Movie Review: The Salamander (1981)

Genre: Political Thriller  
Director: Peter Zinner  
Starring: Franco Nero, Anthony Quinn, Martin Balsam, Eli Wallach, Christopher Lee, Sybil Danning, Claudia Cardinale  
Running Time: 96 minutes  

Synopsis: In Italy, a military general is murdered, triggering concerns about a potential Fascist takeover plot. Colonel Dante Matucci (Franco Nero) of the internal security services investigates with the help of his mentor Captain Steffanelli (Martin Balsam). The murdered general's mistress Lili Anders (Sybil Danning) is revealed to be a spy for leftist sympathizers, and Dante's further sleuthing leads him to industrialist Bruno Manzini (Anthony Quinn), the scheming General Leporello (Eli Wallach), Director of Counterintelligence Prince Baldasar (Christopher Lee), and a torture specialist known as The Surgeon. Eventually, Dante's life is threatened as he gets close uncovering a dangerous conspiracy. 

What Works Well: This Lew Grade production adapts the Morris West book with no shortage of ambition and an admirable deep dive into political machinations, Italian style. The entirely-on-location cinematography captures sun-drenched landmarks and lavish interiors without succumbing to travelogue stereotypes. Jerry Goldsmith's music score adds further gloss, but the main attraction is a dream international cast, none of them stretching but all of them competent. 

What Does Not Work As Well: Despite the efficient running time, the pace is plodding, most scenes consisting of stiff individual interactions between Matucci and a lineup of shady suspects. A few bursts of action attempt to punctuate proceedings, but these are more clumsy than effective. Few of the plot details make any sense, with the antagonists suspiciously passive as the investigation unfolds. In a world populated by the villains on display here, Captain Matucci would have disappeared in short order.

Key Quote:

Matucci: Do something Italian, Lili. Change sides.

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Movie Review: The Kidnapping Of The President (1980)

Genre: Thriller  

Director: George Mendeluk  

Starring: William Shatner, Hal Holbrook, Van Johnson, Ava Gardner, Miguel Fernandes  

Running Time: 114 minutes  

Synopsis: South American terrorist Assanti (Miguel Fernandes) emerges from the jungle and lands in Toronto ahead of a visit by US President Adam Scott (Hal Holbrook). Secret Service Agent Jerry O'Connor (William Shatner) senses a threat, but his warnings go unheeded. Assanti makes his move during a public event, forcing Scott into an armored truck rigged with explosives. With Vice President Ethan Richards (Van Johnson) compromised by a corruption scandal and an ambitious wife (Ava Gardner), O'Connor has to negotiate with Assanti and find a way to save the President.

What Works Well: The adaptation of Charles Templeton's book benefits from a decent cast, with William Shatner, Van Johnson, Ava Gardner, and especially Hal Holbrook maintaining interest. They are augmented by Miguel Fernandes, who makes for a sturdy hard-edged villain. The basic premise of holding the President hostage inside a booby-trapped armored truck parked in full public view is innovative. 

What Does Not Work As Well: This is a clunky B-movie with rudimentary production values and an opening sequence in the South American jungle that unleashes unnecessarily jarring violence. Once the kidnapping unfolds, plenty of relatively uneventful time has to be consumed before the frantic climax, exposing bumbling ineptitude by both VP Richards and Agent O'Connor. Critical missing plot points include a crowd meekly acquiescing to stand around near a bomb; and no negotiations about when and how the President will be safe once the terrorist demands are met.

Key Quote:

Assanti (handcuffed to the President, wearing an explosive vest, and holding a detonator): I'm taking this man to that truck!

President Scott: Hell you are!

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Movie Review: Signs (2002)

Genre: Suspense Drama  

Director: M. Night Shyamalan  

Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Cherry Jones, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin  

Running Time: 106 minutes  

Synopsis: Widower Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) lives on a farm in rural Pennsylvania with his children Morgan and Bo (Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin), as well as his younger brother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix). Graham was the former local priest, but lost faith when his wife was killed in a car crash. Strange crop circles start appearing within Graham's corn fields, followed by reports of similar crop patterns from around the world and then alien spaceships in the skies above multiple cities. As a seemingly cataclysmic event draws near, Graham has to find ways to protect his family.

What Works Well: In this intimate exploration of faith and belief, writer and director M. Night Shyamalan zooms in to the family level at a single location as Earth-threatening events approach. While there are moments of suspense and unsettling encounters with aliens (counterbalanced with touches of humour), the narrative is free from elaborate special effects and large-scale scenes of destruction. Instead the focus is on scarred emotions, internal conflicts, and the invisible lines connecting past events with future opportunities. The dialogue is often unusually thoughtful and heartfelt, seeking core human attributes where fear, resignation, familial love, and hope interact.

What Does Not Work As Well: The background story of the extra-terrestrial threat is no more than a sketched-in catalyst, and this unfortunately extends to the less-than-plausible weaknesses of this supposedly advanced invading force.

Key Quote:

Graham: Is it possible that there are no coincidences?

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Movie Review: BlackBerry (2023)

Genre: Biographical Dramedy  

Director: Matt Johnson  

Starring: Jay Baruchel, Glenn Howerton, Matt Johnson  

Running Time: 121 minutes  

Synopsis: It's 1996 in Waterloo, Ontario, and Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin (Jay Baruchel and director Matt Johnson) are the scrappy co-founders of ramshackle modem company Research In Motion (RIM). Mike is a brilliant electronics inventor with an idea to combine the pager, phone, and email into a single hand-held device, and Doug is the energetic employee booster, but they are both hapless at business. After some hesitation, they bring in Jim Balsillie (Glenn Howerton) as co-CEO. He is ambitious, cut-throat, and gets things done. Mike's innovation and Jim's drive make the Blackberry the must-have business device of the mid 2000s, but RIM's runaway success is soon threatened. 

What Works Well: With a blend of human drama and madcap comedy, this business story tracks the rise and fall of an iconic device through themes of culture clash (sharp business suits and BMWs versus geekery), fake-it-until-you-make-it (the power of a prop), loss of focus (the pursuit of an NHL franchise), and hubris (failure to appreciate the iPhone's threat). As director, Matt Johnson keeps the drama galloping across a decade of events, always with an eye for the small but telling detail, most poignantly Mike's aversion to electronic products assembled in China. And as an actor alongside Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton, Johnson completes a memorably contrasting trio of sharply-drawn characters.

What Does Not Work As Well: Outside of work and Jim's obsession with hockey, none of the three men appear to have a private life, partners, or interests.

Key Quote:

Jim: Mike, are you familiar with the saying "Perfect is the enemy of good?"

Mike: Well, "Good Enough" is the enemy of humanity.

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Movie Review: The Fog (1980)

Genre: Supernatural Horror  

Director: John Carpenter  

Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Adrienne Barbeau, Tom Atkins, Hal Holbrook, Janet Leigh, John Houseman  

Running Time: 90 minutes  

Synopsis: The small coastal community of Antonio Bay is about to celebrate its 100th anniversary. Lighthouse radio host Stevie (Adrienne Barbeau), church leader Father Malone (Hal Holbrook), and community booster Kathy (Janet Leigh) are preparing for the big day, while hitchhiker Elizabeth (Jamie Lee Curtis) partners with fishing boat owner Nick (Tom Atkins). But the quaint town is built on a dark foundation: a possibly intentional foggy ship wreck 100 years ago resulted in the death of many mariners. Now as midnight approaches, a thick glowing fog appears, and death lurks within.

What Works Well: John Houseman provides an epic prologue with a campfire legend to scare the kids, a perfect foundation for director and co-writer John Carpenter to craft a fine small town ghost story. The residents-under-threat are established with admirable efficiency, leaving plenty of room to build a threatening mood punctuated by several effective jump scares. Hal Holbrook contributes a foreboding elaboration on the town's shameful secret, setting the stage for a frantic third act. The visual effects and cinematography are often outstanding.

What Does Not Work As Well: The absence of a main protagonist dilutes focus among three or four characters. Even within the supernatural context, quite a few inconsistencies bedevil the plot, including the fate of the treasure on that shipwreck from 100 years ago.

Key Quote:

Stevie (over the radio): There's something in the fog!

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Movie Review: Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (1970)

Genre: Satirical Musical Drama  

Director: Russ Meyer  

Starring: Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, John LaZar  

Running Time: 109 minutes  

Synopsis: Small-town musical trio Kelly, Casey, and Petronella (Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, and Marcia McBroom) and their manager Harris relocate to Los Angeles. Kelly connects with her aunt Susan (Phyllis Davis) and claims a share of the family inheritance, much to the dismay of Susan's sleazy lawyer Porter Hall. Svengali-like promoter Ronnie "Z-Man" Barzell (John LaZar) rebrands the trio as the Carrie Nations and propels them to success. Multiple romantic entanglements and sexual relationships ensue, culminating in jealousies, controversies, and violence.

What Works Well: This definitely-not-a-sequel takes a scattershot approach to satirizing the cultural zeitgeist, and some of the garbage stinks rather than reeks. Hippies, squares, artsies, fartsies, drugs, free love, suppressed sexuality, overt sexual predators, sexual fantasies, boxers, lawyers, musicians, pornographers, murderers, greed, and jealousy are all lined up and targeted in a bewildering demonstration of talentless artistry saturated with gratuitous nudity.

What Does Not Work As Well: A generally excruciating example of the lunatics taking over the (20th Century Fox studio) asylum, Russ Meyer finally gets a large budget and diligently deploys it to expose his severe limitations. The Roger Ebert script is overstuffed with imagination and ambition, but generally surrenders to juvenile instincts and rarely finds the intended edge. The editing stays below the level of a student project, while the mostly amateur cast members (selected for physical attributes rather than any acting skills) emphasize the prevailing incompetence with blank-eyed performances and wooden line readings. Worst (but maybe also funniest) of all is a musical trio (two guitarists and one drummer) pretending to belt out a series of brass-heavy songs.

Key Quote:

Kelly: Why don't you lose your laundry, Porter?

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Movie Review: Dune: Part Two (2024)

Genre: Epic Sci-Fi  

Director: Denis Villeneuve  

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Christopher Walken, Javier Bardem, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling  

Running Time: 166 minutes  

Synopsis: Having survived the ambush that wiped out the House of Atreides and killed his father, Paul (Timothée Chalamet) embeds with the Fremen tribe, native to the desert-like Arrakis planet that harbours the much coveted spice. Fremen leader Stilgar (Javier Bardem) believes Paul is the saviour predicted by prophecies, and Paul's pregnant mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) is anointed Reverend Mother. Fremen warrior Chani (Zendaya) is a sceptic, but nevertheless develops a relationship with Paul. As the evil Harkonnen exploit the planet, Paul leads an effective resistance and is joined by his Atreides mentor Gurney (Josh Brolin). The Harkonnen respond by appointing the psychotic Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) to crush their fledgling enemies.

What Works Well: Remarkably, this sequel matches the original for scope, ambition, majestic visuals, and rich storytelling. Denis Villeneuve maintains control of a sprawling and imaginative narrative, this chapter focusing on a rebellion, the tension between folklore and pragmatism, and the consequences of individual actions, with no shortage of thrills, romance, and deception. Paul is certain that untold misery will be unleashed should he choose to step into leadership, and yet the current trajectory of annihilation and evil prevailing is also clear. Every faction has sub-factions and internal conflicts, every agenda has a counter-agenda, and the across-the-universe tapestry is tightly woven into epic duels for control of the future.

What Does Not Work As Well: At 2 hours and 45 minutes, this is another stamina test, made more stressful by a complex make-believe world that throws up obscure names and concepts last introduced hours ago.

Key Quote:

Paul: The visions are clear now. I see possible futures, all at once. Our enemies are all around us, and in so many futures they prevail. But I do see a way, there is a narrow way through.

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Movie Review: The Amityville Horror (1979)

Genre: Supernatural Horror  

Director: Stuart Rosenberg  

Starring: James Brolin, Margot Kidder, Rod Steiger, Don Stroud, Murray Hamilton, Helen Shaver, Val Avery  

Running Time: 118 minutes  

Synopsis: Newlyweds George and Kathy Lutz (James Brolin and Margot Kidder) stretch the family finances and buy a dream Long Island house, priced at a discount because it was previously the scene of a murderous rampage. Father Delaney (Rod Steiger) arrives to bless the house but is chased away by an evil presence, while George becomes sullen and obsessed with wood chopping and axe sharpening. Other strange phenomena include a self-locking closet, the front door blowing off its hinges, the dog clawing at the base of a brick wall, and young daughter Amy developing an unhealthy attachment to an unseen entity she calls Jody. 

What Works Well: Initially believed to be based on actual events (the predecessor multiple murders did happen), this adaptation of the Jay Anson novel does develop a sense of dread. The theme of a family's financial stress threatening tranquility underpins the premise, while the more traditional bump-in-the-night scenes are capably staged by director Stuart Rosenberg, who finds the best angles to turn a house into a threat. James Brolin and Margot Kidder make for an appealing couple, and the rest of the cast features capable talent. 

What Does Not Work As Well: A lot seems to happen, but nothing of plot substance actually happens, exposing the underlying narrative weakness. Rod Steiger's priest fumbles around to no effect, Don Stroud and Murray Hamilton are two other priests with little to contribute, and Val Avery's frumpy detective does...what, exactly? Helen Shaver as a psychic family friend seems to have all the answers to questions that are never asked, and there is an awkward wedding sub-plot that never gels. Finally a muddle of theories encompassing Satanism and the gateway to Hell are trotted out in context-free desperation to create something out of nothing.

Key Quote:

The House (to Father Delaney): GET OUT! 

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Movie Review: Prom Night (1980)

Genre: Slasher Horror  

Director: Paul Lynch  

Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Leslie Nielsen  

Running Time: 93 minutes  

Synopsis: In the prologue, kids playing a cruel game of hide-and-seek in an abandoned covenant cause the death of ten year-old Robin. Six years later in the present, the now teen-aged kids are getting ready for high school graduation. Robin's sister Kim (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her brother Alex are part of the school community, and their father Mr. Hammond (Leslie Nielsen) is the principal. An escaped convict is stalking the town, an outcast student threatens violence, and Kim's nemesis Wendy has disruptive intentions. Eventually a mask-wearing assailant unleashes mayhem.

What Works Well: The opening prologue promises a level of gargoylian horror that the rest of the film never comes close to matching, but one late-in-the-day shot featuring a disembodied head deserves credit.

What Does Not Work As Well: This Canadian production is best known for featuring Jamie Lee Curtis in her prime scream queen era, but offers nothing else. The stiff actors all appear a good ten years older than their roles, the writing is lazy, and the high school environment is a tired re-hash of stereotypes. The horror scenes, when they finally arrive, are tension-free, filmed in murky darkness, and edited into a mess. Instead of delivering impact, every intended highlight is extended into boredom. Worst of all is an incessant fixation on disco dancing and bad disco music. Maybe the hidden message was all about the horror of disco's final days?

Key Quote:

Kim: You seem a little anxious, Wendy. By the way, who are going with tonight?

Wendy: It's not who you go with, honey. It's who takes you home.

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Movie Review: Coffy (1973)

Genre: Blaxploitation  

Director: Jack Hill  

Starring: Pam Grier  

Running Time: 90 minutes  

Synopsis: Night nurse Coffy (Pam Grier) avenges her sister's addiction by killing a couple of drug dealers. A gangland alliance starts to form between mafia boss Vitroni (Allan Arbus), black drug traffickers led by King George (Robert DoQui), and black politician (and Coffy's lover) Howard Brunswick (Booker Bradshaw). When Coffy's police officer friend Carter (William Elliott) is assaulted for refusing bribe money to look the other way, she sets out on another murderous and highly dangerous revenge quest. 

What Works Well: This fast-paced, hard-hitting, and unblinking blaxploitation flick combines violence, sex, and a strong feminist streak (plus the bonus of an epic cat fight) with an uncompromising anti-drug message. With cops and politicians joining gangsters in exploiting addicts, none of the main characters are remotely wholesome, allowing writer and director Jack Hill the freedom to deploy deceit, manipulation, and betrayal in pursuit of greed and revenge. Pam Grier is excellent in the middle of the action-packed carnage, her interpretation of Coffy providing the only clear-eyed condemnation of blacks selling out their own community.

What Does Not Work As Well: The sleaze from the sordid underbelly of this corrupt world drips off the screen.

Key Quote:

Howard: You're upset, you can see that don't you?

Coffy: I can see plenty! I can see how every time a kid rips off a car or an appliance store to get a fix, you get your cut.

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