Rob Christopher's Blog, page 28

3 things about Thea Sharrock’s WICKED LITTLE LETTERS

Wicked Little Letters [2023]

1. She dashes into the privy, shouting, “Close your ears!”
2. The cruelty in his voice. “You don’t know what you want.”
3. Paddy wagon cackle.

3 things about John Ford’s THE SEARCHERS

The Searchers [1956]

1. She looks on in rapture as the two men fight over her.
2. Pesky flamenco dancer.
3. Quick scalping.

3 things about David Lean’s THE PASSIONATE FRIENDS

The Passionate Friends [1949]

1. A lunch that lasts so long the afternoon transitions into twilight; they watch the lights coming on outside from the balcony.
2. The curve of the tracks.
3. He sets down her drink on the theatre program, just after she notices its presence.

3 things about Francisca Alegría’s THE COW WHO SANG A SONG INTO THE FUTURE

The Cow Who Sang a Song into the Future [2022]

1. He shows her the motorcycle he’s restoring.
2. Bovine breathing.
3. The bees return.

3 things about Boaz Yakin’s FRESH

Fresh [1994]

1. She quietly squeezes her throat.
2. A trailer home in a vacant lot.
3. Textbooks.

3 things about THE RESCUERS

The Rescuers [1977]

1. Set in a swamp and not a single Black character.
2. Taking shelter from the rain under a mailbox.
3. Alligator waterski.

3 things about Richard Shepard’s THE LINGUINI INCIDENT

The Linguini Incident [1991]

1. Complaining about her hairdo.
2. Bowie pummeling a chicken.
3. Andre Gregory laughing maniacally.

The new Director’s Cut. It’s very amiable but not as funny as it should be. David Bowie, of course, has infinite charm.

3 things about Jerry Jameson’s AIRPORT ’77

Airport ’77 [1977]

1. There is only one scene in the history of cinema featuring both James Stewart and Jack Lemmon and they don’t even trade dialog.
2. Dorothy plays a video game.
3. Why exactly is Julie on this flight anyway? Just because she’s the boyfriend of the piano man?

3 other things.

3 things about Luis Buñuel’s EL (THIS STRANGE PASSION)

El [1953]

1. A tableaux of unwashed feet.
2. He says, “We’ll do anything you like,” then proceeds to veto her every suggestion.
3. “Few men possess so keen a sense of justice as I.”

Another of Buñuel’s unjustly neglected masterpieces. Obsessive “love,” a key scene in a belltower: surely Hitchcock was familiar with this film. There’s also a Sirkian flavor to it as well, though Don Luis pushes the story into a realm that’s uniquely his. (Love those scenes in the church!) The transfer I watched wasn’t great but I could still appreciate Gabriel Figueroa’s silky smooth cinematography.

3 other things.

3 things about Stephen Frears’ THE GRIFTERS

The Grifters [1990]

1. A bag of oranges and a towel.
2. An empty room that the sucker never sees.
3. “Sooner or later, the lightning hits. I don’t want to be around when it hits you.”