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Reviews
Song of the Thin Man (1947)
The Thin Man goes noir and gets lost
This final pairing of William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles should have been titled "Swan Song of the Thin Man". This was also the last of 14 films they did together. Unfortunately, SOTTM fails to end the duo's work on a high note, as it falls flat.
SOTTM attempts to transplant the "Thin Man" formula into an environment with the style and tone of film noir, but it is a mismatch. As characters, Nick and Nora find themselves out of touch with the changing times, symbolized by their difficulty communicating with their "hep" musician sidekick (a young, thin, and clean-shaven Keenan Wynn) who helps them investigate two murders.
Parenthood is also one of Nick and Nora's responsibilities. Fortunately, razor-sharp Dean Stockwell makes Nick Jr. A worthy addition to the family, one who would rather play baseball than practice the piano. Asta and the maid make the family complete.
The whiz-bang dialogue and wry humor found in the earlier "Thin Man" movies is weaker in this installment. On-screen drinking has been sharply curtailed. While Myrna Loy is 42 and has aged little in the 13 years since she and Powell worked together, Powell himself looked older than his 55 years. The two seem to be going through the motions in this movie, as if they know the script is a mess.
Of all the "Thin Man" movies, SOTTM is the weakest. Instead of a big send off for William Powell and Myrna Loy's fantastic work together, it just sputters to a close.
Monk: Mr. Monk and the Bad Girlfriend (2007)
Doesn't make any sense
WARNING! SPOILERS FOLLOW
In previous "Monk" episodes, Captain Stottlemeyer's girlfriend Linda Fusco, was a charming and successful real estate broker. Now she's suddenly so jealous and insecure of her position that she would murder her partner who was going to start his own business? And attempt to make Stottlemeyer believe Monk propositioned her, which only convinced him Monk was right to suspect her? And turn into a quivering mess and plead with Stottlemeyer for them to flee the country when she realizes that Monk figured out how she committed the crime? This was arguably the weakest episode in the series and a waste of the actors' talent and time.
The Beat Generation (1959)
Spitting on Louis B. Mayer's grave
I watched "The Beat Generation" on Turner Classic Movies last night. I found it unbelievable that Metro Goldwyn Mayer, once Hollywood's most prestigious studio, would have its name attached to such a farrago of a movie. One the one hand, is a taboo-busting film about misogyny, rape, the possibility of pregnancy arising from that rape, and the possibility of abortion. On the other is a surrealistic parody of the Beatnik lifestyle. Somehow these two films were fused together into a result that, in today's slang, is a "hot mess". Look for dark and brooding Steve Cochran and Ray Danton as two types of pomaded misogynists - Cochran a cop who thinks rape victims "ask for it" and Ray Danton as a Beat-slang-quoting rapist. Mamie Van Dorn appears as a "loose" woman.
Stolen Child (2012)
Another helping of Lifetime silliness
I don't know if this movie debuted on the Lifetime Network, but I watched it on that channel last night. Emmanuelle Vaugier and Scott Elrod star as the pretty-as-a-picture couple who adopt a child after failing to give birth to one of their own, only to find, in Lifetime fashion, that "Things Aren't As They Seem". Mix together some generic Eastern European characters as heavies, a chase through a mostly-empty building that is ridiculously over-sized for an adoption agency, and "I'm-only-doing-this-for-the-paycheck" performances, and you get the idea. For fans of Ms. Vaugier and movies that require extreme suspension of disbelief.
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
For those who understand British humor
To me, "Dr. Strangelove" is a British comedy masquerading as an American movie. It's sexual innuendo, mockery of political and military leadership, and attempts to play tragic situations for laughs are all characteristics of British humor, as seen in this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_humour
I doubt that much of the American audience really understood the movie and that it was most appreciated by critics who were familiar with British humor. Also, the movie's politics could be described as anti-anti-Communist, showing anti-Commuists as just as dangerous, if not moreso, than Communists. God bless.