Guilty as Sin (1993)
Streaming free at Internet Archive
It’s a treat to watch any film written by Larry Cohen (It’s Alive, Maniac Cop, Q: The Winged Serpent), and it doesn’t hurt that this one is directed by Sidney Lumet (Dog Day Afternoon, Fail Safe, 12 Angry Men).Great setup — gorgeous but kinda slithery lawyer Rebecca De Morney takes cocky reptilian lothario Don Johnson as a client, defending him from charges that he killed his wife, though he’s so screamingly, sometimes hilariously obnoxious, you gotta believe he probably did the deed.
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| NEVERENDING FILM FESTIVAL #311 [archive] JULY 13, 2024
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The movie’s delivery is almost as good as the setup. Certainly, everything about the story is nuts — it’s Larry Cohen, remember? — but it’s kickass nuts.And don’t worry if (like me) you’re not a fan of Don Johnson, or even find him actively annoying. He camps it up so much, basically asking you to hate the character, that disliking Don Johnson only makes the movie better.
Verdict: YES.
♦ ♦ ♦
Guilty by Suspicion (1991)
Streaming free at Internet Archive
Robert De Niro stars as David Merrill, a famous (but fictitious) film director who’s suspected of sympathizing with the pinkos during the Red Scare. Those suspicions could disappear and his career could continue with no ‘difficulties’ if he’d simply testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee, but they’ll want him to name other pinkos and pinko sympathizers, and the first name would be Merrill’s best friend, Bunny (George Wendt). Yes, he’s a man named Bunny.This is, I think, the highest-profile, most famous film from Hollywood about the blacklist. Big stars, big budget, big drama. It’s a disappointment, though, with little passion or punch.
Chris Cooper begins the movie as a good guy, but inexplicably becomes more and more monstrous as the story drags along. New characters keep coming on screen, with dramatic backstories everyone except the audience seems to know about. The persistent presence of ‘era music’ between scenes, and over some scenes, is a detraction, as is the slow-swirling camerawork, and the white Rolls Royce or whatever swanky car Merrill drives to remind you that he’s rich and successful.
This flick even has Merrill say, “Don’t you have an ounce of decency?” in the hearings scene, but c’mon. That’s far too directly pilfered from the most famous line from the most famous testimony at a different hearing, spoken by the very non-fictional Joseph Welch.
And it’s a tiny thing, but truly dumb, to have a few scenes set against a backdrop of Marilyn Monroe filming Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. I’m not a Monroeaholic, but sweet jeebers, when her face and voice are in the background, everything else evaporates, and you get a real sense for how little is going on in this movie.
Verdict: MAYBE.
♦ ♦ ♦
Guilty Bystander (1950)
Streaming free at Internet Archive
Streaming free at Internet Archive
Max Thursday was a hard-drinking San Diego private detective, in a series of novels by Bob Wade and Bill Miller, writing as ‘Wade Miller’. I read two of the books, decades ago, but never knew there was a movie, and didn’t know this was that movie.And yet, I recognized Max the moment he’s first on screen — passed out drunk in his rez-hotel room. Haven’t thought about the books in 40+ years, but instantly my thought was, “Ha! Reminds me of Max Thursday.” But wait a minute, this guy’s name is Max? Thursday?
He’s an ex-cop, drummed off the force because of his heavy drinking, and now he’s being bothered by his ex-wife. She’s frantic because their son has been kidnapped, so Max gets himself semi-sober and starts collecting clues, but pretty soon someone’s dead and Max is the prime suspect.
Zachary Scott (Mildred Pierce) plays Max, and he’s a scuzzy combination of good guy and dirtbag — watch him throw the woman down the stairs.
But don’t read me wrong, buster — this flick ain’t Sammy Spade or nothin’. It’s just that the mystery adds up, the dames are tough, the thugs are rotten, and the floozy at the bar wants Max should have a drink.
“Why don’t you get outta here? I think you’re too smart for this world. Go on, get outta here.”
Verdict: YES.
♦ ♦ ♦
The Guitar (2008)
A young woman gets a fatal diagnosis, and is dumped by her boyfriend on the same day. In between, she’s laid off from her job.There’s potential in a hard-luck story like that, but this movie squanders most of it.
This woman is rich, so she has no worries about money or medical bills. She immediately rents a New York penthouse that’s about the size of my neighborhood. It’s unfurnished, so she orders truckloads of new couches, tables, cookware, lamps.
In flashbacks we see that as a child she’d always wanted a guitar, so she has one delivered. “What do you recommend?” she asks, about the guitar, then adds, “Money’s not really the issue,” so she buys a 1963 Fender Stratocaster, red, and teaches herself to play it, as the clock ticks on toward her death.
The Guitar is written by Amos Poe, who wrote the hate-it-or-love-it mobster/actor drama Frogs for Snakes. It’s directed by Amy Redford, and as it progressed I suspected more and more, and confirmed when it was finished, that she’s Robert Redford’s daughter. My suspicion, of course, was not triggered because there’s any resemblance between her work and his, but because this film couldn’t exist without nepotism.
Verdict: NO.
♦ ♦ ♦
Gulliver’s Travels (1939)
Streaming free at Internet Archive
Streaming free at Internet Archive
A shipwrecked sailor washes ashore on the isle of Lilliput, where everyone’s so small they’re basically Lilliputian. This feature-length cartoon by Dave Fleischer is “based on Jonathan Swift’s immortal tale,” but Gulliver himself, the star of the story, seems less central than the singing prince and princess of two little-people nations, who say they’re in love and won’t shut up about it.Fleischer did a lot of Betty Boop, Popeye, and Superman cartoons, and of course Let’s All Go to the Lobby, and he made this movie to look pretty much like any of his 7-minute pre-movie cartoons. It has pudgy little people who talk silly and wear comically exaggerated facial expressions. There’s plenty of pretty colors, several forgettable songs, and lots of very broad humor that might merit a smile in a pre-movie short, but becomes tedious when it’s the main attraction.
Admittedly, I watched this on a 95-degree day, drowsy already and full of ice cream, but I fell asleep twice, and refuse to give the movie a third attempt.
Verdict: NO.
♦ ♦ ♦
Gulliver’s Travels Among the Lilliputians and the Giants (1902)
Streaming free at Internet Archive
Streaming free at Internet Archive
Here’s very-early moviemaker Georges Méliès, handling the same source material as the cartoon above, but doing a much better job of it. It’s only four minutes, two scenes, with live actors, and hand-tinted colorful trick photography that’s remarkable for its time. Méliès also stars as Gulliver.No songs, no yawns.
Verdict: YES.
♦ ♦ ♦
Gulls and Buoys (1972)
Streaming free at Vimeo
Streaming free at Vimeo
Animations of gulls and buoys, swans and cats, people, airplanes, a hotel, a key, a bicycle, and more, with occasional sounds.It’s avant-garde by Robert Breer, so there’s no plot, no point, but it’s over in seven minutes, and honestly, it’s interesting.It’s cool the way the drawings are shown, first as rough sketches sometimes broken down to simple lines to give a hint at how everything was drawn, and then they spring to life.
Verdict: YES.
♦ ♦ ♦
7/13/2024
• • • Coming attractions • • •
Guncrazy (1992)
The Gunfighter (1950)
Gunfighters (1947)
Gunga Din (1939)
Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)
… plus schlock, shorts, and surprises
The Gunfighter (1950)
Gunfighters (1947)
Gunga Din (1939)
Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)
… plus schlock, shorts, and surprises
— — —
Now accepting movie recommendations,
especially starting with the letter ‘H’.
Just add a comment, below.
especially starting with the letter ‘H’.
Just add a comment, below.
— — —
Illustration by Jeff Meyer. Click any image to enlarge. Arguments & recommendations are welcome, but no talking once the lights dim, and only real butter on the popcorn, not that fake yellow stuff.
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