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Watched on Friday May 9, 2025.

Incredibly entertaining movie.

I love noir but I don’t believe these characters are human beings.

Watched on Monday May 12, 2025.

Entertainingly terrible.

Watched on Thursday May 8, 2025.

Watched on Tuesday May 6, 2025.

Watched on Sunday May 4, 2025.

Watched on Sunday May 4, 2025.

Watched on Saturday May 3, 2025.

Watched on Thursday May 1, 2025.

Watched on Wednesday April 30, 2025.

Watched on Tuesday April 29, 2025.

Watched on Monday April 28, 2025.

Watched on Monday April 28, 2025.

Watched on Sunday April 27, 2025.

Watched on Friday April 25, 2025.

Watched on Friday April 25, 2025.

Watched on Friday April 25, 2025.

Watched on Thursday April 24, 2025.

Watched on Tuesday April 22, 2025.

Watched on Thursday April 17, 2025.

Watched on Sunday April 20, 2025.

Watched on Friday April 18, 2025.

This was the restoration that ran in TCM. Obviously it would be preferable to see the real footage instead of stills but this version is much more satisfying than the 2 hour cut. I read the novel a few years ago. Tempted to read it again after seeing this.

Watched on Thursday April 17, 2025.

Watched on Wednesday April 16, 2025.

Watched on Wednesday April 16, 2025.

Very entertaining movie.

Watched on Sunday April 13, 2025.

Watched on Friday April 11, 2025.

Suspenseful, great performances. Really enjoyed this.

Watched on Tuesday April 8, 2025.

Watched on Wednesday April 9, 2025.

Watched on Thursday April 10, 2025.

What an odd mess of a movie, even by Bob Clark standards. But I still found things to like about this.

Watched on Thursday April 3, 2025.

This sucked. Shaggy right wing fantasy of a “good” cop who is in fact an incompetent brutal piece of shit. Tepid attempts to find more depth. Baffling and sad that Abraham Polonsky is co-credited on the script.

Watched on Wednesday April 2, 2025.

Watched on Thursday March 27, 2025.

I watched the director’s cut which was somewhat more successful than the theatrical. I’d genuinely be interested in a movie about adult Danny Torrance and I think Ewan McGregor does a great job. But the soul vampire stuff is cheesy and plays like an X-Men movie at times. If this movie stood alone rather than tying directly to the Kubrick film, it would all be easier to accept.

I always suspected this wasn’t great but after watching I’m going to say it’s pretty terrible on all fronts. Miscast actors give bad performances. The script is clunky and expository. There’s no sense of tension or claustrophobia. The ending is cloyingly sentimental. It’s true that I love the Kubrick movie but I have read King’s novel and I do think it’s possible to adapt it more faithfully — but this thing is a disaster.

Watched on Saturday March 29, 2025.

Watched on Wednesday March 19, 2025.

Watched on Saturday March 1, 2025.

Watched on Sunday March 16, 2025.

Watched on Monday March 17, 2025.

Watched on Tuesday March 18, 2025.

Watched on Friday February 28, 2025.

Watched on Friday February 28, 2025.

I'm re-watching David Lynch's film and television work in chronological order. I'm a huge Lynch fan. I've seen all his films but some more often than others and some not for years.

• Six Men Getting Sick
• The Alphabet
• The Grandmother
• Eraserhead
• The Elephant Man
• Dune
• Blue Velvet
• The Cowboy and the Frenchman
• Twin Peaks
• Industrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Brokenhearted

...plus 6 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

The films I've watched recently that may have influenced Star Wars (1977). Watching in anticipation of The Force Awakens, mostly as an excuse to watch or re-watch some great movies. I don't have unrealistic expectations for The Force Awakens.

• Seven Samurai
• The Dam Busters
• Lawrence of Arabia
• The Adventures of Robin Hood
• The Hidden Fortress
• Metropolis
• Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe
• The Searchers

I'm watching several noir films form the classic era over the course of November.

• The Big Heat

  "The Big Heat" was an early favorite of mine when I first became a noir devotee as a teen. I saw it several times into my twenties but hadn't revisited until recently. It had receded in my mind, probably because so few of director Fritz Lang's other post war american movies impressed me. Lang's other fifties movies like "Human Desire" from the next year (also with Glenn Ford and Gloria Grahame)tended toward the flat footed and ham handed, often so lacking in style they just looked bad.

  It turns out my reservations about Lang were unfounded when it comes to "The Big Heat". This is a tough picture in all the best ways. The pivotal twist that sets Ford on his dark road is just as compelling as I ed. Shocking, even. Ford gives such a credibly gritty performance that you'd never guess he was previously known for lighter roles. It's no surprise that Lee Marvin holds the screen even in this early ing role. But the real star here is Gloria Grahame. The arc of her character in this film extraordinary for the fifties. In the final tally, she's the only character who's willing to do whatever it takes, not Ford. And that's just damn exciting.

  Like Lang's other fifties films, "The Big Heat" isn't stylish in the expressionist way usually associated with the classic noir era. But in this instance the flat, direct approach only enhances the impact of the story. And when it comes down to it, the story is the what impresses the most here. Lang was a capable director when he needed to be but like so many others, he needs a great script to make a great film.

• I Wake Up Screaming

  I had low expectations for this pre-war proto-noir, but despite some shortcomings it really delivered in the entertainment and style department. And that style is slathered on with a palette knife. Released the same year as "Citizen Kane" and one year before "Cat People", "I Wake Up Screaming" boasts plenty of imported German Expressionist lighting that would later be so closely associated with post-war noir.

  The story is hampered a bit by the overenthusiastic use of flashbacks and a pat wrap-up but Mature and Grable's charming performances carry it along. Another stand out is Laird Cregar who was excellent in John Brahm's "Hangover Square". He was an interesting actor who died too young. Elisha Cook Jr. gives a great oddball turn here as well but he's a bright spot in any movie.

  Is this really noir? I don't think so. It lacks the existential doom that all true noir needs. Noir has nothing to with expressionist lighting. Noir isn't about big shadows, it's the dark content that counts. That said, "I Wake Up Screaming" is still a lot of fun and I recommend checking it out.