THE DANMAN CAN

Basically Aliens (1986) and  Predator   (1987) ( review ) on water,  Deep Rising (1998) is just dumb enough to be fun and not so dumb that it's a drag. I saw it in the theater and on DVD too, I believe, and I still think it holds up pretty well as entertaining popcorn fare. Other than the bad CGI, on which the film is far too reliant (I would have loved to have seen more practical f/x since Rob Bottin did the design), there is some nice gore spattered throughout.  Jerry Goldsmith 's score is solid, Kevin J. O'Connor is a lovable punching bag, and Anthony Heald  does his perfect slimeball thing wonderfully.

40 years after  Sidney Lumet 's brilliant 1957 film  ( review ) of Reginald Rose 's 1954 teleplay , William Friedkin  adapted 12 Angry Men  as a made-for-TVmovie. While the cast is excellent and the added diversity is appreciated, I had a hard time buying Juror #10 in this adaptation. Friedkin chose to give the camera more movement than the original film but some of the compositions feel devoid of emotional impact. Additionally, by sticking too closely to the original dialogue, not enough is updated to make this version feel justified. Overall, this is an entertaining and very good reenactment of a classic story with a who's who of actors but the combination of what was changed and what wasn't doesn't quite gel to make this a classic in its own right. William Friedkin Feature Films Ranked

It's a touch too long and not always necessarily "laugh out loud" funny, but Midnight Run (1988) is a fun and breezy buddy road movie with well-timed action and some genuinely moving moments. Robert De Niro and Charlies Grodin have an excellent chemistry, Grodin is perfectly charming, and all the supporting characters (what a cast) are wonderful. I can't believe this was my first time watching the film. Martin Brest Films Ranked

A pretty unremarkable blaxploitation (I haven't seen all that many films in the genre but this is easily my least favorite), Black Shampoo (1976) lacks finesse, lacks a strong lead, lacks action until the finale, has poor acting, poor characters, boring/laughable sex scenes, and weird editing. Even the cinematography is unexceptional, which is odd since it was (co)lensed by legendary DOP Dean Cundey —though it was only his 7th film and still 2 years before  Halloween  ( review ) so forgivable.  The songs are pretty groovy and there is some fun to be had, but overall BS  is a lackluster experience. Also, the title is clearly meant to cash in on Hal Ashby 's Shampoo from the previous year (a film of his that I still need to see) but Mr. Jonathan  would have been a good (probably better) one. Director  Greydon Clark made better "bad" films, including  Uninvited   (1988) ( review ),  Without Warning   (1980) ( review ), and  Satan's ...

Nicolas Roeg 's 1976 avant-garde sci-fi masterpiece, The Man Who Fell To Earth , only gets better with age. I've read Walter Tevis ' 1963 novel  and, while I think it's very good, Roeg's film is a singular experience and one that makes the case that sometimes films can be better than books. David Bowie 's film debut is a role that was made for him. I quite literally cannot picture another human being who could have portrayed an alien the way he did.  TMWFTE  is quite a long, slow picture with seemingly sudden shifts in logic. Some might find the movie scattershot. Personally, it all just gels perfectly for me. It works in many ways—as a comment on capitalism, depletion of resources, and otherness; as a mirror image of our modern world; or simply as a bizarre, visually stunning, surrealist head trip. Nicolas Roeg Feature Films Ranked The Danman Top 100 Films (2019 Edition)

The hope is that one day  Sidney Lumet 's 12 Angry Men (1957) will seem like an artifact—something from the long ago past, not realistic or relatable. Sadly, it's still very relevant and I'm not sure that will ever change. Hell of a movie though, you know what I mean? Sidney Lumet Feature Films Ranked Top 20 Directors The Danman Top 100 Films (2019 Edition)