Rob Christopher's Blog, page 21

3 things about Nick Grinde’s SHOPWORN

Shopworn [1932]

1. Her response to the college boy’s attempt at flirtation is to ring up NO SALE on the cash register.
2. Alley cats hanging around the garbage cans out back.
3. Bored with Baked Alaska.

3 things about Ridley Scott’s GLADIATOR II

Gladiator II [2024]

1. That’s politicsssssss.
2. Dual-sword decapitation (just like in the first film) and assisted stabbing.
3. The archers train their fire on the spectators.

3 things about Samuel Fuller’s THE CRIMSON KIMONO

The Crimson Kimono [1959]

1. Making coffee in a paint can.
2. Both detectives are kendo champions.
3. An ex-librarian on the run.

3 things about Alfred Hitchcock’s SPELLBOUND

Spellbound [1945]

1. Bit part for Victor Kilian (Grandpa Larkin from Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman).
2. “Women make the best psychoanalysts until they fall in love. After that they make the best patients.”
3. Proprietor with a sheer stocking concealing his face.

3 other things.

3 things about Terry Gilliam’s BRAZIL

Brazil [1985]

1. The restaurant staff discreetly move a foldable screen into place to shield patrons from the carnage.
2. “Don’t fight it, son. Confess quickly! If you hold out too long you could jeopardize your credit rating.”
3. Kurtzmann as paving stone creature with arms.

3 other things.

3 things about John Gilling’s PICKUP ALLEY

Pickup Alley [1957]

1. The way Trevor Howard says “honey” is deeply unnerving.
2. Panicky dope fix prep.
3. Taking a blowtorch to the back of the fridge.

3 things about Arthur Penn’s DEAD OF WINTER

Dead of Winter [1987]

1. Great in-joke: signing a headshot of Malcolm McDowell.
2. As the trapdoor rises, so does the body.
3. McKinley’s piano (and chess set).

3 things about Charles Burnett’s THE ANNIHILATION OF FISH

The Annihilation of Fish [1999]

1. Recreating Vertigo at Fort Point.
2. Curried goat.
3. The demon’s corpse is beginning to stink, she points out.

3 things about Leo McCarey’s MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW

Make Way for Tomorrow [1937]

1. They’ve got five hours.
2. A framed photograph in the lobby of the lobby.
3. “When you’re 17 and the world’s beautiful, facing facts is just as slick fun as dancing or going to parties, but when you’re 70–well, you don’t care about dancing, you don’t think about parties anymore, and about the only fun you have left is pretending that there ain’t any facts to face, so would you mind if I just went on pretending?”

3 other things.

3 things about THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE

The Great Mouse Detective [1986]

1. Melissa Manchester as a sexy, singing mouse.
2. Dizzying panorama of the clockworks.
3. “I had so many ingenious ideas I didn’t know which to choose. So I decided to use them all.”