THE DANMAN CAN

Despite what feels like a tacked-on bit of dialogue at the end (very common during the Golden Age Of Hollywood), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) is a strong film noir that holds up on repeat viewings. I haven't read James M. Cain 's 1934 novel  (I definitely need to read more classic crime novels), but from what I understand this film adaptation (there have been numerous), the first in English, hews closely to the story. Lana Turner  plays blonde bombshell femme fatale Cora Smith who, alongside Rita Hayworth in Gilda (1946) ( review ), is given one on the best introductions in noir history. Cora naturally hooks in John Garfield 's blue collar worker, Frank Chambers, resulting in a sadomasochistic extramarital affair that sizzles on screen. Cecil Kellaway is the jovial husband, Nick, seemingly oblivious to Cora and Frank's romance. When frustrations arise regarding decisions about the married couple's future, off-handed comments between Cora and Frank ab...

Ingmar Bergman 's Shame  ( Skammen ) (1968) is a powerful and sad film about how war will cause human beings to do terrible things to one another. The scoreless and bleak film features more action than your typical Bergman film—full of explosions and gunfire. But the focus remains on stars Eva ( Liv Ullmann ) and Jan Rosenberg ( Max von Sydow ), a politically uninvolved couple whose marriage deteriorates when they become innocent bystanders caught in the middle of a civil war. While they both do their fair share of mistreating each other with verbal barbs and minor physical violence, it is Jan who causes the ultimate division, irreparably damaging their relationship by his unforgivable actions. There is always poetry in Bergman films and here he saves it for the climax of the film, as Eva recollects a dream that seems to mirror the emotion the film finally imparts its audience with—emptiness. You can find my  Ingmar Bergman Feature Films Ranked  list  here ...

The Prestige  (2006) is my favorite Christopher Nolan film, edging out Memento  (2000) by just a hair. When I made my Top 10 Films Of 2006 list, The Prestige topped it. Upon a reassessment, I'd place both The Proposition and The New World (2005) (released wide in the States in January 2006) above it. But I still love Nolan's rival magicians movie. I appreciate Nolan as a filmmaker but I've never been head over heels for him. This film and Memento  are the closest I come to "fanboying" over him. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman both give very charismatic and engaging performances. Rebecca Hall isn't given enough screen time, in my opinion, but she's very good when she is on screen. As to  Scarlett Johansson , neither her acting nor her role are anything special, which is fine, as her character is the attractive assistant—intentionally designed to distract the audience. The Prestige  holds up well on revisits, even if I did deduct a 1/2 star from m...

The Search For Weng Weng (2013) is a heartfelt documentary about one genre film lover's obsessive quest to learn more about famous diminutive Filipino actor Weng Weng , most well-known as the star of a series of James Bond spoofs. Director  Andrew Leavold 's journey takes him to the home of relatives, into conversations with cast and crew who worked with Weng Weng and, most surreal of all, to a birthday celebration for former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos . Of the subjects interviewed for Search , some express how they are uncomfortable with what the films of Weng Weng represent—a disabled actor placed in absurd situations for entertainment. Others feel that Weng Weng helped make a name for their country and that when reassessed, his films have merit. What Leavold finds, unsurprisingly, is that Weng Weng, while exploited for his stature, not properly compensated in the slightest, and perhaps having lead a life filled more with sadness than any other em...

Just under twenty years have gone by since the release of L7 's last album, Slap-Happy (1999). That's a really long time for a band to not release music. Well, L7 did release two non-album singles in 2017 and 2018, respectively, but neither song blew me away. My so-so reaction to those songs, combined with the fact that Slap-Happy is my second least favorite L7 LP, had me a little concerned about how good the new album would be. Scatter The Rats  (2019) has arrived and I'm happy to say that I like it more than I expected. It took a few listens to grab hold but I'm digging it now. There are a couple of weak tracks ("Murky Water Cafe" is skip-worthy), but overall Rats  features more of the punk/grunge sound that fans have come to love. No surprises, just solid rock. The songs don't have quite as much bite as previousl albums, the drums don't have the same power as they do on albums like Bricks Are Heavy (1992) or The Beauty Process  (1997), and Rats...

Lucio Fulci 's The New York Ripper (1982) is exploitation cinema at its finest with a reputation that precedes itself. It's full of graphic nudity, shocking gore, and perturbing violence toward women—sure to offend those with delicate sensibilities—but always in the service of the story, stylistically shot, and made by a master of genre filmmaking. Ripper is one brutal and sleazy giallo , primarily because it's so sexualized. In fact (believe it or not), in some ways, Fulci is more restrained than he usually is in this film—not lingering as long as he tends to on the grisly moments, which actually makes them more powerful, in my opinion. I think that's because the audience is given less time to register that what they are seeing is fake. That's not to say the f/x work is particularly realistic, but what's portrayed on screen is disturbing nonetheless (and an extreme horror film fan's paradise). Ripper  features perhaps one of filmdom's most nihilis...

Cliffhanger  (1993) provides action thrills galore and slick direction by  Renny Harlin . The characterization is pretty thin (they make a lot of stupid choices), the villains are over the top (though John Lithgow is perfectly slimy), and a good deal of suspension of disbelief is required. Additionally, some of the f/x work shows its age, but the stunts are very impressive, the mountainous landscapes are gorgeous, and there are some choice one-liners. It's just dumb enough that it doesn't deserve classic status, but not dumb or cheap enough to be a b-movie, making  Stallone  the right guy for the film.  Cliffhanger  carried the tradition of '80s actioners into the early '90s. 26 years on,   it's still gripping, fun, and holds up quite well.

Starship Troopers  (1997) is an incredibly entertaining film that works both as a gory, exciting, sci-fi actioner  and as a smart satire of militaristic fascism and xenophobia. Intentionally presenting its characters as beautiful, warmongering nationalists, Troopers also features brilliantly amusing fake propaganda in the form of news reports interspersed throughout the film. The practical f/x work is excellent while the CGI alternately holds up well (the individual "Arachnids") or not so much (some of the larger bugs and space scenes). While never quite as campy as a Sci-Fi (or SYFY) Channel movie, nor as expertly made as RoboCop  (1987) (one of a handful of perfect 80s action films) ( review ), Starship Troopers  nevertheless remains a strong entry in director Paul Verhoeven 's filmography. You can find my Paul Verhoeven Feature Films Ranked list here .

Fujiya & Miyagi 's newest LP, Flashback  (2019), is only 32 minutes long and only 7 songs. And if you're familiar with their sound, it doesn't necessarily offer any surprises. But it does deliver more of their sublime, sparsely worded, danceable electro-rock jams and it pleases this fan greatly. In what I believe is a F&M first, "Personal Space" (one of the album's best cuts) actually drops a few "F" bombs. "Subliminal" is a song that was originally released on their SoundCloud . As presented on the album, it's a slightly different version and for whatever reason they decided to cut the word "Cuts" from the title (heh heh). On "Dying Swan Act" vocalist/guitarist David Best verbally encourages the listener to "handclap" and when he spells out the band's name I kind of lose it (in a good way). That track, along with album closer "Gammon" employ some very Fripp -esque guitar. Despite...

Less than a year after  White Denim  released their last album,  Performance  (2018), they've cranked out another nine songs, at an even shorter length (29 minutes) than Performance 's 33 minutes, which was until now their shortest LP to date. Side Effects  (2019) is one tight record—duration-wise, obviously (although there is one song which is almost 7 minutes long), but also production-wise, riff-wise and lyrically (there's definitely a lot more music than vocals on this record). "Small Talk (Feeling Control)", a catchy rocker featuring vocoder on the backup vocals, kicks off the album. "NY Money", the aforementioned 6:50 long track, starts off with a proggy riff  before settling into a smooth repetitive groove with a lot of breathing room for guitar and keys to trade off some not-too-noodly noodling. "Out Of Doors", a short instrumental, has a bit of Lindsay Buckingham era  Fleetwood Mac feel and it's followed by another, longer, mo...

The last time that I watched  True Romance  (1993) was eight years ago where I wrote that it hasn't aged well (my review here ). My feelings haven't changed much. I first saw the film when I was 19 or 20 and for years I really loved it. In the past decade, not so much. I do think it has a ridiculously good cast and some great moments. It's occasionally fun and funny. But the whole of it leaves me empty. It's no all-timer. David Lynch  and Barry Gifford are to blame. As soon as I saw  Wild At Heart  (1990) and the similarities between the two films (both modern updates of the  Bonnie and Clyde  story), I just couldn't appreciate True Romance the same way anymore. I know they aren't exactly the same film, but WAH  is weirder,  wild er, and—compared to TR — underappreciated. My thoughts on WAH   here . Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern  are more convincing in their roles and have better chemistry as Sailor and Lula than Chri...

A favorite film of mine since its release,  Léon: The Professional  (1994) expertly blends drama, action, and humor to create an always engaging film. Léon  ( Jean Reno )—the story of a hitman who begrudgingly takes responsibility for a young girl whose family is killed by a crooked DEA agent (an explosive Gary Oldman )—is full of memorable scenes, impressively staged shootouts, quotable dialogue, excellent performances (especially by  Natalie Portman , only 12 years old at the time), and visual panache. Luc Besson Feature Films Ranked

With Beloved Exile  (2019), Steve Moore ( Zombi , Miracle ) has created his most calming, ambient album yet. Exile  features Moore's warm analog synths, augmented by dreamlike harp, celestial vocals, and metronomic bass guitar. It's just enough of a departure from what you'd expect from Moore to feel fresh. My only complaint is that even at over 5 minutes each, every track but the last one (at 15 and a 1/2 minutes) feels too short—the songs disappearing right when I feel truly locked into their groove.

The Path Of Metaphor  (2019) by Path Of Metaphor is a instrumental ambient album featuring calming textures created by treated guitars. It works well as the soundtrack to many environments—such as a long relaxing Saturday morning breakfast or a lazy Sunday afternoon where a warm gentle breeze blows in through your windows. For fans of Susumu Yokota and Brian Eno .

Though  Ghostbusters II (1989) is undoubtedly sillier and inferior to its predecessor, I've always really enjoyed the film. It's a bit saccharine, the score isn't as good, the soundtrack isn't as good, there's a bit of retreading, the ending is weak, and for those that think the f/x in the first film are dated—they are much cheesier here. But I still say, 30 years on, that GBII  is an unfairly maligned sequel. The first half is very strong, most of the dialogue is great, Peter MacNicol steals all his scenes, and I still have a crush on Annie Potts in this film. I am very curious (though skeptical) if  Ivan Reitman 's son Jason 's upcoming sequel  will be any better than this one, but here's hoping.

I hadn't watched  Ghostbusters   (1984) in just under five years, since the last bundled Blu-ray set of the first and second films (mastered in 4K) was released. Now that I have an OLED 4K TV, I had an excuse to buy the films yet again (I've owned the first one on VHS, two different DVD releases, two Blu-ray releases, and now on UHD).  Ghostbusters  just celebrated its 35th anniversary and in this viewer's eyes, it holds up (it's #3 on my  Top 100 Films ). The jokes are still great, the one-liners still quotable,  Elmer Bernstein 's score is still eclectic and memorable, and the film is incredibly entertaining.  Bill Murray 's Venkman may seem a little extra slimy in 2019, but in a way that's more charming than predatory. I also found myself noticing funny little ticks and facial expressions that Murray makes throughout in scenes where he's in the background that I never had. Those that complain that the f/x are dated don't have the same appreciat...

Jacques Tourneur  imbued heavy noir vibes into the excellent horror films that he made for producer Val Lewton such as Cat People (1942) and I Walked With A Zombie (1943), before making one of the key classic noirs, Out Of The Past (1947). Near the end of what many consider the classic period (1940–1960), the director returned to similar territory with Nightfall   (1956), based on a book by David Goodis , who also wrote Dark Passage   (1946), which itself spawned a great  1947 film  written and directed by Delmer Daves and starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall . Nightfall  is a strong late noir with two unusual leads, Aldo Ray and Anne Bancroft . Initially, they seem to be oddly mismatched but as the film progresses their chemistry is undeniable. The dialogue by  Stirling Silliphant —an eclectic writer who could tackle various genres with ease—is all at once crisp, tough and tender. The film has an incredible sense of economy at a brisk...

Joe D'Amato 's Absurd (1981) (aka Rosso Sangue ) is, at times, as the title suggests, fairly absurd. It's also occasionally funny. And it has some decent gore and a great ending. But that great ending can't save it from what it mostly is: a third-rate Halloween  (1978) ( review ) rip-off, boring, repetitive (particularly the score), and in need of editing, better actors, more plot and character development, and, in particular, a more talented director at the helm like Argento or Fulci (both of whom are liberally borrowed from). Kinda fun with friends but pretty bad and definitely not a film I'd ever watch again.

Groundhog Day  (1993) is a repeatedly (ah, ah?) rewarding movie that deftly blends humor, cynicism, sincerity, charity, and love. Much like its premise and its execution, the film reminds us that some days are crappy, sometimes it's OK to be sappy, it's always a good idea to be happy, and we should make the most of every day we have by striving to be the best version of ourselves that we can be.

I've seen Blade Runner 2049   (2017) four times now (my initial review  here ) and I swear it gets better every time.  Denis Villeneuve   managed to accomplish the typically impossible task of honoring and referencing the film that came before it whilst creating his own strikingly beautiful and original film (with a little help from a brilliant man named  Roger Deakins ). The visuals are absolutely stunning (every frame like a digital painting), the sound design is incredible ( Hans Zimmer  &  Benjamin Wallfisch 's score stills gives me shivers at times), the performances are all strong, and the f/x are seamless. A truly satisfying and moving film experience. I do think that it's necessary to have seen  Blade Runner   (1982) ( review ) to get the most out of  2049   but if you see this film and don't like it, you can simply ignore it. It operates on its own playing field and doesn't tarnish the 1982 film in any way. I actua...

Blade Runner  (1982) is one of those films that is worthy of hyperbole—it's one of my Top 100 Films  (#19). It operates at peak level in every department—the assured direction by Ridley Scott , the existential screenplay by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples , the gorgeous cinematography by Jordan Cronenweth , the incredible production design by Lawrence G. Paull , the beautiful synthesized score by Vangelis , and the complex performances of  Harrison Ford , Sean Young , and, in particular, Rutger Hauer . Some viewers find BR  to be an exercise in style over substance, but I don't agree. The film presents its themes in broad strokes, without the need for minute detail (at least in the script; the level of detail that went into the production is astounding). It's a slower moving film punctuated by short bursts of action, focusing more on its characters and their "human" desires. BR underperformed at the box office and received mixed reviews in its initial run...

Though I enjoy the four Wallace & Gromit shorts overall a bit more than the feature film  Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit  (2005), there is no denying that the latter is a fun, humorous romp with the beloved characters, and an impressive feat in the world of stop-motion animation. The many hours and years that go into making such a monumental handmade effort never fail to astound me. I always have and likely always will prefer stop-motion and traditional cel animation to computer animated features.

Batman Returns  (1992) is my favorite  Batman film , my favorite superhero film, one of my top 3  Tim Burton  films, one of my  Top 100 Films , and, if you want to make the argument—as people love to with  Die Hard  (1988) ( review )—is one of the best Christmas movies. Burton made a smash hit with  Batman  ( review ) in 1989. Rather than coast on that success with a similar sequel he insisted on being able to make a "Tim Burton movie". And he went  gonzo . He made an operatic, over-the-top, comic book come to life. Let's get this out the way now—when it comes to this film, I'm not concerned with accuracy or canon or realism. It's a damn good, entertaining, thoughtful film and  my  kind of comic book movie. Is  Batman Returns  a dark, psychosexual tragedy of Shakespearean proportions? You bet your ass—and all the better for it. Is there too little of Batman himself in the film? Perhaps, but in place of more ...

Tim Burton 's  Batman   (1989) is my second favorite  Batman  film and probably my second favorite superhero film. The tone is just right—fun but with darkness at the edges. There is still so much to appreciate about this blockbuster. Michael Keaton  was both a great Batman and Bruce Wayne.  Jack Nicholson  hams it up to perfection as The Joker. I've always been less keen on  Kim Basinger 's Vicki Vale. She's certainly beautiful, persistent, and has her charm, but she ends up screaming, in damsel-in-distress mode, far too often. I'll take Batman Returns ' (1992) ( review )  Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman all day long though. Danny Elfman 's immediately recognizable theme stands the test of time. While I do like  Prince , I'd be lying if I said I thought the songs that he contributed to the soundtrack are among his best work. While the seams show in a few of the f/x shots, overall the film is a marvel of the pre-digital age—featuri...