seriously this is suppose to be a thriller but nothing happen and I've watched 45 minutes of it. It's just a crappy "Life channel film of the week" look alike movie except for the nudity and it wasn't enough to kept me interested... Richard Simmons was on The Bonnie Hunt Show while I watch this and it was more interesting for god sakes...

Doesn't really worth a review, but it was so dull that I've no choice to warn you to not watch it...
 
Rating :

(From The little known movie review depot on January 19th, 2010)

Twilight Zone, a review by addicted2dvd

49. Back There (1/13/61)
Russell Johnson is Peter Corrigan, a man who travels back in time to the date of President Lincoln's assassination. Will his presence have any impact at all - can he actually change history?

My Thoughts:
This is the second episode I have seen with Russell Johnson (Professor on Gilligan's Island), Was a good episode... really enjoyed it. Unfortunately the only extra attached to this episode was the Isolated Score. This was another episode I have never seen before.

50. The Whole Truth (1/20/61)
A special Model A automobile compels used car dealer Harvey Hunnicut (Jack Carson) to tell only the truth. Consequently, he can't sell a single vehicle on his lot - until he comes up with an unusual marketing idea.

My Thoughts:51. The Invaders (1/27/61)
A flying saucer lands in the attic of an isolated house inhabited by an impoverished woman - who soon becomes panic-stricken as tiny spacemen begin to stalk her!

My Thoughts:
This is a very good episode. One I have seen a couple times before. Starring Agnes Moorehead of Bewitched. One of the things I like about this episode is the fact that not a word is spoken in the episode until the very end. In this case it made the episode that much more intense.attached to the end of this episode was a TV Spot for the series My Sister Ilene. Extras for this episode is a Marc Zicree interview with Douglas Hayes and an Isolated score.

52. A Penny For Your Thoughts (2/3/61)
The lucky flip of a coin seems to give a mild-mannered bank clerk (Dick York) the power to read minds. But he soon learns that you can't believe everything you read.

My Thoughts:
This was another fun episode. One I have seen once or twice before. Attached to the end of this episode was a TV Spot for The Andy Griffith Show. Extras included for this episode was a Marc Zicree Interview with George Clayton Johnson and an Isolated Score.

53. Twenty-Two (2/10/61)
Liz Powell (Barbara Nichols) is terrified by a recurring nightmare involving the number 22. Her doctor (Jonathan Harris) reassures her that it is just a bad dream, yet Miss Powell is soon to learn differently.

My Thoughts:
Another episode I have never seen before. Was a really good one. Though it was pretty obvious where it was going. attached to this episode was a TV Spot for My sister Ilene and extras for this episode included Isolated Score, Original Production Slate and Script with Rod Serling handwritten notes (for DVD-Rom).

(2/24/61)
Flight 33 picks up a peculiar tailwind and is blown off-course. After apparently correcting the problem, the flight arrives at its destination - a billion years ahead of schedule!

My Thoughts:
Episodes I seen for the First time on this set include:

   1. Judgment Night (Episode 10)
   2. And When The Sky Was Opened (Episode 11)
   3. What You Need (Episode 12)
   4. I Shot an Arrow into the Air (Episode 15)
   5. The Hitch-Hiker (Episode 16)
   6. The Purple Testiment (Episode 19)
   7. Elegy (Episode 20)
   8. Mirror Image (Episode 21)
   9. A World of Difference (Episode 23)
  10. Long Live Walter Jameson (Episode 24)
  11. People Are Alike All Over (Episode 25)
  12. Execution (Episode 26)
  13. The Big Tall Wish (Episode 27)
  14. A Nice Place to Visit (Episode 28)
  15. Nightmare as a Child (Episode 29)
  16. The Chaser (Episode 31)
  17. Mr. Bevis (Episode 33)
  18. The Mighty Casey (Episode 35)
  19. A World of his Own (Episode 36)
  20. The Man in the Bottle (Episode 38)
  21. A Thing About Machines (Episode 40)
  22. The Howling Man (Episode 41)
  23. A Most Unusual Camera (Episode 46)
  24. Dust (Episode 48)
  25. Back There (Episode 49)
  26. The Whole Truth (Episode 50)
  27. Twenty-Two (Episode 53)
  28. The Odyssey of Flight 33 (Episode 54)

(From Twilight Zone on February 5th, 2008)