The Night of the Following Day (1968; Hubert Cornfield) GRADE: D- Inert, pretentious, would-be nail biter featuring Marlon Brando in his weird, pre-Godfather down period as a hepcat kidnapper. He pairs with Mafia hard man Richard Boone to snatch and ransom the daughter of a wealthy American businessman. […]
The Chase (1966; Arthur Penn) GRADE: B+ By Daniel Barnes In most if not all of his best roles, the Nebraska-born Marlon Brando was an easy avatar for everything anti-heroic about America. A Streetcar Named Desire and The Wild One boosted him to prominence as a post-WWII, hyper-sensitive […]
Variety (1983; Bette Gordon) GRADE: B By Mike Dub Bette Gordon’s 1983 independent thriller Variety is a sharp, ambitious thriller. It deserves to mentioned alongside other vivid films about the alienated abyss of the old New York City – the ugly, dangerous, vile New York City that is nostalgically eulogized […]
One-Eyed Jacks (1961; Marlon Brando) Grade: B By Mike Dub As the 1950s drew to a close, Marlon Brando was about to enter the next decade about as hot as anyone has ever been. In the seven years leading up to his directorial debut (and finale), One-Eyed Jacks, […]
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976; John Cassavetes) GRADE: B- By Daniel Barnes Like most of John Cassavetes’ movies, his meditative 1976 crime film The Killing of a Chinese Bookie opens on what appears to be a random moment. When I watched Faces for the first time […]
STEPMOM (1998; Chris Columbus) GRADE: D- By Daniel Barnes *Originally published on the Movie City USA blog on June 5, 2008. At the end of Chris Columbus’ mummified would-be tearjerker Stepmom, a credit reads, “In Loving Memory of Irene Columbus.” It’s a reference to the director’s mother, who […]
