127 minute running time so at least 30 minutes too long. It’s kind of a cute story and star-studded with aged fuddy-duddies, but I couldn’t get into it and it was way way too long. I loved young Lauren Bacall, but not old Lauren Bacall. Only Jacqueline Bisset at age 30 looked good, the rest were relics. This was a John Farr reco, but I say pass.
Albert Finney as Poirot
101 minute running time, but I didn’t make it too far in before going to fast forward. It didn’t grab me and it had a 70s vibe where I knew it would be a slog. It’s about a woman who is cracking up, I guess. The star is beautiful and had nice floppy breasts, but there wasn’t much else to hold my attention. John Farr wrote, “The movie's bleak, opaque quality will not be to all tastes, but psychological horror fans should pounce.” Wrong, don’t pounce my fellow psychological horror fans, run away.
These are the best thriller / mystery movies of the 2010s according to John Farr. I’ve arranged them chronologically below:
English-language movies:
Animal Kingdom (2010)
Drive (2011)
Margin Call (2011)
Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)
Take Shelter (2011)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011)
We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
Argo (2012)
Mud (2012)
American Hustle (2013)
Captain Phillips (2013)
Prisoners (2013)
The Widower (2013)
A Most Violent Year (2014)
Foxcatcher (2014)
Bridge of Spies (2015)
Room (2015)
The Gift (2015)
All the Money in the World (2017)
Personal Shopper (2017)
Sweet Country (2017)
Mr. Jones (2019)
Queen and Slim (2019)
Foreign-language movies:
In a Better World (2010) (Danish)
Incendies (2010) (French)
Of Gods and Men (2010) (French)
Poetry (2010) (Korean)
The King of Devil's Island (2010) (Norwegian)
White Material (2010) (French)
Aurora (2011) (Romanian)
Bullhead (2011) (Dutch)
Elena (2011) (Russian)
Policeman (2011) (Hebrew)
The Skin I Live In (2011) (Spanish)
A Hijacking (2012) (Danish)
No (2012) (Spanish)
Bastards (2013) (French)
Stranger by the Lake (2014) (French)
Elle (2016) (French)
The Handmaiden (2016) (Korean)
The Salesman (2016) (Farsi)
The Woman Who Left (2016) (Tagalog)
Transit (2017) (German)
A White, White Day (2019) (Icelandic)
The Traitor (2019) (Italian)
116 minute running time so at least 20 minutes too long … very late Hitchcock and not up to his usual standard … it’s not terrible but it’s also not good enough to recommend … the best part was the comedy between the Chief Inspector and his wife (Vivien Merchant) at dinner … this was a John Farr recommendation.
You’re my type of woman…
In Spanish. 100 minute running time so a perfect length … sort of a scared straight movie, you don’t want to be a drug mule, kids … starred a beautiful Colombian girl … it wasn’t a perfect movie, but it’s good enough to get a green-go, I enjoyed it and loved the ending. The girl had guts and should become a solid Murkan citizen in time. This was a John Farr recommendation, and I second it.
In German. 123 minute running time so 23 minutes too long. Another Fassbinder film. Sort of you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ‘em all, except he (and his Big Johnson) stars in this one. Variations on his blinding hatred of bourgeois German society as well as German gay culture, or maybe all gay culture (Fassbinder was gay), and why not include all of humanity in there as completely loathsome and unredeemable. Fassbinder is very good at playing a naive prole.
People call him a genius and I have to sort of agree, I do like his schtick, but this is not general audience stuff, this is highbrow, art house stuff for sophisticates like me. I’ll give a blanket green-go to all the movies Fassbinder made (at least the ones I’ve seen so far), as does John Farr.
125 minute running time so 25 minutes too long … yes, the performances by Hoffman and Olivier and Scheider are good, but the story makes no sense. Why would Levy’s father and brother be involved with Der Weisse Engel? That part made no sense to me and sort of ruined the movie.
But I suppose it’s a green-go despite the lack of “plot logic,” maybe for the dental torture scene alone. It’s another in the gritty-70s-Manhattan series of movies … oddly the World Trade Center doesn’t appear in a shot of southern Manhattan, so they must have used old stock footage there? Hoffman didn’t like the original ending where he kills Olivier, so they brought in Robert Towne to re-write the ending where Olivier impales himself, which I do think is better. This is a John Farr recommendation.
Is it safe?
$150. I’ve never been a fan of the Venetian pattern and won’t be getting this one. Black matte finish is nice though. I’m wondering which was “the very first Deep Carve design unveiled in 2004.” Shilly-Shally came out in 2003, but I guess that wasn’t truly Deep Carve? Maybe they mean Carved Elegance No. 20757 and Carved Columns No. 20771, both of which came out in 2004 (pdf).
“The 2024 Collectible of the Year celebrates three Zippo milestones in an incredible display of artistry. Introduced as the Florentine in 1974, the iconic Venetian® pattern swirls on all sides of the Armor® case with our Laser Engrave process. The ornate design stands in gorgeous contrast to the Black Matte finish, which made its debut in 1984, while the Zippo icon is nestled among diagonal MultiCut pinstripes in an ode to the very first Deep Carve design unveiled in 2004.”
112 minute running time and I definitely could have cut out 12 minutes to make the sacred 100 minute mark, but this is a great movie, a classic from my youth, green-go for sure. Aragorn son of Arathorn puts in an appearance and Danny Glover is a bad mofo, but never fear, since this is an 80s movie, all the black men are killed off by the end. John Farr recommends this movie and I do too!
One of the greatest come-hither looks of all time…
124 minute running time but doesn’t feel overly long because it’s so much fun … works as both a comedy and a thriller … it’s hilarious but also serious with the grime of early 1970s New Yawk and the violence and horrific killing … helped hugely that Matthau was a native New Yorker. This is a green-go, one of the best thriller-comedies of all time. John Farr also recommends it.
Thank you for a most instructive visit, Lieutenant.
