I’m back! Being an American, I spent last week cooking small birds and chocolate desserts. I hope everyone who celebrated had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving staying at home.
Today will not be part three of Destiel, as my last two posts about it were quite lengthy and I’ve been neglecting everything else I usually write about. It’s been about…three weeks since I’ve done a weekly update and there’s a lot going on.
Been watching more TCM in general, usually just catching snippets of whatever’s on. They keep movies on the app for a few weeks so when a while ago they had a whole day of Bogart I started watching one every night – San Quentin, Racket Busters, King of the Underworld and They Drive By Night. Sadly, I had to be told, after years and years of watching his movies, that Bogie was, in fact, short. This detail had completely escaped me. Now it’s all I can see.
I guess because he always seems like he’s slouching yet has a towering presence.
Racket Busters was the weakest of the bunch. Mostly forgettable and Bogart is only in a few scenes playing a generic villain. It was a typical WB socially conscious film but didn’t have any punch to it and the main character turning halfway through the movie doesn’t really earn his redemptive arc at the end since all his friends died. I had to wonder if this film was anti-union as well as anti-gangster. Rackets were a huge union problem but they also solved the problem by all banding together so….
King of the Underworld was clearly at a time when movies were still experimenting with where you can take a narrative in an hour – it just had too many things going on. The first fifteen minutes are focused almost exclusively on the husband and then he dies offscreen and the rest of the film is about his wife who moves to a small town to re-establish her practice and hunt down the gangster her husband was working for. Each of these threads could have been interesting (especially the competition in the small town, I think) but none were ever fully explored and the tone felt all over the place. Bogart is super engaging as a villain though, instead of a stock character he infused Joe Gurney with a sense of humor and inquisitiveness that made you understand his need for power. He fashioned himself as one of the greats, taking a biography he read of Napoleon as an inspiration. Fascinating stuff, yet there wasn’t enough time to let anything breathe. I’ve always been on the fence about Kay Francis. She was fine enough in the role but she’s one of those actresses I can’t remember anything about when I hear about her.
San Quentin was a pretty good gem – a case for prison reform that treats inmates as diverse people with individuality. Newly San Quentin prison captain hiree Pat O’Brien falls in love with cabaret singer Ann Sheridan right before her brother gets arrested and sent to the big house. The triangle plays out roughly along the lines that you’d expect and there’s a very well-filmed exciting prison escape through the California hills. What struck me most was the scene where O’Brien is doing spot inspections and talks to four or five prisoners in a row – one’s a religious zealot, one’s a writer (“I could never understand how a man with your brains got into a place like this.” “Well, I couldn’t live on rejection slips.”), an old-timer, a green newbie. It’s WB humanism at its best as it highlights and sympathizes with people of all stripes.
Ann Sheridan didn’t make a particularly big impact on me in San Quentin, but I LOVED her in They Drive By Night. Her no-nonsense waitress whose seen it all really added spitfire to tale about two brothers in a job way too dangerous for mortals. It’s one of those movies that I’d really like to watch even one more time (I saw it a few years ago) to really get a handle on but I’m hoping to do that soon because it was so good and taut and well-crafted. Also George Raft’s hairstyle always make me laugh.
Nov 2016 Watch
– People of Earth is an incredibly good comedy that was gone way, way too soon. It’s weird and silly and completely bonkers and I love its absurdism. Another text that likes looking at all different kind of people and reactions, digging into what makes them act certain ways. At the same time, it’s a great ensemble comedy that feels different to the tight knit codependency of Community or Parks & Rec but rather enjoys taking its time developing strong bonds between particular members and then letting them at each other’s throats.
– 3% is engaging with fantastic set design although I’m still a little worn out by dystopias. The ultimate message of “capitalism is bad actually” is very well made although the mysteries around the head of the process Ezequiel are a little drawn out. I find the characters to be more and more engaging but I’m actually terrified of getting attached to anyone. I’ve seen 3 episodes so far and am at least looking forward to more, even though it’s not at the top of my list. Also everyone is incredibly hot.
– Frontier remains the trashiest version of GOT possible and I’m extremely here for it. There are too many characters, plotlines, and attempts to appear as a serious, thinky show (the quotes at the beginning especially get me) but at its heart it’s a horny, violent mess and I love shows with gooey centers.