Alphaville (1966) - Leave it to the French to combine an affection for two ur-American forms - noir and science fiction - into a new and highly influential style. Following the adventures of private dick (as in Dick Tracy) Lemmy Strange in a futuristic dystopia run by a Big Brother-ly computer, the film retains its pulpy suspense even if some of the scenes don't make much sense. Why does Lemmy start shooting people as soon as he checks into his hotel room? Why does that woman feel like she has to tell a joke before the goons assualt Lemmy? And how, seeing as the computer controls everything in Alphaville, does Lemmy escape so easily? Ah, the answer, you see, is that this film is also a parody as well as homage to science-noir. Bladerunner, to name one example, wouldn't have existed without this proto-cyberpunk exercise in style; however, like quite a few Jean Luc Godard directed films, it hasn't dated well despite its revolutionary qualities. An A for historical reasons and overall brilliance, but considering that several other movies have covered the same territory better since:
Grade: B+
Anatomy of a Murder (1959): A gripping courtroom drama from the hands of director Otto Preminger. Jimmy Stewart plays a lawyer defending Lt. Mannion, who shot a man named Barney who had just raped his wife (played by Lee Remick at her most vampishly sexy). The facts of the case are open and shut; Mannion's only hope is to plead temporary insanity, which he is cleverly prodded to plea by Stewart in a scene in which Stewart almost, but stops a few inches short, engages in unethical lawyerly counseling (he doesn't tell Mannion outright to plead insanity, merely leads his nose in the right direction). Since the facts are all known, the only real suspense is whether or not the jury will buy Mannion's plea, but Preminger nevertheless keeps one completely engaged with the razor-sharp interplay between the characters on and off the courtroom floor. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the film from a contemporary perspective is the treatment of rape victims before more enlightened times: Remick has to prove that she wasn't just "asking for it" by being a little tipsy and a little sexily clad in a bar where she was a bit too friendly with the rapist. It's shocking to remember how callously women who were raped used to be treated in our justice system, when the burden of proof was on the victim to prove she wasn't a slut before it could really be considered rape. Bravura performances from all of the cast - no explosions or steamy sex scenes, just a good plot, good dialogue, and good acting: howcum they don't make'em like this anymore?
Grade: A
Army of Darkness (1993): The third, and in some ways most
entertaining film of the Evil Dead trilogy. Ash finds himself
transported to the 14th century where he's first mistaken for a follower
of a rival warlord, and once that's cleared up, goes straight into the
fire as he has to retrieve the Book of Dead in order to clear the land of
the demon scourge and get back home. If you're looking for a horror
movie, you're out of luck: this is a straight-up action/comedy with
horror elements, with the emphasis on tongue-in-cheek humor. I can't
remember seeing another movie lately that has so many quotable lines: "I
hate to tell you, but you ain't leading two things right now, Jack and
Shit, and Jack just left town."
"What were you, born in a barn?
under
his breath Of course you were born in barn, like everybody else in
this primitive society..."
"Are all men from the future such
loudmouth
braggarts?"
"Just me, baby, just me."
"Did you repeat the exact words?"
"Well, maybe I didn't completely exactly say the all the words just right,
but I said them close enough. That's good enough,
right?"Wrong!
And of course - "Gimme some
sugar,
baby."
Grade: A-