THE DANMAN CAN

While I don't tend to be big on "message movies," and while the ending of Angels With Dirty Faces (1938) is a bit heavy on the moralizing, it is undoubtedly one of the best gangster pictures and said finale is still very effective. James Cagney  is in top form and Pat O'Brien  is appropriately stoic as the strait-laced priest. Ann Sheridan and Humphrey Bogart both get short shrift here, especially considering how much screen time The Dead End Kids are awarded, but I find the latter bunch very watchable and even charming at times. It's particularly enjoyable to watch Cagney's interplay with the group of young actors. "Whadda ya hear! Whadda ya say!" I say this is a true classic. You can find my  Michael Curtiz Feature Films Ranked  list  here .

Eight years after directing  High Sierra   (1941) (my review here ),  Raoul Walsh   remade his film as a western with Colorado Territory  (based on the same novel by W.R. Burnett ), the same year he made the classic gangster picture White Heat . While I prefer the original film and actors ( Joel McCrea and Viriginia Mayo replace  Humphrey Bogart  and  Ida Lupino  here, respectively), CT  is a great version, with a knockout ending. You can find my  Raoul Walsh Feature Films Ranked  list  here .

High Sierra (1941) brought the transition that broke Humphrey Bogart out of one-dimensional supporting gangster roles into more serious, multi-faceted, top billed roles. John Huston 's script and  Raoul Walsh 's direction—along with sympathetic performances by Bogie and the gorgeous Ida Lupino , beautiful locations, and a thrilling car chase leading into a taut stand-off in the finale—make High Sierra  a memorable, humanist western/gangster/ noir  hybrid. You can find my Raoul Walsh Feature Films Ranked list here . You can find my  Film Noir Feature Films Ranked  list  here .

Hollow, 'tudey, largely unfunny, with mostly unappealing new characters and poor attempts at Spielberg ian magic throughout.  Ghostbusters: Afterlife   (2021) features an overwhelming amount of fan service iconography, and every "sense of wonderment" moment left me rolling my eyes. I chuckled a few times and there were some okay scenes but this tween version of GB  was not my speed at all. Total Marvel/Disney style filmmaking with some truly sloppy editing and handling in the finale. If there's a series afterlife after Afterlife , I'll be skipping it.

In which Quentin Dupieux makes his version of a  Bill & Ted / Dumb And Dumber movie. Dupieux has once again proved that he is the Wes Anderson of absurdist comedies, by which I mean if you like what he does, his signature style rarely lets you down.  Toro film . You can find my  Quentin Dupieux Feature Films Ranked  list  here .

30 years old this year,  The Silence Of The Lambs  (1991) is an all-time classic and one of (if not  the ) greatest psychological thriller(s) ever made (one of my  Top 100 Films  and #1 on my  Top 10 Horror Films (1990–2010) ). Its influence cannot be understated. It's a film that offers new discoveries on every viewing. For example, one thing that struck me this time around were the parallels that the violent demise of a character in the ending of  Silence  shares with  Taxi Driver  (1976) [ review ]. In both films  Jodi Foster  looks on, horrified—in one as the instigator of said violence and in the other as a bystander. Jonathan Demme   was a diverse director, responsible for what many consider the greatest concert film ever (1984's  Stop Making Sense   [ review ] ).   While  Tak Fujimoto 's cinematography is what might be considered a bit bland in tone for a large majority of  Silence , his cam...

While The Devil's Backbone (2001) doesn't quite enthrall me the way it did the first few times I saw it, it's still a very well-made film.  Guillermo del Toro 's political ghost drama is heavy with pathos, pain, and poetic justice. The special effects don't hold up great after twenty years (the film works better when it keeps to the realm of practical work), but the themes of loss, boyhood bonds, and the effects of war remain potent. You can find my  Guillermo del Toro Feature Films Ranked  list  here .

I started November off by watching A Nightmare On Elm Street  (1984) (my review here ), so it’s only fitting that I’m (coincidentally) watching another  Wes Craven  film on the last day of the month. I've gone back and forth on ratings for The Hills Have Eyes (1977) over the years but I've settled back on 3 stars.  I've seen  THHE  many times since my introduction some time in the 90s. I've owned the film on DVD, Blu-ray and now 4K UHD. I'm not sure how to categorize Hills —I don't quite consider it a classic but I do appreciate the gritty, low budget quality and there are some truly harrowing moments. There are also, unfortunately, some unintentionally humorous and goofy moments, much like Craven's previous film (not counting the porno he made in between), his disturbing 1972 debut, The Last House On The Left   (though nothing in THHE  is as egregious as TLHOTL ). THHE  is heavily indebted to  The Texas Chain Saw Massacre   (...

The Borrower (1991) is one messy, tonally bizarre film but it’s weird, kinda cool, and has some nice gore courtesy of Kevin Yagher  and team. While watching this movie I kept thinking how it felt like a remnant of the 80s. Then I noticed in the credits that the copyright is from 1989 and that test footage for the film was shot as early as 1987, only a year after John McNaughton ’s previous film, Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer  (my review here ), was released (and also explains why Mädchen Amick has such a small role in a film released after she’d already been in Twin Peaks ).  The Borrower never quite successfully hits its stride, but it’s an interesting sophomore film for McNaughton, after the brutally realistic and downbeat  Henry . Recommended for fans of Repo Man (1984),  Re-Animator  (1985) (my review here ), The Hidden (1987) (my review here ), Street Trash  (1987) (my review here ), and Dead Heat (1988) (my review here ).  John Mc...

Simply one of the most influential action films and one of the best sequels (that also just edges out its predecessor, my review of which is here )—with one of the most thrilling finales—ever made. George Miller 's  Mad Max 2 (aka The Road Warrior ) (1981) features some of the most insane stunts, frenetic camerawork, badass chases, wildest vehicles, iconic costumes and baddies, and general mayhem of any film. A pivotal part of (and frequent rewatch during) my teenhood, one of my Top 100 Films , and a movie I’ll love ‘til I die.  Mad Max Franchise Films Ranked